The Story Behind our Collections: Clothkits

The story behind the Clothkits collections is probably the oldest one and the one closest to our hearts.  With 40 years of heritage Clothkits is a beloved British Brand that was established in 1968 by the textile designer Anne Kennedy, with bright colours, bold patterns and a DIY ethos that was synonomous with the Seventies style. Clothkits disappeared for a while and was revived by Kay Mawer in 2008 for the new generation of parents, much to our celebration.

Clothkits is central to the Sisters Guild vision as Clothkits is part of the reason why we grew up with a love of clothes and crafts - thanks to our mama.  We were very proud to be the first online shop selling the Clothkits kits- from Dungarees to Eskimo Dolls!

Clothkits was such a memorable part of our childhood.  Clothkits just off Union St in Bath was the place to shop for cool creative mums in the Seventies and Eighties, and we have to admit now that our mum was pretty cool in her day (even though there was a phase when we refused to stand next to her at the school bus-stop due to her bright pink lace up boots - oh, how I wish she still had them!). I loved going to the Clothkits shop, with all the natural wood shelving full of fabrics , patterns and prints - a visual treat for my childs' eyes.  There were sewing kits for corduroy dresses, dungarees and even matching ones for our Sasha Dolls, plus grown-up clothes, tea-towels, bags and accessories too. 

Sisters in Clothkits

The sewing kits contain all the bits you need to complete the item: buttons, zips and thread, along with the fabric with cutting lines already on there - so no pattern is necessary. The Clothkits clothes our mama created during late night sewing sessions on the old Singer machine were just beautiful, the most memorable being the corduroy dresses, one red, one purple, with hand printed nature patterns and flower buttons.  All 3 of us sisters wore them in turn, along with the readymade stripey jersey and knitwear which our brother wore too.  A few dresses remain, and Carla's girls are next in line to wear them.

Kay Mawers' own story is one of inspiration - an art graduate and mother who wanted to find unique fabric designs for her own daughters. Add to that mix a Sussex childhood, a creative mother, a sewing machine at 10 years old, a passion for vintage fabrics and adventure in mind, it was clearly Kay's destiny to be the new female force behing Clothkits.

The Clothkits brand had been bought by Freemans, made dormant in 1991 and was left sitting on the shelf.  With the combined talents of a Fine Art degree, commercial knowledge, determination and instinct Kay sought to buy the brand. Negotiations with the company took 18 months, but in October 2007 Clothkits was hers. What I didn't realise until now was that there was no design archive remaining for Kay to draw on - it was her dedicated search across the country and on ebay, along with Clothkits fans, that enabled her to re-create the Clothkits archive and develop it into the Clothkits brand for the 21st Century. We sincerely applaud her.

One of our contemporaries, Clover Stroud, author of Cool Camping for Kids and journalist for a number of publicatons, must've been wearing Clothkits at the same time as us sisters.  Clover relates her memories in the Telegraph:  "I can't remember many of the clothes I wore before I was six, but I have a vivid memory of a certain skirt whose patterns I can still trace in my mind....It was 1979, and I was not yet five....I hadn't thought about that skirt for a while. But recently a girlfriend mentioned the name Clothkits, and it was as if a door had been opened on a moment in the past that resonates with vivid significance for a certain sort of person. That person is one almost certainly brought up by forward-thinking, slightly hippie-ish parents who were channelling an organic, home-made, recycled lifestyle long before any of those words entered our popular vocabulary."
(source: Telegraph)

Since establishing Clothkits Kay says:  'When we exhibit at trade fairs, there's a facial expression I see from a certain sort of woman when she comes across our stall. Her mouth opens and her hand goes up over her mouth with genuine surprise and pleasure. I feel privileged to be working with a brand that generates such warmth, and which has inspired so many good memories for so many women.'
(source: Telepgraph)

Kay has desrcibed the design process as 'largely collaborative' involving artists and designers such as Rob Ryan, Mini Moderns, Jane Foster and People will always need plates. The result is a good mix of 70s nostalgia and contemporary, seen in the retro dungarees and pinny dresses and classics of our time the bags and cushions:

What we can relate to with Clothkits is that its' ethos is one of cottage industry, the same ethos from which Sisters Guild has sprung. Clothkits coincided with motherhood and started at the kitchen table, just as Sisters Guild did. The fabrics are printed in Britain and the majority of designs are hand-printed.  It is a truly British brand and belongs to a generation of mums with a passion for crafts and for the hand-made.  We have been witness to a growing appreciation of the make-it and do-it-yourself culture which we celebrate on our blog with the Monday Makery.

Now the new generation of mums who love to make stuff can get some creative satisfaction from making a Clothkits piece, and there'll be a whole new trunk of treasured things to hand down and share.

Rob Ryan says: "Everybody I spoke to about Clothkits has lovely memories of the clothes they had made for them when they were children. It was more than a company, it was part of people's lives." (source: Telegraph magazine) 

Clothkits is a cherished part of our lives and we are so happy to be sharing it with you at Sisters Guild. 
Pop along to the Boutique and discover Clothkits here


NEWS! We are really excited to hear that Clothkits are now doing sewing workshops -
find the details on the Clothkits website

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This is part of our series of blog posts about the Story Behind our Collections - why we've chosen the designers that are in the boutique and how those designers came to be.

To see a bit more of what Sisters Guild is all about take a look at the A-Z of Sisters Guild here.

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Monday Makery - Bean Bag Toss

I love this game quite simply because it’s simple. Children of all ages love to play it and because there are so many different ways to play and different ways to use the beanbags it can give hours of fun for little children.

Children can play traditional aiming games; trying to accurately throw the beanbags into a hole in a box as we've made here. Playing a game of trying to knock down a group of bears and soldiers, using them as pillows and beds for favourite cuddlies, stacking them into towers and use them in counting games. Another great thing about this is that they are so easily taken with you in the park or in the garden. Perhaps the best thing of all is that they are very easy to make.

You'll need:

• fabric
• scissors
• needle and thread or a sewing machine if you have one
• dried beans, lentils or munga beans
• kitchen scales

Here's how:

1. Cut your fabric into 6 inch squares.
2. Take two of the squares and face together right side to right side.
3. Sew the two sides together leaving a little over an inch gap so that you can fill the bags later.
4. Turn the bag inside out. You can use the point of a pencil or a chopstick to push out the corners. 
5. Fill the bean bag with your dried beans. I used 10oz but you can use less or more if you feel you need to. I didn't have a funnel to fill the bags so I used a rolled up piece of paper as a makeshift funnel and it did the job just fine.
6. Once the bag is full you're ready to sew together the last little inch gap. All done!

I made six in total so there were 3 bags for each player.

We also made some animals from cardboard boxes as part of a game; aiming at the animals and trying to get our beanbags to land inside.

My last box was commandeered for a post box and so the girls set about painting it bright red and marking out the slot for the letters. I cut a hole in the back, marking out three sides to make a flap so that the 'post' could be collected.

We made another game using the post-box and a list of words that Sessi is currently learning to read. I cut out the various words and attached a paper clip to each one. Then using a fishing rod with a magnet attached we played our own version of go fish. We fished for a word and tried to read it if we could read the word we kept it in our pile and if we couldn't the word was put back into the mix and the player had to shout 'go fish!'. The player with the most cards wins.

Oona will post just about everything in the post-box and I know when it’s emptied I'll find some interesting things in there!

I also upcylced some milk cartons and turned them into skittles. I poured a little of our left over dried beans and lentils into each carton after giving them a good rinse and letting them dry. I then painted them with the left over paint from our animal boxes and assigned each one a number.
The girls used the bean bags to try and bowl them down. We had a hard time teaching Oona the rules who insisted she stand right next to them and threw from there but it was great fun.

The girls have been inventing other games too; seeing how many bean bags they can throw into a hula hoop and scoring points for how many landed inside, balancing the bags on their heads and seeing how many they can carry before they fall down. Oona has her own little games that she has pilfered the bean bags for and has made beds for her mice and little dolls, she likes to line them up and count them, though the 4 is always missing, apparently on holiday according to Sessi! Oona will make towers with them too and I’m quite amazed how adaptable to so many games these bean bags have become!....Oh and yes they do occasionally end up in our post box too.

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We have more Monday Makery craft & recipe ideas here.

For behind the scenes photos of Sisters Guild we have the gallery of the A-Z of Sisters Guild here.

Wednesday: Wooing Mama!

Mama needs some wooing, not just for Mother's Day but always.
Here are some gifts for Mum, Mummy, Mother, Mama.
Mama loves...

Beautiful gifts for Mama to make her feel adored.  Jewellery by hop hop hop and Renaissance Life has so much charm - necklaces and bracelets to make Mama gasp with delight. Mama loves pretty....

Hand-painted metal candle holders by Rice DK £21.50
Mini nuage bracelet in powder pink by hop hop hop £39
Fabric photo frame by Rice DK £6.50
Year 1983 Swedish Russian Doll Necklace by Renaissance Life £119
Mini Mcghee Blanket with Vintage Bag £56
Fabric Flower Embroidered Box £44.50
My Favourite Spot in Spring Cushion by Belle & Boo £42

Home is surely the domain of Mama, a sanctuary, an expression of herself and her family.
Home is a place to make your nest, a place to gather friends and entertain, a place to surround yourself with favourite things that inspire and bring joy. Some gifts for a home-loving Mama...

Bureaux a la maison (home offices), book by PAUMES £20.40
Children's Rooms Paris, book by PAUMES £20.40
Ava's Tea Party mounted print by Belle & Boo £61.50
Tea Time Wall Sticker by Love Mae £55.00
Favourite Place Pillow by Lucky Boy Sunday £43
Leila Lou Linen Vintage-Inspired Dolls £18.50 each
Embroidered Napkins by Rice DK £5.30 each

We all have a creative side, or at least a desire to make. These are things for a mama who love to make, whether that's baking, knitting, sewing or other absorbing crafts.

Fabric Embroidered Box - for keeping craft hobby bits! - by Rice DK £44.50

Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutters £3

Butterfly-Shaped Cookie Cutters £3

Colourful set of plates by Rice DK £7.80

Dove & Cherries Pinny Sewing Kit in Jade by Clothkits £19

Melamine Mixing Bowls with Lids - set of 4 by Rice DK £34

A colourful piece, especially by our favourite homeware designers Rice DK, really does make us smile and sing.  A cushion to entice you to your armchair, a blanket to spread out, sprawl and read upon, a candelabra to make a enchanting centerpiece, clothes hangers that add even more colour to your wardrobe space, a bright and happy purse....and a velvet bird that is actually a clutch bag, in Turquoise, divine!  Mama loves colour...

Painted Candelabra with Birds by Rice DK £44

Painted Wooden Clothes Hangers by Rice DK £3.30 each

Velvet Bird Clutch Bag - Turquoise - by Rice DK £34.30

Fringy Flower Cushion Cover by Rice DK £29

LOVE Applique Double Quilt by Rice DK £110

Yellow Spot Make-Up Purse/Bag by Rice DK £13

There's so many things that Mama loves...

Pass this on with a hint to those that need to know!

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Memories are made of this

I want to give something to my girls that I have indeed created. My skills are not particularly well accomplished as I discovered last Christmas when I decided to embroider initials onto some beautiful vintage linen napkins I had found. Like a childs' picture may look in his mind, quite perfect, and yet his hand cannot create the same imaginings, my mind was full of hope that my needle and thread might dance up and through the fabric with some sort of magical gift I had yet to discover. Alas, my imagination and hope stretched a little too far and though I finished the napkins (a big feat for me) they looked as though my older daughter may have done them. Perhaps I should have passed them off as her handiwork to the glee of all the family, but I feared the disapproval of allowing a three year old to hold a sewing needle!

I am not one to give up and am convinced I can in fact create something wonderful for my girls and I am now about to make them some clothes. Not easy? Well, these Clothkits sewing kits are perfect for the less skilled or shall I say 'novice' and,  more eager creator.

Sessi is the girliest of girls so I'll be making her this gorgeous pinny:

Dove and Cherries pinny kit in pink £19

Clothkits at Sisters Guild

Oona is constantly climbing and scrambling, over, under and through everything so I think these may be preferential, besides I love the echo of 70's colour and it'll be a great addition to her winter wardrobe.

Emerald Green and Indigo Smiley Lion Dungarees kit £22

Clothkits at Sisters Guild

Each set contains all that you will need to create the pieces. They are designed to make it uber easy for the novice in all of us who wants to be able to make clothes.

If all goes well I will also be making these adorable, huggable, loveable matching dolls too.

 Dove and Cherries Doll Dress Kit £10

Clothkits at Sisters Guild 

The Clothkits revival is sure to impress our own mothers too, who'll perhaps remember making their own pieces for us when we were young. I've saved my favourite Clothkits dress I had as a child for Sessi, though she's still a little small for it I can't wait to pull it from my memory box to be worn again.

Both my mother and sister Bekka are in love with the illustrations of Rob Ryan so this kit designed by Rob Ryan for Clothkits will make a perfect gift for them to make their own creations.

 Rob Ryan House and Birds Papercut Design Kit by Clothkits £20

Clothkits at Sisters Guild

Perhaps I could make the bag to house this wonderful book by Carol Ann Duffy, 'Another Night Before Christmas' which is also illustrated by Rob Ryan.

 The kit can be used to make a bag or two cushions.

Another Night Before Christmas by Carol Ann Duffy illustrated by Rob Ryan £4.99 at Amazon  

Also featured on the fabulous ChicLittleBaby blog

Something I've been saving for the future is a pile of fabric I've been adding to ever since my girls were born. I have kept all my favourite pieces of clothing they have worn. Some that are just so incredibly beautiful and others simply because they hold so many memories; the top she was wearing when she took her first steps, her favourite blanket, the dress she wore all summer, the first babygrows she ever wore with the prettiest floral pattern.

When I have more time, if ever this miracle idea of a future with ample time does actually happen, I hope to make a patchwork blanket of all of these memories. Perhaps one for each of their first born.

So here's to an evening in a cosy chair, needle in hand and a head full of hope for my next creations!

Clothkits nostalgia

We rejoiced when we discovered a couple of years ago that Clothkits had been revived, got very excited to discover vintage kits and new kits by some of our favourite designers, and then rejoiced again when we were able to stock them in Sisters Guild.

And... yipeee the stock has arrived!

See the Sisters Guild boutique for more details

Clothkits was such a memorable part of our childhood.  Clothkits just off Union St in Bath was the place to shop for creative mums, and we have to admit now that our mum was pretty cool in her day (even though there was a phase when we refused to stand next to her at the school bus-stop due to her bright pink lace up boots - oh, how I wish she still had them!). I loved going to that shop, surrounded by fabrics , patterns and prints - a visual treat for my childs' eyes.  I'm going to have to do a whole new blog post about memories of Bath as a kid - Moles cafe, Harvest with it's big red play pen, Walcot Street festival - makes me want to move back there. That's Clothkits nostalgia for you!

The Clothkits clothes our mum created during late night sewing sessions on the old Singer machine were just beautiful, the most memorable being the corduroy dresses,  one red, one purple, with hand printed nature patterns.  All 3 of us sisters wore them in turn (yes, there's 3 of us sisters - our lovely Zoe, the oldest sis will surely be getting involved at some stage!)  Our little brother had lots of stripey bright Clothkits jumpers too - from the readymade collection.  A few dresses remain, and Carla's girls are next in line to wear them.

We feel Kay Mawer has brought Clothkits into the 21st Century so perfectly and taken it to a stunning new level by involving artists and designers such as Rob Ryan, Mini Moderns, Jane Foster and People will always need plates.  Now the new generation of mums who love to make stuff can get some creative satisfaction from making a Clothkits piece, and there'll be a whole new trunk of treasured things to hand down and share.

To discover the Clothkits collection pop along to the Sisters Guild boutique here

We are digging around for some old photos and will post them here as soon as we've dusted them off.

Here, I found some!

Please leave your own Clothkits memories here.