Bambi Goes to the Museum

Imagine taking your campervan right inside the inner sanctum of a very famous museum. Wouldn't it be something of an adventure? A rarity? An outright impossibility? Take a look at the pictures below. I know it might seem hard to believe, but there is Bambi - aka The Mobile Makery - looking very much part of the scene at The Imperial War Museum in Salford! But what were we doing there?

At the moment, IWM North is showing Fashion on the Ration. I saw the exhibition twice down in London and was really impressed. It's all about street style during WWII and how innovative and thrifty women in particular proved to be when it came to devising a wardrobe that was smart, attractive and functional at a time of austerity and rationing. Make-do and mend was the order of the day back then and being something of a modern make-do and mender myself, I was invited to offer a thrifty creative workshop to visitors. Not only that, but Bambi -  my upcycled craft studio on wheels, was to be a star of the show for a special weekend at the start of June.

It was incredible to see peoples' reactions to Bambi. Many of the visitors couldn't quite understand what a campervan was doing at IWM. I had to explain the link between modern upcycling and the wartime ethos of make-do and mend. But once people got it - they were hooked - hopping on board to have a look at Bambi's upcycled interior and decorative touches. Two teenage girls couldn't quite believe that I really DO travel around in Bambi putting on creative pop-up workshops and speaking about how to make beautiful stuff out of throwaway trash! 

My take on this for the museum was to offer workshops turning old T-shirts into turbans - the sort of headwear that was worn by the women working in the munitions factories during the Second World War. I think it's fair to say that some of the ladies who came along are now ADDICTED to turbans!

My weekend at the museum was over all too quickly. Staff had really taken to Bambi - who'd almost become a living character in their eyes! Bambi often has this affect on people.

Special thanks to all the museum staff and to our lovely mechanic who had to drain Bambi of petrol, take out the gas cyclinder and battery and put everything back again perfectly so that we could drive back to Scotland without a hitch!

Do go and see Fashion on the Ration at IWM North. It's on until May 2017. Also accompanying the exhibition is a marvellous book of the same name by author Julie Summers and if you want to make your own thrifty and stylish  turban, you'll find it in my book Chic on a Shoestring.

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Finn's Rag Rug

My fabulous nine year old assistant Finn has a real eye for style!

He came up with this brilliant idea for a rag rug hat - which I might just have to steal.

See the video below of Finn making a rug - which proves just how easy it is!

Thankyou Finn.

x

Rag Rug Tutorial 2

The second part of my rag rug making tutorial.
You can either make one big rug - or sew together lots of smaller ones.
Ideal for kids!

Let me know how you get on!

maryjanemillinery@hotmail.co.uk

Rag Rug Tutorial 1

How to get started on your weekend rag rug

Make a weekend rag rug with Mary Jane

Use your rug to add a splash of crafty colour!

When I approached the Imperial War Museum in Salford about working with local schools in connection with their new Fashion on the Ration exhibition which opens shortly, I was sent a series of quotes from local people about their experiences of making-do and mending during WWII. One man remembered weaving a carpet using old clothes and sheets, and it provided the perfect inspiration for this project. Now, there are lots of rag-rug making methods out there already but not many are suitable for young children. So after consulting Finn, my cousin's nine year old son, we devised this method which I'd like to share with you. I've made the rug above which is 70cm in diameter by doing a couple of rows a night over the last week - but you could easily make this in a weekend - especially if you employ child labour! See below for start-up instructions and cost-cutting ideas. Then take a look at the videos by myself and Fin which will follow next on the blog to help you get started. I'd love to see what you make. Please get in touch if you'd like to do a workshop with the Mobile Makery. We'll travel far and wide! maryjanemillinery@hotmail.co.uk

First you need to gather your supplies. To make your upcycled rug, you'll need LOTS of old clothes, pillowcases, sheets etc. To give you an idea of quantities, the blue jeans stripe in my rug is made out of one pair of old jeans. Don't use anything that you think will fray too much, although some fraying is inevitable. You'll need sharp scissors, a curtain ring, and an old dolly clothes peg. Tape up the end of the clothes peg as shown. It will act as a giant needle.

I love a bit of creative serendipity - and when I realised I needed lots of  old curtain rings for this project - they came from totally unexpected sources. A friend gave me a few that she'd had lying around for ages and then I also enquired at a local charity shop. Hey presto - I was given a huge bag full for a small donation. It's always worth asking! However, worried I'd still not have enough curtain rings for some 150 children another friend Philippe suggested cutting a plastic pipe into slim circles. Et voila! Here he is doing just that. What a star! Obviously only attempt this if you know what you're doing. 

Sand the rings down and you've got yourself a bargain. The pipe only cost £5.75....

So now you need to prepare your fabric. Cut it into strips that are around 3cm wide and no more than a metre long (any longer and the children will get tangled up) and make a small hole at each end so you can thread the strips together. This joining technique will be demonstrated in my first video.

Now it's time to get started - so have a look at the videos which follow next on my blog. Rag Rug School Help 1 & 2. There's also a video of Finn using the technique. I now employ him on a regular basis and pay him in jelly beans!

In a weekend - you'll have made yourself a rug! Good luck! 

We'll see how the schoolchildren do when I work with them next week in Manchester.

Upsize a leather skirt the MJ way!

Whilst visiting Edinburgh this weekend I picked up a great bargain from one of my favourite vintage shops -  Armstrongs in the Grassmarket. I purchased a red leather thrifted skirt. It cost me just £10.

There was just one problem.

It didn't fit!

Two choices: alter it or diet.

I say NO to diets!

Well, the skirt fitted well on the hips, but the waist was tiny. I just couldn't do it up. It had also obviously been worn by someone a little bigger beforehand, as the waistband was warped. However, it was such a good bargain, I felt I just had to buy it and give it a go. I considered taking it to be altered as it was leather and I wasn't sure I could manage the job myself, and then I thought: 'come on MJ - call yourself a make-do-and-mender? What are you doing? You should absolutely do this job yourself. It's not as if you're run off your feet at the moment - and besides, an alteration will cost twice as much as the skirt itself!'

It didn't look an easy job. As well as having a fair few seams, the skirt was lined and had a fitted waistband with a button. I measured my waist and the skirt waistband. Ahem. There was a good 3.5 inches difference. There was no way I would find enough leather at the bottom of the skirt to add to the waistband, and besides, with the number of seams, and the zip, it would be far too complicated.

And so...I decided to remove the waistband altogether, and see if there was some way of expanding the waist without it. I used a stitch unpicker, and in fact, it came away really easily.

I realised that without the waistband, the leather was actually quite stretchy, held firmly by the lining. I decided to undo the lining from the top of the skirt, trim it down slightly, fold over the top edge and tack it down. Then I would be able to slip the tacked lining back underneath the leather edge of the skirt, turn the leather back on itself by half an inch and hopefully stitch it all down again whilst skimming the top of the zip. That would certainly make the waistband bigger, but would it be enough? It's not easy to pin leather but I had a go, and by doing so was able to try the skirt on. And it seemed to fit pretty well.

Using a leather needle on the sewing machine and by taking it very slowly, I managed to stitch around the top edge fairly neatly. The leather stuck a bit to the plate beneath the machine needle so I had to guide it through carefully, especially over the bulky seams.

I then added a hook and eye at the top of the zip to stop it from coming undone.

Here you can see the inside. It's not perhaps a couture finish, but dear reader, it works!

Here you can see just how much bigger the skirt is now.

And by George - it fits pretty well!

Tah dah! Fitted leather skirt £10. Leather needles £1.20. Hook and eye around 10p. Total cost £11.30. Plus I feel really pleased that I managed to do it myself. Satisfaction guaranteed.

XX

Beachcomber Grotto Pot

I'm currently living up in the town of Montrose on the North East coast of Scotland. There is a beautiful beach here and when the tide is out, you can walk for miles. I'm always on the look-out for interesting things brought in by the waves - shells, pebbles and driftwood for instance. Last week when I was feeling particularly low, the sea gave me a really generous present. Washed up on the sand were lots of broken plates and bits of crockery. I didn't have a bag with me, but nonetheless, I gathered them all up, grateful for the unexpected gift. 

It's the one and only time I've seen this sort of stuff washed up in Montrose, but elsewhere I've been luckier. A few years ago I stayed on Tanera in the Summer Isles on the West coast of Scotland, and was always finding broken bits of china and sea glass along the shoreline. I remember making a mosaic mirror frame with the pieces I found, and I decided to do something along the same lines again.

Once home, I washed and dried the crockery, and laid out lots of old newspaper. Then I  wrapped the ceramic in an old tea towel so that I could smash the pieces up one by one. Very theraputic. I also used tile nippers to give more shape to the pieces as I worked and to remove the sharpest points. ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES when smashing up and shaping your bits of china. You might also want to wear protective gloves. When you've finished breaking up the bits put them onto a clean bit of newspaper and carefully wrap and throw away anything you don't want in the old tea towel. Clean any surfaces with damp kitchen towel.

As well as the china I found on the beach, I added in a couple of charity shop plates bought locally for a couple of pounds. I needed a bit of brightness for the mosaic.

For my base I used a cheap terracotta flower pot and then bought a tub of all-in-one tile adhesive and grout. Using half an old clothes peg as a spatula, I stuck the broken pieces onto the pot one by one. I probably used a bit too much adhesive/grout to start with. It's better just to blob and stick the bits on one by one I think. As I worked, I also added in a few little ceramic favours or fèves that I found at brocantes in France during my Mobile Makery trip in the summer. These little figures come in all sorts of different designs and are hidden inside the Galette des Rois - a traditional cake brought out to celebrate the Epiphany. The person who finds the favour inside his or her slice of cake gets to wear a crown and make a wish!

As you can see, the pot looked a little rough and ready after the first 24 hours of drying - a bit like a crazy Christmas cake with too much icing! But then I grouted it carefully using a damp sponge, gently scraping back some of my over-enthusiastic gluing. I'm really pleased with the final result below, and it's a lovely momento of my walks along the beach in Montrose. A great idea for your own holidays.

XX

Mollie Makes Extra

A  big thankyou to the team at Mollie Makes magazine for the lovely feature about my Mobile Makery which was published on 4th February in issue 63. Hurrah! As a huge Mollie Makes fan, it's a real privilege to be in the mag itself. Also a round of applause and a shout out for Caro Weiss who took all the lovely photographs. If you're getting married this year, then do check out her website. She does AMAZING wedding photography too. Also thanks to Fiona Guest and Giles Laverack for letting us use their beautiful Scotia Seeds farm as a location. They are the UK's premier producer of native Scottish wildflower seeds and do incredible work ensuring the continuation of these species. I hope you enjoyed the magazine feature. Here are a few extra photos to give you another peek at my upcyled Mobile Makery - aka Bambi!

Remember you can book Bambi for your own events or book me to run a workshop for you and your friends in Bambi.

Contact: maryjanemillinery@hotmail.co.uk

xx

Immersed in making in my Scottish hideway

Since I began my Scottish sojourn (let's call it my maker's retreat) I've been busy coming up with ideas and projects for my new book Vintage Vacation based on my travels in the Mobile Makery. It sounds idyllic I know - far away from the madding crowd - cutting, sticking and stitching. I  realise you won't believe me but it does have its drawbacks! It's chilly and a bit lonesome and I'm not quite sure how long I can afford the luxury of not earning day-to-day. I'm lucky in that I have a very kind brother letting me stay with him for a while. But, I need to sort out the cash flow - fast! 

My 5am starts for shifts on the foreign desk at the BBC in London seem a long time ago already, but I miss my friends and colleagues enormously. The day-to-day dramas, deadlines and banter do give you an energy and focus that you can lack when you're working on your own with no reason to hurry. It's all too easy to become disconnected from what's going on in the world. For instance,  I've not been listening to the Today programme at all. Shock Horror! It used to be my regular wake-up call but now I switch it off if my brother puts it on. I've come to realise that being hit with bad news on a global scale every morning isn't necessarily the way to stay upbeat and positive! I'm not saying you should cut yourself off entirely, but pick and choose your moments, curate your listening, viewing and reading. Too much information can be a bad thing.

But onto more creative matters....!

Here below is a sneak preview of some of the makes I've been working on. I'm using largely recycled materials to create a host of projects that I hope will please both stylish nomads and home-loving hoarders!

Anyway - time for lunch so I must be off! Food is always a deadline worth sticking to ! x