Sally’s Asteria Dress project with peonie print stretch cotton

Hi Everyone! 

Hope you’re all well in the current climate we are all living in, hat a strange place it is isn’t it?

For my next Project for Samantha Claridge Studio I wanted something summery to brighten up my days and when I saw this fabric it fitted the bill perfectly! It’s called Peonie Print Stretch Cotton and it’s a Medium weight cotton fabric with viscose and 3% elastane so it can work with an array of patterns that needs a bit of give from trousers to dresses and anything else you fancy inbetween.

 

Now I did decide to make a tried and tested Hawthorn Dress by Colette Patterns but when Jenifer Lauren Handmade brought out the Asteria Dress it was just destiny. Come on how doesn’t love a vintage inspired dress with pockets!

I’m finally getting on top on my health conditions, even managing to lose some of the medication weight and its finally showing in my makes so I ended up making a size 14 with no adjustments.

The fab thing about this fabric too as its extra wide so I was able to double fold my fabric when it came to cutting out the bodice so I wasn’t wasting any fabric.

Phew, all cut out, it was handy to having my sewing planner to tick off the pieces I cut and made sure I didn’t forget anything!

Now when I start sewing I always need a good cup of coffee to keep me going, this one was a cherry bakewell flavoured coffee

This Dress came together really quickly and love the facing that is used in this pattern as it gets the square neckline down to a T!

Before I stitched in the ditch of my facing to the bodice I put in quite an apt label as I do have a man mog that likes to assist in my sewing adventures… well, sit on everything that I need at the time!

The instructions called for the sleeves to be set in, personally I hate this method so I went against the grain and put them in flat before sewing up the side seams.

Then onto the pockets and skirt pieces and before I knew it I had the dress made! Also remembering to grade my seams down before finishing them which made quite a mess hahaha!

So here is my finished dress and I totally love it! It’s so summery and just the right amount of vintage style yet modern and the waist ties cinch it in really well.

I even managed to get some Alfresco sewing out in the garden which is a bonus! Does anyone else do this?

Happy Sewing!

Sally x 



Closet Case Patterns – Clare coat

I’ve wanted to make a coat for a while, mostly to challenge myself, but also because I’ve got a couple of coats which have seen better days! But this particular coat has been quite the undertaking – but then I knew it would be and the understanding was that I would take my time with it because there are so many techniques that I hadn’t done before… but more of that later.
 
For my next project for the Samantha Claridge Studio Design Team I wanted to make the Closet Case Patterns Clare Coat since I’d had the pattern hanging around for about six months! I’d also been looking at the fuchsia wool mix coating on the website and thought that the pairing would work beautifully. And, of course, back in December it was the perfect time of year to make a wool coat! I needed 3m of the coating and 2m of a lining and chose a silver polyester lining from the website.
The wool is washable so the first thing I did was put that and the lining in a 30 degree wash. The wool came out totally uncreased but the lining needed a good press and I found throughout the project that the lining creased easily and regularly needed ironing. I was careful not to use too much heat on the wool just in case, which didn’t help with the seams. It also took on an orange tinge when too hot but this faded with cooling.
 
Before I started I did some research on the coat and found a few references to it being tight across the back. The sizing put me in the 14 range but I decided to size up because of these concerns – and I’m glad I did. The size across the hip is fine but the shoulders would have been tight if I wanted to wear a thick jumper underneath.
 
I’m not one to trace the pattern pieces, I just go ahead and cut them out.  And for this project I’m glad I did because there were 9 pieces of main coat to cut out, 6 pieces of lining and 12 pieces of interfacing, 27 in total… phew! That little lot took me long enough, but then I had another hour and a half standing at the ironing board fusing the interfacing to the shell pieces and I am generally NOT a person who irons! Had I not been so excited about my new coat I might have given up at the first hurdle! But on I went since the first few steps were relatively simple and this filled me with confidence. 
 
As I said earlier, there were a few techniques in the construction of this coat that I’d never done before, and this was one of the reasons I wanted to make it, to try and challenge myself. 
Never have I ever…
 
* worked with wool
* made a two piece sleeve
* lined a garment
* used the bagging out technique
 
I must admit, every time I put the coat to one side I found it increasingly hard to come back to. As it got further along I became more and more daunted at the prospect of finishing it. My brain was telling me that the next steps were difficult so I kept putting it off, when in fact all of it was a series of relatively simple tasks, it’s just there was a lot of them! I found the sew along on the Closet Case website really useful, especially in the latter stages. With hindsight I think a tailors ham or clapper might have been useful for the sleeves but I made do. 
 
But finish it, I did! And since the fabric was gifted I kinda had to!!! But I do really love it and the colour… oh boy, all the heart eyes!!! The thing that drew me to the pattern was the collar. It’s a real statement piece and I’m looking forward to wearing it with pride!
 
The giant poppers were from Amazon, 12 for about £5, and are about 1″ in diameter.
 
 
Thank you so, so, sew much to Samantha for agreeing to this project and letting me have this beautiful fabric and the time to do it justice. Everyone should have a coat in this colour – it induces all the happy feels and makes the dreariest of days significantly brighter!
 
 

Simplicity bag project

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all keeping well and are able to distract yourselves from the mad world we find ourselves in. I normally live and work in London but decided to decamp to my parents’ house for the duration and luckily brought my sewing machine with me, so have been finding some escapism in that every evening.

I decided on this project before any dreams of a holiday were dashed, so I’ll just have to enjoy my new toiletries bag from home.

I fancied making something that wasn’t clothes and have had this pattern in my stash for years – I think I bought it in my first year of sewing. It’s described as a jewellery roll in the pattern but it’s quite big – I never take that much jewellery away with me – so I think it’s better used for toiletries. I though it would be a nice, easy project but it was actually quite time consuming. I’ve never quilted anything before and that was quite a long process, so I can’t imagine quilting a whole, bed-sized quilt! Quilters of the world, respect! But I had my trusty walking foot which was essential and made the process a lot easier.

I used the lovely rainbow fabric (now out of stock but this is also lovely)  with a pink contrast cotton (similar here )with the pockets made from this mesh and clear PVC 

 

I did enjoy seeing it come together, and it was fairly easy once I got my head around how it was constructed. You quilt the main body and top and bottom pockets, and then sew the middle pockets and zips together separately. Then you attach them all at the end and bind around the edges.

It was a bit tricky to sew by the end as it gets quite thick with all the layers and on my machine you can’t adjust the presser foot height, but we got there in the end. I foolishly cut my bias binding too narrow so it was quite hard to attach, but it’s fine if you don’t look too closely!

I’m really happy with the finished object and will definitely be using it to keep my toiletries organised. I also added a cute Kylie and the Machine label so everyone knows I made it (though I’d probably tell them first anyway)! I might try to add a popper too to keep it closed when it’s rolled up. There are plenty of other items in the pattern set but I’m not sure I have the patience to make a whole bag!

 

What have you been making while you’re stuck at home?

 

 

My handmade wardrobe – saving a sewing fail!

We’ve all been there…got excited about a new pattern, ordered the perfect fabric and made it up while dreaming of when and where you are going to wear this brand new me-made dress…then the disappointment when you try it on and it just doesn’t quite look right! URGH!!
 
One of my make nine this year was the McCall’s M7590…
I chose to make this in plaid from the shop…
 
I happily started cutting. When I got to the straps I felt that were too thin…but I’d already sewn the bodice together and understitched so I couldn’t be bothered to un-pick it all! I added the full skirt (it’s huge and so long…bearing in mind I’m 5″8, I’d have taken a good few inches off it) The dress swamped me, I’m not sure if it was the fullness of the gathers or the way the pattern lay on the bodice but it was not good, the proportions of this were just off on me…I didn’t even take any pics as I was so disappointed!
 
I don’t know about you but when I have a sewing fail it really knocks my sewjo and I just left it on my dressmaker dummy for about a month not knowing what to do with it. I thought about cutting it up and making something for my little one but I loved the fabric so much and was determined to have a dress from it. About a week ago I made myself a #hinterland dress (pattern from Sew Liberated) ina gorgeous rusty linen mix fabric and it came together so easily and was so flattering I had the idea to cut up this McCall’s dress and see If I had enough fabric left over to make a bodice to add to the full skirt.
 
Luckily I had about a metre left, just enough to get a bodice front and back and some short sleeves.
So I cut away the bodice from the skirt (which I had so carefully hand stitched the lining in place…wahhhh!)
 
Then I also cut the placket off the front of the skirt as it was just too full, that reduced some of the bulk but I still had a fully made up skirt with pockets ready to add to a new bodice…very happy! I took a few inches off the skirt at the top and re-gathered it, ready to attach to the new hinterland bodice.
 
It worked so well and I’ve worn this dress out on a (Social distancing) stroll with my sis in law already! It’s so comfy and just my style! I’m so glad I managed to rescue this one. I think I’ll try the McCalls pattern again but make some adjustments next time. I think it needs a lighter weight fabric (my bad) and thicker straps and it will be a lovely summer dress…I’ll keep you posted!
 
Who else has had any fails recently, did you manage to rescue them? I think with the amount of sewing I’ve been doing some of it is bound to go wrong!
 
Debbie x

Vintage pattern and a Teddy Coat!

A Vintage Pattern, a Bit of History and a Busy Unpicker!

 

 

 

I found this lovely pattern in a local charity shop a few months ago, it is dated 1976, the pattern was unopened and uncut. I was a teenager in 1976 and the pictures reminded me of styles I used to wear but they also seem to have a timeless look to them. 

A Little Bit of History

I did some research into Maudella patterns and was very interested to find out that they were originally Bradford based. As I live on the northern outskirts of Bradford it seemed as if this pattern had to be made.

The Maudella pattern company was founded by Maude Eleanor Dunsford in 1937 and they were released until the 1980s. Maude started the company in her attic in Fagley in Bradford and became a success in years of austerity when clothes were often made at home. She later moved to Chapel Street in Little Germany in central Bradford with her husband Sydney as manager. She had a particular talent for taking the latest trends from fashionable designers and translating them into patterns which made them affordable for the ordinary woman. The company was sold to Simplicity in the early 1980s when the couple’s son Ernest retired. 

I felt I could put a modern spin on this design by making it in the lovely grey teddy fleece from Samantha Claridge Studio. Searching my stash, I found this grey jersey to make a cosy lining. 

I searched again and found a piece of lining for the sleeves as I thought that the jersey might be tricky for slipping the coat on and off. For a touch of contrast I found this small piece of mustard print cotton also from Samantha, just enough to line the hood, the pockets and the end of the sleeves.

So far so good! 

 

I realised that as it is a Magyar style coat, I would have to add a seam between the body of the lining and the sleeve lining. This was not a problem, but it is where a problem started!

The coat came together nicely as did the lining; the issue was when I tried to put the two together! I put the facings in but they didn’t match up, so I thought that I had them wrong way round and unpicked them, teddy fleece is the devil to unpick! I put the facings in again the opposite way around, same problem, back to the unpicker! 

After several online conversations I finally realised what I had done. In working out my added seam between the sleeve and body lining I had cut the coat lining the same shape as the outer coat-there was no way the lining and facings were ever going to fit together!

 

So………. what to do? I considered recutting the linings to shape but this was tricky as the garment was so nearly assembled. I decided to get rid of the facings completely and just make a turning on the centre front. This worked out neatly and was much easier as the facings, even if everything had been cut correctly, would have been very bulky in the teddy fleece. I don’t think anyone but me (and now all the readers of this blog!) would know that the construction is anything but planned.

I am now delighted with my finished coat and before confinement to the house with social distancing it had been worn several times. I will definitely make this pattern again but next time I will remember to cut my lining correctly!

DIY rope necklace with Rico Macrame rope!

We’ve been having fun playing with the new Rico Cotton macrame Cords which come in six beautiful colours, we used peach for this tutorial.
We made a Macrame wall hanging using one of the new in metal macrame rings (read the tutorial here) and here is our second DIY for you, a fabulous knotted statement necklace…
To get started:

 

Measure out 3 metres of rope and fold in half then in half again.

Starting with the centre of the rope, fold over to make a loop, then make a pretzel shape. After this take the tail of the rope on the right hand side of the pretzel and loop under the left hand side as shown

Next, thread the cord over and under the pretzel as shown and carefully tighten, making sure it’s centred.

This will be the shape we will be repeating throughout this turorial.

Repeat the process and make another knot on the right hand side of your first one…

Then flip the necklcae over and repeat the knot again!

You can now add a clasp or piece of ribbon for tying it around your neck!
 
 
We hope you enjoy this tutorial and tag us if you give it a go #sccrafty
 
You can purchase the macrame cord to give this a go here!

Mint stars towelling dressing gown

Named Clothing Lahja Dressing gown

Hi there!

I know I know I’ve been M.I.A for a short while but hopefully I’m back into the swing of things now.  I hope you’re sitting comfortably and have grabbed a cuppa because there’s a few things going on in this blog!

Now, this month when I was searching Sammy’s website my 16 year old was sat with me looking through the fabrics.  Now it’s fair to say she does have her own Pfaff Sewing Machine is an A level textile student too so it’s not unnatural for her to take an interest in the fabrics I choose.  Anyways, scrolling through and she spotted the white terry with mint stars and immediately I could see her eyes light up and brain was full steam ahead!! “oh mum do you remember when we were little and we all had matching pink towelling dressing gowns”  you can see where this is going right?? Sooooo, being the selfless sewist I am, I said I would request this fabric and would make her the Named Clothing Lahja Dressing Gown which would be a good replica for the one she’d had when she was about 4 yrs old!  Her thoughts are that she it would be the perfect dressing gown now it’s coming up to spring time for slipping on after her shower and lounging in.

Anyway, once the fabric arrived I got it straight into the washing machine and pre washed it as I usually do with any new fabric.  I always want to be sure it’s not going to shrink once I’ve put the work in making a garment! The fabric, as is usual with Sammy’s fabrics washed and dried perfectly and the towelling was so fluffy and snuggly.  She couldn’t wait for me to get started and continuously spoke about it until I did lol!

I promptly got the fabric cut out and have to say it came together very quickly.  I did most of the seams on the overlocker only using the sewing machine to attach the pockets, collar and belt loops.  It’s the first time I have used towelling to sew with and it was much easier than I was thinking. The pattern recommended 3m of the fabric which was probably a little too much really.  If I’d have used their pattern layout I could probably have made do with 2.75m however with a little bit more tweaking, I managed to get the whole dressing gown out of 2.5m. To personalise it a little for her I embroidered her initials in matching mint green embroidery thread to the stars on the fabric.  She’s really pleased with it and says it feels luxurious like you’d get at a Spa! I’m happy with that comment so I’m gonna take it and run with it ☺

Now there was method in my madness as I felt it was really wasteful to leave a chunk of fabric with a strip cut out for the belt and I’m so glad I played pattern tetris as it left me with enough fabric to make her a little wrap towel which will be ideal for the beach or after coming out of the swimming pool.  The only thing I needed to do to give me enough fabric to make this was make the belt slightly narrower and by slightly, I mean literally 2cm maximum!!  

Mia had been shopping with her friends recently and had seen one of these in one of the high street shops and her immediate thought was we could probably just stick some Velcro on a towel!  See, she’s definitely her mum’s girl!! I’ve trained her well lol!!

With the remaining fabric, I squared off the edges with the overlocker and made sure it was long enough to wrap around her without her flashing anyone should she not be wearing anything underneath it.  I put a 2” hem on the top and bottom and 1” hem on the sides. I pinned where I needed the Velcro should be attached and searched my stash to see if I had any. Luckily I found a piece which was just long enough to cut into sections to attach to the towelling wrap and voila the wrap was finished.  

Even after getting these two projects out of the 3m, there was still enough left for me to make her some matching reusable make up wipes.  Holy moly I’ve never seen a girl go through so many cotton wool pads! I’ve been promising I was going to make her some for ages and never got round to it so now she has everything she needs and it all matches ☺ .  

If only I could put out takes in these blog posts lol!!  When we were taking the photos for the blog, as Mia sat on her bed she let out an almighty scream ……. “mummmmmm have you left a pin in here, something just stuck in my leg!” Oopsie, it had a white glass head and I didn’t see it!  Now it was wedged inside the hem with just the needle bit poking through! I had to unpick a couple of stitches to get the little blighter out! Note to self…..make sure not to use same coloured glass head pins as the fabric! Ha-ha!!!

I definitely my next project needs to be some selfish sewing!  What do you think??

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog post and look forward to making my next one for you!

Until next time, 

Happy Sewing

 

Lisa xx

@sewlastminutelisa

Self-drafted Shashiko jeans project

Shashiko jeans by @missmaker

 

 

So, a pair of self-draft jeans had been on my hit list for quite a while. As always with my Samantha Claridge Design Team projects, I try and ensure I stretch myself and cover new ground, really making the most of the opportunities these projects allow. These things take time of course and setting time aside had been proving difficult with a couple of big personal projects at the start of this year

Just for good measure, (cos nothing should be too easy!) I had added a couple of other elements to the project too. As well as additional pockets and a curved back yoke design, I had repaired a pair of old jeans with a bit of Sashiko mending (the art of applying small regular reinforcing stitches in patterns and designs that decorate and make a feature of the mended area) and really wanted to make this a feature of the jeans I was going to make for SCDT. 

The lining fabric I had chosen was so pretty I did not want it hidden away inside so I knew it needed to feature on the outside. To ensure this the front pockets would have piping and the back and extra pockets would have details in the lining fabric. The Sashiko stitching would frame panels of the lining fabric supported inside by extra layers of denim to make them as hard wearing as they were pretty.  

To ensure this plan came together I turned to my dress making journal to ensure I had all the elements buttoned down before moving forward with the drafting. A few sketches and notes later and I was ready to start. 

The first step was to get into the workshop and dust off my City & Guilds Trouser drafting module notes. It had been a fair while since I had looked at these. I did this module with the fabulous Wendy Ward (@thatwendyward) at MIY Workshops down in Brighton almost ten years ago. She is now up in Sheffield running Sew in the City and her patterns and books are definitely worth a look.    

I always want to make the most out of time spent on projects so in drafting these jeans I was also road testing notes and an instruction booklet I had written for an upcoming trouser drafting course. With a few tweaks along the way both the notes and draft pattern all came together very nicely and I soon had a basic toile to begin fitting and styling.  

Trying on the first toile revealed that I didn’t need quite as much ease around hips and waist, a slightly shorter crotch depth (balanced further towards the front), a bit more room around the knees and an increased angle on the centre back seam as I have a bit of a sway back.  

I wanted a snug toile as I knew the denim had a small amount of stretch to it and having made a number of pairs of jeans before I knew they would relax further with wear.  

With my list of fit changes updated on the toile, the toile tried on again to triple check and then the changes transferred to the pattern, I was then ready to start creating new lines and panels for the curved yoke back, front pockets, fly extension, waist band and back pocket size and position.  

Drawing directly on to the updated toile with a friction pen I could mark and erase as many times as I liked to get just the look and proportion I wanted for these different elements. I was then able to trace these new lines to create new pattern pieces I needed, adding back in seam allowances where needed. 

I will now let you in to a little secret, before cutting my pattern pieces from my denim and lining I made a point of totally mistreating my fabric.  

I do this before making up any everyday clothes these days. Both lining and denim went through a 40 degree wash then into the tumble dryer. This way I knew the worst that could happened already had!  

(When I first got a tumble dryer a couple of years ago I got carried away and left my perfectly fitted ginger jeans in a wash AND dry cycle without thinking, but that’s another story, you’ll have to check out my insta and facebook feeds to find out how that got fixed!)  

The thing I love about making jeans is that the process all seems totally backwards. Every final detail, every little finishing touch, all has to be thought about and executed before anything really starts to come together. Pockets are painstakingly folded and pressed with top stitching and decorative details added, belt loops are created, front pockets are constructed and piped, the fly is inserted, back panels, yoke and pockets are all attached and topstitched. This all happens before either of the inside or outside leg seams are sewn.

For these jeans there was even more detail to add at this point, as I decided it would be far easier to add all the Sashiko detailing before either of these seams were brought together. After searching out some inspiration on Pinterest I decided on a circular design flaring off into gentle swirls around the lining fabric inserts and rows of parallel stitches across the back of one leg.  

It took a little while to complete this part of the process but it was quite nice to get consumed by a bit of slow stitching for a while, and with all the other details already in place I knew once it was done the finished jeans were not far from completion.  

So, the inside leg is sewn and top stitched, the outside seams were tacking stitched on the machine before a final try on to get that perfect fit. Hardly a tweak was needed, just a little graded increase in the seam allowance between hip and waist to take account of the denim’s stretch. With the side seems set it was on with the waist band. I don’t know why but this is the bit that daunts me most, maybe because that’s when everything is set in stone?

Finally…… lots and lots of belt loops!

 

I can’t stand jeans that skimp on belt loops and you end up with your belt over the top of the waistband, especially at centre back.  

For these jeans I added a total of 8 belt loops and made a feature of the centre back ones, angling them away from each other and extending them down to the yoke seam.  

There are still a couple of tweaks I would make to this pattern (I find my self-drafts are eternally a work in progress as I am quite self critical). But all in all these summer jeans have turned out to be the relaxed fit I wanted with a level of detail and individualisation that really set them apart.  

Fennel Fanny pack review- with A Beautiful Mess fabrics

Bum Bags are back in a big way…and I for one am grateful! I love them for gigs, festivals and dog walking, so I can be hands free but access my phone/ keys/ money/ poo bags really quickly if I need! I also feel safer with my valuables where I can see them!

So when I saw the Fennel Fanny pack all over Instagram I was keen to give it a go. 

It’s a downloadable pattern from Sarkirsten.com and it’s only $12! So I bought it and printed it off, then the hard part was deciding on fabric…

I went with the ABM Flower Market range but decided in the end to use the Succulents green fabric for the inside and out, I just love that sage green and thought it would go perfectly with the pink hardware I bought…so summery and fun!

I made a few mistakes and got myself in a pickle while making this I’m not going to lie! I thought the instructions for the side tabs could have been slightly clearer as I managed to put them in upside down the first time! I also found stitching round the corners of the bum bag a real pain…but that’s probably because I mis-read the pattern instructions fo the front of the bag…this picture shows that I somehow left the top of the bag above the zip too big…not sure how that happened but I trimmed it down and carried on!

The finished result, however, is incredibly pleasing and I can see how this bag is an addictive make! It would be a fabulous gift for a friend and you easily make a whole bacth of these up for Christmas pressies! Hey, why not start on them now and get ahead of the game!

I’ll definitely be making more and will remember my mistakes from the first time…that’s how you learn right?!

Who else has made one? What did you think of the process?

Just a heads up, there will be a discount code in this weeks Newsletter so make sure you are signed up to recieve this, you can do this on the homepage…scroll to the bottom!

How to make a Macrame wall hanging

Macrame is back and we are LOVING it! 

This textile craft based on knotting strings in patterns can be used to make bags, wall hangings, jewellery and plant hangers.

We’ve just had some beautiful Macrame cords and metal hoops delivered, you can find them in the New In section of the shop. So give this cheap and easy craft a go!

Below is a little tutorial to get you started…

Step 1.

I started with one 25m ball of cord and a 20cm hoop in brass. I love the cmbination of this peach cord witht he brass ring 🙂

Firstly cut 9  x 1m strands of cord

Step 2.

Take your first piece of cord, find the middle of the rope. attach to hoop with a larks head knot

Step 3.

Make sure the rope is underneath the hoop and attach with a double half hitch knot.

Step 4.

Then attached a rope either side 

Step 5.

Taking the inner strand wither side create a square knot

Step 6.

Start your knot approx 1.5″ down from the top of the hoop.

Step 7.

Attach the ends to the side of your hoop as in Step 3

Step 8.

Taking the outer strands and create a reverse square knot then attach the ends to the hoop as before

Step 9.

Repeat all steps adding the remaining rope and reversing the square knot each time until you have used all 9 cord stands.  Then trim the ends to form a point.

Et voila!