Winter product highlight: cloaks

Following on from capes a couple of weeks ago it's time for my last product highlight: cloaks!

Full-length cloaks were the first item that I started to offer on a made to order basis, and they've remained a steady favourite ever since. Most popular are my fleece cloaks with a polyester lining, as they are lovely and warm plus showerproof and can be easily machine washed when needed.

(I also offer an unlined version, but most people seem to like the opportunity to have a flash of contrasting colour from the lining as they walk)

In the last year or so I've seen an increase in demand for semi-circular cloaks, which customers generally prefer to have made up in a wool-blend Melton or pure boiled wool. These are truly spectacular garments, quite heavy but super warm due to the amount of fabric you have draped around you.

I haven't listed the semi-circular cloaks in my online shop yet as price varies quite a bit depending on the length you require, but it is on the list of "things I really need to do". In the meantime I'm happy to do you a quote if you let me know what you're after!

Replacing an old favourite.

We've all got them, somewhere in our wardrobe - that favourite that we've had for years, that we turn to regularly, that never fails us but which is coming to the end of its life and starting to look a little worn.

This dress came about from one such garment that had been a faithful friend for 20-odd years, that a customer brought in to me with the challenge of creating a replacement that fitted in the same way and made her feel as good wearing it. It's not an identical copy but keeps the overall style and fit.

Made from jade double-knit jersey, it has moulded cups, spaghetti straps and a thigh-high split on her left-hand side.

Have you got an old favourite that you wish could go on forever but just isn't going to do so? If so, why not consider getting a replacement made, it might be a more practical idea than you think!

New outlet for my work...

Just a quick blog post to 'announce' (if you've not been on my facebook or twitter feeds) that a selection of my capes, wraps, shrugs and other clothing are now available to purchase in person from the lovely Fabrication inside The Light, Leeds.

If you've never been in and are local, why not? Remedy that immediately!! It's a lovely shop packed full to bursting with high quality handmade items, and I'm proud to have had my stuff accepted to sell in there. I will be working in store 2 days a month too, so if you'd like a custom item making you can call in and talk to me in person about it, and collect it from the store once it's completed.

They've had a rearrange since I took this photo of my stock, but here's a tease of what you can expect to find...

New for 2014 - dry cleaning service

Before I show you some of the beautiful things I finished towards the end of last year (I know, I'm very behind on sharing everything with you! I will get there eventually I hope) I thought I would let you know of a new service for 2014 - dry cleaning! Through these guys...

That's right, I've recently become an agent for Johnsons the Cleaners, which means that I can offer my customers all the cleaning services they do with the added convenience of dropping it off when you're making a trip to me anyway.

Services include:
- Dry cleaning
- Wedding dress steaming (before the big day)
- Wedding dress cleaning (after the big day)
- Wedding dress boxing (for storage, beautifully boxed in a moth/bug proofed box)

Obviously if you want to arrange for something to be done while it's with me for alteration then I can sort that for you, but equally I'm happy to accept items for dry cleaning alone, just get in touch for a quote if you're interested!

Moving out in to the big wild world...

This week I took what is at once both a small step and a big development for my business: the owners of Handpicked Hall (which has stores in Leeds, Ripon and Skipton) have opened an area of the store called the Bob-In, which is a space for small businesses to have their wares permanently on sale in exchange for a few days a month staffing that area (and of course, some rent, although it's very reasonable).

I have been trading on a monthly basis from Handpicked Hall in the Grand Arcade, Leeds, and thought the Bob-In sounded like a good opportunity to get my products in the public eye on a more regular basis and hopefully increase sales to boot. So, this Wednesday I took over a few capes, wraps and shrugs plus my ever-popular long wristwarmers and set my space up. The whole Bob-In area consists of shelving and some hanging rails, and my space is a shelf for wristwarmers and leaflets etc plus hanging space for the garments:

I'm not due to spend a full-day in store for over a week but I did stay in store for a little while to meet a new seller I'd not met before plus have a catch up with some of the vendors that I do know from previous selling days. The whole store is filling up nicely and the food hall and vintage cafe seem to be in full swing so if you're nearby I'd definitely recommend dropping in for a visit!

Jersey dress with an interesting collar

I seem to have had a cluster of customers commissioning garments to replace old favourites which have worn out, which is always quite a nice task. After all, I make clothes to be worn not to sit in a wardrobe out of sight, so to make something that the customer knows she'll wear is lovely!

Today's blog is to share one of these commissions, what looks like a simple jersey dress but with a collar/neckline that looks almost like you're wearing a shrug over the top of a strapless dress:

The customer ordered two, one in a bright red viscose jersey and one in this beautiful patterned cotton jersey. I know she was pleased with how they've come out, and I hope she enjoys wearing them!

Simple but stylish

Just a fairly brief post this time to showcase a skirt finished today. Although it did take a fair amount of work to sew due to all the individual pieces involved (plus the trim) I think the overall effect is simple, timeless and stylish... and hopefully you will too!

Designed to replace a much loved oldie that had given up the ghost in an unrepairable fashion, this needle cord skirt consists of a fitted top section which gives way to gathered layers. 

The 'raw' (overlocked) edges are visible at the top of each gathered layer, and there is a velvet ribbon trim to finish it all off.

I have to admit, when I saw this on the customer at the last fitting it did make me want one for myself. I'll be making at least one more at some point anyway as I already have some purple needle cord set aside for another for this customer, but maybe a similar one for me too... 

The evolution of an existing pattern...

I have a regular customer who has had two dresses made from the same pattern previously (the last one featured in my blog a couple of weeks ago). For a wedding a week or so ago she asked if I could find a suitable fabric for a summer wedding and make her a dress using the same bodice but with a fuller skirt to give it a softer look.

Fortunately we managed to find the perfect fabric (so perfect in fact that I bought myself some to make a summer skirt) and after drafting a new skirt pattern the resulting dress was exactly what she had in mind:

I think she's had more traumas finding the matching accessories than she did the dress - she's got the bag and belt (white of course) but the right shoes weren't easy to find at all!

A second, very different, bridesmaid dress

At the end of May I blogged about the first of two of bridesmaid dresses with a difference that I had been commissioned to make, for a wedding in June (see here for that post).

The second dress is now done, and looking absolutely stunning, and it's this dress that I want to share with you today. It uses the same mushroom Italian lace with gold threads, this time in carefully placed gathered panels down the front and back of the dress. The main body of the dress is ivory polyester/cotton with tiny silver flecks woven in, and lined with poplin, and the whole dress is finished off with a 7mm chocolate ribbon under the bust:

I have to say that this does look gorgeous on the girl it's for, with the added bonus that when she twirls round the lace panels float up to horizontal (yes, this has been tested during fittings!) Apparently the two sisters are both convinced that their dress is better than the other one's, which I think is a sign that both dresses have been a success! (So long as they don't ask me to choose which I prefer!)

A bit more de-stashing (finally!)

Something I've made for me this time, as part of my ongoing sewing-from-stash - a project which I started with enthusiasm at the start of the year but got a little bit side-tracked from in March and April!

Even though it's quite a simple pattern and was reasonably quick to make up (cut & sewn in a day) this dress is quite a big step as it's:
a) a pattern I made about 3 years ago,
b) fabric I've had in my stash for about the same length of time, bought for this pattern, complete with zip and thread which had been kept together.
c) a summer dress, that I've managed to make in time for our (theoretical) summer.

And, voila! One sleeveless summer dress...

It's made from cotton shirting and lined with polycotton poplin. There's a hip-length back zip (invisible of course) so it can just be stepped in to & done up (none of this 'over your head' malarkey) and the bottom of the lining is trimmed with cream lace edging that just peeks out to give it the look of a petticoat underneath.

Now I just have to hope for enough sunshine this year to get some wear out of it!!

Bridesmaid dress with a difference

Today I've got a bridesmaid's dress with a difference to show you. This is one of two dresses that I'm making for a wedding in June which are completely different styles from each other, chosen to suit the girls who are wearing them. Both dresses use the same soft Italian lace fabric as the top layer of the dress, which ties them together beautifully.

This dress is in a 50s style, with a fitted waist and flared skirt. The neckline is high at the front but a very deep 'v' on the back which will look stunning as she walks up the aisle after her sister (in fact, her sister has threatened to send her up first so she can see it too, although I'm not sure if she'll go through with that one the day...)

The top fabric is beautiful soft Italian lace in a colour best described as mushroom with gold threads running through it, which has been set over an iridescent chiffon underlay and lining, and the whole combination is beautifully floaty when it's being worn!

 

Reacquaintance with an old friend...

...of the back of the trouser variety - a pocket!

Recently I was make up a pair of trousers for someone which involved making up a type of pocket I hadn't done in a long time, but which does look great in trousers and jackets. I have to admit to an initial wobble trying to remember the best order of construction (I was sewing from a toile & pattern pieces, without any construction instructions at all) but once I'd got my head back round how it went together it was lovely to get reacquainted with a pocket which gives a lovely look to the finished garment and isn't as difficult to put together as it looks.

Now I just have to work out what I'm going to make to give me the opportunity to use it again!