When my friends at Vlieseline (major producer of interfacings etc) asked me try out their new wadding I had a definite project in mind. The Tamarack by Grainline Studio. I have admired the company's minimalist style for some time, and have also been lamenting the lack of time to quilt, so this seemed like the perfect project. The jacket is simple in shape and the sleeves don't need to be set in. However, it is rated as an intermediate level because you do need to quilt all of the pieces, add welt pockets if you want to, and bind the edges. It took me approximately 8 hours to sew up - though I didn't add welts in this case...
The mission Nothing beats the feeling of saying "I made it myself", yet 7 out of 10 young people don't know how to sew a button on. For a good 30 years these basic life skills have been completely scrapped from education, in the UK at least. I am one of the forgotten generation who did not learn how to sew at school. I am a self-taught dressmaker who loves having the ability to create unique, well-made clothes that reflect my personality and style. I have taught over 250 people to sew in the past 5 years so releasing patterns seems like a natural progression. The aim is to try and help people gain the skills and confidence to build their...
Tomorrow, on New Year's Eve, I will turn 40. I thought I would reflect on 2016, the first full year of sharing my sewing related adventures through this blog. Firstly, thank you to everyone who has read it. I am not bombarded with comments but I can see in my page analytics that many come and take a look, and I really do appreciate it! It has been a year for going out of my comfort zone, starting with me joining the Entrepreneurial Spark programme in February. To begin with I felt very out of my depth discussing financial forecasts and all of the rest. However, I also felt like I was amongst people with the same mindset as me,...
Hi, it's Kay here. Last week we wrote all about our love of two-way sequins. Jenni has been wearing her lovely skirt and we have had three more people running up similar versions in the studio. I went for the royal blue fabric which turns to black and wanted a simple jacket to sew up, with as few seams as possible to allow it to hang well. I chose New Look 6305 and bought some stretch black that feels like PU for the facing and cuffs. I cut out with the rotary cutter and used the stretch stitch, size 70 needle and polyester thread as we mentioned last time. The jacket has 2 bust darts, no centre back seam and...
I was a bit over excited on our last trip to Empress Mills when I discovered the magic sequin fabric they have in stock. I had seen a Facebook video showing how this fabric changes colour when you stroke it, but I hadn't quite realised how cool it would be in real life. The excitement was enough to encourage me to overcome my fear of sewing sequins and try and run up something in time for the party season. So I came away with three-quarters of a metre of bronze (turning to silver) fabric and a plan to make a simple skirt. This fabric has stretch so I knew I could eliminate a zip and waistband from the start. I used...
