By far the best bit of my job as an embroiderer is working on commissions. I love the totally random ideas that people approach me with - in the past I've embroidered a wedding apron (to protect the bride's dress during the afterparty), a map of the UK, dried leaves, table runners... the list goes on! The process of working with a customer to bring their idea to life brings me so much joy!!
The process of a commission
Every commission usually begins with an out of the blue email along the lines of "I've got this idea, do you think you could bring it to life?" This particular commission was for Leigh and Bee (aka @acquiringanother and @sundayy_club) - they wanted a pair of bridal jackets inspired by the Bowie lyrics in Labyrinth. I was especially excited for two reasons: 1) I love Bowie, and 2) I've been gagging to embroider some bridal jackets for years!
Once we'd got through the initial excited messages back and forward, Leigh and Bee sourced their own jackets and sent them to me, along with an initial sketch of what they were hoping for the embroidery to look like. We discussed the pros and cons of using different methods for the large lightning bolts on the back of the jackets and eventually decided on applique (sewing or sticking pieces of fabric in different shapes onto a larger piece of fabric to form a picture or pattern).
I ordered in some cotton poplin in the necessary shades of red and electic blue, and set aside a day to focus on the making!
A day of crafting!
I planned to do these jackets at the end of November, which also happens to be smack bang in the middle of Christmas Chaos for me, so I took special care to make it a lovely crafty respite day! I lit my fancy candle and played some Bowie.
I started with the lightning bolts for the back of the jackets. I cut out a stencil and then pinned out the shapes in fabric, ironing as I went along. All the sharp edges and corners were tricky, and this bit took a lot longer than anticipated!
Next, I pinned the bolts in place onto the jackets and used the sewing machine to stitch them into place. Luckily I had exactly the right colours of thread in my box (such a stroke of luck as I had totally forgot to plan this bit!)
Once the bolts were done, I breathed a BIG sigh of relief - the scary bit was over and there was just embroidery left. I sketched out the lettering in chalk pencil and then, using six strands of white DMC embroidery thread, I finished it off.
Photography by Jessica Stott
Wedding day
Leigh and Bee had the most gorgeous wedding day, all photographed by Jessica Stott. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to create something so meaningful for them both to wear at such a special time. THANK YOU!
Photography by Jessica Stott
Photography by Jessica Stott
Got an idea?
"If you have the spark of an idea, Claire has the creativity, passion and talent to make it a reality."- Georgina Sheehan (Google review)
If there's something you'd like to have embroidered, or an idea that you're itching to bring to life but don't know how, please feel free to get in touch or have a look at some other commission work of mine here.