Series 1: Making
The first Cranford Cabinet limited edition is a Series of cushions in different sizes and designs made primarily from linen suitings and backed with surplus Clarke & Clarke linen-look interior fabric. The cushion pads are made for me by Penrose and are filled with alpaca fibre (more on this in another post).
I’m going to talk about these gals over a few posts because I think all the elements deserve a bit of space on their own.
First up let’s talk about some of the materials since it’s the presence of these that primarily drives the creative process.
Restriction Inspires
Due to where it’s come from, there are a lot of blue and grey merino wool fabrics left over from the making of business suits in my “Cabinet” and I do love colour, so to ease me in gently to coming up with useful and pleasing ideas I decided to go with some of the brighter options first. Even so, suits for men made from linen still largely fall conservatively into blues, browns, creams and dark greens - so how to transform these together into enjoyable designs? Linen is a comfortable and natural fabric used in interiors, and cushions are great objects to have a bit of fun with. Cushions also don’t have to be the same both sides so I could use something else for the backs. I found that placing contrasting colours or ombre effects in graphic patchwork designs really livened up the linens and made the cushion covers look quite contemporary. I also wanted to make a small number of each design and this was governed by the lengths of fabric and their offcut shapes so I had to think carefully to try to get at least a pair of each design made up.
The Linen Patchwork
I had 24 pieces of linen suiting to use, each one originally from the mills of Scabal, Dormeuil, Harrisons, Caccioppoli or Dugdale. These Belgian, French, British, and Italian manufacturers of fine cloth serve the tailors of Savile Row and high quality makers (like us) in creating lovely pieces of clothing for people.
A selection of our fitting pictures (not model poses!) of clients wearing the original linen garment from where the offcuts came from
The Back Fabric
This ochre-coloured linen-look polyester fabric is left over from a large sewing project of curtain commissions. The pieces are far too small for curtains but I think it looks fab on the back of the cushions and the ochre colour is a complementary contrast. It’s a Clarke & Clarke fabric, a brand within the well-known Sanderson Design group.
Other Bits Worth Mentioning
I’ve backed each patchwork panel with a piece of lightweight poly-cotton or cotton surplus curtain lining fabric to add to the strength and longevity of the cover.
I only use YKK zips as I believe they’re dependable and high quality. I want all the items I sew to last well and to be enjoyed for years to come.