Studio life Archives - Drawn by Rhiannon

Posted on 1st October 201925th September 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — Leave a comment

Made by hand from start to finish

Rubber duck reusable makeup remover pads being made by hand

At Drawn by Rhiannon everything is done by hand from start to finish.

Every item begins with an image drawn by hand by me which I scan in to the computer to make a digital fabric design. I then make all the items myself on my industrial sewing machine. I also make all the packaging myself, photograph the items and edit them to make them as clear as possible. Finally I list them on my website and write up a description for every item. It really is all done by hand!

To show you what I mean here’s a rundown on how the new rubber duck reusable makeup remover pads were made by hand, step by step. (You can take a look at the finished product on my website here.)

Step 1: Drawings

I love that every fabric I design begins with one of my drawings. I use all sorts of materials to draw with but for the rubber ducks I decided to use promarkers. These pens are brilliant for creating bold graphic designs which was exactly the look I wanted for the ducks. I chose a selection of rubber ducks from my collection (I have almost 100 now!) and started to draw. I initially sketched the ducks in pencil to get a rough outline to work with. Then I went over the lines I was happy with with a black marker and coloured in the shapes. These are the pages from my sketchbook that I scanned in.

Step 2: Digital print design

Once I’m happy with the drawings it’s time to make the digital print design. The drawings always need a bit of cleaning up so I go around the edge of the drawings erasing any fuzzy edges from the scanner. Thanks to the bold line work and colours, the duck drawings scanned in really well and were fairly simple to convert in to digital images. Next I make sure the colours are where I want them to be. For example, some of the ducks had scanned in with bolder colours so I wanted to make sure that the colour depth was even across all the ducks. I never want to over-edit on the computer otherwise the drawings will lose their hand-drawn character.

I had a good idea in my head about how I wanted the duck print to look which made it easier to arrange the design. Sometimes I’m not sure how I want the finished design to look so it can take a long time to work out a composition that I’m happy with. For the rubber ducks I simply wanted them in lines with a half drop repeat.

Step 3: Making

When I’ve finished the design, I send it to a fabric printing company in London. They print my designs on to the fabrics then send it back to me to be made in to all sorts of different items.

With the reusable makeup remover pads there are quite a few steps required to make them. First of all I have to cut out the printed fabric and the backing fabric. For the back of the pads I use a soft cotton towelling that I source locally.

Once the fabrics are all cut out it’s time to start pinning. About 70% of making anything seems to be pinning!

After pinning everything in place I sew the two sides together on the industrial sewing machine. I then topstitch around the whole pad to make sure it’s really secure.

Then I repeat the whole thing four more times to have a total of five makeup pads per pack. The final stage in the making process is to make the little wash bag that the pads are stored in. I make these with tulle that I buy locally so that you can see which design pads are inside each bag. It’s also a handy little bag to keep for washing the makeup pads in so that they don’t escape and get lost in the wash.

Step 4: Packaging

I include an information tag with the reusable makeup remover pads which also gets made by me. I designed the tag on my computer to include how to use the pads and the cleaning instructions. These tags are then printed on to card and cutout using my cricut machine. The cricut machine saves me a lot of time and cuts a lot more accurately than I would!

Step 5: Photography

Once the makeup pads are made, in their little bags and tied with a tag, they’re ready to be photographed. I do all my product photography myself in my studio. Luckily my studio has nice big windows that let in lots of natural light so as long as the British weather is being kind, I can usually snap some pretty good product shots.

Then it’s just a case of editing the photos to fix the lighting and make sure the colours are true to life. Finally they’re ready to list on the website!

I always write a small section about the inspiration behind the print design for a personal touch and make sure important details such as size and fabric type are listed.

You can see the finished listing here – https://www.drawnbyrhiannon.co.uk/product/reusable-rubber-duck-makeup-remover-pads/

Posted on 9th September 20197th October 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — 2 Comments

Gift wrap

Adding gift wrap to your order will make your purchase extra special.

There are two options for gift wrap – Christmas gift wrap and other occasion gift wrap. Being eco friendly and using no plastic is very important at Drawn by Rhiannon. All the elements used in these wrapping options are either recyclable or reusable and there’s no plastic to be seen!

Christmas

If you select the Christmas gift wrap option, this is how your item will be wrapped. It features Christmas print kraft paper tied together with red twine and finished off with a festive cinnamon stick and jingle bell. A hand written charity Christmas card will be included so please leave your gift message at checkout. (If you would like to know which charities are being supported this year please get in touch.) Your order can then either be sent to you or it can be delivered directly to the recipient. Just type in whichever address you would like it sending to at checkout.

Other occasions

If your order is for a birthday gift, an anniversary present, a well done surprise or any other occasion, this is the option to choose. Your item will be wrapped in blue kraft paper and tied together with blue polka dot ribbon. A hand written note card will be included so please leave your gift message at checkout. Your order can then either be sent to you or it can be delivered directly to the recipient. Just type in whichever address you would like it sending to at checkout.

Posted on 19th July 20192nd July 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — Leave a comment

Q&A with Rhiannon

In case you didn’t know, Drawn by Rhiannon is run by me, Rhiannon.

The business isn’t named ironically – my name is Rhiannon and I draw stuff. I’ve had a few questions sent through social media recently so I thought I’d round them all up and do a blog post Q&A! Let’s dive straight in.

How did you start?

I studied fashion design then fashion graphics at university. After the first year of university I knew that I wanted to focus on print design so I moved from fashion design to fashion graphics. My final major project was a collection of homeware items made with my printed fabric – sound familiar? At the end of year show I had several people ask me if I would be selling any of the things I’d made so I was like hey, people want to buy this stuff! Using my FMP as a starting point, I opened Drawn by Rhiannon and it’s just grown from there. The puffins were the most popular design from my first collection so I decided to use the puffin as my logo.

My final major project at university was the starting point for Drawn by Rhiannon

Where do you find inspiration?

Everywhere! I love travelling and many of my favourite designs have been inspired by things I’ve seen on holiday. I’m also super inspired by the beautiful North East where I live, as well as animals, random objects and food.

Do you do this full time?

I work pretty much full time hours at Drawn by Rhiannon but I also work part time in a craft shop. This just makes sure I know all my bills will be paid. Plus it’s great to use some of my skills at the day job too. I would really love to just work on Drawn by Rhiannon all the time as my main income so hopefully one day I will be completely full time here!

How long does it take to design a print?

I get asked this question all the time and it’s such a difficult one to answer! Every print design is completely different so each one takes a different amount of time to create. There’s the drawing and colouring stage, the digital cleaning and then arranging stages. Some things are quick to draw but then take forever at the computer stage. Others take such a long time to draw but are relatively easy to digitalise. The pineapple took over 5 hours to draw! One thing that I can say about all my designs is that they are all a labour of love.

The pineapple design took so long to draw I couldn’t look at pineapples for months afterwards!

What are your future goals?

Like I mentioned earlier, my aim is to run Drawn by Rhiannon full time. I’d love to have my own shop filled with things I’ve made plus other local artists’ work. And I’d have a little tearoom in there too because I love baking!

One day I hope to have a shop where I can sell my items and bake cakes too

Did you always want to be a designer?

Not at all! I was always changing what I wanted to do when I was older. For a long time I wanted to be a pilot but then I found out how much it cost to train and that you had to do physics so that kind of went out the window…

When I first went in to the fashion world, I thought I wanted to be a stylist. Then I wanted to be a fashion journalist – until someone who worked at a fashion magazine came in to give us a talk and told us that it was exactly like what you see on the devil wears prada. I basically fell in to fabric design because I never knew the job existed! It was only after a print design project in my first year that I fell in love with pattern design and knew that was what I wanted to do.

What do you do in your spare time?

What’s spare time again? Running Drawn by Rhiannon whilst working part time in the craft shop too doesn’t leave much room for spare time. But when I do get the chance to take some time off I love to travel. If I could get paid to travel I would drop everything and do that instead! Other than that I love baking and cooking, music (my ukulele featured in one of my print designs), and going to the beach.

Which is your favourite print?

Oh that’s so tough! There are some prints that I honestly can’t stand to look at because I spent so long designing them that I kind of never want to see them again… but I think my favourite prints might be either the bananas or the pandas. The bananas were really fun to design actually and I was so chuffed with how they came out! The pandas remind me of the amazing trip to Edinburgh zoo that inspired the design so I love that print.

I would love to make a dress with my banana design fabric!

What is your favourite item to make?

This changes all the time. I used to get so sick of sewing zips because everything I made needed a zip. Since then I’ve expanded my product range to all sorts of things that don’t need zips. At the moment I’m feeling a bit nostalgic for sewing coin purses and pencil cases.

If you have any more questions for me just comment below and I’ll answer them!

Posted on 11th July 20192nd July 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — Leave a comment

Share your photos for a chance to win!

It’s lovely to see Drawn by Rhiannon items in their new homes!

I spend so much time designing and making all these items that it’s brilliant to see them in their new homes. When your order arrives, simply take a snap of your new item and upload to Instagram or Facebook. Don’t forget to tag @drawnbyrhiannon so I can see them!

It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just a quick snap of your new item in use, or just out of the packaging!

It’s great to know that your order has arrived safely and that you love it!

It’s been especially fun seeing the beeswax wraps in use. So pleased so many of you are embracing a more eco-friendly lifestyle!

Every time you upload a photo of your purchase to social media and tag @drawnbyrhiannon, you’ll be entered in to a prize draw to win a £10 Drawn by Rhiannon gift voucher to spend on anything you want!

So what are you waiting for? Grab your phone and get snapping and sharing!

Posted on 27th June 201927th June 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — Leave a comment

The highs and lows of running a small business

Spoiler alert: it’s a real roller coaster.

I love my job. I have always wanted to work for myself but I can tell you for free that running a small business is not easy. I’ve been running Drawn by Rhiannon for three years now and pretty much every day is a struggle. However, for me nothing beats being your own boss. Today is a beautifully sunny summer’s day so I’m writing this blog post with an old fashioned pen and paper outside in the garden. Of course I will have to type this up later but that’s a job for this evening when the sun goes down. And that’s one of the first things I love about running my own business – the flexibility.

It’s great to be flexible.

I have never particularly been a morning person so starting work at 8am every day isn’t an ideal situation for me. I find I’m much more productive later on and in to the evening so I love that I’m able to start work at 10am and work until after tea instead. Sometimes I can be working until two in the morning if that’s when inspiration has struck and that works great for me.

I’m lucky to have a great studio at the bottom of my garden

On the flip side, the negative aspect of working from home is that you’re never able to switch off. I’m lucky to have a fabulous studio at the bottom of my garden where I do all my sewing and most my designing. Unfortunately my internet doesn’t stretch to the studio so all the website designing, marketing and general computer work has to be done inside the house. There’s always a never ending to do list so the temptation to just quickly finish off a few things soon turns in to several hours of work when I’m supposed to be taking some time off. The work life balance is something I’m constantly battling with to prevent me from spiralling in to a full blown burnout.

Freedom is liberating

The main thing I love about running a small business is being able to design what I want. You wouldn’t believe the amount of junior designer jobs that mainly consist of making coffee and doing dry cleaning runs. I didn’t go to university for four years to do that! This is part of the reason that I wanted to work for myself because I didn’t want to lose my creativity or all the skills I worked so hard to learn. I love taking inspiration trips and deciding what prints to design next. And I love not having to work to a trend brief or having to stick to a restricted colour palette.

I love being able to be super creative in my job

On the other hand, not having anyone to bounce ideas off can be difficult too. When you’ve spent several hours working on a new print design, staring at the screen and nudging layouts a millimetre here and there, it becomes impossible to know what looks good any more. As the business grows I plan to take on a couple of staff to help with the workload which would be a huge bonus (and would hopefully stop me going stir crazy and asking my pet rabbit which colour background she thinks works the best). Until then I rely on all you lovely lot to keep me sane so I really appreciate you replying to my questions and commenting on my social media posts.

Money talks

Now for some serious talk – money. As much as I love what I do, at the end of the day I can’t keep doing it if it doesn’t make money. I’m fortunate to have a part time job in a craft shop which ensures my house and bills are paid for each month so I don’t have to worry about becoming homeless. However, if you’re working 30-40 hours a week running a small business, you kind of want to see some profit return on that right? This is something I still find very tricky to manage, especially as the gift-orientated things I make are really quite seasonal.

I was on such a high at the end of 2018 as I’d had my best Christmas ever and was actually taking a full time wage. Obviously this was due to a huge amount of work and I spent most of the Christmas break in complete brain dead zombie mode but that’s how it is. I even earned enough to book a holiday in February to Belgium (check out the blog posts about that trip here) which I was absolutely over the moon with.

The Christmas markets were a huge success and it was brilliant seeing people wanting to buy my items for special gifts for loved ones.

However after all the buzz of Christmas, the start of 2019 hit me like a tonne of bricks. I barely made any sales and at Easter time I almost packed the whole thing in. Which brings me to my final point.

Confidence and motivation

Without a doubt the hardest thing about running a business is having the confidence and motivation to keep it going. There are times when I’m consistently working 12-14 hour days and only seeing pocket money in return. When you put your heart and soul in to something and people don’t really seem that interested it can destroy you. Sometimes I just have to keep ploughing on because I know if I stop and really take a look at things I might not be able to carry on (sometimes doing the books at the end of the month can be really devastating).

The words ‘I can’t do this any more’ have gone through my head more in the past three years than in the rest of my life combined, but so have the words ‘I love my job’. The minute I receive a message from a customer saying how much they love their order, or see someone smile at a print I’ve designed on my market stall, it makes it all seem worthwhile.

Every purchase you make really does make a huge difference

I would love to say that Drawn by Rhiannon has been an overnight success and every day is better than the last but that wouldn’t be true. It would mean the world to me if you could all support me to help me achieve my dream by shopping small and interacting with the brand on social media. One day I hope that I can do this full time and employ some wonderful people to work alongside me but I’m not there yet. After all, nothing good in life comes easy does it?

Posted on 21st May 20197th May 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — 2 Comments

Meet the maker 2019 week 4

Drawn by Rhiannon pineapple insulated lunch bag

It’s the last instalment of meet the maker with week 4! Hopefully you’ve been following along and have seen the other weeks. If not, here’s a link to week 1, 2 and 3. Now let’s get on with meet the maker week 4.

Day 23: Top tip or advice

Top tip or advice - meet the maker week 4 — All sorts of scissors are so important in my job

I’ve just written a new blog post with my top 10 sewing tools and tips ✂️ check it out here.

Day 24: Customers/feedback

Customers and feedback - meet the maker week 4

I love hearing what you guys think of my work so if you’ve ever bought something from me, please leave a review on Google! Just click here and leave a quick comment?

Day 25: How it’s made

Sewing on the industrial sewing machine — Work in progress on my industrial sewing machine

Everything is handmade by me in my north east studio on my industrial sewing machine ✂️

Day 26: Self care

Self care isn't selfish pin — Self care is very important

This pin is by the fabulous Pom Pom Paints and I really need to take this advice! I am absolutely dreadful at giving myself time off but I’m trying really hard to be better at this as a few weeks ago I completely burnt out and it felt awful. Self care isn’t selfish guys!

Day 27: Anything goes

Anything goes - meet the maker week 4 — I love being outside in the garden

Following on from yesterday’s self care post, I thought I’d post this to show you that I have actually been taking some time off in the past week (turns out working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week is a bit much…)
I love being outside and I find gardening really relaxing ? a week ago this was a big patch of weeds so I think it’s quite an improvement ?

Day 29: Most difficult make

For me the hardest thing to make is the insulated lunch bags – they’re quite tricky! They’re made up of a layer of water resistant fabric, a layer of insulating fabric and a layer of wipe clean lining so it’s quite tough to sew through. I’ve got just three left – pineapples ? unicorns ? and flamingos ? once those are sold I won’t be making them again so grab yours while you can! Find them here.

Day 30: Support

Drawn by Rhiannon Instagram page — Thank you to all my supporters!

I’m very lucky to have a super supportive family who help me at markets, advertise to their friends and just keep me going ❤️ also the support that I get from all you lovely customers and followers is fantastic so a big thank you to everyone!

Day 31: Product in use/wild

Drawn by Rhiannon reusable beeswax food wraps — The reusable beeswax food wraps in use

I love seeing photos of my items in use so if you’ve ever bought anything from me, please take a quick snap of it and share!

And that’s it! I hope you enjoyed the March Meet the Maker challenge and found out all sorts of new things about Drawn by Rhiannon. If there is anything you’d like to know more about, please comment below with blog topic suggestions.

Posted on 16th May 20197th May 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — Leave a comment

Meet the maker 2019 week 3

Meet the maker week 3 was all about future plans and dreams. My head is always full of ideas of where I want to see the business in the future so this was a great week for me.
Have you seen the first two weeks of the meet the maker challenge yet? Click here to them.
So without further ado, it’s time for meet the maker week 3!

Day 15: Motivation/goals

Motivation/goals - meet the maker week 3 — I’ve always loved baking so combining this with my designing would be a dream come true

Feeling motivated can be really hard some days when running your own business, especially if you’re working every hour God sends and still not really getting anywhere. My end goal is to have my own place which is half shop, half cafe so that people can come and relax with a slice of cake and buy some lovely handmade goodies all in the same place.

Day 16: Workspace

Workspace - meet the maker week 3 — I have a very short commute to the studio at the bottom of my garden

I’m very lucky to have a fabulous studio at the bottom of my garden where I do all my drawing, designing, making and photographing. I’ve just written a blog post with a behind the scenes tour of the studio which you can read here.

Day 17: What I’m working on

Drawn by Rhiannon printed greetings cards — A whole range of non-fabric items featuring my designs are now available to buy!

I’m currently brainstorming a whole new range of items that aren’t fabric based. I’m thinking greetings cards, mugs, stickers… that kind of thing! These are now available to purchase in my Redbubble shop.

Day 18: Mistake or lesson

I have made so many mistakes with my business I can’t even count them all… but as long as I learn from it then it’s all OK.

Day 19: Dream collaboration

Drawn by Rhiannon banana print dress — I would love to make clothes with my printed fabrics

I would absolutely love love love to see my designs used on clothes! Originally I trained in fashion design so I’ve always got that in the back of my mind. Seriously tempted to make a banana dress to wear at markets…

Day 20: Design process

Drawn by Rhiannon design process — Everything I produce is hand drawn, designed and handmade by me.

If you didn’t know that I design all my fabrics from my hand drawings, where have you been?? So just in case you weren’t sure, here’s what happens…

1. I see something that inspires me which I photograph for later.
2. I draw it – pens, pencil, paints.. whatever takes my fancy!
3. I scan the drawing into the computer and design a digital print.
4. The designs are sent to the fabric printing company in London.
5. When the fabric returns, I cut it up and sew it in to lovely things!

From start to finish it’s all done by me! (Except the physical fabric printing, I don’t quite have enough money for a fabric printer yet…)

Day 21: Throwback

Throwback - meet the maker week 3 — My final major project at university was the start of Drawn by Rhiannon

I decided to choose this photo of my FMP show at Southampton Solent University as this is basically where Drawn by Rhiannon began! I made a homeware collection of cushions, notebooks, towels and buttons and several people asked me if I would be selling any of it, so I did ? The puffins were by far the most popular design so when I officially started Drawn by Rhiannon I chose the puffin to be my logo.

Day 22: Proud of

Drawn by Rhiannon craft market — I love doing markets and getting to meet and chat to you all!

To be honest, the thing I’m most proud of is the fact that I’m still going! Running a small business is really challenging so I’m just really chuffed that I haven’t given up. Other than that, I’m proud of all the markets that I do every month. There’s so much prep work that goes in to a market and it’s an early start and a long day, so it would be easy to decide not to do them. But I love seeing all you lovely people in real life and getting to chat to you!

(I realised half way through doing these blog posts that there were more than four weeks in March so meet the maker week 3 and 4 will have extra days in them to fit all the days in.)

Posted on 10th May 20197th May 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — 2 Comments

Meet the maker 2019 week 2

Welcome to meet the maker week 2! Have you read the first week of the meet the maker posts yet? If not, click here to catch up.
Read on to find out more in the meet the maker week 2.

Day 8: Product range

Flamingo makeup bags and reusable makeup pads

I love making matching products, especially if they’ll be used together like the flamingo makeup pads and makeup bag ? would you guys be interested in a special offer if you buy a makeup bag and matching makeup pads together? Let me know!
The flamingo makeup bag is available here, and the flamingo reusable makeup remover pads are available here.

Day 9: Story behind the name

Behind the name - meet the maker — My name is Rhiannon and I love to draw

Mine is super simple – my name is Rhiannon and I draw. I wanted a name that wouldn’t restrict me in the further if I wanted to branch out from fabric homeware items so I decided to go with Drawn by Rhiannon as no matter what products I would be making, it would always start with one of my hand drawings.

Day 10: You

Meet the maker — Meet me in real life at a market in the North East.

In case we haven’t met before – Hello, my name is Rhiannon! I design all the fabrics from my hand drawings and hand make all the items myself . I’m one of those people that doesn’t particularly like having their picture taken so I chose one of me behind my market stall from last week at the make and mend market ? I love meeting all you lovely people in real life at the markets so if you’re ever in the north east when I’m at a market, please do come and say hello.

Day 11: Reducing waste

Squirrel reusable makeup remover pads — Reusable makeup remover pads are a great way to reduce waste

This is something I’m really passionate about so I’m working on a whole new line of products to help you reduce waste. This includes the reusable makeup remover pads and the reusable beeswax food wraps. I’m also thinking about reusable sponges and reusable paper towels. If you would like to see any other eco-friendly products please let me know.

Day 12: Hands at work

A sped up video of what goes in to the editing of photos

After all the sewing, the next step is photographing everything, editing the photos and uploading the new products to the website. I use Photoshop to even out the lighting and tidy up the background. I also use it to make the colours look as true to life as possible ?

Day 13: Photography

Photography setup - meet the maker — My current photography setup – very tricky to get right!

Photography is my biggest struggle with running my own business. It takes me as long to photograph and edit the photos as it does to make the items in the first place! I’ve finally worked out a good set up but it hugely depends on the British weather…

Day 14: How I learnt

I learnt how to draw properly when I started my fashion degree. You wouldn’t believe the difference having proper drawing lessons makes! That’s where I first learnt about print design. My mum taught me the basics of sewing when I started A Level Textiles and then I was thrown in the deep end with industrial sewing machines and overlockers when I started my fashion degree. After two years of unbelievably complicated garment construction I realised fashion design wasn’t for me. When I switched my major to fashion graphics, I learnt more about digital art and started to refine my print design skills. Every print I design teaches me something new so I’m constantly learning everyday.

Other than that, everything I’ve learnt has been through experience. I’ve made so many mistakes and felt like giving up a lot, but I keep on trying. Running your own business is really hard work so a big shout out to everyone who has made it a success ?

Meet the maker week 2 really focused on background information about me. Would you like to know more about my design process, education or past projects? Let me know by commenting below. Week 3 coming soon!

Posted on 7th May 20197th May 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — Leave a comment

Meet the maker 2019 week 1

If you’ve not heard of it before, March Meet the Maker is an Instagram challenge set up by Joanne Hawker.

It comprises of a list of prompts for small businesses to post about to show people more about their business. I love taking part in the meet the maker challenge as it lets me connect more with all you lovely lot and you get to find out more about me and what I do! In case you missed it, here’s a run down of this year’s prompts.

The 2019 list of prompts for the March Meet the Maker challenge

If you don’t follow Drawn by Rhiannon on Instagram (if you don’t, click here to find me) then you will have missed loads of behind the scenes action so I thought I’d share the pictures on here too just for you!

Day 1: Favourite to make

Water resistant bee print apron — Bee apron

I found this one a really tricky one to decide but when I was making the new aprons the other day I realised how much more I like sewing them than I used to! They always used to be a real struggle to make on my domestic sewing machine as the water resistant fabric they’re made with is super tough. Since I’ve got my industrial machine though it’s a whole new story! The aprons have lots of little steps from beginning to end and it’s nice to work on something different 🙂

Day 2: How you started

How Drawn by Rhiannon started - meet the maker — My final collection of my fashion design foundation degree – my first fabric collection!

The first fabric collection I designed was for my the final major project of my fashion design foundation degree. I took inspiration from nature and random objects to create two print themes for a range of fashion accessories. Seeing my designs printed on fabric for the first time was incredible! To be honest I still find it amazing now every time a new batch of fabric arrives ? I then went on to study fashion graphics at Southampton Solent University where I totally focused on print design, culminating in my FMP of printed homeware items. Lots of people asked if I would be selling the things I had made and that’s how Drawn by Rhiannon was born!

Day 3: Flatlay

Otter pencil case — Flatlay shots are great for pencil cases

Photography is something I’m constantly working on but I feel like I’m getting better at it. I always like to do a flatlay shot with the pencil cases and coin purses to give you an idea of size and how much you can fit in them. The pencil cases are not only great for storing stationery, but they also make great travel sewing kits!
The otter pencil case is available to buy here.

Day 4: Tools and materials

Industrial sewing machine - meet the maker — Almost everything I make is sewn on my brilliant industrial sewing machine

The main tool I use is my fabulous industrial sewing machine! It’s super powerful so has no problem with all the hours of sewing through tough fabric ?
By the way, this photo was taken just after my studio was completed, my sewing table has never been this tidy since ?

Day 5: Detail or close up

Rubber duck wash bag — I loved designing all the details of the rubber duck print

I’ve decided to share a close up of one of my new prints… the rubber ducks! These are all drawings based on ducks from my collection and I love all the little details on them. Who else is a fan of rubber ducks?
The rubber duck wash bag is available to buy here.

Day 6: Full or part time

Part time craft shop — I also work part time in a craft shop

I usually work 30-40 hours a week on Drawn by Rhiannon (though in the past few months that’s been closer to 50 or 60 hours a week which is probably why I’ve been so tired ?) but I also work a few shifts a week in a craft shop so I literally spend my whole life crafting!

Day 7: Less glam side

Reusable panda beeswax food wraps — The beeswax wraps definitely aren’t glamorous to make!

This one baffled me a bit as I wondered what people thought was glam about running a business… as much as I love my job, I definitely wouldn’t describe it as glamorous! Probably the least glamorous part of my job is spending hours scrubbing the kitchen after making the food wraps as the beeswax gets everywhere ?
Take a look at all the available beeswax wraps here.

Stay tuned for week 2 of the March Meet the Maker prompts coming soon!

Posted on 19th March 201919th March 2019 by Drawn by Rhiannon — 2 Comments

Top 10 sewing tools

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - scissors

Through my fashion design degree and running my own business, I’ve done a lot of sewing over the years.

I’ve picked up all sorts of tips and tricks (plus a lot of bad habits that my tutors would be ashamed of) that make sewing much easier. Here I’ll list my top picks of sewing tools and where you can buy them.
Please note I’m not being paid to promote any of these items. These are all tools that I have bought myself and would highly recommend.

1. Sewing clips

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - sewing clips — Sewing clips are great for holding together fabrics without leaving pin marks.

The first thing you will discover about sewing is that most of your time is actually spent pinning. Not only does pinning take forever but it can also leave pin marks in your fabric. Fabrics like oil cloth or water resistant fabric that I use to make the wash bags are particularly susceptible to nasty pin marks which will show up in your finished item. So forget about all that and try sewing clips! These fab little guys are surprisingly firm and will stop your fabric slipping without leaving holes. Just be sure to keep them out of the way of the sewing machine foot, or move them as you sew so that they don’t get smushed. The ones I have were actually free with a knitting magazine but you can buy similar ones here.

2. Magnetic pin dish

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - magnetic pin dish — The magnetic pin dish holds all your pins together

Sometimes it is best to use pins over sewing clips. You can get some really pretty pincushions but I would highly recommend a magnetic pin dish instead. No more pins scattered everywhere or treading on them when they’ve fallen on the floor. This pin dish has a good strong magnet in it which will hold all your pins for easy access. Take a look at it here.

3. Water erasable pen

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - water erasable pen — The water erasable pen makes marking fabric so much easier

This is something I’ve only recently started using and I can tell you it’s fantastic! Much better than using a pencil as the marks will just disappear when you dampen them. This would be great for quilting, or if you’re a little unsteady on the sewing machine and want your seam line marked out to follow. Just always make sure to test it on a bit of spare fabric first. Find out more here.

4. Stitch ripper

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - seam ripper — Making mistakes when sewing is inevitable so seam rippers are a must

Seam ripper, stitch ripper, quick unpick… whatever you call them, they’re an essential part of any sewing box. It doesn’t matter how experienced you are at sewing you will make mistakes! These handy little guys are ready to take out the messed-up stitches and start over again. They’re available in a range of styles and I would recommend one with a longer, tougher handle but the basic little ones are handy too. Check them out here.

5. Point turner

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - point turner — A point turner will give corners nice sharp edges

This may seem a bit of an odd one if you’re new to sewing, but a point turner is a really handy bit of kit. If you’re making anything that has a corner, it will look 100 times better if the point is poked out properly. For years I used a knitting needle or a pair of scissors, but neither work as well as a proper point turner. Get yours here.

6. Scissors

Decent scissors are one of the most important bits of kit in a sewing box. Ideally you need a great pair of dressmaker’s shears, pinking shears, paper scissors, and embroidery scissors.

It is super important that you have different scissors for fabric and paper. Fabric scissors need to be nice and sharp to make sure the fabric is cut cleanly and cutting paper with fabric scissors will blunt them. Paper scissors don’t have to be anything fancy but I would recommend getting a couple of pairs as they seem to disappear… Something like this would be fine.
Pinking shears are scissors that have a zigzag edge which helps to stop fabric fraying. The ones I have are similar to these.

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - embroidery scissors and dressmaker's shears — These scissors have been with me since day one and I couldn’t do without them!

My most used scissors are my dressmaker’s shears and embroidery scissors. These have been with me since I started my fashion design degree and they’re still going strong! If you’re serious about dressmaking it is worth investing in a decent pair of shears. I got mine from here. Embroidery scissors are super handy for snipping little threads to tidy up your finished project. They come in different shapes and patterns so see which takes your fancy here.

7. Tweezers

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - tweezers — Tweezers come in really handy for detangling sewing machines

Sewing machines can have a nasty habit of tangling themselves up with thread so a set of tweezers comes in really handy for the untangling. I’d recommend a specialist longer pair like this so you can reach right in to the depths of your machine. (If you have an industrial machine, having a pair of pliers handy can be very useful if the machine jams and you have to yank the wheel round. I don’t think this is officially what you’re supposed to do so please do not take my advice as word on this!)

8. Handy storage

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - handy storage — Repurposing kitchen storage for your sewing space can be a great idea

This one varies a bit depending on what space you have and what you need to store, but having some handy storage near you for sewing machine bits and bobs is really useful. For me it’s all the spare bobbins and machine needles that could otherwise get lost in a sewing box. I found this rail and containers that were designed for the kitchen were just the job. Take a look at some ideas here.

9. Fray stop glue

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - fray stop glue — Fray stop glue is a quick fix for repairing clothes

OK so this one is technically a bit cheating but it’s certainly a very handy item to have in your sewing kit. This glue seals fabric edges but is still flexible when it’s dry. If an edge of your clothing is starting to fray, glob a few little drops of this on it and it will seal up and make your clothes easy to repair. I use this for sealing the ends of the aprons straps and also the edges of the fabric labels. Find out more about it here.

10. Daylight lamp

Drawn by Rhiannon sewing tools - daylight lamp — Daylight lamps give a bright clear light for any craft project

Finally the last thing I would recommend for your craft area is a daylight lamp. These come in all sorts of sizes depending on how much space you have so there’s the right lamp for everyone. The daylight lamps produce a super clear and bright light which makes sewing or any type of craft so much easier. I bought this one that has storage in it because you can never have enough storage in a craft space. Take a look at a selection of them here.

So that’s it! I hope you enjoyed a run down of my top 10 sewing tools and found some useful new tips. If you’d like me to do any more blog posts about top tips let me know below.