The other night, I watched the first in a new series, called Mary's Bottom Line, in which retail consultant, Mary Portas, goes on a mission to bring manufacturing back to Britain, starting with knickers. I really enjoyed it, and will definitely be watching the other episodes, not least because the first one made me think of my Mum.
Like Mary, she worked as a seamstress in the Harrods factory - first in the days when it was located above the shop in Knightsbridge, and then moved down to Swindon as a supervisor to help set up the operation there. Those ladies Mary used to train up the young recruits could have been my Mum - and, when I chatted to her about it, she agreed, saying shots of the programme bought back memories of her own early working days.
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Sorry to spoil the surprise, but this looks like Mary and her gang of trainees were successful - I will definitely be checking them out next time I'm in London. |
With Mum's background as it is, you'll be able to understand why I always make an extra effort when making anything for her. Not because I think she'll criticise or anything - she always appreciates any effort I've made - but, I know she'll be casting a good eye over the stitching once I'm out of sight.
So, using this pattern for the first time, here is a bag for Mum. It was the self-covered buttons, pleats and piping that originally caught my eye - and I think they really help make the finished bag look special.
I adjusted the internal pocket size slightly, and added a hand stitched label I thought Mum would like.
The main fabric is an upholstery linen from John Lewis, called Wallflower - I've had it about a year (saving it up for the perfect project), but I think they still sell it. And the bigger dots fabric is from Fabric Rehab, the vintage style dots they sell. The other one is from a tiny Aladdin's Cave of an independent fabric shop in Nottingham.
The nice thing about Lisa Lam's patterns, is the instructions are really clear to follow, making new techniques - such as this zip at the top of the bag for me - pretty straightforward to pick up.
Happy Mothering Sunday. X
Looks lovely, what a lovely present for your mum!
ReplyDeleteI watched Marys Bottom Line too, it was fab!! And what a beautiful present, your mum must have been so touched!! :-) xxxxxx
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