Wow, it seems like a lot has happened since my last update. If you are following me on Twitter or Tailor Taylor page you may have come across my post regarding me 'being in the wars' as they say. After a short ride in an ambulance to A&E and then five hours of blood tests and monitoring I was released with the diagnosis of an Abnormal Migraine. Numbness down the left hand side of my body was not the nicest of sensations I can tell you and I completely sympathise with anyone who suffers with Migraine's regularly. After a few days rest and lovely messages of love and well being, I'm feeling much better! So I just wanted to say thank you for all of your good vibes and wishing me a speedy recovery, as well as an apology for a delayed Blog! Father's Day Workshop at Guthrie and Ghani Haberdashery.So Glad I didn't have to cancel this workshop. It was so much fun! As you can see from the picture my very first MAN attendee by the name of Karl. Not put off by the room of women, Karl plucked up the courage to come along to my morning session, a man's tie. If that's not a #sewingrevoultion right there, I don't know what is. Well done Karl. There was tough competition between Karl and a lady called Julie as they had picked the same fabric! The game was on. It really was a fab day, lots of laughter and everyone came out with fabulous tie's. I really couldn't pick a favorite from them if you pushed me. I'd be rubbish as a Sewing Bee Judge. With the morning session completed it was a quick clean up and on to the next one which was the man's wallet workshop. Three ladies from the morning workshop came for both, so are clearly spoiling their father's with these two gifts! Well done ladies for the long stint too as they didn't get much of a break between the sessions. We had a wonderful selection of fabric's in this workshop. Different textures and weights. Some wallets had applique applied, others with button fasteners. It was wonderful to see so many variations of the same idea with the one workshop. Let me know if you would like a D.I.Y on this? Such a simple but effective gift idea any time of the year, which can be completely personalised for who you are making it for! You could even use their old favorite shirt or jeans. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK WITH THEM BEFORE CUTTING IT UP!!! Sewing Bee Sunday At Guthrie & Ghani - Parkinson's UK.When Lauren told be about this event, I knew I just had to be involved. When she then posted on her blog the full details of the day I really was excited. With three stations to choose from:
There was some amazing pattern and fabric swaps. So much so I couldn't resist when I saw the gorgeous Batik scraps. I think I'm going to make a patchwork shirt from them for Kirk. As well as this wonderful event both Lauren and Ayaz are running the Berlin Marathon. You can still donate to this great cause through the 'Just Giving Page or text LAGG80 to 70070 to donate! Birthday Celebrations and Upcycle ideas.This month I was blessed to be part of two birthday celebrations. First was my best friends little boy's first birthday. His name is George and on the 8th of June I finally was able to give him is Belated birthday treat at his Christening party. He has a woodland theme in his bedroom so wanted something to not only match this but also something for him to cuddle. In true #sewingrevolution style, I used fabric that I had left over from a wrap top I made for an event. Making sure I used colourful fabric's as I read this is good for children, I made George a 'sleeptight owl'. Something to watch over him while he is snug as a bug in a rug. The owl even as a little heart inside him filled with love. The second special birthday was my first ever nephew, Reyer. He really is the sunshine in our lives at the moment. A complete scamp! Reyer decided that he wanted a fancy dress pirate party (well mommy and daddy did they are scamp's too). So it had to be a fancy dress outfit! Made from a pillow case, off cuts from an old project, a curtain and left over fabric from my #GBSB prom dress; we have trousers and matching waistcoat, shirt, sash and of course a pirate sword. Reyer was ready to look for treasure. Obviously, not one to let the side down, Kirk and I decided to go in fancy dress to, but strangely we had enough 'pirate-ie' clothes so we didn't need to make anything. It was a fun sunny day filled with so many treasures, which wasn't necessarily all made from gold! The One Big Show, CHA-UK and Coats.This week I felt like I'd hit a mile stone in my Tailor Taylor sewing career. Not only did I have a flyer with a pic of me and the #sewingrevoultion information on but I was also asked to give two inspirational talks as part of the CHA-UK's One Big Show. This was just amazing. Working along side Coats, we came together and created two projects to be presented in my inspirational talks. I was so nervous. Singing on stage is one thing, you get to hide behind a great band. This was completely different. This was about me and my idea's. My advice on what I thought you guys would need and want as beginners and #sewingrevoultion enthusiasts. I do hope I have helped deliver what you have all been telling me though my social media sites and workshops. Thank you for all your feedback and comments. While I was there I was given the opportunity to meet some wonderful people, like Fiona from the sewingdirectory.co.uk who is about to publish a fantastic book called 'Crafting a creative business'. Publisher's, Designer's, Trade director's, blogger's, Crafter's. Everyone you could possible think of to talk to about craft was there. It was such an amazing opportunity with some very exciting conversations which I'm dying to tell you about. For anyone wanting to start a business or looking for the next step and advice, I would seriously suggest joining something like the CHA-UK. (Craft and Hobby Association UK). There were lots of fantastic seminars on all aspects of craft from Blogging to Publishing, Advertising to Understanding Employment Law all lead by industry leaders. To meet these individuals was a fantastic opportunity to learn but also a huge compliment to be delivering my own talk along side them. With my talks completed, I couldn't wait to sit in on the other seminars taking notes and also to play around on the stands, decorating cupcakes, making cards, talking to experts and of course playing with the lovely items on the Coats stand! Rebecca, kindly showed me how to make a granny square. This was the worse thing she could have done. I have not stopped making them since. I think I'm going to make a granny blanket cardigan. I've always wanted one and now, thanks to Rebecca I can do it myself! You should know I like to get my finger's into as many pie's as possible by now! Considering this was work, it shouldn't be this much fun surely? So to end my blog today I wanted to thank Alastair McMinn from Coats and Craig De Souza from CHA-UK for inviting and letting me lose on your wonderful event. To Helen and Rebecca for making me feel part of a great team on site and to Lisa and Sarah for being great behind the scene's. Remember you are on this journey with me, so thank you for following! I want to hear about your makes or anything you may need help on, so don't forget to #sewingrevoultion when posting! I'm watching out for you!
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As you may be aware from my previous blog or social network feeds, that I have challenged myself to partake in the Me Made May challenge 2014. This is where I had vowed to wear something made by myself everyday, for the entire month of May. So here is my Me Made May 2014 break down from day 12 to day 31. Days 1 to 11 are on my previous blog is you want to have a peek. Day 12 to 16 - Its my birthday and ill go to a book lunch if I want to!Kicking off with day 12, you may recognise this self drafted t shirt as it is made with the left over moustache material I used for The Great British Sewing Bee PJ task in episode two. Day 13 is what I would have made for episode six for the made to measure challenge. My Military jacket is Inspired by the 70's, my design was based on Jimi Hendrix's iconic jacket and The Beatles, Sgt. Peppers. Day 14 is a shirt that I made when I first started to get into sewing. Gotta love that big collar!!! Day 15 and its my birthday! I was very excited that not only was it my birthday but it was also Tilly's 'Love at first stitch' book launch! So in attempting to kill two birds with one stone, Kirk and I went in the hope of also going for a lovely romantic supper for two. Not realising it, I decided to wear my vintage skirt (Maudella 5911) made with denim and left over African print fabric for the inside pockets and my striped boob tube, Tilly and I were matching! It was so lovely to finally meet Tilly. We had a lot of fun as you can see, Tilly and Lauren are so tiny that I decided to kneel down for the pictures. With my book signed we then set off to the pub for a glass or two of fizz. With all the excitement at the launch and by the time we had finished our drinks it got so late that we decided to head back home for a Chinese takeaway instead. Last of the romantics but I had a great night. Day 16 and the birthday celebrations continue with a family and friends gathering at The Church in Hockley, Birmingham for some Soul Food and drinks. Therefore I had to wear my wrap around skirt. This way after eating my body weight in Jambalya I can adjust my wrap skirt to fit my expanding and ready to burst waist! Day 17 to 22 - Time to Vote!Day 17 and it's my best friend's uncle's wedding and we have been kindly invited to the evening do! As it was a lovely warm evening I thought I would bust out my halter neck harlequin dress for the occasion. This was the first dress that I made after my wedding dress. It's not perfect at all, my waist band does not match up very well at all, at the side zip but its nice to see how much I have improved from when I made it. I had completely forgotten about it at the bottom of the wardrobe. Day 18, Its workshop day at Guthrie and Ghani, so I've decided to wear my make from the weekend, which was Tilly's 'Delphine' skirt. The fabric is suede that I was kindly given by a lovely lady who I had never met because she wanted the fabric to go to 'someone who will put it to good use'. Hopefully, I fulfilled that duty! Day 19 and I was not feeling very well at all, so was tucked up in bed, however had I got dressed on this day, I would be wearing 'Beatrice' apron pinafore from Sew Me Something. I slightly adapted mine to make it reversible so I have two dresses in one if you like. Perfect for holidays! Day 20 and I'm feeling much better. So back to work and I'm wearing my upcycled men's shirt dress. This garment uses five men's shirts, which I cut up and made into a dress. A little quirky but I like it! Day 21 and its Dungaree day, well pinafore but you know what I mean. Self drafted pattern with cheeky pockets using corduroy. Day 22 and its your day to Vote. So off I go in my 'go everywhere' dress which is a vintage Simplicity pattern 7135. The material is a lightweight cotton that I got from Walthamstow market with Chinelo, in between filming episodes for The Great British Sewing Bee. Day 23 to 26 - Festival Fun and feeling #snooty!With the run up to the weekend, I was getting very excited. Day 23 and I had upcycled an old bed sheet into what i'm calling my 'festival' dress. It has huge pockets in the side seams and a little pleat in the front with a scooped back. It's so comfortable and with it being a very old bed sheet from the 70's the fabric was not only amazing print wise but was super soft through god knows how many times through the washing machine! Day 24, Kirk and I was heading down to London to meet up with my old school friend Emma Westwood, to go and watch 'Rooster' at Saddlers Wells. Both Emma and I studied dance at school. It was so amazing to get to watch this performance together and try and rein-act the performance after! Day 25 and very tired as we didn't get in until two in the morning, Kirk and I say goodbye and head to Stevenage for Hogsozzle Festival. Armed with our matching upcycled poncho's and Band T-shirts, we prepared to get ready for our performance by part-taking in the Paint Fight! So much fun and it makes a great stage outfit! Day 26 cold and wet as we camped over night, we crawled back to Birmingham in our tie dye t shirts and snooty pants. An improved look for the T shirt, I'm not so sure I looked so great! #hanging. Day 27 to 31 - The last few days :(Feeling well rested after the festival its now Day 27 and I'm up early as I have two workshops in Stratford Upon Avon at Sew Me Something. My first mixed group with adults and children, I wanted to look 'cool' so with my birthday moccasins on I teamed it up with my Pinafore and long sleeve vest. Workshop was awesome, so much fun and lovely students! Day 28 and its a little chilly so I went with my light corduroy shirt dress. The pattern was from a sewing magazine I bought when I first started sewing, unfortunately I cannot find it to let you know the pattern name. Sorry everyone. Day 29, so it has to be my upcycled shirt skirt. Made from two matching men's shirts. I wanted to look the part as I was involved in interviewing new recruits at my normal 9-5 job. ITS FRIDAY and Day 30 so it has to be my snooty moustache shirt. Its a 1978 pattern by style 2465. The fabulous fabric I purchased online from Plush Addict. And so my Me Made May 2014 comes to an end with Day 31. This is a Tunic dress I made from the fabric Chinelo gave me while we were filming the Great British Sewing Bee. After a few hours of filming Chinelo said that she has the perfect piece of fabric at home and it has my name on it! I thought she was joking when she said that but the very next round of filming and she presented the fabric as a gift. She is so lovely and kind hearted, I decided to use the material to make a tunic dress using a 1969 Style pattern 2521. I used the off cuts to make my pockets for my Day 15 Skirt. It's such a treasured piece of fabric I wanted to make sure I used every last centimeter. I hope you have enjoyed following my Me Made May adventure. I've really enjoyed wearing the garments that I had completely forgotten about. Those early items I made when I first started sewing compared to more recent makes (don't turn the item inside out you'll see the stitches - practice really does make perfect) . Even some of the fabrics have stories of their own. Can't wait to sew more memories!!! #sewingrevolution. I want to hear about your Me Made Makes! Do you have garments that hold memories? Its been two years since we (Kirk and I) have been on a holiday abroad for a sun break which was our honeymoon to Morocco in 2012. With all the excitement and hard work of The Great British Sewing Bee all over, working full time throughout the period as well as starting up my #sewingrevolution workshops and gigging with SnootyBobs, which has been taking up pretty much each weekend, we were both in need of a break and some quality time together. For our honeymoon, we originally wanted to go to New Orleans. Friend and family gifted dollar's as presents so we could go. However with Hurricane Isaac hitting the area hard in August 2012, our blues and food dream was not to be. With the dollar's burning a hole in our top draw and money being too tight to mention, we cashed in our dollar's and booked a last minute deal to Fuertaventura. At 26 degrees every day and an all inclusive break, it was exactly what we needed. RELAXATION. It was a little scary going on holiday and leaving Tailor Taylor behind. Promising to keep my phone off (not that I had any reception anyway- sorry Kirk I did try to have a peak once), this holiday was for relaxing and replenishing only. Knowing that I cannot keep still for five minutes, I decided to take the book 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote and try to take up crochet. Armed with a little beginners guide and a brief five minute demo by a friend, I attempted to crochet. I was rubbish! Just couldn't get to grips with the instructions. I could start a chain and singles but couldn't fathom the half, treble and double treble. I gave up and started to make it up. I created what can only describe as a fisherman's net. Using three as the magic number, I made a couple of square nets. I have no idea what they are going to be but I gave it ago. If at first you don't succeed and all that .... as they say. We bring the S.T.A.R's out.Upon my return to the midlands at 02:00, it was straight back to work at 09:00 on the same day. On my previous blog, I had mentioned that I was involved in a project called S.T.A.R's. Saturday the 3rd of May was the competition date and I along with two others, Melody Harris and Mark Anthony were to judge three categories. Voice, Dance and Fashion! It was so much fun, It was like 'Britain's Got Talent' but without the big red button. Walsall has some serious talent! These kids were just amazing. We were completely blown away. Each person presented their track, performance and collection to a filled auditorium and in front of the three scary judges. We each provided critical feed back to each individual and also had to fill out a scoring sheet. There were live camera's projecting the performance and our reactions on a big screen. It must have been so daunting for them. Me, I'm strangely used to it now, seeing myself from angles you don't normally see. Remembering the first episode airing on BBC2, it wasn't comfortable to watch. First up was the voice category. We had singer/song writers, guitarist, covers. Classic and current music. There were some real stand out performances, I just wanted to get up on stage and sing with them, they were so good. We had two dance performances, one street and one contemporary improvised. This brought back memories of High school, Northern Contemporary School of Dance of which I attended for a year before completing my BA Hons Degree in Dance and Visual Arts at Brighton Uni. How I miss throwing myself around a dance studio #feelingold. The last category was Fashion, we had three collections to assess. Each had been given a brief to create a fashion collection by up-cycling and customizing old clothes to create a modern and edgy line. Boy did they do that, I needed to get some tips off them. After four hours of performance and catwalks, it was our time to get down to some serious work. It was decision making time! One winner from each category. After a few difficult conversations we had decided on the winner of the fashion and dance. The tough one being Voice, we just couldn't decide on shortlisted three of the acts. We needed a TIE BREAKER! We invited the three acts back on stage to provide them with a few words of encouragement before they gave us their final performance. The hairs on the back of my head stood on end, they really gave it their all! With a little audience participation, we made our decision. All the participants were awarded S.T.A.R medals and the winner's received a prestigious S.T.A.R. award and a monetary gift. It was a fantastic and very inspiring day. I believe they are already planning next years event so I do hope I can be involved again next year! #MeMadeMay2014 Challenge.Upon my return from holiday and catching up on all the Social Media feeds. I came across #MMMAY2014 and straightaway thought what a great idea! What better way to show I'm committed to the #sewingrevolution than vow to wear my Me-Made clothes in May, my birthday month. So here it is! My eleven days so far, posted every day on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I'm quite enjoying this one. Checking my wardrobe I'm not sure I have enough Me-Made items to get through the whole month, so this is a perfect excuse to make more!!! Don't forget you can take part to! I'm still checking up on your#sewingrevoultion / Me-Made makes so please keep posting! Sorry that this is quite a long post this week but needed to catch up on two weeks worth of shenanigans! Hope to see you here next week and have a fab Sewing Sunday. Heather gallops ahead.As we all settled down to watch the final of The Great British Sewing Bee, a little melancholy came over me. Tuesday nights have become quite a ritual in our and so many other households. Chinelo, Heather and Tamara looked so nervous on this episode. More than I had ever seen them before I thought. I think the reality of the final began to ring loud and clear in their heads. Everything they/we had worked so hard for over the last seven weeks comes down to this episode. No pressure then! :) Couture was the theme, so hand sewing and perfection was key. I was quite surprised by Heather's tie, I thought that she would of smashed this task because of the level of skill required. She may not be so out there as the other two but she had shown in the previous tasks that, like the box pleat skirt, I'm sure Heather was awarded for her lapped zip. Tamara however, you could see that she was fighting for this and snapped up first! I really wanted to be there to give Chinelo a huge hug! I didn't like seeing her upset like that, but she came back in true Chinelo style ready for the alteration challenge. This looked a lot of fun but a hell of a lot of work in such a small space of time. Chinelo really did herself proud on this challenge I thought. The dress was just beautiful. Now for the final third task, I thought this was just ridiculous! Couture in seven hours, a little unfair I thought. The results however were stunning. For me, Chinelo's dress was the best but this is based on style. I thought her bodice design was so beautiful. I was proud of Tamara sticking to her guns on the final task. She was going for something out there. This is something that she has done from day one and I'm glad that she didn't change her game plan, she stayed true to herself which I think is important and is something that I personally love her for! Heather, WOW! I think Heather had been saving all her creative juices for this task! Sunray pleats in the bodice. Lashings of fabric to boot, along with a top hat, chains and a whip! I say!!! Go for it Heather! It was very strange coming back to the sewing room for the final take. Even though I had not made it to the final I still felt very connected to the other contestants and the show. This felt like good bye. It must have been very hard for the Judges to pick the winner of the show. What do they go on? Progression throughout the show, this weeks tasks or the final task? Chinelo had achieved top two over seven times and garment of the week once. Tamara with garment of the week twice and top two over four times. Heather with top two over five times however had not been awarded garment of the week; was this her garment of the week and what won the prise. I still can't figure out the Judge's angle for scoring. That being said it makes for one amazing programme! A huge congratulation to Heather, your dress was stunning, so much work for such a small amount of time; and it made the Book! BOOM! I want to wish all the contestants, all the best for the future! I'm glad to say that the last episode wasn't goodbye and that we all keep in touch. I love hearing about their adventures after the bee! Some of you have asked about the dress that I wore for the final. Yes, it is a Tailor Taylor dress (I made it). Thank you all for you kind comments! I used a vintage pattern by Style patterns ltd- 4278 from 1973. It was given to me along with a box full of old pattern treasures by a lovely lady who no longer had a use for them. Thank you Ma McToot! The fabric is from my local market stall in Walsall and is just a simple light cotton. Nothing fancy but I think it looks cool! I've had quite a few lovely donations of late from complete strangers and friends. Hordes of fabric, sewing machines and haberdashery as well as just offering help! So I wanted to thank Clare Lundy, Sue and Nigel Tame, David Nutt and Jo Smith for putting me in touch with potential workshop spaces. The world really does have some big hearts in it! Thank you so much for contributing to my #sewingrevolution! Speaking of workshops, it has been a very crazy week. I've secured another three workshop venues and completed one at the lovely Guthrie and Ghani Haberdashery in Moseley last Saturday. It is just a wonderful space. We still have limited spaces left for the upcycle IPad cover on the 18th of May. (my birthday week so there might be cake as well) http://www.guthrie-ghani.co.uk/workshops/learn-to-sew-beginners-upcycled-ipad-or-gadget-case-with-jenni-taylor/ We had a cracking day! it was a little scary for me as this time we decided that we would run an upcycle sewing clinic. This way I didn't know until the day what we would be making! Quite a challenge for me but an exciting one and you know I love a good challenge! Lynda wanted to make a bag out of a charity shop shirt and leather belt. Penny had only made bunting before but wanted to go for a make-up wrap bag using fat quarters that she had left over from her stash. Rachel wanted to completely alter a sari into a halter neck top. Julie had two men's shirts that she wanted to make into a comfortable dress. Lorna armed with a pair of black jeans and a skirt, wanted to make a cover for her laptop. Not wanting to feel left out, I had decided to wear my own upcycled man's shirt that I had resized and added a ruffle to. Very 'Prince and the Revolution' and appropriate I thought ! (#sewingrevolution) The ladies were a great group. All varied ideas, skill levels but all had cracking sense of humour. Had to remind them all as well as myself that we had to get on with the sewing if we wanted finished items. Once I had given everyone a plan, they were off! It was wonderful to see all the items coming together throughout the day. It was also nice to observe the ladies taking an interest in the other projects and encouraging each other. They had mentioned that they really liked being able to see how other things were being made, even though they were making something else. That way, they were able to take the ideas away and try it at home later. I must admit I was really pleased with myself while I was cleaning up the workspace. I had achieved everything that I had set out to. The ladies had enjoyed themselves. All had finished items and enthusiasm to create more. Learned how to design and create their own items from recycled material and think outside the box! Job done, it was a rewarding pint for me and a curry! I have updated my events page with all the new venue's I will be running workshops over the next few months. Please feel free to get in touch if you know of any other venue's that might be interested in joining the #sewingrevolution and having me come to visit! I would love to come and see you all! Keep your pictures coming through on twitter and facebook. I'd love to see your projects, remember to use the hashtag! Lovely Lynda is made the April Fool.Unfortuntley, I was a little behind with the Great British Sewing Bee this week, as I had a rehearsal booked with Snooty Bobs. However, I already knew what was coming. I'd sent a personal message to Lynda that day to reminder her that I thought she was amazing and that I loved her to bits. I honestly had Lynda and potentially one other to contestant to to win ( I won't reveal the other one yet) when I was asked on my exit interview in Episode Five. When I finally got round to watching it, I was a little dissapointed with the judges comments regarding Lynda. 'A little inconsistant', she has had garment of the week three times! Closely followed by Tamara who only got her second garment of the week at the end of this episode. That said, I was sad to see Lynda go but very please for Chinelo, Heather and Tamara! Well done ladies and good luck for the final next week! This is very stange for me to say as we all know this is prerecorded programme but it really does feel like its only just happening. Reliving it if you like. Im very excited about the Final, but also gutted as again I'm not going to be able to watch it live. My good friends have treated me to an evening at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham. We are going to be watching Hitchcock's - Psycho. This is no ordinary screening as it will be accompanied by a live orchestra! Awesome and a little eerie as we might be at the famous shower scene as they are announcing the winner of the GBSB, this isn't a spolier by the way, but I do hear that its a tense one! As for this weeks challenges, WOW what a tough one! I've bodged a few patterns in my time but never to this extreme. Here are some Hotpants that I had copied back in and around April 2013 (according to the picture upload date on facebook #virtualdiary) with slight adjustments as I wanted to make them high waisted. The Hotpant are made out of left over corduroy from a previous project and the buttons are off an old coat. My proposal for the Made to Measure challenge in the bee (if I had made it that far) would have been my dad's Levis denim shirt. I adore that shirt but as he and now I, pretty much live in it, its falling to bits. Holes in the elbow's, you name it, its falling apart :( I was hoping to get some time to have a go at the First challenge for the blog today, but I haven't had the time this week. Sorry Ladies and Gents. The #sewingrevolution will be social-live!The #sewingrevolution came into full force this week. My first willing victim was Charlotte Hall. A dear friend who had made my wonderful cupcakes for the GBSB premier party as a suprise (check out episode one blog pic's) . As the 'boys' were at a whiskey festival we decided we would have a 'crafty' day and transfer skills. Its as kind of a sewing bee cook off day if you will. The task to make and decorate cupcakes and make a 'Beatrice' Dress by www.sewmesomething.co.uk . A fantastic beginners pattern that I came across at the Sewing For Pleasure event at the NEC a few weeks before. A wonderful pattern that is a great start for beginners and a fantastic pattern for any sewing hands that love something comfortable and has wicked pockets! I had already made this particular dress the night before and was wearing it at the time but I had slightly adapted the pattern to make it reversible. Therefore, I got two dresses in one garment! A great holiday item as you would only need to pack this and it would cover two days (with a bit of airing) !! Anyway I digress, First thing first we needed was materials of both kinds! Fabric was the first of the ingredients on the list. Charlotte just couldnt get over how many different types and styles there were being a non sewer. Guiding her through she found what she was looking for. Charlotte had decided to go with this wonderful Blue pin striped cotton with a contrasting Bicycle pattern that repeated in different colours. Very Paul Smith! She wanted to go with my adapted 'Beatrice' pattern as well, this was going to be ace! After getting all the cake ingredients next we headed back to the appartment and got started on the cupcakes first. We figured we can cut out the fabric while they were cooking. A great tip for Cupcakes is to use stork not butter as this makes a lighter cupcake. Another tip, after creaming your butter and sugar don’t add the flour next, mix in the eggs first, then fold in the flour! Mary Berry ain't go nothing on our Charlotte, but she would kill me for saying that! Cake mix done and in the oven, we started on setting out our pattern on the fabric. I explained how to lay out the pattern and to be aware of the bias of the fabric, and the difference's it makes if you do cut on the bias. All pinned in place she got stuck into cutting out. Charlotte has just finished cutting out and the cake were ready! But first they needed to cool down before we could decorate them. So Charlotte got straight on with it and tackled the pockets! I was very impressed, a natural! With the side seams now attached we have one side of the dress completed. We decided that we would leave that for a bit and make a start on decorating the cakes . As it was a lovely sunny day and feeling like spring finally, we went for grass, flowers and Ladybirds and of course Bee’s! Charlotte was an excellent teacher! I think we should hook up and do a master class!!! The sew off/cook off we joked! What do you think? While the icing and fondant set, we set to work on the second part of the dress. This was basically what we had just done, but again to make it reversible. Feeling like we had achieved something already by completing the cup cakes we had a little glass of Prosecco to celebrate first! Then got straight back on it. We were both determined to get this finished today! Repeating what we had done earlier to make it a reversible dress. We then stitched the two pieces together, right sides together and leaving a small gap to pull back through. Bagging it if you like. For those of you that don't sew, think about a inside out pillow case, where you can see all the stitches but when you fold it the right way its a lovely clean seam. That's bagging. We then needed to sew the shoulders together and top stitch all the way around. Charlotte a little overwhelmed by all the sewing that a garment requires had another glass of Prosecco but felt very proud of herself, with me even more so. I was so glad that she had done this herself and it was all ready to wear! My #sewingrevolution mission was now complete! Check out next weeks Blog, talking about the Final Great British Sewing Bee :( and my Upcycle Sewing clinic at www.guthrie-ghani.co.uk. |
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