Making Life more Beautiful
On the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, I had the chance to see the Diana: Her Fashion Story exhibition at Kensington Palace as a guest of our auditors. This included a talk by Claudia Williams … Continued
I will be doing Me Made May 2017. Will you? This is a longstanding initiative by Zoe, or So Zo, to try to encourage sewists to wear the items we make, and to show (on Instagram or blogs) how the … Continued
I recently posted my knitting plans, and I have made good progress. I said I would make a petrol blue Heavenly sweater a dark green cashmere sweater a brown and green Holsten (just started, but it’s brown and mauve now) … Continued
I have had a number of enquiries about painting on silk, especially in terms of materials and supplies. If you are interested in making colourful silk for a special blouse or dress this is a most satisfying and relatively easy … Continued
Many dressmakers are attracted to patterned fabrics – unsurprisingly as making garments in black or navy is not very exciting, even though most of us wear neutrals most of the time. But while we make clothes with gaudy fabrics, flamboyant … Continued
Apparently corduroy started life as a type of Fustian. I remember clearly reading about both fabrics in one of my GCE O level books, The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. The man was of fine figure, swarthy, and stern … Continued
As I have mentioned before we have moved, at the weekends, to live in the Cotswolds. And although I come from a Cotton Town I now find myself in the heart of the ancient wool country. The Romans introduced sheep with … Continued
No sooner had she crashed out of SWAP than she was already making new plans. Like the jilted lover she deal with her grief by shouting “NEXT!” I mentioned on Saturday that I hope to create a few items for … Continued
I am not one to follow trends. I am not breathless about what is shown at London Fashion Week, or the latest looks from Philip Lim or Victoria Beckham. I don’t have a subscription to Vogue and much of my … Continued
I had been looking forward to this exhibition since it was announced last year. Despite it being rather an expensive venue (£7, compared to many other London museums being free) the Fashion and Textile Museum is an important source of … Continued