How I Made A Velvet Cape/Shrug Type Thing

Some fabrics are so beautiful it's really difficult deciding what to do with them. Then it's really painful when it comes to cutting them up. This pink devore encrusted with crystals is one such fabric. I've had it a while (originally picked up from Khushboo Textiles in Birmingham) but just couldn't make my mind up about what to do with it.

I toyed with using it as an interiors fabric or in my wardrobe. In the end I decided it had to be worn - but at the same time I thought it would be wasted on a specific garment like a top or skirt so I turned it into an article than be worn with different things while remaining the focal point.

So I made it into a shrug/cape type thing, short at the top to show off the jewels...

and long at the back because the fabric drapes so well.

The cape required minimal construction, but as the fabric is transparent and soft it needed a lining.

I started by folding fabric around a mannequin and then pinned it where I liked the shape and this translated into the fabric I cut out as a template to make the lining.

I then joined the lining to the fabric and folded over the top to create a pocket, but only stitched the edges 

together. This created the arm holes.

It's still a bit of a work in progress. The shrug can currently be worn but also I could still emphasise the folds and draping more or even fasten it at the front. It's incredibly regal and reminds of the kind of gown a fairytale king might enjoy wearing! 

It also a bit strange and actually I think the crystals are upside down to what they are meant to be but I like the fact it's unique and there is nothing like it in the whole world!

My DIY Brit-Bangla Dress

One of the things I was most excited about when I visited Bangladesh in December was going to the fabric stores and I'm pleased to say they didn't disappoint. I discovered vividly coloured, bold cotton prints, the type that are no where to be found in the UK. 

The first project I've made with my fabric so far is this tunic style dress.

I also added some sleeves using pink satin that I picked up in Khushboo Textiles in Birmingham. 

I used the same fabric to create pleats in the dress to give it a more interesting shape.

The fabric was actually 'suit fabric' - a lot of Asian fashion fabrics are sold this way. You get a large rectangle of fabric with the collar shape and you cut and style it to your own preference. It also comes with material to make trousers and a separate piece for a scarf - but I've saved both of those for other projects. In fact the scarf is so pretty it actually looks more like a table runner so I'm going to use is as 'interiors fabric' instead.

Choosing which fabrics to buy was the difficult part. I was travelling with a backpack so had to keep my purchases to a minimum.

Unfortunately I'm not sure where these photos were taken, I was on a rickshaw and all of a sudden we turned onto a street lined with fabric markets and shops so I got off and explored them. It was in walking distance of the Armenian Church, near a bridge - hopefully that's enough description to help find it if you too happen to be in Dhaka and love fabric.

My new dress is a pleasure to wear, in fact I am wearing it now as I write this. I'm very proud of it, it's the most 'Asian' item of clothing I currently own but I've given it my own British twist with the shaping - best of all it's great to know no one else in the whole world has my dress! 

The other thing that makes this dress special is the fact that while I was sewing it I had a major sewing accident: I sewed through one of my nails on the sewing machine and I can confirm it was more than a ouch. My finger was out of action for four weeks - it's now got a falsie on it and is my reminder of the perils of being a seamstress. 

My Birthday Dress

It's my birthday today - so I made a dress to wear for the occasion...

Front of dress

Back of dress

Close up of pocket

Shoulder details

Belt tied at front of dress

Bottom of dress

Side 1 of reversible belt

Side 2 of reversible belt

The dress is extra special as it's the first thing I've ever sewn on an industrial sewing machine. It was a very different experience to the domestic machines I'm used to but by the end of it I was hooked on the speed!

It took me two sessions to cut out and prepare the pieces and three sessions to assemble it. I sewed it on Saturday mornings at HEBA, a women's training and enterprise project who run drop-in sewing sessions on Saturday mornings in Brick Lane where you can get help from the amazing sewing tutor Anjum and can use their space and equipment. 

The gorgeous fabric was bought from this stall at the Knitting & Stitching show in London which I visited in October. The most difficult part of the dress was choosing how to use and match up the patterns on the fabric. With Anjum's assistance I cut it out by picking the areas I wanted to be on the front, back, sides and pockets. It was a bit mind-boggling but this level of effort is what makes my new birthday dress look so designer!

It's just a shame it's made of a soft cotton and my birthday is in December. I think I'm going to get very cold today!

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.

Craftnight with Borough Belles WI

Beaming Belles

Last night I joined the Borough Belles WI for an evening of crafting, cake and chitchat - one of the loveliest evenings I've had in ages. Although I'm generally a very confident person I get a bit nervous before meeting new people, but was assured from their website that you should not worry about turning up on your own, and sure enough they were right. I've never felt so at ease so quickly before, it was like being in a room of friends; always a good place to be.

Add caption

The theme of the meeting is different each month, next month it's guerilla gardening and last month they did a Zumba class but craft I was told by many members usually has the biggest turn out.

Crafty Chicas

This evenings guest was crafty lass extraordinaire Perri Lewis. Perri amongst other things is a member of a secret guerilla knitting group and writes crafty articles for The Guardian. She started off by telling us some amusing and informative anecdotes about what she's learnt about crafts over the years from the fact it's expensive, through to her tracking of crafty celebrities. Perri's book Material World is out this Autumn and with material in mind, she brought along some fabric so members could have a go at making some fabric jewellery.

Want one? Make one!

Perri's sample beaded bib necklace was exquisite and reminded me of the type of accessory tribal warriors would wear, only with more bling. Clearly such finery takes hours to perfect so as a simpler introduction she showed us how to make a felt cuff by layering two rectangles of felt together and stitching ribbon at either end so it could be tied up and worn around your wrist.

Sequin sourcing

Each table was given a mound of sequins, felt and ribbon.

Cutting edges

 No one on my table wanted to cut the felt up so I was nominated for the task, though I'm not convinced I cut out pieces that were particularly straight!

Spongey bliss

Of course it wouldn't be a WI meeting without the obligatory tea and cake. There was a tower of choices, I opted for this one, which was pretty good but I thought it would be more suitable for elevensees, rather than an after dinner dessert.

The perfect purse

This lady owned the most spectacular purse made of measuring tapes...

Bling!!

and produced the most blingtastic creation...totally my style, I would buy and wear this!

Yeah! I made it myself!

This girl who was sitting opposite me, was so chuffed with her creation...reactions like her giant smile are definately one of the reasons I am such a craft advocate: her grin is proof that craft does make a person happy.

Star attraction

Another fab design...

Happy homework

And here are some of the efforts from the lovely ladies who were sitting on my table.

Wonder Woman

My She-Ra inspired cuff, which I managed to complete despite spending over half the night chatting away. It goes to show, craft does not need to take a long time, put in as much or as little in as you like.

Amelia's amazing bee top

Finally I couldn't stop by and not speak with this lovely girl who was sporting the most incredible sweater...it looks good in the photo but in real life, the bees were even more beautiful. Unbelievably she purchased it from Monsoon AND it came with a free packet of seeds so that you can plant them to attract more bees. Now if that's not ethical shopping, I don't know what is...infact it's a good excuse to go out and buy this very jumper!

Nights like this make me feel really lucky - to have the chance to go out, not have to spend much money, but come back brimming with ideas and stories from new people, in an environment that's so much more welcoming than a bar blaring with loud music. If you've ever had any desires no matter how small to find out what a WI meeting is like then all I can say is go to one! You don't need to be a member. Most, if not all, will let you in as a guest and you certainly don't need to be crafty minded. I met so many women who said they can't craft and yet there they were, having a go. Inspirational! 

I look forward to returning again soon : )

The Borough Belles meet monthly on a Wednesday night at the Welsh Borough Chapel, 90 Southwark Bridge Road, SE1 0EX, a short walk from London Bridge & Southwark tube stations. If you're not a member you can still attend meetings for just £3. Or visit the WI website to find your local branch. 

Thank you to everyone who starred in my photos, sorry they are all a bit yellow looking!