Bespoke Clothing & Accessories
Craftwork
A bib and/or a hooded towel for an expected new arrival.
A memory quilt made up out of saved up baby clothes. A ring cushion to compliment your special day. Or even something as simple as a cotbed duver cover set. Whatever you are after, feel free to drop me a message and I can then see if I can help realizing the item for you.
Day to Day
As a dressmaker, I can create patterns bespoke to your measurements, work from given measurements and work from excisting patterns.Whichever you need, it is all possible. I can help you decide on fabrics, by advising which will give you the best look you are after.
I always produce a toille first, which is the item in calico or another fabric with the same behaviour as your chosen fabric, to check the fit and style is exactly to your liking. At this point changes can be made easily and there on after the actual item is done faster.
FAQs
Simply put, a toile is a tester. Think of it this way, when you decide to redecorate, you pop to your local paint store for swatches and paint samples. To check the colour your thinking of works in your home, before you buy the whole pot and paint your wall(s). The sample is what your toile is in this case. Before I cut everything for you in your lovely fabric, the toile is your tester. It will tell me whether I have measured everything correctly (I am only human), that the pattern cutting was all done correctly and you can see, whether the design you were thinking, now seeing it for real on yourself, is what you really want. If any of these come back with a problem, your nice fabric hasn’t been cut up. Calico is very inexpensive and there for there isn’t a huge loss yet if there is a problem somewhere.
Calico is also 100% cotton, so any little cut offs that cannot be used anywhere anymore, will just degrade without damaging the planet. But I do aim to re-use calico as much as I can, till there is hardly anything workable left.
I can help you with certain fabrics indeed! In the end fabric is a personal choice, so the final decision is yours and I will let you know the charge for them to make sure it fits into your planned budget, before ordering.
At the first fitting you will be asked to pop the toile on. I always warn people, this item will look like the most dull and least exciting thing you will have ever seen. But don’t underestimate how important this item is!
At the second fitting, you will see your item in the actual fabric, hand sewn together with tacking thread. This is so I can tweak things more if they need to, without having to harshly unpick it. If there is a need for another fit before a final fit, I will discuss this with you, as getting items perfect to you, is a tricky feat! And take time! Do keep this in mind if this is the service you want to go for.
At the final fit, the item will be all finish, pressed and steamed. You will be asked to put it on, so we can both check everyone is happy with the final item. Then the item gets put back on its hanger and into its bag, ready to go home for you to enjoy.
The Process
For small businesses and designers working with me:
– I will first sit down with you, discuss what you need me to do. I can take on piecework, pattern cutting, toille making, I welcome any enquiries.
– I can work from given standard measurement charts, or work one out for you,
– Any new items a toile will always be made first, to work out any design or fit issues, before production of more items,
– We can discuss and agree upon time frames.
– Patterns will be kept out of sight when not being worked with, this way all will be kept confidential.
– I only copy your logo online once, to keep it with notes I take while working on items, to keep track these are yours. These notes are done is so I can pass them to you in the event that I can’t continue the work, or if more people need to be hired to do the same work. Helping it all remain the same. These notes will never be shared with anyone but yourself and it will be up to you whether you wish to share them with anyone else.
– Payment wise, I do need to be paid in full within 90 days of you receiving your invoice. If payments do not arrive, work will cease until they do.
– In the event anything on the invoice doesn’t look right to you, let me know asap and I will take a look at it and correct anything that may need correcting.
– Materials kept for you here by me, will only be used on your items, no one else’s and I will keep track of when these are running low if need be, so they can be re ordered in time.
– There is a maximum to stock I am willing to have here, we can agree on this together.
Pattern cutting and production:
Bespoke;
– I will need to take your measurements myself to create the pattern.
– A toile is produced for a first fit to check all measurements are correct and that the design is how you wish it to be. Any tweaks needed are then translated to the pattern.
– In the actual fabric another fit is needed before everything is sewn up, this is to ensure, any more tweaking can be done without having to unpick the item and causing possible damage.
– As bespoke is a tricky feat, you may be looking at several fits, to ensure everything is perfect.
– It is very important you wear the right bra, as this can make a big difference fit wise.
– Once the item is done, it will be pressed and steamed for you before pick up and it will have a protective dust cover on.
– If you would like the toile of the piece, just tell me and I will make sure that is all ready for you too, by pick up. Anyone that does not notify me of this, the toiles will be reused after the job finishes. Meaning these can get unpicked, cut up etc for another use.
– If you would like to have the pattern with the item, you are more than welcome to it, just let me know and I will make sure it will be waiting for you at collection time.
– Patterns that do not go with the items, get stored here for a year, if I do not hear from you within a year that you wish to have the pattern or for it to be used again, it will be destroyed to make space for future projects. Meaning that if you wish for a similar item to be made, I do need to start over again.
Pattern only;
– I can produce a pattern for you, to use then yourself for any sewing adventures. As with anything, it does take time to get the perfect fit, but once done, you will receive the pattern and the toile together.
– For bespoke pattern cutting, I do need to take your measurements myself and do fittings with a toile in calico. This is to tweak the pattern correctly and the tweaks are then translated to the pattern.
– Once the pattern is finished, you can collect it from me and use it as many times as you wish for your own sewing projects.
