My So Called ...Sewing...Life

1993: Secondary School

This wallhanging is the first thing I ever made at school. I was 12. We only had one term of Textiles, the other two were spent in Woodwork or Cooking. We were tasked with testing out different techniques;  it was my first taste of silk painting, printing, tie-dye and patchwork. Rather than keep my pieces as samplers I decided to create a giant wall hanging which required using a sewing machine.

My mum was a home seamstress, she had an old classic singer sewing machine on which she would make clothing for the British high street. But it was her most precious belonging and none of us were allowed to touch it, let alone use it.
So I sewed my hanging at school. I have very clear memories of the first time I used a sewing machine...it wasn't on fabric, but was on paper. We took a 'driving test' punching holes along a hand-drawn road to ensure we could manuovere corners.

 1998: College: A'Level Fashion

I hated school. I was a bit too alternative, so when I was 16 I moved to a sixth form college. I found the only one in London that did A'Level Fashion. Finally I felt like I belonged. I had real friends and I could ditch my school uniform for homemade clothes. 

With my first pay packet from my first weekend job I bought a sewing machine and used it to make my own dresses. 

The first one was inspired by Klimt, it was gold and ethereal looking probably because all 17-year-olds are obessed with his painting The Kiss.

Then I progressed into making my own fabric (tie-dye of course!) before making my own patterns from fabric bought from Roll & Rems - the haberdashery I still swear by.

2001: University Customising

I couldn't take my sewing machine to university so instead I customised things inbetween Geography lectures. This is when I turned 'crafty.' Instead of just sewing, I discovered the joys of beading, embroidery and embellishment. To make some extra money on the side of my student loan I started taking commissions selling bespoke handbags and accessories.

2003: Post-graduate: Fabric fanantic

After university I couldn't get a job and I didn't want to be a Geographer anyway so I did a post-graduate diploma in magazine journalism. The chance to be a student again meant I could continue dressing as creatively as I liked and because I was living at home with my sewing machine I started making my own clothes again. This is when my obsession began for buying gorgeous fabrics (this flamingo print cotton was bought in Ikea).

2006: Working: Clothes for other people!

By now I was fully immersed in the world of being a writer and crafter but didn't have as much time to make clothes. Instead I took up the challenge of making my first garment for someone else and learnt that childrenswear is sooooooo much easier than making adultswear!
I made my niece some ladybird dungarees and later a bear for her sister and blanket for her brother.

    2013: Now: Historical dressmaking project

Fast forward 20 years (scary how the 1st photo in this post was taken in 1993) and I'm still sewing, learning and continuing to make clothes.

This week the BBC launches it's new programme The Great British Sewing Bee which is causing a huge buzz in the craft/sewing community. It's predecessor The Great British Bake Off has turned the nation into homebaking obsessives and I'm pretty sure that the Sewing Bee will inspire more people to sew.

There are already many more sewing courses, classes and workshops going on (in London at least), but while other people are getting to grips with machines, I've gone down a different path - the art of historical dressmaking.

Last year I embarked on a new creative adventure, becoming a Fashion Recreator. Over the last 12 months I've been studying dressmaking from the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries and am currently making an exact replica of a dress that existed in 1818.

In replicating it I have to use the exact techniques.....in other words the entire dress in stitched by hand as there were no sewing machines then.

I'm now in my last month of finishing the piece which will  be exhibited at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich in July (for one day!) and the story of how I made it will be recorded in a book.

Until I put this blog post together I actually didn't realise I had been sewing for 20 years. It blows my mind. 

I'm honestly not the best of sewers, in fact I think I'm pretty rubbish because I'm not a perfectionist. My seams don't always match up, my fits aren't aways perfect and some times I skip 'proper' steps; but one thing I can say with pride is that I really, really enjoy sewing and I hope I never have to stop doing it.

Extracts from my diary 1: 26th December 1992 (aged 12)

So I’ve decided to publish extracts from my diaries. I started keeping a dairy at the age of 7 but it became more regular between the ages of 11 to 21 when I wrote most days. Then I took a break and started keeping one again a couple of years ago. When I first began I thought I would die if anyone ever read them and I wasn’t sure if I would ever be ready to share them publicly, but lately I’ve been feeling a bit sad that this person I once was, is now hidden away and forgotten about inside various notebooks. I’m not going to publish them completely, just random passages. I’m also not yet sure if I’ll explain or contextualise them by saying who I’m talking about, I’ll have to see what happens. Not naming any names either. It's not fair on them So for now:

Extract 1: 26^th December 1992 (aged 12)

Quarter to 12

I hate the whole world. I hate my life. I hate my school. I hate my family. I hate my teachers. I hate the stupid girls in my class. I hate myself.

3’o’clock pm

Stuff what I said earlier on today…I just attempted to cut my fringe. It turned out such a disaster. It’s all different lengths. So I have to wear a stupid Alice Band in my hair now. G went mad when I told her. She was shouting at me for ages. I just stood there crying. I think that’s about it for now. Bye.

Easy peasy fabric printing

Why can't adults have 1/2 term, holidays? It makes so much sense to stop working every few weeks and rejuvenate. Last week was 1/2 term for many of the UK's school children. I remember my 1/2 term hols very clearly I would be bored for 4 days and then on the 5th day I would think of a huge to do list, most of it crafty and be sad I'd left it so late.

Here's a super easy project I tried out last week at a children's half term workshop, perfect for doing at home on a rainy day (and oh my, how it is raining at the minute!):

You will need:

• Cotton fabric (in this case an apron)
• Funky foam/neoprene
• Card (from a cereal box)
• PVA
• Paper
• Fabric paints

To make:

1. Create a template of the shape you want to print and cut it out of paper.

2. Draw around the paper shape on neoprene, cut out and glue to card.

3. Lay newspaper under your cotton to protect surface. Apply paint all over the neoprene shape careful not to get any on the card. Cover the whole foam otherwise you may get gaps.

4. Press it into position on the fabric, lift up and reveal your first print. Carry on printing until your composition is finished. You will need to apply fresh paint to the foam for each print you do.

5, Follow the instructions on the paint, when dry you normally iron the motifs to fix them so your fabric can be washed.

What a super easy method! Cheap, quick and easy...give it a go! Remember you can mix colours, print on top of shapes and go all out as wild as you wish!