Espadrilles with The Makery

Yesterday we got the chance to visit the new workshop space for The Makery in John Lewis, London.  We are big fans of The Makery as you may know from our posts about our visit in 2013 and again in 2014 and so we were so happy when we found out they were opening a workshop space in London and even more excited when we were offered the chance to join a workshop!

We decided to go for the Espadrilles workshop as neither of us have ever made shoes before and so what a great workshop to try.  Also we thought we would let you join in the fun by showing you our photos as well as adding their You tube video as part of this post.  So that you can make your own at home if you can't get to Bath or London for a workshop.

We had to bring our own fabric to the workshop - but luckily we have our own 'little' stashes at home, ahem. I went for rockets and spaceships and Sammy chose colourful chevrons. Although as the workshop space is on the 4th floor in John Lewis, you can always buy a little something from their fabric department if you forget or don't have any to bring.

We started by cutting our fabric using the pattern pieces for the shoe size we are.  We cut 2 pieces of each and then 2 each of the lining fabric. One set is for the front and the other is for the back and sides.

Then, we made sure they were right sides together before sewing around the edge, making sure to leave a gap so that you can pull it through.

Once we had sewn around our pieces,  we cut notches in the curves of the front piece where our toes will be and the bottom of the back piece to make the curve lay flatter when turning them through. 

We then turned them through to the right side and pressed them flat, making sure to have points in the end of the front piece and turning in the gap and pressing down.  You won't need to sew this shut as it will be sewn in place when you construct the shoe.

Now time for sewing your pieces to the soles.  Starting with the back and sides piece, find the middle of the fabric and pin it to the middle of the back of the shoe, you then pin around the edge of the shoe at an angle (so the pin goes into the sole), with the fabric flat to the sole.  I am sure this is where the video above will come in real handy.

Then it's a case of blanket stitching around the edge of the sole, making sure the loops go to the inside of the shoe, not on the edge of the sole - again I am sure the video will explain much better than I can, but you can see below how the stitching sits.

Once all the edges are in place, you need to straight stitch up the side of the back and side piece to the front piece so that it all stays together when you put them on.

Then voila, you are done - new shoes!  I can see how these would be really addictive to make, Sammy has already bought another pair of soles to play with.

What pattern would you choose?  I think if I was going to make another pair,  I might go for classic on the outside and then a fun print inside, or slightly different prints for the back and front pieces.

Thanks again to The Makery for giving us the opportunity to attend the workshop, we had great fun!

H,xxx

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Advent Calendar day!!!

Hello and welcome to December, wow this year is going quick!  The Beginning of December marks when Christmas really starts for me - you will know by now of course that Sammy's starts much earlier.  Although with making presents, I do think about that side earlier, but anything else waits for the 1st December at least.   I have been known to be shopping on Christmas Eve.

So with that, I think the only thing to do today is talk Advent Calendars!  I do love the different ones you can get now every year and as I now know that Dairy is no good for me, I feel it justifies looking at lots of other ones - basically it just means I have the excuse to go for something bigger and better!   I have tried to go for ones that you can find in the shops as today is the day and no one wants to wait for delivery.

So first up is the Dashwood Studios Advent Calendar.  This is so beautiful and Sammy has done a great Tutorial for it over on the Sew Crafty website - did we mention you can now shop online???!! ha, ha.  So there is no excuses for not getting one made - even though you might not get it done today given that this is the 1st December, I still think its worth making.

Next up is the Lego Star Wars Calendar which is just ace - you can get loads of different versions of Advent calendar but some are sold out.  I managed to find this one on Argos but they are popular and so be quick.

Another option for the beauty lover is the Ciate Mini Mani Manor Advent Calendar, which means they get so many nail colour options for the party season, amazing!

and lastly, but by no means least, I have added another cute fill your own advent calendar.  Pick up this M&S Cracker Advent Calendar and you can fill it with whatever treats you like, from a bit of chocolate to small gifts, anything you like.

Which one would you choose??? I love the idea of reusing every year and having items rather than chocolate.  I used to work at a company where a lady would make an advent calendar each year with treats in it and then each of the staff members had a day and so everyone got a gift! So sweet.

H

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Love it: Christmas Adverts

photo courtesy of www.wallaceandgromit.com

As Sammy mentioned on Tuesday, it appears everyone around us is getting in the Christmas spirit! Brands have been thinking about this Christmas since January and beyond - always gearing up for the next season! 

Some people know it's time to get all Christmassy when they see the coca cola advert on telly! It used to be all about the R Whites advert when I was growing up, but that was much nearer the big day than the adverts seem to come out now.

There are so many amazing adverts that have come out so far this year and so I thought it would be good to showcase some of my favourites - so far!

By now you must have seen the John Lewis Advert, apparently sales in John Lewis have gone up massively since the advert came out, so someone is definitely watching it!

photo courtesy of http://www.creativereview.co.uk/

This link leads to the making of the advert, which is just amazing.  It was made using 2D and 3D animation techniques and just goes to show what can be done with a little imagination.

I love this Baileys advert as it gives a different spin on the Nutcracker - one of the Ballet's I need to go and watch.  I love the Moulin Rouge feel of the ad.

Sainsbury's have used real people to show what Christmas is to each of us and used Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald, (of The Last King of Scotland fame) not too shabby.

It also just shows how different people celebrate Christmas, but that what's it's all about is family and friends.

Cadbury's have done their first ever Christmas advert - I know amazing hey!  This one is so good as who wouldn't want to unwrap everything you own!

It seems the Famous Grouse is not a fan of Z-list celebrities!  You have to love the famous grouse ads as they have taken over from R Whites with the waiting to see what they do this year!

I love to see what the brands get up to for their adverts and there always seems to be something extra special about the Christmas versions. 

What's your favourite advert this Christmas or even just another other time of year?  I love the really clever ads, like the Honda one a few years ago where it was lots of car parts on a domino effect.

I'm off to wait for the R Whites advert!

H