Felt Christmas Tree Decorations

It Felt right to get Festive...

This has been a crazy 6 months. Dresar Studio, is now very much up and running and I have been super busy getting many Christmas brides ready for their big day.
Now, all the work is done and I wanted to relax and try out some fun, crafty ideas I've been thinking about. What better time than to rope in my lovely boyfriend and teach (force) him to make some felt Christmas Tree Decorations with me.





Here's a step by step list of how to make your very own!

1. We started with a basic penguin shape template, traced it out onto felt and cut two out (one for the front and one for the back)

2. Then we cut out the white inner body piece and stitched it on by hand. Your sewing doesn't have to be great here, in fact the more 'hand done' it looks, the better the result.

3. We then decorated the front body piece with stick on eyes, and sewn on pieces of contrasting felt and coloured buttons to create the beak and little accessories.

4. Next, we cut out 2 sets of feet (front and back) and a small piece of wadding to place between the two layers

5. Now, we hand stitched the two layers together with the wadding inside (a blanket stitch looks good here)

6. We then cut out 2 wings and tacked them onto the penguin main body

7. Then tack the feet onto the main body

8. At this point, we cut out a piece of wadding which was just smaller than the body piece

9. Using a blanket stitch, we attache the back piece to the front, with the wadding inside, making sure it was neat and any raw edges were hidden on the inside.

10. lastly, we cut a small piece of ribbon and hand stitched it onto the top of the decoration and we were ready to proudly hang it from our tree!

Mrs Penguin

Mr Penguin

 This project can be as easy or as complicated as you want but if your new to it, try something really simple. Seeing the fab results will inspire you to go on and do something trickier.... Or, if your like my boyfriend, quit there and reward yourself with another mince pie.

I couldn't help myself and made another one... it's a lot of fun and is a great way to introduce someone to basic hand sewing skills. Enjoy and have a Very Merry Christmas!

Felt Owl

Bag Yourself a Treat!!

Yesterday, Dresar Studio held it's very first themed project workshop. 'Bag yourself a Treat' was created to teach all the skills needed to transform an old pair of jeans into a funky, fully lined, over the shoulder bag. The participants of the workshop were Jodi, Fiona, Laura and Pauline.

The first part of the day was spent showing the girls the basics of using a sewing machine, including how to thread up and how to sew using different stitches. Once everyone was happy with this we set about getting creative and designing our bags, choosing lining fabrics, trims and accessories.

Pauline (a self confessed butter fingers) was shocked at how quickly she picked up the all of these new skills after spending years thinking she wouldn't be able to learn to sew a button on!

As you can imagine, all this creativity is thirsty work, so we downed tools for a cup of tea and a fantastic home made cupcake supplied by the lovely Jodi. What a treat! The class was certainly living up to it's name... Refreshed, everyone was raring to get back to work and thoroughly motivated by their bags, which were really starting to take shape.

The afternoon section of the workshop focused on completing the denim outer of the bag. At this stage, I could see a huge improvement in the girls confidence and skills, so we set about adding the lining, the strap and all the decorative touches.

There was a lot to learn in a short space of time but as the maximum number of people in a Dresar Studio workshop is 4, everyone is guaranteed the individual attention and support they need to complete their project.
I was thrilled with the results, as were all the girls. Fiona said she found the class 'extremely therapeutic' as it had been a long time since she'd done something creative for herself. Laura told me she had no idea she would enjoy the class as much as she had and will be booking up for the 6 week Dressmaking course which will be starting soon at Dresar Studio.

The 'Bag Yourself a Treat' workshop will be running again in November and you can book your place now. The other workshops available are:

‘Cushion the blow’ - Making your very own cushion is fantastic introduction to sewing and to unleasing your creativity

‘Skirting Around’ - Learn all the basics of sewing then show off your amazing new skills by making a fab A-Line skirt.

Group discounts are available, please get in touch for more details.

Dresar Studio:
Tel: 01383 828994  or  07780331548
Email: deanna@dresarstudio.com
Web: www.dresarstudio.co.uk
Address:  Sybrig House, Ridge Way, Dalgety Bay, Fife, KY11 9JN

Home textile obsession....

After all the home textile challenges I've been doing lately, I decided to update a few of my own! I found this amazing heavy weight, textured upholstery fabric when I was in Glasgow a few months ago and they have resulted in a beautiful set of winter curtains and cushion covers. If you are looking for a cheap, effective way of jazzing up a room, this could be the answer. Contact me on deanna@dresarstudio.com for more details.

Upholstery Challenge Complete!

Well,
After fighting with my new sewing machine, reverting back the my 'old faithful,  breaking my overlocker, getting fairly serious cramps in my wrist, stabbing myself with countless pins and staying in the studio until well after 11 last night, I have finally finished my first 'PROPER' upholstery challenge and I must admit, I could have wept with relief when I put it on and it fitted perfectly!
My lovely lady customer was absolutely thrilled to bits with it and clapped her hands. Her reaction has absolutely made my day!
I forgot to take my camera to get photos of it but will pop back and get some very soon. She has promised to recommend me to anyone who'll listen. A big thanks to the Sewing Machine Centre in Dunfermline for giving her my details. I have a feeling they are going to be very good people to know...

NOW! I'm off to a wedding tomorrow (wearing a hand made accessory or two) at the beautiful Balbirnie House http://www.balbirnie.co.uk/, visiting the Affordable Vintage Fair on Saturday http://www.vintagefair.co.uk/, then off to Alton Towers for some fun, thrills more childlike, sugar fuelled excitement than the human body can handle.

Upholstery 101

Since starting Dresar Studio, I have had all kinds of weird and wonderful textile related requests. The first big commission I undertook was upholstering a bed for a camper van. This was a bit of a scary task given my expertise is most definitely in Clothing design and manufacture but I do love a challenge....
One happy camper later and I decided to try my hand at a few more slightly trickier tasks.
Several upholstery challenges later and I've moved on to making a complete removable, washable, fitted cover set and matching cushions for an armchair complete with piping, frills, the lot! (it is for an older lady customer who likes that kind of thing)
I spent the day yesterday making the seat cushion, back cushion and throw cushions and then the evening watching videos on You Tube to make sure my 'have a go' attitude had at least some expert advice to base it on.
I'm now pretty confident I know what I'm doing and am looking forward to getting back to it and getting it finished by the start of next week.
I'll take some photos and start a little gallery of my triumphs (and learning experiences aka: mistakes)
Wish me luck!

First ever blog!

Welcome to my blog.
This is all shiny and new to me but I hope to provide an informative, fun account of my day to day shennanigans here at Dresar Studio.