Creative Corner

Lockdown gives us the opportunity to explore new hobbies and ways to keep ourselves entertained,  as well as to show off and improve our skills. That is why this lockdown SERC is encouraging people to share with us their works of art and crafts, to inspire people to pick up a paintbrush, sewing needle or anything else that gets your creativity flowing. Whether you are a beginner or a master at your chosen art form, making something can lead to better mental wellbeing, as well as being a fun hobby, so let’s get creative!

This week we are featuring Rebekah Cunningham's homemade tamarack jacket. 

"I decided to use a cotton fabric that I purchased from a destash a while back. I also used a red viscose lining which I had bought from 1st for Fabrics. I made a size 10 in this fabric but in reflection I think I would go up one size to accommodate thicker jumpers. "

"First I cut out all my outer fabric pieces, lining and batting. To make the quilting process easier I drew out the stitching lines out on the outer fabric pieces. I decided to do a different design for the back, each front and sleeves. I had pinned my outer fabric with the batting and lining sandwiched together. To try and keep the quilting even, I sewed the middle line of stitching first through each pattern piece and worked my way out to the edges. I took my time quilting each of the times to ensure a steady line of stitching. Once all the quilting was done I sewed around the edges of each piece. 

"Constructing the jacket was pretty straightforward, simply the shoulder seams first then it was onto adding binding onto the centre front, neckline along the hems and part of the side seams. I folded my binding to the inside so it can't be seen from the outside. So with this in mind I used a couple of different colours"

"After the bias binding I sewed the arm seams and side seams, I decided to use a slightly bigger seam allowance to make some hand stitching easier afterwards. This was maybe a mistake as it made the jacket a teeny bit snug hence why I would go up one size if I made it again. Once the side seams were sewn I folded the seams in towards the fabric and hand stitched these all down. I think this is a lovely finish. To finish my jacket off I hand sewed a PinkCoatClub label which said "This Took Ages". I think it was very appropriate! "

Check out my Rebekah's Instagram SewNo65 for more photos, click here for her blog post. 

If you have any paintings, crafts, sewing projects or any other creative and artistic things you would like to share, please contact cdonaldson@serc.ac.uk.