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William Gee's Haberdashery

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William Gee's Haberdashery

Welcome back to William Gee.
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Sewing Bee

Sewing Bee Giveaway: Enter to win loads of sewing goodies & craft bags!

It’s competition time! To celebrate the start of the 2016 Sewing Bee tonight, we’re giving you the chance to win a William Gee Goodie Bag full of crafty treats and sewing goodies!  The Great British Sewing Bee is back on our screens Monday 16th May at 9pm on BBC2 – and we can’t wait to see what’s in store this year! […]

William Gee 110 years

William Gee celebrates its 110th birthday!

This week we celebrate our 110th birthday, and to mark the occasion, we’re offering 10% OFF to the first 110 customers who shop with us, using code 110YEARS. Start saving in our online shop here. In 1906, William Goldstein (right)- an East European immigrant- changed his name to William Gee and opened a small trimmings shop at 495 Kingsland Road […]

Sewing Curves

Sewing Curves: How do you sew yours?

When I used to look at buying a new sewing machine, the number of stitches per minute was always important to me – well, the quicker the machine stitched, the faster I could make stuff. Or so I thought. I have upgraded my sewing machine twice in the last 3 years and have only just […]

Georgina von Etzdorf

Scarves in Fashion: A rare audience with the Queen of Scarves

HAVE A think, how many scarves do you own? How often do you wear a scarf? And how much would you pay for a designer scarf that makes you feel different, special and becomes a treasured possession? The scarf as a fashion accessory is bigger than ever (the skinny scarf is set to be big for […]

Pressing Matters - iron

Pressing Matters…

I hate ironing. No, I really hate ironing. The iron spends more time in the cupboard than in use but my OLD iron, the one my husband used for years during his art degree, sits permanently on the side ready for use. Not for ironing use, for pressing use. They’re the same aren’t they? Thankfully not! Everyone […]

A Beginners guide to the best sewing classes in the UK in 2016

A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Sewing Classes in the UK

For anyone who has thought about starting to sew, making your own clothes and accessories can seem overwhelming. There’s plenty of help out there – craft bloggers, social media, and even Youtube videos – but if you just don’t know where to start, or you want to learn from a sewing teacher, why not look for a […]

Get Haiti Sewing

Follow Emma’s Journey to #GetHaitiSewing

Earlier this week we received a request we couldn’t ignore. One of our customers, Emma Wilkinson (of Emma Wilkinson Designs), is travelling with a small group to Haiti next month to help out at an orphanage & school called Hope House, that was set up after the earthquake & hurricane in 2010. The group includes three teachers from a […]

subtle zips or stand out zips

Versus: Subtle – or – Stand-Out Zips?

Exposed zips and invisible ones can make a whole lot of difference to your dressmaking. A lot of the time, you can get away with a straightforward zip fastening. In reality, changing the fastening is a great way to make a pattern more distinctive. I’ll let you in on a secret: zips give me nightmares. […]

Seamless Seams

Seamless Stitching – Seams too good to be true!

Your fabric is cut, your sewing machine is threaded…Now to actually sew with it! But wait – you MUST do a test of your sewing settings before letting yourself loose onto your lovely fabrics, or whatever it is you are sewing may be ruined at step one. Did you save your off-cuts when you cut out […]

Sewing advice for beginners

Sewing advice for novices and newbies

Whether you want to take up sewing as a hobby, or you plan to embark on a new career where sewing will play an important role, there is much to learn and a lot of enjoyment to be taken from this popular craft. So let’s start right at the beginning… Choosing Your Machine Before you […]

contrast stitching or careful colour matching

Versus: Contrast Stitching – OR – Careful Colour Matching

A good thread choice can make all the difference. Sometimes it’s only there to hold everything together. But when you’ve got free rein, is it worth making that necessity into a feature? Christmas projects often send me into confusion. I love the fun side, all the over-the-top sparkly stuff. That said, simpler Scandinavian-style designs are just […]

bestselling products at williamgee.co.uk

TOP 10: Our Bestselling Products of 2015

The results are in for 2015. Once again, Spot and Cross Pattern Paper has managed to maintain its number 1 spot as William Gee’s most-loved product! Snap fasteners, a reliable Prym product, managed to secure 2nd spot (its highest position in 3 years), with our calico maintaining its position on the podium for a 4th […]

Why tins make brilliant sewing gifts all year round

Why tins make brilliant sewing gifts all year round!

Seasonal, vintage and supermarket…Tins will never go out of fashion. If you’re reading this, the chances are you’re fashionable, and need to be organised. So where do you keep all your fashion design equipment and tools? Needles, pins, different-sized threads, bobbins, dressmaking scissors, small scissors, rotary cutter, rules and curves, ruler, tape and tape measures, […]

How to make a Christmas Stocking

PROJECT SPACE: Make Your Own Christmas Stocking!

Make your own personalised Christmas stocking, an ideal gift or an heirloom to treasure for years to come! This is an easy festive project suitable for adults and children, and a perfect way to boost your sewing skills. What materials do you need? – 50 x 50cm red felt & 30 x 30cm green felt – Christmas […]

Applique

Versus: Turned Edge Appliqué – OR – Fuse and Run

When you want to add a lovely bit of appliqué to your project, do you turn the edges or iron on that fusible web and call it a day? My mantelpiece was looking a little tired last Christmas, so I figured it was time to treat my family to new stockings. After a spare-room-covering rummage […]

Fasteners

Fancy Fasteners? Look no further!

There are a vast array of ways to fasten clothes & bags. Fastenings range from simple press studs to hand sewn, bound buttonholes. When I was first teaching myself to sew, I had a sewing machine that did straight stitching and nothing else. It was great. But it meant I avoided buttonholes! I made a lovely […]

Ancient meets modern

Ancient Meets Modern: The Fabric of Design

India’s rich textile history informs a new wave of designers, Susie Lau meets the colourful designer Manish Arora and the Duchess of Cambridge stands out in a crowd. What do Style Bubble blogger Susie Lau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have in common? They’ve both made three-day flying visits to each other’s countries recently. […]

Vintage Corner

Introducing the Vintage Corner

Hello and welcome to the Vintage Corner! My name is Shabana and I have been sewing since I was a little girl. My mum owned an old Singer and being an accomplished seamstress, made beautiful dresses for my sister and I. She was keen for me to learn to sew and had no problems with letting me have a go […]

win a copy of London stitch and knit

Online Giveaway: Win a copy of ‘London Stitch & Knit’

We’re so excited to let you know that we’ve teamed up with Leigh Metcalf and Black Dog Publishing, to give you the chance to win a copy of her new book, ‘London Stitch and Knit: A Craft Lover’s Guide to London’s Fabric, Knitting and Haberdashery Shops’. Please scroll to the bottom of this page for our competition […]

Liberty in Fashion - Ed Burstell

Liberty in Fashion: Up-Close with Ed Burstell

Why fashion and business students should get together, news of an imminent big-ticket Liberty collaboration and the brand he’d most like to work with. Tickets were sold out for Liberty MD Ed Burstell’s Q & A at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey. A chilly, rainy evening meant some empty seats, but it should have […]

Back to Uni - what you need to stock for your fashion design courses

Back to Uni with William Gee’s Sewing Packs!

This is the final time I will ever have to do any kind of ‘Back To School’ shenanigans. My oldest is heading to University and my younger teen is in her Final Year A Levels, hoping to go to University herself next year. I no longer have to remember to buy uniform and new school […]

The Knitting and Stitching Show 2015

Knitting and Stitching Show 2015: Review and Best Bits

I was lucky enough to visit the Knitting and Stitching show this year. With the beautiful Ally Pally in North London as its setting, Europe’s biggest textiles fair did not disappoint! The last time I visited this show was two years ago – so it’s great to see what the trends are and how they’re […]

The importance of a calico toile

The Importance Of A Calico Toile

If you’re making products in fabrics (be it a dress, a makeup bag, or a simple pouch) – if the product is designed to fit a certain object or serve a certain purpose, it’s important to get into the habit of creating a mock up, more traditionally known as a Toile. Toiles are created from a cheap material […]

Great British Sewing Bee

The Great British Sewing Bee 2016 – Applications Now Open!

The Sewing Bee will be returning in 2016 for its fourth series – how exciting! William Gee have been supplying GBSB with various haberdashery and sewing products since the series started. If you need some inspiration to apply – just look at the textiley success of some of the previous contestants below… – – – – – – […]

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve partnered with Tree Nation, the platform to reforest the world & fight climate change! Home to over 90 planting projects in 33 countries, Tree Nation is a non-profit organisation that helps people & companies offset their CO2 emissions. Join us by planting trees & offsetting carbon emissions with William Gee today!

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