Calico Laine News

Whether you're Sewing that beautiful evening gown or a cool, billowing blouse for everyday wear, it's important to choose the right fabric to work with. Using a sheer fabric can completely change the look of a garment, or add a new dimension to one by acting as a floaty overlay. In today's blog, we'll be talking about the sheer fabrics...

Zips may not be considered to be the most sophisticated of technology and are often taken for granted by most of us, but they are the most widely used mechanism of the past and present century. In dressmaking, zips are a necessity and are used on everything from dresses and trousers to shoes and bags as a way to join...

If you're the parent of a young child, you'll know how much kids love to dress up and play. Sometimes, dressing-up kits and costumes can be expensive, especially as they are not worn day-to-day and children will eventually grow out of them. it can be cheaper to make your own, generic costume pieces that can be applied to many different...

Sewing is one of the oldest textile arts in the world and is used within a variety of industries, most notably fashion and footwear. Before the industrial revolution, sewing was still very much a skilled industry with many people working out of their own homes, offering their services as seamstresses and tailors. With the invention of the sewing machine by Thomas...

Haberdashery covers such a large and wide choice of different items. At Calico Laine we have amassed a great selection of haberdashery that will keep any dressmaker or sewer going. In my entry today I am going to cover some of my personal favourites from our extensive range of haberdashery. Bias Binding: This really is a must have item to...

One of the most anticipated films of the year, The Hunger Games Catching Fire, is being released this week and with the L.A premiere being held last Monday, all eyes were on leading lady Jennifer Lawrence. At the Oscars, where she won Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook, she wore a stunning pale pink textured Fabric Dior ball gown and...

Any dressmaker has that one item in their sewing kit that they can't work without - whether it's a stitch ripper or a needle threader, there's always one tool that makes a dressmaker's work that much easier. In today's blog, we'll be talking about some items that we think are essential to anyone's sewing projects. Needles - Obviously a big...

I first remember becoming familiar with the word haberdasher whilst reading Chaucers' Canterbury Tales during my school days. Traditionally, as in Chaucer's masterpiece, a haberdasher was a peddler who would sell small articles for making clothes like buttons, threads and zips and the word haberdashery came to be an all encompassing term for small items used in sewing and dressmaking...

Zips are a very popular item here at Calico Laine and we often get asked what is the best type of replacement zip to use. If you are replacing a zip in a jacket, coat or cardigan then you will will need to use an open end zip. In my entry today I am going to talk about the range...

Sometimes when choosing fabric for our next dressmaking project, we are spoilt for choice and it can be difficult to select the right material when presented with a number of different options. In today's blog post, we'll be talking about some of the different types of Jersey Fabrics we have available here at Calico Laine, and hopefully help you in...