It took a little longer than expected (give or take 4 months), but finally I’m back and excited to start blogging again. And now I can reveal my new blog! It’s called ‘dear Reina’, so named after my dear friend, Reina. I feel like every new post will be like a little letter to her.

It feels like after all this time, I should have something fabulous to present, but not really…just me blogging about what I love right now. ‘Iro Iro Crafts’ was started two years ago and I feel I have outgrown it since then. ‘Dear Reina’ is a new space to share my fashion style, photography, videos and DIY. I hope you’ll find something you like! See you there..

P.S. Thank you for all the emails and comments during my blogging hiatus: you rock.

http://www.dearReina.com

I haven’t completely disappeared…just busy busy preparing portfolios for university, catching up on college projects, procrastinating and then getting stressed about procrastinating – you know, the usual.

Also, there are some exciting plans in the works for the blog. Fingers crossed, you won’t have to stare at this ugly layout for too much longer.

(And some pinhole photography too^^)

In the last ‘fashion college’ post, I wrote about our most recent project of designing costumes for the local Olympic festival. This time round I have a bunch of samples to share with you. I want to say that sampling is a really important part of the design process, but then again every part is equally so: research, design, sample. When I began sewing in 2010, it was a case of have an idea and make it. Then I began sketching out ideas and construction lines. Now I find myself going through the whole process for pretty much every project I make. Ultimately it results in the best and furthest developed ideas.

The colour scheme is indigo and white/cream, so I tried out some indigo dyes and transfer paint to create different patterns. Actually, the transfer paint was a happy accident. There was confusion in the studio which meant I went home with a pot of tranfer dye instead of the brusho dye and consequently spent the evening with a confused expression on my face, wondering why this square of cotton muslin was staying a near pristine white in a tub of deep blue dye..

Of course it all made sense the next day when the pot of brusho turned up and I realised my wasted evening (-_-). But it made sense to try out the proper use of transfer paint whilst it was there and the result was pretty cool. All you need to do is mix it with a spot of water and paint a pattern on scrap paper, then iron this straight onto synthetic fabric.

I just splattered the paint onto paper for a really organic feel. It turned green but photoshop can change that for the sketchbook ;)

But what I had set out to do was to dye using shibori techniques, so this was the next method to try. I prepared several pieces of cotton muslin and lawn by tying knots, stitching and manipulating according to traditional shibori and tie-dye. This was my first time dyeing fabric and the results were mixed, but I was happy with a few pieces. The dye wasn’t as ‘indigo’ as I would have like, but they still produce interesting patterns.

First photo: typical tie-dye. These were simply scrunched up into balls and tied with thread. The smaller piece looks like the sky on a summer day.

Second photo: the top piece was pleated and sewn up through the middle. I pressed it religiously and I think it paid off. The middle piece was folded up very small, pressed and tied with string. I like how it looks sort-of crystalized. The bottom piece was a fail at first. Since then this little piece has grown on me. It looks a bit like a stormy sky. What I did was wrap the cotton around a pencil, then wrapped thread diagonally around this, and then scrunched this up still on the pencil.

Third photo: the two outer pieces were tied up around buttons. There are way too faint, but would be successful with a higher constrast. The middle piece was very technical and involved pinching tiny bits of fabric and then tying tight with thread. It looked like a tiny cone and gave this pattern, which you may recognise as a traditional Japanese pattern. Yes, this is how the Japanese achieved that pattern! I admire their patience, even this irregular piece took forever to prepare.

Now what to do with those samples? Well, they directly contribute to the final designs and I hope to use some as prints for the womens’ leotards. You may notice that I backed each sample with white card, which I recommend as it looks much better and allows the sample to stand out on it’s own.

Thanks for reading about my project! I wonder which is your favourite pattern? The next installment will show my final designs and illustrations. Happy Friday ♥

With no signs of my (fairly) new love of printing disappearing any time soon, I decided it was time to organise a dedicated space for it and stop imposing on the laundry room. Slowly but surely, every surface in my bedroom is being cleared of photographs and jewelry to be replaced with various sewing and arty paraphernalia. Now there is one more corner detoxed of family ornaments, but I prefer it this way ;)

Although I have been spending a lot of time working on samples for this college project, I had to christen the corner with some new prints which I will share soon. Also a rather wonderful book arrived last week and that has absorbed most of my attention over the last couple of days.

By the way, I might mention that this time next week, I will be wandering the streets of Paris along with my fellow college friends, hopefully clutching bags full of unique vintage finds. Excited? Moi? Il sera fantastique, mais je dois réviser le langue français..!

Last term was all about trying different specialisms, like fine art (2D and 3D), film photography, life drawing and more. It was great, but now I’m happy being back focused on fashion and textiles for the rest of the year.

We have been set a new project to work on, which also happens to be a live brief – eek! The college is partaking in a parade for the upcoming olympics and the fashion students are going to design the costumes worn by the performers. It is a competition of whose designs will be chosen, so there’s everything to play for. 

The theme and requirements have been quite vague, so everyone has interpreted them in a different way. With a set colour scheme of indigo paired with white/cream, I chose to ignore (ahem) the overall project name, ‘Battle of the Winds’ and concentrate on colour.

Here are some pages from my sketchbook (click to enlarge). I’ve been looking at indigo dyeing and the technique of shibori. We are also required to design both womens and menswear, which is a first for me. It seemed a bit daunting at first but drawing out some initial designs for men was pretty fun – not sure how they might feel about wearing a knitted romper though..

I’ll be back with some samples soon! Have a great day x

I’ve been a bit busy with college work and finishing up some orders for the shop, but now everything is straightening itself out and I’m ready to start on some new projects for the New Year.

These are a few images I’ve collected to decorate my new space at college. I love decorating this small space with all things that make me happy and inspired – I can hardly wait to have my own place to live in and style exactly to my taste next year – wait..this year! I keep forgetting how important the next 6 months will be for me and my friends. Turning 18, applying for universities..making a future for ourselves. It’s exciting but a little scary. Does this mean I’m finally a grownup, now I’ve started reading interiors blogs?

Sigh. Anyway, one of my plans for 2012 is to get back into blogging regularly, hopefully with some new posts lined up. Don’t let me forget!

Happy New Year everyone ♥ 

Have a good one!

This is less of a DIY and more of a fun idea for supereasy handmade wrapping paper. If you’re like me and have left things a little last minute..ahem..this is a quick option for making some special wrapping.

My original idea this year was to give all handmade presents,  but this turned out not such a great plan. Brothers? Dads? Impossible recipients! So I had to succumb to the inevitable highstreet..However I still wanted the handmade touch and with my slight obsession with print at the moment, handprinted wrapping paper seemed a good compromise.

The whole process took less than 30 minutes from start to finish, and I got a new stamp out of it too. All you need is:
- A bottle cork (or rubber, lino, potato – something to cut a stamp from)
- Craft knife
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Brown paper or paper bag

Usually I use lino for stamping, but you only need a tiny shape this time so it could be easier using a bottle cork, or the other objects listed above. Obviously a potato is more of a temporary option. Carve the shape of the stamp, something simple like a star or heart looks fun.

Then all you need to do is brush paint onto the stamp and get decorating. It doesn’t matter if the print isn’t perfect, in fact I quite like the irregular nature as it gives a nice homely effect :)

Have fun wrapping those lovely presents!

P.S. I finally got round to answering some questions about the last tutorial – check it out here.

But anyway, the first photo shows all you need to start lino printing (and something to print on, of course):

- A piece of lino
- Cutting board
- Lino cutter
- Craft knife
- Pencil
- Template
- Paint (suitable for the medium you are printing on)

This fabric paint above is black and I have used it for most printing so far. I find it really easy to apply and it gives a good effect. Just iron for five minutes after it’s dried and you can wash the fabric normally.

I couldn’t find the pebeo paint locally when I needed brown for a new project, so opted for this other brand. Not so good in my opinion..the colour is a bit weak and it smells terrible, but still does the job. Again, you can iron after drying to make the fabric washable. I’ve used this on paper too which gave a stronger print actually.

Take your pencil..

And draw around your template onto the lino piece. I drew my own shape, but you could trace or print it from the computer. I wouldn’t go more complicated than this reindeer because it is fiddly reapplying the paint during the printing process.

Once you have drawn the outline, you need to take your tools and start carving out excess lino. Before this though, cut down the lino piece to close to your design. It stops wasting the lino and also helps with laying out your print design later.

 Lino cutters (on the right) are pretty cheap to buy and you can get a nicer one than this (!) Be careful when using it to always push it away from you and to keep your hand out of the way. Take small layers of the lino away each time – if you are feeling resistance, you are digging too hard. Trust me, it will slip and that’s not good.

You don’t need to take a deep layer away from around your shape, a couple of millimetres is fine. Then use a sharp craft knife to cut around the shape you want and slice away extra lino from that area, it just gives a crisper edge. Again, be very careful when using this tool as it slips easily. I did cut up my thumb the first time which wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Take your time in this stage and it will show later on.

Here’s the finished cut lino (I’ve been printing with this one, which is why there is paint on it). Now you are ready to start printing!

I definitely recommend having a practice run first, as there is no way of explaining exactly how much paint to apply – and you want to be happy with your design. Just grab some scrap fabric (or whatever you plan to print on) and go for it. Try a thin layer and adjust from there. It needs to completely cover the surface and not be given time to dry out. Oh, and you will need to reapply another layer of paint after each time – it’s not a quick process but definitely a rewarding one :) I find washing your lino piece quite regularly helps keep the prints crisp too (maybe every half hour/full hour).

When setting out your design, use a pencil to mark where you want to place the print. This is especially helpful for repeat prints.

When you’re feeling confident, move onto your real fabric and start printing. Don’t forget to lay down a flat, wipeable surface underneath first though! Sometimes the paint seeps through and you don’t want that on your carpet (-_-)

Ok, hope this has been helpful – if you have any questions feel free to leave them below or shoot me an email: iroirocrafts@yahoo.com. Most of all, just have fun and be original!

I’ve been feeling..not uninspired, more that there are so many ideas I cannot decide which to fully realise. It is a tiny bit frustrating and a New Year’s resolution for me will be to prioritise everything in my life. 

But there have been lots of happenings round here and I’ve got some (iPhone) snapshots to share with you:

1). More prints..I can’t help this addiction ><

2). Japanese cuisine! mmm..there are so many things I miss from my visit to Japan, and the food is right up there. For an incredibly fussy person like me (no meat, no cheese, no milk) I really loved everything I tried. My dear friend thoughtfully sent a surprise parcel recently of foody delights like instant miso soup and ramen noodles, along with delicious nibbles. My dad has also been a bit adventurous with Sunday lunch and gone for teriyaki and sticky rice – yum!

3). Hand making Christmas cards. Long time readers might remember from last year how much I love Christmas. It begins with the festive brooches sometime in November..I know, I’m not ashamed..and snowballs from there. My plan is to handmake all presents this year ^^

4). A snap from a college trip to Weston-Super-Mare. A small group of us went to make an individual documentry series of photographs of a characteristic of the little town. I chose to focus on the residents mainly, but took a couple of pictures of the sparse British beach.

5+6). My fingers have been busy knitting up some goodies for the shop and other custom orders. It’s the return of the Santa Claus and friends! The final shipping dates are fast approaches, so if you fancy taking a peek you can follow this link.

How’s your week going?