The Next Few Weeks in Projects...

The next few weeks holds a few new adventures for me.

Releasing a range of cotton, Summer 1950's swing dresses (via Ava's Apparel), which is gonna take up a chunk of my time. I think I'm just going make a load then put them up for sale, instead of just taking orders. Orders on them will still be available, but they will be available off the peg too.

I teach a lovely lady how to sew once or twice a week, and we're making a set of Roman Blinds. This is very much an adventure as neither of us have made them before. Well, not very well or with any great amount of success! I'll probably update on that as we go, as it'll take several weeks to complete. Who'd of thought it, a dressmaker working on curtains!

Orders are always being taken by myself at Ava's Apparel for waistcoats, skirts, dresses and more!

Why Big Businesses Pick on Small Ones

Yesterday I witnessed as a big business bullied a smaller business owner to the point of tears, all because one of the small business' photographs looked similar to one of theirs. Now, this got me thinking about two things, how to conduct yourself during a business dispute and how to avoid them in the first place.

In this case, the fans and owners of the big business harassed the smaller one via every possible channel, even on the Facebook walls of both businesses concerned. At one point, it even got hugely personal against the owner of the small business, which isn't fair. I had always thought that if you have a problem with someone else or something they are doing, you take it up with them, not make slanderous comments at their expense? I thought as you got older you got past being so childish. My advise here if you happen to be on the receiving (or giving) end of a business dispute, be discrete about it. You are more likely to get a result by dealing with things calmly and sensibly and not by slagging people off.

Secondly, avoid disputes where possible by adding disclaimers to your work. If you know that a certain business offers a similar piece of work or a similar service, add a disclaimer that this is YOUR work and any similarities are purely coincidental. Also on your photographs, add a watermark which you can add for free on websites like FotoFlexer. That way, you know the photographs and the work within them are yours. Some underhand businesses and individuals will try and steal your photographs, this works as a good deterrent.

Knowing the right people.

I've noticed in the last few days of working slowly and winding down properly from trading, sometimes knowing the right person is the only thing making you successful or not.

Knowing the market and people within it is important. Take notice of what other people around you are selling. Use the internet to find businesses similar to yours and see if you can work with them or use them for inspiration. Don't just outright steal their ideas though, it is like stealing their child (because that's often how much people care for their ideas).

Knowing the customer. I've heard of people carrying around items for months on end, even years, before they sell them. I try and work with commissions a lot, as I can make sure that the item suits the customer spot on. This is virtually impossible when trading in the real world. The moral is, don't be disheartened if it takes you ages to sell something, but be pleased that you did keep it long enough for someone who really likes it to buy it.

Utilise the people you know, they may have more skills than you expect, and networking is a really good way to learn more about business itself. I'm sure my friends who are self employed and can make things are sick of me questioning them!

Plus size 1940's dress

I can't remember if I mentioned my plus size customer who really wanted a 1940's tea dress, made in alternative fabrics? Well, here are some photographs of the finished dress.

It was made from a pattern drawn up by myself after measuring the customer. We did a quick mock up using a piece of waste cotton, to check the fit and decide on tucks and things. She decided to stray away from the iconic 1940's halter neck style, in favour of more support by choosing straps instead. This made no real difference in terms of design. the bodice is made of four panels, one at the front which is shaped to cover the chest and the back panel is elasticated with elastic shearing put there so it's easier to put on.

It is in a gorgeous print, photos of which can be found using the link in the first paragraph. It was the first plus size and first 1940's dress and it was a pleasure to work with. More in many sizes and patterns can be ordered via the Ava's Apparel facebook page, or via the business email and prices start at £40.

www.facebook.com/avasapparel

avasapparel@hotmail.com

Pattern Design

A customer recently approached me in view of making a plus size Vintage themed alternative dress for her. I don't have many (if any) patterns for plus size dresses, and vintage style dresses don't always come in plus sizes due to the teeny-tiny nature of the original 1940's lady!

I decided to use an existing pattern I had and adapt it to fit the young lady. Now, when adapting a pattern or when unsure on whether the fitting will be correct, the best thing to do is to create a scrap fabric mock up. This allows you to easily check the fit of the garment without wasting the fantastic fabric you've got for the final product. It also means that if you are making your own pattern, adaptations can be made at this stage. I can not stress the importance of making a mock up out of scrap fabrics, it is so very VERY useful.

I'm going to draft a vague pattern of the dress onto some fabric tomorrow, some fabric salvaged from a project gone awry. Pictures will follow, and will be posted over at Ava's Apparel. Also starting a secret project soon!

A Quick Survey

Here at Ava's Apparel, I really value my customers opinions and suggestions. I have recently ( in the last half hour) released a very short survey just to test the waters for some new items! Whether you've bought from me before, plan to, or are just in this for the reading material, please take a look at the survey below and fill it out:

http://kwiksurveys.com?s=LOEMMN_13c04f6f

As usual, any queries can be emailed to me, or left in the comments. Thank you all in advance.

Leeds Steampunk Market Review!

As many of you most likely know, this weekend was my first time trading publicly. It was at the Leftbank centre at Leeds, and was a specific steampunk market set up by the wonderful Dr Geof. It was a lovely venue and held about 30 different stalls along with the travelling tea museum and a chance to join the First Tea Company, also headed by Dr Geof.

We set up really early which made us massively grateful for the fact we'd organised to stay over in Leeds the night previous to the market, and after the market as well. In future, when we do all day events we will be booking another place to stay to accommodate for how exhausted we were! Our stall looked a little bare as we had nothing really to put on the table as my clothing hangs on a hanging rail. We also forgot our massive sign for the front of the stall and a table cloth. Luckily, one of our good friends was on hand to lend us a table cloth so our table looked presentable. Everything started quite steady, with customer shaving a good browse. We noticed quickly that customers tended to just scan the tables whilst walking past, in stead of stopping to browse through a rail. This provoked us to take some stock off the rail and place it on the table, which definitely encouraged customers to have a good look at what was on offer to them with us. Smaller items sold very well, so more of those will certainly be made along with a new range of things made from the research done at the market by myself. I spent an hour of the market just sat brainstorming, taking notes on what I thought would be good ideas for the stall in future. I also drafted out an idea or two for how to make the stall look more interesting! After 6 hours trading, we were losing hope on selling anything big (as that would have been a major milestone for me) until just before we decided to pack up, when a young lady came and bought a bustle skirt! I was thrilled, but managed not to squeal with happiness at the poor girl!

Overall, it was a really worthwhile thing to have done. We learned so much, didn't make a crazy amount of money but then didn't expect to, and best of all, I spent the day drinking tea doing something I love with the people I like the most.

Tips for the future:

• Bigger sizes (apparently, not everyone is a size 12, who'd have thought it? Mistake on my part, massively!)
• Men's and women's waistcoats in the same materials.
• Smaller items of interest for the table.
• Not to forget the signs!

Simple Bustle Skirt Tutorial

For those of you who read my simple skirt tutorial a few posts ago, it's time to go one step a little bit more Steampunk! Firstly, use these instructions along side the simple skirt instructions as they supplement each other.
The first method to create a bustle is to put in pleats down the side and along the tops of the skirt. This can be done by making the back panel of the skirt much longer and wider than you would like it to end up. Starting at the top of the skirt back panel, create pleats about 2 inches across, then one large one in the center of the back. Pin these in place, and add two or three pleats at the side seams, as shown in the diagram below.

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Fantastic art work, eh? Once these pleats have been pinned into place, sew one side seam by placing right sides together of the front panel and your pleated panel, and then do the same with the waistband. make sure that the waistband is attached to both skirt panels and has caught all of the pleats in the stitching. Then fold the skirt back on itself and follow the instructions for the simple skirt on how to install the zip and finish the skirt.

The second method is to create two more layers of fabric and ruffle them, and place them between the skirt and the waistband. Cut two long rectangles of fabric out. They need to be shorter than the skirt, and the second one about 2 inches shorter than the first, creating a tiered effect. Round off the ends of the rectangles and hem. Now, using large stitches, sew across the top edge of the rectangle (the one that is still straight). Keeping hold of the bottom threads, ease the fabric into even ruffles until it is roughly the length to reach from one hip, around your bum and to the other. DO the same with the other rectangle. Position the longer ruffle onto the basic skirt back panel (or just the back if you've used the fold method to make the skirt) and then the shortest ruffle on top of that, all the right way round. Pin together about 4 inches from the top, then place the right side of the waist band against the right side of the skirt and ruffles. Once again, when stitching, make sure that all the layers are caught by the stitches. Again follow the instructions on how to finish the skirt using the simple skirt tutorial in an earlier post!

So there you have it, two easy and quick ways to make yourself a little bit more Victorian-looking. I'd love to see how your attempts turn out, in both long and short skirts!

McCalls Pattern 8616 Review

This is one of the first patterns that I have purchased from eBay. I wanted to adapt the pattern to make myself a suitable outfit for when we are at trading events as I have been given the advise that dressing up and looking smart can sometimes be the difference between getting a customer and not. I have assembled one other jacket before (remember the Simplicity pattern I reviewed with the floor length jacket?) so had some sort of vague idea as to what I was doing.

The pieces were a little difficult to understand in terms of which one you needed, as there were several different sized collar pieces on the pattern paper which all were in fact labelled, just in smaller print than I am used to. Be wary of this when using the pattern. The pattern came with two sheets of instructions, and they were reasonably detailed. The usual amount of technical knowledge is needed, but nothing too difficult or specialist.

The skirt is made as a basic skirt would be, using different panels then being adjusted to fit the waistline. If you have any previous knowledge of making skirts, then you will be able to easily follow the guide for this skirt. The jacket has optional lining, which was an advantage to me as I only wanted a quick and simple project for an afternoon, possibly to line it at a later date when I had more time/the inclination to line! It is a lovely shaped jacket which is nice and fitted but this look is achieved by using several panels. It can get a little confusing as to what goes where, but nothing that can't be handled if you follow the instructions.

The final jacket is a gorgeous piece, it fits nicely and wasn't too much of a faff about to make. All in all I would recommend this pattern, and photographs of my finished jacket will appear here soon, most likely!

Multitasking.

When I'm sewing, I love to be able to get those other little jobs at the same time. These jobs range from cooking for our evening meal using a slow cooker, or just styling my hair. My mother is the world's leading advocate for slow cookers, giving them some form of praise every single they. If you have a family and often fit in sewing into gaps between sorting kids out and tidying up after every guest you've ever had who all decided to turn up in one go, a slow cooker can be a life saver. Just chuck in the ingredients like vegetables and meat and leave it whilst you potter about, and sew to your hearts content!

My other favourite activity to run along aside is curling or braiding my hair. Pin curls are currently cluttering up my head, and its lovely to put them in when starting the project, make some beautiful project and then look fabulous afterwards! It also helps keep your hair out of your face! There are many available tutorials for pin curls around on the internet and one summed up here:

• Starting with wet hair, section into inch squares.
• Turn into a circle from the end of the section of hair towards your head. The bigger the circle you start with, the looser the curl. Keep turning until you've curled your hair up to the root.
• Place the curl flat on your head, and secure with pin curl clips or bobby clips.
• Repeat for the whole head, and leave to dry.

It can take hours to dry. I have less than shoulder length hair and it takes mine about 3 hours to dry but luckily, pin curls can be slept in pretty comfortably. All this vintage themed talk has inspired me to design a swing dress in red, and a black underskirt!