Fashion: Do it yourself

A couple of generations ago, any woman worth her salt would have known how to darn a sock, take up a hem or mend a broken string of pearls. Some were even known, on occasion, to replace the odd gusset on their frayed and greying undergarments.

My own Big Grandma – large in personality as well as girth – was a skilled milliner and her grand headwear famously took up an extra two seats in the church pew on a Sunday. Mother, meanwhile, was permanently hooked up to her old Singer, running up matching outfits for my brother and me – much to our eternal shame (he's never lived that orange Laura Ashley tie down).

Not many of us would mourn the lost knowledge of gusset stitching. And in these days of buy-it, wear-it, bin-it fashion, when you can pick up a party frock for less than the price of a large glass of chablis, you might question why on earth anyone would spend hours hunched over a sewing machine anyway.

But making do and mending is very much back in vogue, not just as a reaction to the credit crunch, but because most of us are fed up finding out Joanne in advertising has an identical blouse to our latest purchase.

And while getting creative in the wardrobe department provides you with something unique to wear to your best friend's wedding, you might even find your new skill leads to a new career.

Following in Big Grandma's mothballed wake, I begin my DIY fashion odyssey by enrolling in a two-day millinery workshop, after which time I am promised I will be the proud owner of my very own titfer to take home.

Hats have never really gone out of fashion: there will always be weddings, christenings and funerals requiring some kind of formal headwear. But recently they have undergone something of a renaissance. Kate Moss and Keira Knightley are often seen sporting a fedora or trilby, Cheryl Cole wore an elaborate Philip Treacy number on the cover of her album Three Words and Carla Bruni won last year's Celebrity Hat Wearer of the Year for the dinky little cap she wore when she visited the Queen (herself no slouch in the hat department).

Sam Prophet, of Edinburgh milliner Yvette Jelfs, takes me through my paces, starting with a felt cone shape that is thoroughly soaked in hot water before being stretched over a wooden hat block. This in itself is physically hard work, repeatedly tugging and stretching at the felt to ensure the hat will keep its new shape once it dries. Then, satisfied that it's ready, I place pins around the brim to hold it all in place.

The rest of the day is spent choosing feathers or ribbons to make a decoration – though I could just as easily create a fascinator in the same way. The shop's back room is literally stuffed with colourful peacock and ostrich feathers, as well as the plumage from more common or garden birds, plus fabrics to create bows, flowers or netting.

I learn how to curl a feather (by nothing more hi-tech than steaming it over the kettle and holding it around a plastic jug) and how to pin everything in place on a sinamay pad. It's methodical, as well as creative work and I quickly settle into a routine – with Prophet on hand to keep me right when things go awry (such as when I bend a feather so far it snaps, and when I get a little over-enthusiastic with the glue gun).

The following week, I return to a dry hat and a solid day's stitching ahead of me, first to secure a length of wire in the brim, then to fit elastic around the inside to ensure it doesn't blow off with the first gust of wind. It takes all day to get it right (fortunately felt is a very forgiving fabric so my less than neat stitches are nearly invisible) and the finishing touch is a black band around the crown.

Some pupils, says Prophet, are so bitten by the millinery bug that they continue creating headwear on whatever objects they can find – from upturned bowls to papier mch shapes made from old hats (hand-made wooden blocks are expensive, but are sometimes available on eBay). Some have redesigned hats bought in charity shops, while others have started from scratch using their favourite fabrics. I'm just amazed that – considering the last time I put needle to thread I was sitting my Fashion and Fabric O Grade – I managed to complete something I've been wearing non-stop ever since.

When Gok Wan takes his little high street number, adds a trim here, a ribbon there and a pair of shoulder pads somewhere else, it could almost pass as a designer item. But let's face it, how many of us have the confidence – or the skills – to take on a job like that?

Or how about that vintage dress and coat you picked up years ago but which have been hanging in the wardrobe because the 1950s cut doesn't fit your 2010 figure?

This is where the girls on the haberdashery counter at John Lewis fly to the rescue, with their Fashion Fix sewing classes. Whether you simply need to learn how to sew on a few buttons, want to change a broken zip or revamp last year's little black dress, they can lead you through the process, giving you loads of invaluable tips along the way.

My vintage dress is taken in, tried on and pinned at different stages to ensure I can still sit down and walk comfortably in it. A small hole is repaired using the buttonhole function of the sewing machine and I'm shown how to use an overlocker to sew seams.

Then the coat is turned into a box jacket, with the addition of a lace trim – OK, I don't think I'd convince anyone Coco Chanel herself created it, but it has the same vibe.

Most of all, I learn patience – you can always take more off, but you can't put it back on again. So I'm advised to keep trying things on as I go, and told not to be tempted to sew the fabric and the lining together – it will never lie properly and once it's washed, disaster could strike. Oh, and always ensure the clothes are properly pressed before starting – it'll save you time in the end. Consider my wrist soundly slapped!

If Big Grandma was a hat lady, Wee Grandma loved her bling. I've acquired bags of old pearls, crystal beads and diamant over the years, much of it broken or incomplete, yet I can't bear to throw any of it out.

I pour the lot on to the counter at The Bead Shop, in Edinburgh's Stockbridge, looking for advice and inspiration. Fortunately, I've come to the right place. A treasure trove of its own beads, the shop is also equipped with all the kit required to revamp my old baubles, and the staff have the know-how to make it happen.

All the beads are laid out on a tray as we work through the design. Some will need restrung – the pearls on silk, the crystal beads on strong, clear nylon – and for that I discover beading needles, tiny, flexible lengths of wire with a bendy eye. There's no soldering involved, but a little bit of glueing, some plier-squeezing and plenty of patient threading.

A therapeutic hour or so later, the whole lot is finished off using some ribbon, silver ribbon ends and a clasp. Some customers have gone on to start small businesses, selling jewellery to friends and work colleagues who've admired their work. Me? I'm just happy to see Wee Grandma's treasure back in active service.

Millinery workshops cost 120 per day, or 55 for a half-day to make a fascinator. To find out more call 0131-556 8388 or see www.yvettejelfs.com

For details on John Lewis's free Fashion Fix classes, contact the store via www.johnlewis.com/edinburgh or by calling 0131-556 9121.

The Bead Shop runs a range of jewellery making workshops. Prices start at 12 and tools are supplied free of charge. For details on these or for advice on remodelling your own jewellery, call 0131-343 3222 or see www.beadshopscotland.co.uk

This article was originally published in The Scotsman on 27 February 2010