Author: Thimberlina

MY Space for Sewing – Revamp Phase 1

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We all have a space somewhere, whether it be large, small, pretty, draughty…. it doesn’t matter because it’s OUR space and if anyone says it’s untidy we’ll have their guts for garters.  We can lay our hands on anything we want at the drop of a hat.  But, on the other hand,  we’ve all suffered at some point of the dreaded ‘sewing space envy’. Then next time we enter ours space we notice the imperfections and find it hard to get motivated. Me? Yup, I’ve suffered too.  I blame Thimberlina. Ali was so organised and tidy until Thimberlina came along with Gertrude and took over out modest 3 bedroomed semi.  Gone were the family teas where we sat down having civilised discussions at meal times.  Now replaced with TV dinners.  TV DINNERS!!! They were unheard of until Thimberlina came along.  But now the dining table was home to a sewing machine and overlocker and 12 months down the line, all THIS had happened…………… And if that wasn’t bad enough, check out the corner behind….. Things had started to get out of control. …

Too Excited To Type

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I’ve a parcel on it’s way and I received a text to track it’s progress, so I did. And then I looked again….. I’ve never seen this service before! I’m amazed! I’ve bought the Horizon Memory Crafty 8200QC , here’s what it says about it on the Janome Website: FULLY COMPUTERISED MEMORISE STITCH & ALPHABET COMBINATIONS MAXIMUM SPEED CONTROLLER PROGRAMMABLE NEEDLE UP/DOWN LOCK STITCH FEATURE START / STOP BUTTON 200+ BUILT-IN STITCHES AUTO 1-STEP BUTTONHOLES ( 7 STYLES ) 9MM STITCH WIDTH AUTO NEEDLE THREADER AUTO THREAD CUTTER REMOTE THREAD CUTTER PORT With a 280mm (11”) arm space right of the needle and a total arm length of 440mm ( 17” ), this machine is ideal bigger projects and yet is equally suited to precision sewing. It has a built-in AcuFeed system for precise fabric handling and an easy change needle plate to enhance straight stitch performance. The 9mm stitch width gives added creative options whilst the host of special computerised features makes it so easy to use. Weight – 12kg Best go unlock the door……it’s …

A Few Renfrews…… A Few Renfrews…… A Few Renfrews……

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You can’t beat a good tongue twister! I can’t even say it in my head more than twice never mind out loud! I think we all have a few Sewaholic Renfrews in our wardrobes. I feel myself wanting to type closets, I’ll be calling my Overlocker a serger next! I already call my trousers pants which is confusing to none sewing friends. They wonder why I’m telling them that I want new pants (they think I mean knickers). Reading everyone’s blogs from various parts of the world is playing havoc with my Yorkshire accent! I’m trying to update my blog with some makes that I’ve not shown you yet, and yes you’ve guessed,  this is about a few Renfrews. The first one is a refashion too. The dress above was bought about 4 years ago for a wedding  I loved that dress.  The style is out, but the fabric is still in…..I’ve seen chevron patterns all over. Refashioned to a Renfrew…… Refashioned to a Renfrew…… Refashioned to a Renfrew…… Think that’s a bit easier than the first tongue twister! …

Sewing Gives Me Butterflies – The Julia Cardigan #patternparcel6

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Back in October I bought the Perfect Pattern Parcel #6.  Included in this was The Julia Cardigan from Mouse House Creations. I’ve been meaning to make this up for ages, and now I have!  It’s good to know things do get to the top of the ‘to-do’ list, eventually! I chose some black slinky jersey which was initially bought to make me and Thimberlina’s mum a pair of matching leggings.  I bought this fabric from Lucky Fabric’s in Dewsbury at the back end of last year. I s’pose I could’ve left it in my stash a bit longer, I mean, 3 months in the spare room, it’s not even got settled in! But alas, despite £5 being an absolute bargain for me and my mum to have a pair of leggings  (I only had 1.8m but neither of us have particularly long legs) the leggings never materialised. But then I remembered the Julie Cardigan (my ‘to-do’ list is not written it’s in my head, note to self to maybe write a blog post about it). …

Lazy Valentine Weekend – The Frock Part 3

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Hi!  Hope you’ve all had a lovely Valentine’s weekend.  I finished my frock on Friday, except for a little hand stitching, so that left Saturday for chilling.  Today has been a quiet day too, mostly because I’ve been nursing a hangover! The Frock….. I really enjoyed making this.  Probably due to making a muslin and knowing it would fit!  For the lining I chose something a bit fancy from my stash. I originally purchased this to line my Godzilla jacket but ended up using a zebra print for that instead. The lining was a nightmare to cut out, really slippery. Maybe if I’d have used a rotary cutter it would have been easier.  It was worth it in the end though. I intended to add 2 inches to the length of the dress but then forgot when I was cutting out.  In the photos of my muslin here in Part 2 the length is just right, but that was before hemming.  So I didn’t loose much length from the dress I decided to use some bias binding. …

Valentine Frock – Part 2

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For those of you who regularly read my blog, sorry for the confusion. I’ve not written Part 1 yet! (Part 1 will be about the 2 muslins I made prior to this one – pictures still required, post to follow.) On Valentine’s Night we’re going out with 4 other couples to a dinner dance at the golf club. Dinner dance might sound a bit 80’s ish, but there’ll be great food, a soul singer and a cheap bar! What more could we ask for! …….A new frock of course! After 2 separate muslin failures due to fitting issues I decided to give Lekala another try. I have used them before but not for ages. My fabric is has a large bold pattern so my dress needs to have fairly simple lines. I decided des to do away with the pockets. Maybe a year ago when I was a smoker I would have gone with the pockets for my ciggies, but 16 days it will be a year since I quit!! So, this was my 3rd …

McCalls 6521 – hats for ladies suffering from hair loss

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My mum in law lost her hair 14 years. She wears wigs when out but prefers hats indoors as they’re cooler. I found a pattern for ladies who have suffered hair loss. They’re designed to cover the hair line. I up-cycled a top for my first attempt and she loves it! Here’s a pic of me modelling it, I’d tucked my hair inside. It only took 1/2 hour and that included tracing the pattern! Much quicker than knitting! I used my Overlocker for all the seams so it’s really neat inside, and there’s plenty of stretch in the seams.

Newlook 6648 – Again!

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I decided I needed a new top for a night out on Friday for a colleagues leaving do.  I had this fabric in my stash, a soft viscose jersey with a 4 way stretch. I bought it off Ebay, and including P&P was just under £5 for a 1.2 m remnant. I fell in love with it when I saw it and would probably have gotten into a bidding war if necessary, but thank goodness it didn’t come to that. I pulled out Newlook 6648 and chose view A: I’ve made it before, seen here, and I’ve also used view D without the band and lengthened it to make a dress.  In a stretch jersey here, and a polyester cut on the bias here. I didn’t have enough fabric for the band, which was ok as the last time I made this I found it a bit too tight. As you can see the pieces only just fitted on.  I was able to add 2″ to the bottom of the back and front, and luckily …

The Chunky Headband Pattern

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In yesterday’s post I told you about my first ever crochet pattern! Here it is! Free! I used 1 x 100g ball of Sirdar Denim Ultra Chunky & a 10mm hook for the blue one, but with the pink one I used 2 strands of a chunky wool & a 8mm hook (no bobbles – I just used row A) The blue one is 6″ wide and the pink is 5″ wide.  The finished width will depend on your tension, hook and yarn.  I’ve also made not so chunky, narrower ones and they look good too! Chain 15 Foundation row: skip first chain, SC in 2nd chain and the remaining chains – 14 stitches in total. All stitches from now on will be worked into the back loops only – this creates the rib effect. Row A: chain 1. SC into the back loop of all 14 stitches. Row B: chain 1. SC x 3. TC. SC. TC. SC x 2. TC. SC. TC. SC x 3 Here’s another way of looking at row B: …