I am a seamstress and pattern cutter so at work or not I am always making things. Etsy has become the go to haberdashery where you can find everything craft. I used to have to spend hours watching home shopping to find the one unusual item I needed, pins, thimbles, skeins of silk, I even found someone selling an old embroidery ring on there and a darning block or darning mushroom.

Literally anything you can think of in an old fashioned haberdashery you’ll find on Etsy. It’s like the best of a massive market place but for individual creative people so I’ve found the community of sellers to be so kind and grateful for your business. They know it’s hard fought for and won and I’ve found they are a thankful bunch of sellers which makes shopping on Etsy an added pleasure.

A few years ago I saw a Kiini crochet bikini worn by Yolanda Hadid Tamra Judge on the real housewives of orange country reality TV show that when I did some research there was a massive controversy over the design and the designer. She was a Brazilian Maria Solange Ferrarini fighting for her designs so I commissioned a bikini via Etsy. The Kiini crochet bikini cost 💲 $185 online. I paid $90 for mine custom made and it’s absolutely beautiful.

I sent her my measurements and I cut a pattern from a Tommy Hilfiger bikini I already had that fit me perfectly, Maria’s advice, I picked all the colours from a bunch of bikinis she showed me and then she made me the most beautiful crochet bikini, a one off custom bikini all the way from

Brazil. It was an amazing feeling when it arrived, I tried it on and it fit perfectly. It was like Dior or Westwood had made it for me. It was amazing to feel like together we were going against the massive wave of commercialism and the drive to make money at any cost even if it means stealing other people’s designs and livelihood.

Next time you are thinking about buying something think about making it yourself instead.

I purchased this leather patch on Etsy to have a go at creating my own version of the Loewe Ibiza Fisherman’s Hat. It didn’t quite go according to plan this time as the patch is too small for the hat but hey I supported local the patch cost £6 and I am sure I’ll find something else to pop it on.