Millinery mantra - Roll and stretch!

Yesterday was a lot of fun! I hosted a modest blogger gathering (my first ever) instigated by the bubbly Dibs (Dibs and the Machine), who had a burning desire to share some of the millinery skills she's picked up during a recent series of classes. We were also joined by the wonderful Mela (Pincushion Treats) and Kat (Krafty Kat).

After lunch, Dibs expertly got down to business showing us how to roll sinamay strips cut on the bias – sinamay is always cut on the bias for millinery apparently. Our mantra was simple, 'Roll and stretch!' Simple to say, but not necessarily to do. Sinamay can be brittle to roll, but if you wet it too much it can turn a little sloppy. Dibs did try to help us by likening the technique to rolling a cigarette, which was lost on a bunch of non-smokers. Haha!


However, after a bit of goofing around...


...and a lot of concentration...


...we did it! To our disbelief, we each produced a darling, little fascinator - thanks to Dibs' expert tuition and much-needed patience. Pretty cool, eh!?! We all went for bows, which are super cute and more importantly...easy enough to make ;o)


Kat and Dibs making a statement with their beautiful fascinators.

Mela showing off her more delicate creation. Talking of creations, I just had to include a full-body shot so you can swoon over Mela's newest sewing project - Ava blouse from Victory Patterns - which she hasn't even blogged about yet...that's how exclusive this scoop is! Isn't it just perfect!?! The combination of black polka dot mesh together with the mustard is divine!

I chose to wear my fascinator in a rather unconventional way, after deciding it didn't suit me to the side. I'm hoping it's more 1950s rockabilly than 1980s Madonna! 

The whole gang wishing we had a wedding to gatecrash!


The day was a complete success, made even sweeter thanks to lots of cuddles from the happiest baby ever, Dibs' seriously squeezable Noah!

Leicester-based Kat and I were delighted to have visitors from London, so a big 'thank you' to Dibs and Mela for making the journey up and for brightening our weekend. And an extra special 'thank you' to Dibs for being so generous with her newly-acquired knowledge and skills. If you're interested in millinery at all, I suggest you follow Dibs' beautifully documented journey on her blog. I know yesterday's session has whetted my appetite for more!

31 comments:

  1. Thank you so much again for hosting and feeding us a delicious lunch. I had such a great time!

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    1. Thank you for coming...the cookies were delicious!!!

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  2. Awesome :)
    I'm very much in awe of those bows and Mela's top.

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  3. I'm so gutted I missed that.. You guys had a blast and got cute head gear... Awww , totally jealous

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    1. We missed you too Rachel...next time!xx

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  4. That looks like a great day! I want to come up to your part of the world some time. There has to be an outing to this Birmingham Rag Market!!! Or somewhere between You, Kat, Scruffy Badger and Roisin. Surely we can make it so...

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    1. Yes! I have yet to venture to the Birmingham market everyone talks about! Let's do it :)

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    2. I'm working on it ladies, never fear ;o)

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    3. I'd definitelt be in if you arrange a midlands get together!

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  5. Everybody's fasinators are brilliant! And it looks like you had a lot of fun. :)

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  6. What a fun day you all had!! I love the bows, they all look really good and how cute is Noah, he is adorable!!

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  7. That looks like a perfect day and my god, don't all four of you look so beautiful?! And Noah! Those croissant legs are adorable! What a fun way to learn a new skill, great idea Marie. x

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    1. Thanks Jane, you're too kind! Noah was so edible, I couldn't stop squeezing him!

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  8. Awww, that looks like you had loads of fun!

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  9. How fun! Your fascinators are so cute! Noah is getting so big!

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  10. The bows are so cute! And I love Mela's Ava top! What a cool meet up :D

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  11. Ahhh you all look so summery and cute in your fab new adornments. Looks like a lotta fun too :)

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  12. So cute! It looks like you had a fun day!!

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  13. Your creations are so cute, and I think definitely Rockabilly!

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  14. Looks like you all had such a great tme! Loving the bows.

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  15. Cor your millinery is truly marvellous :) You guys look great what a wonderful effort and Noah is so sweet he's making my teeth hurt xxx

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    1. Only thanks to Dibs, I found the rolling part hard to get to grips with at first ;o)

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  16. Hi Marie,
    Love your top you are wearing...did you make it? What was the pattern-i need that little number in my life! :)

    p.s love the blog! you have inspired me to enroll on a dressmaking for beginners course in september! so excited...thinking of making Ginger as my project-do you think ok for beginner?

    Lucy x

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    1. Oh wow, I'm so pleased you like my blog and that you've been inspired to learn to sew...that's amazing! I hope you love it as much as I do, just remember that it's a process and that you'll keep on learning forever. So don't get frustrated and remember there is plenty of help online - via blogs, tutorials, YouTube and so on ;o) Oh and I think Ginger is the perfect beginner pattern and so lovely to boot! I look forward to following your journey on your blog!

      Sadly, I didn't make my top...that was a Primark special! I did make the skirt though... ;o)

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    2. Thanks for the reply! I haven't really done anything with my blog which I should really get started and so I didn't see your lovely response!
      Going to purchase Ginger as my first project. Just looking for fabric now and as I am a complete novice its a minefield of terminology! garbadine?! argh! I am after something wintery for work in navy, chocolate or burgendy in a kind of wool blend? Any tips for selecting fabric?

      Lucy x

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  17. All of your creations turned out beautifully!

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  18. What a great post!! Looks like huge fun Marie, and how wonderful to be shown how to manipulate that tricksty Sinamay to create such gorgeous accessories...great pics too!!!

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    1. Thanks Winnie...I love learning new things!

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