I'm really pleased with the results. It looks all romantic, doesn't it? I'm not sure if the colour would hold up against washing so it might not be the best for clothing. I'm learning more and more about natural dyes and printing my own fabric and am so excited to be using some of it in the collection I'm working on.

Emerald top.

Florence dress.

Daphne dress.

Trixie top.

I finally shot a bunch of photos to go with my Only A Sunny Smile (SS13) collection. These photos where taken so I could release the collection into my shop, but back in March there wasn't much sun to do a nice summery looking shoot.

I had so many different plans for where to do it but the weather wasn't right or I couldn't get people together, so it got put off and off, and then I thought I should give up and just concentrate on getting my next collection shoot done.

However, with this usually consistent hot weather we've been having I just felt it was now or never. So today I shot 2 rolls of film on my film camera, the sun was shining and the fields where golden brown, it felt almost like we were in Italy! The films have been developed and I'm so happy with the results - I was panicing that they would all be a fuzzy blur - and I'll be sharing the proper look book with you over the next few days.

The collection is already available to buy in my shop here and Etsy here.

I am working on a post about the 'ethical' and 'sustainable' side of my work, in which choosing fabrics plays a fundamental part. For now though I am going to talk you through my fabric choices for the spring summer collection 'Only A Sunny Smile'.

Having a very particular idea in my head of how I wanted this collection to look (rather than starting with the fabrics and working from there) meant that this collection involved a hell of a lot of research into what would be the best fabrics. I have already learnt so much over the past few years about the making of fabric and done a lot of reading into ethical fabrics and ones that don't damage the environment or people making them, but often things can get confusing and everyone seems to be saying different things! I ended up using only a few different fabrics for the whole collection.

Organic Cotton Sateen:
This fabric is great! Made from GOTS certified organic cotton it is soft and lovely to work with. I bought it in plain white and then hand dyed it myself in small quantities. This means I can know that no harmful chemicals have been used. It does mean that one batch may slightly vary from the next, but I think that's part of the charm in having a hand made garment. I used this material for my Madeline dress and used the same technique but dying organic cotton jersey for my Emerald top.

Velveteen:
Now, for this fabric I broke my rule of only using natural fibres, and unfortunately it is synthetic. I knew in my mind exactly what fabric I wanted to use for my Dahlia dress, in fact this was the first dress I designed for this collection, and based everything else around, and I had so much difficultly finding the perfect fabric. I first looked into using old cotton velvet, reusing vintage pieces I found on eBay or even curtains, but this couldn't work, I needed something soft and drapey and plain cotton velvet is too stiff and wouldn't look good. Then I found beautiful velvet made from a viscous/silk mix, the actual fabric is stunning, however, viscous, although originating from wood, is created using a method that is polluting, dangerous and uses a lot of water. Silk also, it pretty intense, it is made from the cocoons of silk worms, and they farm and kill them, not particularly nice. Another reason I didn't want to use this fabric is that it is not able to touch water and has to be dry cleaned. I want my clothing to be wearable and nobody likes paying big dry cleaning bills. When I was in Paris in January I stumbled across the exact fabric I imagined. It was a difficult decision for me to make to use this fabric, I love the look and feel of it, but I'd really like to know if anyone has any solutions for buying velvet type fabrics that can match these man-made ones in feel but not production?

Liberty Print Tana Lawn: 
I knew I wanted to use Liberty fabrics for this collection. The quality of them is amazing, they feel soft and light for wearing in the summer months, and the floral prints just scream English summer time. Although not organic, I emailed Liberty and it is printed within the UK. Being 100% cotton means it is lovely to wear, also, it is not too stiff like other cottons so is very easy to take care of. I have used Liberty print bias binding throughout the whole collection to neaten edges and finish things off, I made this all in my studio and it adds a lovely touch to the garments, even if you can't see it from the outside! I used Liberty tana lawn for the Trixie top, Florance and Daphne dresses and the Rosie playsuit.

I am sorry for this rather wordy post, look at the pretty pictures I took of all the Liberty print fabrics when I was buying mine though! I hope you find this post interesting and a little insight into the process of choosing the right materials. I'm already stocking up on organic cotton and British wool for my autumn winter collection. If anyone has any advice on buying more ethical/environmental fabrics I'd really love to hear it! I think it's pretty important we look after this amazing planet we call home.

Photography - Beci McDonald

Model - Ljiljana Pajovic

Styling - Isabel Knowles

Yesterday I woke up & there was snow on the ground. A little bit silly considering we were due to shoot the Spring Summer collection, but we packed up the heaters & set off to take the photos. It was a really fun & freezing day. I am so grateful for Lilj my beautiful model & Beci my talented photographer (bottom middle photo - Beci is actually crouching down, but they height difference was pretty extreme), oh & Rob the general help & tea maker, for being such troopers & I am so excited to see the results. It's not easy to look warm & summery when you are half naked in an icey barn but Lil did the job so wonderfully & all the garments suited her a real treat.

Later this week I will release the collection for sale in my Etsy shop & my online store. I'll also be posting a few posts here about the thoughts behind the collection, the fabrics I have used, pieces I have not ended up including & other ramblings...

 Hello lovelies!

Here are some pictures of my SS13 sketch book. I always have a bit of a funny relationship with my sketch book, I hated doing sketch books as part of my work in school & college & I think this put me off for a long time. I always have my note book with me but it ends up just full of lists & calculations. When I was in London a few weeks ago I decided to buy a nice simple A4 book in which I could really concentrate on my Spring Summer collection & I've loved having something to sketch in. I am also trying to practice my fashion illustration & get a 'style'. I'm by no means there yet, but practice makes perfect. I've really missed drawing, & I'm so happy to start it up again.

Also, we rearranged our bedroom so now we have the desk in the window, so no excuse not to sit & draw in this lovely spot.