Monday 29 January 2018

My First Pair of Ballet Shoes

Every now and then I am so thankful that my mother was one of those mums who never threw anything away. Sometimes I am amazed with the things that she comes up with, like this pair of ballet shoes. It is all I have left of my ballethood as a child. I only did it for a term. After that we had to call it quits as my parents said it was too expensive, with the uniforms and the shows and so on. They said they were already paying for my piano lessons and I showed no aptitude at dance. I was really crushed and I still remember that day, that very last day when I did ballet. They are soft leather both inside and out and in a very pale pink. There was a pair of ribbons per shoe and we learned how to tie them properly.

Heartbroken, I hung on to the shoes which my mother also did, as a souvenir of that time. I remember weeping into them. 41 years passed. When you are born and raised in an ugly, post-industrial working-class mess of a city called Johor Bahru, (which is like saying you are from Hull) there is a certain hopelessness and ennui in realising any whim, fancy or artistic dreams or to enjoy a culture of sophistication. At least there was one school of ballet and a public library at the time, which gave me a glimpse of that other world, the one that I should be in.

However, today as an adult, fortunately I have the benefit of hindsight which is that I am super-proud, excited and happy to have grown up in a city of such vileness because I now realise I have escaped. Johor Bahru made me who I am, it is my identity and my self-worth.

"I made my living writing about the beauty of ugliness." - Jack Kerouac



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How To Fix or Replace Broken Umbrella Handle DIY

I found a posh umbrella, discarded. I know it’s posh because it says Belgravia Gate, and also know it’s been discarded because it’s got no handle. But it’s actually very good quality, fully-lined and everything. Thick black spokes and fabric. 
So I took it home and I made my own handle, from DAS modellingclay. This usually costs about £3 from The Works or any art shop but I already have a lump in my fridge for doing repairs.

Even carved my initials at the end using a butter knife. I stuck a BBQ skewer to make holes in case you want to hang up and put a string through. 


The handle even has finger moulded grip like you see on golf umbrellas. I used both left hand and right hand to form the moulding so that you can use it with either hand.

And wa-lah! After about 24 hours and it has completely air-dried, I masking taped and took it outside to be spraypainted. I used matt black as that is all I have from doing gutter repairs and other black things.


 It looks like a charred sausage. 


Apres spray: I took it back inside and I had to air dry it on the end of the Dyson vacuum cleaner which has a perfect hole because can you believe it I do not have anywhere to stand it vertically to dry for another half a day!



Very proud of fixing this perfectly top quality umbrella. But now I have finished "handling" (get it) this project, how come it won't bloody rain. It was raining all last week!

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1950 Lined Military Cape Jacket Original Vintage Pattern Mandarin Collar





    • I was inspired by the city of Hong Kong which was both vintage and high tech at the same time. This is a military cape style jacket with mandarin collar was started after I returned from there launching my first book, Cry of the Flying Rhino. I enjoyed the visuals of an eclectic world made famous by the 2000 Wong Kar Wai movie In the Mood for Love set in 1962. The mandarin collar of this cape is supposedly a nod to that movie however it is 1950s or a softer and semi-structured version of the traditional high and hard collar of the 1960s. This is a still from the movie, showing the mandarin collar.
      High semi-structured collar
    • Hong Kong was an eye-opening experience for me. I had never before had the opportunity to visit somewhere not just for a holiday or vacation, but in order to pick up my literary prize and to launch my book. As it was such an auspicious occasion, I took the lead and decided to make from scratch a formal short cape in a military or auspicious colour. 
      Exhibition of vintage cheongsams - this is from the 1930s
        Bustling and exciting all the time, new and old world collide

        Bamboo scaffolding on modern skyscrapers- again new and old

        Old Hong Kong - colourful vibe of a vintage coffee shop, strong colours, red is always present
        Exhibition of different mandarin collars on vintage cheongsams

      • I used a pattern I bought on eBay last autumn/fall something like 3.50£ - I forgot already. The pattern is an original 1950s vintage pattern and it only comes in small medium or large. I went for small.
      • The fabric is a heavyweight military red wool and it is also from eBay and it cost only 6.50 for 1.6m. I never use the metreage requirement on the packet because it is quite wasteful and you end up with a lot of leftovers. So I usually recalculate fabric requirements. The lining cost about 3.50. There were only three "reds" to choose from in the linings section. I went to a sewing and fabric shop in Tooting, so not exactly very much choice. One was too brown. One was too orange and one was pink. Naturally I had to go for 1.6m of the orangey one as you can see. The horsehair interfacing was from eBay and it was pricey at 6.50 so I got only a metre as that is the minimum you have to get.
      • Once I returned from Hong Kong I proceeded to cut out the pattern and in typical frugal style I have cut out with the pattern very close together.
      • When you make a fully-lined jacket, I forgot you have to make the same thing 4 times. The jacket outer, the lining, the facing and the interfacing. That is why it takes so long and 80% of that no one will ever see even. Except maybe your drycleaners.


      Keeping pieces close together
      Assembling facing, horsehair interfacing
      Preparing to make bound buttonhole






      The cuff is based on this double fold turn up as per Maggie Cheung's coat in the film:
      Double turn up 50s/60s cuff


      View of bound buttonhole
      Close up of fabric covered button
      View of lining

      View of back - finished



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