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Hello and welcome to the April edition of Focus on Craft, brought to you by HotHive Textiles (shortly to be branded to HotHive Textiles). This month we have been delving into the fabulous craft of dressmaking.
Contents
The origins of dressmaking
Inspiration from artists
Supplier information
A project
Further information and resources
Recommended reading
A competition
The origins of dressmaking
The term ‘dressmaker’ was first recorded in The English Dictionary in 1803. In Georgian society most women who didn’t make their own clothes at home would employ a dressmaker, who would find inspiration in the latest fashions from Paris and London. During the Victorian era, dressmaking was a popular occupation. The Post Office London Directory recorded 17,500 dressmakers in one year, most of which would have been young girls who worked in large houses to serve the needs of their wealthy employees. In Edwardian society dressmaking had become even more popular and appealed as honest employment to many young women, despite the low wages. Although many women lived through tough conditions, the clothing they produced was of an exquisite quality, due to their skill and attention to detail.
Today, such craft within dressmaking has become a luxury of the elite, with dressmakers only being employed for bespoke exclusive items, or for special occasions such as weddings. The fashion industry today demands ‘Fast Fashion’, rather than time consuming attention to detail. However, this may be set to change. Recent reports suggest that in today’s difficult economic climate, more and more people are returning to traditional methods and making their own clothes.
Retailers have reported a dramatic increase in sales of sewing machines over the past year, particularly the cheaper models, suggesting that people are experimenting with sewing and customising their own clothes rather than spending a fortune on the high street. Furthermore, it would appear that more people are becoming interested in learning the skills required to make their own clothes. A dressmaking school in Hull that had 42 students in 2008 is now catering for 100. Alison Smith, of the Alison Victoria School of Sewing, runs the largest sewing school in the country and has also experienced a huge surge of numbers enrolling in her classes. At the end of last year she had to “put on an extra ten days worth of beginner sewing classes from September to December to cope with demand.”
Furthermore, there seems to be an interest in vintage and second hand clothing, as well as the customising of older clothing. Dressmaking no longer belongs to our grandmother’s era and it couldn’t be more fashionable, and indeed economically viable, to start making your own clothes. Read on to let HotHive Textiles show you how!
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| Inspiration From Artists |
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To help you get started on your dressmaking journey we have been speaking to a couple of the industry experts to find out what services they offer and give you some inspiration. The first person we spoke to was Caroline Scott at Utterly Bespoke, who runs a tailoring service and sewing school in Edinburgh. She says, “Our customers have an idea of how they want to dress and will appreciate a garment that will be a perfect fit for their shape. This will carry forward to both daywear and evening wear.”
Knowing that you are wearing clothing that is designed specially to suit your shape and style is a great feeling, which Caroline feels is only surpassed by knowing that the clothing is made by your own hands. She says, “People enjoy making their own clothes, using their own styles and fabric choices. Learning to construct a garment in our sewing school satisfies this need.” The sewing classes are great value at just £20 for two hours tutoring, plus the costs of any materials you use. The classes run on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5.30-7.30 or on Saturdays from 3-5.
Another great service Caroline offers is a Wardrobe Revival service, helping customers to overhaul their wardrobe and make the most out of the items they already have. Caroline or a member of her team can visit you and your wardrobe for three to four hours identifying items that need to be altered and finding pieces to create new outfits. Caroline believes this is a great option for those people who are sentimental about their clothes, but recognise that they need some rejuvenating. She explains, “This service is perfect for those who want to honour the love of their clothes; those we don’t want to put out, those we want to wear again, but require updating to fit and style.” If you would like to speak to Caroline about her tailoring and wardrobe service or her sewing classes she can be contacted here.
We also spoke to dressmaker Jan Knibbs, whose move into couture dressmaking stemmed from a love of embroidery. She says, “I specialise in embroidery and started making bridal wear when I made my own wedding dress and realised that it was a good vehicle for my style of embroidery.” Jan now specialises in couture bridal, special occasion and evening wear and believes there are many advantages to owning that bespoke item. She says, “Obviously there is the unique factor – you won’t ever see anyone else wearing the same garment! But also by going to a designer whose work you admire, you can work together to create something that reflects your own personality. I consider the garments I make to be works of art that can be worn.”
Jan has a new collection of garments called ‘Something Old Something New’, which consists of items made from entirely recycled materials. In these difficult economic times, many people are looking to update their wardrobe in original but low cost ways, so this style of work will appeal to many fashion-conscious people on a budget. The collection features many vintage and recycled fabrics and is a fabulous throw-back to the make-to-and-mend era of past generations. Jan says, “I have always loved and collected vintage fabric and lace and love to make something new and exciting from something old that would otherwise be discarded, which is where the inspiration from this collection comes. By using embroidery you can disguise any holes or flaws in the fabric and by using your imagination you can use pieces in unusual ways.”
Jan also had a few words of advice for those of you who already have some dressmaking experience and would like to follow in her footsteps and launch a career as a dressmaker. “It can be very difficult to break into the exclusive couture market, and is even harder to market your work when you get there,” she shares. “I am hoping to open a shop to showcase my work or otherwise find a suitable stockist in London. I would also recommend producing smaller items alongside, such as jewellery and hair ornaments as these are easier to market.”
Dressmaking can provide a very exciting and rewarding career, so if you are about to try it out we wish you the best of luck!
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| Supplier Information |
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The great thing about making your own clothing is that they will be completely unique to you – you can make clothes that reflect your personality and using the colours that you like best. We spoke to Becki at Millie Moon to find out what fabrics are proving popular with their customers at the moment. “We have seen a real uplift in the popularity of Amy Butler fabrics since the sun has finally decided to shine. Although designed for patchwork and quilting, they have become extremely popular for dressmaking due to her beautiful prints and colour combinations. Her pattern range has really taken off as more people want to be able to create something individual.”
So what designs and colours should we be looking for if we want to be on trend this summer? Becki says, “The style for this summer seems to be simple shapes in bold colours – pinks and greens are proving popular.” Sue Smith, manager of Harlequin Fashion Fabrics has also found pinks and greens the hot colours for this season. She says, “They are certainly the colours that customers are buying at the moment, along with bright oranges. Anything bright and bold will be the fashion for the summer.”
Becki believes that the current financial problems are encouraging a surge of people turning their hand to sewing and making their own clothes, or altering the ones they already have to brighten them up for the summer. She says, “This is a great time for people to turn to sewing and we have definitely seen this since the credit crunch hit. Although by the time you have brought the fabric, threads and other materials needed you probably could have gone out and brought clothing for less, it is when people come back to buy fabric to make two or three more items that they begin to save. The fact that you know you’re not going to bump into someone wearing the same thing is just an added bonus.” |
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| Project to Try |
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We have a great project for you to try this month, which will teach you to make a circular skirt. The pattern is taken from Sew It Up, published by Kyle Cathie, a comprehensive guide to sewing techniques. The book covers everything you need to know, including both hand and machine techniques used in crafts, dressmaking and soft furnishings. The book is written by Ruth Cox, tutor of beginner sewing classes at the Alison Victoria School of Sewing, which you can read about below.
A circular skirt is always a show-stopper it’s surprisingly easy to make your own made-to-measure pattern. The pattern used here uses a coral coloured organic cotton, but you could substitute this for any fabric or design that suits your style. Click on the link below to download the instructions to make your own skirt:
Circular Skirt Instructions
If you enjoyed making this pattern and would like to try some more that are featured in the book you can purchase a copy here.
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| Further Information |
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For those of you inspired by this feature to start making your own clothes, but wanting some more guidance to get you started, the Alison Victoria School of Sewing is the first place you should go. Alison provides a complete range of courses catering for everyone from the absolute beginner to those wanting to look at more complicated techniques such as corsetry or bridal wear. Her courses are based at the sewing school in Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
The school runs a fantastic two-day course for beginners or those returning to dressmaking after a lull, held by Ruth Cox. This course will take you through all the basic steps you need to learn, including choosing a paper pattern, pinning a pattern onto fabric correctly and cutting out. You will also look at pattern marking, seams and seam neatening, zip inserting, waist and hem finishes and lining insertion. You will then progress to making a simple skirt. This workshop costs £180 plus £25-£35 for materials and is running on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th July 2009 or Thursday 5th and Friday 6th November 2009.
Another workshop which is proving popular is Customising Clothing, which talks you through embellishing and customising your clothes. You will learn how to add ribbons and laces or buttons and beads, with plenty of ideas for you to try. This course costs £70 for the day and you will need to take along the garment or garments with you that you wish to customise. Available dates for this workshop are Monday 18th May 2009 and Monday 12th October 2009.
If you would like more information about Alison’s sewing school or want to book a place on one of her courses then please click here.
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| Recommended Reading |
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Just for the Frill of It by Sonya Nimri (£7.99)
This book will show you how to give all your dull, shabby and outdated clothes a new lease of life. Cut off the neck of a turtleneck sweater to make an adorable purse... trim a plain dress with lace for instant glamour... transform an outdated scarf into a club-worthy shirt... it's like finding a whole new wardrobe! Easy step-by-steps show just how to use simple sewing, glueing, and embellishing to turn boring into boho-beautiful.
For more information or to buy this book please click here.
Shirtmaking by David Page Coffin (£14.95)
With the skills learnt in this book, readers can create elegant, custom-fit garments for either men or women that look like the best money can buy. Using simple tools and techniques any sewer can acquire, you'll discover how to duplicate and even improve on these garments.
For more information or to buy this book please click here.
Jazzy Jeans by Mickey Baskett (£8.99)
Just look at the price tag for some designer jeans: they're over the top! Fortunately, there's an easy, inexpensive and fun way to jazz up ordinary denim so it's virtually red-carpet ready: these techniques for distressing, embroidering, beading, painting, sewing and studding turn jeans and denim skirts into one-of-a-kind high fashion items. Bleach and batik, add appliqué and lace, adorn with doilies and toile, embellish with ruffles and rhinestones and give garments a leather monogram, western flare, or rows of shisha sequins. For each cool design idea, be it a swirl skirt or funky flowers on a jacket, there's basic information and a photograph, along with projects and patterns. And, for something extra, learn how to transform clothing into fringed bags, pretty pillows and decorated journal covers!
For more information or to buy this book please click here.
Sew Subversive by Melissa Rannels, Melissa Alvarado & Hope Meng (£9.99)
Sew Subversive is about making fashion your own, whether it's embellishing or customising off-the-rack clothing or transforming clothes that have lost that loving feeling. The fun begins with embellishing and customising projects, including adorning your trouser legs with ribboning, turning a computer-scanned image into an iron-on that you can apply to a t-shirt or skirt, taking in a skirt, or untapering a pair of trousers. Then move onto Refashioning: The Next Life of Your Old Clothes and turn a t-shirt into a skirt, a sweater into a halter top or legwarmers, or a pair of trousers into a hip belt. There are 22 projects in all, some of which only require an iron and/or pair of scissors, while others can be sewn by hand, for those readers who haven't yet made the sewing machine plunge.
For more information or to buy this book please click here.
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| Competition |
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We have a fabulous giveaway for all you budding dressmakers with a lotus tunic and cami pattern by Amy Butler, courtesy of Millie Moon Haberdashery Boutique. The pattern retails at £14 and will show you step-by-step instructions to make the perfect summer outfit.
For your chance to win, simply email your name and address to sara.drinkwater@thehothive.com with ‘cami’ in the subject line. We will announce the winner next month. Good luck!
We would also like to congratulate Norah McMeeking from Santa Barbara, California, who is the winner of the carnival jewellery kit offered in last month’s focus on craft. Your prize is on its way to you.
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