TRADITIONAL INDIAN QUILTING

One of the main techniques I fell in love with in India was their hand and
machine quilting. This technique can mainly be seen on home furnishings like
bedspreads and cushions, but also on clothing.

The quilting is either done by hand or machine, giving completely different
effects. I was in Rajasthan and we visited a number of factories and towns who
specialised in the technique. I am not aware of whether this is a national
technique but it is very apparent in Rajasthan. My mum even bought 3 of the
enormous hand quilted throws for her house!

For SS13 we took our idea to an Indian factory in Mumbai to perfect the
technique in the country that it originated from. We were working on two
pieces. The quilted dress and quilted bomber jacket. The jacket has quilting
in between the cotton self and lining to give it structure, but the dress
just has the quilting stitch for design purposes. Both have been so
successful and we all love them!

Buy SS13 quilted pieces here

A Week in CT #2

... with.... Charlotte Taylor!

Peacock print quilted jacket - online tomorrow

Taj print shirtdress

Marble blouse

Marble skirt

Tile print T-shirt

Name: Charlotte Taylor

Job title:  
Creative Director and owner of Charlotte Taylor LTD
  
What's the best bit about your job? 
Hmm so many things. Probably when people just love the product as much as I do ­ its so rewarding and reassuring too!! I love being creative and when you
have a clothes label this filters through into so many different aspects, not just designing the clothes. Its about thinking outside the box and I love that
challenge.
   
Favourite London haunts? 
Battersea car boot sale ­ does that count?!?!?
  
What's on your iPod right now? 
 Celine Dion ­ haha! Don¹t judge me!

If you had a pet penguin, what would you call it? 

Ooooh that¹s a  hard one...Something random like Dave probably but id have to think about it for weeks....
  
Summer holidays?
Morocco surfing = heaven

 What are you up to this weekend?
On my own at my parents house have some time out to design new line we are
developing...
  
Who's your favourite person to follow on Twitter/Instagram?
Hannah Rochelle is funny on twitter from the Times Fashion pages. She has a very dry sense of humour ­ makes me laugh.
   
 What's on your wishlist right now?
Some sun!!!!
  

And finally, which is your favourite piece from the CT SS13 collection?
I love the tulle dress and the zebra mini -­ cheating I know!
   

A Week in CT #1...

We have asked some of our most stylish friends and family and our favourite fashionable folk and to spend a week wearing their most loved pieces of the current Charlotte Taylor collection. SO without further ado we bring you A Week in CT #1...

... with Harriet Stewart, fashion editor of The Sunday Times Style magazine.

Marble jeans

Taj print quilted dress - online soon

Zebra print mini-dress

Marble sleeveless shirt

Zebra print chiffon blouse

Name: Harriet Stewart




Job title: Fashion editor at Sunday Times Style




What's the best bit about your job? Seeing the shows, it's still so exciting to me and I hope it will be years down the line.




Favourite London haunts? The Cow on Westbourne grove - cliché but I love a cliché, you're guaranteed a good time. Brixton Market for the best £5 cocktails and delicious food. And my roof terrace on a sunny weekend with all my flat mates.




What's on your iPod right now? Listening to a lot of Bakermat wishing I was dancing in the sunshine.




If you had a pet penguin, what would you call it? Napoleon Dynamite.




And finally, which is your favourite piece from the CT SS13 collection? I love the zebra print dress. If I was an animal I'd definitely be a zebra.

A MARBLING MASTERCLASS

Seeing as we had such amazing feedback from the mini-mini marbling masterclass in this week's Look magazine we thought we'd elaborate a little with a step-by-step guide. So here you go, gloves at the ready...

Step 1

Buy some ink from an art store or online. We used easy Marbling
inks. I would suggest you need 3+ colours per design.

Step 2

Decide what you want to marble. We marbled 45cm x 135cm silk
scarves, but you can marble pretty much anything.

Step 3

Fill a trough with water. We made some to fit our scarves. They
were 10cm wider all round and only 40cm deep. You only need to fill it up
a few cm, so the whole base is covered. You can get plastic troughs from
garden centres or even a paddling pool, but it must have a larger surface
area than you fabric/ paper as you can't double dip!

Step 4

Quickly sprinkle over the inks onto the surface of the water. You
are literally painting your picture so what you see on the surface will
end up as your design. The inks set so you must be very quick at this.
Swirl them around a bit with a metal fork or something similar.

Step 5

Place your fabric or card on the surface of the water. It must be
flat and pat it down so all of the surface touches the water. If you have
a large surface area its better to get a friend to help. Lift it up after
10 seconds or so and be careful not to touch the water again.

Step 6

Step 6: Hang up you design to dry and stand back and admire!

Top tips

1. Use at least 1 dark colour to gain a strong contrast within your design.
2. Wear gloves - the inks are oil based and tough to get off. You will need
white spirit to remove it.
3. If you print on fabric you can generally hand wash them and they will not
run.

Enjoy!

(You can have a look at some of our SS13 marble print pieces in our online shop...)