A Stitching Odyssey: Millinery mantra - Roll and stretch!

Yesterday was a lot of fun! I hosted a modest blogger gathering (my first ever) instigated by the bubbly Dibs (Dibs and the Machine), who had a burning desire to share some of the millinery skills she's picked up during a recent series of classes. We were also joined by the wonderful Mela (Pincushion Treats) and Kat (Krafty Kat).

After lunch, Dibs expertly got down to business showing us how to roll sinamay strips cut on the bias – sinamay is always cut on the bias for millinery apparently. Our mantra was simple, 'Roll and stretch!' Simple to say, but not necessarily to do. Sinamay can be brittle to roll, but if you wet it too much it can turn a little sloppy. Dibs did try to help us by likening the technique to rolling a cigarette, which was lost on a bunch of non-smokers. Haha!

However, after a bit of goofing around...

...and a lot of concentration...

...we did it! To our disbelief, we each produced a darling, little fascinator - thanks to Dibs' expert tuition and much-needed patience. Pretty cool, eh!?! We all went for bows, which are super cute and more importantly...easy enough to make ;o)

Kat and Dibs making a statement with their beautiful fascinators.

Mela showing off her more delicate creation. Talking of creations, I just had to include a full-body shot so you can swoon over Mela's newest sewing project - Ava blouse from Victory Patterns - which she hasn't even blogged about yet...that's how exclusive this scoop is! Isn't it just perfect!?! The combination of black polka dot mesh together with the mustard is divine!

I chose to wear my fascinator in a rather unconventional way, after deciding it didn't suit me to the side. I'm hoping it's more 1950s rockabilly than 1980s Madonna! 

The whole gang wishing we had a wedding to gatecrash!

The day was a complete success, made even sweeter thanks to lots of cuddles from the happiest baby ever, Dibs' seriously squeezable Noah!

Leicester-based Kat and I were delighted to have visitors from London, so a big 'thank you' to Dibs and Mela for making the journey up and for brightening our weekend. And an extra special 'thank you' to Dibs for being so generous with her newly-acquired knowledge and skills. If you're interested in millinery at all, I suggest you follow Dibs' beautifully documented journey on her blog. I know yesterday's session has whetted my appetite for more!