All items by SewnSewElegantly

A fabric hoarding, craft making, sew-a-holic

Hello lovely buyers, it's Lisa here. I would like to share with you, a little background history into how I started SewnSewElegantly.

My love for creating and making started from a school age, where I studied art and textiles technology. I still remember the very first item that I made, it was a cushion with an appliqued lobster on a tie-dyed background. I had to convince my teacher that I had made it and not my mother, so it must have been okay!

From school, I went on to study art at a-level and then a further art diploma course, where it became apparent that my true passion lay with textiles and textile design. My tutor convinced me that all my projects had a fashion element to them, so I applied to join a fashion degree course. For my 19th Birthday, my parents bought me my first basic sewing machine and off I went to university to study fashion design. After a year of studying fashion design, I realised that it was not the right area of design for me and so I left.

My sewing machine was then packed up and stored in the loft, until about six years ago, when I revived it! In, the meantime, I had spent ten years in sales, working at an opticians. Then I got a job as a rehabilitation therapy assistant, working for the NHS, rehabilitating elderly falls patients. It was during this time that something traumatic happened to me and I started to show signs of PTSD. My boyfriend knew that I was creative and liked making things, so he suggested that I should start making gifts for friends and family. It was a great distraction from what I was experiencing personally and reinvigorated my passion for sewing. I started by making my nieces some Nemo inspired cushion covers and then an aboriginal inspired table cloth for my boyfriend's mum.

I haven't stopped sewing since then........

Fast forward six years, my sewing machine has been upgraded - twice! I have watched thousands of sewing tutorials and have become a more experienced and confident creator. I have taken over one of the spare bedrooms and claimed it as my sewing room, much to my boyfriends delight. Cupboards are overflowing with fabric collections, ready for turning into gorgeous bags and homewares.

As you have previously read about me, I am not a fashion designer, so I hear you asking, what do you make? Well, I am passionate about creating beautiful homewares, such as; cushion covers, door stops and draught excluders and have recently started to experiment with bag making. My bag making started off quite simple, with tote bags, washing bags and knitting bags and has progressed to crossbody satchel bags and shoulder handbags.

I love using natural, quality materials where possible, which originally led me to using Harris Tweed for my products. I was really taken with the history behind Harris Tweed and how it is made, preserving ancient traditions. Harris Tweed is a woven wool fabric, which is only made in the Outer Hebrides, the Islands to the West of Northern Scotland. I also like to use 100% cotton fabrics and have recently started working with a cork leather fabric. Cork is a tree bark, mainly produced in Portugal. The finished product can be natural or it can have a design printed onto it, which then has either a cotton or polyester backing added to it, so that it is pliable and can be used for sewing projects. Cork is a really good environmentally friendly, sustainable fabric to use. Cork's natural water resistant properties, means that products made from this fabric will be both durable and long-lasting!

That's pretty much my story and where I am today, trying to provide an income for myself, doing something that I am passionate about and hopefully creating products that you enjoy and love.

Thank you for spending the time getting to know me, I really appreciate it!

Take care,
Lisa x

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