OK – lets get back to those collars!
12 July 2011
If you have stumbled across this blog a few times, you may have seen reference to ‘collars’ – and now that they have paraded down the cat walk it is time to reveal all.
Son No 1 commissioned a few collars for his final collection (menswear at Ravensbourne). He was specific about what he wanted, but I had to work out how to make them. The inspiration for both the design and the manufacture came from ‘The Art of Manipulating Fabric’ by Collette Wolf – a brilliant reference book which is available on Amazon etc. Is would suggest this is a ‘must have’ for all textile enthusiasts.
Step one – made a toile from polyester lining fabric to work out the length of fabric needed.
Step two – cut strips of habotia silk and then applied silk paint in rows
Step three – steaming the silk. I laid the painted silk onto chip shop paper (unused!) and then rolled the silk and paper onto a wire coat hanger. This was then laid over the steam bath. I had to improvise a steamer using large aluminium baking trays from John Lewis! This technique was taught to Son No 1 by Yvonne Bell, a lovely silk painter who lives nearby ( see http://www.yvonnebell.co.uk/ for more information on what Yvonne does).
Step four – I gathered the silk (hand stitching rows for gathering about 1 inch apart)
Step five – I then adjusted the gathered silk to fit onto the pattern cut from ‘Stitch and Tear’ – Son No 1 had send pattern
Step six – machine stitch collars onto ‘stitch and tear’ and then remove the ‘stitch and tear’.
Step seven – finish edges with foil covered soft leather. This was done using double sided tape. Two strips of tape were stuck to the strip of leather first, then the collar was eased onto one of the taped side, matching up with the middle, the other side folded over and the leather was then stitched close to the edge to neaten. On the back edge eyes were added to take a thin strip of leather to hold the collar together.
And here is the finished article on the models.
You can see the whole collection plus an interview with Son No 1 on Dazed Digital - Dazed is one of the worlds biggest fashion lifestyle magazines! (You might have to be a bit quick - not sure how long the link will stay up there). Craft and Fashion collide!
An alternative textile tour of London – part 3
8 July 2011
And so back to Soho for the final part of the alternative tour.
This time to a wonderful haberdashers - Kleins - a haberdashery emporium tucked just off Berwick Street at no 5 Noel Street. Unfortunately the lorry rather spoils the view in the picture.
Unlike my previous entries on the Alternative Textile Tour I cannot find any history of Kleins. I suspect, though, like DM Buttons, they have been there a while.
The shop, which only opens during the week (don't go on a Saturday) is so well stocked that it is not really a place to go and browse. I suggest you would need to have a fair idea of what you want before turning up. Apparently they carry a very large stock of zips and they also have bag and purse handles.
Take a look at their website to see what they have and you can order over the web too.
That is the end of my 'alternative tour' - well for now anyway. Soho is great and always worth a visit in my view. If you do go there, remember to stop at Berwick Street.
This time to a wonderful haberdashers - Kleins - a haberdashery emporium tucked just off Berwick Street at no 5 Noel Street. Unfortunately the lorry rather spoils the view in the picture.
Unlike my previous entries on the Alternative Textile Tour I cannot find any history of Kleins. I suspect, though, like DM Buttons, they have been there a while.
The shop, which only opens during the week (don't go on a Saturday) is so well stocked that it is not really a place to go and browse. I suggest you would need to have a fair idea of what you want before turning up. Apparently they carry a very large stock of zips and they also have bag and purse handles.
Take a look at their website to see what they have and you can order over the web too.
That is the end of my 'alternative tour' - well for now anyway. Soho is great and always worth a visit in my view. If you do go there, remember to stop at Berwick Street.
An alternative textile tour of London – part 2
6 July 2011
A bit of web research tells me that it was Mrs. Kathleen Cythia Frith (nee Henderson) better known throughout her life as “Toni” who was the founder and inspiration behind “The Button Queen“, a little jewel of a shop in Marylebone lane, just north of Oxford Street, behind John Lewis.
She started by selling general antiques, first of all from a shop at the bottom of Camberwell Grove in South London, and later Bermondsey Market on Fridays and the Red Lion Market in Portobello Rd. on Saturdays.
She used public transport to get aroung and because her stock had to be carried on buses she quickly geared her trade around smaller items. Apparently she had studied costume at Goldsmith’s College (also in South London), so focussed on buying jewellery, costume and buttons. .
Towards the end of the 1960’s, just as Carnaby Street took off. Toni took a tiny shop at 1 Marlborough Court, just off Carnaby St. The space, 8ft x 5ft, had been a shoe repairer’s. After some years, she outgrew the space and moved to Saint Christopher’s Place, just north of Oxford Street, and nine years after that to 19 Marylebone Lane, just the other side of Wigmore St.
This was where I first came across the Button Queen, some thirty years ago when I used to make regular trips to the Westminster rent records office for my employers. It was a funny shop as it was on the apex of a triangle.
Toni Frith retired some years ago, and became a “dog walking” a volunteer for “The Friends of Animals League” at foal farm, Biggin Hill. Later she became secretary and trustee for the charity. She was obviously my kind of gal!!
Her son Martyn carried forward “The Button Queen” business, moving it to new premises, just across the road from the triangular site at 76 Marylebone Lane, which is now being re-developed.
It is a very friendly shop - not at all intimidating. There is not a lot of floor space so the buttons are ‘displayed’ in turquoise velvet covered folders and when you have selected the button of choice it is fetched from the stock at the back of the shop.
I was on a mission, so did not have time to browse at leisure. I had to buy some beautiful shell buttons for shirts. But if you are ever in the area it is worth popping in and having a browse and I suspect you will not come away empty handed!
An alternative textile tour of London – part 1
1 July 2011
On the hottest day of the year, I was to be found traipsing round the west end of London for son No 1. It was a bit of an ‘alternative’ tour and I thought it worth sharing.
I started off in Berwick Mews just off Berwick Street, Soho – the location of DM Buttons.
Now we only tend to think of Soho as home to sex shops and other dodgy goings on, but believe me, Berwick Street is a textile hub. When I first knew it in the 1980s it was a textile haven. It did decline, but I get the impression that it may be on the up again and does have a small street market.
I understand that as well as the shops, Soho was also once home to many specialist trades, now sadly declined, and it is possible that DM Buttons is one of the few that is hanging on. You have to go to the bottom of Berwick Mews, D'Arblay Street ( not particularly glamorous) through an unprepossessing door and down some rickety steps into what was a very cool basement. Trust me, on Monday, just being in the basement was a huge relief.
I believe from a bit of web research that DM Buttons has been trading out of the same building for nearly 100 years ago. The sole proprietor is David Miller, who took over the business from his father, who took over from his great aunt. Apparently, Mr Miller senior was originally a hat maker, working in the same building with his grandfather. As well as proprietor, Mr Miller is also the ‘worker’ and when I arrived was sat at a machine in the corner making fabric covered cufflinks. (Apparently they supply a west end shop with these). The basement, which is not very large, has a number of different button hole and riveting machines – some of them looking pretty antique as well – and it all felt a bit ‘Harry Potter’
If you have ever sewn a button hole on a domestic sewing machine, you will know how long it can take and how frustrating it can be. It takes me ages just to do a row of button holes on the front of a shirt. And of course a domestic machine will struggle with thick materials.
DM Button’s special machines do this in the flash of an eye. I had two jackets which needed button holes and we had marked up the fabric on the wrong side. So while I was faffing about with some tailors chalk, Mr Miller (who had rolled his eyes as I staggered into the room thinking ‘we have a right one here!’), did the button holes in the two canvas shirts I had with me, tended to two other customers who came down and did the button holes in another shirt. I ear wigged one of the conversations and understand that he can work on any kind of garment fastening: buttons, poppers, rivets, eyelets, etc.
If you do call, it needs to be early morning – their opening hours are 7.30am to 3pm.
Apparently DM Button’s work features on stage in just about every West End show there is, plus operas and feature films. What is also great is to know that the business (whether by luck or design) ensures the continuation of the trade by linking to some of the UK’s best known art and fashion colleges. I was carrying work by students from Ravensbourne, but fashion and textile Students from all the fashion colleges apparently come to DM Buttons for help and advice in completing their graduation projects. Bruce Oldfield and Lee (Alexander) McQueen apparently first visited when they were originally college students and their design houses still use DM Buttons for their special requirements.
So, if you have a lot of button holes to do you might want to consider using DM Buttons. Mr Miller did the button holes while I was there and I did not have to wait. I guess that at certain times it can be very busy (running up to London Fashion Week for instance) so it might be worth phoning first. I don't know if you can send stuff in - you would have to ask. They also do specialist cover buttons - you can have buttons made in your own fabric.
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