A chance conversation in a Facebook textile art group I belong to led to a collaborative project that started in Febuary and has come to fruition today.
Myself and 9 other members of the group took part.
I prepared an A4 piece of fabric, added some bits of fabric (to alleviate the oppression of the blank page) and drew 10 circles on it.… Read the rest
Author: Fran Harkes
vroom vroom aaargh!
A couple of weeks ago, another of my domestic sewing machines bit the dust. It’s gears crumbled, most likely due to the amount of zigzagging I subjected it to whilst making lots of brooches before Christmas. I had the choice of getting it repaired, getting another similar one, or taking the plunge and investing in an industrial machine that does straight stitch and zig zag.… Read the rest
Rhymes with “Safe Assett”….
I have long been a fan of the fabric designed by Kaffe Fassett and his partners Philip Jacobs and Brandon Mabley, collectively known as “The KFC Collective”.
The bright, bold, joyous designs are instantly recognisable and very appealing . However I had never actually bought, sewn with, or even been in the same room as an actual piece of the fabric.… Read the rest
ooh la la!
So, feeling smug that I had completed a year’s worth of Made On Monday, and even been awarded a certificate for it which you can see here, I decided to embark upon another year long project. “1 Year of Stitches” involves doing at least one embroidery stitch every day for a year. You can read about it here: http://www.brwnpaperbag.com/1-year-of-stitches-2017/… Read the rest
Scrappy New Year !
I have completed a year of the “Made On Monday” project, which involved making a 5 inch piece of artwork every week. I chose to make mine from the scraps left over from my other textile work. The sharp eyed amongst you will spot that there are more than 52 in the photo, but what’s a couple of extras amongst friends?… Read the rest
constructive proCRAFTination……
In general I love my job, I feel very lucky that I can make a modest living by selling the things I create in my workshop. My least favourite bit of my job is tidying that workshop. I have recently made over 500 brooches to be sold at Winchester Cathedral and York Christmas Markets.
My workbench was piled high with brooch debris.… Read the rest
Brooching the subject……
A couple of folks on my Facebook page asked about how I made my scrappy brooches, and as it happens I recently made a step-by-step record of the process.
I made this scarf  using my overlock/serger and was left with a pile of scraps…….
these are some of the scraps left over from the scarf..
this is what I use as the base of my textile pieces, a open weave mesh, and some tulle or organza?… Read the rest
a customisation with a bit of history….
A customer asked if I could customised this 2 piece suit she had made 24 years ago for her daughters wedding….
I googled the designer and found out that a wedding dress she made is in the V&A Museum in London
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O83520/wedding-dress-akers-douglas-julian/
There’s more information about her here..
http://www.douglashistory.co.uk/history/julian_akers-douglas.htm#.V_4juPkrLIU
so, no pressure, then!
look at the amazing smoking on the sleeves, this is the designers hallmark, all done by hand…
Because the suit is made from silk I decided to use silk to customise it, I bought these beautiful hand dyed silk ribbons from Hope Jacare Designs
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HopeJacareDesigns… Read the rest
textile trail ……
This blanket was knitted by my other half Steve’s Great Granny from wool she unravelled from old jumpers, he inherited it about 40 years ago and for the last 15 it has covered the armchair he sits in. After washing it I noticed that some of the seams were coming apart, so I put it aside to repair, in that pile of stuff waiting to be repaired, you know, the tall pile.… Read the rest
the perfect circle….
Over the years I’ve been asked many times where I get my inspiration and ideas from for my clothing . My answer is always “the fabric”. To me, each piece of fabric is a work of art, an artist has designed it, chosen the colours, selected the fibres for it to be woven with, or printed on – they’ve put all of their experience and expertise into it.… Read the rest
