Hi Reader, As a costumer, I've had the privilege of working on various productions, but none have sparked my interest quite like the musical Big Fish. The story's climax features a funeral, and the director's notes left me curious - "bright funeral." I had to dig deeper to understand the concept. It wasn't until I delved into the character's personality that I grasped the idea. You can read what I decided to dress the cast in for this.
Little did I know, this concept would hit close to home with the death of my 94yo mother-in-law last week. She wouldn't have wanted a traditional, all-black funeral either. She would have wanted us to celebrate her life with colour and joy. So I've added a pop of colour in the way of a colour trim to a black dress that was a Lutterloh drafted pattern. It's also an opportunity to finally get round to repairing the seams that split after I washed it first time 😭 More about that next time! |
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Hi Reader, Bookings are open for all my Surrey based courses, but you need to be quick as places do go quick. FIND A SURREY SEWING CLASS WITH VEE And if you're in or near Reading, then here's the link to book on to a sewing class at Reading College INTRODUCTION TO SEWING AT READING COLLEGE (MONDAY'S) GARMENT SEWING AT READING COLLEGE (TUESDAY'S) And if you can't wait until September and want to hone your sewing skills over the summer then join me at Reading Sewing Bee where I'm teaching a...
Hi Reader, I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t find anything. I’d been digging for children’s clothes patterns from the 1940s—surely they existed? But the search kept coming up short. Then it clicked. Of course. READ THE FULL STORY During WWII, fashion barely shifted. Rationing, shortages, and utility over novelty meant styles held steady—and innovation was more about clever mending than creating something new. That led me to a slim book from the library—Make Do and Mend, a reprint of...
Hi Reader, My heart was pounding. I heard my name be announced. My turn. click the image to see montage of the catwalk I skipped up the steps and took my place on the Stitch Stage at The Stitch Festival beside the compere. I was one of 10 finalists for the Stitch Festival's Dressmaking Competition in the recycled category. My entry was my Scrappy Red Dress, made entirely from fabric scraps from previous projects. I took up my rehearsed 'model' pose while she read out my bio. Gosh, had I...