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| Cast offs Vintage Tunic Top by Morgan Wills |
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| Piles of vintage sheets becoming cushions & quilts |
Funnily
enough I consider myself a bit of a squirrel when it comes to gathering all
manner of craft related bits and bobs I think I may be able to use in my work.
I’m passionate about re-purposing, recycling and generally up-cycling discarded
fabrics into new and loved products. I’ve been working with felted woollen
jumpers for many years now – turning them into scarves, blankets, Babushka dolls and more.
In my
travels over the years, collecting materials from here there and everywhere – I
somewhere along the way discovered vintage sheets from the 60’s & 70’s. It
was the floral patterns and colours that particularly caught my eye and let’s
face it - I was a child of the 70’s – so there is a good dose of nostalgia associated
with them – I think it was inevitable that I started to collect them!
The piles
grew and grew - as I kept stacking them up in the corner of my studio. I knew
that one day they would become a new product and last year I started to dip
into them when I produced my ‘Cute as a button’ range of cushions, pincushions
and rattles.
In recent
months they have had my full attention as I have been working on an idea for
turning them into vintage inspired quilts and women’s clothing. When my clever quilting
friend Emma from Ballarat Patchwork closed her store I knew she would be the
one to work with me on bringing the quilts and quilt kits to life –
collaborating has been fun! The two sample quilt designs – Circles &
Squares and Chevron pattern are almost finished and will be available for
purchase as pre-cut kits with full instructions and ready to sew.
The beginning
of my women’s clothing range has been inspired by styles I like to wear myself.
My first design is a loose fitting tunic style top with pockets (I love pockets!) and will be
made in small (10 to 12), medium (14 to 16) and large (16 plus). I love the
fact that the beauty of using vintage fabrics means you won’t see anyone else
wearing the same top as you!
So there
you have it! It’s been a long process in design and prototyping to get to the product
launch stage and I’m delighted to say that these and lots of other crafty bits
and bobs I have made and gathered will be available on my stand at the Big Design Market on the 6, 7, & 8 December at the Royal Exhibition Buildings,
Carlton Gardens.
I look
forward to seeing you there! Morgan x
