DIY Couture: a launch party

Last night saw the long awaited launch of Rosie Martin's very first book - DIY Couture: Create your own fashion collection. I was lucky enough to be invited to the party (which was hosted by The Make Escape; a new monthly craft-along held at the Hackney Attic) as Rosie had featured my shoes from way back when throughout the book. As well as seeing Rosie again, another highlight of my evening was meeting Karen and Tilly, both incredibly talented seamstresses whose blogs I have followed and admired for years - but I think I may have slightly overwhelmed them with my starstruck ramblings... Sorry guys!

Rosie's philosophy is simple and inspired: eliminating the need for a pattern, she gives clear visual instructions showing you how to cut and sew 10 basic items of clothing, including wardrobe classics such as a circle skirt, a hoody, a pair of trousers and a Grecian dress.

Despite being an avid sewing pattern afficionado; having collected vintage patterns for the last ten years, been delighted and inspired by the new crop of contemporary sewing pattern designers, and, oh yes, having just launched our own brand spanking new sewing pattern company, I am still a huge fan of DIY Couture.  Just as I love leafing through my boxes of neatly packaged patterns, unfolding that delicate tissue paper and spending blissfully meditative hours precision-sewing, I can just as often be found ducking into my studio late at night, grabbing my scissors and some fabric off the shelf and getting stuck right in ad hoc.

What I love most, however, about DIY Couture: Create your own fashion collection is how Rosie so beautifully illustrates the versatility of home sewing, inviting us to reinterpret her instructions according to our own vision. From one set of ten staple shapes she has created eight collections, each so different from the other that you'd be forgiven for thinking they were completely different designs altogether.

Rosie's book is available to buy now from Amazon, and you can also buy her individual instruction booklets direct from diy-couture.co.uk.

Finally, the Big Reveal!

Some of you may have noticed a bit of unusual activity round these parts... Infrequent posting, sly hints at big things a-brewin'...  If you had imagined that for the last nine months I had been scheming and plotting, working late into the night, designing, sewing, writing, basically carving out my dream job - then you'd be right!  I give you... (drumroll please!) ...By Hand London.

By Hand London is an independent sewing pattern company aimed at beginner and intermediate sewists. Designing patterns inspired by the stylish women we know and admire, our brand is all about championing individual style and celebrating strong femininity. Released in bi-annual collections, it’s your own customisable fashion line!

My business partner Charlotte and I will be launching our very first collection of sewing patterns in October 2012, and until then we will be documenting the process on our brand spanking new blog, byhandlondon.wordpress.com, where we will also be talking about fashion and individual style, championing the ladies we love and are inspired by (and the boys too!), as well as sharing as many DIYs we can muster, and believe you me, the "DIY ideas" list is looooong! Having just gone live last week, the blog is still pretty bare, but swing by for a DIY fringed belt tutorial, some delicious ice pop recipes and a DIY bandeau top tutorial. I value and appreciate the opinion of you, my wonderful readers, above all, so I would be eternally grateful for your feedback and advice.

While I will be saving my more fashion/style/repurposing ideas for the By Hand London blog, I will still be posting here, with a focus on home, family, my recipes (sorry Marie!), knitting & crochet, bloggers challenges and my personal projects & makes. Basically keeping my home and working lives on separate blogs!

I can't even tell you how excited I am to get really stuck in, I have never felt so creatively alive and inspired! I only hope that our blog and sewing patterns which will be launched in October (yes, there will be a party!) will be met with the same enthusiasm and excitement that Charlotte and I feel.

PS. To all you talented sewists: as we approach the launch, we will be offering up a handful of copies of our patterns to be road-tested. To get your name in the hat, please leave a comment below!

Sacher Tortelets

Disclaimer: I am not claiming even for a second to have nailed the original Sachertorte recipe.  What follows is merely an homage to a cake not only riddled with childhood memories, but possibly one of the most delicious and elegant I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

Sacher Tortelets (makes 12)

Ingredients as for my chocolate cupcakes

plus

Apricot jam

200g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)

Following the method for my chocolate cupcakes, prepare the mix and spoon into cupcake cases, filling them half way. Then add a teaspoon of the apricot jam and cover with a final dollop of the chocolate cake mixture.

Bake at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before carefully removing the paper cases.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and while it is still runny, dip the tortelets in upside down, coating the entire cake, except for the bottom.  Carefully place on a plate and into the fridge to set the melted chocolate.

Once the chocolate has set, remove from the fridge and serve at room temperature with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream.

I was very happy with how these guys turned out.  Despite being dairy-free and with a ground almond base, which I'm sure a genuine Sacher is not, they actually tasted very similar to how I remember a Sachertorte should taste.  The slightly bitter dark chocolate coating is a welcome contrast to the sweetness of the apricot jam and although the chocolate should not technically be completely hard, I like the way it securely holds these little tortelets together, snapping ever so satisfyingly as you take a bite...

In Dangerously Tassled Territory

I'm having a pretty intense love affair with fringing at the moment... It could quite possibly be getting out of control.  Especially when we're talking about fluorescent orange fringing and stretch denim... It wreaks of tacky cowgirl.  But it feels amazing!!

Yet another of my beloved pencil skirts (see previous variations here, here & here), this one was made from some scraps of dark stretch denim (found on eBay for a pittance), upon which I stitched rows of the 6" deep fringing.

The denim is a major first for me, not only have I never sewed with denim before but I think I may have actually once upon a time vowed never to wear/own/look at a denim skirt.  Nothing against denim skirts, I've just never liked the cut-off jeans miniskirt look, or the ~dare I say it~ slightly frumpy look of a boxy denim knee-length skirt.  But this... This is more like it!  The sculpted form of the wiggle skirt is so perfectly accentuated by the heavy stretch denim, to the point that it actually feels like wearing some kind of figure-control contraption!  And the fringe... Oh, how I love the fringe.  So bright and happy, so silly yet supremely sexy... it patters as I walk.  I can't even stand still when I wear it - it just wants me to dance!

In other news, Me-Made-May is coming along but proving a nightmare to photograph.  If I were wearing outfits like this every day, I would probably be more inclined to do daily photoshoots, but sadly most days it's just jeans + swing tops + minoru + various snoods.  So instead of boring you with mundane shots of my everyday dressing, I will do a Best Of MMM roundup at the end of the month. 

Finally something practical!

After having failed miserably at my Monday morning plan of sewing up some easy wearing bits and instead getting way too carried away with star-print tulle and sheer skirts, I swiftly made up for it by whipping up - and by whipping up I literally mean it took about as long as it takes to whip cream - a super easy, super practical black viscose jersey dress.

Scoop neck, drapey fit and quarter circle full length skirt.  Simple as that.  I don't even really have much else to say except that it is beyond comfortable, makes me feel as though my legs go on forever and I'm going to make at least a million more in all kinds of colour/skirt combinations.  In fact, right now I'm thinking about this dress in a certain aztec jersey... What do you reckon, Marie?!

Pants on parade

I was supposed to be making practical stuff today... But then I started thinking about see-through skirts with big knickers underneath.  As you do.

image source

Ulyana Sergeenko SS12

Ulyana Sergeenko AW11

I wondered if it might be a look I could pull off.  I've never been one to shy away from out-there oufits, so I figured why the hell not, grabbed some star-print tulle, some leftover ivory dupion silk for a waistband, and got sewing...

I love the way the concept of having your knickers on display is significantly sexed-down by having used a demure, princess-y fabric, and as a result I don't feel that it comes across as a slutty outfit (please correct me if I'm wrong here!), or even particularly sexy for that matter.  In fact I think it looks quite sweet.

Even though my entire bottom is on show.

"I am a very stylish girl"

~ Patricia Neal, Breakfast at Tiffany's

image source

While I, among countless others no doubt, could happily dedicate countless posts to all things Breakfast at Tiffany's (in particular, subject matter dealing with the shoplifting of animal masks, the hosting of decadent cocktail parties in one bed apartments, and needless to add - a girl's love of pearls), right now I am simply using Patricia Neal's infamous statement to introduce Stylish Girl... an iPhone app.

Anti-climax???

Not if, like me, you've been looking for a way to create an inventory of all your self-stitched garments, à la Clueless... Then look no further ~

With this app I have photographed and categorised every item of clothing I have made - including tops, skirts, dresses, trousers, jackets, scarves, hats, bags, panties, socks and shoes (shoes that I designed when I used to design shoes - I figure that still counts as me-made, no?).  You then get to see your entire me-made wardrobe in all its mix-n-match rubik's glory!  Thus enabling your now very smug and anally organised self to flick through and create outfits - just like Cher does!!! - also making it easier to spot what's missing and plan for future makes, while ultimately fulfilling a lifelong dream!

This app has been especially useful as I prepare for Zoe's Me-Made-May'12 challenge, to which I have pledged to wear two items of me-made clothing each day during May.  One item just would have been too easy, but seeing my significant lack of trousers and casual skirts/dresses, I realise now that this is going to be hard.  I will definitely be whipping up some last minute bits in the evenings to come... But I guess that's why they call it a challenge!

Hello again

Wow.  It feels like an age since I wrote something here.  I guess the Easter holidays ran away with me. Although to be fair, I was only actually away-away for two weeks.  The weeks since have been spent settling back in, working hard, and clearly neglecting this little slice of the interweb...

I have so much to report, so much more to get stuck into, Me-Made-May'12 starting on Tuesday... But for now I just wanted to check back in, let y'all know I'm still alive, and leave you with a little playlist I've had on loop these days... While I catch up on everything everyone else has been blogging about!

Me-Made-May'12 - I'm in!!

I'm sure I'm not the only one a little sad now that OWOP is over... These days I have been enjoying wearing the clothes I have made more than ever.  Partly because my skills have improved, but mostly I think, because I am learning better how to make for myself.

When I first began making my own clothes, I would often get a little carried away with an idea, not really stopping to think (and not really having the experience to judge) how certain fabrics might react to certain shapes, and how the finished piece would actually look on me.  Being a self-taught sewist, trial and error has taught me everything I know.  But I feel I have now reached a point where I am consistently making clothes that I love and want to wear all the time.  I no longer feel like a fraud!

So it is with great excitement that I am signing up for Zoe's 6th Me-Made challenge, Me-Made-May'12 (MMM'12), pledging to wear two items of me-made clothing every day for the duration of May 2012.  This will see me upping my pledge by one item of me-made clothing since the last time I participated in Self-Stitched-Sept'11...

Like last year, I will be compiling a new inventory of my me-made wardrobe (but this time Clueless-style!  Watch this space for the wardrobe inventory to end all wardrobe inventories!!), and spending the last week in April filling in any obvious gaps.

One thing that I did find to be hugely challenging last time though, was the daily outfit photographing.  Any tips/ideas on making this less of a hassle??

OWOP - Days 5, 6 and 7

Second half of my week in One Week, One Pattern outfits, and a couple of lessons learned.

Day 5 (daytime): Still sewing lace in the studio...

I wore: Blue cotton shirting swing top, Del Forte jeans.  This is my least favourite of the swing tops, having never been worn since I made it last summer.  There's obviously a reason Dixie recommends only using a knit fabric for this pattern (armholes a little tight as the woven cotton has no stretch) and although I like the floral binding on the neck and cuffs, the blue striped cotton shirting makes me feel like a nurse (not the hot kind!).  Having said all that, I actually enjoyed wearing it more than I thought I would: it was comfortable enough and I liked the alternative-to-a-shirt feel of it.  I reckon I probably would repeat this make in a woven fabric -remembering to make the armholes a little bigger- to wear as a smart shirt-type top.

~

Day 5 (evening): A night of Motown classics with The Temptations, The Four Tops and The Crystals live at the o2 Arena baby!!

I wore: Possibly the best outfit I could have put together for such a wonderful night of retro soul!  Stripy swing top, Kung Fu Fighting wiggle skirt, Reiss belt, Agent Provocateur red pompom mules.  Favourite OWOP outfit so far.

~

Day 6: Hungover.  SIGNIFICANTLY hungover.  It seems sake, vodka and white rum do not mix well.  Comfort a must today.  

I wore: White viscose jersey swing top with red rose Liberty cotton binding, Uniqlo tartan men's trousers, vintage Budweiser belt, Puma sneakers.  When it comes to dressing down, this is my favourite type of outfit.  Reminds me of being a grungy teenager listening to The Smashing Pumpkins.

~

Day 7: Last day of OWOP!  Just as I started this week with the first swing top I'd made, so I ended with the most recent.

I wore: Dusty pink wool jersey swing top, houndstooth pencil skirt - the first of my McCalls's 5081 collection (I feel like I've been discussing this pattern almost as much as the swing top during this OWOP challenge having worn three versions of it this week... Double OWOP cred for me?), French Sole flats.  This is a look I'm really digging.  Typically a late 1950s maternity style, but I think that the elegance of the pencil skirt, softened by the swing top and worn with a simple pair of flats is just perfectly cute and easy, even for my busy day to day life.

One thing that this challenge has brought to my attention is that I'm clearly really into pencil skirts these days!  I began with my one swing top pattern, which given the amount I've made (six) and the incredible versatility of the pattern, was very easy to wear every day for a week.  But as a result of all this thoughtful outfit planning, I've ended up also wearing three of my four McCall's pencil skirts.  What's surprising about this is how easy they are to wear!  I'd always shunned my wiggle skirts by day thinking them far too impractical, saving them only for stylish evening occasions.  But it turns out that wiggle skirts during the day are actually fine, even for running around after a little boy, working in the studio and general errand-running.  

They just make all those things feel that little bit more glamourous.

Thank you Tilly for organising OWOP!  I for one, really enjoy the solidarity that comes with group challenges like this; now who's looking forward to Me-Made-May-'12??

Forgive me, if mine own horn I doth toot...

...but totally smitten am I with my new skirt!

Yet another variation of my trusty McCall's 5081 pencil skirt pattern, this baby was whipped up in just a couple of hours after I was practically smacked in the face by a flash of inspiration and an uncontrollable desire to own a fishtail frill wiggle skirt made from this sickeningly fabulous printed nylon I picked up in Walthamstow.

Construction wise, I shaved a couple of inches off each side to create a more closely fitted, wigglier silhouette and omitted the tail pleat (??) so that adding the gathered frill would be neater.  The frill itself is simply a long length (almost 2m) folded over and gathered at the top where the raw edges meet.  With hindsight, I probably should have gathered the frill using elastic then sewed it to the hem with a zigzag stitch so as to allow for a bit of stretch... As it is now, there is no give whatsoever in the hem and one does have to significantly reduce ones stride almost to a pigeon step, resulting in a slightly exaggerated bottom wiggle of a walk.  I guess that's why they call it a wiggle skirt.

For some reason, the print and texture of this fabric reminds me of Carl Douglas' Kung Fu Fighting... Which I've now had stuck in my head for three days.

OWOP - Days 1, 2, 3 and 4 (and a 6th Swing Top)

This last week here in London could not have given us days more beautiful to really make the most out of Tilly's One Week, One Pattern challenge.  My chosen pattern is Dixie DIY's Swing Top, which I have now made a grand total of six times.

Day 1: A super sunny Saturday in a somewhat Seventies outfit, hosting a little garden party to welcome in British Summertime. 

I wore: Stripy jersey swing top (first one ever made), Del Forte jeans, vintage Wonder Woman belt, Swedish Hasbeens clogs, Stella McCartney shades.

~

Day 2: Out and about in London, a deceptively chilly sunny day, so I was glad for my sixth and latest swing top made from a cosy ribbed wool jersey.

I wore: Dusty pink wool jersey swing top, Monkee Genes, Marc Jacobs flats.

~

Day 3: Monday in my studio, sun streaming in through the shutters, surrounded by Chantilly lace, Dupion silk and ivory organza... Hoping to infuse a wedding dress with dreams and ideals of love and companionship, health and happiness.

I wore: White viscose jersey swing top with blue floral cotton binding, Del Forte jeans, belt my Dad made for me, Swedish Hasbeens clogs.

~

Day 4: Early breakfast in Portobello with my StepDad, then back to the studio and the final fitting of the wedding dress with my Bride and her Mum (can you tell how much I'm itching to be able to talk about this in more detail??!).

I wore: Grey marl viscose jersey swing top with red paisley rayon binding, red crepe pencil skirt (made from McCall's 5081, which is fast becoming a contender for the next OWOP challenge...), Marc Jacobs flats.

So far I have been really enjoying this challenge; the swing tops already feature heavily in my day to day dressing, so I can't really call that aspect challenging, but what I have enjoyed most is the outfit planning and styling around one staple item.  This top is genius in its versatility; easy and comfortable enough to be dressed down for everyday running around, yet pretty and polished enough to tuck into one hell of a wiggle skirt and sequin heels for a look that will unite Carrie Bradshaw and Joan Holloway in fashion matrimony... Intrigued?  Stay tuned for OWOP Day 5's evening outfit...

OWOP - Count me in!

Tomorrow marks the official start date of Tilly's latest One Week One Pattern challenge, which will see sewists from around the globe wear the pieces they have made from one single pattern, every day for a week.  In Tilly's own words:

"It's about celebrating those sewing patterns that we love so much we use them again and again. Many of us have a special sewing pattern that is so wearable, practical, versatile, beautiful or for whatever reason it never gets time to gather dust on the shelf before we whip it out again. Personally I'm really interested to find out what other people's favourite patterns are. Plus the exercise may get us to reflect on how much we use the patterns in our stash, or what factors make a well-used pattern.

It's also an exercise in restyling what's essentially one style garment (or it may literally only be one garment that you've made), pushing the boundaries of its versatility by creating seven outfit variations out of it. Who needs more clothes when you can remix the ones you've already got?"

I had been on the fence as to whether or not to take part; I have a handful of patterns I have made 3-4 times, namely this pencil skirt, the Sorbetto tops, this 70s dress... But nothing that I could realistically wear every day for a week that would fit in with my life.  Pencil skirts too fancy (and restrictive!), Sorbetto's too summery, and 70s dresses too impractical.  So I had initially decided to opt out of the challenge... when I suddenly remembered my vast and ever expanding collection of swing tops, all made from Dixie DIY's great (and free!) pattern.  

So far I have made five of these tops, and I already wear them all the time.  This pattern is an absolute breeze to make up, and the resulting top is comfortable, flattering and versatile.  Which I think is really the aim of this exercise: identifying and celebrating the patterns which produce clothes that not only complement our lifestyles but make us want to make and wear them over and over again. 

In preparation for this challenge, and in anticipation of Britain's famously unpredictable climate, I am now going to quickly whip up a sixth swing top, this time in a dusty pink ribbed wool jersey.  Just in case it gets a bit chilly.