easily distracted by shiny things…
Posted in fabric, re-enactment, shopping on Aug 12th, 2010
Last weekend we paid a visit to Broadlands, where there was a multi-period historical re-enactment weekend going on. As you can see, the weather was absolutely ideal for a British summer’s day out.
As it turned out the Victorian Redcoats didn’t have to shelter for very long, but it was certainly very wet while it lasted!
This [...]
Posted in fabric on Jan 12th, 2010
I used to work in a fabric shop, and the result is that I now have metres and metres of fabric that I’m simply never going to get around to using. My business has changed, and my personal tastes have changed since I started collecting all of this fabric, so now it’s time to have [...]
This is just one of the reasons why I don’t like using synthetic fabrics. This is a polyester taffeta that I accidentally melted with the iron. The iron wasn’t even too hot - it just stuck to the fabric, and in milliseconds this was the result. Oops.
Now I have two irons that need cleaning. The [...]
Ta-Daa!
The pattern is Butterick 5254, view C.
I had been planning to make view B which is much longer, but there turned out to be a printing flaw in the fabric, and I couldn’t quite maneouvre the pattern pieces around it. So I made the shorter version instead.
The jacket is lined with polar fleece, so it [...]
This is another tunic for Diane - a short hip-length one this time.
Diane’s online name is “Bloomeenee”, so you can imagine that she was very keen to have something made from this fabulous Beatles Yellow Submarine fabric!
Here’s a YouTube clip of the “Sea of Holes” part of the film.
While I was sending off to America [...]
This is my usual raglan tunic/mini dress pattern, in Alexander Henry’s “The Rose Tattoo”. It’s hand bound with black bias tape. Simple as that!
Maria contacted me after I’d made Chloe’s cupcake dress, originally asking for a dress of her own in the same style. I don’t take on custom dressmaking any more (and the pattern’s [...]
Posted in fabric, inspiration, knitting, shopping on Jul 27th, 2009
Shortly after I posted about my Liberty knitting print skirt I received an email from Helen, asking whether I knew anywhere that the fabric was still available. Sadly it was already discontinued when it was given to me, and its well and truly out of print now.
It turned out that she only needed some very [...]
I’d always wondered why you weren’t supposed to wash silk. I bought three metres of ivory dupion a little while ago, but it had a dirty mark on it, so I knew I was going to have to clean it somehow. In a fit of “what the heck”, I chucked it in the washing machine, [...]
This is Simplicity 3737 (now out of print), view B. You’re looking at the bottom tier of the inside layer - which itself is two layers of dress net/crinoline, edged with satin bias tape.
I still have to make the outer layer, and attach it all to the yoke.
So far I’ve been working on this for [...]
Posted in fabric, inspiration on Mar 1st, 2009
Remember the amazing psychedelic twill that Chloe sent to me?
We had an excellent barter agreement, whereby Chloe’s payment would be a hand made garment made from the fabric. We’d originally talked about a skirt and a bag, but when Chloe saw a jacket that I’d made, we decided that it had to be a coat!
Here’s [...]