I wanted to try out this Lekala pattern 5687 and use up one of my stash fabrics. Just a quick and dirty project without expectation that I would be able to wear this. That's why I picked the fabric in the first place - pattern matching of the curved pieces to the dotted fabric is pretty much impossible. I have worn this skirt a few times, but I am fully aware that the pattern distribution isn't the greatest. I'm not sure how often I'll wear it in future. In the garden certainly!  Not so much where people can see it though... This is the skirt I ended up with: The pattern is for a high-lo ..read more

I wanted to make a really quick top to see if I could sew this over one weekend (TLDR: I didn't. It took me almost three weeks which is fast for me so I'm still happy). I thought a sleeveless top would be faster.  But I hadn't counted on the various design elements taking longer. Also, why did I think a transparent fabric with polycotton underlining was a good idea if I wanted to go for speed?  That did not help, but it was the colour that most spoke to me of all my stash fabrics.     At first I was inclined to treat fashion fabric and underlining fabric as two layers (basi ..read more

 I'm quite pleased with how this blouse turned out. I had wanted to use one of my sleeve drafts and I also had this lovely Rose and Hubble fabric (this is the black and white colourway, I also bought some in the blue and white). I should have paid more attention to which blouse pattern I picked - I had to adjust the shoulders too much on this one because this started out as a sleeveless top with those silly cap sleeves.  They look horrible on me, just make me look like a prize boxer: huge shoulders, it's totally the wrong proportion on me. I finally managed to fit my sleeve templat ..read more

I've been messing around with drafting sleeve patterns. I even drew up quite a number of different designs, around 12 at last count, back in January.  I made up a few of them as isolated samples, and that's how far I got. I only did a set of two cowl sleeves in a blue fabric I had from a fabric swap (love the colour of the fabric, thank you so much to whoever donated it!), but I have not decided yet what bodice pattern I want for this top. I'll Frankenpattern the needed armhole onto whatever bodice pattern I go for. The other blouse I started at the beginning of the year was a Lekala patt ..read more

This is a free downloadable pdf pattern, designed by Claire-Louise Hardie, available from Love Sewing magazine website.  The pattern is for a fairly loose fit tee shirt with an option of ¾ or full length sleeves.  It has dropped shoulders and a neckband.  I chose to use the pattern as a basis for a dress. The fabric required is a jersey fabric with at least 20% stretch.   The link to download  this pattern  here. There are no making up instructions with this pattern  but it follows the usual method of sewing together for this type of tee shirt. I have given ..read more

  This is a free downloadable pattern from a rather strange website sew-ing.com/make  It appears to be Japanese in origin and the translation into English is not very good but is adequate.  There are instructions for making some unusual items, including a Strawberry Cream Cake in Felt  and cat lovers should check out the Cat Pouch.  If you explore the website you will find different varieties of patterns for knickers, mostly for women but some for men and children, in both woven and stretch fabrics.  The link to the pattern for the type of knickers (or panties i ..read more

 This is another pattern from Sew Magazine available as a pdf.  It is described on their website as a "Simple Knee Length Skirt" and also, on the pdf pattern piece layout( see picture below), as the Barkside Skirt but I think the title of this blog gives a more accurate description. This is the link    Printing and assembling the pattern  For review I am trying to choose easily available patterns without a hugh number of pages to print out, this one takes 12 pages of A4 for the pattern itself.  The link will take you to a page with the making up instructions.&nb ..read more

I thought I knew how best to sew a curved hem but hey, there are more ways than I realised. The aim is to fold up the longer raw edge (i.e. longer than the stitching line) and sew the hem without getting puckers, wrinkles or pleats. I found this YouTube video by Prof PIncushion (Link here) showing three different methods. I very much recommend the suggested machine-basted stitching line (that's the one with the really long stitch length) because it makes pressing over the seam allowance a lot easier. You will get a more even distance from the fabric edge to the fold line that will look a lo ..read more

 My Goodness!  No post since the end of May.  Time to remedy that.  I intend to write some posts about items made from FREE patterns so here is the first. It's the Alicia Cardigan, described as an easy cotton jersey cardigan,  from Sew Magazine Click here for link. There are many free patterns on the Sew magazine website, not just for garments but for all sorts of sewn items, that you can download.  You do need to register before you can download a pattern but it is a simple process.  The cardigan has an open front with no fastenings and you require no interf ..read more

More information garnered by our members during the past week. Members have suggested interesting sewists to follow- Emily Hallman - on Instagram @emilyhallmandesigns and her blog : this week's post on her blog is called 'Why I Sew in Collections' http://emilyhallman.com/2020/05/20/why-i-sew-in-collections/ Martha Moore Porter- on Instagram @burieddiamond The Stitch Sisters have produced a youtube video on draft it yourself dungarees. https://www.thestitchsisters.co.uk/diy-dungaree-overalls/?mc_cid=0423e83af9&mc_eid=9f0155556a If you are interested in bra-making or thinking about it he ..read more