Tag Archives: Gardening waistcoat

Waistcoats for park volunteers – update

Last year during lockdown I worked with the Friends of Brookmill Park (St.Johns, Depftford, SE London) to design a distinctive waistcoat for the volunteers…and here they are hard at work! Following the design consultations I drafted sewing patterns, making instructions and samples. One of the volunteers made the waistcoats and another made the prints for the back.

The park is a few minutes from from my house. It’s quite a narrow park along the banks of the River Ravensbourne between Eleverson Road DLR station and The Stephen Lawrence Centre – it has gardens, a lake, childrens play area and diverse wildlife. Find out more about the park and volunteering at brookmillpark.deptfordcreek.net

Brookmill Park Volunteers waistcoat update

The sample is now made up in a wonderful thick canvas, I had some lovely organic cotton tape (in my stash) which works perfectly for the ties!

The next part of the brief is to draft ‘making instructions’ , so the Brookmill Park group can make their own waistcoats! As I made the sample I photographed all the stages (here are just a few), to help me improve the instruction notes and diagrams I’d made for myself. You can see that the waistcoat is made inside out and turned through a gap in the facing seam on the back, so it’s all ‘self neatening’ and reversible.

Brookmill Park Volunteers Waistcoat

During these last few months I’ve been (distanced) working with a local community group, Friends of Brookmill Park.

The gardening volunteers wanted waistcoats that had big pockets and space to print ‘Brookmill Park Volunteers’ on the back, and, they wanted to be able to sew the waistcoats themselves! – I’m really impressed by that part of the brief; but it does mean I have to provide really, really, good instructions, which is an extra challenge – but really enjoying the process. Five toiles and paper patterns later, we’re getting close to finalising the design!