Photos in spring sunshine - sewing by artificial light is bad for the eyes, and colour-matching is never the same. I follow the light from the back of the house to the front, and on spring or autumn days work outside.
Vintage cottons, wools and buttons - better quality, better colours and better designs than anything in the hobby shops.
Three good reasons to use vintage haberdashery
Left - subtle dyes, which match those used on vintage fabrics and are not available today
Center - cost; the giant reel of yellow cotton holds 100yds and was 20p Right - quality; this white cotton is ultra-strong and has a glazed surface which makes it glide though the cloth |
The bliss of vintage buttons is their infinite variety
You have to have a huge stock of buttons to be sure of finding what you need for a project - no good going out to the "hobby shop" and hoping to find something suitable. I'm always on the lookout for stock. The red and blue Coronation tin was given to me, full of antique and vinatge buttons, by a Mr Button! You couldn't make it up. Another large tin full was rescued on bins day when someone had been clearing out their mother's belongings.
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Vintage buttons must be sought out like treasure, and the best ones hoarded for special projects. From the left:
Vintage plastics, the oldest over a century old. Huge care went into the design and manufacture of these early plastic buttons.
Glass buttons, dating from mid-Victorian times to the 1950s, in opaque and glittering transparent glass
Pearl Buttons from the huge to the microscopic - surely for dolls clothes as too small for clothing a wriggly baby?
Upcycled leather in subtle shades, with lovely distressing of the polished surfaces - ideal with chunky tweeds and tartans.
Vintage plastics, the oldest over a century old. Huge care went into the design and manufacture of these early plastic buttons.
Glass buttons, dating from mid-Victorian times to the 1950s, in opaque and glittering transparent glass
Pearl Buttons from the huge to the microscopic - surely for dolls clothes as too small for clothing a wriggly baby?
Upcycled leather in subtle shades, with lovely distressing of the polished surfaces - ideal with chunky tweeds and tartans.
Ribbons and braids
Modern ribbons are shiny polyester, and very rigid. Older ribbons are rayon (viscose) and silk, while vintage braids and tapes are either wool or cotton. They are soft, low-sheen accompaniments to subtle vintage fabrics.
Dyes are softer, there is a greater range and the colours blend well with vintage fabrics. But you have to work with what you can find. |
Rainbow rugs ready to be made into cushions, hot-water-bottle covers, teacosies and so on.
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'New' vintage cottons like those above only turn up when someone has hoarded the fabric safely in a cupboard or a trunk. Sometimes there's half a yard, sometimes there's masses. All have to be carefully washed, even though new, to get them smelling fresh. I suspect most were bought as 'remnants' - too good a bargain to miss - and tucked away in case they came in handy one day. Sad, but now they are being used and loved.
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