Design vs Craft

What makes design foxy and craft frump?
Follow these tips to make your hand sewn clothes look like designer outfits and not something only your mum would love.

Type of fabric: Using the incorrect fabric type for a garment will likely shout amateur. The outfit will not drape correctly and likely to fit like a cheap suit.

Mix-match fabrics: Make sure you have enough fabric for the whole outfit. Mixing and matching fabrics is very difficult to get right while still giving the look of being specially designed that way. Consider changing the style to fit the fabric rather than using some off cuts. You can also use a different fabric for the lining if you are short of fabric for the whole garment.

Print fabric: While brands such as Burberry can turn blanket chic into high corture with their famous tartan, this is the exception rather than the rule. Your choice of fabric pattern and colour is often a give away that an item is handmade. Avoid choosing fabrics that are childish or be careful of choosing designs like tartan (unless it's fashionable - remember Modonna's cowboy fleece shirts?), paisley and floral for garments other than dresses. Most designers choose fabric with simple patterns or no pattern at all. Fabric's with textures can often create a designer look.

Colour of fabric: Limit your choice of colours to two at most. Many designers choose to work with a natural colour palette like whites, creams, navies, maroons and blacks. They often will choose a different colour for trims and accessories such as hems and belts.

Mismatch of accessories: Be sure to match the colour of zips, buttons, lining, binding, cotton etc as closely as possible to the fabric colour. Designers carefully select these items and often have them specially manufactured.

Experimentation with embellishments: Often the over use or mismatch of buttons, lace, ribbons or fabric paint makes a designer outfit look frump and dated.

The finish: Overlockers are expensive to own and run but they give the final finished look. However there are ways of neatly finishing off edges - pay attention to this.

Simplicity: As you are going to the effort of making this garment yourself, you want to make something special and unique; else you could save yourself the time and often money and buy it in the shop. Ironically this is often what gives a handmade garment away - it's too complicated, too busy or the detail just doesn't really work. Many designer outfits have are simple and uncomplicated.

Fit: While we've all tried on badly fitting clothes, we usually don't proceed to checkout if the fit is not right. However after spending many hours making your own garment, a bad fit is more easily overlooked. Avoid this by always creating a prototype from cheaper fabric and get the fit and pattern perfect before cutting out of your final fabric.

Photo: Tommy Aigner

What makes your handmade items hip? Leave your comments.