I have recently completely soft lace sweater and it’s really coming together quickly! I am using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. It’s 55% wool, 33% Acrylic and 12% Cashmere. I got the yarn on sale for £3.50 a ball and I only need 8 balls so I consider that a steal! I’m knitting on size 6 needles so the stitches are large and it’s satisfying to get through a project quickly. I really adore the colour ways of this yarn. I’m a great fan of yellows but I’m thrilled with this shade of green!
New in house sewing set up!
I have a new drop leaf cutting table! It is a present from my parents for my 30th birthday. I’m having great fun with it.
You can roll your own way!
Yesterday- it may seem like a dreadfully dull thing to do- I organised my fabric stash. By taking it out of the boxes I keep in the airing cupboard and making my own tubes out of stiff paper. This has proved highly effective as I can now see what I have at a glance. I can see what goes well with what. Think on it- I like how the colours go together and it helps me decide if something should be a dress or separates. It allows for spontaneity in design. I have been kindly gifted many a lovely bolt from the 24 productions I have been part of since I graduated college. It also lends the room a feeling of an atelier. It is satisfying to know what a lovely collection of velvets, denims, cottons, silk satins, silk chiffon and wools I can avail of to make into clothes for myself.
And for the books? I am currently revisiting and revising my personal pattern blocks. Which I haven’t done since I was 22. I have found some much better blocks!
Vintage Ermine, your Mine.
I was antiquing today in the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford. I was out for the day with my Dad at The Aston Martin Museum Trust. The museum proprietor Dom Walker used to work for Aston Martin! He gave a fabulous talk on the history of the Trust’s collection, punctuated by excellent personal anecdotes and insider knowledge.
My favourite item in the museum collection was the checkered flag that that Caroll Shelby stole as a souvenir. Apparently, in 1959 when Shelby won the 24 hour Le Mans in an Aston Martin, he was was given the flag on his victory lap. He nicked it! tucked it not the inkwell of the car! Good on him.
Anyways- when we went into town for lunch, I spotted this ermine cape. Circa 1910-1920 by my estimate. Excellent condition. It’s going to look great with my ballgowns! £30!!!! Bar-gainnnn!
Mysterious Brush-wherever you are!
I have just encountered a new and exciting Gadget. It is a very peculiar clothes brush belonging to one of my colleagues, who is also a sewing gadget lover. This brush is stone tipped and is for dealing with shine on fabric. Shine is when fabric gets lightly exposed to too much heat from the iron in the pressing process. Such a brush can make the shine dissipate by reworking the fibres. I want one!!!! Apparently it also works on burnt velvet. Unfortunately, the original box and branding are lost- so finding one on eBay will be a challenge.
Completed Debbie Bliss Merion ‘Lottie’ Sweater
Another project had reached its conclusion! I really enjoyed working with a chunky knit as opposed to my usual fine gauge 4 ply needles!!! The yarn is Debbie Bliss Merion: Lillac 11. The Pattern is the ‘Lottie’ sweater. I have some yarn leftover from the sweater which might become a matching tam.
I am now working on making this sweater in a warm caramel colour.
New Pleating Gadget!
Look at what I found in a recent eBay trawl for vintage sewing gadgets! It’s a 1950s niffy curtain and box pleat setter. It’s is going to be so handy that it will have to be seen to be believed!!!
Ruler & Pattern Master Caddy!!!
I was inspired to make this handy custom Tote today for all my rulers, curves and pattern master. The hope is to save on trips to the car and lesson the stress of a get-in day when I change Gigs and thus change studios. My caddy is made from old calico totes backed on canvas that I had in my stock.
The Skirt is Done!
I have just completed the skirt of my 1950s two piece!!! Delighted! X
Update on Butterick 6020
I have made excellent Saturday morning progress on my dress. All fitted on the mannequin. The next step is to finish the construction. Hemming, facings, waistbands and a shaped peplum on the blouse.
Skirt of dress complete!
I had a lovely weekend! However, I got a bit sunburnt. I managed to fit in a lovely personal sewing session Sunday morning. I am very pleased with these pockets.
In other news, currently reading ‘Delayed Rays of a Star’ by Amanda Lee Koe. I’m enjoying it a great deal. Review to follow soon.
At an undisclosed Film Studio in London…
I was having a lot of fun on my lunch break!
Progress on Butterick 6020 circa 1950
I am finally making progress on Butterick 6020. I’ve choose to use a yellow pinstripe Linen fabric that I picked up in Hickeys in Grafton Street, Dublin. I bought it when I was visiting my parents ages ago. Unfortunately, Hickeys no longer exists and Dublin is down to two remaining fabric stores. Grim Indeed.
It’s always a challenge to cut and make my own clothes when I spend most of my professional hours sewing for film. This dress was actually cut on a stormy night in a very lovely country house hotel on location. The room was large and quite posh. I had some spare time on cut this one out on the bureau. I have to make the best of it. Otherwise I’d never get through my stash. The current strategy is a minimum of 4 personal seams a day to keep it moving. The personal project list is 25 units at the moment… not including my trousseau for Venetian Carnivale.
Aligning the stripes is very important. It’s what makes for lovely intersecting chevrons on the pockets. The pockets are exceptionally pleasing on this design. I definitely want to draft an apron with B6020’s pockets.
London Pride 2022
Hello Dear Readers!!! Wishing you a very happy Pride from London. Today was the 50th anniversary of the original march for LGBT+ rights in 1978. The parade followed the original route from 1978 in commemoration of the first brave parade. It was also significantly the first pride to be celebrated in London since 2019 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Given how all kinds of rights are under threat at the moment, it is more important then ever to be an ally. Happy Pride!
Haul from Sunbury Antiques Market
I had a lovely day off today! I spent the morning at Kempton Park Racecourse browsing antiques. The selection was vast! If you love antique jewellery, Kempton is the market for you. I set out with the intention of hoping to find some nice haberdashery. I think my favourite thing about today are the kid evening gloves I found for £7. Not to be outdone by the string of pearlised glass buttons with the raised finish.
Red 1950s Felt Dress
I love 1950s dresses. Who doesn’t? It’s all those petticoats. Dior and the post war new look. They are my fridge-spiration. Especially the McCalls pattern 3489. It’s clearly a spring/easter number. Check out that basket of daffodils.
I want the McCalls 3489 to be my next personal project. If you look closely, It’s in fact a dress and skirt combo. The separation of the bodice and skirt is concealed with a matching belt. Another feature of this pattern is it the slight draped cowl at the neckline. I think I’ll make it in that exact shade of yellow and wear it with a lovely pair of nude peep toes.
My current project is altering an original 1950s red wool felt dress. It needs a new lining, a bust adjustment and the hooks & eyes need replacement. I bought the dress from Rokit Vintage London. Amazingly- there is not a single moth hole anywhere on this dress. According to a friend who used to work for Rokit, a lot of Rokit stock comes from Canada.
I think this dress owes it longevity to the fact it’s lining needed replacing at one point. There are clear signs the lining was chopped out and never replaced. It was custom made. There is a small label in the back neckline that says ‘handmade by Edith’.
Since I needed to make this dress a new lining, I took this as an opportunity to make a new pattern. I traced the dress on the flat with muslin and a pencil. I created a flat pattern and then made it up in some red cotton to check against the dress. The intention being that the red cotton toile will work as the finished lining. It also serves the dual process of being a toile for a later copy of this dress. I really adore the flowing, clean lines of this dress that are evident in the trace pattern.
Thankfully, good friends and Me-naquin (my mannequin) make fitting adjustments easy. Looking forward to completing the renovations to this dress.
Early Sketch for the FTC logo.
I was going through old notebooks and I found my original sketch for the FTC logo. I had entirely forgotten that I had made the motto ‘Acta, Non Verba’. It means deeds, not words. Although words are powerful it’s our actions, our adventures, it’s what we do that really defines who we are.
I also found some fun photos of my first wrap party, my first day going to set and of messing around with my friends in art college.
Christmas on The Nevers S2
I think that my favourite memory from The Nevers… will forever be the time production made us a Santa’s Grotto. This was no ordinary Santa’s Grotto. It was a COVID compliant. It was complete with Disco ball, fake snow and captured in Kodachrome.
All Wrapped!
I have just wrapped on The Nevers S2 for HBO. This is me doing my best Rosie The Riveter in Rainbow. I’m now moving onto Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ to help out sewing on beads for a while!
Corset that I made for Hulu's Harlots Season 3
I was talking to the Harlots assistant designer yesterday and apparently the corset I made (as designed by Harlots S3 costume designer Richard Cooke)…was featured quite a lot.
Also, check out this cool Instagram post where this corset features.
602 Likes, 5 Comments - Jaime Winstone (@jaimewinstone) on Instagram: "HBDG⚡️💕🙏🏽🔮🤩💅🏽🧚🏽♂️❤️ @eloiselemonsqueeze"