Sewing Space Tours... Kate Tabor's Costume Design Studio

For today's sewing space tour where we peek behind the closed doors at a maker's inspiring sewing space, we're in London with Kate Tabor, the extraordinary costume designer, stylist, and maker.

Kate's impressive work is well known for being in music videos for artists such as David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, The Chemical Brothers and many more. Her work has also been featured in films and commercials and she just so happens to work in the same building as us! Her studio is awe-inspiring and original, we've admired her space for years and feel privileged to share her fascinating studio with you.

 I made this piece for The Chemical Brothers world tour visuals, it is one of four that was worn by dancers for the track 'Keep on Mak'in Me High'. This piece is made from Plasterzote which I cut into rings and threaded together to form the bodies.

I'm a Costume Designer living and working in South East London. I work in music and film, designing and making weird and wacky costumes. I specialise in using unusual fabrics and fabric manipulation to create unique pieces for each project.

How to Sew a Plait Detail

Did you see Tilly's Ness skirt with the plaited belt detail? If you fancy making your own, you're in luck! It's Serefina here, sewing pattern developer at TATB, and I'm going to take you step-by-step through how to sew this seventies-inspired detail.

It's pretty straightforward to do once you know how, and will add a super cool detail to your me-mades. We attached the plait to the waistband on the Ness skirt. You could also stitch it around the pocket openings, or make it into extra fancy belt loops. Louise even has plans to make plaited braces for her next Ness skirt!

Plait's the Way A-ha A-ha I Like It

Blame Louise for the title of this post - I asked for suggestions and her joke was waaay more interesting than the holding title. So there we go!

We shared a sneak peek of this denim skirt with added plaited belt detail in our coin pocket tutorial, and had a lot of Qs on social media about it. So here it is in all its glory. The skirt was made with our Ness sewing pattern. I got the idea for the plait detail a few years ago while browsing ready-to-wear garments, and have been dreaming of adding to a me-made outfit ever since. The seventies vibe of the Ness skirt seemed like the perfect garment to add it to - and I'm absolutely in love with the result.

Six Steps to Starting Sewing

Fancy sewing your own clothes but don't know where to start?

If you've stumbled upon this site while researching how to get into sewing - in which case, welcome! - you may have spotted that we offer lots of resources aimed at stitchers, including complete novices, from step-by-step patterns and award-winning books through video workshops and free tutorials.

It can all still be a bit of a maze of information though when you're just starting out and don't know what you don't know. So I thought I'd break it down into six simple steps to get started sewing. You're welcome!

1) Get a sewing machine

Whether you buy, thrift, rent or borrow it, you'll obviously need to get your hands on a sewing machine. Shopping for a machine can feel a bit overwhelming, but all you really need is a machine that has a straight stitch (for most stitching) and an adjustable zigzag stitch (for finishing edges and sewing knits). Full size machines (rather than those cute half size models) are best for garment sewing. If you want to try before you buy, go to a specialist sewing machine shop or large department store such as John Lewis if you're in the UK. Or keep it easy by buying online. I always say that the best machine is the one you have, so don't sweat the decision too much!

Read more about choosing a sewing machine