Waistcoat all done!

Hi,

I hope you are all having a good week :)

My waistcoat that I was making in college is now all complete! As I mentioned a post or so ago, for our first project we had to make a men's waistcoat in any style we wanted, it also had to be decorated in some way.

Here was my design, which was inspired by comic book villains and gangsters:

The front sections interlock.

And then here is the back, my decoration was inspired by the glamorous girlfriends gangsters and villains often seem to have in the movies :p:

And now, after a few weeks work, here is my finished waistcoat, front and back:

   

Then here are some close ups/different angles:

 My machine and hand appliquéd hand motifs (the little xxx are hand embroidered):

Satin stitch hand embroidered kiss :):

It was hard to get the lapels so sharp (and the pocket flap points too!):

It was a fun and challenging project. I learnt so much as this was my first ever piece of menswear.  I am really proud of the result though :-) please do leave me any comments below- I would love to know what you think.

See you all again soon, when I will be announcing a special giveaway........!

Bye xxx

P.s. All images in this post are copyright to me (Jordan Norrington)

Asian wedding fair (and some delicious desserts!)

Hello,

Today I bring you pictures from my visit to this year's Asian wedding fair at the Excel centre in London. Some of you may remember my post about it last year. It is where I got my fabric that I made my Kameez with :) This year's show was just as good and the catwalk lasted a whole hour!!!! There were tons of lovely outfits to be seen down the catwalk but here are some of my faves:

I think this is the one I would most like to waer:

I love the red colour and the gold embroidery is very elaborate and luscious :-) Maybe when I get married..... :p 

And to finish a little bit of menswear:

Again- very luscious! 

After the great catwalk me and my took another walk around the show and she treated me to this fabric bundle from Fusion's stall (the sample place I got last year's fabric bundles):

Isn't it pretty? :) the ombre dyed matching scarf is really lovely- it is a great deal to get all of it for 7 pounds! I will have to start dreaming of what to make with it..... so many lovely possibilities! 

All my news from the Asian wedding fair is over now :( But I am sure I will go again next year and can bring you more amazing catwalk snapshots then!

Now, before I go it is on to food, food and a little bit more food :p I know my blog is mainly about textile related stuff but some food is so good you have to share it! plus, who doesn't like pictures of tasty food and desserts? :p

First up, on Sunday me and my family went to Planet hollywood in London. We got a deal from wowcher which included 3 courses and a drink for about half the normal price. Those deals don't come around often but when they do my mum snaps them up because planet hollywood is pretty fun :D

For starter I had vegetarian tostados:

They are soooohooohh delicious. Cheesy and gooey but then crisp from the tortilla and extra flavour from the fresh salsa and vegetables and creaminess from the sour cream. Mmmm too good! Me and my family are going to try making some at home some time- hopefully they will be just as good but I think planet hollywood has a secret something to make them taste so nice :p

For main me and my brother shared a pizza and a veggie burger. But now I must talk about dessert. Me and my brother both had their double chocolate chip brownie- which was extraordinary. First off it was huge- like a brownie brick :p and if had 2 scoops of ice cream, whipped cream and fudge sauce spread on top, look:

Not to mention it's warm! And chewy- kind of like cookie dough with big chocolate chunks in. Mmmmmm I would totally recommend this as well to anyone visiting planet hollywood- well if you love chocolate and desserts as much as I do!

I have been pretty bad this week as as well as making brownies for myself and a friend, me and the same friend (Graceypaste- her awesome blog is here: http://stitchbtch.blogspot.co.uk :)  visited pizza express during the week. It was nice to relax as everyone at college at the moment is working really hard on thier men's waistcoats. I really love it at pizza express and so do my family- it is probably our favourite resturant. 

We had 3 courses again and I had my top dessert,  chocolate glory,  as Graceypaste said - it really is the solution to all problems:

Hehe, I will leave you now but I will soon be returning with pictures of my finished waistcoat! :D I may have mentioned it before but mine is inspired by comic book and film villains and gangsters and is pretty theatrical, it will be good to show you all what I gave been working on the last few weeks. 

I hope you are all happy and well and if I have made you peckish from the food pictures, you might want to go and check out my new range of food brooches in my shop to satisfy your cravings: https://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchedbyJordan

These are just a taster. .. There are more in store including french fries and candy floss!

See you soon,

Byee xxxx

Innocent big knit- Hatwalk!

Hello,

I hope you are happy and well :)

Yes, the time has rolled around again for the Innocent Big Knit! I love taking part, though so far this year I have only managed 10 hats in between doing my uni work. I reckon I can fit in making a few more before the deadline is up but I wanted to show you the 10 I have sent in so far;

Rose hats! Hehe, I made some fabric roses using the technique I learnt on my bridal wear course at LCF. They look quite effective I think, and the cream ones really match the theme of my blog :P:

Next were a couple of mouse ones- I usually make a couple of these as they are always fun and pretty quick really!:

Hahaha, next Mcdonalds, or Moschino (That brand did a mcdonalds themed collection of clothing/accessories :P)- you decide! These are a fun Idea I came up with this year. I love mcflurrys so I thought I would pay homage to their creator :OP:

And last but not least some little bear ones. My nan gave me the sparkly brown yarn and the buttons were in a pack from my friend for my birthday one year:

I hope people like my little hats and that all the hatted bottles as part of the big knit fly off the shelves so Age UK get lots of money to put towards their good cause!

I will be back to see you all again very soon,

Have a good weekend!,

Byeee xxxx

VLFW Giveaway winner + shop sale!

Hi everyone,

I am here to announce the winner of the Vodafone London Fashion Weekend giveaway!

 Drumroll please....... and the winner is...... 

********Graceypaste!!!*******

Congratulations :D Your prize will be with you soon!

Xxxx

And I gave more good news- for everyone this time, not just one lucky winner!

I am having a spooky pre halloween sale in my shop!: https://www.etsy.com/shop/StitchedbyJordan

To get 10% off EVERYTHING just use the code:
SPOOKY10

Discount code expires 25th of October 2014- don't miss out!  :)

I hope you are all well and I will speak to you again soon (I have this year's innocent hats to show you!,

Bye xxx

Bonobos Fashion Challenge!

Hi,

As I mentioned in a previous post I was selected to take part in a Fashion challenge organised by the Menswear brand Bonobos. They sent me a few exclusive pictures from one of their latest collections (which you can view/buy: Here! ) and my challenge was to create a complimentary womenswear look. I spent quite a while looking at the different images and in the end there were two that particularly stood out to me- I loved the way that the men seemed to be looking at someone entering the room. I decided that the men were looking at my beautiful, complementary dressed, woman making her grand entrance. I imagined what she would be wearing to make them the perfect power couple (and to be making him stare so intensely)!

I will now present my designs. Here was the first image I chose to design for:

I loved how smart this suit looked whilst still being quite playful. Here is my complementary womens look:

The fabric darker fabric which makes up on side of the dress is supposed to be the same fabric that the men's suit is made from- I loved the idea of using the same fabric but in a way that it is not too obviously matchy-matchy with the suit. The diamonds on the cuff of the sleeve and in a pattern on the bottom of the dress add a bit of sparkle. The belt is attached into the front and back seam and s inches in the slightly flowier white portion of the dress. The fastening would be an invisible zip on the back down the seam which would end under the collar part (so but of the collar that tails off would be peppered etc.. down so it could be folded back to access the zip). You can see the dart placement on the white side of the dress. On the checked portion there would be a double pointed  dart which runs vertical between the bust and the hip, and similar in the back but between the shoulder blade and a dart running from the shoulder to the shoulder blade (as on white side also) the checked side needs more shaping as it doesn't have the little belt piece to sinch it in. Sorry for anyone who didn't want so much construction detail- just as a maker I think about all these things and it is nice to let you all know that my design is possible in real life seeing as I have only sketched it.

Here is the 2nd image from Bonobos that I chose:

This suit is razor sharp!  I was definitely drawn to the more formal looks- probably because the drama of them. The little pattern on the fabric and the velvet shawl collar are the accents I like the most- I tried to feature the velvet and patterned fabric in my womens wear design as I again liked the matching, but not in too-obvious-a-way look:

The draped strappy straps at the top I envisage being velvet roleau, as I mentioned above to compliment the velvet shawl collar (these fasten into either side of the CB seam- lining up perfectly of course! And into the top of the back of the dress). The fishtail part of the dress made from similar fabric to the diamond patterned suit fabric. The hanging ruby and gold coloured jewel piece adds some extra glamour and also I like the idea of its movement as it hangs- rather than being stitched down.The seam lines a fairly clear in the sketch if this dress and again I imagine there being a CB invisible zip.

I hope you like my designs, please do comment below to tell me what you think- honesty is fine! :)

And I would also like to Thank Bonobos for contacting me about taking part in this challenge as It has been really exciting and fun challenging myself to come up with new designs.

Speak to you all again soon,

Bye xoxoxo

Brides The Show + Bonobos fashion challenge!

Hello!,

 

I hope, as usual that you are all feeling happy and well :0)

 

Today I bring you a post with a lot of lovely pictures in it! This is because this weekend I went to Brides- The Show, a wedding fair organised by the publishers of Brides magazine. I went with a friend- Graceypaste from www.stitchbtch.blogspot.com :) I was super excited for the catwalk which we luckily managed to get on the front row for due to being there for the earliest catwalk of the day which was not as full as anticipated (there were TONS of people at the later ones so we were happy we did everything early). The catwalk was decorated really nicely with real flowers:

 

 

They really put on a show- there was about 60 dresses! All gorgeously beautiful and interesting may I add. It's a bit impossible to show you them all (we would be here forever!) but here are some of my highlights, as usual I will let the dresses speak for themselves- there is such a range, from vintage looking to very modern:

 

LoVe! Very Roccoco- French- Marie Antoinette!- sorry I said I would let the dresses speak for themselves :P

 

 

 

(50's/diors new look style!)

 

Again Love- so different!

 

Hehe, I mostly let the dresses speak for themselves but I burst with love for some of them so it is hard for me to keep hush! :P If you are getting married and liked the look of what you saw above go to the Show site and check out the exhibitors list and pick up the dress of your dreams!: http://bridestheshow.co.uk/

 

Not only were the dresses that went down the catwalk interesting, but the ones on the different stands were just as fascinatingly cool, I mean look at this one:

 

 

This dress was made by three sisters who have just set up a bridal business (Arga-Arga Bridal). It is hand embroidered by them- with precious stones (responsibly sourced :) sewn into the embroidery too. Me and my friend had a chat with one of the sisters who was Lovely and told us more about the dress- we told her we could appreciate the amount of work that must have gone into it being both from costume making/sewing backgrounds.

 

And- Stop the press! I think I found my future dress! This Ancient Egyptian inspired on I saw on one of the stands:

 

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I Am very much bursting with love for this one! Ancient Egypt serves as a constant source of inspiration for me, I love the golds and the opulent blues and emerald greens. I have never seen historically inspired wedding dresses before so this brand; Zaeem Jamal http://zaeemjamal.com/index.html, really caught my eye. Look at  these other dresses they had on show:

 

None of them are too much- Just so different and really stunning and fascinating.

 

After me and my friend had looked at all the dresses it was physically possible to look at in one day, we headed to the 'imagination room' to take part in a free cake pop decorating workshop. That was pretty fun (even though I had already eaten tons of free cake as samples from the different exhibitors :P):

 

Hehe, It was the second bit of cake decorating I did that weekend as Saturday me and my mum went on a cupcake decorating course- my birthday gift from my nan :) I think I did OK, here they all are:

 

I am giving my nan some this weekend- so she can try the Swiss meringue buttercream on top. I like normal buttercream better but apparently some people really love SMB so I will see if she is one of those people- my mums work colleagues loved her cakes, so maybe it is just me :P

 

The last bit of news before I go (and you get to go and have a lie down after this super long post!)...

...

I was contacted by http://www.bonobos.com/ the American Menswear company, after they had seen my blog, asking me if I wanted to take part in their Fashion Challenge! I was super excited and said yes of course :P They have sent me some preview pictures of their new upcoming collection which I have to design some womens wear outfits to go with them and complement them. I have taken a good look at the pictures and have got some inspiration flowing- so expect my Bonobos Fashion challenge post soon! :D

 

Speak to you all again soon, I better go get a good nights sleep so I am ready to go fabric shopping in London  for my college waistcoat project tomorrow!

 

Bye XxXxXxX