Welcome Back!

Let’s be honest…it’s been a while since I put anything on this blog; over a year in fact! So first of all, welcome back!  I’m planning on getting my blog back up and running as I’m still very much sewing every day and making lots of things that I can share with you.  I share a lot over on my Instagram but there are few garments that I would like to go into more detail about over here.

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I’m planning on sharing some of my recent makes.  Some are sponsored, some are work related, some I’ve had the fabric given to me and some are just my own me mades.  I’ll be fully transparent within each blog, just so you know which is which!

Over the last year, I’ve really worked on building up more of my paid sewing work.  I’m working in the local community offering group classes and individual sewing classes.  My group classes have just got back going again, but with how the World is at the moment, my private lessons are becoming more popular.

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I’m also on the writing team for Sewing Life Magazine [Aff Link].  It’s an online magazine which is released bimonthly.  You get a sewing pattern and a magazine that is full of useful articles.  I write a few articles and sew up samples for each edition.

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Home-wise we are doing ok! As well as anyone can be doing through a pandemic anyway.  Rosie is 2 and a half and is quite the toddler.  She makes us laugh every day and now loves it when she gets to wear the clothes that Mama made for her!

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Well, it does feel lovely to write another blog.  Something I haven’t really sat down to do for a long time.  Please say hello again! Speak soon xx

Two Little Simplicity 2461 Dresses

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Camilla, over at Making & Marking, had sent me a few children’s patterns to have a go at sewing up for Rosie.  One of them was the Simplicity 2461 dress.  The pattern comes with quite a few cute dress styles and there are layering options too.  I chose to make View B and actually managed to choose some fabric from my stash that was quite similar to the main dress on the front of the pattern.  I’m hoping that I can get some nice white seersucker to make the layered piece at some point too.

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Catching Up! Sew Over It Eve Dress

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Another catch up blog post for a garment I made a few months ago!  I’m having to make do with garment photos as they are as I haven’t had the time to take any photos with me wearing the garments!  Ooops!

One of the dresses in my #2018MakeNine plans was the Sew Over It Eve dress.  I chose this dress to make as it looks quite flattering and has a wrap bodice that would possibly work easily with nursing Rosie.  For the bodice/ sleeves I used the pattern for version 1 and used the straight skirt pattern from version 2. I had a nice light cotton in my stash, which I believe was from Joanns…probably from the clearance section too.  It’s a great breathable fabric for the hot weather we have over here.

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My Vintage UFO from 2015

Back at the start of November 2015 I started this dress.  It was supposed to be my final make for the 2015 vintage pledge but I couldn’t quite get it finished in time!

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It took me a while to get everything done with it.  It was one of those projects where I would make a small amount of progress and then set it to one side.   In December I made a good amount of progress but then it got put to one side again. So finally, at the very start of January 2016 I actually managed to get the dress finished!

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The dress I decided to make was a combination of view 2 and 3; a sleeveless above the knee dress. The front had a curved seam beneath the bust, which had a bust dart at either end. The large front panel was made up from 2 separate panels joined in the centre.  All front seams were topstitched.

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The pattern pieces included in this envelope were not matching and they had been not cut very well at all.  So when I came to attach the shoulder seams together, one was considerably larger than the other so I did need to trim the larger one to match the smaller.  I then found that the facing pieces included in the envelope belonged to a different dress completely!  Facings were abandoned and I chose a grey binding from my stash to finish the edges of the neck and arms. I think I just need to add a hook & eye closure to ensure the top of the zip is a little closer together.

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My favourite part of this dress is the belt which adds detail to the back.  I love how the white buttons really make the belt stand out. 🙂

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Would I make it again?  Probably not.  I don’t really think that this is a flattering style on me, especially as it’s a tad too tight around the tummy area!  I may change my mind when I lose a little weight, otherwise this will be an ‘around the house’ dress. 🙂

 

Sunday Sevens #54

Well, it’s been a hot one here this week. I’m so desperate for cooler weather, Autumn leaves and pumpkins. I’ve not actually been that busy this week…and when we did go out, I completely forgot to take photographs! Doh! This week I’ve only got 6 fumbled together pics. :-/

1. I was very eager to get my first pair of trousers made. I really like them! I will do better pictures and a thorough run through for a blog post soon.

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Bonnell Dresses: My First Pattern Alterations

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Just over a month ago, I made my first Bonnell dress from Dixie DIY.  I knew that this was the dress I was going to make for my Art Gallery Fabric project so I really wanted to make the fit of the dress perfect.  For the very first dress, I used a pink & green floral cotton with a plain purple cotton lining.  I shortened the bodice pattern by 1 inch as I’ve now gathered that I need to do this for most dress bodices.  The rest of the pattern was cut out in a size 10.

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