North Yorkshire fashion brand Daffodil and Leek specialises in '50s style retro dresses and cropped jackets

“I have been sewing since a really young age,” says Katie. “I was lucky that my mum and nan supported the creative interest I was showing. I used to make clothes for my little Beanie Babies toys. When I was 10 or 11, I asked for a dressmaker’s mannequin for Christmas, and I made clothes for myself. I did wear them, even though they weren’t great. I taught myself by playing with and draping fabric and I loved it.”

Katie grew up in North Wales near Conwy and left for a degree at the University of Central Lancashire, where she achieved a first class BA (Hons) Degree in Fashion. “The course focused on the making side, rather than conceptual when someone else figures out how to make it,” she explains. “I had a placement year and worked with a small company in Liverpool and then went to London where I was based with a sample studio. We made everything from dog coats to bespoke womenswear and hats, working with new designers in a high-end environment. I enjoyed the quality of making clothes.”

She showcased her final year collection at Graduate Fashion Week 2016, using traditional crafts of knitting, tatting and hand stitching to accompany her designs. She spent around five years working in London within the fashion industry, for sustainable businesses, always knowing she wanted to have her own brand. The timing was right in 2021 when she launched Daffodil and Leek, which takes its name from her links to Wales. She and her partner had moved to North Yorkshire, first to Thirsk, and now in Norton, Malton.

Her brand began with funky colourful jewellery made using the traditional craft of tatting, a craft she had practised since she was a teenager when an aunt gave her a pattern book. “I knew this was my time to work for myself,” she recalls. “I always wanted to make beautiful clothes from vintage fabrics and sell them, but it’s a very daunting step. I tiptoed in with the jewellery using the traditional lace craft of tatting with bamboo cotton to create cool, floral, colourful shapes. Tatting is usually very frilly and lacy, which is beautiful, but I wanted a more contemporary vibe within a traditional craft, using a bit of yarn with a tatting shuttle. I found it a very versatile technique that is not often used in a modern style – it keeps the old craft alive.”

Her vision as a designer and maker was for an independent sustainable fashion brand, celebrating vintage fabrics and forgotten crafts. She designs, pattern cuts, makes and sources second-hand fabrics to be upcycled. “It is not a new idea to reuse textiles to combat waste, such as curtains, which I do – people did it in the 1950s all the time. I make one, or very few of a kind pieces. I make durable garments that aren’t following a trend – I let the fabric dictate the style.”

She sources vintage, deadstock and offcut textiles, from curtains and tablecloths to napkins and offcuts with all the raw materials from the UK. She limits her use to 100 per cent cotton or wool – polycottons and polyesters are too hot, not breathable and are too soft for her structural pieces, as well as being unsustainable, as washing releases microplastics.

Katie likes to design pieces that are timeless with a vintage/retro feel harking back between the ‘50s and ‘70s. The Ava jackets have a classic denim jacket vibe but slightly loose, cropped, and all unique, depending on the printed pattern. The Kate 1950s-inspired dress was her first for Daffodil and Leek – featuring a pastel floral print using repurposed vintage curtains. “People think they can’t wear dresses from this era unless they are slim, but the classic fit and flare silhouette is so flattering because it draws the eye to the waist,” Katie says. It also features the essential pockets.

The Sophia dress has adjustable bow tie straps to ensure it fits properly and a skirt that you can still twirl but is straighter over the hips. She advises customers to send her exact measurements as she can customise as most are made to order. “You may think you are a size 12 for high street clothes, but they are often more stretchy than vintage cotton.”

Waistcoats are made from British wool offcuts – another perfect layering piece. These are usually one or two of a kind as restricted by the offcut textile waste availability. One of Katie’s best-selling garments are shirts created from vintage hand embroidered cotton. Made from vintage tablecloths, tray cloths or napkins that have been hand-embroidered, she patchworks them together, respecting the original handmade work.

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She usually has shirts ready to sell. “I do a lot of custom orders of these - with customers sending in their own vintage textiles which is often things they have inherited. When someone gives me cloths or curtains from a relative, that means the most. It is like a new family heirloom. They are so beautiful but usually sit in a cupboard as people are too scared to use them. I love the idea of giving the work more of a meaning again through clothing. One person got married in a shirt made from an ancestor’s embroidery.”

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People can order any style she has created in the past, but the fabric and pattern placement will be unique. She also has a custom order section where people can provide their own fabric. All pieces are made to order and available in sizes 4-22. “By repurposing these unloved textiles into something new and wearable, it takes them away from landfill and brings them back into circulation as happy clothing,” Katie adds. “I have so many ideas for this brand and am excited to see where this planet friendly fashion journey takes me.”

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