Pattern: New Look 6660 (my second pair – here’s the first) Fabric: Darkest cocoa brown fine cord from Simply Fabrics Pattern & fit notes: Not a lot different from my first pair! Which I’ve been wearing a lot despite the rather garish floral print, so decided a more neutral pair was needed. Just two main differences: I added self-drafted button-down flaps onto the pockets, inspired by this sort of thing. (Front pockets always look so unevenly placed when you throw fly topstitching into the mix, huh?). Buttons are my forever-favourite copper ones from Textile Garden. I did not mess up the ..read more

Pattern: Vikisews Rosalyn dress, printed English version. Bought half off with party season in mind Fabric: Liberty Chequered Rose tana lawn, bought from Shaukat. This was an unusual splurge for me but it was love at first sight! It was from the S/S 22 collection inspired by Alice in Wonderland, though I never caught it in the actual store. Pattern notes: Much like the Atlas, this was a highly enjoyable tour de force of ‘classic dressmaking’ techniques: loads of darts, gathers, invisible zip, facings and rouleau straps. It was my first time using a printed Vikisews pattern and I didn’t find ..read more

Pattern: Sewing Patterns by Masin Atlas Wrap Dress. A bit of a Black Friday impulse purchase having seen many pretty ones made up and thinking i’d be a handy festive season dress. Artful mockups of fabric choices Fabric: Tencel Linen in Josephine and Black from Merchant & Mills – originally bought a while back for pants, but I really don’t need more pants. Having mocked-up and consulted with Josh, I decided it’d make a good colour-blocked Atlas rather than buying a new print (this was my second choice, which I’ve now got earmarked for a Vikisews Rosalyn…) Pattern notes: Oh, it’s a fun on ..read more

Pattern: Fibremood Ermine (PDF, £7.50, XS – XXXL): “We started with the austere route with simple set-in sleeves, a round neckline, separate button placket, and bias tape for the neckline finish. But then it was impossible not to add a romantic flourish to this blouse! The triangular yoke features sweet gathers at the bottom.” Fabric: Jamdani from Merchant & Mills. FYI – “Jamdani is fine muslin cotton with small geometric motifs handwoven in to the cloth as if they are floating on the surface”. I really fell for the embroidered motifs which I thought looked like little rockets (presumably ..read more

Pattern: New Look 6660, I think scooped up in a recent Jaycott’s sale. Fabric: Lightweight cotton needlecord from Minerva. I bought this with New Craft House’s 70s-themed summer party in mind, but the evening ended up being really warm so I wore a skirt instead. Pattern notes: Aren’t these just cyoooot? Perfect slim-straight leg, perfect darted ‘n faced waistband, sweet little front pockets, unexpected interesting fly situation! Essentially the zip goes right to the top and a concealed inside button helps them stay zipped up. I messed up the construction of the buttonhole extension a bit so ..read more

Pattern: The Vikisews Oona dress. I bought it in English with a discount code from their Etsy shop – it appears to be on sale for just £5 at the moment too. Fabric: A stash mystery! It’s a very lovely weighty, drapey off-black cloth with a bit of slub and I have no idea where it came from. I’d say some blend of tencel/linen/rayon if I was guessing. I had the perfect amount for this dress so calling it fate. Pattern notes: I umm’ed and ahh’ed over this pattern for a bit: I’ve been looking for variations on midi/milkmaid styles but was a bit concerned that the plunging front was out of my com ..read more

Pattern: a self-draft hack using a basic woven T-shirt bodice block as the base Fabric: deadstock viscose print bought from Fabric Godmother a while back – there are some similar ones still in stock. Pattern notes: Rather than give into the temptation to make yet another Mindy hack (who knows, i may yet tire of square necklines and puffy sleeves) i sketched and pulled together this simple silhouette. The construction is straightforward; the cropped T-bodice is sliced up the middle and finished with a facing, into which the skinny tie straps are sandwiched. I played with the ties’ position a ..read more

Pattern: Margaret Flared Trousers from PatternCos on Etsy Fabric: Wobble Navy Check Linen from Merchant & Mills, bought in person on a daytrip to Rye. Pattern notes: This slim-fit kickflare style has been all over the shops (I was particularly channeling these and these and sketched out a vision in Procreate accordingly) but it was surprisingly hard to match to a pattern to make my own. It’s another in my recent Etsy pattern purchase spree – I’ve been increasingly looking there for more inspiring and affordable options than the current indie scene or Big 4 can offer. In my experience bu ..read more

Pattern: McCall 8099 ‘Lina’, view B. Fabric: Lightweight (and hard to photograph, apparently) polycotton corduroy, bought locally Pattern notes: I bought this pattern in a recent McCall’s sale. I feel a bit ‘what is up fellow kids’ / teenage throwback making baggy cargo pants, but to be honest it’s pretty much because I have a new remote-first job and can’t foresee wanting to wear non-elasticated pants very often. They also feature six whole pockets, including some fun voluminous pleated bellows-style ones wrapping the side seams. The sewing was straightforward and pretty fun; I referred to ..read more

Pattern: Style Arc Raph Knit Polo Top – semi-fitted polo style top with slightly open V-neck collared neckline. Fabric: Oatmeal poly/viscose wide rib that’s been in my stash for ages. Pattern notes: I haven’t used a Style Arc pattern for a while but I was in the market for this kind of top and generally trust their drafting, if not their instructions. It’s quite a challenging sew due to the precise stitching needed to get the collar and placket nicely set in, and the instructions indeed really did not help me much. It was hard to tell where to end the placket stitching so I didn’t have enoug ..read more