Skippies In Lockdown
December 2020
Once a skippy always a skippy! Even though we have not exhibited together in a while, we are all very busy and would like to share our projects with you. From repurposing fabric for the NHS to creating usable textiles for the home from scraps, we have been busy.
Fabric Scraps by Skip Sister Edori
What do you do with your collection of fabrics that are too small to do anything with? They may be a piece saved from a favourite dress or a trim from a market that caught your eye. In 2019 I took a workshop with international textile designer Lauren Shanley in her Oxo Tower studio and shop. She has since closed the studio down preferring to work from home in her Brockley studio in South London. She taught me how she constructs her amazing fabric utilising small pieces of overlapped fabric sewn together using a zig zag stitch. She then machine embroiders over the top to create another fantastic dimension. The images below are using her technique. My sewing skills are so basic that I have to keep referring to my machine manual! However, I have managed to create scarves, cushions and a bedcover. Lockdown has given me a chance to finally do something with my suitcases and boxes of cherished scraps that I have collected for years, starting from a teenager when I would prowl the second hand clothing outlets in the Bowery, New York City.
You can see more of Lauren's beautiful work on her website:
http://www.laurenshanley.co.uk
Cushions by Edori
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Handbag extraordinaire by Lauren Shanley
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 Silk remnant scarf donated by Skip Sister Lizzie of National Theatre dyeing department by Skip Sister Edori
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Cotton scarf remnant by Edori
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Fabulous coat by Lauren Shanley
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Liz Shanley workshop, Oxo Tower, London
Bedcover by Edori
Ready, Steady Sew by Skip Sister Lizzie
I was in the middle of getting ready for Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National Theatre. I work in the dying department. I got furloughed....came back months later to a panto! Dick Whittington only made a few performances and now can be seen online. Check out liz.kitchensink on Instagram for photos.
An emoji quilt for my friend's new baby. Pending the birth of Amelie I stitched an emoji themed quilt.
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Gowns, Hats, Aprons and Scrubs...
My sister did a call out and gathered together an outstanding amount of sheets,etc. which I cut and sewed into PPE. The scrubs came ready cut in new fabric and involved a lot of sewing and swearing but I finally got it and can now do a pretty nifty mitred corner! And lastly, Ive sewn hundreds of masks. WASH AND REUSE! I cant bear to see the abandoned disposable ones and I figure its good Karma to give them away. Any I sold bought me more thread and elastic. The ones above include mistletoe for Christmas, text based ones using textile signage from the NT Costume exhibition and a special reflective one for my stepson who travels to and from work in the dark.
And for my furry granddaughter Ella with Ratty....which I made for her from very tough cotton scraps.
Repurposed Vintage Towelling by Skip Sister Julia
When I was a child my mother made a beach changing robe out of bathroom curtains. It was something you could slip on when you got out of the cold sea at Broadstairs (where we spent many of our holidays) and while wearing it you could get completely dry and slip out of your wet, clammy costume and no one could see! I was shy so it really appealed. When my sister and I cleared my parents home for the last time, we searched high and low for it, but never found it, very strange as they threw nothing away! I decided that I would make one for myself fashioned from old towels. Fellow Skip Sister Edori came across a lovely large vintage towel, knowing that I was on a mission. So in between lockdowns I fashioned this and I can honestly say, it’s changed my life! I love it, no more scrabbling about with knickers and bras on crowded beaches, I smugly slip it on and hey presto. Not the most accomplished piece of sewing, but works a treat!
