Changing tack - Montrose Rope & Sail

Textiles. What do you think of when you hear the word? Knitting? Lacemaking? Sewing lessons at school? A pretty patchwork quilt perhaps? Certainly in my lifetime, fabric-related study has always had female connotations. Fabrics are soft. Fabrics are comforting. Fabrics are feminine. We forget that fabrics are also technical, robust, waterproof, fire-retardant, life-saving. They are engineered, developed and researched as well as crafted, stitched and stroked. Your Macintosh coat and Hunter wellies (both Scottish brands) were the result of robust experimentation in the laboratory and on the battle field. 

All this came to mind on a recent visit to Montrose Rope & Sail, a Scottish manufacturer with a textile heritage going back over 200 years. Founded in 1789 the company first served the fishing industry, making ropes and sails that could withstand the rough conditions out in the middle of the ocean. As the Scottish fishing fleet diminished the company had to change tack and the Paton family, who took over the business in the early 1900's have since made a name for themselves in the North Sea Oil & Gas Industry. Literally thousands of oil workers have been kitted out for the rigours of life on the rigs by Montrose Rope & Sail. Everything from bags to giant tarpaulins designed to protect monster drilling machines -  you name it, MR&S can make it. 

Of course the times they are a-changing and as the offshore oil sector braves challenging commercial conditions, Montrose Rope & Sail is adapting yet again - and this time they're braving the stormy seas of the fashion world. 

Whilst  visiting Montrose Rope and Sail I noticed a metre-high tarpaulin rope storage bag that's used on the rigs. The shape really appealed to me and so I approached the company with a similar design for a smaller multifunctional bag which can be used for shopping, laundry, the beach or picnics. It's really robust and can be chucked in and out of the car or hauled around on public transport without breaking whilst its flat bottom means it doesn't tip over. I didn't want anything with bells and whistles on it, just something simple, practical and robust. My Mother was born in Montrose and so it's an added bonus for me to be able to support a local company which employs local craftspeople to create a local product.

The new bag is available in a range of finishes. Please contact me for further details!

Email: maryjanemillinery@hotmail.co.uk

A special millinery make for Easter & a workshop!

It's time I gave you something pretty to make - just in time for Easter. And no, I'm not talking about an Easter bonnet....they're sooooo two centuries ago! Instead I give you the Spring flower hairpin which you can create in abundance and scatter through your hair however you choose. These flowers are crafted using a vintage technique that I discovered when I purchased a 1930's satin nightdress-case a few years back. The flowers had been worked in pale pink ribbon, but I prefer something more vivid and real looking, so this is my modern take on the technique. I hope you like it. Please share your pics on my Chic on a Shoestring Book Facebook page. I'd love to see the flowers you come up with.

You'll need. Cotton organdie fabric (I get mine from The Cloth House on Berwick Street in London) - 25cm will make lots of flowers. Scissors, needle and thread, felt-tip pins, hairpins, a scrap of felt, and a gluegun. A small paintbrush and some water.

Cut your organdie into strips around 40cm long and 5cm wide. Then fold in half along the length. Use the felt-tip pens to add colour along once side and blend using some water and the paintbrush. Allow to dry.

Use a double thread with a knot on the end and stitch as shown along the raw edge for about 6/7cm then gather up the thread to make a petal. Repeat the process to make a second petal.

Continue all the way along the strip until you have made several petals just like the strip below. Don't worry about it curling up. It will naturally do that.

Arrange the petals in a circle as shown stitching through the centre to hold in place.

Make a little loop of thread and form into a figure of eight as shown.

Stitch into the centre of your flower and chop through the ends of the two loops. This creates stamens. You can scrunch the flower in your hand to give it more of a textured finish. The organdie will hold the shape well.

Use the glue gun to stick each flower to a hairpin and cover with a tiny circle of felt on the back.

Pop in your hair and celebrate the Spring! 

If you'd like to learn lots more about this method and create a unique floral millinery headpiece using other vintage techniques, then sign up for my workshop taking place on Saturday 2nd April at my friends' beautiful Scottish wildflower farm - Scotia Seeds in Farnell (near Montrose in Angus). It costs £55 for the day all in, and there will be homemade soup for lunch and endless tea and coffee! 

For further details please email me: maryjanemillinery@hotmail.co.uk - it would be lovely to see you there. 

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Sew-on-the go workshops!

Sew-on-the-go!

Photo: Carol Weiss

Bambi and myself are ready, able and willing to come to your event with our pop-up workshops. Wether you fancy creating beautiful brooches for your wedding, want to make fun and frivolous floral tissue-paper crowns with the kids or learn to make a millinery masterpiece - we'll take on anything! Prices from £25 per person plus travel. 

Contact: maryjanemillinery@hotmail.co.uk for further details.

Photo: Carol Weiss

Photo: Carol Weiss