Custom Printed Fabric at Contrado

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to visit the Contrado fabric printing factory in sunny Harlesden, along with fellow bloggers Marie, Janene, Katie, Elena and Charlotte. The visit was kindly organised by Rachel and Kate at The Fold Line. If you haven't come across Contrado before (and I hadn't) they're a family run, UK-based company (hoorah) offering a facility to design and print your own fabric.

There are over 75 different fabric types to choose from, which made picking just one a bit of a nightmare. We were sent swatch packs of fabric beforehand, which are full colour printed to give an idea of how light or bright the final fabrics will look - this was really helpful. At the factory, there were giant swatch packs to play with - even more helpful as you could really feel the fabrics.

I was completely torn between 100% silk satin or (bizarrely) polycotton sheeting. As unsexy as it sounds, the polycotton sheeting was a lovely quality and had an amazing drape. In the end I couldn't pass up the opportunity to own a piece of super luxurious fabric and went for the silk. Here's a tip: check out the care instructions of your chosen fabric type beforehand! Yep, you guessed it, the silk is dry clean only, with strict instructions not to let steam anywhere near it. I'm guessing the polycotton sheeting would have been a lot less hassle! I stand by my choice though, the silk is absolutely beautiful.

The one area I totally struggled with was the design process. Once you've chosen your fabric, there's software on the website for you to lay it out and tile it. This all sounds simple enough, but I have zero technical expertise, and although I had lots of ideas for fabric designs, I had no idea where to start. In the end, Rachel kindly came to my rescue and created my design for me, based on a piece of original 1940's fabric I'd found on Pinterest. Some of the bloggers are experienced designers and even they found some of the software a little confusing, so it was good to have technical staff on hand to make sure everything was the right size and scale. There's an option on the website to print out a test piece of fabric before committing to your design which I'd strongly recommend you utilise. This is not the sort of thing you want to get wrong!

Once we'd sent our designs off to be printed we were given a tour of the factory by owner Chris.

  

You don't have to print massive quantities of fabric, you can print just a small panel if that's all you need. The full width of the fabric is used for different orders, so there's very little waste.

Custom fabric printing is just one side of the Contrado business, the company also prints designs or images of your choice onto a wide range of homeware or clothing products. Imagine my delight when I came across these custom printed espadrilles!

Finally we were able to see our designs printed hot off the press. This was Charlotte's....

Elena split her order into two different fabrics....

 

Here's mine on the press!

And on the bolt....

My design was very faithfully reproduced, although the flowers did look a bit darker than I was expecting. I'm not complaining though, this is the only fabric of its kind in the world, and it's all mine! I'll now have to think very, very carefully about what I make with it. Any ideas?!

Thank you very much to Rachel and Kate at The Fold Line for organising such a fabulous day - I found every aspect of it really interesting. Thank you also to Chris and the rest of the Contrado team for giving up your Saturday to accommodate us and for generously allowing us to print our fabric designs for free. x

Christmas gift ideas for stitchers

Need a present for a stitchy pal? Or just want a few ideas to put on your own Christmas list? Then look no further as I've put together a small selection of my favourites to kick start your present buying. They mostly focus on sewing, with a couple of wild cards thrown in for good measure.

My first choice is rather unusual - two illustrations by artist Anneke Caramin. Anneke created several designs as part of her Masters degree project, but the two below are the ones that really captured my imagination. They tell the story of Josephine, a seamstress, and have a wonderful, old fashioned feel to them - l love the simple style. the muted colours and even the clothes Josephine wears!

The illustrations are reproduced onto postcards and I think they would look beautiful framed and hung in a sewing room, which is exactly what I'm going to do with the two I've just ordered. The rest of the designs in the collection can be found on this post and you can email Anneke here to order them.

On with the list… Well designed dressmaking tools often go down a treat and I'm always on the hunt for good scissors. These steel scissors from Italy definitely look the business AND they have red handles! The 20cm Soft Touch Shears are particularly appealing because they seem light to use - good if you've got rubbishy weak wrists like me!

I was introduced to this little Pattern Notcher tool on my Pattern Cutting Course and it went straight onto my Christmas list. No more fiddling about snipping or marking notches.

What could be more impressive than making your own leather bag??!! Not much, quite frankly, apart from maybe cobbling your own shoes! These special leather bag making kits are from Fabric Godmother and are perfect either as a gift for yourself or to make up and give to a friend. You don't need to be an accomplished seamstress to make one, or even own a machine, as the kit comes with the pieces ready cut out, full instructions and a special needle and thread. There are a few different sizes and colours of kit to choose from, but my personal favourite is the navy satchel with lipstick trim (soooo stylish!) 

Whilst we're on the subject of sewing kits, the Tie Making Kit from Sew Over It could come in useful for whipping up presents for the men in your life. I tried one out recently and it worked! You'll need to do a mixture of machine sewing and hand sewing to make the tie and the result is seriously impressive - look out for a blog post on it soon!

Or if you just want a satisfying fabric fix, nothing beats Liberty fabric in my opinion, especially Tana Lawn. How wonderful would a dress made from this Queue for the Zoo fabric look?!

And finally, nothing to do with sewing but I had to put it on this list because I love mine so much - a super-fancy umbrella from Love Umbrellas. I won my red one with black flowers in a very generous giveaway by Vicki Kate Makes (thank you again Vicki!) As well as looking divine, it's actually the best performing umbrella I've ever had. Janene from ooobop has the same one, so I'm using her photos to illustrate it as they're much better than the ones on the website! 

I hope you find something to inspire you amongst this little lot. If you have anything special on your own present list that I should know about, please do share in the comments! Happy shopping!

Couture Inside Out - 1950's Paris and London

When Janene from ooobop! asked me if I'd like to join her at the Couture Inside Out workshop yesterday I nearly bit her hand off! 

The event was at the London Fashion and Textile Museum and it was an absolute corker of an afternoon. Our charming curator - Dennis Nothdruft - talked us through the construction and history of couture pieces by Dior, Chanel and Balenciaga (amongst others). Not only did we get to see these beautiful, beautiful frocks up close, we were also allowed to touch them! Yes, we did have to wear cotton gloves to keep our grubby mitts off the fabric but that didn't stop us pawing over every painstaking, hand stitched detail.

Just look at all that hand stitching!

Sadly, my short term memory is hopeless and I had to keep scurrying into the corner to take notes (no pens allowed near couture darling). Janene however, appears to have remembered every single detail of the talk just by using her brain! If you'd like a bit more detail than my sorry attempt then have a look at her excellent account here. In the meantime, here are a few things I learnt from Dennis:

In French couture, garments are hand sewn to fit the wearer perfectly. If, on the odd occasion sewing machines had to be used, then the stitching was not allowed to be visible on the outside of the garment.

Christian Dior only actually designed for 10 years: from 1947 until his early death in 1957.

Genuine Dior couture dresses came as two pieces worn together: a corset top with an underskirt and a separate overskirt. 

Dior corset with underskirt

And the details! For me it was the details that really made these garments so special. The chain sewn into the hem of a Chanel jacket so that it hangs perfectly...

A Pierre Balmain label sewn onto the garment with mitred corners so it doesn't catch against the skin...

Picture stolen from ooobop!

Garter belts built into the dress...!

Hand sewn rolled hems....

Absolutely perfect bound buttonholes...

And the one that blows me away, 44, yes 44 handworked hooks and eyes sewn onto this Bellville Sassoon embroidered coat. 

That's one for every year of my life, which is probably how long it would take me to complete the same job!

I learnt a lot (Dennis really does know his stuff) and it was a real privilege to be allowed to see and touch these amazing couture pieces. Yes, there were some couture techniques I saw that were way out of my skill range, but I was surprised and pleased at how many were well within my capabilities. 

A later, one piece Dior gown with perfectly aligned pleats.

We came out of the workshop feeling not only inspired, but really proud of our own modest handmade achievements.  I think it's well worth keeping an eye out for when the next Couture Inside Out event is being held. If you can blag yourself an afternoon off to attend, then I heartily recommend it, it was a wonderful experience. I leave you with a picture of the lovely Dennis, flanked by Janene and Jane. Look how tall he is! And we were both wearing heels too! x

Knicker making part one: inspiration

These lovely (but predictably patterned) pants were made by my good self at an organised knicker-making workshop last year. It was brilliant fun, everything is cut out and ready for you, all you have to do is choose your trimmings and sew them up. Being naturally lazy, I was perfectly happy with the thought that this was the only way I was ever going to make my own knickers.

But the more online 'research' I did and the more beautiful hand sewn undies I saw, the more convinced I became that I should give knicker making a proper go. Where to start though?  There's certainly no shortage of inspiration out there, so I thought I'd share a few of my favourites before actually going for it. 

There are endless options for making your own frillies. You can make them from a pre-bought kit like Tilly did,

You can use a pair of existing pants as a template, or try one of the awesome patterns out there, many of which are free. Free patterns include a simple pair of everyday pants by 'So, Zo…'

the Amerson free undies pattern by Madalynne, beautifully made here by Karen

or the Rosy ladyshorts by Amy at cloth habit. 

Or you can use a regular pattern which is how my two favourite pairs of on-line undies came to be in existence. My favourite self-made knickers by a long shot, are ooobop's High Waisted 50's silk pants.

Made from a Burda pattern, they're just perfect, and the lovely vintage-style cut gives them an oh-so-glamorous edge, exactly what I would want to wear myself. I can't in all honesty say the same thing about my other favourite pair, but I can sit back and admire the workmanship. If French yoked boxer shorts made from a 1940's pattern are your thing, then you're in for a treat.

You can read all about Peter at Male Pattern Boldness's pants here and marvel at the amount of detail that's gone into these undies: an adjustable buttoned waistband (no elastic in those days) 

and a gathered back section to accommodate the backside (no stretch fabrics in those days either). Truly a work of art - and he's even done what no other sewing blogger has done before - model them himself…. 

I don't usually post pictures of men in their underwear on my blog (there are secret Pinterest boards for that kind of thing...) but in this case how could I resist?! And before you ask, I did obtain permission from Mr MPB before posting a pic of him in his under crackers.

Other knicker patterns I've been mightily swayed by are some of the Ohhh Lulu designs. I thought long and hard about attempting the Betty High Waist Pants.

Gorgeous as they are, I think they might be just too ambitious for my first attempt - I do have a cunning plan concerning the Betty pants though, which I'll reveal in the next post... I like the look of the new Grace pattern too - it seems a bit more achievable for a novice like me. 

The shape is very similar to what I usually wear, although if I'm honest, I prefer my pants a bit higher, hence my swooning over ooobop's pair. What also drew me in is that they're designed to be made with a combination of woven and stretch fabrics - good if you're a bit unsure about diving head first into stretch fabric territory. And, you can use up some of your favourite woven remnants too. The possibilities are endless - matching knickers for every outfit if you're not careful…

There's too much choice - I'll have to go away and mull it all over I think. In the meantime, any advice on knicker patterns (preferably not too low slung please) and/or knicker making tips will be very gratefully received.  x