If you have perused the Fashion Category here on Lettuce Craft at all, you know the incredibly talented @Loop-da-Loop. I asked her to share all her crafty secrets (not really) and to tell us more about herself!
You are clearly a fashion master now, but how did you get started sewing?
I vaguelly remember making a skirt and a bikini with my Mum as a small child, and there’s a photo of me with a kids sewing machine that I got for Xmas one year so I know I definitely did do some sewing at quite a young age. However I don’t think I did any sewing at all between the ages of around 10 and 25, and I can’t remember what got me back into sewing but I borrowed my MiL’s sewing machine for something (and Mr Loops had to show me how to use it as he just about remembered using one at school!) and shortly after got my own sewing machine and started making bags for myself 
On a related note, what is the earliest craft project you remember making, clothing or otherwise?
I think my first and most precious crafting memory is my Nan teaching me to crochet and knit. My first project was just crocheting tooooons of granny squares to sew together to make a blanket, but I soon moved onto knitting lots of toys from the Jean Greenhowe pattern books, and crocheting baby clothing for my stuffed toys! I still have my Care Bear from when I was a little kid, with the crocheted cardigan I made on it! 
And in my teen years, instead of having a social life, I made knitted toys of some of my favourite tv characters such as the Man from UNCLE and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, shows that were admittedly weird for me to like given that I was a child of the 80s, not the 60s, but I was clearly determined to be different at a young age!
List three crafting tools you can’t live without.
They’re not the most exciting, but my most beloved tools are the ones that make my life easier. I have Psoriatic Arthritis and it can make crafting very difficult sometimes, overdoing it one day can mean I have a lot of pain and difficulty using my hands/arms the next few days, so I like to find tools that will allow me to craft with less pain and for longer!
- Fiskars softouch micro-tip scissors. Standard scissors can cause me a lot of hand pain, but these are spring-action detail scissors and are defo the best tool I’ve purchased.
- Clover rotary cutter, with a nice sharp blade, which is really comfortable on the fingers and wrist
- Difficult to pick a 3rd as there are so many things, I love my pattern weights (I even got some with my LdL logo printed on them) and sewing clips, again both a game changer as fiddling with tiny pins really bothers my hands, and when it comes to clothes sewing my overlocker is essential but I do want to get a coverstitch machine at some point to up my game!! But it has to be my sewing machine! I finally updated the basic Toyota machine a few years ago that I’d been using nearly 20 years (it had a broken dial so I had to use pliers to change the stitch!), and now I have a nice Brother Innovis 27 SE
I mean admittedly I don’t need all the fancy stitches, I’d be happy sewing on anything but it was a very happy purchase and I love it!
Your fabric choices are so fun. How do you pick them?
It can be difficult as fabric stores in the UK are very few and far between and many of them only stock curtain fabrics and basic quilting prints, so 95% of the time I buy online, but you don’t always know what you’re getting. I once ordered a superb fabric with cheesy old sci-fi posters on it to make a skirt but it was much thicker than I anticipated and the print was huge, but it worked out as I ended up upholstering a chair with it that had got really threadbare
Once I’ve found a fabric seller that gets me I do like to stick to them and I have a selection of different ones that I use for different purposes. A few cheaper stores (Pound Fabrics, Pound a Metre, Fabric Land) for the occasional bargain plus cheap basics for muslins, my favourite store for variety and prices (Minerva), and my fave stores for their kitschy nerdy fabrics (Elephant in my Handbag, and Plush Addict amongst others). I also follow a few fabric creators on FB like Dark Violet, Miffy, Enchanted Fabrics that do some amazing fabrics that you know you’re not going to find anyone else on the street wearing!
The only downfall I have is that I’m so drawn to making colourful and patterned clothing, that I never have anything plain to easily match with it!!
Your dog-hter Rosie is such a presence in your posts and projects. Tell us about your model!
I would be delighted to! We rescued her nearly 8 years ago now, after I’d retired from my day job (for mental health reasons), and whilst it was a very challenging first 6 months (she was in a shelter for 10 months and craved attention and play constantly, which translated into barking solidly at me!), she’s been an absolute joy, and such a character. She even came with us on our honeymoon in the Netherlands 
My initial crafts for her were limited to trying to make new covers for the beds that she ripped up (we didn’t call her Rosie Destructor for nothing!), then I started making her her own custom collars, and when I moved on to making dog collars and leads as a business she became my very willing model (willing as long as treats were involved… many delicious treats). And now she’s older and really feels the cold what else would I do but make her some nice warm clothing to match her Hooman Mum!!
Many of your creations have been named and photographed by your Hubby, what’s his creative process?
Hubby is usually my photographer, many times unwillingly because he doesn’t like to go outside into the fresh air, lol, and his photography process is essentially to press the button repeatedly and hope that there are a few that aren’t blurred, and that there are a few where I look like a crazy person (as opposed to me hoping there are a few where I look like a [plus sized] fashion model!!). So as he’s zipping up the literally hundreds and hundreds of photos to send to me he goes through his creative naming process to name the file, which is essentially a mixture of the first thing that comes into his head and the fact that he can’t spell (ahem… terkoise…). I will say they always make me laugh, but they’re not always useable!
He’s also volunteered to model some of my creations, as I have a few things ready to photograph, but I’m currently languishing with an evil agonising bout of sciatica so haven’t been able stand, let alone sew for nearly a month now! 
It’s nice to have such a supportive husband, but I’m not sure anybody is ready to see that!!!
You have mad skills in sewing! What is the most challenging project you have worked on?
Oooh my gosh, it’s a bit of a toss-up between the steampunk top hat I made for Hubby for our wedding, that was rather out of my normal wheelhouse, and my wedding dress(es), but I think the latter wins!! The skirt element was easy, but given my rather large bosom I knew it was going to be tricky to find a pattern to work, and I’d never done a corset before, but I got there in the end after many mock-ups and adjustments!
What is your favorite project that you have posted in the Fashion Category?
I mean technically my wedding dress obviously, but in terms of what I wear the most, it’s my “Clown Pants” (plus Rosie’s matching tee!), I wear them ALL the time, they’re just so comfortable. Closely followed by my “Terkoise thing”!!
What is your favorite project that someone else has posted in the Fashion Category?
You can’t ask someone that surely, I’m quite sure it’s illegal?!! I’m gonna cheat and give my top 3.
- Doughnut Novelty Print Shirt by ceep
- Punk Boot Zippered pouches by Dfabbric
- and gozer’s Shark Zippered Pouch
and special mention goes to all the things MistressT has made for TheMister, especially the rocketship sweatpants!
Thank you, Loops for giving us a little bit of insight into your crafty world! YOU ROCK!
Also, thanks for sharing Rosie and for noticing TheMisterT’s ridiculous garments! 
I do hope you’re recovering and getting more mobile these days.
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