This is a really exciting time of year in the studio as February tends to be my busiest month for taking commissions. Most people tend to over-indulge in December and so are fairly unwilling to be measured up for a dress until they’ve regained their pre-Christmas physique. The new year also brings the scary reality of “OMG I’m getting married THIS year!!” This year has been no exception and the phone has been red hot with both dress enquiries and new dressmaking students. I’ve got some stunning projects to get my teeth into this wedding season and I’m desperate to share them with you, but alas, I cannot. Wedding dress commissions have to be very secretive and I would never be the one to let the cat out of the bag, so instead of telling you what I’ll be doing this year I thought I’d share with you how the process... read more
As a dressmaker, people assume that I must make all of my own clothes. Wouldn’t that be a dream! But in real life I am usually too busy teaching and working on commissions to be able to lavish such attention on my own wardrobe (in fact, much like plumbers always have dripping taps in their own houses, I’ve been known to walk around with trouser hems held up with double sided sticky tape and dresses held together with safety pins!). January however, is a quieter month on the whole and gives me the chance to partake in a little fabric-stash-busting, and wardrobe restocking. So this week I’ve decided to share with you the latest makes from my handmade wardrobe. I found this gorgeous piece of wool on the remnant table in Ditto and after a month of sitting on the cutting table being admired by my students it became this mini skirt, with... read more
