Pretty in Pinko - How to DIY a Pinko knit dress

Give a knit dress or jumper a 'hole' lotta love!

Image: ilovewildfox.com

You will need...

A form-fitting beige knit dress or jumper.

Fray-stop glue.

Small, sharp fabric scissors.

A mannequin can be useful but it's optional.

Difficulty

Very easy

Quick, easy and all in a leisurely evening's work!

Time

About an hour, although I was being a bit of a perfectionist trying to get the design symmetrical - a process for which I'd recommend taking the time!

A quick knit

You might want to take your dress or top in slightly to ensure that it's under tension when you wear it - this will enhance the design. Cut some horizontal and vertical slits (you might want to map them out with some tailor's chalk like I did). Try to get your design as symmetrical as possible. I find it helps to count the number of slits you do on each side and make a mental note of the spacing.

If your top or dress is made from fine knit material, it will probably roll up at the edges when you cut it. Use this quality to manipulate and make the teardrop shapes on your design. At this point, having a mannequin really helps, as it makes it easy to mould the design and see what it looks like in 3D. Secure the shapes and rolled edges with fray-stop glue.

Drumroll, please...

Chic Kane - how to DIY a Christopher Kane feather applique floral jumper

How many kinds of stylish flowers grow in an English country garden?

 

Image: net-a-porter.com

You will need

N.B. The feathers I used came from a shop on eBay. I bought two packs of white feathers, six in black and one in wine. They were 99p each, exclusive of postage and packing.

Difficulty

Pretty easy

It helps to be a skilled gluer but, as tutorials go, nothing too taxing here.

Time

A day - 7ish hours, I think but I was pretty distracted when I did it so it may take you less time if that level of patience seems too tall an order.

Total cost

The feathers and glue gun sticks (trust me, you'll need plenty!) came to about £15. The jumper was about that price as well but if you've got an old one or are lucky with charity shops, hopefully your project won't incur quite such an expense.

Either way, you'll probably make a fair saving on the original, given that it costs £2475!

The fruit of the plume

Slip your magazine in between the front and back layer of your jumper to avoid sticking them together. Glue your feather in place to form flower shapes. I set them out in outwardly-radiating clusters of five, six and ten, with the latter set out in two layers. Try to contrast textures and colours. Owing to supplier issues, I was actually sent a few packs of chicken feathers, which are fluffier than the ones I had intended to use but worked nicely. As happy accidents go, I'd definitely recommend it, if such a thing is rationally possible!

Trim your flowers along the edges so that each feather has a flat tip. Try to separate some of the strands and cut inner circles shorter than outer ones and you should have something that looks rather like this: