Breathe In and Lace Up - in a Corset!

The talk in April was given by Gill Roberts of Belladonna and Roses who although having sewn since the age of 5; was until 5 years ago, an accountant but  then took a course to train as a Corset Maker or Corsetiere - the French female name sounding far more romantic than the old English 'Stay-maker'.

Did you know that women were still encouraged to wear corsets until the 1930s? Ugh! and we complain about the wiring in underwired bras....
Gill makes the Corset and outfit to fit the customer and will hand sew a design of their choice so that each piece is unique and bespoke. 
Look at this intricate Goldwork design on the centre panel of the corset, below.

 There can be as many as 110 pieces that go into making a corset and whilst looking so glamorous corsets also have had an ugly past being quite repressive and restrictive as Gill explained. 

Firstly, made with split cane, then came whale bone and in 19th Century - steel. In the 1820s when steel eyelets were invented, the corsets were able to be laced really tightly to pull the body into the desired shape of the times. An S Bend, Crinolines and the Bustle - all had their day and women suffered as they forced their bodies into whatever shape was in vogue, although in Edwardian times the shape began to look more natural. A piece of wood was slotted down the front to keep it straight.

This is a beautiful cream corset, below, with flowers and goldwork that make it fit for an Autumn Wedding.

Rubber has also been used as Corset 'fabric' and finds its place today in Fetish arenas. Corsets are a staple if you are a Burlesque performer or a Steam Punk aficionado. There has even been a corset made for the neck!!! 

Now this dress... wow....

It would look great at a posh Garden Party or teamed with a pair of Mary Jane's or Gibson Girl boots or perhaps Doc Martins if you can get away with it! a Riding Hat and Jacket in a deep velvet blue - you get the picture.... I wonder if this dress has ever been to a Steam Punk convention and why was this genre not popular when I was young? Sigh....

Not only women wore corsets, even the children of the wealthy would start to wear a corset at 8 years of age, although these were more like the Liberty Bodice (an undergarment for girls and women that was an alternative to the corset).
Men wore corsets too especially important if he was a military man and had gained a few extra pounds and needed to fit into his Dress Uniform again, these being too expensive to replace. In 1916 due to the shortage of steel during the First World War; American women donated their steel lined corsets to the War Effort.

Corsets still have a romantic appeal and are popular on Wedding Dresses such as the gorgeous panelled corset above, and Prom Dresses such as this lovely Aqua Blue combo, below.

This Maroon Corset embellished with embroidered flowers would look wonderful with a smart pair of trousers or a skirt for a Party Outfit or Hen Do.

However much we admire the look of the Corset, lets be thankful that we do not have to wear them everyday! 
Many thanks to Gill for her interesting talk and for bringing her lovely corsets for us to view and even, if we were brave enough - try on for ourselves! 
If you would like to see more of Gill's work or book a talk at your branch or even to learn the Art of Corsetry for yourself; you can find her on any of the links above or at her website www.belladonna-roses.co.uk 

Dyeing to Stitch!

In March of this year we all got creative with string and fabric making little parcels to put into a jar of dye once we got home. It was the least messy way to spent and evening Tie Dyeing or in our case just the 'Tying' part.

Here are the results of experiments by Sue B and Sue D - the dynamic duo who led our workshop on the night and spent ages meticulously measuring out small 'suspicious' looking bags of salt and dye powder to put into our jars.

The Bulls Eye

The samples were tied into various shapes using thick thread or string/cord and it was found that the fabric which was wet first before the tying soaked up the dye better and gave a more pronounced pattern.

The Spiral

All the fabrics used were prewashed before the workshop. This was to remove any sizing that is applied to the fabric during manufacture and which would prevent the fabric from taking up the dye.

Concertina + Triangular Folding

 This folded method above was one of my favourites. We were very lucky to have been given a Worksheet that explained all the various folding and tying methods and how to dissolve the dye powder and salt once we got home. 
A half pint (330 mls) of warm 40 degree water was poured over our mixture once dissolved we put our fabric into the dye and left it for an hour. After that we took out the pieces and left them in a plastic bag over night. Our 'dye bath' was simply a jam jar with a lid.

The Kebab

Now what to say about this fun guy above? Not my favourite though was easy enough to wrap, Blogger decided to take a dislike to this image and it took me 12 different uploads and many twizzles  and turnabouts to ensure that the photo was orientated correctly and not on its side! Two other photos also took 10 tries to get them with the label the correct way up! Go figure.....

Wrapped Items

Buttons, coins and beads are wrapped up in the fabric to make lovely circles. You can use the same piece of cord/string but put a stitch or 'tag' of thick cord or yarn in place before moving on to the next piece.
There is a fabulous website called Townhill Studio showing this 'tag' technique.

Gathering

Simple enough you would think to sew rows of running stitch and gather up your fabric before dyeing but I really found this difficult! That evening after submerging my tied fabric in the dye bath I found myself on Pinterest to see how what others out there had made. Watch this video to see how a professional Annabel Wilson gathers her fabric to make a teasel shape!

You will also find patterns to make other lovely shapes such as flowers, shells and starfish on her blog Townhill Studio here.

She also has videos showing how she dyes her large pieces of fabric and see that she also uses Potash to set the dye. Watch here and here.

Once our pieces of fabric were in 'the bag' we used our dye to colour threads, lace and other bits and bobs - as seen above. Rubber gloves are best worn when handling the wet dyed pieces and when rinsing in cold water before removing the ties (care must be taken when doing this so as not to make holes in the fabric). 
A second rinse is required before leaving to dry away from sunlight and heat. Once dry the  Tie Dyed fabric can be ironed.

Operation Dye Bath

Above, the various parcels ready for the dye bath and experiments dyeing lace and other threads in green dye. See how some fabric takes it better than others? giving a pale or deeper green. 

Below, the same kind of experiments using different coloured threads and yarn - some did not take the dye at all and others became a really rich, deep purple. Maybe it depends on whether the subject dyed is natural or synthetic? Have a go yourself and see what happens.

Many thanks to the Two Sue's for all their hard work making sure that we had fun on the evening. We can't wait for the next workshop in May.
Watch out for Part 2 of Dyeing to Stitch! to see how we decorated our tie dyed wonders with stitch and other embellishments.

A Visit from a Viking!

A loud horn sounded and in strode a large, long haired fearsome looking Viking! Complete with a sword and axe and various knifes on his belt. It was Snorri aka Ian Uzzell who despite his appearance was quite friendly and full of knowledge about the Viking way of life.
The sword that he wielded would only have been carried by a nobleman as at that time they would cost the equivalent of a new car and his chain mail just a little less. Boy was that mail heavy!
Here are a few snaps of Viking paraphernalia - only just realised as I come to write this that I did not get a pic of the man himself! Click on his name above, to see him and also here and here.

The Vikings were not just warriors, they were also weavers and Snorri explained the various methods of spinning (the children would spin using a Drop Spindle) and dyeing the wool - some not too savoury! 
It was really interesting to hear about each item of his clothing, what it was made of and the dyeing process involved that all added up to a very expensive outfit. Deceptively simple looking to us today but full of meaning a couple of thousand years ago.

Below, you will see the Tapestry that was made for Snorri and that explains how his Grandparents went to Ireland, the Isle of Man and Cumbria. 
His father was called Skerri so he is known as Snorri Skerison much like our names today - Thompson aka 'son of Tom' etc.

Above, some colourful braids made on a Tablet - still used by some weavers today. These braids would adorn the sleeves on clothing.

Below, is the hefty loom or at least part of it as it was too large to bring in the whole thing as it stands at 6 - 7 ft high! Those round things at the bottom are weights and on the table in front of the loom are Weaving Swords, used to beat the thread up, the white one being made of whale bone.

The photos above and below, show the outfit that would have been worn by a Nobleman's Wife. The white linen underdress, originally beige, would have been made from silk and came from Mickelgarth aka Istanbul. Various brooches would help keep up the Hanger rock which was the hanging skirt. 
The two large gold brooches are copies of ones found at Clinton Hall and were often found in female graves.

Various useful items hang from beads including a Vanity Set that comprised of a toothpick, tweezers, a small spoon for getting out ear wax which was used as a polish and mixed with sand to make it abrasive. ... thats recycling at its best!
There is a long tubular needle case, scissors and snips and a tiny eating knife. The set of keys were an import part of the Wedding Ceremony for a Chief's Wife. If the Chief took these away from her, she could divorce him. The Wedding 'Ring' was a silver arm ring which would be worn all the time.
 Once married a woman would cover her hair with a head dress like the one you see in the picture.


I was rather taken by the central bead, below, which is a piece of Jet carved into the shape of a Snake that represented Protection. Snorri also wore a really large piece of Amber that would also signify protection as it does today. 

Below, is the Banner depicting a bird and a fish as Snorri is from the Martin Mere area. This area was once a huge lake and the largest body of fresh water in England and stretched from Church Town to Rufford and almost to Ormskirk! The lake provided a living for 1000 fishermen but alas it started to be  drained in 1692 with further attempts in 1780s until it was pumped using steam in the 19th Century. During the 70s and 80s the fertile land on 'the Moss' around Tarleton and Holmeswood was used by market gardeners whose little shops lined the large road that takes you into Southport.

The 70s and 80s also created the Nature Reserve known today as Mere Sands Wood as the lake bed was quarried for its sand to make glass. On first learning the name of the area, I wondered if there had once been a beach there as I was told that the sea used to cover the moss. I think that the truth is even sadder but at least some of it is used as reserve for birds at the Martin Mere Wildfowl Trust - well worth a visit :-)
There was so much more that Snorri told us about the Viking way of life. He has a wealth of knowledge and takes part in re-enactments of Viking Battles. If you would like him to come to your group to give a talk and see all the weapons and other items close up, you can get in touch with him here.
Thank You, Snorri for gracing our Hall!

A Day Fusing Fabrics.

The first of this year's Day Schools at the Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild was spent fusing fabrics to make birds, butterflies and other wondrous creatures, led by Nikki Parmenter a member of one of the Cheshire Branches. See previous posts here, here, here and here.

Here are a selection of photos of  'Works in Progress' on the day, kindly sent to me by another member so that we can all enjoy seeing the lovely items made by members who attended.

What glorious Butterflies! In purple sheers with nets of gold and sequins that are further embellished with free machining, above and below, a beautiful Blue.

These are quite large, the wing span being about 6 inches across.

Next up, a selection or shoal? of Sea Horses, in lilacs and blue green colourways. Who doesn't  love a cute sea horse?

This one above, shows the process of making. Sheers and other fabrics were laid over a foundation or base fabric and covered with net. Then the fusing took place using a heat tool ( aka soldering iron) just touching in places to fuse/glue the materials together.

Not sure if the design would have been drawn onto the base fabric and then sewn over once the fusing had been done or whether they were fused around a template? (If you attended please let me know, then I can amend this post).

Here is another lovely sea horse in deep blues and reds embellished with long sparkly beads. Not that easy to sew on, I can tell you!

How about making a Seaside Wreath to adorn your door or a wall in the house? After all, what could be more fitting as we live by the sea?
Here the maker is trying out various elements to place on her wreath around the Fish to make him/her feel at home :-)

If you don't fancy making a sea creature or butterfly, how about making another friendly visitor to our gardens? 
What do you think about these wonderful Birds?

Look at the detail on the Blue Bird, above. Lovely colours and sparkly bits and just look at the wire feet - so life like. Loving the big eyes. 
This gorgeous Purple Bird, below, looks great with his purple eye to match his feathers. Gold sequins add sparkle to his breast.

I think that you will all agree, these are very fine specimens indeed. Great job everyone! Thank you to all the members who allowed their work to be photographed for our Blog, Thanks to the photographer and a Big Thanks to Nikki for teaching such a fun and inspirational class.

Fabulous Fused Fabrics

Do you remember a talk a while back where the speaker brought in many amazing textile creations made with all kinds of beads and embellishments the most surprising of which was Funky Foam? And remember our joy when she not only showed us these treasures but passed them around for us to handle and inspect regardless of several beads falling off to which she simply replied 'no matter, I will just stick them back on'. See some huge creatures here and wall hangings here).

That lady was Nikki Parmenter and she came back in February to teach the first Day School of the year here at Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild.

The technique Nikki taught was Fusing Fabrics to make 3D insects or fish, but before the post showing our works in progress; here are a few photos of Nikki's own work that were kindly sent to me by a member who attended the class.

A whole plethora of colourful and imaginary sea creatures, below.

A circular plaque with a seahorse, fish and turtle, above and up close showing the detail, below.

A funky coloured Jellyfish or Sea Anemone, above. Love that vivid blue fringe around it.
Below, is a rather happy looking Flying fish.

Another Fish, above. This one has more delicate fins and is nibbling on a few Sea Flowers. 
An amazing Blue Lobster, below.

Nikki is not afraid to show Artistic Licence in making her creatures in wonderfully vivid and striking colours that really catch the eye and add a fun element to her work.
There was not time to make such detailed and complex pieces on the day but students were able to start off their Textile Experiments with a simple layering and fusing technique. Watch out for that in the next post.
Many thanks to Nikki for bringing so many pieces to inspire our students and for a most enjoyable day.