All posts tagged: tilly

When One Thing Leads To Another – The Colette Wren Part 1

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My big sister (older by 10 days short of a year) celebrated her birthday at the end of October.  Two years ago I made her a leather bag and last year I made her a Coco.  This year she said she would like another Coco and chose this sparkly ponte knit from Minerva: It does change colour a little bit depending on the light but this gives a fair idea of the fabric.  It took a bit of tweaking before I was happy with this photo. So onwards and upwards.  I completed her Coco in about 1 1/2 hours (I’ve made a few so can almost do them with my eyes shut, they seem to be our family uniform!). It was just as well that I got a photo of her new Coco on Gertrude as these were the best of the photo shoot in the pub: Anyway, she loved it! I loved it! I wanted to keep it!  But instead I ordered another 5 metres of this gorgeous fabric just for me!  I was thinking …

Oh No! I’ve lost a Coco!

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First of all, a belated happy new year! What with holidays in Mexico and a poorly mum-in-law there’s not been much time for sewing or blogging, but I’m back! I’ve not made any firm resewlutions this year, except I am only going to make things with a definite outfit in mind. I have a wardrobe full of handmade clothes but not too many full outfits. I’m not carrying on the RTW fast this year but I’m only going to buy things which I can’t make and really need (I’ve bought a waterproof coat today!). After reading about Tilly recent makes of straight style Coco dresses I decided to make one from some fabric in my stash, and also one for my mum. I need more everyday casual clothes for the cold weather, and thought these would look great with some long boots, and they do! Only trouble is I prefer my mums, and so does she! The sleeves are the wrong side of the made fabric, so the tones are perfect. Here’s a close up: …

My Leopardy Francoise Dress

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Last month Tilly released her latest pattern – the Francoise Dress.   I bought it the first day it was on sale and couldn’t wait to get started. I really couldn’t decide which fabric to use so got to work on making a muslin.  Then Tilly announced a competition!! So here’s my entry!  If you need some inspiration for your Francoise there’s loads over at Tilly’s pinterest board. I was a bit stumped at first deciding which dart lines to follow I was blending different sizes from the wait and hips. The cat helped!  I really don’t know how other cat-less sewers out there manage.  They always like to get involved! I made the muslin, complete with sleeves, using an old cotton sheet with no stretch.  I wanted to know how it would be with a not very forgiving fabric.  The only adjustment I decided to make was to alter the position of the darts. (photos of my muslin are floating about in the cloud somewhere and unfortunately I can’t locate them at the minute!) I ummed …

A Challenging Coco

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I have a 1m piece of fabric that NEEDS to be a Coco. I’ve walked away for a break, it’s like trying to do a jigsaw with pieces missing when there’s not quite enough fabric. So here I am, slightly exasperated, but not defeated drinking coffee and sharing my dilemma. I will not be beaten! This fabric was an absolute steal, it’s from Fine Fabrics of Harrogate – worth a visit if you’re going to the knitting & stitching show. It’s so soft, and the colours are different shades of grey (not quite 50) with an aubergine sort of purply colour. Coffee drunk, back to the drawing board, or maybe a rummage in my stash to see what might work with it…