Toile and Trouble (mainly trouble)!

Obviously I had to get the pun in there! So this blog is all about making trousers. For the uninitiated, a toile is the posh word for a mock up- which is what you do when pattern drafting (I only recently learned about the existence of that very word myself) to test if your pattern is good to go, or if it needs adjusting before using the ‘good’ fabric. These are usually made from cheap fabric such as muslin, but old bedsheets are also perfect (and more environmentally sound), which I made mine from.

To be honest, when I had the grand idea that I would make myself some trousers just under a year ago, I thought it might have been a little less complex than this. Or maybe it’s just me- why did I think drafting (not just making but drafting) the pattern on my first go at trousers was a good idea?!

That being said, I like the idea of drafting my own stuff, not just because I want to make my life difficult, but because, one, you learn a new skill and two (most importantly), you can make exactly the thing you want, without having to compromise- which defeats the object of making your own clothes anyway. Well, at least it does in my opinion. One of the main draws to making your own stuff is that you can (in theory) create a garment to the exact specifics of what you want. When out clothes shopping, I find it extremely difficult, because I often have an idea of what I want, but there’s always something slightly not quite right, whether that be the price, the material, the fit and so on. It also restricts you to what is currently ‘trending’, which might not always be what I’m looking for or what suits me. There’s also the environmental and ethical factors to consider, too, which are big for me. Oh hey climate change and exploitation of workers.

But I’m not going to pretend drafting was at all easy. It was quite the opposite. It was also a very long drawn out process- as you’ll shortly see that I left large gaps between each version due to losing motivation etc, because it felt like none of it was working or looking any good. A lot of this is due to lack of experience/ knowledge. But the more you do, the more you learn. So I persisted. I ended up making 4 toiles before the ‘final’ version. Which is also somewhat a toile, because there are several adjustments I want to make before going into my next trousers using some fabric I purchased last year for around £35. So yeah, the pressure is on to get the next ones right! And yes, I’m sure the perfect trousers don’t exist, but one can try!

The initial drafting for the ‘block’ was following this and this video tutorials. I didn’t need to mess around with darts or zip flys or anything, because in my head I always wanted an elasticated waist for these. I much prefer the feel of a stretchy waist as I find it much more comfortable and less restricting. I hate not feeling relaxed or that my clothes are bothering me in some way, so one of the main components for my design was an elasticated waist. I’ll note here what other requirements I wanted for my brief: side seam pockets, colour to be black, made from natural fibres and the legs to be tapered.

I’ll go through each toile now and the date I made it/ what adjustments I wanted, as well as some ‘making of’ pics. Hopefully you can see the progression as I go through- if not, then what am I even doing?!

#1 24th March

This was the first go at it- I had no idea what I was doing at this point to be honest! And I made a rookie error of sewing two of the same pattern pieces together, so yes, unpicking was required!

But, they look like trousers, so that was a start. Though the main thing wrong with these is that they had very little ease, so yeah, they weren’t the most comfortable of things to wear, despite looking fine in these images.

You can see that the tops of the pattern go straight across, rather than slanted towards the centre back, which gives the trousers ease for when you sit down or walk upstairs/ movement in general. I looked at my current favourite pair of trousers and they go up in the centre at the back several inches than the front.

#2 27th April

Yeah so over a month passed between these two! But, stuff happened and I got ill for two weeks. Valid excuses I think!

The fit of the crotch was much improved here, but as you can see, they’re much too baggy over the bum, which wasn’t the look I wanted. I tested out the pocket positioning in these, plus wanted to try making pockets as that’s something I’ve never done before. I was really pleased with the positioning of them, so I tried to make sure I didn’t mess with the placement of them for any future pattern adjustments. Going forwards though, I should have really drafted them last, because I felt it restricted me a little in editing the pattern.

#3 9th May

Overall these were much better. I also ran out of white material, so went on to the blue stuff! This was a bit annoying as it was a polyester/ cotton blend, meaning it wouldn’t be a quite accurate representation of the final garment, which would be 100% natural fibres (linen in this instance). The colour of these also gives strong hospital vibes!

They still felt a little baggy round the back, so I still wasn’t completely happy with them.

#4 7th July

I was running out of blue sheets at this point, hence the shorts! But, almost two months since the previous toile, I feel I was good to go. This was pretty much to test just the back crotch, which I ruthlessly redesigned, so shorts were sufficient and also that’s why there’s like zero images from the front, because that wasn’t the focus of these. And this picture is an absolute shocker- yes, that is all my socks and that on the drying rack behind me! But cba to take another photo, so it was either this one or nothing!

Finally I was able to make my ‘proper’ trousers! I’ll stick a few images below- some close ups of some of the sewing I’m proud of (I’m getting a lot better at using the sewing machine now), the zig zag stitch finish due to not owning an overlocker, what they look like before dyeing them, what they look like after and anything else interesting I can find in my photo library!

Firstly, I am very proud of these, despite them not being perfect. I’m pleased with a lot of the sewing, as well as the pressing (I love pressing- it’s soooo satisfying)! And to have created some very wearable trousers which actually fit, with zero drafting experience is something not to be sniffed at. But, there are obviously improvements/ alterations I would like to make going forwards into the next pair(s).

An easy fix is the pocket bags- these just need enlarging. It would be cool to make them zipped as well, though that might be too much of a faff, but we shall see… They are also quite tight around the thigh area (thanks skateboarding for quads, but makes trousers difficult)! When I’m standing, they’re fine, but it’s just crouching down or that kind of thing, where I feel they could have a bit more ‘give’ (if this was a stretch fabric that would be no issue, but cotton/ linen are pretty unforgiving in that way). So the fix will be expanding the sides ever so slightly on the back pattern piece- perhaps a cm on each side. I suppose if they do end up being too baggy, then I can always take them in, but if they’re still kind of tight feeling, then it’s a lot harder to add fabric on.

I also want to make the waistband a fraction taller, to account for the top stitching, as well as bulk from the elastic and drawstring inside.

So, those are my main alterations I have in mind, with a few minor things which are too dull to list here!

Watch this space for more- got a lot of ideas for sewing right now, plus some of it is necessary as my current trouser situation is extremely limited!

See you in the next one xo

I Wish I Was There- Super Exciting Announcement!!

Whenever I get a film festival acceptance email, they are of course, equally exciting because it's never guaranteed, and more often than not it's a 'thank you for submitting your film, though unfortunately, we are not able to include it in our program this year' response. And I am loathe to single this one out as something extra special, as all festivals/ screening nights have their merits- I have attended all 7 out of the 7 for I Wish I Was There thus far and they honestly have all been absolutely amazing experiences. But, as a film nerd and someone who feels they haven't quite ‘cracked the industry’/ gives strong outsider vibes(!) and have sort of done things my own way, to have my film playing at BFI Southbank is, I'm sure you will agree, some extremely exciting news!

It’s playing as part of the important We Crip Film Festival, which highlights and platforms disability screen stories and talent. The line up looks amazing- so I’m extremely honoured to be part of such a vital festival. You can find out more about the festival as a whole HERE and you can find out more about the specific film screening my short is included in HERE. You can purchase tickets through both those links, too. I will also be taking part in the Q+A, alongside several of the other filmmakers. I can’t wait for this one, see you there xo

Crochet Sweater Vest #2

I simply can’t stop crocheting, can I?! This was my first ‘scrap yarn’ project- I don’t have a huge stash, because I’m not really about that (though I’ll admit it’s sometimes kind of tempting to purchase when I do see a nice looking yarn), but I do have yarn left over from other projects, which needs putting to good use. I also wanted to try doing a slightly more cropped version of the previous vest I made, as well as it being a fairly basic/ simple ‘nice’ project to do while I work through some personal stuff. I basically used the same pattern as the yellow vest, but did it 14 stitches (around 2.5 inches) shorter.

This is my only wearable project thus far I’ve not had to start again or undo when making it, which obviously felt good! I think that was down to having already created the pattern prior and using the same yarn brand/ weight etc, so there was no issue in terms of those variables.

It did however, go through an extensive design process! These were the front sketches:

Oh yeah, before I go any further, the yarn I wanted to use up was the blue and grey, but purchased the black as the ‘binding’ yarn if you like- because I wouldn’t have had enough with just the two colours, and black was the colour which pulled the design together the best. Or, at least in the vision I had for this garment. This was all trial and error, just using estimates, but whatever my guesses were, I was pretty bob on with the quantities, because now I only have 5g of the grey yarn left and about 1g of the blue yarn, so I think I did pretty well overall! I also only have 20g of the black yarn left, so even after buying a new ball, I don’t have much left at all. While we’re on yarns and weights and all that, I used the Women’s Institute Premium (100%) DK Acrylic Yarn and the total garment weight is 213g. So that’s nice to know when creating something similar in the future. I used a 4mm hook throughout, including the ribbing.

Above is the finished front, and as you can see on the initial design on the image prior- I pretty much produced it exactly to my sketch. The back though, was a little more of a minefield:

The front I was able to be a bit more free with the design process, because even though I knew I had limited yarn quantities, I knew whatever design I did (within reason) I wouldn’t be overdoing it with any colour and I knew I’d have enough to go through with the design I wanted. With the back, I then had limited yarn quantities left, so I had to design with that in mind. I wanted it similar to the front, but it didn’t need to be the same (and with the amount of yarn I had left it couldn’t have been anyway), so it went through a fairly vigorous iteration process. I even moved from my sketchbook to Photoshop, because I knew I’d be doing a lot, and it was easier to change design aspects faster using a computer.

Some were just way off the mark and much too complicated/ not in keeping with the simplicity of the front, so I had to scale it back a bit. Plus the ones with more colour blocks would have just looked a bit of a mess to be honest. I initially settled on this design:

But midway through, I realised I needed to add more blue to it or I would have been left with loads and therefore be defeating the object of this scrap yarn project, so I added a bit more blue after the black:

And in my opinion, it turned out pretty nicely and used up the adequate amount of yarn required to make this project worth it! If I’m being picky, the grey in the top right corner could have done with around 4 more stitches in height, as I think it looks a little short and off balance, but like I said, that’s me being me basically! It also would have left me with even less grey, which would have been nice, because now I have 5g swimming around my yarn box. I’ll likely find something to do with it, I’m sure…

I wanted to make the design a little more interesting than just stripes/ checks- so I have something completely different to what I already have in my wardrobe and something that you don’t really see too often in shops. I think I satisfied the brief well with this design. It’s not over the top wild, but there’s more interest/ detail taking it past something more basic. Not that there’s owt wrong with a bit of stripes (I own a lot of striped stuff- plus the last garment I crocheted was striped), it just wasn’t the look I was going for in this instance.

This was only meant to be a short post, she says, already exceeding the 800 word count! I just can’t help myself can I?! I’ll leave with a few more images then: the finished garment with me wearing it, a few close ups, plus the pattern, should I wish to refer to it quickly again in the future without rifling through pages of my notebook. See you in the next one xo

10 Years of this Blog!!

Ten years of this blog- wow, that’s a pretty big milestone, so it wouldn’t be true to form if I didn’t create a post about it! As part of conducting my research for this (yes, really) I went back to read my first post ten years ago this month. Which I have linked, so if you too want to share the same pleasure of reading a younger, more pretentious, less mature version of myself, with a similar level of bad jokes and self-deprecation, then please go ahead.

Beginning this was my third attempt at keeping a blog, the previous ones I’ve since unpublished. Though, I’m not too sure why, because I just had a cheeky read over them and they aren’t that dissimilar to this current one. They are heavily related to whatever film/ animation projects I was working on at the time and followed a similar format in sharing progress images/ behind the scenes style goodies. I think it was probably more to do with the stage of my life when I was writing them, rather than the actual content: I was struggling severely with my mental health at the time and I think when I started this blog, I had got to a point where I was well enough to (and understandably so) want to disassociate with that version of me. Over ten years have passed now and I’m able to look back on that time in a more reasonable light, but I can empathise with my past self for wanting to put those memories completely behind me. Perhaps I’ll republish them at some point…

Anyway, I have digressed as per. In essence, the reason I started the blog has stayed the same throughout, which was to share my creative works and analyse my practise. As well as being a creative record to look back on over the years and see what I’ve accomplished and see how I’ve grown and developed as an artist/ filmmaker and as a person (spoiler alert: a lot). From time to time, especially at moments when I’m finding it hard to appreciate how far I’ve come over the years, I do look back on my older work as a reminder of all the creative stuff I’ve done. Sometimes I get in a slump and think ‘I’m not very ‘good’’, or not very creative. Which is a load of rubbish! So this blog has been a huge help in that way.

I rarely advertise this blog on what little social media I do use, because I like the idea of it being just for me. I think if I publicised it in a wider way, then I might be more conscious of my writing style or things I post about/ amount I post. I don’t mind that it’s public, in fact, it would be nice if someone told me that they’re a reader and find what I put out here interesting or educational (or even somewhat entertaining), but I think if it was more outwardly publicly facing, such as my Instagram, I’d probably not be so much ‘me’ on here and tie myself up in knots over the content of the blog. And I don’t really want this tainted in that same way. I like it as an outlet where I can be my authentic self without worrying what others might think.

Due to the amount of posts there is and the length of some of said posts (most easily go over the 1,000 word count without even trying), this blog is clearly something I love doing. It’s an enjoyable way of acknowledging the closure of whatever project I’m working on, as well as giving me a space to evaluate my work and through that, learn and grow as an artist. As I go into a lot of detail in most of the posts, it’s also super useful to look back on when trying to emulate a similar technique or process and see how I did something and what worked/ what didn’t.

Not really sure where I’m going with this post if I’m honest! I just sort of wanted to celebrate the milestone of ten years and get a bit gooey over how much I enjoy this thing! But yeah, maybe I’ll leave it at that. Also if you are a regular reader here, then a massive thank you for reading and taking an interest- it is greatly appreciated <3

I'm the one on the right

More serious- for balance

Handmade Bag

This was 100% the hardest thing I have ever sewn! No contest. It started because I wanted a bag smaller than an A4 piece of paper which is the standard size allowed to take into large sports stadiums. As well as for times when I didn’t want to carry my ‘big’ bag around, but didn’t have the adequate pocket space to carry the essentials with me, such as my phone, notebook, mirror/ hair brush, hand gel and so on. I had a bit of a look around the shops and I either didn’t like any of the bags or they were too pricey for the budget I had in mind for this particular item. Plus I’m also on a bit of an environmental guilt vibe at the moment and therefore dislike purchasing a load of new stuff. Basically everything new I buy, I need to justify about a million times over and then still feel bad, even if I couldn’t have done without said item. Yep, I’m no fun at parties.

So, being as I’m getting back into sewing at the moment, I thought, well you know what, what don’t I try making one? I likely have all the materials I need around the house, as well as the skills to be able to pull this off. And after a quick scour of YouTube, there were plenty of tutorials to show me how to do it, so I thought ‘yeah, go on then, why not’. I used a combination of three videos to create my bag: here, here and here.

Like I said at the top of this post, it wasn’t easy. I wouldn’t say I’m the most experienced sewer, so perhaps to try and pull this off was one of those biting off more than I can chew moments. But I bit it, and I chewed it and it chewed back at me, but it was finally done!

And I am extremely proud of it, for a couple of reasons: firstly, for pushing through such a difficult task, and secondly, for the finished piece. I can’t lie, I do think it looks really good and has a quite professional finish- at least from the outside!

And everything was sourced from existing items I had round the house, besides some fusible interfacing, which I got from The Range for less than £1 and the strap, which I took from a charity shop find, for £2. To buy nylon bag strap webbing new would have cost the same, if not more, plus would have also meant I was bringing something new into existence which wasn’t necessary, being as I found exactly what I needed in a charity shop. So I’m really proud of how sustainable making this bag was. And the only worker that got exploited was myself(!), but that’s ok, because it was my choice.

The breakdown of the materials used: the main zip, plus key holder were from another bag which was in to bad of a shape to give to charity, the inside lining was created from various fat quarters I already had, the trim inside was created from hospital gown(!) from my previous film project, the main material was made from curtain fabric from a spare single curtain we had and the hardware (D-rings, tabs and clips) were salvaged from other bags around the house.

Like I said a couple of times already, making this was NOT easy and I did go wrong a few times during the making of it. My first attempt at the front was awful and I’m so pleased I decided to start again. The zip wasn’t straight and the whole thing just looked bad:

This was using an old pair of trousers, though the fabric will now likely become another project in the future (perhaps used for trouser patches or test material). I was extremely frustrated that I had ‘wasted’ some material here, but like I said, I’ll try and use it for something else.

The next time I went wrong was when I attempted to make the welt pocket for the inside:

I followed this tutorial. The tutorial was great, but my effort unfortunately wasn’t. Again frustrated because of the wastage of material used, but luckily it’s not too much and I have kept it, so I can try and use it for future projects. The main issue here was the fact that the fabric had puckered at the edges and it didn’t make for a very clean finish, therefore I decided I didn’t want it in my bag. Perhaps I should have practised on some scrap fabric first, because it’s a hard technique to get neat- or that’s how I felt anyway. But, you learn as you go. I eventually settled for just a basic inner pocket, with no zip or owt, just to simplify things. I was very stubborn and wasn’t going to discard my need for an inner pocket! I just love pockets!

And then there were various times where I unpicked the sewing because I wasn’t happy with it, but I won’t bore you with outlining all of those times. I also went from using pins, to using clips and seriously, for bulky stuff with lots of layers of fabric such as this, these are an absolute find. Pins definitely have their uses too, but clips are the way forward for this kind of project.

I wouldn’t say I’m the most confident person using the sewing machine (I find hand sewing much easier to control), but I’m really pleased with some of the top stitching, though unfortunately you can’t see it that well, because the thread matches the colour of everything too well. It’s sort of where I wished I had used contrast stitching, especially on the front and alongside the top zip. Plus it would have given the finish a bit more detail, especially if I went for something like a yellow or a pink. That would have looked really cool. Next time eh…

Also, if anyone still calls me a perfectionist after seeing the inside of the bag, then they are very, very wrong! Sewing the trim was one of those ‘just need to get it done I’m not unpicking this’ moments! It doesn’t look too bad now it’s inside, but there’s some shocking sewing going on in there. But it’s on and there are no raw edges in sight, so that’s what matters. Next time though, I would prefer to use bias binding and sew it on at the end. I think it might have been easier to sew and provided for a nicer finish.

Ok, I think that’s everything. Well, maybe I’ll quickly add the dimensions of the finished piece for those that are interested: 23x15x5.5cm. Right, I’m done! On to the next project, whatever it may be xo

Bonus image above: the state of my desk for a week or so while I was making the thing...

I Wish I Was There- June Screenings

Just a quick one to let you know about a couple of upcoming screenings for I Wish I Was There…

First up, it’s screening on Saturday 20th June, 12.30-3pm at The Ferret in Preston, as part of the North West Independent Film Festival. I’m super pleased it was selected for this one as it’s where I lived prior to moving to Sheffield and where filmmaking all got started for me. So it’ll be one of those nice ‘full circle’ sort of moments. Tickets are just £6 and you can get those here.

And not even a week later, it’s showing as part of Milk Teeth’s North x North Northeast short film night at 6pm on Thursday 25th June, at the iconic Hyde Park Picture House up in Leeds. Should be a fun one, plus excited that my film is going to be screened in this venue! Tickets are pay what you can and you can get those here.

I will be in attendance at both, so come say hey if you’re around!

Right, I’m off to Sheffield DocFest, where I’ll be gorging myself on films and only films over the next five days xo

Crochet Sleeveless Shirt

Because I’ve mainly made sweater style things thus far, I wanted to try something a bit different, so I decided to make a shirt. And it is summer now (despite the rain). Crochet shirts are a style of top I’d definitely wear, as well as being a whole new challenge in terms of my crochet ability. I watched a fair amount of tutorials on YouTube, so kind of had an idea of how I wanted to go about about this project (special shoutout to FTK crochet, who have some sick designs/ tutorials on their channel), but there was no pattern I was following directly in terms of colour scheme or otherwise. I actually took the measurements from a shirt I already own, as it’s one I really like the fit of.

A month later and I was the lucky owner of this! I think it’s my favourite crochet item I’ve made to date:

I must say I absolutely love the fit/ shape, as well as the colour scheme and everything else! I seriously CAN NOT wait to start wearing this out to places. I am seriously proud of it, and it excites me where next to go with my crochet.

I’ll do a bit of a pattern/ making of etc here, so I can easily call on this should I want to make something similar in the future… Before I forget, this was all crocheted using a 3mm hook and 100% cotton WI Hobbycraft ‘that’s so cotton’ yarn, in colours ‘ecru’ and ‘navy’. As these things often do, it all started with a quick sketch of my idea:

Though this looks a bit like one of those horse racing kits I remember seeing as a kid in the newspaper whenever there was a major race on!

And in true Flora Martyr fashion, there was a couple of obligatory restarts (though nothing too major this time round thankfully). I don’t actually remember exactly why I restarted- I think it was because to do with the length of the starting chain and it growing/ shrinking etc once I added a few rows of stitches and the fact that I didn’t like the edges. Which lead me to learning how to do standing stitches at the start of each new row, instead of chaining 2 or 3, which leaves those big gaps and doesn’t make the piece look quite as nice. These standing chains make the edges look super flush and I’ll 100% be using them going forwards. Here was my test piece for learning that:

I created the back panel first, the final measurements being 19.2x21.5 inches, and I was working side to side, rather than bottom up, allowing me to get the vertical stripe effect. There were 62 (double crochet) rows across the back (31 stripes), weighing 218g. And each row took approximately 12 minutes each.

For the two front panels, they were essentially the same process and size as the back, but half size vertically (30 rows/ 15 stripes), going from blue to blue (allowing me to pattern match with the back panel), plus leaving a space in the middle for the white button band later on. Each of these weighed 104g each. My tension was clearly on point!

After I was done with each panel (back, front 1, front 2), I weaved the ends in, because there were soooo many and didn’t want to save it for the end. That would be extremely masochistic, even by my standards!

After all the three main panels were done, I pinned it together using stitch markers for a test fitting, to check if I had gone wildly off course with my measurements or anything. Luckily I had not, so to crack on with the sleeves was next.

I had no idea how long etc I wanted the sleeves to be, so to help me decide, I fixed a bit of fabric using masking tape to test out the length/ size I wanted. Very technical, I know…

The sleeves took around 5 hours each and measured 6.2x16 inches approx, each weighing 54g (before adding the ribbing). I thought adding a small bit of trim to the edges would add a bit of extra ‘something’ to the design, so I used 3 rows of single crochet. This gave just the right amount I think. Note to future self: started with the ‘right’ side facing towards me for the ribbing.

Originally, I hadn’t intended for the ribbing to cinch the sleeves in like on the above image, but it was one of those happy accidents I was pleased with. Without it, I feel the sleeves would have come across too baggy and shapeless. With this in mind, I did the same to the bottom of the garment at the end of the construction, which really helped bring shape to the whole thing.

Then, it was time to crochet it all together. I attached the shoulders together first, leaving a 7.5ish inch hole for the neck- this definitely gave me the most anxiety, because I was really nervous whether it would be too big/ small, but it actually turned out just right. I then attached the sleeves and stitched up the sides. Next, was to add the aforementioned hem/ ribbing all the way around the bottom, followed by the button panels. Lastly, was the collar. Though in future, I would swap the latter two stages around, because the collar changed how it hung a little, so I actually ended up needing to redo the button hole placement. Which didn’t take that long, but it was a step I could have done without.

The collar, I started with the right side facing towards me (like with all the ribbing) and single crocheted 13 rows round the neck, increasing by two on the 5th, 7th, 10th and 13th rows. No exact science, just guesswork!

I’ll stick a few more pics down below of the finished item, so you can see it in more detail. Right, that’s me off to go do something else for a little while… xo