The Sushi Chef Shirt

First, a big 'thank-you!' to Clare at Sew Dixie Lou and Emma at My Oh Sew Vintage Life for giving me a Liebster award - a response post to follow soon!

 I'm very lucky in that Mr Needles loves cooking; most evenings I come home to a new feast, often inspired by south east Asian cuisine, interspersed with quite a few good burgers. He spends hours watching testosterone fuelled cooking programs, usually involving fire, knives, and shouting, then goes crazy in the kitchen chopping, marinading, and generally cooking up a storm!

It was one of these programs that inspired him to ask for sushi chef-inspired shirt. On a recent trip to Abakhans in Manchester, he even joined in with the rummaging and found an Alexander Henry offcut which was a bit Japanese-y. (I could see I wasn't getting out of this...) I traced a pattern based on one of his favourite shirts, added in some plain black cotton poplin,  and behold - the sushi chef shirt!

A serious chef always uses the proper equipment.

Mr Needles insisted on a matching headband

As I said before, the fabric was a piece of Alexander Henry off-cut, and as luck would have it the name of this pattern is 'Yoko':

-which inspired Mr Needles to sing some Plastic Ono Band tunes:

Some details-

I used an old shirt of Mr. Needles' to make the pattern. Because I'm essentially a total cheapskate, I used the back of old Christmas wrapping paper to make the pattern.

Tracing the collar from the original shirt

There wasn't enough fabric to make the whole shirt in the patterned fabric so I cut the collar and back panel out of plain black poplin:

The contrast collar...

...and the plain black back section

I also trimmed the sleeves in the plain black, and added some trim to the front pocket:

And that's that! Mr Needles loves his new shirt, and hopefully I'll benefit from it with some good eatin'

 See you soon!

Mad Mexican Dress - 2 Challenges in One!

 I've managed to do two challenges in one project this month - is that cheating?

This is my Mad Mexican dress ('mad' because it's so over the top), which I made using some Alexander Henry fabric which I acquired way before Christmas, and which has been burning a hole in my stash ever since. So, that satisfies my stash busting challenge set by Miss Katie over at Little Red Squirrel. The dress isn't quite finished yet - the skirt and lining still need hemming - but there was a strict deadline to meet!

The second challenge this project meets is the Sew Hollywood challenge set by Debi at My Happy Sewing Place. The design of the dress is inspired by Linda Darnell's character Chihuahua in 'My Darling Clementine':

Linda looking sultry in front of a HUGE cactus...

... and me, posing with a less impressive specimen, from Ikea!

As you can see from the poster and the film still, the ruffly sleeves and gathered skirt are the character's signature look in the film. When the dress is complete, I'll provide you all with some more detailed pictures, and further information about the film and why I chose this outfit.

But for now, I'll leave you with details of the pattern I used for the top:

Simplicity 5962 - The version on the bottom right became the bodice of the dress

And some further views:

Back view

Close up of bodice

More details soon!

AND DON'T FORGET!  My snood and earrring giveaway closes on the 30th, so make sure you leave your comment in order to be in with a chance of winning!

Ally Pally Knitting and Stitching Show

Today I spent several hours at the huge Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace. 

It was MASSIVE! -

The Great Hall

 There were hundreds of stalls, representing every type of craft and needlework you could think of: knitting, crochet, sewing, quilting, braiding, tatting, embroidery, beading, spinning, weaving, buttons, scissors, and on and on. It was like a cross between a trade fair, and a big needlework shopping mall. You could buy sewing machines, subscribe to magazines, buy books on any subject, attend workshops and watch demonstrations.

After several hours, tea and cake was necessary, so I treated myself to afternoon tea in the rather over the top tea room:

Crazy wall paintings in the tea rooms - nearly put me off my scones!

 And I came away with some lovely stuff:

'New' vintage patterns - £6

Lurex thread for crocheting - £2.99

Some cute embroidery scissors - £2.99

And best of all - this Alexander Henry fabric from Fabrics Galore

This will be perfect for a gypsy style dress!

Overall, the event was pretty good, and it was great to see so many people interested in, and practicing, so many crafts. But it's that word......

CRAFT

 I just don't like it.

(This is the bit where I start to sound like my mother)

I sew, not because it's a hobby, but because this is how I clothe myself. I've been doing it long enough (nearly 30 years) to be pretty good at it, and I wouldn't dream of relying on the high street or designers to make up the bulk of my wardrobe. To me, this isn't 'crafty', which implies a certain folksy, amateurish, lumpiness. This is just what I do.

I feel by categorising all of the skills at the Knitting and Stitching show as 'craft', you seperate those skills from everyday fashion and they become regarded as hobbies. But fashion couldn't exist without most of these skills!

There's also a danger that these skills will become seen as luxury pastimes; I felt that many of the exhibitors, especially some of the knitting based ones, were quite expensive, specialising in silks and cashmeres, and with very little for the everyday. 

And I think that is exactly what was missing from the show - the attitude that knitting, sewing, etc, is not for everyday, just for Christmas (decorations).