All posts tagged: Sewing

5 Weddings and hopefully no funerals!

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So far we have invites to 5 weddings this year! Because of the 2014 RTW Fast I won’t be able to buy new out fits (loud sigh of relief from my hubby!) and I don’t think I’d be able to produce completely new outfits for each occasion. Luckily there are all different groups of family and friends so 1 or 2 new outfits should be ok for all the weddings. I’m a big fan of hats at weddings, but so far have not given wearing a hat a thought. All my time had been spent searching for THE perfect dress pattern. And here it is…. So far I’ve made a muslin of the bodice in a gorgeous stretch cotton sateen. I only had 1/2 metre, so wish I had enough to made it all! From the muslin I’ve worked out I need to lengthen the bodice by an inch, but other than that it should be ok. (This is my first proper muslin!!) I’ve found quite a few reviews and completed dresses on the web, …

Ikea Throw Transformation

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Last Saturday was Day 3 of me being a non-smoker. So to take my mind off things I thought I’d sew the current challenge for Stitch Once Rip Twice, organised by Diane over at Vintage Zest.   The challenge is ‘A Simple Top’ so I decided to make SergerPepper’s new pattern which I’d recently downloaded from Craftsy. On a recent shopping trip to ikea I bought a lovely red super soft throw with the intention of turning it into something wearable. Here it is on their website:  The 2 ends of the blankets were hemmed which I thought I’d used for the bottom, but once I came to positioning the pattern piece I thought the hem would be too bulky so used the selvidge which had a nice neat finish. The fabric wasn’t quite big enough for me to use the selvidge as a hem so I lost 2 inches from the back and front pieces (both the same) placing the centre of the top 1 inch past the centre fold.  It’s a loose fitting top and I …

Refashioning my Diesel Jeans – 2

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A couple of weeks ago I decided to refashion my diesel jeans, part 1 can be seen here. I’ve put so much thought into  doing them, more time thinking than sewing, as I wanted them to be just right. Eventually I decided to use the plain blue which had been dyed.  I spent a whole afternoon creating lots of stitches onto it with a twin needle and 2 colours – charcoal and a goldy colour – to give the fabric a bit more interest. Originally they were going to be pintucks, but then tension on my machine wasn’t behaving, hence going for just the parallel stitces, but suddenly in the middle of sewing unwanted pintucks began to form!! Rather annoying after many failed attempts to create them early. Once the bottom piece was ready I chopped the legs of my jeans and joined the crotch to form a skirt.  If you’re thinking about having a go at refashioning your own jeans, beware!! This part was way trickier than I thought it would be. I stitched …

It’s Only taken me 21 years to have a go!

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I received my overlocker as a gift from my parents for my 21st Birthday. It’s taken me another 21 years and 3 months to get around to attaching the roller foot and plate and attempting rolled hems! I bet we’ve all got extras (optional or otherwise) that came with our machines that we’ve never tried. I’m a sucker for reading instructions, so although I’d never attempted a rolled hem on my overlocker before, in my head I could do it. Tonight was the night! After being full of sewing enthusiam after last nights welt pocket success I was ready to tackle something else new. Afterall, the Monthly Stitch didn’t say we only had to aquire one new skill in January! And, since i found my sewing mojo last June I’ve not challenged myself properly, I’ve only made fairly straightforward things, mainly in jersey that dont need much fitting or concentration. I’ve previously whizzed up an outfit whilst the kettle boils! So, with the prospect of not buying any clothes in 2014 (as I’ve joined Goodbye Valentino‘s …

Cook’s Apron from The Great British Sewing Bee

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Time was running out for me in The Monthly Stitch’s Challenge – ‘something from a book”.  As I only own 1 sewing book I wasn’t exactly spoilt for choice.   This month has been really busy.  I’ve made a big start on making my Christmas gifts, and also I’ve had 3 birthdays and an anniversary which I’ve made pressies for too. Before I knew it, there were only 2 days left in November for me to make something for the Monthly Stitch, so it had to be something simple.  I chose the cook’s apron as it would be a nice pressie to go with the peg bag I’ve already made for my Auntie Kath. Here it is:   When I made the apron I didn’t have any graph paper, so armed with a pencil, French curve and tape measure I marked out the outline directly onto the back of the fabric. I worked out the measurements and wrote them into the book.    I decided to make 1 or 2 changes to the pattern: I …

Organising PDF Patterns

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I usually roll my PDF patterns up into a tube after using them but today I had a brain wave of a better way to store them. Strengthen one corner with lots of cellotape then make a hole with a hole puncher. Do this for each pattern piece. I then cut the straight end of a plastic ‘D’ ring and slipped each pattern piece onto it. I then put the ring onto a coat hanger. Now all I need to do is find somewhere to hang them up!

ssshhhhhhhh……don’t tell any one, but…..

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Wow! I just had to share this amazing giveaway with my fellow bloggers, though by doing so it will lessen my chances of winning as you’ll all want to be in it!!!! Here’s the link for Sewdixielou’s blog:  LINK!!!!! Good luck folks, and if you haven’t looked up Minerva do it now!! It’s fab!  I’ve bought fabric online and have also been lucky enough to go in real life!! Think I’ll hire a big van next time I go!!   There’s a link on one of my older blogs when I made a stunning outfit from only 1m of fabric – the fabric was originally bought to line a bag but it was toooooo nice to be hidden in a bag!!  Good luck & happy sewing!!      Edited with BlogPad Pro