Playing with Textiles - Week 1

I recently started a City & Guilds Certificate in Craft & Design course at my local college and it is an amazing amount of fun, so I've decided to share the ideas and techniques here on my blog in the hope that it will inspire a few others to have a go at playing with textiles.  As the course started a few weeks ago I have a bit of catching up to do, so I'll start right now with week one.

The first step was some quick sketching of leaves and seedpods for inspiration while the wax was heating.  Next up I drew some wax patterns onto different weights of discharge fabric using tjanting tools.  These tools really do take practice and I ended up having to incorporate a lot of drips and splodges into my designs.  Once the wax is dry the fabric is soaked in sterilising fluid to remove the black dye.  I let my fabric have a fairly good soak for a lighter colour.  After rinsing and ironing to remove the bulk of the wax, this is how my designs turned out.

Even the papers I used to absorb the wax were put to use.  As they now sported the pattern from my discharge fabric I was able to colour wash them with varying degrees of success.

While the wax was hot I also got to try a batik technique on tissue paper, building up layers of wax and colour washes.  Each wash blends with the previous ones (so you do need to think about colour mixing) except where the wax has been applied.  With a little planning this technique can be used to produce beautiful batiks but I was happy with my "work it out as I go" effort.

An added bonus is that I share my day at college with a lovely group of ladies in various years of both the certificate and diploma levels of the course - so there is a range of different work going on all at once and plenty of textile eye candy for us newbies.

One Week, One Pattern Success!

Recently I took part in the One Week, One Pattern challenge where participants wore items of clothing made by themselves from one pattern every day for a week.  I chose a self-drafted skirt pattern of which I have 3 incarnations.

Day One

This is the second version of this skirt that I made.  It uses a lightweight checked cotton that I bought as a furnishing fabric about 12 years ago.  It then sat unused in my stash for about 10 years but I think it was worth the wait.

The photo here is from Day 3.  I wore this skirt on Day 1 and 7 with a blue cotton top and on Day 5 with a navy fitted T-shirt.  Four outings indicates some favouritism here.

Day Two

This is the original skirt which I then loved so much I made more.  It is made with a fairly heavy, slightly stretchy black pinstripe fabric I bought in Walmart in Canada for $2 a metre.  This was a good choice for a day at the ice rink watching my son skate (although covered with a long coat, scarf and gloves).

Only one other outing for this skirt on Day 6 with a flowing white top.

Day Four

Here is the dress version.  The skirt is in an olive viscose with a peasant style top in a cream brocade.  Although I still love the skirt part, I think the top needs work so this one may have to undergo some alteration.



If you would like to know more about the OWOP challenge you can find the details over at Tilly and the Buttons

Batik in Blue

I've had these photos, taken at the Spey River near Craigellachie one beautiful sunny day, on my hard drive a little while now. They have just been sitting around, waiting for me to be inspired to write something entertaining to go with them. It is said that success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration so I decided to give up on being inspired and just get stuck in.

Many years ago I bought a lovely piece of batik cotton fabric while on holiday in Bali and it has been sitting in my stash untouched ever since. Admittedly this was partly because it was too nice to use and partly because I had no idea what to use it for. So finally I bit the bullet and made a decision. As the piece was too small for a whole garment I had to make a feature of it and design a dress around that. The rest of the fabric came from a roll of navy poly cotton that had also been biding it's time.

I wanted something easy to wear and comfortable for the occasional warm day we get here in Scotland, so this dress just slips over the head and pulls in behind the waist with matching fabric ties made from the batik. The neckline is finished with bias binding also made from the batik and has a false underskirt effect to achieve the length I wanted. It was very much a "make it up as I go along" process.

Overall I'm pleased with the result and have recieved some lovely comments when wearing it. This success prompted another experiment which I will blog about shortly (when I can produce some photos I'm happy with).

Dresses for Charity

This morning as I was browsing the blog-verse I got diverted to a lovely post by Louise at Sew Scrumptious about a charity campaign to provide dresses for girls living in poverty. Louise is encouraging her readers to get involved and has offered to bundle up and send off any dresses she receives by the end of May.

I don't know whether it was the gorgeous sunshine or just the fact that I've been feeling very lucky to be me lately but I really liked this idea. I have plenty of fabric and what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than at the sewing machine. So I offer you pics of the two dresses I came up with, based on the pattern from Little Big Girl Studio. Both use recycled fabrics (another bonus) and ribbon that I got in a bulk lot.

Multicolour floral cotton and mulberry cotton fabric with pink grosgrain ribbon.

Green sari fabric with gold satin ribbon.

Pay It Forward 2011

Well, it's still all cold and frosty outside and there is no better excuse to stay inside keeping warm and getting busy with making stuff. Currently that means finding new ideas for Pay It Forward 2011.

There are probably lots of versions of this doing the rounds but I signed up after a friend posted it (on a social networking site that shall remain nameless). The plan is that I will receive a lovely handmade item from this friend and in return I promise to send 5 other people an item I make myself (who then promise to make items for 5 people and so on). I did see a comment along the lines of "this is the worst pyramid scheme I've ever seen" and this is very true since each participant will actually give out far more than they receive. But I love it. How fantastic to join in with something that is designed to bring a smile to someone's face, give them a bit of a boost, or even make their day. And what a great excuse to try out some new crafts!


Here is my first item and my first ever try at coptic bookbinding, which will be sent off soon. I'm hoping to make something different for each person and I'm trying to match the gift to the person it is for. Each of my five will also get a Morsbag I have made from recycled fabric (if you like to sew and care about our beautiful planet, please take a look at the Morsbag site).

Happy Crafting!

Autumn Madness

No new photos to share and the bag tutorial has been put on hold while the house undergoes a good clear out and some re-organisation. Everyone talks about spring cleaning but I find that autumn is when I get the urge to completely re-vamp my home. I guess it's a preparing for winter instinct (like hibernating animals stuffing themselves to build fat).

There will be some great benefits when I'm finished though. I will finally have all my fabric organised so I can actually see what I have and start to plan some projects. There is currently a pile of storage boxes waiting to be filled, but this will require getting ALL my fabric out so I can sort it by colour (OCD here we come). I will also have a little more space as I've steeled myself to be ruthless and actually give away items I will probably never use. Mind you, this will most likely lead to an uncontrollable urge to buy more to fill the gap.

I also have a small flurry of sewing alterations that have just come in. All of these customers have been looking for someone to do this for several months at least. It seems strange to me that so few people offer this type of service, especially when it is mostly just taking up hems. Oh well, at least it will keep me busy.

Handmade Quilts to Support Children with Cancer

As the curator of the McEtsy blog, I have had an event brought to my attention that I think deserves a mention. Michelle of Rubarb & Ginger, has made a commitment to help children with cancer by making quilts. Individual, customised quilts will be made for children at Ninewells hospital plus extra quilts will be sold to raise funds for CLIC Sargent.

Michelle has asked anyone who has spare fabric (or suitable craft materials) that they would be willing to donate or anyone who would like to help make squares for the quilts to please get in touch. You can check out the latest news about the event on the Rubarb & Ginger blog.

I think this is a really worthwhile endeavor and want encourage anyone who can offer their support to contact Michelle.

Sew, Sew, Sew Your Tote

First up on the list of sewing jobs must be the tote bags I've had cut out ready to put together since the beginning of the year. And that brings me to a good tip if ever I had one (although I admit I don't remember if it was my idea or if I borrowed it from someone else): hang onto those heavy duty plastic covers that sheets and duvet sets come in and use them to store your sewing projects. I even included thread and buttons in a couple of the bags (how organised am I?).


I'm looking forward to finally seeing these completed, mostly as an excuse to start cutting fabric for new projects. Fortunately this should only take me a day or two (allowing for the spate of interruptions I can guarantee will occur as soon as I switch the machine on) as you can also see my pile of men's shirts awaiting transformation in the background.


This is what the finished article should look like, and this design is fairly simple to put together. If I'm very organised I'll have my camera ready when I'm putting these new ones together so I can post a tutorial sometime in the near future.

With Needle in Hand ...

I'd really forgotten how satisfying hand sewing can be. And surprisingly quick if you don't have huge numbers of seams and hems, which is mostly the case with ancient Roman clothing.

My husband's braccae and my son's trousers and over tunic have appeared almost as if by magic. My peplos, however, is a little discouraging. Not only do I have multiple seams and edging to do since the modern fabric I'm using has to be cut to size (as I lack slaves to weave me fabric of the perfect dimensions) but my outfit also bears more than a little resemblance to a sack. It would appear that, contrary to the somewhat skimpy Roman fancy dress costumes that proliferate on the Internet, ancient Roman women took a great deal of trouble to wrap themselves in vast quantities of fabric. Not that I should be surprised, statues of clothed Roman women sometimes show no more than face and hands beneath a tower of folds. But the presence of pleats and folds may well be my answer. I hope that after repeated washing, folding and flattening I may get my fabric to drape in a vaguely attractive manner.

If all else fails my consolation is this, my huge swaddling of cloth should at least keep me warm while the winds howl through the tents of our small Roman camp. And I am already considering a second outfit, made with a much finer and lighter linen (that I have yet to source) in case we actually get some sun this Summer.

Fabulous Fabric

After a two week break it's back to my Sunday feature spot and time for some local loveliness. Aileen Clarke is based in Fife, Scotland and makes beautiful textile art and jewellery.


I really love these cuff bracelets (hope hubby is paying attention) in those incredible colours and with so much detail. But, if jewellery is not your thing, Aileen also does bookmarks (for those who would never participate in the sacrilege that is folding down the corner of a page), cards and art for your walls. Something for everyone, really. I really don't think I need to say more because these lovely things speak for themselves.


To see more go to www.AileenClarkeCrafts.com or http://www.etsy.com/shop/aileenclarkecrafts

Sewing up Aladdin

The sewing machine made it out of the cupboard today. This is not a sign of major organisation but an emergency measure, as indicated by the fact that the sewing machine is balancing on a small stool next to the sofa.

This is one of those "there's nothing we wouldn't do for our kids" moments. As a costume is required for tomorrow (technically, the costume is optional but not in the mind of a 6 year old) all possible steps to produce one must be taken. So, major scavenge through my fabric to locate that particular blue remnant, bought months ago for I forget what, that should be perfect for an Aladdin jacket. Happily this was sitting next to an old sarong in matching blue and my ribbon box also supplied a close match. For the next step (Warning: do not try this at home), due to lack of a pattern, just fold fabric and cut to an approximate shape and then sew it all together.

My reward this afternoon was a delighted son who offered cuddles and kisses. And no sign of disappointment that I chose not to attempt a turban.

I Have a Dream

I was recently reminded that I have been seriously neglecting the fabric side of my life. Now I do admit that my sewing machine has been hibernating in the cupboard over Winter and by "my sewing machine" I mean the one I have on semi-permanent loan from a very generous friend.

Sadly we only have one kitchen table and it is currently indentured to another craft. But, I have a dream ... a glorious dream of a dedicated workroom with purpose built benches, a cutting table, comfy visitors chairs, a dress mannequin, massive tailored storage systems and a stunning display area to show off my best work. The likelihood of this dream ever becoming a reality is microscopically small but you have to have hope.

For now, I will content myself with crafting in blocks. A week here, a month there and so on. March is not far off, maybe then sewing will get a look in.

DIY History

Well, yesterday was rather philosophical, today it's back to the more practical aspects of reality. A child's birthday party and grocery shopping, with hopefully a chance to do a little investigation on the Roman front.

Living back of beyond is not exactly condusive, even in this internet age, to having easy access to suitably authentic supplies for the DIY Roman. Fabrics can cost more in postage than they do to buy and there is little opportunity to confirm texture, weave and true colour before purchase. Many of the accessories available from invisible web-vendors are either copies labelled as authentic that have actually been re-designed for modern tastes or limited stereotypical examples representative of only a short date range.

In an ideal world, I would be able to manufacture all my requirements in my own back yard but, as this possibility is still far into the unforseen future, I will have to satisfy myself with attempting to find the next best thing. I could be some time...