hilkat

I’ve had a really good run of flowers around the house lately, and decided to save all the lovely photos for one gigantic floral post. There will be a sad lack of blooming goodness around in the next couple of weeks, as my window sills are fit to bursting with propagators full of vegetable seedlings and pots of as-yet-to-flower geraniums for my hanging basket, so I thought I’d make up for it with a post packed full of petals…

I’ve always got a lot of different projects on the go at once, sewing, crocheting, painting, furniture renovation…. but I’ve finally got round to actually finishing two, which means this post is solely dedicated to the showing off my wares.

I proudly present, my first two finished crochet projects…..

The hat was a massive case of trial and error, and actually involved a lot of pattern adjustment - the instructions meant the hat turned out more like a beret than a beanie, and although that would be fine, I actually wanted a much smaller style hat.
The bird cushion started life as a table mat, but for some reason I ended up with far too many stitches, which meant that the edges curled - rather than unpick it, I folded it in half and was inspired by the shape to create a bird shaped cushion. The beak is just two triangles sewn on either side of the crochet piece that makes up the body, and the wing is a circle with increases at one end to create the pointed shape - the wing was the most difficult part to work out, as so far all I’ve ever done is follow patterns! I got there in the end though, and have to say I’m pretty pleased with both of them.

I now have visions of combining my love of fashion and crochet to make beaded, crocheted, woven jewellery and waistcoats. Now I just need to find a pattern….!

The best thing about working in fashion is that you’re automatically granted permission to dress as creatively and expressively as you like, throwing in individual touches here and there. As much as I adore spending every waking moment with my son, it’s certainly a breath of fresh air to wear something apart from chocolate-covered t-shirts and boyfriend-fit jeans three days of the week.

I’m currently having a huge love affair with the new Spring tailoring, particularly the wonderfully voluminous and architectural trousers that seem to be cropping up all over the high street recently. I’ve always been of the opinion that a successful outfit has to include one stand out piece, whether it’s a bold print, an oversize accessory, or an interesting piece of tailoring - and the new trousers certainly do not disappoint. A mix of peg leg and harem pants, they should be worn loose, tailored and with the highest of heels. Pick from full length lovelies that gather in a cuff on the ankle, or opt for the mid-calf length variety - team with a simple vest for Helmut Lang style cool.