Sherlock Holmes Dress

Every day on my way to work I drive past the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes is one of those characters I have a hard time believing is only fictional. Like Harry Potter or Dorian Gray. On the other hand, when I was a little girl I assumed that Jesus was fictional, like Snow White and Peter Pan.

In any case. I had these 2 skirts that separate and on their own were quite hopeless.

Skirt 1.

Skirt 2. 

I cherish Skirt 1, but this is when self-awareness comes in handy. Even if I lost a gazillion pounds, my ass would still look like the size if Brazil in this skirt. I think it was made for a child, or someone without any body fat what so ever. Such is life......

Skirt 2. is at the opposite side of the spectrum; way, way too big. A tent, something to seek shelter under, it could double as a parachute. 

What if I combined them and turned them into one item, a cute little dress?

Skirt 1.became the top, I thought it was kind of cool that the split could now be the neckline. 

Skirt 2. remained as a skirt, but I obviously took it in a lot, which just made it full and poofy, in a good way. 

Really cute, if I may say so myself. Like a dress Sherlock Homes would have worn, had he been a woman. 

Now I just need a pipe and a mystery to solve. 

BUNTING!

Bunting is everywhere. In shop windows, nurseries, street-parties, gardens. The colourful flags are so jolly and festive, lets the passers-by know that this is a place of fun and never ending joy. It might be old-school joy, sponge cake and egg-race, but there is something comforting and reassuring about the atmosphere surrounding bunting.

Maybe it's because they has been around for over 300 years, so it's steeped in tradition and history.

Bunting was originally the name of the fabric that the flags and ribbons were made from, now we think of bunting as the flags themselves.

I make bunting out of worn out shirts and let-over fabrics.

Since I made my first set I have also made one for my sister and one form my dearest friend. She hung them up in the living room, insisting that I make another for the garden. 

I might just do that. 

My Kingdom for a Horse

Help! I'm stuck in a frumpy, yet expensive jacket. 

I wanted to get rid of it,but my husband pointed out it would be perfect for those rainy walks in the Cotswolds. It is soft, and it is warm, but I can't bring myself to wearing anything this boring. 

My sewing-mind was churning, and finally I came up with the master plan of turning the jacket into a vest. I remember wearing a beige west when grooming horses in Pennsylvania, it was a good look for me. Ponytail and all, grooming those beautiful horses. Maybe my adorning myself in a similar outfit, a similar situation would present itself. 

The jacket has a really nice lining, the vest version would expose it more. Super. So I cut of the arms, but left the lining fabric about 5inches from the shoulder. Then I could fold the fabric around the opening and create a fresh contrasting border. 

See how nice that looks! More fresh, less middle-aged. 

Now I can wear it with my favourite woollen sweater underneath, vest are far more practical than jackets. They are also easier to move around in, less constricting. 

But what happened with the sleeves I cut off? They got made into matching leg-warmers. 

Notice the shoes in this picture? Proper Lederhosen shoes, imported from Germany. I like to mix it up a bit. 

Confidence

Sewing is all about having a great time, about being confident and happy. Then when you sew the sleeve inside out or you you made the hem too short (theses things will happen..) you can just sit back, take a break and have a big spacious view.

The second I feel like ripping the fabric to shreds or screaming at any moving objects in sight, I know I'm not in the right sewing zone. Mistakes happen, you can hurt yourself, the sewing machine will take on a life of its own. In these moments we have to remember why we are sewing in the first place.

I just know that I'm constantly drawn to my sewing room. I love sitting in my little corner of the house and ponder and think through a new project. It's a great place to sit in general, just me and my mind.

In order to get good at sewing though and having a great time, it does help to have some good tools on hand. Some staples, not too many, but good quality ones. Less is more. 

Here are some of mine:

My beloved sewing machine.

You need super sharp scissors, big and small. 

Measuring tapes, obviously. 

A good steam iron. 

I have a brilliant sewing sister, her talent has always been several notches above mine. One day I figured out one of her secrets. She always ironed everything! I had never ironed any of my fabrics, just struggled with wrinkly fabrics, pleats coming apart and trying to remember where the middle was. As I watched her patiently iron every little scrap of fabric I got a window into what it takes to bring it to the next level. Patient, mindfulness, attention to details. 

As you get better, you get more confident, you have a greater time, and then -guess what? - you get better at sewing. Full circle!

Juliet or Rapunzel?

I bought this dress at a costume sale back in the 90s. My little sister and I were first in line, faces pressed up against the door, waiting for the theatre staff to let us in. It was like that scene from Friends when Monica and Rachel went shopping for Monica's wedding dress. I've got three words for you: Divide and Conquer.

When the door opened, we shot off in opposite directions and grabbed as many clothes as we could carry. Then we met up by the stairs and looked through our finds. I had picked out things I thought she might want and visa versa. We brought home a lot of weird clothes that day. 

What role was this dress made for? A Elizabethan play, Shakespeare perhaps, a Grimm story? You can tell from this picture that this is not the most user-friendly dress. But I loved the red, the velvet, so I always hang on to it, convinced there would be a day were a heavy and dramatic floor-length dress would be just the thing I needed. 

That day never came. So after a long decade and some intense soul-searching I gave myself permission to transform the dress into a coat. 

Even thought a lot could be left as it was, the dress lacked a few essential coat features. Like a collar, cuffs, band in the back, an open front. I could have kept it long, but I opted for knee-length. It's more elegant and a lot more practical. The left over fabric got put to use as all the things mentioned above. 

Even though I feel bad about destroying my one and only Rapunzel dress, I'm really thrilled to finally have a beautiful velvet coat. Now I just need a stormy autumn evening.

"Many can brook the weather that love not the wind."- Love's Labour's Lost

Winter Glow from Mumbai

It's been a rather un-summery summer. I haven't worn my bikini once, but I have wrapped myself up in big cardigans plenty of times. 

Is it any wonder that I've started to sew for fall and winter? Not to jump ahead too much, after all it is still August, but here is a great project for cast aside sweaters and other woollen things.

Do you see what I made here? Fingerless gloves! All you need is 2 sleeves and something to decorate them with. These sleeves came off a sweater that had seen better days, and after a bit of sewing and designing I had my new pair of gloves.The sleeves I used were a bit too wide, so I took them in a bit. You want those hands to be snug and warm.

The blue decorative ribbon is something I picked up at a street marked in Mumbai. I didn't know what I would use the ribbon for, but I knew there would be just the perfect project for them. I could have spent hours at this street marked, looking through all the treasures. Rows upon rows upon rows of street vendors selling ribbons, beads, buttons, fabrics, it was amazing. And a bit intimidating. All the shouting, the different languages, the smells, the atmosphere, I just fell in love with the place. 

Two streets down were Dhobi Ghat, Mumbai's laundry district. There more than 5000 men hand-wash clothes and linen from all of Mumbai's hotels and hospitals from dusk to dawn. In this photo you see the laundry drying in the sun. Average pay is £1 a day. I hate to think what the workers of India's many sweat-shops gets paid. 

Why did I bring this up? Well, you see, I just can't in good conscience buy a pair of gloves for £18.99 when I know some poor kid has slaved over them for nothing. I'd rather make my own. By make I mean, design, save the environment, not support child labour, reduce waist AND end up with something beautiful and unique. Not bad for 20-30 minutes of my time. 

The Old Switcheroo

The traditional office clothes are as unimaginative and unexciting as it gets. Suites, shirts, creased pants and shiny fabrics.Not really my cup of tea. However, I do recognize that there is a time and a place for everything.

A few years back I was going for a job interview. That is not really the best of times to whip out the most eccentric outfit. I wanted to seamlessly blend in, so I needed something neutral. I landed on blue shirt, new black jeans, ponytail and pearls. It could have been any decade, any situation, that kind of assemble is both classic and tasteful, even if it is on the boring side.

I got the job (hurrah!), and the blue office shirt was never touched again. At times I was tempted to wear it, soft cotton, nice shape, but it wasn't really me.

Years later, as I was taking apart a red and white polka dot shirt, I got an idea. I could take the collar of the blue shirt, and replace it with the polka dotted one. Brilliant! When the new collar was in place, the whole shirt was transformed. More fun, more alive, more happy. And of course the best bit, no one has the same. It's a true one of a kind.

The new collar was great, but I wanted to make a few more improvements before calling it a day. I took off the buttons on the sleeves and sewed them back on with red thread. Then I top-stitched the seams around the cuffs with red thread.

See how these little details really add up? None of this is the leas difficult or require a degree in design and fashion. Just look at an outfit and think: How can it been improved? What would it take for me to actually start wearing it more often? You know what they say, the most expensive outfit is the one you never wear.

While you thing about your new design project, make some tea and simply enjoy the process.