Behind The Costumes

In recent years the fashion for bling has grown considerably with everything from mobile phones to trainers being customised with diamantés. One of the founding fathers of bling though has to be the late entertainer, Liberace, who was world famous for not only his vocal and piano playing skills but also his flamboyant stage costumes.

The release of the biopic film "Behind the Candelabra", starring Michael Douglas as Liberace, has certainly brought Liberace back into the limelight.  If you are in Las Vegas soon, don't miss the free exhibition of some of Liberace's costumes, his diamanté covered grand piano and car, at The Cosmopolitan Hotel.

Having seen this car (you really can't miss it!) prominently displayed at the entrance to The Cosmpolitan's casino, I wandered into the exhibition of costumes. Once you are over the shock of so much bling in one place, you can't help but be amazed at the amount of work which went into each suit, not to mention the full length capes.

Thousands of beads and crystals were appliqued all over the costumes in intricate designs, making some suits alone weigh about 80lb.  Capes could add a further 40lb in weight.  Looking at the mannequins displaying the costumes, you soon realise that Liberace was not overly tall and also a relatively slight build.  In order to counter balance the weight of the costumes he was wearing, Liberace had extra lead in his shoes.

A museum of Liberace's costumes and personal effects was open to the public in Las Vegas for 31 year but sadly closed a couple of years ago.  There are plans to hopefully reopen the museum in the downtown area in 2014 though.  In the meantime, you can view the Cosmpolitan exhibition from 3pm to 10pm daily.

Suits You! Tote Bag

A week or so ago I received an enquiry about custom making a Suits You! Tote Bag. I am always happy to try and make custom items, so discussions began between myself and a very sweet customer called Charlotte.

Having seen the Suits You! Tote Bag I had already made, Charlotte was happy with the style and background fabric. The only changes she wanted to make were a zip along the top instead of a magnetic clasp and an inside pocket.

Having established the basic remit, I emailed Charlotte photos of possible neck ties and also shirt fabrics for the lining. I knew she wanted brightly coloured ties but you also need to consider what colours and patterns will look right together. Charlotte chose the ties and lining I would have suggested, so we were obviously on the same wavelength.









I needed to purchase a brown zip for the handbag and remembered that the local hospice shop in town sold haberdashery items. I managed to find a new brown zip in there which was the right weight for the wear and tear of a handbag. It was a bit too long but that didn't matter as I just cut it to length when sewing it in.

Having assembled all of the materials, I spent an afternoon making the handbag. I was actually snowed in all day and couldn't get to work, so it worked out quite well time wise. I don't always use a pattern when making handbags, I just make them up as I go along, adding bits, cutting bits off. That is how I made the original Suits You! Tote Bag, so trying to make another the same shape and size was an interesting task. I did a lot of measuring, a bit of guessing, a bit of cutting and a fair bit of hoping!












In the end, the handbag turned out almost the same size as the original. I deliberately made the handles slightly longer so that Charlotte could carry her bag on her shoulder if she wished. I think the combination of ties she chose worked really well too. Thankfully Charlotte agreed ....

"My lovely bag just arrived and it's amazing! Thank you so much! Charlotte"

Dyed & Applied

A week or so ago, I was dying some clothing chocolate brown and decided to throw in a couple of my unbleached cotton tote bags which I use for making my photo totes. I thought I could just applique a few fabric flowers on the bags for a quick and simple makeover.

The resulting bags came out a pleasing shade of brown but unfortunately all of the stitching remained cream. I assume the thread used was polyester and not cotton or else it would have taken the dye as well. I really couldn't put up with the cream stitching showing around the top of bag and along the handles, so I decided to unpick it all and redo it in brown thread. For some additional decoration, I used a decorative leaf embroidery stitch in a gold thread.

The flowers are made from suede, corderoy, wool and a faux suede, all taken from old clothing and remnants. The flower centres are vintage all buttons. The buttons were definitely the best bit, I was dreading sewing them on, particularly pushing the needle through leather. I suddenly remembered that my new machine could sew on buttons so I decided to try it out.

It was fantastic! So easy! There was a small amount of setting up beforehand but the actual sewing of the button took about 10 seconds. It would have taken me at least half an hour of fiddling to sew them on by hand.

Overall the bag was more involved than I had originally intended, mainly due to changing the cream stitching but I think it was worth it in the end and I am quite pleased with the finished result. Hopefully you will agree!

Blue Applique Tie Bag

I spent this afternoon finishing another tie bag. I cut it out over a week ago and haven't had time to make it up until now. I have to say, not having enough time to make things can be really frustrating. I obviously need to see where I can make more time.

Anyway, this bag is made from a pale blue wool fabric I bought about 20 years ago to make a skirt. I never made the skirt, so the fabric has been sat in my pile for years. The three ties came from a lady at my ceramics class. She had been into patchwork but had decided to change direction. Knowing I made bags, she kindly gave me about 20 mens ties to use. I love using them on bags as I think they look really effective.

I have used both ends of the ties, on each side, and two of the ties have also been used for the handles. The inside of the bag has been lined in a pale mauve cotton, taken from a man's shirt. The front of the bag also features a vintage diamonte brooch to give it a bit of added sparkle and bling.