Written by Sarah Holliman AKA SJ Stitchery
When Craft Cotton Co. sent me some samples of their new fabric collection, Indian Summer, I was totally inspired. The collection is a new collaboration with the V & A Museum – a gorgeous range of designs in beautiful warm Autumnal colours. All made with organic cotton from their Make and Believe Range.
As soon as I saw the designs, I could imagine my new range of scarves.
For me, it was instantly a vision of warm winter jumpers adorned with my large scarves in front of a toasty roaring fire – bliss!
With the Bank Holiday approaching, a trip to the V & A Museum in London was a must. I wanted to see how the collection had been inspired and so we packed our bags and were off.
Arriving at the V & A is just a wonderful experience in itself – everywhere you look there is so much inspiration. Far too much to see in one day, that has to be saved for a later trip.
So, off to the nearest fashion exhibition.
The glass cases contain so many beautiful things, it’s almost impossible to know where to look first. I particularly wanted some inspiration for my scarf designs, so I headed for the beautiful costumes of the 1800’s. I wasn’t disappointed – the clothes were beautiful, colours so bright and it was easy to see where so much of the inspiration for clothes today comes from.
The shawls were absolutely wonderful, I picked out a few and loved the patchwork designs used to add to the ends of the sumptuous silk fabrics.
I even saw a dress from the 1800’s which was the inspiration behind one of the new fabrics.
How amazing is that – to recreate a fabric that was in use so long ago and still be able to use it in our modern day designs.
So Beautiful !
There was so much to see and do, if you get the chance, please try and visit.
The exhibitions and displays are truly amazing and the museum is such a wonderful place to visit. Can’t wait to return again !
Indian Summer Fabric Range from the Craft Cotton Company.
To see more from Sarah, follow her on Instagram @sjstitchery and check out her website sjstitchery.com!
Written by Sarah Holliman for The Craft Cotton Co 2022.