Bath Spa Textile Degree Show

Today was a great day for seeing some fantastic textiles work. The quality and creativity of the pieces on show at the Sion hill Bath campus was impressive. Knitted samples, printed wallpapers, structural textiles, home products, 3D pieces and fabrics with layers of enhancing techniques were on display to the public from the 11th – 15th June. The work was both innovative and beautiful. Below are some ideas which really stood out….

Charlotte Raven – Textile Print Artist

Louise Smales-Cresswell – Textile Designer

Laura Osgood – printed textiles for interiors

Megan Shepard – Textile Designer

Urban Trendsetting…

– style.com
– zone7style
– Hype beast
– Slamxhype
– Selectism
– Freshness
– D’marge

Trend forecasting for smaller brands can be tricky as you often have to pay for vital ‘fashion of the future’ type information. For example, you can buy membership with well known trend analysis website WGSN (many high street brands use this when building their ranges for the next season). Thought it would be nice of me to share a few places to look for some fabulous freebie urban inspiration. The above websites share info about trends in Fashion, Art and Design. Zone7style even has a Vintage archive of designer items from the past (pics below). The websites include men’s and women’s fashions from America, Australia and the UK. Enjoy browsing! If anyone knows of other sites worth checking out, please add to comments below…..

Bristol Fashion Week Trends AW13

Last Friday I was invited to attend the live blogging event at Cribbs Causeway to cover Bristol Fashion week. The show was fabulous with a high point being a beautiful ballerina dressed in white tutu dancing in the midst of a snow scene. Attending the Fashion Week is a great way to start planning your seasonal wardrobe and there were many items I have already set my heart on! The biggest trends to watch include…

– Red, red and more red! The LRD is replacing the LBD this season so get ready to feel festive.
– Tartan. Even better if red tartan. Checks look great on scarves, skirts, shorts (over leggings), and dresses.
– Faux fur as a luxurious trim to your AW13 coat.
– Elegant tailoring. Sharp black blazers look great with trousers and a blouse for daywear or over an embellished dress for a night on the town.
– Embellishment. Heavily beaded or sequinned dresses add a touch of sparkle and fun to any evening. This trend is said to follow through to SS14.
– Pastel colours. Sweet shop pastels is another design story this winter. Just don’t team with red tartan!

A Beautiful Bridesmaid…

The royal purple bridesmaid dress by beautiful plumage looks fantastic and received lots of compliments on the day. Congrats to the lovely bride and groom too, it was great to hear you had a lovely wedding day 🙂

Printed Trousers

Loving my new printed trousers from next. I have been looking for the right pair for at least a month and these fit well, compliment my (often monochrome) wardrobe and best of all: (and unlike the many, many other printed pairs I tried on) they are flattering! Hoorah! Lovely nail polish colour is courtesy of my sister who I have been visiting this week. Whilst I like the simplicity and classic feel of a black and white wardrobe, punctuation with a flash of colour and unusual jewellery keeps things fresh. My favourite kind of outfit.

Plumage Portfolio – In Print!

Spent a little time today looking back over print work I created.  I think my T-shirt dress as shown in the last Plumage Portfolio Post would look great in the monochrome floral so I might get some printed.  I usually get pieces printed at Spoonflower.  Does anyone have other recommendations?

Digital repeat Prints…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plumage Portfolio

Recently I was asked to present some manufactured garments as a sort of portfolio to show my use of fabric, pattern design, pattern cutting, etc. It wasn’t until I started putting this little collection together that I realised just how many pieces had been created! Most of these items were plucked straight from my current wardrobe as I wear them on a regular basis. There is quite a mixture of fabrics, styles and garment types with a theme of fun colour, yet relaxed comfort running through.

Stripy slouchy casual jersey tee. I wear this item quite frequently as its really comfy and the colours are great for spring/summer. It looks good with denim shorts or tucked in to a high waisted skirt.

Another stripy jersey tee, this one has a deconstructionist feel as I kept the overlocking at the edge rather than tucked in to a seam. Other deconstruction style garment features include having zips and stitching on the outside, taking apart and restructuring garments and playing with finishing techniques.

Burgundy and charcoal viscose blend jumper. I’ve received lots of compliments when wearing this. People like the burgundy/wine coloured extra wide ribbing and the longer length of the jumper and sleeves. The ornate pattern of the knitted fabric is lovely too.

Stripy and knit dress. This was made as part of a challenge to modernise a garment created from a vintage pattern. I was also lucky enough to have the help of fashion blogger, stylist and photographer: ShipShape when creating a portfolio image of this piece.

Floral print, cinched in waist t-shirt dress. I saw this vintage fabric and the way it draped and knew that with the right shaping techniques it would make a fantastic dress. I used 5 stitch lengths of shirring elastic around the waist to fit the fabric to a size 10 body shape.

Cotton version of the above t-shirt dress. I sold quite a few of these at a recent vintage market, the fabric and garment was really popular. I made a small range of sizes: 8, 10 and 12.

Summer cotton gathered dress. This was another vintage fabric piece created from a pattern. The gathering works really well aesthetically and the cotton fabric is really light and comfortable to wear.

You can see more handmade items throughout the blog e.g ‘Vintage Fair Stock Update’ below shows some handmade blouses and crop tops. I’m always adding to my practical portfolio and I love creating items that can be easily worn, fit well, are comfortable and long lasting quality. Keep checking the blog for new sewing updates…

Bridesmaid Dress Update

Just a quick snapshot documenting the progress of the bridesmaid dress I’m working on. After dress design, fabric selection and 2 fittings its shaping up pretty nicely and my client is really happy with how it’s looking. It is perfectly tailored to her specific sizing and I can’t wait for her to see the finished artefact! The fabric is a lightweight knit fabric with a 2 way stretch. The royal purple colour has been requested by the bride. The dress is still only at the preliminary stages of production and requires careful finishing and pressing to achieve the final, refined look. More photos to follow as the garment progresses! Next step: 3/4 length sleeves…

The Hunters Become the Hunted…

A few weeks ago I created a post showing my ultimate festival fashion wish list. Well, as luck would have it, I have just inherited a pair of Hunters (which were actually top of said list). The Hunter brand sits alongside other UK greats such as Barbour and Mulberry in terms of brand heritage, countryside sport inspiration and classic yet practical style.

The initial products from these companies were mostly designed for hunting and fishing, hence the super practical design features. For example, Barbour jackets have an easy pull 2 headed zip for horse riding, waterproof inside pockets (for holding kill) and outside pockets with drainage to stop them filling up with rainwater when out facing the unpredictable English weather for several hours at a time (out on a hunt – see the theme there?)

Some of these features still remain whilst other product lines develop in more glamorous ways. The Willow bag from Mulberry has a zip off clutch bag meaning you buy 2 fabulous bags in one. Practical, yes, but in a much more urban way.

All 3 companies also have a well publicised celebrity following. Kate Moss is pictured regularly at Glastonbury in Hunters, Alexa totes her best selling Alexa Mulberry bag around the coolest places in town and, well, Barbour wins with The Queen being an official fan.

I realise that the sunshine needs to be appreciated but I really can’t wait to stomp around in the mud in these! I’ll be teaming with tall socks, denim cut of levis, a pretty oversized tee and a floral garland (such as the one I picked up from Bestival last year, below).

Design and Make Project: Summer Travel Bag

  In summer, weekends seem to book up pretty fast.  Before you know it, your diary is full of weddings, holidays and festivals.  Hoorah!  The downside?  The feeling that you are living out of a suitcase! I thought that this translucent travel bag would be an ideal sewing project for right now (and incredibly practical, did I mention?).  I used PVC, grey polyester thread and a jacket zip which fully opens to allow easy access to your favourite health and beauty products.

Here’s how I did it:

• Draw out 1 x rectangular front, 1 x triangular side and 1x rectangular base pattern pieces onto graph paper (this makes it easier to achieve an accurate product).  Remember to add your 1.5cm seam allowance.  Cut out.
• ‘Pin’ or rather, stick, the pattern pieces down on to the plastic using tape (pins pierce the plastic so masking tape works much better).  Cut out.  Cut 2 x front (= front and back pieces) and 2 x side pieces.
• Tape then sew bottom of front and back pieces to longer side of base using a standard straight stitch (e.g. On a Bernina machine the length is on the 2.5 setting for a normal straight stitch.  Consult your manual for other stitch variations).
• Tape then sew bottom of sides to base
• Tape then sew sides to front and back pieces
• Masking tape zip in place and use a tacking stitch to secure.  Sew over using zipper foot.  This bit is tricky as the zip slides around the plastic so take care here.  The zip only needs to be attached at the longer sides – leaving it free to open more easily.
• Trim edges neatly with scissors and turn inside out so that seams are on the inside.

Voila!  You could also experiment with different sizes and colours.  I have some neon pink plastic which would make a pretty cool version which you wouldn’t lose easily!  Happy Sewing 🙂