Fashion – Page 3

TALA | Caviar Dreams

Published on July 29, 2016 by maksu20132 Comments

African Print Pillows

Hi Guys!

So I have some exciting news. Some of you may have seen me sharing like the most amazing pillows evurr on my Facebook and some of you have also been so cool and you’ve liked the Facebook page and followed on Instagram, but if you been sleepin on that lemme fill you all the way in 😀

My sister-girl Tosin and I have been working on these African Print pillows for quite some time and we are very happy to finally be able share them with the world. The name Tala is derived from the Yoruba word Ala (Dream). We have vision to bring a modern Nigerian aesthetic into any space. We combine Ankara fabrics in interesting ways to bring a rich and vibrant pop to your space.

We source fabrics from designers to help them minimize fabric waste and to challenge ourselves to create unique pieces with their own special stories. We are constantly experimenting with new colours, textures and accents, its really just how we like to do :). Oh and like things couldn’t get any cooler we do custom orders too!! If you have a fabric or maybe even an old dress or shirt that you would like turned into a pillow for your space you can contact us and we would it work out for you (ps. you get a discount if you do this).

So now I know at this point you are giddy with excitement and wondering where you can get one (don’t be shy, you can admit it here :P). We currently have an Etsy store for your shopping pleasure and of course you can follow us on Instagram and Like us on Facebook for updates on our shenanigans.

Thank you to everyone who has purchased a pillow so far and supported us and we are so excited for all of you to join us on this journey to more success

Pictures by Willyverse

Stay Breezy | DIY Floral Jumpsuit

Published on July 1, 2016 by maksu20134 Comments

Happy Canada day guys!

I am beyond delighted to be sitting at home typing this on this gloriously rainy day. I have taken a walk, had breakfast and now sipping a cup of chamomile as I watch the rain fall. Could there be a more perfect day?

Well maybe not more perfect but the day I made this jumpsuit was pretty high up there. This is so comfortable and breezy and rather chic if I do say so my self. I attempted making a jumpsuit a few years ago and to say that didn’t go well would be a huge understatement. So starting off with this project I was very cautious and tried to give a bit more allowance and it certainly paid off.

To cut, I used sweatpants and a chiffon camisole that I have. I cut out the pants first and made sure I could slip them on with absolutely no resistance. This is an important step because if the pants are even a little bit snug you may not be able to enter into your jumpsuit at all. Also consider that my fabric has no stretch so I really couldn’t risk not having the allowance.

For the top I cut it in three pieces; one front piece and two back pieces. I did this so that I could have the key hole opening I created here. This also allows me enter into the jumpsuit, again as the fabric has no stretch to it I had to really consider my entry and exit points.

To finish things off, I connected the top to the bottom with a waist band and added an elastic band with a zigzag stitch to give it a bit more shape.

Added straps, strings to tie the back and finished my neck line and voila!

Vibes by willyverse — bag available on Willyverse.com

Say hello to the summer uniform 😛 The floral print really drew me to this fabric and I was absolutely thrilled with how this turned out 🙂

Pictures by Willyverse

Brown Girl Blue Thunder | Off-shoulder summer dress

Published on June 3, 2016 by maksu2013Leave a comment

Hi Guys!

Presenting the most comfortable dress I ever made! I’m still twirling in delight as I type this!! (okay not literally but I’m pretty excited as you can tell).

On the summer inspiration menu today is an extra simple but super on trend dress! For this dress you just need to be able to cute two rectangles, hem and add elastic to it! Trust me it doesn’t get much easier than this.

Now it shouldn’t surprise you too much that I wanted this dress to be multi-functional. I believe that an outfit truly earns its place in my closet when it can be worn a couple different ways (which reminds me, I’m due for a closet purge >.<).

If I had a thicker chest or if I made the shoulders tighter I could have worn this as a strapless dress as well but oh well 🙂 one-shoulder would have to suffice.

This would be perfect for all of the summer barbecues because you can eat to your heart’s content without looking like you’ve been stuffed into your jeans. And you can probably sneak a treat or two away in all this volume 😀 (JK. please don’t say I sent you to do that oo!)

ankara off shoulder dress — Yes those are pockets for extra treats 😀

So if you would like to DIY this dress here are a few easy peasy steps to follow. Even if you don’t sew, fabric glue should work just as well.

Figure out how long you want the dress and the overlay to be.
Cut out the dress rectangle, add about 4 inches to the width for some extra room.
Cut out the overlay (this should be 3 times your shoulder width or 2.5 depending on how much volume you want).
Seal off both rectangles with sewing or fabric glue.
Center the bodice under the over lay. (This might be a good time to cut out arm holes for yourself).
Attach the overlay to the bodice with a zig-zag stitch or your fabric glue.
Fold over the top edge to create a case for your elastic to go through. (The elastic should stretch comfortably around your shoulders.
Using a safety pin, feed your elastic through the hole and sew the ends. (I would recommend sewing this part just for added security.
Close up your hole and hem any raw edges.

There you go! A summer dress made by you ^_^

Until next time, let me know if you try this out! 😀

bags by willyverse — Bag available June 8th- http://www.willyverse.com

Pictures by Willyverse

Bloom Blaum | Peach Sundress

Published on May 23, 2016 by maksu20135 Comments

Halter skater dress

Hi Guys!

Today in DIY land, I think its finally safe to say hello Spring! I have been holding on to this one for a while but it’s high time we encouraged summer to roll in so here we go.

I’ve been really into pink this spring -as may soon become evident in future posts- so when I came across this delightful coral cotton I knew exactly what needed to happen. This dress allowed me test out a few new skills; creating a wrap dress and hiding my seams.

I don’t think I completely understand how to create the perfect dimensions for a wrap dress so best believe there was plenty trial and error here! Taking this into consideration I tried to include a lot of allowance to account for the possible discrepancies.

Something I’m learning more and more these days is that the way you cut is EVERYTHING! You can not fix it in post :p. If you want a straight edge, cut a straight line, seemingly simple concept but I find myself doing the opposite too often. Also while we’re discussing cutting, always leave more than enough allowance. You can cut stuff away and alter to make things more fitted but expanding fabric is wayyy harder!

Ultimately I love this dress! I love the way the color highlights my melanin, I love how girly it is, I love the dress up potential, frankly I just feel so ME in it 😀

Pictures by Willyverse

Wavy

Published on April 23, 2016 by maksu20131 Comment

Ankara duster coat

Hi Guys!

Another spring day, another slay :). This coat is the prelude to my bomber jacket that I promised. The sleeves are made of a fleecy fabric I got a long time ago, don’t remember what exactly it was called but I’m fairly certain it’s the same fabric used for sweatshirts. I lined the entire coat with it as well for added warmth.

The ankara used for this coat is a Vlisco print, it may be older or out of stock but the fabric was gifted to me by my mum and I just knew this fabric was made to do beautiful things!

The raglan sleeves made this a slightly easier project than my bomber jacket, so much so that I had to go back in on my bomber jacket and change the sleeves. I picked up the ribbed cuffs at King Textiles when they had a sale on them.

The only thing I might consider doing differently on this coat is adding shoulder darts. This is something that I discovered randomly as I was scouring the internet for inspiration one day. Making a raglan sleeve could sometimes create a wider neckline depending on the fabric so shoulder darts just allow everything sit nicer on your shoulders 😀

I have worn this coat with a few different outfits and I get compliments on it every time. However, I was sooo feeling myself in this outfit. Got these pants from the thrift store and I had my doubts on whether I would be able to pull it off but once I chucked this belt on it I knew I had found a keeper!

Spring time is all about the wishy-washy weather, cold in some spots and boiling once you turn the corner so it’s nice to be able to whip this coat on and off depending on what I’m feeling. It also helped that the wind had me looking extra fly ;p

More spring vibes on deck so stay chuned

Pictures by Willyverse

Kilikili

Published on March 24, 2016March 24, 2016 by maksu2013Leave a comment

One dress multiple options

Hi Guys!

Back at it again with a green dress :D. This fabric breathes nostalgia~the beating of wooden drums and little girls *cough* me *cough* popping on stage with our waist beads and kilikili wrappers. I remember this fabric as yellow and red but I am definitely feeling the new versions cropping up.

This dress doesn’t really have a front or back per se, it can be worn both ways. Wearing it in reverse allows the option of wearing it as a summer dress. Alas as winter lingers on I have respected myself and worn a sweater with it.

Lining was important for this outfit because I believe it gave a bit more structure. I used a v-neck dress that I currently own as a pattern and extended the neckline for one side.

In hindsight, as opposed to cutting on the fold, it may have been better to cut four pieces and have a seam down the middle.

Good to note that while this dress may appear to be very straight, cutting it as such was a mistake. I had to go back in and taper the top a bit to avoid looking like I was wearing a barrel

Other than those points I think it was a simple enough dress with plenty of movement and versatility.

Pictures by Willyverse

Val-der-eee

Published on March 10, 2016 by maksu20132 Comments

Knapsack Tutorial

Hi Guys!

So I’m here today with something very practical and something I have used literally everyday since I made it! A *drumroll* Knapsack!!

The word knapsack takes me back to primary school and marching songs 🙂

“I love to go a-wandering…*mumbles words*…with my knapsack on my back! Valdereee, Valderaahh”

I have no idea what half those marching songs meant or even why we needed to march to our classes but they’re nostalgic all the same. Oh the days of juice boxes, boogers and chalkboards! 🙂

This bag however started out with my quest for a practical bag to take to work which evolved into me lusting for a bucket bag. A dozen Pinterest tutorials later and I was sure of what I wanted and how I wanted it to look. However as with most things I make, the idea changes once I actually start making.

I have drawn out what I cut to achieve this bag. Note that this image does not include a flap for closing as that is completely optional and just one of the things I added on the fly.

In terms of strap length and draw string length I would suggest going with your gut and doing what feels right. As long as it isn’t too short you should really be able to adjust it. I originally tried to punch holes in the fabric with some cheap hole puncher I picked up at the fabric store but that failed spectacularly so I just snipped little x’s in the fabric where I wanted my drawstring to go through.

Overall I would rate this project a 3/10 for difficulty 😀 it’s definitely a great beginner project and I have gotten a lot of use out of it already! I can’t wait to go everywhere with it this Summer.

One little thing went wrong the day after I made it though, The strap cut! (LOL). So that this doesn’t happen to you when you try it (because I know you’re going to) Sew a rectangle that fixes the strap to the bag and then sew an ‘x’ in the rectangle. This would keep your bag a lot more secure. OR you can sew on loops like I did and this would make your bag adjustable. It all depends on what you would like to do.

Oh and one last thing, I would like to believe that this bag can be made using fabric glue. I say this because the sewing involved is pretty minimal but don’t take my word for it. I would be happy to see if fabric glue holds up for this tutorial.

Until next time

Peace XO

Pictures by Willyverse

Flower Bomb

Published on January 23, 2016April 30, 2016 by maksu20135 Comments

Reversible Bomber Jacket

Hi Guys!! and Happy new year!

New year, New theme and fresh goals :D. It feels great to be blogging and sewing again!

Now let’s talk about this jacket real quick…I know I’ve said a bunch of times that some project or the other has been “the most challenging” blah blah blah but this is the project that rules them all!

It’s been a pretty mild winter in Toronto, (I say this now then watch it drop to -22 *knock on wood*) so I decided it might be nice to have a fun coat for the warmer days. I would share my first attempt at this in a future post, however it didn’t take me long to realize that a fleece lined “cardigan” is no match even for Toronto’s mildest days. Also keep in mind that I shiver at the slightest gust of wind so I’m not sure why I thought that would work.

Anyhow, I decided it was time to ramp things up so off to King textiles I went and I bought this quilted lined fabric so it would be a little warmer. I would recommend buying about a yard and a half for a bomber jacket just so you have wiggle room for any unforeseen mishaps.

In the past I would have kept it simple and just lined the outer Ankara layer with the quilted fabric from the store but BEHOLD! old things have passed away (Amen somebody) and I decided to make this a reversible jacket.

For difficulty I would rate this an 8/10 if you don’t really know what you’re doing and maybe a 6.5/10 if you’re a sewing savant and you just make quilts for breakfast. WithWendy‘s varsity jacket tutorial was a great help with helping me figure out where to even begin and how to cut my fabric.

The part I found most challenging though was adding the neck band. I must have taken it out and sewn it back at least 6 or 7 times before deciding to let it be.

Still in the process of modifying the long-cardigan-coat-thing that I made before this one but I thought this was too good to not share right away 😀

I would say that this jacket can withstand -3 at the coldest but that’s good enough for me.

Pictures by Willyverse

Style goals

Published on December 30, 2015January 20, 2016 by maksu20134 Comments

Hey guys,

As the new year is waiting in the wings and everyone is making plans and setting goals for 2016, I thought it fit to set my style goals. 2015 was the year of the bae and there are certainly style elements from 2015 that made the bae-list. 2016 will be the year to commit-or-commot [commit or get out] so I suppose I’ll see how many of these elements stand the test of time.

2015 was a good style year for me I feel (check back again in 5 years and I may feel very different) but I feel I found my beat style wise. Here are a few of my favorite looks and trends from 2015

This Whole look
I was a huge fan of the eyeliner dots trend in 2015. I felt it appealed to my baby doll side :). I had a few variations of the dots under my eyes; three dots, one dot, dots on only one side, whatever I was feeling really. I was inspired by Itsmyrayeraye and Lianne la Havas.
Then of course there were the boyfriend shirts–always plaid or striped, perfectly oversized–these were just plain comfortable and lack that overt sexiness [WINNING!].
Finally the high bun. This was such a staple seeing as all of my hair could finally make it all the way up my head :P. As much as I liked the black lipstick look, I didn’t rock it nearly enough to say that it was an element of my style this year.

2. Turtlenecks and sneakers

Seeing as winter hung around for a long time in Canada, I found a very faithful friend in my turtlenecks. No scarf necessary and will give any outfit an extra boost. I also wore my converses an whole lot more and seeing as slip-ons are back I brought those into my life again. Currently stalking a pair of New Balance’s right now but we’ll see if its more than just a crush :P.

3. Femininity

While my first two points may weaken the case I’m trying to make here, I know for a fact that my style had a real feminine lick this year. I was determined to put out more grown woman vibes so I definitely made an effort. This was the dress I designed for my graduation; décolleté, silk, earrings and all. (For those who know me, earrings are a big step). Not that I’ve ever really been a tomboy but 2015 saw me in a lot more cocktail dresses and demure accents than ever before.

4. Blue

Well pastels in general but blue especially was kind to me in 2015. I still don’t think I have a favourite colour because at some point purple was bae but blue definitely had my heart this year.

Looking forward to 2016 knowing that God has great plans for me. Wishing everyone the very best in all that you set out to do this coming year and I trust that you will slay as you do it 😉

Relish

Published on November 5, 2015November 5, 2015 by maksu20134 Comments

Mustard Yellow Bodycon Dress

Hey Guys!!

I am still so proud of my self for making this dress and just so pleased at how the shoot turned out. This fall the colors I was inspired by were brown, mustard yellow, grey and forest green so of course when I saw this fabric I had to have it. That touches on my impulsive buying habits just a little but that’s a story for another day.

This is most definitely not a beginner project in my opinion, but then again with the right pattern and careful cutting you can achieve greatness. I started out by making my pattern from different articles of clothing that I own and adjusted for length and minor details like the shape of the neck hole. After which I cut everything out.

I attached the top bodice pieces to each other on the sides and then attached those to the bottom of the dress which I had also sewn up on the sides. Next I sewed the shoulders together and then proceeded to attach the sleeves. Now do not be deceived, I had to redo that step a few times before I got it right but all’s well that ends well.

Then the two most frustrating parts came upon me; putting in the zipper and finishing the raw edges!! I’m still not very good at sewing straight lines so needless to say hemming was an absolute disaster. This fabric is also so unforgiving because it curls up if your lines aren’t straight. This was the point I resorted to my trusty pal hemming tape. Hemming tape has been a friend in times of need. When my sewing machine refuses to work with me, I know hemming tape would stand by me. I love you hemming tape! Okay a little dramatic I know but it’s really true.

Then of course there was my eternal struggle with putting in the zipper but I got it as right as I could really. Lest I forget, to achieve the finish I have on the neckline, I cut out the shape of the neck line in 3 inch strips and sewed those on then flipped them inside and tacked them down. There is probably a more technical term for that but #teamSelfTaught, we don’t curr bout all dat.

Pictures by Willyverse

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