gail sew glasgow and the making of her "red rose cropped jacket"
Hi folks! It is Julia here, popping in at the beginning of this guest blog to say that it is thrill to introduce you to Scottish designer, Gail McDonald, who is the founder of gail sew glasgow. Gail has been making and selling gorgeous, impeccably-crafted, custom garments with my fabric! Here Gail tells the story of the founding of her business and how she came to use my fabrics. Read her story in her own words below.
Written by Gail McDonald, founder of gail sew glasgow
Introducing red rose cropped jacket
Making clothes is my art. Each garment has its own journey and is born from the application of imagination and creative skill. This is the story of our red rose cropped jacket but first let me introduce our small business. In April of this year, after many months of planning and preparation, I took the leap from sewing hobby to sewing business. I had so many ideas for a sewing business but once I’d managed to distill my enthusiasm here’s where we landed!
So what is gail sew glasgow?
Modern garments and accessories suitable for all genders.
Handmade to order.
Ethos of minimum waste.
A select number of designs available in different fabrics and colourways.
Relaxed fit to enable comfortable style.
Currently size inclusive of bust/chest 32” to 45” approximately.
Discovering Julia Allisson Cost’s textiles
I love working with unusual textiles. For me it makes finished garments more unique and special. Which brings me to Julia Allisson Cost’s textiles!
Early last year I stumbled across Julia’s Instagram (@juliaallissoncost): I was instantly hooked! Floral delights from an incredible artist and textile designer in Hawaii! I instantly wanted to work with these beautiful original designs. My first order was yellow bouquet textile and a giant thistle panel. (This is the story of yellow bouquet textile, I will fill you in on giant thistle textile at a later date!). When the fabric arrived I loved exploring the detail close up. The non-repeating pattern giving rise to the real life nature effect. I also loved all the dark tones in the fabric making it versatile for different seasons. What really struck me was the *huge* roses – the scale is so unusual. They remind me of a ‘50th birthday’ rose bush my Grandpa had in his garden.
This rose grew in Gail’s grandfather’s garden and the Yellow Bouquet Textile reminds her of it! Picture of “Fab @ 50 Rose” from Country Garden Roses UK.
Exploring the potential of Yellow Bouquet Textile
My first creation with this fabric was the Simply Sew Magazine liberty dress. This project became the platform for exploring the detail in the textile.
I purposefully placed the pattern pieces to make sure the rose and daisy heads were well positioned on the final garment. A special quality of this textile is the combination of the large and small scale flowers which means that every part of a garment has an interesting detail.
The biggest revelation with this finished piece was realising the pretty yet edgy vibe: I’d found *my* vibe within the textile. I also learned how awesome it looked paired with red! I *knew* Yellow Bouquet Textile was going to be included in my garments to sell.
The cropped jacket
A cropped jacket is an all time favourite go to piece for me, so it was an obvious inclusion in my first range of garments. I worked with Linda Powell, a pattern cutter (@lindapowellpatterncutting), to bring my own cropped jacket design to life.
Sketch by @wildorchardsewing.
Once I had the pattern I was so excited to begin creating a yellow bouquet version!
You may be thinking why am I calling this a cropped jacket and not a ‘bomber jacket’ and it’s a great question. This style of jacket originates from the US army flight jacket and had largely become known as a ‘bomber’ jacket but I have never liked the term ‘bomber’ jacket, I guess for obvious reasons, so I wanted to drop that from our own range. Our small step in the progression of language!
Finalising the design
As I had already discovered yellow bouquet textile looked brilliant combined with red, I chose it as the contrast colour for the lower sleeves and yoke but needed to decide on fabric composition. As with more traditional art forms texture and light reflection impacts the end result. The cotton poplin of the yellow bouquet textile feels smooth and luxurious with a clean finish. I wanted a contrast fabric that would add interest and support the poplin but not compete with it: the matt brushed finish of the faux suede worked perfectly.
The pattern placement for each jacket is considered individually depending on the fabric cut and size of the pattern piece. One thing is for sure, every jacket has a large rose head so they are all a *main character*. The cotton poplin allows a beautiful clean finish to seams, pockets and the collar. The outer welt pockets are almost camouflaged in the detailed textile but close up add a smart and practical detail.
Internally, it has a cotton wadding inner for extra weight and warmth. It is fully lined with a red interior, no exposed seams, an internal double welt pocket and a woven brand label for a high end finish.
Next steps: Styling!
Initially when I created this piece I thought it would be best styled with black but it is way more versatile than that! It works with black, white, blue,*more* red, stripes, animal print and more. Check out my Instagram @gail.sew.glasgow for styling ideas or even better hit me up with your styling suggestions!
Tiny Wardrobe Textile
And this story does not end there….what makes this even more special is Julia has created tiny paintings of the front and back of our red rose cropped jacket. These are immortalised in her Tiny Wardrobe Textile surrounded by garments made by other creatives from around the world. How special to know your jacket is recreated in a textile and already living on in other garments around the world.
I can honestly say the red rose cropped jacket is *everything* I hoped for and more. It embraces our brand and style in one garment!
Discount!
As a special treat to celebrate this garment we are offering a 20% discount on our red rose cropped jacket over the next 2 weeks! Discount applied on the gail sew glasgow website: no code required. Offer ends 22nd May, 2022 at midnight GMT or while stock lasts.
