A minute with the Crafty Lass
Please introduce yourself.
Hello. My name is Paula Milner and I am a crafter, designer, author, sewist, illustrator and a mummy to two young boys – I wear many hats!
Back in 2015, I quit my corporate nine to five and established ‘The Crafty Lass’. My aim was to inspire adults to get creative in their busy lives, primarily through teaching workshops and offering tutorials.
I am inspired by the natural world, predominantly flowers. My The Crafty Lass fabric ranges using my illustrations are produced by the Craft Cotton Co and can be found in retailers around the United Kingdom.
I have most recently collaborated on and released collections of hand carved floral woodblock designs with The Indian Block Print Co. My first book, Simple Paper Flowers was published late last year.
How did you get into crafting?
I feel like I have just always been crafty. I remember going into toy shops with birthday money – and heading straight to whatever crafty things I could get my hands on. Beading, friendship bracelets or quilling, even needle punching or Fimo clay.My dad is very creative too – he draws and paints, but I used to glue and build all sorts of things with my mum. I went on to study Art and Design at both school and college – before graduating with a BA (Hons) 1st Class Honours in Printed Textile Design at Loughborough University.
What crafts do you practise?
I really love getting creative in all sorts of ways and I have tried or taught a huge array of crafts. From air dry clay to needle felting, sketchbook clubs, marbling, crochet, knitting, lampshade making, wreaths, calligraphy, even lampworking, which is a type of glasswork where you use a hand torch to make glass beads.I currently adore paper flower making (and I had to make a lot of flowers for my book!), wood block printing (the simplicity and joy of printing textile designs is so rewarding), hand sewing English paper piecing and of course machine sewing! I love making things for our home and for the boys too. I quilt and I sometimes dabble in dressmaking.
Accessibility to crafts is important to you, why is this?
There is something magical about spending time getting creative, making things with your hands and allowing our brains to rest. I truly believe everyone can craft from age 1-101, it just might be that you need to find what works for you.
I think it is really important to allow people time to be creative – in whatever form suits them best. Even people who ‘aren’t crafty’ can often actually end up enjoying themselves if they choose to take part and can be super proud of whatever they’ve made.
Who taught you to sew, and what memories do you have of this?
Do you know, I honestly cannot remember when. I was given a Brother sewing machine when I was around 13 and I remember being transfixed that I could make cushions, curtains… whatever I wanted!
However, I was much younger when I learnt to hand sew and have memories of trying to both knit and use threading toys from when I was about five. I feel like sewing has always been a part of my life. My grandmother was very good at sewing; I was very fortunate to inherit her beautiful sewing box, which I absolutely treasure.
Preserving memories is an important aspect of your work – tell us how you do that.
I love how you can encapsulate meaning into craft – things can become personalised or you can immortalise a special moment.
One of the things I have committed to doing since my boys were born is to make ‘memory bunting’. Each year, I select their most worn and outgrown items of clothing and transform them into something they can treasure. I even try to make the bunting triangles as quirky as possible by including buttons, pockets, little sections of three dimensional items – even incorporating seams, or worn-out holes. It doesn’t matter if the triangles aren’t perfect – it is more about the memory than ‘perfect sewing’.
We hang the bunting up each year on their birthday – before they are put away in a memory box. My plan is to, on their 18th birthdays, present them with a whole lifetime of memories woven into these little triangles!
Do you have any tips for our readers who want to create their own memory bunting?
If you wanted to do the same, I would try and use thin materials such as cotton or thinner jersey. Some thicker fabrics are just that bit trickier in small triangle shapes. Think about particular patterns or prints that capture a special memory.For example: one year my boys’ triangles were filled with dinosaur prints, and another year was more space themed. I also have one year that is completely made from school uniforms covered in paint splattering, as that was what that year was all about for them. It makes you look at not just the item of clothing, but the stage of life too. Also - I don’t always coordinate the fabrics in the same bunting, I just mix and match to whatever I have!
Making memory bunting is not restricted to children’s clothing of course – you could utilise this idea for anyone you wanted to celebrate. Hang that bunting in their memory, or to celebrate a special moment. The project doesn’t have to be bunting – you can upcycle garments and household linens into quilts, cushions, whatever you like – just replace your fabrics with scraps cut from clothing.
What projects do you have planned for the future?
I have quite a lot planned for The Crafty Lass future – more fabric ranges, an exciting new The Crafty Lass threads range with Aurifil, more woodblock designs, and the launch of my first book.I will be teaching at various events this year too – in origami, how to sew fabric flowers, in woodblock printing and paper flower making. Sewing wise, I have some lovely projects in the planning stages here on the Brother blog.
I also have the wonderful Bumble Bee quilt, designed by Tracy Perks from the Rope and Anchor Trading Co that I am enjoying putting together. Plus, of course, I have bunting to make twice a year.
Will you pass sewing and crafting skills onto your own children? Have they taken interest in this?
Absolutely. My youngest is very into drawing and stickers – he can be so imaginative. My eldest is very into craft and he truly understands that craft calms him. He likes to make whatever Mummy is doing, so if I am making paper flowers, he will too. If I get my sewing machine out, he will too! He loves seeing how quickly his sewing machine can transform fabric into a new handmade project. He likes to experiment with patchwork quilting, but most recently he made a lovely notebook cover from a sewing subscription box by Oodles of Craft.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Have you made any memory projects? I would love to see them – or if you have any crafty questions, please feel free to get in touch! You can find me at www.thecraftylass.com or on Instagram @thecraftylass.
