Green Living: Book Review of 'Second Skin' by India Flint

Gorgeous images inspire. And frankly, make me a little jealous!

If you're into making do and mending, living sustainably, or even just trying to thrift a bit and save money; if you're creative, love textiles, love beautiful imagery or just love a good, hearty coffee table book; if you're all or some of the above, then Second Skin by India Flint could be the title to add to your wishlist.
  

"Almost from the moment of our birth we are wrapped in textiles of one form or another..."

While India's book at first glance looks like a beautifully rendered reflection of her values, philosophies and thoughts about her place on the planet, it is also surprisingly choc-a-bloc full of hints, tips, tutorials, patterns and suggestions of how you can get more out of your clothes and textiles.

So I was torn between settling down with a cup of tea and doing some gentle Sunday reading, and my usual frenetic gobbling up of a craft book, which involves leaping up in a frenzy of inspiration to start on something before I've even finished the book, or indeed, read the instructions.

We all love a how-to! Good little graphics inspire you to rummage in your wardrobe

For example, a whole chapter is dedicated to repurposing your clothes, including such quirky and inspirational ideas as:

• Working out what will suit you by making a paper doll of yourself and playing with clothes shapes to work out what suits you;
• Dividing your wardrobe into Keepers, Tweakers, Throwers, Swappers, and Rippers
• A host of re-purposing ideas and talk-throughs such as:
• Over-dyeing stained clothes
• A short skirt into a shopping bag
• Jeans into a picnic bag
• Jumpers into cushions
• Turning two jumpers and an old silk shirt into a long cardigan
• Making a pinafore from an old skirt

Added to these lovely practical how-to's, are a gallery of wonderful images from inspirational textiles artists and refashioning gurus, and lovely pictures of India's dyeing projects.  She also gives you the no-nonsense, undeniable facts about some of the abominable environmental crises the fashion industry is responsible for; a good reason we should all change our thinking, and our actions, when it comes to the clothes we wear, a fact India sums up with a quote from fashion writer Lou Pardi:

"Modern production of clothing is an environmental and social disaster"

The book is beautifully written - full of whimsy and nostalgia, as well as practical and down-to-earth information on fibres, fabrics, washing notes, dyeing clothes and looking after them.  I was delighted to see that the index, a benchmark of a publication truly valued by its publishers but often a victim of cost-cutting, is refreshingly good, at 6 pages long.  It did well in some nasty tests I applied to it - I looked for English words such as 'jumper' to test its suitability for the UK market, and some vague terms like 'chemicals' and 'recycling' to test depth, and it didn't disappoint - it reflects the wealth of information and detail in India's work.

The book is graphically attractive, the colours natural

This is a book from a person for whom textiles is as intimately a part of her life as her skin is; Second Skin is a lovely expression of India's belief that we should all take care in what we put next to our, and our families', bodies.

I love this book - it is a treasure that I dip into when I have a quiet moment.  I hope you will love it too.

You can see what other lovelies Murdoch Books have in their stash too.  I follow Murdoch on twitter at @MurdochBookUK ; and of course you can follow our twitterings at @OriginalStitch  But don't blame me when you drool over Murdoch's library and find your wallet accidentally relieved of cash, ok?

Images taken from Second Skin by India Flint, published by Murdoch Books

New Patchwork Colourway Name: Part 2!

Done the blues, now on to the pinks and reds and oranges...

Well, you gorgeous lot, you responded in force to help us choose a new name for our blues, greens and purples vintage patchwork colourway - thank you!  Hooorah and have a big kiss from us.

The most thumbs up out of our choices went to Seabreeze, but we had loads of really stonking name suggestions, which we then further struggled into narrowing down to.....

Aqua Flora
Azure Bloom
Blue Abandon
Cerulean Blue
Teal Appeal

Thanks to Karen, Sally, James and Valerie for those!

We didn't choose the name 'Steve' which was one of the suggestions, although I nearly fell off my chair laughing.  I should point out that the person who suggested it is a friend of mine, and it's a man-person; so clearly he had a little moment of fun in his day there, bless him.  Another man-person, James, was amongst our shortlist suggestees, so come on you man-persons, if you think you're 'ard enough, and have a crack at this competition.

Anyway, we will add these lovely names to Seabreeze now, and mull them over...

Patchwork Fabric Colourway: Reds, Pinks and Oranges

But in the meantime....you didn't think that was all did you?!  Oh no, no, no....you have shown yourselves to have such brilliant minds that we're going to get you to do it all again!  Check out this gorgeous feast for the eyes - it's our second brand new colourway - and again this patchwork fabric will be available in all our products.  Pretty patchwork apron anyone?!  Or a patchwork pegbag, ooh, imagine that....

So come on over to the survey, and tell us what you think.  Again, don't forget to include your email address because we'll be adding all the names to the Prize Hat (if you vote twice, we'll add your name in twice, so you get another chance to win!)


We cannot wait to hear your ideas, it's been such a thrill, you gorgeous devils you.


So come on over to the survey now, and vote for your favourite, or make a suggestion!

I Heart Wall Art: Make a Noticeboard With Scarves

Now then, if like me, you prefer to make your life difficult via the means of:
a) Trying to not ever buy things new, unless they're full-on proper eco-friendly produced
b) Always wanting very pretentiously to do something a little bit 'different' but not actually having any ideas jump into your head easily
c) getting a bit cross and bothered and wishing you were a really creative 'blank canvas' person who just goes "Ooh, ooh, how about we twist some twigs into a giant pepperpot shape, interthread tin-can shards in it and then invent a whole new peg system made from old cotton reels and make a noticeboard that way!"

Yes, sound like you?  Then what the heck, my love - just steal this idea.  Honestly, do.  It looks awful purrdee and is a proper good scavenging project.  Plus of course, it's got hearts in it, and like it or lump it my good people, hearts are a nice shape, aren't they.

Deely-boppers. Key to our business. Ahem.

Stuff and Things You'll Need

• Scarves from t'charity shop.  Also good - silky tops you've kept to re-use for something.  Best is silky things because they will not be bulky and will insinuate themselves nicely through rings and round nails etc
• Rings - I found a bedillion inch diameter or so metal curtain rings in a charity shop once, and I used those.  Failing that, use whatever rings you can lay your hands on.  Can't find any?  Don't worry - leave 'em out!
• Magnets if your rings are metal - ideally little craft magnets (strong ones), but you could just round up all the magnets yer kids have abandoned
• Paper clips, curtain cafe clips, bulldog clips - anything clippy or hangy or holdy or grabby.  And yes, they are the proper technical terms.
• Hammer and Nails
• Tape measure, Pencil, Rubber

   
Ready?  Hop to it!

We gave our workroom wall a good clean to rid it of dust and, ahem, pencil drawings, and removed bits of blu-tack and sellotape.  A nice clean blank canvas for you to whack your scarf art onto.

Poke through, bring round, poke through again.

1. Tie/sew your scarves and silky bits together, and measure how long it is.  You'll need this figure in your head to give you an idea of how big or small your outline is going to be in the next step
2. Put the curtain rings, if you are using them, at regular intervals.  Simply poke through once, bring round and poke through again, as you can see here, so that the rings are 'caught' on the scarf.
3. Next you need to sketch your heart-shape on the wall (or hey - any shape, it doesn't matter!  Go crazy you creative loons, you) using your pencil.  Start lightly - it took us a while to get the heart shape

   

   The mighty dustpan and brush

   right, let me tell you, and involved lots of standing back and viewing it askance and squinty-eyed before we got it right, which in turn involved a lot of drawing, rubbing out and re-drawing.  
4. When you're happy with the shape, start hammering the nails in to the wall.  Now listen here - you have to angle them slightly, and the angle will differ depending on the shape the scarves will make.  For example, the downward 'dip point' at the top ofthe heart needs a nail which is angled downwards so that the scarves don't just slip off, upwards....think tent pegs and guy ropes and you'll know what I mean!  If in doubt, just hammer them in a little, so that you can manoeuvre them once the scarves are tied on.  You'll soon see what we mean.
5. Next - begin placing your scarves round the nails - if you're on your own, you may need to tie the first bit to a nail, or it'll keep slidin' awff.   Amanda and I were doing this together so one was holding the first bit in place while the other looped and curled the scarves into place.  If you found the whole nail angling thing tricky, you can always 'loop the loop' the scarves round each nail.

   

   Get cafe clips from curtain hardware suppliers

6. Tie the two scarf-length ends together when you've created your shape, or if you prefer, tie them to a nail. Don't worry if you have too much - just let it hang down, or cut it, or wind it round some more.  Don't get hung up with measuring, no, no.
7. Now's where you get busy hanging things off your hearts!  Now, I'll leave this to your imagination - we had all sorts of funny bits and bobs - we've got some things stuck on with two magnets, some things jammed into paperclips just hanging off scarves; we've got cafe clips holding stuff, and of course we used the nails too - see the dustpan and brush there?!  Basically, use whatever you think might work!

A lot more interesting than a boring old noticeboard, eh?  We shove things we love, reminders, our sewing patterns all hole-punched and hanging on a nail, ready to whip down and use when we get orders; we stick receipts on nails, hang works in progress, even coat-hangers sometimes, with other things hanging off them.

Take part in some heart wall art!

What will you do?  Ooh, and what shapes are you thinking of using?  A cat? An owl?  Kisses?  Tell me!

Reinvintage: Revamp your Chairs with Scarves

I'm very happy to be guest blogging over Eco Age's blog this week, with a piece on quirky chic recycling - using, yes, you guessed it - scarves.  I do seem to have a bit of a thing about scarves.  Well, they're just so easy to get yer hands on!

Go and have a little read - it'll tart up your chairs beautifully!

Fabric Reinvintage: Make a Shower Curtain

Showering in reinvintage style!

The Husb threatened to hotfoot it down the nearest gigantesque supermarket and buy a shower curtain at the weekend.  He has been nagging for a new shower curtain for yonks.   I, however, did not want to buy a new one, unless I could find an eco-friendly one, so I ensconced myself in the workroom. 

Over the last 10 years or so, I seem to have amassed quite a collection of shower curtains - there comes a point in every shower curtain's life when the mouldy mildewy bit at the bottom begins tickling yer tootsies in none too pleasant a way, and so down it comes, off gets chopped the bottom (ooh, weird English, hm?) and the rest is washed, and put away.

Till now.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen - the new all-singing, all-soaping, all-frothing patchwork shower curtain is born!

What do I need?

Got old bits of waterproof fabric you could use yourself?  How about: old camping materials such as tents, canvas, cagoules, groundsheets if they're not too thick; and look in the charity shops for old shower curtains; often you'll find them completely unused, still in their packaging.  And tell friends you want their scuzzy old mouldy ones.  They'll look at you with disgust, but hey, you're used to that, right?  You'll also need your sewing machine, invisible thread, heavy duty needle in the machine, and your rotary cutter and mat for the easiest cutting method.

How To Make a Strippy Patchwork Shower Curtain

1) Measure the width and depth of the curtain so you have some dimensions to work to.  Mine was 71 x 71 inches.

2) Divide by 5, so that you are working with strips - I wanted 5 horizontal strips in mine.  71" divided by 5 is 14", ish.

3) Keep the top of the curtain, where the holes are.  Fold it so it's in a manageable chunk, all the holes at the top, and cut to a depth of 14". Voila - there's your first strip!  Also remove the little weights from the curtain bottom hem.

Measure to depth of 14"

4) Now cut 14" depth strips from all your fabrics.  If you're using old shower curtains, all your strips will be roughly the same - 71" x 14".  But if you're working with all sorts of offcuts - cut them into rectangles/squares, ensuring two opposite edges are always 14" - the other measurement doesn't matter (in fact you're going to make them all different lengths on purpose to get the scrappy uneven look) but you will be stitching all your 14" sides to each other so they must match.

Start cutting folded strips at 14" mark

Add a few daft captions 

5) Once you have your strips, cut them into all sorts of different sized 'bricks' - the shortest being about 10", the longest maybe 25", and keep them all stacked up.  I couldn't resist stitching a few silly phrases onto mine, but be warned - doing this means you have to plan where they occur in the next stage, if you want them to look truly 'random'....often looking truly random means planning heavily!  The way mine accidentally came together meant I had all my phrases on the left of the curtain. Which I pretend is fine...but if you were planning it, you'd want them more evenly dispersed.  Ahem.

Cutting different sized bricks from my strips

6) Now start to stitch 'em together!  Use invisible thread, a good fat needle size - at least 90 - and a decent seam allowance - minimum half an inch.  Stay random when you grab bits to sew together, don't try to be too orderly about it - I didn't go dot, flower, fishes, plain; it was more like dot, plain, dot, fishes, plain, flower, fishes, flower, dot, fishes, plain.....and the same goes for the different sizes.  Stitch 14" to 14" sides, making sure you're stitching right sides together (although 10 points if you can see really quite a few wrong side flowers and fishes on mine....you can't? No, didn't bother me either...!)  Keep stitching, so you're creating a long continuous strip. Measure how much you've made every now and then.  In theory you need 71" x 4 so that you end up with 4 shower curtain width strips.  Then stitch another good-sized brick on so you have a bit extra for seam allowances.

You'll end up with mounds of stitched bricks

7) Now, cut the big long strip into 4 strips - making each one about 73" would be sensible, and lay them on the floor to see how best to order them.  You can see what I mean now about the phrases can't you?!  All on the left.  Doh.  Let's name these top to bottom, Strip 1, Strip 2, Strip 3 etc

Swap them about till you like the order

8) You will now stitch the strips together. Start with your original shower curtain top, and stitch it to Strip 1 along the long edge.  Remember right sides together - and you may need to 'neaten up' your long edges using your rotary blade and mat first.  The long strip sides must be straight and neat before you start to sew.  At this point, you are wrestling with mountains of crinkly shower curtain, so like, chillax, yeah?! Take your time...get it right...when you've finished stitching the Top (Holes) Strip to Strip 1, go and get Strip 2 from the floor, and stitch to Strip 1 and so on, till you have your whole complete shower curtain!

Lay the Strips right sides together

9) Hem all round the three edges to finish off, and if you have kept the weights from your old curtain, try stitching them into the bottom hem.  It's not dastardly important, folks, but it does make it hang better.

And there you have it!  A singularly individual shower curtain, which you can pretty much guarantee no-one else has, we think...yes?  We would LOVE to see any images if you make one of these - so send 'em to enquiries@originalstitch.co.uk and we will definitely show them off the universe for you.

Off you go then - go rummaging for waterproof things....