Dress Making at Dollys!

Last Thursday was super exciting as I went on a dress making workshop!

I caught the train from Wigan to Warrington - a short 10 minute journey - to go to Dolly's Haberdashery & Sewing School to make a Picnic Dress.

The first thing I loved was the shop front. Then I entered the shop and it's just so quirky - there's a beautiful vintage skirt on a mannequin, a super cute children's dress and lots of fabric, ribbons, zips and other haberdashery items. 

Lindsey is the owner and teacher and is just lovely - she was wearing the most amazing dress she'd made (of course) in vintage fabric. She is a wealth of knowledge and experience in dress making as well as being a geat teacher: she really knows her stuff. 

There were 6 of us on the workshop - a great number as we got the attention and support we needed. Most importantly, the teapot was always full and there were biscuits & cake to fuel our sewing needs.

At the end of the day I was exhausted but I'd made a dress - yay! 

There are still a few tweaks to make and I'm going to add ric rac round the bottom of the skirt, but after my day I feel confident to do this myself. I learnt do much in just one day, I put a zip in correctly on my first attempt (in the past this has taken me many gos) and stitched darts and bias binding! 

So now I just need to decide which workshop to do next! 

Go and check out www.dollyshaberdasheryandsewingschool.wordpress.com 

How to - 5 Great Pom Pom Crafts

I just love Pom Poms! They're easy to make and can be turned into so many things.

All you need to make them is yarn, scissors and some form of Pom Pom maker.  You might want extra bits, such as wiggly eyes, pipe cleaners and felt, to turn them into creatures

As a child, Pom Poms were made using 2 circles of cardboard. Of course, you can still make them this way but I thoroughly recommend the new Pom Pom makers that split in the middle and make Pom Pom making so much easier. They also come in lots of different sizes to. You can buy these from most yarn and craft shops as well as online.

Pom Pom Animals

Pom Poms are great for creating animals. From bunnies to sheep, cats to octopuses, just add some wiggly eyes, bits of felt and pipe cleaners and you've got yourselves a menagerie of creatures! 

Pom Pom Monsters

If animals aren't your thing, why not create some monsters? Let your imagination run wild and create some truly scary monsters. Combine yarn colours, Pom Pom sizes, add lots of eyes in different sizes, create multiple arms with pipe cleaners. Before you know it, monsters will be taking over your home. 

Check out this great tutorial - http://thepurplepug.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/yarn-pom-pom-monster-tutorial.html

Pom Pom Garland

These are just perfect for decorating your room or even the garden. 

Make lots if Pom Poms in different colours. When you tie the middle, leave a long tail to attach them to one long piece of yarn. String them up everywhere and enjoy.

Pom Pom Flowers

Another great decoration for any room.

You'll need lots of Pom Poms, sticks (the ones you use in the garden are great or, if you want a more natural look, why not go out and collect some?) and some glue.  Just blue your Poms Poms to the top of the sticks, leave to dry and then display in a beautiful vase.

Pom Pom Book Marks

You can never gave too many bookmarks and these mark your pages perfectly.

You'll need Pom Poms, lollipop sticks (you can buy these from craft stores and the children's craft section in the supermarket) and glue. Just glue your Pom Poms to the top of the lollipop stick, leave to dry and then enjoy.  You could turn your Pom Poms into animals or monsters! 

How to Finger Crochet

                       

The summer holidays are well under way here in Wigan!

Sadly, the weather isn't what it should be: it's raining, cold and I've had to put a wooly cardigan on as I refuse to turn the heating on in July.

Miserable weather doesn't have to mean miserable children. There are lots of exciting art and craft activities you can do at home that will keep your little ones (and yourself) entertained. 

Finger Crochet

Finger crochet is a fantastic introduction to crochet. Children often find it tricky to co-ordinate the hook and yarn and finger crochet offers them a way try it out.  I taught finger crochet as part of a family learning session last year, and the children lived making great long chains which they then plaited together to make necklaces and scarves they adored wearing. 

All you need to get started is some yarn and your fingers! You want something quite substantial and thick: chunky yarn, a few strands of finer yarn held together or you could even cut up an old tshirt or  fabric to make your own yarn! 

This is a great video, showing you how to finger crochet. I recommend that you just stick with the chaining for children (shown at the start of the video). How to work into the stitches is shown later in the video, great for teenagers and for yourself as I'm sure you'll be joining in to! 

Once you get started, there's no limit to what you can create - from one skein scarves to beautiful rugs -  there'll be no stopping those crocheting fingers.

Under the Sea - A Water Themed Art Project

So last week I was in a lovely school in Wigan, St Catherine's, working on a big felt project.

The theme was water and that led us to a lovely design featuring lots of sea animals. The school has links to a school in South Africa and two teachers came to visit that week - Vivienne and Godfrey. This influenced the design with a mixture of British and South African sea animals featuring. 

Part of the project was making a smaller hanging to go back to South Africa - it's very exciting to think that a piece of my work is now over there! 

Every child, members of staff and both visitors participated and contributed to the work. I love sharing felt making with others and my favourite bit is when they've managed to felt and stick the wool together - it's like magic! 

Here are a few photos from my week!

           A gift to take back to South Africa

                         Making felt seaweed

                                         A little fishy before felting

                                      How amazing is this Killer Whale?

       Creating the first panel - British Sea

  The second panel all ready to felt - South Africa Sea

The panels are now all dry and ready to be prepared for hanging (I sew a thin channel of fabric to the back to be threaded onto a pole) and then I'll take them back to school to be hung. I can't wait to see them up!