The last day

On my last day I felt a bit sad to be leaving my Hand and Lock family but I was determined to finish the 15 gold work kits and the rest of the badges that needed touching up.

Now that I had the golden felt I could prick and pounce my design and cut out 15 pairs of the design ready to be sewn down. I also had to pack 15 sets of needles making sure that they all had the different types for different materials. 

                                               

The last of the badges had to be touched up as some parts hadnt been sewn properally and I had to hand sew over the black felt. This took rather along time as I couldnt sew with double thread as it would break and frey very quickly and with double thread it knotted constantly. This was a bit of a rush as the client wanted 50 by 4pm. Eventually they all got sewn and completed and the client was happy with them all.

As it was my last day I bought a big Millies cookie to say thank you for taking me on and teaching me all sorts of different skills. 

I really felt like an equal and one of the team at hand and lock, never like an intern unpaid and useless. 

During my time at Hand and Lock I have learnt basic gold work, how to sew using lots of different materials and onto different fabrics. 

I am the master at unpicking and restitching suit linings. 

I have sewn onto shoes, bowler and flat hats. 

I have framed and re framed again and again, for tambour beading, feather sewing and monogramming. 

I have learnt how to be organised and organise a studio.

I have learnt about different sewing machines, computerised machines and their digitising software.

I have visited the Ritz, Sloane street, Savile row and many other exciting places in London. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Hand and Lock and would always recommend them as a company to work with either interning or as a business that needs some monogramming. Their work is always of such a high quality and they always try to cater to your needs. 

I feel sad about my time coming to an end but I have a lovely card and book to keep and hopefully they will have a big job requiring past interns (fingers crossed) 

More badges

Today I started making some more gold work sets ready for the classes coming up, I had to make 15 sets making sure that everything was equal and that each set had the right equipment. I also had to find some golden/ yellow felt to use for the padding as in the last set I used black and it can be seen if the gold work isn't sewn close together. 

I then had to help with an order of badges for a children's TV program as some had black threads that had gotten caught up in the machine. I just had to try and pull out and cut as much of the joining black threads as possible and as neatly as I could. This took a long time as there were a few that were very messy. 

                                       

As the badges wasnt of high priority I was given a gold work task to do. I had to sew extra pearl purl around the outline of the original square as some of the pile from the velvet had worn away and this piece would be use as part of an art work display and could not be used if in poor condition. 

 

The end is nigh

My time at hand and lock is coming to an end and I have very mixed feelings about this. Every day I wake up wondering what new or exciting thing I will be doing at work and who I will see. Even if I am so tired or feeling bunged up I always look forward to going in.

This week has been a sort of rounding off week, finishing off any tasks I started.

The beading samples that I did last week also had to be transferred to the fabric on the frame and all the sequins had to be tamboured before I could start beading the different sections.

  

 
 

I had to firstly tack out the outlines for the tambour beading as the designs were on the front of the fabric. Once all the sequins were tamboured I then had to match up all the beads so that there would be a big one for each middle ect. I had to use double thread throughout to make sure all the beads were secure and knot each section three times. This proved difficult as the beads were very close together and I had to knot on top as I couldn't turn the frame to knot on the back.

Once all the beading was complete I then had to turn the frame and cut away any messy knots and loose threads. This is when you find out how good and secure your beading is.

I could then start to unpin the fabric from the frame, I had to be careful as we had extended the frame using two planks, this meant that I had to make sure they were secure before taking out the nails. Then I could unpin the fabric being careful that the beads dont pull and get caught.

Badges

Today was all about sewing a lot of badges onto all sorts of different things.

Firstly I had to sew two large badges onto a gown making sure they are both straight and level. 

                                            

Because I had to sew this onto a gown with lining I had to firstly cut the stitches of the lining and sew behind this so my stitches wont be seen. Once the badges were sewn on I then had to find a similar thread and sew the lining back up. 

    

I had this baby sham design to stitch down onto a flat cap. To make sure that it was all in the correct position I first photocopied the design then pricked the outlines before putting pounce over the design to get the outlines on the hat. I had to make sure that I kept the design straight in line with the hat and central. 

Once I put the design onto the hat I could then frame it up. To do this I used this blue netting that can be cut off after everything had been sewn down. I just placed the netting into the hoop and tacked the hat to the netting as the hat would not fit into the hoop without being bent. 

I could then start to sew down parts of the design, I had to use a small needle and gold thread to match the badge. I didnt have to worry about my stitches being seen on the inside of the hat but I wanted to keep them neat and tidy as they would still be seen. 

 

 

When it had all been sewn down I then had to get some silver pearl purl and create a tiny halo to sew above the angel baby shams head. This had to be done in white thread and I also had to stretch the pearl purl slightly so that it could be neatly sewn down without the threads being seen. 

Now the blue netting can be removed. I firstly cut the larger bits off from the edges then inside the shapes so that it can eventually be pulled apart.

 

Time for a change

Now that the feathers had been completed the rest of the work that had piled up from the week had to be done.

it was a rush to get some bead work completed for a customer and to get all the gold work sets complete for the classes at the weekend.

                I had to bead the rest of this design with the remaining beads, following the outlines already made. This and the other design had to be done before the customer came to pick it up. only once this was done I could start the gold work packs.  

I had to make 15 gold work packs ready for the class at the weekend. This meant that I had to measure out the different materials making sure the packs had enough and that it was clearly labelled. 

Its finally finished

After the long days, evenings and the weekends the skirt is finally finished and just in time.


We were working on the sides of the pattern pieces filling in the outer edges, mainly black. This is when we ran out of feathers and had to wait for the company to bring us more. This meant that we had some parts of the skirt thinner than the rest which would have to be filled in with more fluffier feathers when they arrived.
This was very difficult to do as the thread would get caught in the surrounding feathers and you would need to use something to help move them out of the way. This would take a lot longer time than we have.

Once all the feathers were sewn I then had to take off two sides of the frame and flip it over so that I could cut out the tacking threads and neaten off the back. Then rest of it could be taken off the rest of the frame and put to the side.

Hopefully the skirt will be shown as a full garment in march when it goes on tour and the stop motion film taken by hand and lock will be shown. This film is a sped up version of us all sewing the final stages of the skirt. 

On to colour

Still working on the feathers and the studio is a mess. Were all always tired and practically living off sugary drinks but the end is in sight.

We are now onto the gradient and the skirt is coming to life. We are having to work closer together to get as much done as quickly as possible so that the frame can be re stretched and the sides of the pattern can be started.

I also had to pop to John Lewis to get more coloured thread that matched the feathers as there would be more of us working on the frames. 

The feathers are ordered by number, and are sorted into bunches. To make the gradient two coloured feathers are mixed together in a bunch of 12. Black is mixed with the darker purple for a number of rows then the purples are mixed together ect. This creates an even gradient on all the pieces.

Work dosnt stop at the weekend

Normally my weekend is either spent exploring London or working at home sewing some lingerie samples.

This weekend I went to Hand and Lock and spend my days sewing down more feathers. A lot of previous interns studying in London also came to help sew and we had a lot of people working all hours to help finish the skirt.

My first task was to help set up the last frame then get to sewing.

Although I did work lates during the week to help sew more feathers I felt like coming in at the weekend would benefit the head embroider and show my dedication to the company.

I really enjoy working with everyone and when you are all sewing and talking or joking about the times goes quickly and it can be very therapeutic.

Sometimes when you have to work isn't in your control and you must attend even as an intern, this was voluntary but as much as everyone else did I wanted to see the skirt finished.

Day 3 and 4

The feathers continue...

So far we have one frame set up and our deadline to finish all the pieces is next Wednesday. I decided to come in early to help them set up the next frame so that more of us could get working on them.

When setting up a frame you have to pin both ends of the fabric to wooden poles, using a lot of pins. then each person takes a strip of vilene to roll the fabric in on its self, staying protected by the vilene. This rolling process need to be done equally and you need to ensure that the fabric isn't getting crumpled or caught as its being rolled. 

Once this is done you then slide wood to connect the two wooden poles and stretch, using a metal rod to keep it all in place. Then strips of fabric are used to wrap around the wood again stretching the fabric you are working on, keeping it all taught. 

Day 2

Today was my full day sewing down the feathers, we had to sort them out in bunches of twelve and stitch them down facing the opposite direction. We would then bend the feathers back to the correct direction and stitch down another three times.

This skirt has been commissioned by the British government to promote British designers and will be shown around the world on a tour starting in Shanghai. 

And it begins

Today a big suitcase full of fabric and feathers arrived into the studio. I had no idea what was in store for us until the sewing began.

We had been given a small image for how the feathers should be sewn down and the skirt pattern pieces. My task was to help cut out the fabric and tack the edges of the pattern pieces, then to remove the paper and tack inside the piece as we had two layers of organza and this way they both would stay secure and not move.

We had to make a grid to work out where the feathers would go. This involved drawing a lot of dots, working out the distances and re working them out.

The dots had to be 4 by 4 cm apart, in the right direction.

Once this grid was done and correct I then had to lay the fabric over the top and use a silver pen to mark out the dots. This would be where we sew each bunch of feathers. 

There were four pattern pieces so I had to tack out the piece and secure it down then mark out the dots for each piece. 

Just an average day

Today was spent just generally helping out at the studio with customer tasks and in-between working on my own beading sample.

A customer asked us to fix her beaded cardigan which was missing some beads and others were very loose. I went through the bead room and looked to find any matching beads. I then had to unpick the lining of the cardigan before starting to re-secure the beads and sew extras to any bald spots.

     

I also helped do the placement of these napkins which were being used for a dinner party.  I just had to measure the distances and secure it ready to be placed onto the machine.

The rest of my time was spent working on my beading sample, I was given some gold work materials to play around with which I could use to create some different shapes and textures related to the sea theme.

Tidy Studio

As hand and lock had a reshuffle in staff we decided that the studio needed a sort out too. This not only will make things easier but will help any interns or new people who want to know where things are kept.

There is a room called the bead room filled to the roof with boxes of beads, not all these boxes are full however and this needed to be sorted too.

I was given the empty boxes and a lot of beads that were stored in the studio and my task was to sort them, rename the boxes and to tie some beads on the front of the box so they are easily recognisable.

  

 I also had a knotted pile of beads and sequins that didn't match any boxes and these had to be sorted. I was to re string the beads and sequins to a smaller length ready for tambour beading classes. Any bits that cant be used for tambour go into separate bags to be sold to customers.