Beth Sprouts Handmade; gettin sweaty in calicut

Sooo, a dear chum got wedded in Calicut in Kerala in March. Now I should mention here that Calicut lends its name to Calico, the cotton fabric that was created here. Unrelated to this fact, me and her mum jumped in an autorickshaw to get to her favourite fabric shop. Good grief, I was in heaven. Four floors of gorgeous prints, I wish we had things like this in the UK, infact I wish we had the desire to have clothes tailored for ourselves, and to own unique an individual pieces. Ho hum.

So I got a load of stuff, which is great. And here are three pieces I have made so far. Erm, I hate ironing...waste of electricity...ahem...

Beth Sprouts Handmade; you can't buy me...oh no wait, you can!

Launching my new shop!

Now you can have your own bit of BethSprouts in your home too. Lucky you.

I will add items as I make them. Who knows what they might be - keeping you on your toes aren't I!

First up are my 'Slug Lady' illustrations, hand painted originals, none of your multiple prints malarky just yet...

Beth Sprouts; Addicted

Found a new shop for you to have a peek at. I haven't actually bought anything from them yet, because the choice is just insane! Thai Handbags Etsy shop

If you haven't already found out about the joys of Etsy - it has been around since 2005 - then I urge you to browse. It can be a little overwhelming, again from a choice perspective, but it is a great place to start looking for designer/maker wears, illustrations etc. It is essentially an online craft fair, giving you an opportunity to support the small people when you need to get a birthday present for mum, rather than popping into town and giving the guys with the big bucks your well earned dough.

Beth Sprouts Handmade; blast from the past

I just found these photos in an old album, and they are truelly Beth Sprouts. From 2007/08 and were mostly going out on the tiles wear. I do believe all the fabrics are vintage, found in good ol' charity shops. 

Oh to be 21 again.

Beth Sprouts Purchases; Who likes long shorts

So I would love to think our minds are changing in relation to cheap cheap unethical or questionably ethical clothing, but alas alack, I don't. The same with anything like organic or locally sourced etc., a cohort of people choose to think about it and try their best to change but it is a definite minority. It is hard.

The funny thing is that it is so difficult to find things on the high street that make you look a little different now, it changes so fast and everyone catches on to things so quickly, especially with social media. To try and stay 'ahead' you would need to buy a LOT and then of course, it needs to be cheap.

My new little 'ethos' now I am a bit older and have experimented with style already is to;
1. Save up for very nice well made items (that are either wow out there, or very subtle )
2. Make the on-trend, or what I feel is on trend, pieces myself
3. Keep things for longer and thus HAVE to make sure that they are useful and will survive the cut throat world of the wardrobe
4. Still dip into vintage and charity shops
5. Buy from companies that have a bit more about them

So this year I wanted a pair of  board shorts, hip and cool, we will all be in them by 2016...or maybe 2015.
I picked up a leaflet on a market stall in Bristol for Continent Clothing, they work directly with the tailors so that they take a good income from the garments and the prices are still really really inexpensive - how could you choose Primani over that!
 
 Purple hands shorts £20, made by Allagi - thats the name of the guy who physically made them.

OR if you have the big bucks

  Ostwald Helgason 2013 £338

So yep, I chose the purple hands!

Beth Sprouts Home; Hook and Loop

Hello! Back after a bit, a big bit, of a break.

We have just bought our first home, and boy was it dirty, so all of my free time has been spent cleaning nicotine from anywhere and everywhere.

I then went to India...and found SO MUCH fabric. It is much more common to finish the edging of lengths of fabric on one of the selvage sides, because most clothing in India is tailored to fit you so the fabric is pre-finished for hemlines. OR curtains...ahh very suitable for new home.

So I set out to make a few 'nets' for our windows...trouble is, they are UPVC...now how in the world do you put in the holes to hang the nets...

You don't!

Here is my top tip - hook and loop fasteners!

More commonly known as VELCRO, but remember this is just a brand name. But I can say VELCRO because I used that!

So
Step One;

Choose jazzy fabric that will let the light through

Step Two;

Clean UPVC with white spirits or something like that, and apply sticky back HOOK SIDE in correct position on the furthest edge of the frame. The reason you put the hook side here is so if you want to wash your nets they do not get destroyed by the hooks in the washing machine, and they are a pain to sew.

Step Three; 

There should be a photo but it just wasn't working - bascially hem your fabric and sew in the LOOP SIDE  of the velcro to the curtain right in the corner.

Step Four; 

Stick 'em together!

Jobs a guddun'!

Posted on the unposted

Incase I have any avid fans who are crying alone, 'why why is there no new post!' I am making lots and lots for christmas, and I can't post about that just yet, or maybe not at all, so I am hibernating for winter.