A huge thank you for visiting me at The Stitch Festival in London last week. Olive Road London is an online store and there really is no better way to meet customers. I genuinely mean it when I say I have the best customers in the world. Here are my highlights from the show. (Thanks to @clothandcandy for taking the above pic, it is her fabric purchase I’m folding)
1. Seeing your makes
I remember each piece of fabric that I sell. I’m drawn to the bold prints and vibrant colours that make vintage fabrics so special. They are unique, which means it is easy for me to remember them. So I was very happy when three customers showed me photos of what they had made with the fabrics they had bought from my shop.
At last Autumn’s Knitting & Stitching show, Andy had been looking for a length of fabric that she could use to cover a footstall. She was starting an upholstery course and particularly liked a weighty Liberty linen with a distinct feather print. You can see from the photo that Andy has achieved a professional finish with a highlight of blue piping.
Tilly from Tilly & The Buttons spotted a long piece of brushed twill fabric hanging pride of place on my stand, also at the Knitting & Stitching show. I swapped it for some of Tilly’s fab patterns. Tilly wore the dress to The Stitch Festival and it looked amazing! The Indigo style gives enough space to champion the large sweeping floral design. Tilly asked me more about the origins of the fabric. I’ve estimated it to be from the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. If any one has any further thoughts, please let me know. Tilly has written about making the dress with some gorgeous photos on her blog. (photo credit Jane Looker)
A big fan of 1950’s florals, this was one of my favourite vintage fabrics that I sold. I envisioned it being made into a wide skirted dress. Then Chrissie came and showed me what she made with it, a beautiful quilt cover for her bed. She filled it with wadding and backed it with a red gingham cotton before quilting through the whole piece. It looks so fresh in her calm bedroom.
Shopping!
Usually I have chance in the morning to buy patterns and haberdashery from my fellow stand holders. I run out of time at this show but managed to buy a few pieces from my neighbours.
I teach people to mend their clothes along with my friend Eleanor at our Fast Fashion Therapy workshops. Lots of participants want to fix their jeans. Birmingham based Guthrie and Ghani had a good selection of sewing tools along with their patterns and fabrics. I bought this sturdy jean rivet and button pliers rather than using the free plastic one that comes in the kits.
I will admit that not every piece of vintage fabric I find ends up in my shop. This autumn coloured twill has sat in my fabric stash for a few months. I wanted to make a long sleeve dress but hadn’t seen a dress pattern that was quite right. I picked up Tilly’s new book Make It Simple. Containing a pattern for a long sleeve dress, perfect!. The book focuses on dress patterns that can be made with limited time. Now I have no excuse.
One morning I got chatting to Melissa from Simply Vintage, swapping ideas and sharing stories. I couldn’t resist these swatches of Liberty silk she had piled up in a vintage suitcase. Red, liberty and paisley. What’s not to love? Melissa has a wide range of vintage threads and elegant lace.
All About Vintage
I really do have the best customers! Everyone who visited my stand was delighted when I explained that the fabrics are all vintage and not reproduction. The designs bringing back memories of relatives soft furnishings, many of my fabrics were in a previous life. I had a particularly in depth chat with two women who used to work at a textile archive. We debated on why vintage fabrics seem to be more vibrant than modern prints. I think it is because they would have been hand drawn. The depth of the colours and designs draw us to the piece but become more obvious the closer we look. Barkcloth is a particularly popular textile. It is thickly woven and often very matt, absorbing more of the bright colours compared to a more modern viscose. What do you think?
Sadly I’m not able to make the Knitting and Stitching Show this Autumn and won’t have chance to meet customers again. If you buy fabric from my online shop please send me photos of what you make, I really do love to see them. Thanks again to everyone who visited my stand this Spring.