Digital label embroidery designs
I have been excited to get making labels for the cycling collection. Having collated a few ideas from existing examples of dressmaking labels (from original 1890s garments), a range of…
Our new fully articulated wooden womannequin arrives
A 1.75cm wooden (wo)mannequin arrived today and she's more than a bit fabulous. She's a life sized (well, actually taller than most of the research team) artist model. (Though we…
Coming close to ‘The Real Thing’
The last few weeks have involved contacting a whole range of costume, sporting and women's archives to ensure we aren't making something that already exists, or that if we are,…
A visit to Dashing Tweeds new shop
This afternoon I visited Dashing Tweeds new shop on 26 Sackville Street, W1 (round the corner from Saville Row), where I received a warm welcome on a wet wintery afternoon…
Asking things of things – Part II
I'm an ethnographer. I'm used to talking with people, interviewing them, hanging out, doing participant observation of contemporary society. I'm less used to talking with and to things. I'm written…
Bloomer making session I
I was asked to do a guest lecture by Ruby Hoette for Goldsmiths' new MA fashion course. I suggested a DiY Bloomer Making Workshop and Ruby offered a whole day with the…
The Mauve Decade
As mentioned in my post about materials on offer at Woolcrest, I have been thinking more about the colours available to women in the 1890s. The film footage shows pale…
A visit to the stitch lab and digital fabric printing labs
As Rachel and I get stuck into sewing we have been talking about exploring the resources potentially available to us in the spirit of ‘interdisciplinary collaboration’ at Goldsmiths. So, recenlty we have…
Choosing materials for mock-ups
Today’s trip to the vast Woolcrest textile warehouse on Hackney’s Well Street leaves us relieved and excited. We are planing to make real wool toiles to get a sense of…