I have another sewing video to share. I was looking through my Youtube videos and realised I forgot to tell you about this one. Mixed in with the sewing, there is also some painting – which gives you the answer if you were wondering what I’d graduated from! Last year I completed a course called The Mastery Program by the Milan Art Institute – a full-time art course. So this also explains why Threads of a Fairytale has been running a little slower lately with fewer new clothes added into the shop. If you’d like to commission your very own dress though, have a look at these ideas.
Helen Hobden
How to be Cool!
At secondary school my friend, Nikki taught me about snobbery. I’d never really come across it before – I was lucky enough to have the best bunch of people in my class during those wonderful, innocent years of primary school. Anyway, I’ll never forget the look on her face when I discovered Poundstretcher and told her how amazed I was at how cheap everything cost!
And just so you know, my family wasn’t poor – my parents had a mortgage on their house and we had a couple of holidays every year. But I found out that Nikki’s parents were a next level up, and it was obviously something that mattered to her.
Another vivid memory was when a discount shoe shop opened near the station, and it sold imitations of Doc Martins. “Why don’t you just buy real ones?” she asked, knowing full well I didn’t have the money for them. She came along with me to buy them, but refused to come in. She didn’t want to be seen in a shop like that. Instead, she preferred to stand outside on that cold, dark, winter afternoon with a couple of boys, being far too cool for cheap ankle boots.
Maybe this is a little egotistical, but I like to think that a couple of years later I taught Nikki that you didn’t need money to be cool.
Everyone has their own version of cool. I think Youtuber, Zoe Sugg always looks effortlessly cool; as does Trinny (from Trinny and Susannah). I browse Blue Banana in Bristol and I think their pierced, tattooed, fishnet-wearing customers look amazingly cool. None of them are really my style, but as the cliche goes, it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it. And what matters most is whether you feel great, and if the clothes you choose are truly, authentically YOU!
If you can’t find clothes in your local shops that you feel cool in, and if boho fairy is your style, then please take a look in my shop.
By the way, these are the words I say in a recent YouTube video if you would like to have a watch. In it I am making a purple fairy dress that I wore to Glastonbury Festival, so if you’re a fan of my older sewing videos, then this one’s for you!
Take care. And stay cool!
How to be cool!
I decided to turn the words I wrote for the last sewing video into a blog post. It’s a little story about snobbery and being cool.
By the way, this was sent out to everyone on my newsletter. If you’d like to join to make sure you don’t miss out, please sign up here as I’d love to stay in touch. 🙂
Making a fairy dress for Glastonbury Festival
Every year I try to make myself a new dress to wear at Glastonbury Festival. It’s the perfect opportunity to dress up! If you’d like to watch the sewing process of making this year’s, please hop over to my YouTube channel to have a look.
10 Years on YouTube
Can you believe it?! I’ve now spent ten years recording my life and sharing everything with you. I hope I provide you with some light entertainment and a smattering of creative inspiration! Here is the video celebrating this milestone.
I’m still here!
This is just a little update to say I’m still here! I have been quiet in regards to social media and updates this year because we’ve had two close family bereavements. However, I just wanted to let you know the Threads of a Fairytale shop is still up and running and I’m continuing to send out unique fairy and festival clothing to all you beautiful people!
Glastonbury Festival is taking shape at the moment and I’m excited to make myself some new fairycore festival clothing!
Take care. x
Snowdrop Flower Fairy outfit
Last week I finished making a fairy dress and shawl inspired by the Snowdrop Flower Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker. This is a sneak peak at something exciting coming at the end of the year!
My new sewing room!
My eldest daughter left home recently. Of course, my youngest daughter thought she had the bigger and better bedroom and wanted to move into it. Which freed up her old room, which I quite fancied turning into a dedicated sewing room! The problem was, three weeks later she was off for a three-month long trip away, and I didn’t want to wait that long to get started, so she was on a time limit to get all her stuff shifted! It didn’t quite get done in time, but she did pretty well.
It took me a week to finish clearing out her stuff. Then a week to clean it, steam off the wallpaper, and clean it again. Then a week to paint it, and another week to lug all my sewing stuff from the room it was in before, and up the stairs, and try to fit it all in! The new sewing room is much smaller, and I have to share it with a bed-settee for when family stay, but it has lovely big built-in cupboards into which I just about managed to squeeze in the fabric stash from the shelves downstairs.
Honestly, I can’t tell you how excited I am to have this new space and I feel so so grateful for it. When I’m in there sewing, I have no distractions; no computer telling me about the other work I should be doing! Oh my goodness, it’s lovely! Anyway, I filmed the whole process for my YouTube channel, so here are the videos if you’d like to have a watch:
New Beginnings
September feels like a good time for new beginnings. Our eldest daughter has just flown the nest, which leaves a spare room in the house! This is going to be my new sewing room; leaving my previous one as a study and art studio. I’m currently in the midst of stripping old wallpaper, and then it will be filling the cracks, painting the walls, and carrying all my sewing stuff upstairs. There’s a lot to do, so I’m not starting any commissions right now. However, if you’re not in a hurry, please get in touch and we can start the ball rolling for your custom made dress. When the room is finished, I’ll be raring to go!
Glastonbury Festival
Well folks, the Glastonbury Festival line-up is now out! Are you going? Who are you looking forward to seeing?
Don’t forget to take a look in the Threads of a Fairytale shop for your sustainable festival fashion!