Dressmaking

Gabrielle Coco Chanel once famously said "fashion fades, only style remains the same", and as with anything fashion related, Coco was always right. Coco Chanel was of course an expert at creating elegant, simple classics which were guaranteed to stand the test of time. The inventor of the Little Black Dress, Coco knew better than anyone what fabrics and elegant...

As 2013 comes to a close and we all enjoy some well deserved time off I always find Christmas a time of both celebration and a time to review the past 12 months. A lot has happened this past year  at Calico Laine including the opening of two new units and the launching of our new website. Both of these...

An early corset, circa 1910. Boning is one of the most useful yet most overlooked items of haberdashery in our collection. When you think of boning you automatically think of bustiers and structured evening gowns and of course boning is an extremely useful way of adding light structure to your formal garments and for holding in place embellishments such...

Sometimes, our customers visit us in store or search our website for fabrics that are suitable for smart business wear, and are often not entirely sure what we offer that would be a good choice. In today's blog, we'll be suggesting a number of different fabrics that would be great for this purpose, which will hopefully aid you in making...

The Eighties are a time that most of us will be old enough to remember fondly and were a time of great social and economic change, remembered by many as a simpler and happier time, The Eighties were defined by its outrageous fashion, cheesy pop music and rapid changes in technology. The Eighties brought us the first mobile phones, much...

As the year comes to a close, here at Calico Laine we’ve been looking at which colours are chic for Spring 2014. We love colour and nothing gets us more excited than combining two of our favourite hobbies, fashion and sewing.  Fashion is ever changing with styles looping in and out and modernising each generation. The bridal world is no...

Here, at Calico Laine we love nothing more than seeing what gorgeous creations our customers come up with. Over the years we have been awed and inspired by the wonderful (and yes, sometimes weird!) designs which have been showcased both on our website and our social media channels. We know that many of our customers, some with many years experience...

It's a cold winter's day today up on the Wirral and as I write this it's blowing a gale and raining cats and dogs! With this awful weather in mind it brings me onto the topic of today's blog and that is dressmaking for the cold weather! Below I am going to talk about three of my favourite fabrics to...

Jersey fabrics are always one of our most popular Fabrics for dressmaking whatever the season. These fabrics are so versatile making them perfect for almost any dressmaking project including t-shirts and dresses. Popular due to its element of stretch and beautiful drape, this range of comfortable fabrics provide excellent insulation possibly explaining why jersey fabrics were once strictly associated with undergarments...

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year and is the ideal time for exploring your creative side. With the party season fast approaching, now is the perfect time to start thinking about your outfits. Forget about traipsing around the busy high street trying on a variety of uninspiring outfits which will make you blend into the crowd, and...