Student Research Trip: Botanical Gardens

Its been a long time since we've been able to do this, but it was great to be able to take the level 4 students to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on a research trip. 

Their new project looks at combining different research sources and the Botanical Gardens is abundant in colour, texture and shape; something that will be important for their new creative assignment. 

Despite the cold temperatures, the day was mostly sunny and we managed to take a large amount of photographs to boost the primary research inspiration. The glasshouses however were lovely and warm and were great to pop in and out of as an escape from the wind. 

Take a look below at some of the photos i took of our day out;

Intro to Sewing at MAC Birmingham - 19th February 2022

It's so wonderful to be back at MAC Birmingham!

Roughly 2 years after my last class, i'm back to share my sewing and making knowledge in my Introduction to Sewing class; one of my longest running classes since i started at MAC in 2015. 

I like to gage the level of everyone's knowledge before i start. Although i always have a rough plan for what i want to deliver, its good to check what people know so as not to repeat anything and utilise the time to boost their skills. 

After discussions, it appeared that most people didn't have much experience with sewing or using a sewing machine, so I took everything back to basics and started from scratch. 

I started with demonstrations of how to set up, thread and control the machines before moving onto small stitch samples of different seams, hems and details that they may encounter when making their own small or commercial pattern projects. 

To help reinforce everything i teach, i write a small 'booklet' that everyone can keep and make notes. Inside it is key information about important sewing terminology, how to be safe with a sewing machines, and drawn diagrams of different seam and hem types. 

In the afternoon, it was on to personal projects. I have a small range of accessory patterns that everyone can make from different tote bags, to sash tie belts and reversible bags. Everyone brought their own fabric (the elephants was a particular favourite!) and worked to create a custom accessory to take away and test the skills they've learnt. 

Everyone did amazingly well and the final makes were wonderful!

If you would like to learn more about the basics of sewing, I will be running another Intro to Sewing class at MAC Birmingham on Saturday 14th May. You can book your place at this link: 

https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/introduction-to-sewing-2 

I'm also running some one day Intro to Pattern Cutting classes very soon where i will be sharing how to custom measure, draft a block pattern for a skirt and create a toile to test the fit. The final pattern can then be used to create a skirt of your choice in any woven fabric. *I do recommend that you have a some sewing knowledge to join this class as its relatively fast paced throughout the day. 

These 1 day courses with be on: Saturday 12th March and Saturday 11th June. If you would like to come along, click this link to find out more and book your place: https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/introduction-to-pattern-cutting-2

Intro to Sewing at MAC Birmingham - the Countdown is on!

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A Whistful Wednesday Moment...

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Maker Monday - Alterations...again!

 

Sorry Monsoon, but the pleated collar of my eco recycled polyester jumper had to go!

I had stopped wearing this jumper as it was uncomfortable around the neck; but a quick alteration to remove the pleated section and a simple slip hand-stitch to close the opening means its good to go again. 

Another piece that's saved from the rubbish bin :)

A Visit to the McQueen Roses Exhibition at the Bond Street Store

For a Fashion Flashback Friday...lets take a look at my visit to the Bond Street McQueen store in December. 

It was lovely to be able to head back to the capital and visit the McQueen store on Old Bond Street again. I haven’t been back to visit the exhibition space since before the first lockdown and it was nice to touch base with any changes to the space and see some fashion up close! Something I haven’t been able to see but through a screen for quite a while! :D

The current exhibition focuses on the theme of Roses, and the floral inspiration that forms and integral part of the brands collections. The displays take you on a tour of the full creation process; initial inspiration, ideas development, sampling, testing, toiling and the final outcomes.

As an educator, I think this space is a wonderful area for students to come and see how a collection is developed and built. As much as we try to impart the ways of the industry in our classes, nothing beats being able to see physical examples of sketch development of an idea if it isn’t right, or the multiple toile testing for a sleeve (multiple toiles for a single sleeve are on show to demonstrate the rigorous testing of ideas to ensure that the look and silhouette is right). The paper placements of embroidery or beaded details to test the scale are also great to look at.

I did get a little confused when I saw the flower dress from the Spring/ Summer 2007 collection. I thought at the time (back when I was an undergraduate student) that the dress was created with real flowers, but when looking at it, the flowers were predominantly silk. However, when speaking to one of the archivists, she explained that yes, the original was real flowers and some have even been dried and are sewn on to the dress, but the remaining flowers were replaced with silk ones to preserve the piece for longer. Such a wonderful idea to dry the original flowers and feature them on the dress; the origins are never truly forgotten.

This is such a wonderful space to visit; I wish more designers and brands did something like this as seeing the comparisons between different industry working methods would be invaluable to fashion students (and enjoyable for the educators too!). The Roses exhibition is on for a few more months so if you’re passing, head up to the top floor to see this lovely collection of work.