Welcome to The Make Lounge blog! The Make Lounge is a creative space in London, England that runs contemporary craft workshops with a stylish, social twist and also has a retail shop offering craft supplies and handmade goods.
Our blog is a virtual space where students and other crafty people can enjoy the same sense of community that makes The Make Lounge so special. We welcome your comments on the posts, and we’d love to hear from you directly. Get in touch here.
Click on the links below to:
* Book a class
* See our shop
* Read the press
* Plan a private party
* View our venues
* Follow us on Twitter
* Follow us on Facebook
We also organise team building events, hen parties, birthday celebrations, corporate gatherings, off-site workshops, and much more. Please contact us to find out more!
'The most therapeutic few hours I have spent in a long time.'-Pari
'Fabulous to walk away with a finished product and a new skill.'-Helen
'Fantastic! It was my new year's resolution to learn how to sew and now I can!'-Gemma
'The Make Lounge is a refreshingly different way to spend an evening!'-Lilja
'Fabulous atmosphere and cool, contemporary surroundings. Will definitely come again with a friend.'
-Jessica
'Time well spent!'
-Ana
'Creative without being intimidating.'
-Sarah
'Very relaxing, even after a busy day at work. No pressure at all and it was fine to work at my own pace.' -Chloe
The holidays are nearly here! . . . so here's a little gift from us to you: a free festive desktop wallpaper + calendar in merry red or gorgeous green.
Head on over to our Flickr page to download a red or green version for your computer. Special thanks to our friend Siew Cottis, who created these lovely wallpapers (based on our branding by Design Friendship.) Happy December, everyone!
Granted, the idea of making jewellery from embroidery thread might seem like something best left to preteens, but this tutorial thought up by the clever stylists at Honestly...WTF might just change your mind!
They have come up with a devilishly simple idea for a exotic, colour blocking dream of a necklace that's super stylish and inspired by high fashion.
We had a quick scout round online for more ideas too...
How about wrapping rings instead and connecting them with findings like this Aziza necklace at Oliver Bonas? Or replacing the washers with wrapped rings like this one from Dorothy Perkins (below)? FYI: for more elborate style rings, check out Dorset button making!
This bracelet by Proenza Schouler looks totally DIYable thanks to this tutorial too! Just add a carabiner (and you thought they were only for rock-climbing and other adrenaline-fueled activities!) :)
See, knot to be sniffed at at all . . . and a great use of left over embroidery thread!
If you're seeking the fast track to cool design, one formula that never fails to raise a smile is trompe l'oeil, a French term meaning 'trick the eye'.
First applied to fashion in the 1920s by designer Elsa Schiaparelli (see above), trompe l'oeil is riding high in fashion again as part of the jazz age trend kick started by Sky Atlantic's recent series, Boardwalk Empire.
As such, we thought we'd share some modern takes this timeless technique to inspire you! Enjoy ;)
The 1980s classic tuxedo t-shirt gets a stylish update at How About Orange.
A cute idea from accessible fashion rebels, Thursday Friday. (Hint: Check out The Make Lounge's screen printed textiles workshop to learn ways to create your own stylish totes, and other items.)
Or channel trompe l'oeil designer du jour Rosalind Keep's fashion hits (above) using topstitching, like littlepiere on Craftster.
And finally, cute 'Button-esque' button badges by Molly and Berts.
It feels like every day I'm adding another DIY fashion blog to my list of favourites. With many fashion bloggers now adding DIY style to their arsenal, there is a growing wealth of crafty tutorials that really tick the fashion box.
Here's a rundown of some of the very best for your delectation!
Fast fashion solutions don't come any more highly anticipated than the Ps...I Made This blog's weekly fashion fixes (they've recently published a fantastic companion book, now available in our shop).
Other sites offering similar no-sew interpretations of catwalk trends include The Canadieren and Honestly...WTF, while over at Chic Steals high-end designer pieces are thriftily 'recreated'!
If avant-garde is what you're after, there are some fantastic ideas for quirky pieces at (In)decorous Taste, Monoxious and Love Aesthetics. Another famously off-kilter style champion, Susie Bubble (of Style Bubble blog fame) is also turning her hand to DIY as the customising expert on Monki Television!
Cool street fashion DIYs are in abundance as well. Fans of vintage style should check out My Vintage Secret, Closet Obsession and Studs and Pearls for cute ideas that wouldn't look out of place in Urban Outfitters. And for those of a gothic or punk persuasion, be inspired by the fierce styles at Rar Traum (broken glass necklace anyone?) and delicately torn and embellished hosery at Cocorosa. Fashionating stuff ;)
Finally, for chic understated fashion ideas be sure to subscribe to A Pair and a Spare DIY fashion blog. Now that's more than enough to be getting on with- Happy bookmarking!
How adorable are these sequin heart shoe clips from ban.do? If you like to wear your heart on your sleeve (or shoes), why not have a go at making some of your own?
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, now is a great time to show your shoes some love - and the the blogosphere is awash with heart- and flower-themed tutorials to help you. Here are two we think make fabulous foot notes. (For proper shoe clip findings head over to ebay!)
Planet June's free crochet love heart tutorial would look gorgeous worked in something sparkly like lurex or lamé yarn :)
And this stiffened fabric rose tutorial over at How About Orange, one of our favourite blogs, would be just lovely scaled down for shoes.
Happy Valentine's Day! x
Are your bookshelves groaning? How about this for an idea...
Using only a simple craft knife, profound precision, and some very clever editing, artist and scientist Julia Feld whittles old books into beautiful new works of art. Unsurprisingly her miniature 'cabinets of curiosities' sell out quickly over on Etsy, but thanks to her blog, Hokey Stokes, we can each appreciate her work.
Julia is not alone in using books as materials in her work. Here are some other amazing book art examples we found...
Doug Beube (One for the Zippers Clinic?)
Another book craft that might be worth revisiting now that we're in the age of the Kindle and the iPad is book hollowing. If you are lucky enough to own a digital book reader, think how poignant it would be to use a physical book to conceal it! (That is, before the wooden bookshelf itself becomes a thing of the past...)
At The Make Lounge, we'd like to think we know a thing or two about stylish crafting, but this Spring it's the fashion pack we have to thank for giving some traditional handicrafts a stylish rethink.
One of the most exciting and long overdue of the lot is macramé, a knotting technique most recently used in the 1970s, resulting in criminal numbers of hanging pot plant holders!
If you'd like to try your hand at this newly cool craft, check out this trendy rope necklace tutorial! It's a perfect place to start, using an inexpensive skipping rope and one of macramé's basic knots.
For more variety, knit some basic i-cords (here's a simple tutorial), or try your hand at French knitting to create something softer, like this...
Working in beads and buttons can work suprisingly well, too...
...as does simple plaiting, demonstrated here by the lovely designer A Alicia (a sampling of whose treasures we stock in our retail shop!)
Last (but not least!), a great blog to keep an eye on, if you love catwalk-inspired craft, is P.S. I Made This, which features a great macramé necklace tutorial. Welcome back macramé. . .and happy fashioning, Craftistas! :)
The Make Lounge's creative alterations class is truly a thing to behold! On a recent weeknight, I watched as within an hour eight ladies excitedly went on their way to perfecting all sorts of items with hidden potential after consulting with the awesome fashion tour de force that is Nin Castle, founder of sustainable fashion label Goodone.
In the spirit of Nin's class we found this simple idea for a fab nautical top top which anyone can attempt at home without the use of a sewing machine. Just perfect for summer, we think it has more than an air of Vivienne Westwood about it! Why not recycle an old men's shirt, then it'll be eco-fabulous too!
Covering a skateboard in patchwork isn't something most of us will have on our crafting to-do list, but for our across-the-pond pal Karyn Valino of Canada's The Workroom, doing so means she's proudly ticked off #6! She's posted about the project on her lovely blog, Make Something, and you can also view more photos of the painstaking process - which included laser cutting then hand sewing 200 triangles - on her Flicker photo stream.
Why not check out the rest of Karyn's Crafty List Of Things To Do? And if you're feeling inspired (and brave) enough to wrap something in patchwork yourself, revamping an old ironing board might be a stylish option. And what do you know, Karyn has a tutorial to help!
For help on the quilting side of things, however, you can look a little closer to home as we'll be adding new dates for quilting classes at The Make Lounge soon (and are also considering running one-off quilting block workshops, too)! Do sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter here if you'd like to hear about upcoming dates for this, and other classes.
This Saturday June 12, while the nation is busy toasting the Queen's birthday and the official start to the World Cup, an equally proud group of knitters from Stitch London (formerly known as Stitch and Bitch London) will be out celebrating World Wide Knit In Public Day with their annual Knit Crawl. This year, the Knit Crawl is in aid of the Brain's Trust.
If you have a project you think could benefit from a good airing, why not head over to the Natural History Museum around noon and join the posse of stitch-hibitionists as they begin their woolly open air tour of West London?
Check the website for details of the route, as well as other great stuff like a 'work in progress' or WIP-friendly bag pattern to download. It's completely free to take part and there'll even be raffle with crafty goodies to be won, including a £45 gift voucher from The Make Lounge!
If dragée and non-pareils haven't yet made it into your daily vernacular, don't worry - there are other ways to get into the kitsch spirit. Whatever your level of baking or crafting skill, help raise funds of cancer research and enter the 'Knit a Tea Cosy' competition, in association with Simply Knitting and The Knitter's Magazine!
Simply knit or crochet a tea cosy on the theme of the 'Blooming Great Tea Party', and send it in by the end of August for a chance to win a tonne of knitting goodies (as well as some nifty gear from Queen of Kitsch Cath Kidston, who'll be helping judge). For more info plus a couple of basic patterns to start you off, head to the competition website.
Look, even Jane Asher's had a bash! Whatever will you create?
I admit it, I have a bit of a soft spot for Martha Stewart. In my 'former life' as a NYC-based journalist, I often wrote for three of the magazines in her media empire: Living, Weddings, and Body & Soul. While working on the first two, I had the good fortune to meet and work with many of members of Martha's talented crafting team. Their blog, The Crafts Department, feels a bit like picking their brains (well, not literally) with projects from the magazines (like these lovely felt slippers), behind the scenes posts and more. It's one of my (slightly guilty) pleasures.
It includes some fantastically whimsical decorations, creatures, and baubles to embellish your space, including this fab felt stocking from our pal, Lupin:
For a free taster, click here to download a free PDF tutorial to make these adorable mushroom creatures!
(via bugs and fishes by lupin.)
We love these easy Christmas baubles, made with polystyrene balls, buttons, and hat pins. They're crafty, sparkly, and beautiful – what more could you ask for?
From simple
materials:
To lovely finished product: Voila!
(Via Button Candy.)
In the spirit of not giving in to hysteria and doomsaying regarding every single little flesh-eating death virus germ that comes down the path, we suggest sending out good piggie vibes by making this perky porcine cutie. The pattern is available free here. (You’ll have to register for Lion Brand’s site if you haven’t already, but they have so many free patterns there, you should be registered anyway!)
If you’re new to amigurumi, these ridiculously adorable little soft toys, why not sign up for a workshop to learn how to make them?
Image and tutorial at Craftstylish
