{DIY:} Sheer floral gloves for summer

A little sewing project I started last summer (!) but had no motivation to complete. Now as summer is in bloom again I finally managed to end and wear them! It took me very long, because I was discouraged with how much time consuming this project was – I sewn the first gloves in five hours. It sounds impossible even to me now, but it just needed some skills. See the full how-to below.
*
Rękawiczki zaczęłam robić poprzedniego lata, ale nie miałam motywacji do ich skończenia. Teraz, gdy lato znów w pełni, wreszcie są gotowe i mogę je nosić! Robienie zajęło mi dużo czasu, ponieważ byłam zniechęcona tym, jak dużo czasu nad nimi spędzam - pierwszą rekawiczkę szyłam 5 godzin. Niewiarygodne, ale po prostu potrzebowałam trochę wprawy. Uwielbiam ten wzór i rękawiczki są moim zdaniem cudne. Poniżej opiszę, jak zrobić takie cacko.

I love the pattern of this fabric and in my opinion these gloves are amazing. Sorry for the messy hairstyle, it was more glamorous when I was going out... Don't believe in pictures that show women riding cabrio with perfect waves on their heads;p

Uwielbiam ten wzór i rękawiczki są moim zdaniem cudne. Wybaczcie rozczochraną fryzurę, była bardziej szykowna gdy wychodziłam z domu. Nie wierzcie w zdjęcia pokazujące kobiety w kabrioletach z idealnymi falami na głowach;p

How to start?All you need to have is a sheer elastic fabric you like, scissors, needle and thread. You also need a custom pattern in your size that is easy to make. Put your hand on the fabric and draw the outline of your hand in the way showed below, then cut. Measure of your thumb and also draw a shape similar to this on the right. The circumference of your thimb in its root should be the lenght of the curve at the bottom of the shape. Remember to leave about 3 mm for stitches. You've just made a pattern for one glove!

Jak zacząć? Potrzebujesz przezroczystego rozciągliwego materiału, nożyczek, igły i nitki. Musisz także zrobić swój własny wykrój. Połóż rękę na tkaninie i obrysuj w sposób pokazany poniżej, następnie wytnij. Zmierz kciuk i narysuj kształt pokazany po prawej. Obwód kciuka u nasady to długość krzywizny na dole. Wytnij pamiętając o pozostawieniu około 2-3mm na szwy. Właśnie wykroiłaś materiał na jedną rękawiczkę!

Fold the bigger piece into a half and pin together - you shold get something like a glove for four fingers. Sew the hems together (if you can sew elastic fabric in the sewing machine, feel free to do it this way). Sew also the upper hems of the 'thumb hood'. Now comes the tricky part. Put your hand on the glove and see where the thumb should be, make a small hole there. As the material is elastic you should be able to put the whole glove on and see how much bigger hole you need to feel comfortable with thumb. Cut it, attach the 'hood' with pins and sew the hems together. Done!

*

Złóż większą część na pół i przypnij szpilkami - powstanie coś w stylu rękawiczki na cztery palce. Zszyj brzegi (jeśli umiesz, możesz na maszynie). Zszyj też górne brzegi 'kapturka na kciuk'. Teraz nadchodzi trudniejszy moment. Połóż rękę na rękawiczce i zobacz, gdzie powinien być kciuk. Zrób tam małą dziurkę. Jako że materiał jest rozciągliwy, będziesz w stanie włożyć rękawiczkę na rękę. Zobacz ile miejsca jeszcze potrzebujesz by poruszać swobodnie kciukiem i wytnij nadmiar materiału. Przypnij 'kapturek' i zszyj brzegi. Zrobione!

And something for people who wanted to see my handmade skirt on me;)

I coś dla tych, którzy chcieli zobaczyć na mnie tą spódnicę;) 

Summer is still not over and if you want to try something new I'll recommend you some of my previous experimental DIYs: this, this, this, this, this or this. You'll find something suitable for sure;)

*

Lato wciąż trwa i jeśli chcieliście w tym sezonie zrobić coś, czego jeszcze nie robiliście, polecam Wam moje wcześniejsze eksperymenty: ten, ten, ten, ten, ten lub ten. Każdy znajdzie coś dla siebie;)

Have a beautiful day,

Julia

Natural dye: poppy (DIY)

It's poppy time! Last year I made natural ink out of flower petals, thi Summer I wanted to make something different. So if you ever wanted to try natural dye, now it's your turn. It's really easy!




First you need to pick some poppies, only the petals. Put it to a pot and boil with water on low heat (1 volume of poppies per 2 volumes of water) for one hour or longer. In another pot boil a piece of fabric you want to dye in a solution of vinegar 1:4 to water. After that time separate the petals (they should be sheer), rinse the fabric in cold water and put into the pot with poppy dye. Leave it until you're satisfied with the colour you got (remember it will be slightly lighter!).
Here you have it! You need only three ingredients in the whole process!
Note: If your fabric is cotton I reccomend using different fixative.



I also attempted to make an ombre lace. I dipped only the end of folded lace in the liquid and the colour went up with the fibres! Honestly, it turned out even better that the dress.





How do you like the result? Do you plan similar experiments for the summer?

*
Wiem, ze miałam prowadzić bloga też po Polsku, ale szczerze mówiąc nie sądzę, żeby tłumaczenie wszystkiego było konieczne. Staram się używać prostego angielskiego (z resztą taki znam;)). Gdyby coś było niejasne, odpowiem na wszystkie pytania! 
Macie zamiar eksperymentować z naturalnymi barwnikami? A może już coś robiłyście i macie jakieś porady dla mnie?;)

Have a beautiful day,
Julia

First day of Summer

I don't want to talk too much, but this Summer is really something I've been waiting for. There's still one exam left, but that doesn't matter. Summer is going to be the season of making things I love. The season of crafty project. Long walks. Loving all natural things. Experimenting. Making dreams come true.

♥♥♥

Have a beautiful day,

Julia

My herbal list

This year I'm gonna be a herbalist. There is plenty of healthy substances, microelements in the plants everywhere around - in the garden, in the nearby forest.  I made a small to-pick list for each month for me and encourage you to do the same. Wherever you live - whether it's US, Brasilia or New Zeland - there's sure a lot of goods around;)

W tym roku mam zamiar pobawić się w zielarstwo. Zioła są naokoło - w ogrodzie, w lesie - wszędzie. Zrobiła miesięczną listę roślin do zbierania, zachęcam do zrobienia tego samego! Zawsze możecie skorzystać też z mojej listy, polecam spróbować razem ze mną;)

Have a beautiful day,
Julia

Chocolate day

Today I finally managed to meet up with some of my friends. We spent the whole afternoon on cooking, baking and watching TV series. We made chocolate brownies from this recipe. 

It was just one of many silly days in my life, I think I've never share one on the blog before though.

NOTE: All of these happy faces are caused by chocolate!

Chyba jeszcze ani razu nie napisałam posta o zwykłym dniu z życia. Zdjęcia chyba mówią wszystko. Upubliczniam je dlatego, że pokazują co najmniej dwie rzeczy, które lubię - pieczenie i kwiaty (dużo kwiatów w różnych postaciach!). I oczywiście czekoladę;) Brownies z tego przepisu.

Have a beautiful day,

Julia

Spring etsy update!

I've been waiting a while to announce it officially. Here it is! The etsy update. Although these things might look simple, designing, sewing and taking pictures took me about 3 months. I decided not to hurry and it was a good decision. Hope you like the results! You can find it all here.

* 

Czekałam, by oficjalnie ogłosić ponowne otwarcie sklepu. Mimo że te rzeczy mogą wydawać się proste, projektowanie, szycie itp. zajęły mi około 3 miesiące. Postanowiłam nie spieszyć się i była to dobra decyzja. Mam nadzieję, że Wam się podoba! Możecie znaleźć to wszystko tu.

Pens are made by Szymon.

Have a beautiful day,

Julia

Best method of pressing flowers

The summer is almost over. Many of you would probably like it to stay for longer, but unfortunately it's impossible. I'll for sure miss flowers in bloom in winter. The only method to keep them for longer is pressing them. Just in case someone else want to do the same what I do to remember about summer days, I share a few quick tips I use while pressing flowers that have benn kind of my secret.

1. The bigger pressure the better - it's obvious, isn't it. If you don't use at least a few encyclopedias flowers can contract or become wavy. Olny by applying enough pressure will you get good results. I strongly recommend using a press, not encyclopedia - it doesn't take much space and what's more you can regulate the pressure.

2. The longer the better. It takes some time for flowers to get completely dry. For the thinest two weeks might be enough, other need one or two months. The main rule is that it's never too long.

3. Use absorbent paper to separate flowers - they will get dry quicker. If you have some time you can make your own paper using my method, these sheets absorb water like a sponge!

4. Segregate flowers by thickness. Lay thin flowers on one sheet of paper, thicker and the thickest on the other two. Usually thickness is a fearute of every species, so you can easily segregate by species. For example, poppies should get a separate sheet and all kinds of pansies can be pressed together. In the press you can preserve big variety of blossoms by making 'layers' of flowers and paper. 

In the first picture and those below you can see the final result.

You can use the same methods to preserve autumn leaves, but come on - autumn starts in October. We still should enjoy summer in the last days of September.

Have a beautiful day,

Julia

Flowers from the past

Hello, today I'll show you my collection of old, truely vintage things. All these things are connected with flowers in some ways: are adorned with flowers on even consist of flowers.

I found this gift book in a thrift store last summer and I totally love it! It has special pages for recipes, vintage wine charts, a journal and a calendar, but it's so pretty that I haven't written anything in it for a year. I'm scared that I can destroy its beauty. I should take pictures of the designs inside one day, it's really amazing. 

My grandma gave me these beauties about a week ago. She made the collages by herself, they were hanging in her very first house! They are about 40 years old!

The backs of frames changed their colour because of the long exposition to sunlight. You can see exactly where the pressed plants were for years! 

I found this pendant on a flea market and probably got it for free, don't remember. It has real flowers inside!

I hope you like my little collection. Wish me luck in finding more. And I'll wish you a beautiful day!

Julia

Sweet dreams | stamped t-shirt DIY

As I said I've been painting on fabric last week. This t-shirt is an example. Although I prefer more classic style of clothing (I could wear dresses all the time), I decided to paint something on this tee and use it as a pajama top. I hope it will bring me sweet deams today!

You'll need: a tee, textile paints, stamps, brushes. (+ a cup of water and a white plate - if you want to mix colours). 

At first you should make a project of what you want to have on your t-shirt. Once you have prepared it, draw a sketch straight on the tee with a chalk of contrasting colour. Prepare all shades of paint you want to use. Carefully paint the stamping surface with a brush. lay the stamp on the fabric and press gently.

After you have all the imprints done you'll probably need to correct a few mistakes - use brushes to this aim. Leave your tee to dry and then follow the preservation instruction given on the paint container. 

NOTE: although I'll post a few DIY's connected with clothing  in the upcoming weeks this blog will never change into a fashion blog. I usually don't like top fashion trends, like glitter shoes etc. I won't do anything like this for sure, but you can expect a small amount of my own ideas:)

Wish you a beautiful day,
Julia

Collecting flowers: forest and meadow

Yesterday I brought new flowers to dry. Those ones that I collected recently are already dry! I'm going to make my room redecoration soon (finally!) and they're all to hang on my wall. I decorated them with ribbon and twine. As I said before I want to make a kind of herbarium on my wall!

Favourite flowers I collected yesterday. They are dark pink when young and then become lighter until they're totally white.Just beautiful. These and those below have strong honey-sweet smell.

Can't wait to make my idea come true.

 Have a nice day, 

Julia

NOTE: As you can see some small changes  in the blog layout are in progress. You'll see a little bit different face of this blog soon!