Inspirational headwear

I absolutely LOVE these 1950s bathing caps - I think I will use them for inspiration for one of my designs. Watch out for the results at New Designers this summer!

I feel another pinnie coming on!

I was given this piece of vintage Whaleys fabric and I still have some vintage bias binding left in various colours so I feel another Lynnie Pinnie project coming on. Probably as a displacement activity as I really should be getting on with my Final Major Project, unfortunately the weather has rather scuppered any location drawing.

Lynnie Pinnie

I've been so busy lately I haven't been updating my blog. BUT that was then and this is now!

I was given some vintage fabric and some vintage bias binding by a lovely lady recently and thought I just had to do it justice. My friend, artist, mentor and aficionado of all things vintage Karen Taylor has a vintage pinnie and kindly lent it to me so that I could magic up a pattern. Note, Juliana Sissons! I have put what you taught me to good effect. Here is the pinnie! The upside of a vintage wrap around pinney is that you don't get paint / flower / mud on your backside!

Karen recently exhibited at the Towner Art Gallery and Julie is currently artisit in residence at the V&A - check out her book on knitting in the Basics range - also available at the V&A

Drawing lace

Apologies to my followers for the enforced silence of the last few weeks. I have been having major techno problems with my internet connection. I am happy to say that all is resolved so I will be posting regularly again.

I can't believe it is reading week already at Northbrook - I had forgotten how fast the time goes when it is sliced up into projects, deadlines and semesters. The last five weeks have flown past in a flurry of activity and ideas - it is great to be back in the studio and part of a creative group.

So, on with the show! I am doing a fashion fabric project based on florals, sustainability and embellishment. I have chosen to use found fabrics, threads and trims so my designs will be upcycled from vintage odds and ends. I have been looking at lace and translating the patterns into drawings. Here is one I made earlier. The exciting bit comes next when I translate the drawing into a fabric sample.

Vintage Cami 1944

It is amazing what you can find in book shops. I came across a 1964 Stitchcraft and they seemed to be just as interested in vintage designs as we are today. Here is a beautiful knitted cami from an age when people had the time and inclination to knit such things. I think though given the shortage of materials during WWII and especially this late in the war, it was something of an aspirational design even then.

Vintage knitting

On one of my many quests for all things vintage I came across a really super Patons and Baldwins knitting pattern yesterday. I really love the fit, the closely spaced buttons and the round neckline. For those knitting aficionados out there it is on size 11 and 13 needles. If anyone would like any more informatation about it, just post comments on the blog.

Vintage Undies

I, like at a large slice of the textile community, am currently really interested in all things vintage and particularly vintage underwear. I haven't yet been able to get hold of a sewing pattern - I keep missing out on ebay, so I have decided to embark on a pattern cutting course to design my own! Watch this space - it could take a while, especially as the course does not actually start for a couple of weeks. [Check out JULIANA SISSONS in Brighton - amazing knit designer, pattern cutter, lecturer and author.] In the meantime if anyone (in the UK) reading this blog actually HAS any vintage sewing patterns in size 10 - 12, please let me know. I am happy to trace out and return in good condition. Annoyingly I did have some vintage undies (circa 1940) which I bought antique shop years ago but they were lost - along with a lot of other "treasures" when a packing case went missing during a house move.

I found this wonderful knitting pattern on ebay - I was outbid on the item but had the forethought to copy the image. Enjoy!