News Letter. SALE and Competition

It's sale time at Fabric8!
Our summer sale starts this Saturday, 30th June 2012 at 9am with a huge range of reductions on fabrics and wools. Just pop down to your nearest Fabric8 store this Saturday to grab yourself a bargain. Offers available whilst stocks last.

See you at the weekend,

The Fabric8 Team
www.fabric8online.co.uk
  Competition has been launched
We have just launched our annual Toy Making competition and would like to invite you and your friends to enter. You can enter a maximum of two times, and the size of the toy should not exceed a space bigger than 50cm cubed (50cm height x 50cm width x 50cm depth). You can be as creative or simple as you want, use a sewing machine or create by hand. A winner from the Felixstowe Fabric8 and a winner from the Colchester Fabric8 will be picked. Each winner will recieve vouchers to spend at Fabric8. There are three categories: children, student and adults.

A downloadable entry form is available on the website along with further entry instructions. In the meantime, have fun getting creative.
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Wave Gothic Treffen. Goths don't all wear black anymore

When you think of Goths you may well be thinking of everything in that video. However Goth fashion has changed a lot over the decades. Another common misconception is goths are depressed, most goths could really be described as Mono-chrome Hippies. Every  year I travel to Germany with my friends to soak up some wonderful music and amazing goth inspired fashion at Leipzig's Wave Gothic Treffen. And this year I even dragged my manager with me :)

So let us begin with what you may think of as classic Goth clothing (all be it on a regal scale)

Many years ago Black Velvet was the fabric of choice among the Gothic populace. However more recently the most popular fabric has become Duchess Satin. IT's important to use a heavy satin for Goth Dresses. This is because these dresses tend to be very   floatey and in a lighter satin can look more like a nighty. In contrast a heavy satin gives a sense of structure and lets the intricate pleats and folds hold their shape and stand out.

After a while the colour white begins to creep in. This white and black costume was made (and is being modeled) by one of the regular customers of Fabric8. The skirt is a "gypsy" style skirt, made of short panels being pleated into the panel above. This way 5 meters of  fabric can give you a hemline of over 20 meters!


The corset is also a common feature among Goths and affiliates sub cultures. As is oftent he case with fringe fashion, aspects of this are coming into the mainstream. As this BBC article goes into  


 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18409752 . 









The Black and white skirt above was originally constructed to form part of a Belly Dance costume. There are many different form of belly dance including Gothic belly dance.  There is a strong link between Goth culture and fantasy culture. Many goths are also historical re-en-actors. As a result there is a strong medieval theme at WGT as well as Middle Eastern and  fantasy (with one venue dedicated to medieval and middle eastern clothing, artifacts, and music)

As a result there are some fantastic costumes which you may not associate with Goth at first. Lashings of Lace, Tule as well as Organza and Chiffon  can build up layers which catch the wind and the light is fascinating ways. It was a little strange seeing people in black leather queuing for hot dogs next to the fae folk, but it's just part of the experience for me.

Of course you can wear just a simple dress if you accessories yourself correctly. A simple pair of wings and a bottle of Absynth makes for a fantastic "Green Fairy" costume

Many costumes were not made of fabric at all, such as this interesting skirt made out of fruit juice packets. Goth festivals seem to be a hotbed for experimental fashion as well as providing a great show case to show off your creations.

 Steam Punk is a form of fashion I enjoy greatly.| He basic essence is a combination of Victorian fashion with Science fiction. To me personally it answers a question that many people will not ask. "What is Goth" there is no simple answer. However Steam Punks are romantics. The re-imagine the past applying modern ideals to the Victorian aesthetic. Wanting the best of both worlds, the beauty of the Victorian times without the oppressive attitudes to women or subjects of 'The Empire'. They seek an idealized world by harking back to the past. Personally I see this in the Goth Culture as a whole. It's not just an obsession with vampires and the color black. IT's about seeking a romantic idealized world.








Many Steam Punks adorn themselves with brass gadgets. Others wear a Victorian styled outfit adorned with brass trinkets and a very cool hat, much like our good manager here :) 

 

I hope you enjoyed this little journey into my fashion spotting holiday. I've been to WGT 4 years running now and enjoy it very much. I always return inspired to create. However I still don't understand why Bobba Fett's cousin turned up.

More of my greatest mistakes- Weddings

I have had more requests for blogs where I give advise based on my mistakes. I don't know if this is because they're useful to people OR if people just like reading about what an idiot I am. So today I'll run through some practical and not so  practical  lessons I've learnt from Bridal Dressmaking.

Whether you make cakes, have an interest in photography, done a flower arranging course once, sew, or like magic as a hobby someone somewhere will ask you to donate your time and sometimes materials for a wedding. Often (as in my case) people were willing to pay the going rate for a frock, however often people will be asked by friends or family to make something for free. This is fine if you wish to donate your efforts as part of a wedding gift, however there are pitfalls. Friends of friends will often be very nit picky about your work, even if it's better than that in a shop, they will stare at seams for hours, whilst totally ignoring skipped stitches in a commercial dress.  So this is how to ensure your work will truly dazzle.

 Step 1: Ensure the bride truly understands what you'r making, use diagrams, pictures, fabric samples, and  keep it all in a folder. Always take everything with you when you see the bride so they can see how things progress. Make sure to give yourself PLENTY or time to make the dress, have the deadline well before the wedding to stop the bride becoming nervous.

Step 2: Before you start sewing spend a day or two giving your studio or sewing place a proper deep clean. Pulls out everything that can be moved, vacuum, dust, get it spotless, and make an inventory of your tools. This may sound extreme but the less you have to handle your fabric the better. Bridal fabric can be a pain to clean so you don't want to accidently place it on a dusty surface and give yourself a lot more work.
Have a good idea of your available tools is always a good idea. but ensure you have a good supply of sharp Needles and Pins .

Other tool considerations include your scissors, are they up to the task? don't rick ruining your fabric which can cost many hundreds of pounds with a blunt pair. You are saving the bridal party a LOT of money, it's not unreasonable to include fresh scissors, needles and other tools of your trade in with he cost of materials. Just make it clear from the start if you are working for just the  cost of the fabric that you may  have other requirements as well. One lovely couple who I made a dress for actually showed up right before I was about to begin sewing with a new sewing machine for me! So new snips isn't much to ask.

Other tools that many people try to live without but which are amazingly useful include Pressing Cloths and Point turners. I've seen people use the end of their scissors only to punch a hole into the fabric. All that for trying to save £1.80! Pressing clothes give a wonderful finish especially to pleats.

  Step 3: when you get your fabric buy extra. Allow at least half a meter to check on how the fabric presses (does it leave a mark?) and how easily your chalk of choice is removed. You may also find you need more fabric to replace a damaged panel, make sure to ask the shop staff how easily you can get hold of more fabric. If it is unlucky that they can get extra then consider getting a meter or two extra, just in case.

Step4: Pressing can make or break a dress. Make sure your ironing board is clean. Consider making up a cover or two in white cotton, one for bridal pressing, another for using fusible interfacing on.



So there are a few basic pitfalls I've fallen prey to. The most important advice I can give is to take your time, enjoy the process of making something that's not just a dress, but a wish fulfilled, one that has been held for a very long time.

We have a new Website

After a long time in development we are very proud to unveil out new Website.  If you pop  along to http://www.fabric8online.co.uk  You will find what we believe is a clear and easy to follow web-shop. I thought I'd give you  a brief tour here.

Along the top are the basic categories , So if you want fabric for dressmaking the just click Fashion Fabrics , for quilt making  and other crafts then click the Craft Fabrics section and so on. There are also sections with free patterns and a Clearance section where you can pick up a bargain. All this is pretty much self explanatory, However, if for an example you were to click on Fashion Fabrics you will find we have made it easier to find the fabrics you want. Clicking on Fashion Fabrics brings up a list of all the different groups of Dress Making fabrics we have.

Cotton,  Dress Linings and Nets, Fleece and Furs,
Jersey , Lace & Tulle , Linen , Organza & Chiffon
Polycotton,  Sequin and Lamé,  Silks and Satins, Velours and Lycras,   Wool as well as a section for special events labeled  Celebration Fabric a section for those fabrics that never quite fit in, Other and  Sew Magazine Features for fabrics that have made it into this fine magazine.

Let us assume you have decided you want to make a wonderful creation in Cotton. On clicking Cotton you find your final options.Here you can quickly narrow down your browsing to Plain Cottons, Patterned Cottons, Canvas, and Seersucker & Lawn. There are of course search boxes through out the site should you know exactly what you want. However we like the site also to be set up so you can browse through our stock in a quick and logical way. Please have fun on our website and let us know how you find it. Happy Sewing!

Why I love to sew

Most of the blogs on this site tend to be rather factual in nature. They may be a simple "how to" tutorial, or ideas of how you can use your sewing skills in new and interesting ways. I tend not to talk too much about myself, and anyone who's met me at the shop will tell you that's quite out of character :) This blog is slightly more personal in nature, but I hope you find it useful. In past blogs I may have hinted at an interest in performing magic as well as a few physical difficulties which I face. This blog is about the latter. I'm lucky, I'm disabled but managed to land a job (with a great boss and great co-workers who help adapt things to my needs). I'm also lucky in that I sew.

  Sewing for me is incredibly therapeutic. On days when my back is good I can sit by my sewing machine and spend a day happily being creative. On other days when I'm not so well I can  lay back in a support chair and hand sew, or design new creations. Then on days when even that is too much I can read books on fashion as well as books on sewing techniques and patter drafting. Finally when I'm feeling so bad that I can not even hold a book I can look at my collection of hand crafted waistcoats and feel a sense of pride and knowledge that even if I feel bad on this one day, there are other days I can make beautiful things. The sense of achievement when finishing a garment is something I think we all can  share. However to a disabled person that sense of achievement can be tenfold.

An example of this was yesterday. I really wanted to be productive, however my back didn't want me to move much. So I picked up some medieval trousers I happened to have hanging around that needed altering. They were completely  closed at the front. I have to put a front opening and fly in, because some of the stitching as on show and this  is a medieval re-enactment garment I had to do some hand sewing.  And thus a day where I would normally have accomplished  little actually became I day when I did a fiddly little job i'd been putting off for a while.   So if you or your friends have any sort of injury or disability  have a long think. With jut a little help and adaptation you can get them involved  in our wonderfully creative craft.

Please use the comment if You can think of other ways we can help people to sew, knit or craft

The Retromancers

Craft and sewing tins and cases 

Retro is huge. Ironically retro has been huge all through history. We've often looked back to the past for inspiration and sometimes accidentally (or not so accidentally) re-write it to give us a specific emotion, be it a sense of happy nostalgia, pride or hope. In the last century and a bit we saw this stepped up by the Victorian antiquarians. This group of middle classed gentlemen  would to to rekindle costumes and traditions from the past, for example Christmas day. Many of the traditions we hold dear to  for Christmas were actual re-inventions of Tudor and dark age traditions, given a Victorian twist. These enterprising gents also re-invented the role of Town Crier. When making a costume for a Town Crier I was told to remember this isn't a medieval costume, it's a Victorians idea of a medieval costume.

Retro and Modern fabrics

  Ok maybe it's time to quite the waffle and talk about WHY i'm talking about this. In recent time we've had a lot more retro. I've already blogged about polka dot weddings,  Cos play of 80's and earlier sci fi and have been to my fair share of ballroom parties where the theme was World War 2. We've selling a lot more retro fabric in the shop and have just  received some retro sewing tins. Colchester just hosted a wonderful Retro Fair . And I think I finally understand the spiritual appeal of these things. The aesthetic appeal was obvious, they're pretty! But there's a deeper meaning. The Victorians looked back because they felt a sense of achievement, proud of how far they had come with their industrial age.  We are looking back at trying times, such as the blitz and the years following the war when basic necessities were hard to time. We're not looking back at the times of excess when there were bountiful resources. In these tough days of economic gloom we're reminding ourselves, we have been through a lot worse as a country,a nd indeed as a species. We've been through hard-ship before, and yet we triumphed.

Ok you want Butterflies.

My family has a saying. "Only a fool learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from someone else's". I'm giving you all a chance to learn from my mistake, and it was a biggy.

  A friend rung me up asking for a simple dress with fabric with butterflies on. I will be honest, I left starting a little late. I popped into the shop to grab some butterfly fabric and I was in for a little bit of a shock. You see I didn't realize  how MUCH butterfly fabric we have. I didn't know where to begin, and with such a varied choice, all of them so different I just knew there was a chance I could pick the wrong one! Let me show you some examples.

To begin with there are just the light weight cotton Butterflies.

These fabrics are almost identical, they have a lovely butterfly motive s well as a few other things such as presents bows and fans (and chickens). They are just in different colours, or as well call them Colour-ways. At 140 cm wide and £9.00 per meter a simple dress would have been within my  budget. and perfect for a summer dress. Then I realised something. I forgot to ask WHERE the dress would be worn. Just because the weather was nice she may not want a summer dress she may want something more formal. SO I thought I'd take another wander through the shop.

 

Another stroll through the shop lead me to the brocades. I love brocades, they're a lovely weight, easy to work with and always look stunning. It's my fabric of choice for  waistcoats. 

 Both of our Chinese styled butterfly brocades came with a red background. The first comes in at £7.70 per meter, the second at £9.90. So both again within my allotted price range. These would be perfect for a structured dress or a simple, but less flowing dress. SO again I realized I had made a grave error. The term "Simple Dress" means different things to different people. To some it's a classic shift Dress, to others it could be the classic "Little Black Dress".  I had filed to gather enough information before starting the project.

  Thinking that these fabrics may be slightly too structured I went hunting again.

 These two fabrics come in at £12.75 per meter and 110 cm wide. They don't look it at first but they are the same pattern "Butterfly Carnival" just two  different colour-ways. The orange colour-way was looking like a good choice to me as it would work both in a formal dress, a maxi dress and a summer dress.

Finally though I came across THESE 

The young lady in question is a free spirit. I know she enjoys bright colours. I had to just bite the bullet and ring her and admit I had not started her dress yet. It wasn't paid work, and I had been busy I was a  fool for worrying, she understood entirely. She opted for this lovely rainbow  and butterfly fabric.  So what am I trying to say here? When taking on a project for Solomon else start  early. Even if you wont be able to get around to to sewing at least get the fabric, or indeed  get some samples to show the client. And get as full a brief as possible. One persons simple is someone else's rustic or even someone else's formal.  Try to get a grip on the personality of the person in question, and then find out if the outfit is for a certain event.

With this  information you'll be able to make a better choice of fabric and pattern. Don't accept a vague term like "butterfly". Not only are there lots of colour-ways to choose from but so many different styles. Some of these are carefree, others are modern, others are classic. Some can be abstract. There is also the idea of texture, some of these fabrics here are smooth and shiny, others slightly fuzzy.In the words of Sherlock Homes "Data Data Data, I can not make bricks without clay". Even if you are not a professional tailor and dressmaker you have the right (and responsibility) to interrogate who ever you are making the costume for.

|IT can help to try and think of your project as a professional one even if it is for a friend and unpaid. Then you will feel more able to ask the 'client' questions about their needs and ensure you can just relax and most importantly of all ENJOY YOUR SEWING