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Wednesday 28 November 2012

Pre-loved Textiles and your Wonky Wilma



Continuing with our Wonky Wilma Week, next up is a guest post from Sharon Edwards - another Bedford mummy, Sharon is the lady behind the much admired retro Wilma who starred in yesterday's piece. Here she is, to give some ideas on how you can use pre-loved textiles to make your Wonky Wilma. You can keep up to date on all her other gorgeous makes on her brand new blog.
Hi All..
I’m a bit of a technophobe when it comes to all this blogging business, yes I know I sound ancient but I’m not!  So please bare with me as I slowly get to grips with it. I hope what I write gives you inspiration to make your Wilma and get you thinking creatively about pre-loved textiles!
It all started when I received a face book message from my mate Sara who said, “Come on Shazza, let's have a few mornings making Wilma. I need someone who can read a pattern, it will be fun and for a good cause to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital!" 
Sometimes I need a little push, and to be honest I wanted to make more creative things! We also talked our friend Karen into coming along who described herself as “the cack handed one” as she had never sewn before!
It was great thinking of all the fabrics I could use to make Wilma, and I thought to myself I don’t want to use new fabrics that look a bit soulless but if I found some pre-loved textiles, it tells a story.
In my previous role as Costume Supervisor at Madame Tussauds, I always had to think of ways to replicate the costume and that always kept me on my toes!
Using pre-loved textiles will save you time and a bit of money if you already have it at home. Just think you could use a vintage tea towel, an unused duvet set, curtains, a skirt, the possibilities are endless. Just make sure that the fabric hasn’t rotted due to age otherwise every time you sew you’ll end up with an open seam and poor Wilma will be falling apart at the seams literally!

About 3 months ago I found some floral 1970’s pink curtains in Oxfam only £2.99!Anyone that knows me, will already know about my love for a good rummage in the charity shops, I’ve also been known to skip dive! I absolutely love finding a bargain,one person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure!
So I used the curtain fabric for my Wilma and decided to make her a bit more individual and attached a bow which is in fact a  shoe clip .These I picked up from another charity shop a few months previous and thought these will come in useful at some point! I’ve had a lot of fun making Wilma and she has been admired by many people!
I have two mum friends from school coming to me for an evening of making Wilma.They have never followed a pattern or sewn before,the instructions are step by step easy to follow. I’m sure they will not have a problem, even after a glass of wine!
So why don’t you join in and get a group of friends together, having fun making your very own Wonky Wilma and raising money for a good cause!

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