Dressmaking

As the year comes to a close, here at Calico Laine we’ve been looking at which colours are chic for Spring 2014. We love colour and nothing gets us more excited than combining two of our favourite hobbies, fashion and sewing.  Fashion is ever changing with styles looping in and out and modernising each generation. The bridal world is no...

Here, at Calico Laine we love nothing more than seeing what gorgeous creations our customers come up with. Over the years we have been awed and inspired by the wonderful (and yes, sometimes weird!) designs which have been showcased both on our website and our social media channels. We know that many of our customers, some with many years experience...

It's a cold winter's day today up on the Wirral and as I write this it's blowing a gale and raining cats and dogs! With this awful weather in mind it brings me onto the topic of today's blog and that is dressmaking for the cold weather! Below I am going to talk about three of my favourite fabrics to...

Jersey fabrics are always one of our most popular Fabrics for dressmaking whatever the season. These fabrics are so versatile making them perfect for almost any dressmaking project including t-shirts and dresses. Popular due to its element of stretch and beautiful drape, this range of comfortable fabrics provide excellent insulation possibly explaining why jersey fabrics were once strictly associated with undergarments...

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year and is the ideal time for exploring your creative side. With the party season fast approaching, now is the perfect time to start thinking about your outfits. Forget about traipsing around the busy high street trying on a variety of uninspiring outfits which will make you blend into the crowd, and...

As the world came together last week to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the tragic death of the much loved 35th President of The United States, John F Kennedy Jr, we remember not only what a legendary figure JFK is, and what conspiracy surrounds his death, but what an icon his wife Jackie Onassis Kennedy, was. From 1961 until her...

Any dressmaker has that one item in their sewing kit that they can't work without - whether it's a stitch ripper or a needle threader, there's always one tool that makes a dressmaker's work that much easier. In today's blog, we'll be talking about some items that we think are essential to anyone's sewing projects. Needles - Obviously a big...

We have spoken a lot about dressmaking, sewing and tailoring and the wide range of fabrics on offer for creating your own bespoke designs however, we sometimes neglect to give our Haberdashery the credit it deserves. After all, having a vision of your perfect party dress and spending a small fortune on a piece of stunning fabric would not be...

Like any dressmaker, I have been keeping a close eye on the catwalks for a sneak peak of the latest trends. Last season, it was all about monochromes, which as a result saw sales of our black and white dressmaking fabrics soar. For Autumn 2013/14 the rigid monochrome prints look set to give way to the softer prints of traditional...

Dressmaking is a popular hobby all year round and at Calico Laine we love all the different dressmaking fabrics for each season. Today I am going to go through some of our most popular fabrics and explain their content and also what they can be made into. Rose and Hubble Cotton Prints: These are perfect for summer dresses and make...