This is the last of the 4 Jacksons I made at the same time a year ago. I do have more planned, though, so I hope you’re not sick of this pattern yet! I don’t know if I have much more to say about this pattern to be honest. It’s the same as all of the other versions, size 10 with no cuffs and hem bands, with a straightened hem. The fabric was from Fabric Godmother and is reversible. I decided to go for the spotty side, because I didn’t want to make 2 striped tops at the same time (alongside the first Jackson I made), but I’m not sure this was the right choice now, looking back. I obviously wo ..read more

Another day, another Jackson sweatshirt. I’m playing mega catch-up with my sewing from pretty much the last year – I want to get better at posting consistently. Though I do it for a while, then ghost my blog for like 4 months at a time usually! Anyway, onto my latest make to make it to the blog (which I made ages ago!). This is another Helen’s Closet Jackson sweatshirt, made to the same size and with the same adjustments as my first version, and my whale version. Namely I made the size 10, straightened the hem and added some (unnecessary) length to the sleeves because I didn’t want the hem ba ..read more

Back in January I went to the Chanel exhibition at the V&A and it was really good. I’ve been to a few exhibitions at the V&A and I did enjoy this one. I actually didn’t know that much about Chanel’s fashions besides the obvious jacket and loose billowy trousers/loungewear she invented, so this was pretty eye-opening for me. (disclaimer – I have not edited the below photos (as there are too many!) so apologies if they are a little wonky or badly lit. This is one of the earliest surviving Chanel garments, from 1916! It’s the Marinière Blouse and is made from fine-gauge silk jersey, a fa ..read more

I’ve made quite a lot of Dawns so far (4 pairs of long jeans and 2 pairs of shorts I think) and I made 2 more almost a year ago (I’m behind with blogging, what can I say?!). This is the first of the 2 (though they’re both pretty much the same). I made this pair in black corduroy (it’s quite a big whale) from Fabric Godmother. I bought the fabric at the same time as the fabric for my coat! I did sew it up pretty quickly, last February. And since I’ve made the Dawns quite a lot, there aren’t any steps any more that trip me up. I always use zips instead of buttons as I personally prefer how it ..read more

Another day, another Archer shirt! This shirt was a while in the making. I sewed it over the Summer but I was given the fabric by my aunt for Christmas 2021. She gave me some more, gorgeous fabric last year and I’ve cut it out but I haven’t sewn it yet. Not sure why they’ve both took so long! I made this in my standard size 4 but with the reduced seam allowance, as I did with my last couple of archers. I did a mass cutting out before the Summer and realised too late that I could have traced off a bigger size. Next time! The fabric feels like a liberty cotton – I’m not sure if it is a libert ..read more

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may know that I love whales. I sewed a whale to the back of my patchwork denim jacket. So when I saw this fabric on Hey Sew Sister, I had to snap it up straight away! I made a bunch of Jacksons at the same time, but it’s taken a while for me to get around to blogging them all. I of course love Helen’s Closet, and this is definitely my new go-to pattern for knits. I’ve already shared my mustard striped one, and my navy striped tee version, but this might be my favourite – not that I’m biased because of the fabric! I didn’t make any additional ch ..read more

I made this back in March and have worn it quite a lot – and I pretty much always get compliments when I do. So I thought it was about time I shared it here. I used the Closet Core Kalle Shirt pattern (obvs from the name of the post) but traced it off 2 sizes larger than I’ve made it before. I’ve made the size 6 but this is the size 10. I traced it in the dress length and I love it – though I could have adjusted the sleeves so they’re not quite so long! The fabric is one of the Robert Kaufman flannels which I bought from Guthrie and Ghani. It was one of the few shops that still had it in sto ..read more

Something new and different for me – another Archer shirt! As with most of the things I’m sharing at the moment, I made this earlier in the year. The fabric was from Sew Me Sunshine and it a lovely lightweight cotton – perfect for Summer days that aren’t 40 degrees! I’ve also just started a new job and this can easily be dressed up as office wear. I made the size 4, as always. I’m much too lazy to trace the pattern pieces again, but I kind of want to one day. But with this one, like the chambray one I made before, I sewed the underarm/side seam with a narrower seam allowance to make it a bit ..read more

I’m still catching up with all my makes from a big chunk of this year! This is obvs one of my Summer makes, and I love it. I wore it on my holiday and have worn it a good few times – can’t wait for it to be warm enough to wear again next year! This is, of course, the Closet Core Patterns Kalle Shirt. I always make the size 6 and I like that there’s plenty of ease as I like loose clothing – especially when it’s hot! As soon as I saw the fabric on Sew Me Sunshine’s website, I knew I had to buy it! It’s all my favourite colours – shades of blue, mustard and pink! I was a bit scared to cut into ..read more

You know you had a good time at an event when you literally take zero photos! Last weekend was my third time attending the ball (I missed it last year because I had 2 weddings and it felt like a bridge too far to also go to the ball!). You can see my previous outfits, from 2017 and 2019 here. I did, however, take some photos of my outfit before I went. I went for a different vibe this year and made a suit with a cape, inspired by this outfit worn by Billy Porter, which I saw at an exhibition last year. Obviously the embroidery was outside of my skills and time frame so I decided to get a broc ..read more