Heart of Huddersfield ’21 Garment Makes - Step into Nature with Forever Green Emerald!
Carrying on chatting to our HOH makers, this week we’re sitting down with Chloe, our extremely talented developer of The Pattern Stash at Fabworks!
Chloe, why don’t you introduce yourself and tell us all our your Forever Green Emerald make!
"Hello! I’m Chloe, the designer and creator of The Pattern Stash; the new sewing patterns from Fabworks. I have made up a Jemima Waistcoat, this was the very first sewing pattern released, back in February 2021.
The sewing pattern was originally designed with HOH '20: Thistledown Marl in mind.
This year, as soon as I saw the HOH '21: Jewels of Yorkshire - Twill Meltons, I knew they would be absolutely stunning when made into a Jemima Waistcoat, the problem was always going to be which particular colour to choose!"
Your waistcoat pattern has been extremely popular, and we can totally understand why! Which colours and fabrics did you combine for this project?
"I decided to choose this year’s "Forever Green Emerald – Twill Melton"' alongside "Lush Mint - Herringbone" from the original HOH '19 Collection, because I wear a lot of greens and blues! The green also goes with a lot of items in my wardrobe because it's such a bold colour! I absolutely love the Equestrian style, so I chose to pair the waistcoat with a shirt, jeans and boots for the photoshoot."
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The combination of the two greens together is stunning, and the Jemima Waistcoat looks so lovely in such a bold colour!
Did you pre-wash your fabric before sewing with it?
"No, I didn't pre-wash before I started, because with a substantial wool fabric like this I wouldn’t wash this kind of garment once it’s made up. If I was making trousers, something that would be washed regularly, I’d probably do a gentle cool wool wash and then air dry. But with this fabric, I can easily spot clean my waistcoat if I need to."
Obviously, you've made your waistcoat a few times now, how did you find making it with the HOH fabrics?
"I loved sewing with the Twill Melton, cutting out the fabric was a dream because it's so stable, it makes it very easy to cut out. Sewing with the fabrics was also easy and enjoyable, the fabrics had slightly different weights meaning they pinned together easily along the sculpted panels of the pattern and didn't fight each other."
"Wools like this do as they are told because they are such good quality, especially when it comes to pressing and finishing!"
"I am delighted with my finished waistcoat; I’ve already worn it several times and had plenty of compliments on both the finish and the extraordinary colours of the two fabrics."
Are you currently working on another project, or have anything in mind to make next?
"As a designer I am always looking for my next project and when it comes to fabric, the ideas never end, I am so thrilled with my new waistcoat and I can’t wait to make more garments from the HOH '21 collection! I adore the 'Autumn Citrine' and I really like 'The Blazer' pattern from The Avid Seamstress, so maybe that will be my next project!"
What key advice would you give to anybody wanting to use our new Heart of Huddersfield fabrics?
"Do take your time cutting out and sewing to give neat, crisp results, this is actually quite easy to achieve with these fabrics. Use a good hot iron when pressing out to give neat and tidy edges.
I am biased of course, but I love our Heart of Huddersfield fabrics, so I'd always encourage you to use combinations of different fabrics, as they go hand in hand beautifully both in colour and weave!"
"I would urge anyone to give these fabrics a go because I don’t think they are intimidating other than perhaps the bold colours. But it’s very easy to damp down the bold colours with other patterns and shades from the Heart of Huddersfield collection. The Twill Meltons are stable, thanks to their twill weave, they have a good heavy drape perfect for outerwear and make the most beautiful, fitted garments like the Jemima Waistcoat."
Thank you so much for speaking with us Chloe, we really admire your incredible pattern drafting skills and that’s really shown in your beautiful Jemima Waistcoat!
Where can our lovely customers find more of your makes and your other sewing patterns?
"If you like this garment you can find more of my makes and sewing
patterns here at www.fabworks.co.uk, or you can follow me @thepatternstash on Instagram for plenty more tips and inspiration too!
I've even created a Winter Warmer Sewing Kit with everything you need to create the Jemima Waistcoat, featuring the Twill Melton collection plus perfect partners from the previous collections. It's the perfect starting point for creating your own Jemima Waistcoat!"