handmade | dressed by style

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After a busy year, I’m keeping this DIY super simple. It will make the perfect teacher gift or a handmade present for a fellow bibliophile. My son has his annual Market Day at school tomorrow – all items have to be home made, which I quite like. It’s a nice antidote to this digital age of plastic and technology. So we came up with an inexpensive idea for one of his items to make and sell, involving a bag of leather offcuts I bought from Woodheads Leather Merchants. Their bargain bins are filled with offcuts that you buy per weight. Rummaging through, we found the perfect inspiration for his Market Day item – rectangles of soft leather in colourful sorbet shades. Then we chose different coloured leather thong, sold per metre, and a roll of neon orange waxed cotton thread.

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We ‘bookmark’ aplenty on the computer. Now it’s time to bookmark your books for real. Continue reading to see how easy it is to make these leather bookmarks…

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Our next adventure into the art hand-crafted textiles takes us to the little town of Bagru, just outside Jaipur. We learned the process of mud-resist indigo dyeing from Rajkanwar and Rachna Singh, a mother and daughter duo who are passionate about keeping the art of block printing alive in modern times. They welcomed us into their family-run factory and explained how they support the local community by making sustainable products employing hand-made techniques and centuries-old methods. They supply locally in India as well as collaborating with international designers. The ‘language of the hand’ – a phrase I heard used to describe the art of block printing – is all important to the Singh family. They hope to energise block printing and keep it economically sustainable in their region by reinterpreting traditional crafts and drawing inspiration from contemporary trends throughout the world.

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