Fledgling Dress: Lisette Portfolio – Simplicity 2245

April 27, 2015, 4:35 pm

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Brighton's brilliant budget fabric emporium Fabricland has produced some fabulous fabrics in their Hill-Berg range recently. This bird print Tweet Tweet heavy linen-look cotton is great! It reminds me of a miniature version of a beautiful Minä Perhonen print design. 

It's the same type of fabric as the Cake Stand heavy cotton I made a Lisette Portfolio dress from in January, and the weight of the material really suits the Portfolio dress. As before I chose a soft needle corduroy fabric for the neck and sleeve trim but this time made the sleeves a few centimetres longer, so that they finish on the elbow.

As an experiment I embellished the small square panel with hand-stitched lines of coloured embroidery cotton.

 

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Sketchbook Explorations

May 12, 2015, 6:14 am

≫ Next: Create It! McCall's M5928 Mix & Match Dress

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One of my resolutions for this year was to start drawing again. I've dipped in and out of drawing in my adult years, attended a few months of life drawing in my twenties, took part in Katie Sollohub's wonderful Creative Journeys Monday morning course in Shoreham-by-Sea, and recently discovered Zen Doodling. However, I wanted to find a way to build on all this and make drawing a habit and an everyday part of my life, just as it is for my prolific ten year old daughter!

In January I saw a tweet by Colour Living's Tina Bernstein of some beautiful sketchbook work she'd produced after enrolling in artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon's online Sketchbook Explorations class. A few clicks later I'd signed up for the course too.

It's a four part course which teaches you how to develop a habit of keeping a sketchbook of colourful designs using and combining various mixed media techniques including watercolour, line drawing, collage, brush pens and gel pens. The course is designed to run over four consecutive weeks but can be completed in your own time. I felt that I wasn't ready to move onto a new technique after just one week, so spent several weeks working on each stage, before moving onto the next lesson.

Lisa Congdon is a complete inspiration! Her course has really helped me conquer the fear of those blank white pages in a new sketchbook, and given me a feeling of freedom and playfulness in producing new artwork too. All too often in the past my critical expectations for producing a 'finished' piece of artwork have paralysed the creative process. The beauty of keeping a sketchbook is that every page is an experiment, some explorations will work and some won't. The most successful ones can be used as a starting point for another piece of work.

The other thing I've loved about taking part in Congdon's online course is that it comes with an Instagrampeer group. Students from her courses are encouraged to share their work on Instagram (search #cbugsketchbook and #sketchbookexplorations). I find seeing what other people are producing wholly motivating as well as inspiring.

I'm now working on my second sketchbook and have subscribed to Creative Bug so that I can dip in and out of their other courses when I want to learn more techniques or just to try a different direction. I've also been invited to exhibit a piece of my artwork in Creative WavesArt on the Pier 2015 exhibition which has opened this month in Worthing. I'll be blogging about the exhibition next week!

Create It! McCall's M5928 Mix & Match Dress

May 19, 2015, 12:00 am

≫ Next: The 3 Hour Dress: Butterick 3349 Vintage Sew & Go

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McCall's Create It range was a 1990s collection of sewing patterns designed with interchangeable mix and match pattern pieces so that you could customise the design and 'make it your own'. Sadly it looks like the idea didn't take off for McCall's and their Create It line is now out of print. I managed to track down a M5928 Create It dress pattern on eBay though and was excited to give it a whirl.

The M5928 dress appealed because it reminds me of Scarlet et Marguerite's Baba Yaga. It has a long, almost medieval front yoke and lends itself to using contrasting fabrics and fancy braid trims. Once made up it's a much more voluminous affair than the streamlined illustrations on the packet suggest. Still a lovely design, but quite different to the drawing on the packet.

I'm very happy with my fabric choices for this one. The yoke and cuffs are in a John Lewis Daisy Chain archive print designed by Pat Albeck. The body and sleeves are another John Lewis cotton archive print called Cummersdale. Both designs were reissued for the store's 150th anniversary last year. I found both fabrics on sale at a discounted price (they are possibly good seconds) at Ditto in Brighton. I finished the dress with some embroidered turquoise braid.

The 3 Hour Dress: Butterick 3349 Vintage Sew & Go

May 22, 2015, 3:57 am

≫ Next: A second year of sewing my own clothes

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I made this dress in three hours from start to finish, including cutting out the paper tissue pattern. It's a Butterick 3349, a vintage 70s kimono sleeve pull-over dress from Butterick's fabulous Sew & Go collection. Try this Google search to see more patterns in this range. They're forerunners to the modern Japanese sewing book designs with clean simple lines and loose easy-fit shapes. Instant gratification sewing!

I used a heavy Japanese dragon-fly print cotton which is more subtly beautiful than these pictures show, it has a textured slub weave.

The dress came together rapidly to the amusement of Instagram friends. I made two small changes to the pattern – the turn up cuffs felt too heavy and businesslike for the soft kimono sleeve, so instead I finished the sleeves (and hem) with a bias binding; I also added two small front pockets. I love the fact that it was so quick to make and is comfortable to wear. There will be more of these on the way!

A second year of sewing my own clothes

June 2, 2015, 4:47 am

≫ Next: Decorating the BugCycle Garden with Gudrun Sjödén

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It's time I documented my second year of making my own clothes. This year there was no outright self-imposed ban on buying new or second hand clothes, so I have been lucky to acquire a few more beautiful Gudrun Sjödén pieces, as well as purchasing some needed socks and knickers.

The original year-long-experiment which began in May 2013 has remained habit changing and sewing my own is a regular part of my weekly routine. Between 17th May 2014 and 31st May 2015 I sewed a lot of dresses, a few tops, had a summertime flurry of trouser making, and made three beautiful coats.

The Wiksten Tova was my 'discovery' staple sewing pattern this year, and the one I've made most of (current Tova count is six). My second favourite repeatedly sewn pattern is the Lisette Portfolio dress Kerry Green most generously sent me in January (I made three). I must also mention its sister-pattern the lovely Liesl & Co Cappuccino dress (four more of these now hanging in my wardrobe). The 'outsider lovely surprise pattern' was Scarlet et Marguerite's Baba Yaga dress.

Garment Of The Sewing Year: Burda 7072 Quilted Coat

My favourite garment of the year is the one that took the most work, a quilted Burda 7072 coat. Worth every frustrating second of fiddling to get the under-arm seams right!

The round-up photo above doesn't include everything I made, and not all of it was blogged – there are at least three more holiday dresses and six pairs of baggy trousers not included here. I may try to slow down production in the coming year, but can't see myself stopping as I love the act of sewing and the self expression of wearing handmade clothes. I wear something I've made myself every day of the year.

I am however, a little less keen to continue photographing and blogging my makes (and my gurning face) so am not sure if there'll be a third year with a round-up like this. In part I think joining Instagram has removed some of the urge to blog. So much social media, so little time.

For now though, it is a pleasure to present the line up of clothes sewn in my second sew-my-own year.

Trouserathon, July 2014

Decorating the BugCycle Garden with Gudrun Sjödén

June 22, 2015, 12:00 am

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Worthing's BugCycle community garden has just become even more colourful thanks to a generous donation from Gudrun Sjödén, Swedish designer of sustainable fashion and champion of environmentally conscious design. Gudrun kindly sent us a bundle of eco-cotton fabrics and home furnishings to use in our burgeoning wildlife garden.

BugCycle was set up by community arts producers Creative Waves in partnership with Worthing Wildlife to regenerate an area in one of the town's central parks. Since February this year, they and a team of volunteers have transformed a disused part of Beach House Park using largely found, recycled and donated materials into a living, educational, sensory garden for all to enjoy.

Gudrun Sjödén sent us a selection of Långrand striped organic cottons in delicious shades of guava/turquoise, lavendula/sky, asparagus/pineapple and peony. I decided to make gardening hats and aprons for our volunteers to wear, as well as some cushions and bright bunting to decorate and furnish the garden. I used these fabulous fabrics together with some Gudrun Sjödén material left over from previous projects.

The aprons are based on Gudrun's perfectly practical Nyttan gardening apron with one large divided wrap around pocket and long fastening ties (I'm wearing a ruby red Nyttan apron in these photos). The hats are made using Etsy shop WorthyGoods super Over The Top sun hat sewing pattern. I sewed simple envelope back cushion covers from the Långrand cotton to complement two of Gudrun's Melissa and Flox print cushions. All left over pieces of fabric were cut into triangles of different sizes and sewn into colourful bunting. Not a scrap of material was wasted!

These photos were taken at a Creative Waves BugCycle Art in the Park workshop, but on another day you could see the Worthing Wildlife Team at work here, one of the town's community groups or up to 120 local school children using the garden as an outdoor learning space.

We'd like to thank Gudrun Sjödén for bringing her Swedish design with a green soul to our own very green and thriving community garden!

Gudrun's eco-cotton fabrics and home furnishings are available from her web shop.

24 Hours in Stockholm

July 15, 2015, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Postcard from Malmö

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A flying visit to Stockholm gave me the chance to sample the textures and colours of this stunning Scandinavian city. The motive for my trip was an invitation to take part in a photo shoot for Gudrun Sjödén's spring 2016 catalogue – a day's work in the best possible circumstances, with the most wonderful people. Photos from the shoot will be released in January 2016, but for the canny there's a sneak preview @gudrunsworld. I'm keen to find out which photos from the day are chosen for the spring catalogue but have to wait until January along with everyone else! So for now, here's a sample smörgåsbord of Sweden's beautiful capital instead.

Postcard from Malmö

July 19, 2015, 4:17 pm

≫ Next: Cycling Post To The Coast Art Trail

≪ Previous: 24 Hours in Stockholm

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It's seven years since I last visited Malmö and in that time the city has transformed from post industrial port into a colourful model of eco-friendliness. I walked through the fabulous Folkets Park and explored the streets around Möllevångstorget. Möllan is Malmö's multicultural hub, renowned for its fruit and veg market and packed with restaurants and cafés, as well as being a destination for second hand clothes shopping.

The city's central cobbled streets are lined with design boutiques and independent shops. A highlight was a visit to Moderna Museet Malmo, a small modern art gallery that's just the right size to spend a couple of rainy hours. I saw a beautifully curated exhibition of post impressionist paintings, Nils Dardel and the Modern Age and contemporary video installation show The New Human, before visiting the museum's bright orange café and nursing a soya latte until the sky cleared.

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Cycling Post To The Coast Art Trail

August 7, 2015, 12:00 am

≫ Next: The Fig Frock: Simplicity 1080 Dottie Angel Dress

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I picked a sunny day to cycle Post To The Coast art trail. An evolving heritage project by Creative Waves Community Arts, this year-long coastal trail covers a 6 mile route starting at Worthing Lido's traditional English seaside sweet shop and ends at the corrugated steel Nissen Hut at Shoreham Fort. The trail shows artwork, seaside memories and poems inspired by postcards featuring the Sussex coastline.

Having taken part in early research workshops for the project investigating historical postcards at Worthing Museum, and subsequent art workshops at Shoreham Fort, I was keen to experience the whole trail. A bright sunny day with a westerly wind blowing towards Shoreham made cycling an ideal way to cover the entire route. Proceeding at a leisurely pace on my upright trusty Dawes bike and stopping to look and think along the way, it took me 2 hours to complete the trail.

I'd looked at the interactive trail map before setting off, so had an idea where the artwork would be, but still found it exciting each time I saw a new piece of art or an information post containing a story or a bygone holiday memory. The section along Lancing seafront from Beach Green to Widewater Lagoon is superb, with artwork hung along the slatted wooden walls defining the beach. This is a perfect place to view art and contemplate the history of the area with ever changing skies and sea as a backdrop – an invigorating experience for the senses.

I was thrilled to discover my own drawn postcard (above) installed on a weathered wooden wall alongside the beach huts at the end of Lancing Beach Green. Another personal highlight was at Shoreham Beach's Old Fort Road where a row of painted wooden postcards hang along a fence outside a corner house (on Ferry Road). These 19 simple, beautiful images are reminiscent of Alfred Wallis and were made by students at Shoreham Academy - a must see.

Finally arriving at Shoreham Fort I found artwork hung on the side of the wooden postbox and in the rear windows of the Nissen Hut, where my drawings are also on display alongside some poignant pieces made by fellow artists at the Creative Waves Wednesday Fort workshops. 

Post To The Coast trail will continue to grow throughout the year and visitors are invited to share their own Sussex seaside memories and contribute postcard artwork. Free trail maps and postcards are available along the route (and at Worthing Museum), and information on how to take part can be found at Creative Waves.

The Fig Frock: Simplicity 1080 Dottie Angel Dress

August 24, 2015, 1:38 pm

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Having resolved to cease blogging my dress makes (as documenting them often takes as long as making them), I will break this resolution to join in with the collective outpouring of joy at having finally got my hands on Dottie Angel's sewing pattern for Simplicity - released in the UK this month.

Deciding to make C (the dress version with contrast skirt band), this long awaited frock needed some celebratory fabric so I chose two bold fruity fig print cottons – both end-of-line quilting fabrics bought at Worthing's Sewing Machine Shop. These fabrics remind me of Adelle Lutz's Urban Camouflage costumes for David Byrne's film True Stories.

It's a quick dress to make and the pattern will lend itself well to modifications, but for my first attempt I faithfully followed the instructions. The insides are french seamed and sleeves and neckline finished with bias trim, so it's a garment that's beautiful inside and out. 

My finished frock is bold and lovely and a perfect starting piece for this year's handmade autumn wardrobe.

Postcard from Berlin

September 6, 2015, 4:32 pm

≫ Next: Falling for Gudrun Sjödén's Autumn Collection

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As I set the alarm for the start of a new school term, I'll take a few minutes to mull over my summer holiday photos from Berlin. In four short days we explored the city on foot, from the top of a tourist sightseeing bus and by underground train. These pictures represent only the briefest snapshot of this endlessly fascinating city.

Falling for Gudrun Sjödén's Autumn Collection

September 9, 2015, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Block the block not Worthing beach!

≪ Previous: Postcard from Berlin

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The buzz on Instagram is that Gudrun Sjödén's Autumn 2015 collection is her best yet. While I don't disagree, it's fair to say that every new Gudrun Sjödén collection is met with great excitement and wonder by her fans, with season after season of ethically produced clothes in unexpectedly lovely prints and textures.

From Gudrun Sjödén's Basic collection:  Sigrid linen/cotton tunic, Britt modal slip, Barbro leggings and Britt socks

Gudrun's Autumn catalogue comes in two parts. The first takes inspiration from five Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland with five separately themed collections inspired by the wild natural landscape and rich culture of each of these lands. The second part – an autumn extra capsule collection – is inspired by the primeval forest, abundant with toadstools, mushrooms, branches, moss, lichens and fir needles.

'Ditte' is my favourite print from Gudrun's autumn collection, seen here as a dress and top. The trousers shown are both Vilse print and have a contrasting turn up cuff.

The beauty of Gudrun's designs is that year after year she returns to complimentary colour themes and styles so that clothes from any year can be worn and matched with items from previous collections. It's a creative and sustainable approach to fashion design leaving much room (no fungi pun intended) for individuality and heaps of personal taste for the wearer.

Colourful details of Gudrun Sjödén's Autumn collection

Comfy cotton Ghita dress by Gudrun Sjoden

I hope you'll enjoy the pieces I've picked here! All garments shown are available now from Gudrun Sjödén's website.

Block the block not Worthing beach!

September 12, 2015, 9:33 am

≫ Next: Happy 6th Birthday Wukulele Jam!

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Time is running out for residents of Worthing to oppose property developer Roffey Homes proposed 21 storey tower block on our beautiful beach. Adur & Worthing Council have received 1089 objections to Roffey's revised planning application (submitted after their initial application was met with a storm of public disapproval), and today's protest outside Worthing Aquarena garnered even more support for the cause.

The town's residents understand the need for development on this very special seafront site and would welcome a plan that was civic minded, ergonomic in scale and sympathetic to the environment instead of this one dreamt up by property developers looking for the most lucrative return on their investment at any cost.

Roffey's revised plan makes no concession to the public outcry and offers no improvement on their first. It still comprises 147 apartments stacked on top of each other to create a 21 storey tower that will blight Worthing seafront forever.

It is not too late to add your name to the online petition and you can still register your objection to the planning application here. There will be a hearing at Worthing Town Hall on Tuesday 22nd September at 6pm and I urge you to come and join us in making public our opposition to this scheme. For more information visit Save Our Seafront Worthing.

Happy 6th Birthday Wukulele Jam!

September 18, 2015, 9:45 am

≫ Next: Gudrun's Friends' Diary

≪ Previous: Block the block not Worthing beach!

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This week we're celebrating the sixth birthday of Wukulele with a bumper birthday uke jam at Shoreham's Ukulele Festival Sussex on Sunday 20th September. Our jam forms part of a packed programme of performances, workshops and strum-alongs and we'll be kicking off Wukulele's jam at 12:50pm.

Wukulele – Worthing Uke Jam was born six years ago when I moved to Worthing from Brighton. I'd previously been running Brighton Ukulele Sundays but wanted to have a uke jam in my new home town. Our very first meeting brought together the Brighton uke jam posse, regular strummers from Shoreham and newcomers from Lancing, Worthing and Littlehampton who turned up to give it a go. One of those new people was Flying Aspidistra Harriet Booth who now runs our monthly Worthing jam, produces Wukulele's songbooks and keeps us all in time. I now occupy a side seat, am chief cheerleader and look after the Wukulele website.

It is fitting then that we celebrate turning 6 with our friends in Shoreham who have contributed so much to our own jam and gone on to form great ukulele jams of their own. We do hope that everyone who has passed through Wukulele in the past six years will be able to join us, and as usual there'll be a warm welcome to new strummers too! 

Find out more about Wukulele and download our free uke songbooks here. Ukulele Festival Sussex takes place at Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham High Street, BN43 5EG 19th-20th September 2015, read all about it here.

Gudrun's Friends' Diary

October 5, 2015, 3:49 am

≫ Next: Avant-garde House Dress: Marcy Tilton Vogue 8813

≪ Previous: Happy 6th Birthday Wukulele Jam!

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I was invited to document my week in photographs for a new feature on Gudrun Sjödén's website, Gudrun's Friends Diary. I regularly photograph my world for Instagram so jumped at the chance to be involved in this project. However I must admit that my photo-diary week saw me paying extra attention to what I was wearing every day, and in a routine where many hours at the computer or sewing machine are my reality I was eager to capture the more sociable and varied aspects of my week.

The biggest thrill is seeing it all published online and translated into many languages for Gudrun's international sites.

My photo diary forms part of a series which started with author and graphic designer Maren El Gammal and I look forward to seeing the diaries of Gudrun's friends in the weeks and months to come!
You can read my photo diary in Swedish here.

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Avant-garde House Dress: Marcy Tilton Vogue 8813

October 9, 2015, 1:59 pm

≫ Next: Marcy Tilton Hotchpotch Reprise: Vogue 8813

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Marcy Tilton's Vogue 8813 sewing pattern is her take on a vintage French house dress but I'd say it owes more to the Japanese avant-garde designs of Issey Miyake and this is why I love it. 

The sheared neckline and neat collar gives this voluminous garment structured points of interest and perfectly pulls Tilton's design together. My chosen fabric is a medium weight linen/viscose mix with a 1950s inspired block pattern in shades of grey and gold. The fabric has a heavy drape which accentuates the huge pockets in this dress, but it also has a soft and crumply woven texture which gives the frock fluidity and makes it extremely comfortable to wear.

This is an easy-to-follow sewing pattern and a relatively quick sew. I followed the instructions to the letter with the exception of shirring the centre front panel before attaching it to the side fronts. For invaluable advice on shirring technique see Tilton's own instructive Youtube video.  

The finished dress is both elegant and easy to wear. I have fabric ready to make a second!

Marcy Tilton Hotchpotch Reprise: Vogue 8813

October 26, 2015, 1:50 pm

≫ Next: Super Heroine Tendencies: Stylish Party Dresses - Dress O

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Some sewing patterns are worth repeating without delay and this is the second Marcy Tilton Vogue 8813 dress I have made this month. 

The fabric is a light weight fine Indian cotton with hand printed patterns. It's actually three different printed fabrics which I pieced together to make a hotchpotch version of the dress. The frock is much more billowy and floaty in this fabric than my first Marcy Tilton French house dress and the hand printed patterns have imperfections which I think just make it even more special. 

The colours in these fabrics I realise are similar to the previous dress I made, and both dresses are in the colours of a piece of artwork I made in May, which is now exhibited as part of Creative WavesArt On The Pier exhibition on Worthing Pier. It seems I can't get these shades of mustard and ochre out of my head, nor out of my wardrobe.

Art on The Pier the great outdoors art exhibition is on display on Worthing's art deco pier now and until April 2016.

Super Heroine Tendencies: Stylish Party Dresses - Dress O

November 2, 2015, 4:00 pm

≫ Next: Foremothers and Folk Prints at Gudrun Sjödén

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This is Dress O from Yoshiko Tsukiori's latest English translation sewing title Stylish Party Dresses (published as Formal and Little Black Dress in Japan). 

There are several elegant dresses in this book that I'd like to make, but O: Dress with Pin Tucks was at the top of the list. The basic shape of this dress is similar to Dress E from Yoshiko Tsukiori's Stylish Dress Book - a frock I have made several times (see three of them here).

I used a shirt weight Italian cotton fabric bought from Ditto which has a bold rectangular colour block design. Tacking and sewing the pin tucks took some time as I had to work out to make the best of my fabric. I ended up making larger tucks (more like narrow pleats) to accommodate the print design. 

I also added some functional patch pockets to the front (essential in my opinion) but took care to match the fabric as best as possible so that they are almost invisible.

The finished frock has taken me by surprise and turned out to be much more striking than expected. As party going is a rare event for me these days (except for children's parties) I shall wear this as an everyday super-power dress – especially on dark winter days when I need a boost!

For a full review of the Stylish Party Dresses book see Very Kerry Berry's lovely blog.

Foremothers and Folk Prints at Gudrun Sjödén

November 22, 2015, 2:35 am

≫ Next: Merry Christmas Wukulele Jam!

≪ Previous: Super Heroine Tendencies: Stylish Party Dresses - Dress O

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Last week I visited Gudrun Sjödén's Covent Garden store for the festive launch of her Christmas 2015 collection. This friendly, welcoming event for Gudrun's customers gave us the chance to meet designer Pia Marklund and hear some of the stories and inspiration behind the designs.

The collection is inspired by four strong women – mothers and grandmothers of the design team – including Gudrun's own mother Elsa of Norrbotten. Pia's talk brought these women to life with photographs and anecdotes about their family and working lives, including personal memories of her own maternal grandmother, Singa from Västerboten, a woman who travelled widely throughout Africa and the Orient bringing textiles, artefacts and exotic clothing home with her to Sweden.

Trying on clothes, eating Swedish cake and sipping mulled wine, I spent a good few hours in the shop and after much deliberation bought the Elsa print tunic in dark green and cranberry, and a pair of green Elsa leggings. The tunic is cut with triangular insets at the sides that give it a pointed hem. It reminds me of some of Yoshiko Tsukiori's designs and also Scarlett et Marguerite's Baba Yaga dress. I love this style and the fabric is fabulous in all of the three possible colourways.

I also came away with a long Christmas wishlist of garments I would like! Top of the list is Pia's aubergine Singa dress (the busy store had sold out of my size). It has a gorgeous bold flower repeat print, wide three quarter length sleeves that flare out slightly and fine short rows of elastic to gently shape the sides – an almost concealed detail but one that makes the dress truly beautiful to wear.

By the time I left the shop it was dark. I hope to return soon and now have an extra reason to visit London with the opening of Gudrun Sjödén's first pop-up shop at Marylebone High Street. For details of the pop-up shop and in-store events over the festive season visit Gudrun's World. 

Gudrun Sjödén's Christmas collection is also available here.

Merry Christmas Wukulele Jam!

December 7, 2015, 3:10 pm

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Sunday was the official start of the Christmas party season with a festive edition of Wukulele Jam upstairs at Worthing's art deco Rowing Club. Our own Christmas Songbook (compiled by Harriet) had enough songs to keep us merry for the full 2 hour session, though we paused for refreshments and banter. 

There is no better way to get into the spirit of Yuletide than with the fine people of Worthing Uke Jam and I left wishing it could be (Wukulele) Christmas every day.

Wukulele takes a break in January but we'll be back at Worthing Rowing Club on 21st February for our first uke jam of 2016.