Wearing: DIY Studded Shorts, Cotton On Number Tee, Hunter ‘Be A Headliner’ Wellington Boots, Coach watch, Karen Walker sunglasses

You need:

• A pair of denim shorts (I made mine out of cut off mens jeans – nice and oversized for comfortably sitting on the grass etc).
• Chalk/pencil
• Dome studs with prong backs in gold and silver
• beading plyers

How to:

1. Start by drawing the pattern you want to do on your jeans with the chalk. I chose an outline around the front of the shorts in a wave pattern.

2. Starting at the bottom of the shorts and following your pattern, press a stud into the fabric, allowing the prongs to come out the back.

3. Use the beading plyers to press the prongs down. This will make sure you don’t get the dreaded blood stained fingers that some DIYers suffer from (been there done that).

4. Make sure the prongs are pushed all the way down and flat so they don’t scratch your skin.

5. Continue with the rest of the studs, leaving roughly just less than one studs gap between them. Alternate between silver and gold for the certain Americana feel.

6. Do  first one side the then the other. If you make a mistake simply open the prongs with your plyers and start again.

Voila! To me this is the perfect festival outfit – comfortable, chic and perfect for pairing with a cup of cider (or a glass of merlot if you’re at one of those fancy festivals)!

Now you’ve got the shorts sorted, why not add a Fringed Knit, Flower Headband, Bucket Bag and Chevron Rings to your festival kit?

Images: Lauren Engel

Regardless of what I um and ah about taking, my trusty trench is at the top of the pile – they don’t call the trench a classic for no reason. Head over to Harper’s Bazaar here to read my rundown on a few the best trenches available online right now – *hint* some of them are on sale too!

Click here for full outfit details. (Yup, I pretty much only wear my AP&AS for Tony Bianco shoes these days).

Images by Lauren Engel

Images: Studded Hearts

I recently had the pleasure of hosting my friend Sara on a visit to Hong Kong, who needed help transforming a jumpsuit that had a gorgeous back, but whose length she felt didn’t quite suit. Although I couldn’t agree with her on that one (everything looks good on her!) I understood where she was coming from – if your don’t feel great in something, chances are you’ll rarely wear it, period.  So we took the morning out to do little sewing 101: hemming garments – the first place to start in any aspiring seamstresses repertoire.

This how-to is obviously for those of you who are new to sewing, for all you master seamstresses out there – bear with me and feel free to add any additional advice you have in the comments.

You need:

• a garment that requires hemming (we updated this jumpsuit)
• scissors
• thread
• a measuring tape
• chalk
• a sewing machine (you can also do this by hand too in which case you will also need a needle).

How to:

1. Decide how much hem you want to remove. To do this try on your garment and measure the right length using a tape measure. Alternately you can also mark your chosen length with chalk or a pin.

2. Lay the garment flat and mark the new hem with the chalk pencil, making sure to add a a few inches for the hem. A tip here – when it comes to hems ALWAYS air on the side of caution, the last thing you want is to cut too much. In my experience it’s better to have it be too long to start with than too short.

3. Cut the garment. Some people fold the garment in half so it will be easier to get a mirrored cut but I prefer to do one side and then measure and draw again to do the other side, or just cut straight across for a skirt.

4. Put the garment on and pin the hem to the right length, making sure to fold the hem twice so no raw edge is showing – you may have to cut some extra fabric if you added some as a safety net. You can have any width of hem you like – a wider hem will sit more heavily while a more narrow hem will fall softly. We chose  a narrow hem. We also wanted a hem that angled up ever so slightly towards the outside of the leg (fyi – this flatters the thighs). To pin the other side we folded the garment in half and used the pinned side as a guide.

5. Iron the pinned hem.

6. Jump on your sewing machine and sew the new hems. Start at the inseam and work your way around, making sure to double back on the first and last stitches (using your reverse setting) so they hold. If you don’t have a sewing machine, don’t despair, simply sew by hand using this stitch.

7. Pull the pins out as you go.

8. Once you have finished sewing, give the garment another good iron.

If your garment has lining follow the above steps for the lining itself, making sure when done it is just a little bit shorter than the outer shell.

I  must say I love the finished product – I’m even contemplating picking up one of these jumpsuits myself to wear a few times and then shorten into a playsuit – talk about your clothing working for you rather than the other way around!

Wearing: DIY scalloped bikini, Madewell silk boy shirt, Whistles denim shorts, Coach watch, Horseshoe necklace.

You need:

• A triangle bikini set
• Matching polyester Rik Rack (curly trim) 1cm/half inch wide or more. If you can find it with some stretch opt for that version, if not that’s ok. Mine had a little bit of stretch but not much. Make sure to get polyester so it doesn’t shrink in the water.
• Pins
• Scissors
• needle and matching thread

How to:

1. Measure the rik rak to your bikini size. In addition to doing this on the floor (as shown below) I put the bikini on and measured it that way. Lucky for me the reinforced edge of the bikini didn’t seem to stretch too much which was great for attaching the rik rack – too much stretch can lead to puckering.

2. Cut the rik rack to suit – I added a few more inches for each piece which I later trimmed off. When you trim the rik rack make sure to singe the ends with a lighter (carefully run the flame back and forth over the ends) or they will fray like crazy.

3. Now pin the rick rack to the underside edge around the bikini. What you want is the scalloped part to show without showing any hole.

4. Pin the top and the bottom. You can choose to put the trim where ever you want – I put it around all the edges but you can put it along the top of the bikini bottoms or just the sides. I suggest when you are doing this to put the top and bottoms on and pin that way – this will then allow for any stretch in the bikini. You will notice when you take it off the rik rack seems to be too big, but that’s just the lycra of the bikini stretching back.

5. Using your needle and thread sew the trim to the underside. Instead of sewing really tight, I did a stitch every two inches or so, allowing some slack in the thread to allow for the stretch of the bikini. I know this isn’t exactly the textbook way to sew stretch fabric but it worked!

Voila! All done. It took me a while to finish but don’t they look cute in the end?

Top photo by Lauren Engel

Supplies:

• 70 yards (approx 63m) of rope
• a wooden dowel
• paintbrush
• scissors
• painters tape
• acrylic paint
• large wooden beads

How to:

1. May attaches the dowel to a wall – she’s using removeable hooks because it’s a great way to not have to drill holes into the wall.

2. May cuts the rope up into 14 x 4 yard pieces and 2 x 5 yard pieces. She then starts tying the rope in larks head knots, bookending the dowel with the 5 yard pieces (one on each end).

3. May continues with the rest of the ropes.

4. She then does a double half hitch knot.

And continues these all the way along.

5. When she gets to the end, May starts to tie them diagonally along the ropes.

6. May adds wooden beads here and there before tying the knots.

8. She then begins tying switch knots using 4 ropes each.

9. May ties 8 of these.

9. She then adds a double half hitch knot (as before).

10. And brings those along diagonally.

11. May adds more beads and brings the knots all the way to the ends.

12. May then trims the ends of the rope.

13. She covers off a section of the ends of the dowel to paint and add a hint of neon (a woman after my own heart!)

14. Finally, she adds a pop of watermelon colour to the ends of the ropes.

And there you have it, a gorgeous macrame wall hanging. I for one can appreciate the work that goes into these pieces – not a craft for the fainthearted or ham fisted!

Make sure to check out Himo Art for her other amazing macrame pieces.

Top photo by Jess of Ela Hawke Vintage and the rest by May

Images from: The Coveteur, Lust for Life, Song of Style, Harper’s Bazaar, Late Afternoon, Vogue, Etsy

Although this project may look complicated, in reality it wasn’t. It was an update to the project I did here where I made a pair of shorts – I simply extended the pattern out to create a pair of shorts very long in the waist to cover the bust. Presto!

You need:

• 2 meters (2.2 yards) of lace fabric
• 2 meters (2.2 yards) of lining fabric (I used light cotton)
• ribbon or twine for the waist
• thread
• scissors
• a pair of shorts as a template

When choosing shorts for the template this project, go for something a bit oversized in the waistband. If you don’t have that add a few more inches all the way around to the pattern because what we are aiming for here is an oversized shape that will gather at the waist when tied with ribbon.

1. Fold your fabric in half and line up your shorts (also folded in half) along the fold with the bottom hem in line with the edge of the fabric.

2. Cut around the shorts, using them as a guide. In a previous here I used a template, but this time I just used the shorts instead and eyeballed adding a few inches around to allow for the hems etc.

4. Instead of cutting the fabric to be in line with the waistband of the shorts, I added another 30 cm or so (the space from your waist to your armpit). Cut a second piece exactly the same.

5. Open the two pieces out and lay them flat against each other like this.

6. Lay two pieces of lining fabric over the top to fully cover the lace and use the lace as a guide for cutting out the same shape for the lining.

7. You will then have 4 pieces – 2 lace (the outer shell) and two lining (the inner shell).

8. Now, lay the pieces on top of each other in this order: lining, lace, lace, lining. Basically you will have the lace encased by lining. Then pin the pieces together all the way along the curved edges. Sew the edges using a zig zag stitch. Choose one side which will become the front of the garment and leave the seam open a few inches (refer to image in step 11 to see why).

9. Now, this is the tricky bit. Flip the fabric around so instead of the seams being on the sides, they are in the middle. Pin and sew the crotch together. There is another example of me doing this here for those of you that need more visuals.

10. Your finished product should look like this.

11. Your romper is starting to look better! Take the time to put it on and play around. If you put it on and it is too big across the back or droops down at the armpits, take it in by sewing a deeper seam for the back – I took mine in a little bit but it will all depend on your body shape.

12. Once you are happy with the way it sits, turn it inside out and tie the front ties together. When you put it on make sure to tie it tightly so it doesn’t fall down. If you are worried about it riding down, add some simple straps using ribbon or twine (in either normal or halter style), however I found that when I wore a strapless bra and tied the front knot tightly it didn’t fall down. I think again that it will be down to your body shape.

13. Add the ribbon or twine to give it more shape on your body, trying at the back or in a bow at the front.

When you wear the romper make sure to gather it at the waist particularly at the front so that the seam which goes all the way up isn’t so obvious.

Wearing: DIY Lace Romper, DIY Transparent Satchel, Karen Walker Sunglasses

Photos of outfit by Lauren Engel

Get there Fly to Guilin and travel the 1 hour to Yangshuo by bus, or be smart and book a transfer when booking your hotel.

Stay If you can, stay at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, out of all the hotels/accommodation we saw while we were there (and I think we saw almost everything on our wanderings) this is by far the best – boutique style waterfront hotel 8km out of the main town. In truth I’ve told my friends to plan around when there is availability at this hotel when booking a trip to Yangshuo, it’s that nice! We didn’t feel like we were missing out on much being away from the town – it’s qaint in some ways but quite touristy and there’s not a lot there. If you stay at the mountain retreat make sure you get a room with a view of the river – waking up to the sound of the water is a must!

Eat The same as anywhere in China, unless you’re really desperate, stick to the local cuisine as much as possible. The best meals we had were simple and local – it doesn’t take a genius to work out that ‘authentic Italian’ in China will rarely come close. The food at our hotel was simple hooked style chinese and we loved hanging by the river, even if you don’t end up staying there it’s worth visiting for lunch and a relax.

Do A full day of cycling (or more) around the area is the perfect way to explore – stick to the back roads and small villages to get a feel for how people live in the area and to marvel at the landscape. If you’ve got a choice pick a mountain bike over a cute vintage one – not so instagram friendly but you’ll be happy when you’re riding through mud and on dirt paths. We cycled up to Dragon Bridge and then got a bamboo raft down the river part of the way before cycling back to the hotel – the perfect day! On that subject, you’ll see bamboo rafts everywhere – they’re worth trying although don’t expect to get anywhere fast. We also did a cooking class at Yangshuo Cooking School, and although we didn’t learn anything groundbreaking (having come from Hong Kong) it was a really fun way to get a feel for the locals – we had the sweetest teachers! As part of the class you do a visit to the local markets, but in aid of keeping our breakfasts down we bypassed the dog meat butcher, and the live poultry because, you know, bid flu.

Before you go Read up on China’s history – Wild Swans is one of my favourite books and is great for those of you interested in the lives of ordinary Chinese during the transition from a feudal system, to Mao’s communist regime to the communist/free market environment that exists today. The Painted Veil is a good movie to give you a glimpse of the amazing landscape of Yangshuo.

The view from Dragon Bridge / The dishes we made at our cooking class.

Rafting down the Li River, incredibly relaxing (my boyfriend got bored)

Waking up at the Mountain Retreat was the best part of the trip.

Cycling through small villages and peeking into tiny houses in the shadow of limestone peaks.

BBQ time in the markets at Yangshuo

Intricate details in Chinese windows.

Picking fresh produce for our cooking class.

Goodluck symbols on doorways

Preparing to raft at Dragon Bridge

We used a fair few of these in our cooking class!

Peak gazing / The perfect place for reading my book on the balcony of our hotel

Card game o’clock

Riding my bike taking photos – I’m sure these guys wondered what the hell I was doing.

Eggplant hotpot, scrumptious!

Raft men taking a breather (instagramming selfies perhaps?)

The lushest of landscapes

Rafting looks like hard work!

A glimpse into someone’s home in a small village / Local temple

The completely natural (aka trying not to fall off the front of the raft) shot.

Coveting this old lady’s tumbled down courtyard house

We cooked a feast (and it was delicious)

Image: Here