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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Jez Designs

Jez Designs - Billericay based maker of custom accessories, jewellery, crafts and gifts!

I sell accessories and related gifts such as painted silk and jewellery through my first Etsy store www.jezdesigns.etsy.com
I sell craft and sewing kits and patterns, and homewares through my other Etsy store www.jezdesignscrafts.etsy.com

I also undertake commissions and a range of work such as repairing some painted textiles.

29/05/2026

New item in my Etsy shop!

I now offer these freestanding pouches for game counters in a range of fabrics. They could also hold dice neatly out of the way. Swip to see 2 examples and another fabric.

I've even had my first order courtesy of my husband's blog! He didn't even know he has a following lol.

They come in a range of vaguely themed fabrics, made to order, mostly brocades or velveteens. Some are upcycled and all are at least part eco through reuse or scrap use. They are washable or wipe clean so proof against those coffee and tea accidents!
Custom sizes or fabrics considered!

What shall I make them in next- denim jeans scraps? Snooker table baize scrap? Camo /olive drab canvas?
Actually that snooker one is good- it's Teflon coated and rubber backed and impossible to dispose of! And I have some to find a use for...

Find the options here:
https://jezdesigns.etsy.com/uk/listing/4510665747/freestanding-pouch-for-gaming-counters

For drawstring pouches see the rest of my shop.

26/05/2026

Sometimes I don't remake things!

I made this Regency dress some years back for me as costume for a weekend game, and it has a lot of cotton muslin and lawn in it. Now I _could_ cut it up, but I don't actually need any muslin or lawn. I rarely do. Currently it is usable (It's even washable) and comforatble for a larger sized person (it's somewhere between UK sizes 14-16 while I'm moderately curvy and tall) and a bit adjustable. It could be dyed, dip dyed or trimmed with interesting satin flowers etc.

So it seems silly to cut it up unless I needed the materials, and I won't wear it again (sadly I have expanded a bit too far plus it's a very young style now I'm grey haired). So, I'm selling it (let's see if it goes on Vinted!). With series like The Other Bennett Sister and Bridgerton around, interest in Regency fashion is still quiet high so I'm hoping it might get bought and takne to a ball or country dance somewhere lol.

Now a number of freinds made very similar dresses from old brocade curtains, bedsheets, you name it. All of which worked well- and it is simpler than many historical costumes so good for relative beginners with patterns easy to find. I happened to have lawn already, access to some cheap muslin and be playing an ingenue. It's a design that needs large long pieces of cloth for the skirts hence the use of household textiles or new fabric more than preloved clothes.

Have you ever upcycled to make something like this and what did you use?
What is your dividing line for "cut up and reuse" or "sell/donate"?

PS if you're interested in buying it get in touch (you should be able to find it in Vinted or I can give you a link). It's £25 including a reticule bag plus postage.

24/05/2026

I've been in Cornwall for a week and a half. Having abreak and getting inspired by the landscape and plants!

For example, I was privileged to get a private look round some amazing cohousing community grounds with a friend. While they have a nationally important peony collection, those are not out yet but the Rhodedendrons were and I never knew they came in THAT many shades! Swipe to see just a sample quite apart from all the mauve wild ones!

I may have to do a garden quilt based on Grandmother's Flowers with all those colours in...

Now I have to go eye up my stash of preloved fabrics and see if there are enough hot colours in there...

What would these colours and shapes inspire you to make or remake?

18/04/2026

Gorgeous little pouches for rings bracelets and brooches made from scraps of my hand painted silk. This time spring floral shades with lovely metallic gutta!

I made several panels of doodled paisley patterns for a custom order some years ago. I've been wondering what to do with the scraps and now I know!

I am enjoying using up whatever small pieces I can this month to clear the "to do" pile in the studio!

You can find these small ones in my Etsy store here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/jezdesigns?ref=seller-platform-mcnav§ion_id=31652563

17/04/2026

More special hand painted silk pouches going in my Etsy shop this week.

These are a bit larger than the tiny ones but still great for small special things especially coins or rings for weddings.

See them at this link or explore my shop:
https://jezdesigns.etsy.com/listing/4490142992

14/04/2026

This week's quilt project- working out a plan for something for a friend who is a gamer. The back will be a different example, probably diamonds or riangles, but the front is things they are keen on.

I've had to get to grips with some new software and sites! I've found some useful tools. NOTE this is not a commercial design, it's a private gift- there are game logos on as images here which you would need permissin to use commercially. I won't be doing that! This is from one gamer to another...and if I use e.g. the Game Over or Space Invaders design from Etsy I shall be buying their patterns of course.

First Pixabay at pixabay.com- a great place to download vector based art, some free (but I strongly recommend you donate to people whose art you use to support them- for example I found one great artist who had all the dice shapes!).

This works well with Paint (still included in MS Office thank goodness. It takes a little while to work out what it will or won't do but recolouring and resizing simple shapes works well and it has layers, usefully.

Next Libre Office for Draw at libreoffice.org - this free open source software can open Publisher files! As MS Publisher will no longer be available from October 2026 I need to start using something else and converting all my tutorials etc. It's a bit clunky with some popups not displaying correctly but it DOES open .pub files well enough to edit, and I am still learning it but once you get used to it it's quite powerful.

Then PatternJam at patternjam.com my newest tool online for laying out quilts roughly. Unfortunately WebQuilter has been hacked! The free version has plenty of function although you can only store one design. You can however upload photos and images of your stash fabrics/ideas which is how I pieced this together along with some standard fabrics! And download various things including some level of yardage, pattern pieces etc I think.

What tools do you use? Any good tips?
I usually start with squared paper but this is easier for my friend to see and understand- I can message him an image file.

13/04/2026

Did you know...? Jacquard fabrics have a reverse version of the pattern on the back. So if you need to match patterns on two sides of a garment front for example, you can fussy cut by flipping over the first piece and matching the pattern!

You can see here the sky blue is the reverse side of the gold/dark blue weave.

Interestingly, this silk sample from Walters isn't 100% symmetrical due to the foliage, but near enough that I can just about match each side of this waistcoat. I did have to use two different shades of the same silk- they would probably be from the same "blanket" with different colour warp threads in big stripes, so the designer could choose the final colourway.

I have several silk blanket pieces from Walters and Vanners like that, they're great fun. I've got a third silk mix for the waistcoat back, and a preloved curtain for the lining (not shown) in ivory. I'm hoping to find 6 vintage buttons in my stash, or perhaps 6 mismatching but similar ones!

I'm making the left hand waistcoat pattern, the very fitted kinda 1980s/90s shape as I think it might make a nice base for some steampunk costume. I have not made this pattern before!

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11/04/2026

Remaking the remake again yesterday.

When you're photographing your favourite made-from scraps tiny pouch and realise the vintage Barbie Pink sari has a weak spot, where the fabric won't even stick to the interfacing! (I know, 'cos I tried to fix this with the iron, and nope).

I have lovingly darned it visibly with candy pink embroidery cotton in a sort of woven look. I shall offer it for sale- if no-one else loves it after some weeks then I shall adopt it for my wedding ring, wihch otherwise likes to hide int eh bottom of drawers. I should be able to spot this though!

I also finished two other bigger sari fabric pouches, great for bracelets or small necaklaces. They have sari fabric on the bottom and plain stuff on the top -and I'm refining the making/design so the drawstrign works better at the top now!

Se the pouches in my Etsy shop- the tiny ring ones here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/jezdesigns?section_id=31652563

And bracelet or brooch sized ones here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/jezdesigns?section_id=30923255

09/04/2026

I made a nice shaped bag by top stitching the seams on this medium heavy curtain remnant.

It's for Traitor's Toll which is excellent but does involve a LOT of counters. It's somewhere between a skirmish wargame and RPG tabletop with figures.

Usuaully I make drawstring pouches because the pieces (e.g. Scrabble) are kept in the bag. This is just really a container for play as we only load certain tokens in depending on what's going on and they'll be kept in a special box (bot the temporary fudge tin!) so we can find the right ones (like mini poker chip racks).

So the brief was- big enough for any large bloke hands to pull out tokens blind, stiff enough and the right shape to stand up, and late additions no drawstring and soft enough to store flat!

The "must sit up on its own" was a bit of a late instruction so after making it flat I pulled out the corners and sewed across (inside out) to make a sort of gusset/corner. I sewed the seam allowances down either side of the seams and double stitched the top to make it more stiff without using any actual interfacing.

This remnant was already in the "to get rid of" pile so I had at least seen it and could find it again. Do you think other gamers might like counter pouches?

My husband knows who to ask for pouches for game pieces...

Address

Billericay

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/jezdesigns

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