Dress Of The Day with Angela

  This sequin pinafore dress which I bought from St Luke's is too small, too tight and the light colour doesn't flatter my full figure. Also I don't wear backless tops.  However, when I lifted the short dress up and the top fell down over the skirt, I thought, I only have to sew up the horizontal hem and I have a large, sequined evening bag. I found a thread of matching colour. However, any colour would have been adequate. By turning the garment inside out to sew, the thread which I used did not notice from the outside.   Button thread would have been stronger. to make the thread stronger, I doubled the thread, tying a knot at the end. When sewing any garment with doubled thread, in theory you could oscillate the direction of the first couple of stitches to secure both ends of the thread, to avoid the irritation or lump of a knot. I had done this previously and it was not a success.  I started my sewing and had to leave it to go out for the evening. When I came ...

Burgundy Wine colour DIY bag from a tissue box cover. Photo by Angela Lansbury.   I had a tissue box cover in a pretty wine colour fabric which just matched my evening outfits. I looked at the tissue box cover and thought, that would make a nice shoulder bag. I need a small bag when I leave the table in a restaurant to visit the ladies toilet and comb my hair and re-apply my lipstick. Often I carry my mobile phone as a camera to photograph a flower display or menu on the way.   The first thing the open bag needed was a ribbon as a shoulder strap. I have bought lots of spools of ribbons from Daiso, and spotlight. The ribbon which was the right colour, as well as wide and firm, was a synthetic looking ribbon which I had not expected to be useful. But it was just right. It took only a few minutes to sew it to both sides.  Next I needed a zip closure. Again, a small zip from Daiso. I had bought a set of three.  The pink looked the right colour, but it screamed for a...