Kitted out

Today

More on my memory lane trip to Chichester. I found, to my delight, that Clothkits had a shop in the City Centre. I decided that I wanted to make one of their classic garments (which is still available) for Carmen.

So Cherie and I set off to find this place, which had such fond memories for me. I have to confess that I was disappointed. Now a small, mainly haberdashery and sewing machine shop, there was just a handful of kits, all very basic. There was fabric, mostly of the overpriced Liberty print category and not a bargain in sight.

In My Day

The home of Clothkits used to be in Lewes, where I also worked for a number of years. There was a shop in the high street and its window display indicated quite clearly that this was a clothes shop. There was a very wide range of charming clothes for children and adults. Most of them were available in kit form, although there were some knitted items and ranges of tights etc to co-ordinate with the kits as well. I used to look at the items with longing, but they did all seem rather expensive, given that you had to sew them as well. I have for many years been a fan of remnants, reluctant to pay full price for fabrics.

Every now and then there would be a Clothkits factory sale and I would trot down to the factory to see what they had. There would be bundles of notions: zips, buckles, buttons and tape and I would gleefully stock up. 


The real bargains would be the bundles of damaged kits. The kits would have maybe a flaw in the layout, a slight hole or similar, and there would be no instructions or notions. The bundles would contain three or fours kits and would cost £1. That's right £1. I would buy as many as I could carry and would either make up the kits anyway, using the bargain bin notions, or use the kits to make other things. 

Here are some pictures of the girls wearing Clothkits outfits, one a ready-made knitted dress, the other dresses I made for a friend's wedding.

Given the renewed enthusiasm for stitching, could Clothkits be missing a trick here? 

The designs, with their emphasis on border prints, may be a little old-fashioned nowadays, but many people who mistrust their ability to follow a pattern, might love it!

Anyway, I bought the quilted jacket at the exorbitant price of £35.00 and just hope that Carmen loves it.