Upcoming Projects

Brimming with enthusiasm at the moment for personal projects!

What I want to cut from scratch next:

-A Madeleine Vionnet bias cut evening dress copy in green/gold silk.

-A sailor top to go with my blue circle skirt with a humongous bow.

-Mid-Century/40s wool slacks with cute tops. Good slacks would also go well with my hand knit jumpers.

-A Marvellous Mrs. Maisel outfit in green wool. Swing Coat and two wool dresses. I want to copy the red dress in green as I have 14 metres of green cashmere blend to utilise.

-A gold lurex jumpsuit that would make sense in the heart of studio 54.

Progress on Denim Coat

So… what’s left? Set sleeves, Lining, Hem. Do a top stitching quality control check.

Double Denim

I have made excellent progress on my Denim coat this week. This time last week I was doing all the fusings. I am now setting the sleeves and doing the hem. The next part of this project is to make a pair of mid-century jeans. A core element apart from the cut is the top stitching.

Here are the references I’m inspired by!

London Art and Fashion Exhibitions September 2024

Exhibitions that I want to see:

1. Van Gogh:Poets and Lovers, National Gallery (until 19th of January 2025)

2. Expressionists: Kadinsky, Munter and The Blue Rider, Tate Modern (Until October 20th 2024)

3. Hard Graft, Welcome Collection (Until 27th of April 2025)

4. Yayoi Kusana- Victoria Miro gallery- new infinity room design. (Until 2nd of November 2024) tickets are FREE but sold out but returns are a possibility.

5. WarholMania, Warhol Kennedy Residence (Until 12th of November 2024)

6. Yayoi Kusana, Pumpkin Sculpture, Kensington Gardens, (9th July-3rd of November 2024)

7. Zanele Muholi, Tate Modern (Until 26th of January 2025)

8. Yoshida: Three Generations of Japanese’s Printmaking, Dulwich Picture Gallery (Until November 3rd 2024)

9. Ernest Cole: House of Bondage: The Photographer’s Gallery (Until 22nd of September 2024)

10. Grayson Perry: The Vanity of Small Differences, Pitzhanger Manor (until December 8th 2024)

What I have seen:

1. Now You See Us, Tate Britain (until 13th of October 2024)

2. Barbie, The Design Gallery

3. Fragile Beauty, V&A (Need to go again- not enough time-yay for membership)

4. The Metiers d’art Embroidery Fellowship Exhibition, Chelsea Barracks Chapel, (9th September- 4th October 2024)

Thank Goodness I have an art pass! Work is quiet again- hopefully for not too long, so it’s time to sew and seek inspiration.

I can’t say that I found the exhibition on Tropical Modernism at the V&A to be of any particular interest to me. However, I do think that tropical modernism has been a huge influence on Patrice Vermette & his Production Design for the Dune Films. I would love to work on a Dune. I long to explore a desert landscape. When I think of the desert, I think of Lawrence of Arabia, and my grand-uncle John Brady (Costume Designer and Costume Supervisor) worked on. Repeat headdresses are in the family…somewhere undisclosed.

The other major exhibition on at the V&A museum is Fragile Beauty. It is vast and occupies the space which was previously used by the Dior and Chanel exhibitions. The photographs displayed are Elton John and David Furnish’s private collection. I particularly enjoyed getting to see a variety of fashion and Hollywood portraits. Including a relaxed one of Marilyn Monroe. That I admire more, is the choice to not censored their collection. There are some rather spectacular images celebrating the male form. Also, unrelated, there was one Cindy Sherman- which was exciting- I’m a fan. There are also a number of very significant photojournalistic prints of recent historical events.

On the subject of photojournalism- I went to see Lee at the Ealing Project Cinema solo on Friday night (All tickets in September are 6 pounds). Most striking to me, is the scene of when she’s in Hitler’s apartment and how she expresses her deep contempt. I must see if Fragile Beauty has any Lee Miller prints. There will be a major retrospective of Lee Miller’s Photography at the Tate Britain in 2025. (2nd October- 15th of February 2026). I have never visited Farley’s House and Gallery but I want to. I must see The home that Miller made her project and refuge after the war. When I visit, I will be able to see Lee’s Knuckle Dusters. She wore bronze for daywear and silver for evening wear. It’s a two hour drive away. I am sorely tempted. Apparently, after witnessing some of the greatest events of mass starvation in history, Lee found solace in cooking. She became an expert chef and lined her study with cookbooks. I am in awe of how Lee channeled the horror of what she saw into the creation of a stable and comforting existence.

On a more lighthearted note, Barbie at the design museum is incredibly good fun- if it does not- as remarked by my exhibition companion, feels like major Mattel postive propaganda, but not in an unenjoyable way. I particularly enjoyed looking at the dolls clothes laid out flat. I will forever love America Ferrera’s powerful monologue from the film. I tool refuge from the European Heatwave in the summer of 2023 when I saw it in a cinema in Valletta, Malta on Gladiator 2. I was sporting an original lemon yellow 1950s dress, because Barbie was rocking a yellow dress too.

Lastly, running out of steam here- went to The Metiers d’art Embroidery Fellowship Exhibition, Chelsea Barracks Chapel, (9th September- 4th October 2024) on Saturday morning with a friend late of Glasgow. Where some truly amazing showpieces were on display.

Progress on 1940s inspired Overalls

I am now currently working on some 1940s inspired Overalls in a lovely burnt orange stretch denim. I have been looking at some lovely references from this time period to get ideas for top stitching. It seems that triple top stitching is quite prevalent along with lots of useful pockets! #costume #costumedesigner #sewing #fashion #springfashion #overalls #1940s #vintage #vintagestyle #whomsdemyclothes #makersofinstagram #vintagesewing

Trench Coat Project complete!

Is there nothing in life as lovely as a deadline? Is it not a call to arms? A challenge that ultimately makes you feel better about the world? I made my own personal deadline and rose to the challenge to make myself a new trench coat in time to fly home to Ireland for Easter. I’m in love with the colour. The epaulettes have real officer’s starts on them and the buttons in the top strap are WW1 brass. hav#sewing#sewsewsew #costume #costumedesigner #fashion #handmade #whomademyclothes #spring #trenchcoat #springfashion2024

Trench all cut, ready to sew!

I have spent the last while filling my work basket with the patterns I have been longing to cut for ages!

I have cut 1 green gaberdine trench coat, a 1960s yellow A-line silk mini dress, 2 1940s utility blouses (sand coloured silk and robin egg blue cotton twill), 1 pair of 1940s factory overalls, 1 yellow silk peplum blouse, 1 Japanese printed cotton peplum blouse, 1 1940s inspired khaki overalls with blue whitewall buttons.

This week I want to chop out my 1950s green wool coat dress, I am working on draping a Vionnet as an exercise and I have a pattern for a balloon sleeve blouse I want to cut. I also want to cut a repeat of a pair of cigarette trousers I cut in a dark red/black shot linen.

The Juki DDL8700 of her day!

I would be lost right now without my trusty slant-o-matic!

Last Repeat of Circle Skirt

Today, I finished my last circle skirt for the moment. This time in blue wool. I used my 1960s skirt leveller to mark an even hem level and then finished to hem on the machine. I also visited a friend and made a delicious Pavlova.

Rebel: 30 years of London Fashion

I visited this exhibition at the Design Museum in Kensington which closed last weekend. It explored how the NEWGEN scheme in the 90s fuelled a creative renaissance for London Fashion during the Cool Britannia era.

I think my favourite parts were the early McQueen, Erdam and Christopher Cane!

Museum Lates: Tate Britain

I think when you love Clothes and Costume, it catches your eye everywhere! I recently went to Tate late with a friend. Of course- I misread which Tate Late I was attending and ended up traveling to the Tate Modern instead of the Tate Britain. An exhibition that’s on at the Tate Britain at the moment is Women in Revolt. I saw it before Christmas and spent a good two hours there with a friend looking at all the artworks. Women in Revolt examines post war second wave feminism through punk. What shocked me the most was how we may have come far in the bridging of many inequalities, universally fair, equal and affordable childcare is a major barrier to female equality. It shocked me that such childcare was available through the state during the Second World War and retracted post war.

Trench Coat Toile

I completed the toile for my new trench coat today! I am very excited to make it up in there real fabrics which is a green cotto gaberdine and a nice stripy silky lining.

I fixed my Singer 401G

What I find really striking about the difference between the Singer Heavy Duty- a contemporary plastic fantastic sewing machine by Singer and the older models is this- one machine assumes you actually know what your doing and the other assumes that sewing is a merely hobbyistic pursuit. The stronger, well built sewing machines actually acknowledge sewing as a technical skill. The Singer 401G is a machine built to punch through anything from making clothes to curtains. It was also known charmingly as the slant-o-matic and was engineered to be the best of its day. I found my slant-o-matic during the pandemic in Ireland, when filming on The Last Duel was postponed.

Last August when I returned from spending the summer in Malta on Gladiator 2, my little brown hen- Singer 401G, she broke down. Lacking the personal bandwidth to deal with problem after a busy shoot, I took little brown hen to the local sewing machine shop. Where unfortunately, the mechanic did not quite know what to do with a Machine that was built in 1952 and was not made for planned obsolescence. So after waiting the guts of six months to report he had fixed my sewing machine, I game him an ultimatum and when he produced no results, I rescued Hen from his shop.

What had caused the problem was that the stitch selector arms had moved and needed to be reset and timed. Also the needle driving shaft was pushed to far forward. I was testing a new buttonholing attachment that was made for the machine in the late 1950s and early 1960s when I realised there was something seriously wrong with the control centre of the machine. Why the interest in buttonholing attachments you might ask? Currently the only place to get keyhole buttonholes regularly in London is a back alley in Soho. Bit of a trek. Being able to do buttonholes in house is more efficient and less stress. Ironically, this buttonhole attachment was in turn someone else’s pandemic passion project. As can be seen by the note inclosed in the box, which appears to have been done on a typewriter.

In short, I found the manual posted online by another sewing machine enthusiast and proceeded to service the machine top down myself. In order to fix the control centre I had to get some very stuck screws out without buggering them. I took the machine to B&Q and found the correct size screwdriver. I then used a crème brûlée torch from my kitchen to apply some heat to loosen the screws and 3 hours later, Hey Presto! I have my favourite sewing machine back in working order. I Also changed out the original lamp which is too yellow and rather like a candle to a high watt LED. Much better.

Defo going to use the crème brûlée torch this week for some actual baking and not as an improvised blow torch.

Needless to say, my 85 year old mechanical engineer of a Grandad was very proud of me!

Completed Windowpane check Waistcoat

I have just completed a second waistcoat for my Dad. My favourite part was doing the bar tacks and buttonholes by hand.

Completed Circle Skirt with contrast petticoat

Making skirts is always very satisfying, I have cut three for spring. Besides the finished skirt below I have cut one in green wool and one in navy wool.

Windowpane Check Waistcoat

I am making good progress on this bespoke windowpane check waistcoat. Almost finished now!

Debbie Bliss ‘Frances’ Sweater

Its January and I have just spent the past two weeks in Ireland with my family enjoying the sights and making some lovely new memories.

I’m currently working on a mustard cable knit sweater. This knitting project is a Arran weight cable knit sweater that features raglan sleeves. This means that the yoke is knitted straight and the bottom of the sweater is knitted out of the yoke. It is once again using Debbie Bliss yarn. This time I am using eight balls of Cashmerino Arran I got on sale at lovecrafts.com. The pattern is called 'Frances' it's digital and available to download from lovecrafts.com too!

#knitting #film #costume #knittersgonnaknit #knittinglove #fashion #vintage #vintagelife

V&A Hand Embroidered Cushion Project

Guess when I embroidered this cushion cover?

The embroidery was completed in May 2020 at the height of the pandemic. A major time of crisis in the film industry that saw a complete shutdown and 300,000 film and theatre workers loose their jobs overnight as the entertainment industry ground to a halt.

Times flies! It sat in my work basket for ages and I finally made it up as a cushion in August 2023 during the joint Actor’s and Writer’s strike of 2023.

As we are back to work and have just wrapped on Gladiator 2- it seems like a good time to post about this Crisis Cushion.

Colourful Clouds Sweater

I found this pattern on lovecrafts.com! It’s a Debbie Bliss pattern called ‘Alda’. A knitted tank top that’s perfect for this time of year. Looks great with a leather jacket. I’m currently in Malta- and it’s colder then I anticipated for the Mediterranean. I am regretting leaving this lovely warm yet stylish tank at home! More on landing in Malta- I ended up in an excellent row on the airplane with a woman who used to work for the UN and an insurance salesman. The quality of the conversation was unmatched! Especially with the woman who used to work with the UN. We discussed how being posted abroad for work and living your life as a series of smaller events tense assignments can make normal life feel jarring. How the time between assignments can feel uncanny and out of place. I also landed on Malta in the middle of a thunderstorm. It continued to rain and gust for 4 days after that… weather much improved now. Mild.

This Tank It is once again worked using Debbie Bliss’s ‘Merion’ chunky weight Yarn. As much as so adore this yarn- I’m going to have to take a break and knit something on a finer gauge next time. In other crafting news- I have acquired a lovely, If not slightly complicated cross stitch kit of Gustav Klimt’s ‘The Kiss’. Which is perfect for long evenings in my hotel room overlooking the sea.

A Donegal Tweed Tailored Waistcoat

What do you do when your Dad cannot find a suitably colourful waistcoat, for an Irish country wedding? You run one up on the closet sewing machine you have to an industrial Juki 8883D- a 1932 Singer. This waistcoat was made to the week prior to my departure to Malta and my return to being part of the team on Gladiator 2. I am very happy with the results!