Design By Claire

This journal is now closed.

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:28:01 GMT

If you'd like to join me, please feel free to come on over to eternalmagpie.

Alternatively, you can add the syndicated feed of my new blog, eternal_magpie.

See you there!

That Other Blog...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:59:20 GMT

For those of you who aren't subscribed to eternal_magpie, here's a brief summary of what I've been up to since I last posted here.

I have some original kniting patterns available in the Eternal Magpie Shop

I've been inspired by some pretty wool

I've climbed a tree wearing an outfit that I made

and my new Alexander Henry fabric's arrived.

I've also been making corsets, fitting dresses, joining a new choir, and generally keeping myself extremely busy!

Chloe's Cupcake Dress

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:32:15 GMT

pesky33's cupcake dress is finished!

You can read about it here.

I also made a matching suffolk puff corsage. Cute!

Sewing patterns...

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:28:19 GMT

I may have accidentally bought a few dress patterns for myself.

You can read about my plans for them here.

(Or you can friend eternal_magpie, and I can stop bugging you...)

Laura's Toile

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:06:45 GMT

This is Vogue 8470.

You can read more about it here.

(blah blah eternal_magpie blah blah...)

Unravelling.

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:11:34 GMT

Today I have been mostly unravelling a massive jumper.

*cough*eternal_magpie*cough*

Pink Leopard Print Satin.

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:10:07 GMT

While I was at work yesterday, I may have accidentally picked up a piece of pink leopard print satin.

I have enough of the pink to make two corsets.

Also available in red, blue and purple, if anyone's interested...?

You can also see photos of my pink tartan corset, over at the Eternal Magpie blog.

(Or you can add eternal_magpie to get the updates directly in LJ.)

More Suffolk Puffs...

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:11:40 GMT

Over the weekend I made a couple of brooches, for my Mum and for Paul's.

You can read about them here, if you like.

Or add eternal_magpie to your friends list, to get the updates automatically.

Preparing for the corsets.

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:50:19 GMT

I have puddingcat coming over later today, to be measured for a corset to match her coat.

I needed to have the contract ready, along with the instructions for how to measure yourself for a corset.

The contract sets out the terms and conditions of the sale, and also confirms the customer's choices of fabrics and trimmings. This makes sure that we both know exactly what's going on.

I'm going to be doing most of my orders via the internet and without fittings, so I've drawn up a handy sheet of instructions which will hopefully enable the buyer to provide me with accurate measurements. The instructions come with a tape measure, and three pieces of elastic which you use as a guide for where to take the measurements.

Obviously I'll provide a mock-up if a customer wants one, but it helps to have accurate measurements in the first place!

If the pack works well, I'll probably make it available for download. (You'd have to provide your own tape measure and elastic to go with it though!)

To go with it, I was thinking of sharing the details of how I use these measurements to draft the corsets. Most of the searches coming to the Eternal Magpie blog are looking for instructions on how to draft a corset, so it might be nice for me to share that information.

Is that the sort of thing that people would be interested in, do you think?

[edit] I'm taking orders for September, by the way! You can find out how to order over here.

A Pleasing Pile of Puffs.

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:11:04 GMT

I'd never made a Suffolk Puff before today, and now I've made a dozen:

They're made from offcuts of the Bishopston organic cottons, with a little bit of Fair Trade batik thrown in for good measure. The centres are made from self-cover buttons.

These particular puffs are going to be sewn on to organic cotton tote bags, which I've been embroidering for Paul's cousin's daughters. I haven't done any embroidery for a very long time either, but I'm pleased with the way it's come out. Pictures will follow when the puffs are attached!

Before the Art Market in September, I plan to make a whole bunch of these as corsages, with brooch pins on the back. If I'm feeling particularly creative, I might go mad with multiple layers and feathers and ribbons and sparkly bits.

I've really enjoyed making these little pretties. I can't wait to see how they look in lots of different types of fabric!

Anybody want a badge machine?

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:22:01 GMT

I'm thinking of selling my badge machine.

It's a London Emblem Badgeworx kit, plus approximately 500 parts to make 25mm badges.

The kit includes the badge press, the die for making 25mm badges, a circle cutter and cutting board, and approximately 500 parts for making the badges. I'll throw in the clamps I bought to attach it to my table!

Brand new, the kit cost £235. The badge parts alone are worth around £35.
(Prices include VAT.)

Would anybody be interested in taking it off my hands for £150, including shipping within the UK?

Simplicity 2927

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:02:35 GMT

This morning I had a very productive time drafting a pattern for a pair of leggings. By lunchtime I'd transformed a piece of lovely cotton jersey that I bought from The Cloth House several years ago, and in the afternoon I started on a simple tunic to go with them.

Say hello to Simplicity 2927:

It's not finished yet, mostly because I was taken by surprise at how complicated this little dress turned out to be!

It's one of Simplicity's Project Runway patterns. As it happens I've never actually watched the TV show, but I'd sort of assumed that the point of the patterns was to encourage young wannabe designers into sewing their own clothes.

We'd already discovered at work that the patterns are quite difficult to read. The back of the envelope is quite confusing in terms of being able to work out what you need (more so than normal!), and the instructions often seem unnecessarily complicated.

This particular design comes in a choice of two lengths, has three different sleeve styles, and optional pockets. Directions are also included for piping all of the seams. Throughout the pattern you're sewing concave to convex edges to make the curved side front seams and the neck band. The sleeves are either faced or bagged out. The front facing's rather fiddly, and the sleeves and neck band were a nightmare to put together neatly.

I sew three or four days out of every week, and I found this pattern rather difficult!

I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone who didn't already have plenty of sewing experience - and plenty of patience. It took me around six hours to get this far, and I was expecting it to take about half that time.

As I was putting this little tunic together, I was a bit worried that my choice of colours was going to make me look like a dental nurse. Looking at the photo though, I think the style is quite cute. Slightly sixties-looking, and I think the button makes all the difference. I don't know whether that's going to be my final choice of button - I need to see the colours in daylight - but I think whichever button I choose, it needs to be a big one.

All I need to do now is put in the zip, finish off the last few loose ends, and give the whole thing a good pressing. I'm disappointed that I couldn't get it finished today, as I was planning on wearing it to work tomorrow, along with my new leggings!

Still, I'd rather do it properly, than try to finish it in a hurry and make a mess of it.

I keep going back to these little raglan tunic patterns, so I guess my next step is to draft one of my own. Whatever I come up with, I do know that it won't have a neckband, and it won't have such complex curves! I'm still in love with the pockets though.

First incarnation of the Bishopston skirt...

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:01:38 GMT

Here it is!

Drafted the pattern this morning; made the skirt this afternoon. :)

It's made from black Bishopston cotton, but it's lined with plain black polycotton because I haven't ordered the organic sateen yet. The pockets are organic cotton too, made from half of one of the Kaffe Fassett fat quarters.

The skirt itself is lovely. It's a nice length, it's wide without being too flarey, and it's lovely and comfortable to wear. Success!

I do need to make some sort of alteration to the pockets though. They look as though they're a bit too far apart, and because they're placed exactly on the hips, it's quite difficult to get your hands in and out of them. I really want them to stay sewn into the side seam rather than simply being plonked onto the front, so I think they need to be even bigger. And a bit lower down. Which means that the skirt needs to be a bit longer, otherwise the band and the pockets will be too close together, on the version with the contrast hem band. Hmm.

A little fiddling will make all the difference, I think.

When Paul gets home (and I've had a shower!), I'll ask him to take a couple of pictures so that you can see what it looks like being worn.

I know I've just said that I need to go back and make loads of changes, but I'm really pleased with the way that this has come out. :)

A little something I've been working on...

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:49:02 GMT

I've spent ALL YEAR (so far) trying to work out what I wanted to do with the Bishopston fabrics, and finally, I think I've cracked it. (Possibly I may have just cracked. It's hard to tell in this stinking heat.)

These are three variations on the theme of an a-line skirt.

They're made from the Bishopston organic cottons, and will be fully lined in a lightweight cream organic cotton sateen. (Except for the centre version - that will be made from two layers of Bishopston cotton.)

They fasten with a zip at the centre back, and measure 21" long. (Roughly knee-length.)

The illustrations show enormous patch pockets, but if you don't like them I can just as easily hide the pockets on the inside, or leave them out altogether.

The skirts can be made in various colour combinations, or you could choose to have the whole thing in just one colour. I also have some Kaffe Fassett stripy fat quarters which can be used for the pockets, and if anyone wants different colours, or stripes, or checks, I can buy those to order for you.

The skirts will cost £60, plus p&p.

I'll be making them to a wide range of standard sizes, for which I will publish a size chart soon.

If you would like me to draw a custom pattern exactly to your size, there will be an additional charge of £10. This is a one-off fee, and any further skirts made from this pattern will cost £60 as normal.

August is getting quite heavily booked up as far as sewing goes, but I currently have room to make THREE of these skirts. Because I'm feeling kind, these first three people can have a custom sized pattern made for free! I'll just need to know your waist and hip measurements.

I know it's difficult to imagine how a style will look from just the drawings, so I'll be making one for myself this afternoon, and I'll ask Paul to take some photos as soon as possible.

I'm in love with these little skirts, and can see myself making them in lots and lots of different colour combinations!

Ordering corsets...

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:21:30 GMT

All four corset pre-order places for August have now been filled. Thank you ladies!
I will be demanding photos for the gallery, so that I can encourage people to sign up to order more. :)

I have made a gallery of corset fabrics over on Flickr, and a page explaining how to order corsets over on Wordpress.

I'm in the process of drafting a contract/set of instructions/massive disclaimer, which I shall be testing out on the first four corset recipients.

Hopefully I'll get a few orders in place for the rest of the year.
*fingers crossed*

My next decision will be whether I ought to move from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. It'll inconvenience anyone who's subscribed to the Eternal Magpie RSS feed (including eternal_magpie), but as Paul pointed out, it's better to cause the inconvenience when I'm only getting 100 hits a week.

It looks as though a day of fiddling about with Wordpress is going to be in my not-too-distant future - along with actually making a corset for myself!

Four prototype corsets.

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:45:41 GMT

In August, I would like to make four corsets.

[edit] ALL FOUR PLACES ARE NOW TAKEN!
Thanks to faerierhona, puddingcat, madamequeeny and ephemera. :D

The corsets will cost £70 each. (This is roughly half of what I will be charging in future.)
They will be an underbust style, like the fish corset.
They will be made from fabrics which I already have in my Shed. (photos to follow)
They will be made according to measurements that you will provide.

If you would like to sign up for this I will require payment in advance, via PayPal, to be received no later than Sunday August 3rd. If I have not received your payment by this date, I will allocate your place to the next person in the queue. Speed is of the essence!

Once I have received your payment, I will send out a "measuring pack". This will contain a tape measure, three pieces of elastic, and instructions for what to do with them! ;)

I will require your measurements within ONE WEEK of you receiving the pack, otherwise I can't guarantee that your corset will be ready by the end of August.

As soon as I receive your measurements, I will draft a pattern just for you, and make your corset.

It will be made from:
An outer layer of fashion fabric, according to your choice.
An internal layer of polycotton herringbone coutil.
An internal waist tape, made from polyester grosgrain ribbon.
A lining of plain cotton or polycotton.
Straight steel bones and busk.
Two-part eyelets (5mm) in silver, gold or black.
Laces in black or white, with metal-tipped ends to match the eyelets.
Bias binding to match or contrast with the fashion fabric.

If you would like any beaded trims or a gold busk, please add £5.

Please leave a comment if you think you might be interested!

Over the course of the day I will add lots of photos of the fabrics I have available for you to choose from, so please keep checking back. :)

The photos are here.

There are chinese brocades (lotus blossoms and dragons), embroidered taffeta, heavy matte duchess satins, retro-style polkadots, steampunk tweeds, black velvet with stars, sparkly shimmer viscose, silk dupion, satin-backed dupion, silky satins, charmeuse, heart print satin, skulls & crossbones, dancing skeletons, glittery spiderwebs, sparkly satin, rose damask...

DISCLAIMER - I CANNOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IF YOUR CORSET DOES NOT FIT DUE TO INCORRECT MEASUREMENTS.
I will make the instructions as clear as possible, but you MUST email and ask questions if you're unsure!

This offer is open to the UK only, for speed of sending out the measurement packs and the finished corsets.

Corsets will be sent out via Special Delivery, so that they're properly insured. This is included in the price.

Working on The Plan.

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:35:28 GMT

Today I have been mostly drafting skirt patterns, and musing on the impossibilities of size charts.

(See also eternal_magpie)

This journal is probably going to go away quite soon.

If you'd like to keep track of what I'm doing over at Wordpress, you can add eternal_magpie to your friends list. You can leave comments on Wordpress or directly on the LJ feed.

I'll also be using the eternalmagpie account, but mostly for posting to communities.

Oh! I forgot to mention that my computer died a horrible death over the weekend, so I have lost all of my contact details. If you'd like me to have your email address, please can you send an email to claire@designbyclaire.co.uk, so I can add you to my address book? Thank you!

Slight email difficulty...

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:43:03 GMT

My computer has decided to throw a little wobbly, so I am currently without email. As you can see, I have internet access (thanks to evicting Paul from his computer), but I have no access to my email at all until my own computer's fixed.

*fingers crossed*

So, if you need to contact me at all, your best bet is to leave a comment for me.

In latest "lovely things" news, custard_kisses recently posted about Sarah Clemens Clothing, on Etsy.

I absolutely adore the look of her two-colour dresses, and am now adding this idea to my stash of plans for the Bishopston fabrics.

I'd been thinking of making some asymmetrical a-line skirts, decorated with suffolk puffs and vintage buttons at the hem. Having seen these dresses, I definitely think that idea will work!

Full skirts, large pockets, hemline gathered at one side. Pockets and puffs made from contrasting fabric.

Right.

Now I just need to focus on the plan for long enough to actually make something... ;)

Decisions, decisions...

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:24:49 GMT

My next dress mock-up doesn't need to be ready until the end of August. Between the next cupcake dress, some slippers, more tote bags and maybe a corset or two, I think I might finally have found the time to make myself a new coat. (Yes. In the middle of summer. I know.)

I bought this Waverley flamingo print fabric last year, and I keep not-deciding what sort of coat it should be. I bought the Indygo Junction pattern and the giant button specifically with this fabric in mind, but having just finished Jenny's brocade coat, I am extremely tempted to make this in a piratey style!

I've also been searching high and low for flamingo-shaped buttons, and finally I have managed to come up with these:

They're from a website called Uptown Flamingo, and they're $4.95 for two, or $24 for 12. I might drop them an email to ask about shipping costs. How could I make a flamingo coat without even trying to buy some flamingo buttons?

There should even be enough fabric left over to make a bag. Or a hat.

A hat! With flamingo buttons on the side!

Sorted.

We have a plan.

(What? You didn't think I could make two classy items in a row, surely?) ;p

The brocade coat is finished!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:58:43 GMT

I know these photos aren't of the best quality - it's pretty dark out there today, and for some reason my camera refuses to focus on this fabric properly. Hopefully I'll be able to take some better pictures at the weekend, when puddingcat comes to collect it.

You can see all the pictures of the coat as it progressed over at Flickr.

For those of you interested in the details, it's made from John Lewis Classic Brocade, from the furnishing fabrics department! The lining and contrast details are made from polyester satin-backed dupion, and the interfacing is horsehair canvas. There are sixty-four buttons in total.

The first picture shows the inside of the coat, because that's where most of the time went! The facings and the hem were hand-stitched, and you can see the twenty internal buttons at the centre front. As well as balancing the weight of the heavy metal buttons on the outside, they also have another useful function. Jenny can fold the braid loops to the inside and fasten them around these little buttons, if she wants to wear the coat open. That way the loops don't catch on all the buttons, or get in the way.

The pattern is Simplicity 3677, their women's "Pirates of the Caribbean" costume. I added the lining and the pockets, and used different methods for the finishing. The only other deviation I made from the pattern was to make a full bust adjustment, for a better fit.

I can't wait to see Jenny try it on!

More knitting.

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:18:47 GMT

In which I talk about patterns from this month's Simply Knitting magazine.

Go on, add eternal_magpie to your friends list. You know you want to.

The jacket's finished!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:01:02 GMT

Photos to follow tomorrow, in proper daylight, and after I've steamed it to within an inch of its life. But yes, I have just finished sewing on the sixty-fourth button, so the jacket is technically finished! Hopefully I'll be able to get some photos of puddingcat showing it off, when she comes to collect it at the weekend. :)

I've managed to sell almost all of the remaining Baby Cthulhu t-shirts today. Shame it had to be done by reducing the price right down to £6, but at least they'll be out of my bedroom and I'll be able to open the door to the airing cupboard again! Sometimes clearing stuff out and getting the space back is more important than making the biggest profit.

Having said that, I'm rather disappointed to discover that I only sold a grand total of four badges at the Reveal exhibition. I'm trying to stay positive and think that at least I can put them on Etsy, or sell them at the next Art Market in September. But all that work, and all that expense on packaging, to sell four badges? Ah well. Learning curve, and all that. I do wish I'd been well enough to make it over to the exhibition, it looks as though there were some lovely things there. Lauren's put up a photo gallery, if you'd like to have a look.

Now to attempt an early night, so I can be nice and fresh to start work on professoryaffle's dress in the morning.

But it'll come out sideways!

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:18:43 GMT

Today I am mostly being quite annoyed by McCalls 5431, the skirt pattern I posted about yesterday.

Here is the layout diagram, which is clearly marked "with or without nap".

But if you're using a fabric with a directional print, and you lay it out according to the diagram above, the print will come out sideways.

They've laid it out this way because the individual pattern pieces are far too wide to be cut on a fold of 45" wide fabric. It does say on the envelope, as it always does, "additional fabric may be needed to match stripes, plaids or one-way design fabric", but it doesn't say, "and by the way, it'll be sideways"! I don't see how this pattern can possibly be suitable for any fabric with a pronounced grain, nap or directional print.

The pattern is ideal for all of the spotty fabrics we're selling at work at the moment, and for the skulls, which are inexplicably printed sideways anyway. But it's particularly annoying, as it's scuppered my plans to use up my existing printed fabrics. They're all too narrow - and 45" is the standard width for printed quilting cottons, so I can't even buy wider prints in future.

I have looked at this until I'm cross-eyed, and I can't see any way of cutting this skirt out of 45" fabric without ending up using twice as much fabric as the pattern states, and having an extra seam down the centre front.

It looks as though, if I want to make a skirt in this style, I'm going to be drafting my own pattern with smaller pieces. That's £7.50 down the drain then - I could have done that in the first place!

In slightly more cheerful news, I have started to make myself a gallery. I seem to have done rather a lot of sewing over the past couple of years...

Weaving, and thinking about fabrics.

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:22:58 GMT

This morning Paul and I went to our local Fun Day. I snorgled a ferret named Zorro, and had a go at a bit of weaving.

*cough*eternal_magpie*cough*

This afternoon I have been thinking about fabrics and sewing and earning a living, and assorted ideas related to that.

Yesterday I bought this McCalls skirt pattern:

and will most likely be making several versions of view B. Check out those enormous pockets!

I bought this fabric from Cia's Palette over a year ago, and I hadn't found the perfect pattern for it until now.

Trimmed with the black Bishopston cotton, I think this will make a fabulous skirt.

I am trying not to regret cutting up the cupcake fabric and the teacups fabric. I never wear the dresses that I've made from them. They turned out to be rather unflattering on me, and I think they would have made fabulous skirts instead. *sigh*

Still, there's the Liberty knitting fabric, which will go beautifully with the Bishopston China Blue, although I'm still debating whether that's going to be one of these skirts, or the same dress that I'm making for professoryaffle.

Having made a couple of versions of Simplicity 4072 (soon to start work on a third), and looking at this McCalls skirt pattern, I am increasingly tempted to place another order with Cia's Palette. I think the Bishopston fabrics work really well in conjunction with interesting prints, and to be perfectly honest, sticking only to super-ethical Fair Trade and recycled fabrics is actually making me rather miserable.

Of course I want to save the planet, and the textile industry is absolutely appalling in terms of its use of natural resources, pollution and labour. But I'd also like to be happy in my work, and using the silly printed fabrics cheers me up no end.

I think I might reinstate the enormous gallery I used to have on the Design By Claire website. I took it down because I felt as though it was some kind of failing to be working only from commercial dress patterns, and you know what? That's just stupid.

I actively enjoy working from commercial patterns. I don't enjoy pattern drafting. It's perfectly okay for me to be advertising my dressmaking on the basis of using commercial patterns, as long as I'm buying a new copy of the pattern for each garment that I make, and as long as I'm not trying to pass off other people's work as my own designs.

What I'm good at is a) sewing, and b) putting fabrics together in unusual and interesting combinations.

I don't have to excel at pattern drafting to be a good dressmaker - they're two completely different sets of skills.

I'd still prefer to mostly restrict more complicated dressmaking only to people who can come to me for fittings, but things like skirts and unstructured dresses (like Simplicity 4072) can happily be done by mail order. As can the elasticated skirts, which are drawn up from a pattern that I drafted myself.

Once I've got my current workload under control, I think there might be a few more changes afoot.

Also, thinking about Jobs I Might Be Good At, I wonder how one might set oneself up as a freelance Personal Shopper/Stylist? I reckon I could give Gok a run for his money any day, at well under £200 an outfit! ;)

Buttoned-up...

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:45:22 GMT

I was hoping to finish puddingcat's coat today. Six hours of hand-sewing later, and I realise that I have vastly underestimated how long it would take to sew on all the buttons!

Today I have stitched down the facings to the lining, and bound the bottom edge of the coat. Oh, and sewn on forty buttons. Yes, forty! (Twenty of them are on the inside.)

Twenty-two more buttons to go, and then all I have to do is press the cuffs and turn up the hem.

I honestly have no idea how many hours I've put into making this coat. More than I expected, but then I always underestimate how much time it takes to do the finishing touches. Somehow this coat seems to have been made up entirely of finishing touches!

Even though the coat isn't mine, I should probably to confess to having tried it on. I had a sneaky flounce around the Shed in it, and it's absolutely gorgeous to wear. It's definitely on my list as one of the things I want to make for myself, when time permits. I wonder how it would look in pink PVC with little white spots...?