Read more about the article Dungarees!

Dungarees!

When I took part in the #miymarch16 instagram challenge, I put down this dungarees pattern as my sewing ambition (new Burda 3779).  I bought the pattern from a charity shop for £2 just over a year ago because I loved the idea of making some, and bought some denim shortly after.  However, the amount of pieces in the pattern felt overwhelming, and I couldn't get started. A couple of months ago, I asked my mum if I could bring along the pattern and fabric when I visited her to see if she could encourage me to get started.  Over the weekend, I managed to trace the pattern, pin it onto the fabric, and then cut it out. One of my main worries was altering the pattern to my size.  However, we decided that as it was designed to be very loose fitting, I could cut it a size smaller than usual, which would ensure that the bottom half would not be too baggy! I didn't manage to pick it up again for about a month after this visit!  Feeling that I still needed a boost, I went back to my mum's for a crafty retreat to get the pattern finished. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  When I attached the bib section to the shorts, it didn't provide a completely sealed finish, but I think I might have misread it.  I would plan to take steps to create a better finish next time.  Also, the inner sides of the bib are tacked in place and then secured by edge stitching and top stitching.  However, I decided to slip stitch it in place by hand to secure it before the two rows of machine stitching. The braces were simple to attach.  The buttons have to be hammered on, but in my view, this is much easier than stitching button holes and working out where to place the buttons on the straps!  There's the added benefit that you can adjust it to size. The pleats on the front were also a worry, but turned out to be really simple to complete.  They were more like tucks.  The denim material is so sturdy that it was easy to tack in place and press well at every step. I think these may become my 'uniform' for craft days!  I think I will have to make a trouser version for the winter though (I'm already imagining some navy polka dot material which could be used for the second pair...)Harry did become jealous of the sewing project during its production, and kept sitting or laying on the instructions.  When I moved the instructions out of the way so he couldn't make any further holes in it with his claws, he decided to settle on the garment instead!

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Read more about the article Comic Strip Stitched

Comic Strip Stitched

Recently I decided to revisit my doodles through free motion stitching. Doodling can happen in all sorts of circumstances.  You could be on hold chasing up an order over the phone (or in the case of my first job, being the advisor on the other side of the line), waiting for a meeting to commence, sitting in the audience of a presentation or passing the time on the train.  Sometimes the doodling is abstract, and sometimes it turns into a miniature piece of artwork. Many of the doodles I made when I worked as a customer advisor in a call centre focused on the more abstract sketches of wiggly lines and rough shading, punctuated by the odd cartoon cat.  We had green paper to use to make notes while we were on the phone, which we had to throw away as confidential waste at the end of our shift, so I don't have any of those scribbles anymore, and I doubt there were many of interest from that job either! However, I have kept some of the sketches I've made over the years.  I decided to use these to practise my free machine embroidery. I used a water soluble fabric pen to trace the whole design onto my scrap piece of calico.  However, I found that once I got a gauge of the letter sizing, I began to ignore the template.  I was concerned about writing with stitch so small, but it worked out well in the end.  I probably wouldn’t attempt it when I’m tired though! Overall, it was an interesting stitch.  I find that I prefer joining up letters when I stitch, whereas I found it difficult to allow the writing to be joined up, possibly due to the style  and format you normally see comics portrayed in! I have some more comic strip ideas drafted, including a short series based on being a graduate and job interviews, which I will use to practise my machine embroidery skills with as well!

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Read more about the article Completed PHD: Pyjama pattern from The Makery

Completed PHD: Pyjama pattern from The Makery

After a review of my work practices, I decided that it was time to stand up and confront my PHDs (projects half done)! The list of incomplete projects is threateningly high so I decided that this list needed to be dealt with (or at least cut back a bit!) Enter Simply Sewing Magazine's exclusive pattern from The Makery - pyjamas.  I think I began this pattern last August and then became distracted by a looming deadline for something else.  I'd cut all the pieces out and even sewn a couple of sections for the shorts but then put it away until now. This project has been a good introductory one for tackling the PHDs because as the cover of the pattern boasts, it's an "easy sew".  I was a bit thrown off by the shorts being made out of two pieces instead of four, but once I got my head around it, the pattern was even easier than anticipated. I haven't done much gathering, and I feel  that it shows on the final piece.  However, as they are pjs, this doesn't matter much and it's been a good way to practise gathering as a skill. The gathering works well for shaping, and personally I think the fit is good for this make.  I could have done with cutting the ribbon for the shorts waistband a little longer than instructed.  I needed assistance for fitting the straps as well.  Overall, a lovely weekend project!

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#mmmay16 – Me Made May and the versatile wardrobe

Me Made May is an event created by Zoe from So Zo... 'What do you know?' to encourage people to wear the clothes they make, whether this is through knitting, crocheting, sewing, weaving, etc.  It's designed to motivate crafters to celebrate their achievements and confront any perfectionistic thoughts which may be keeping some garments in the back of the wardrobe! There's no pressure to wear something everyday, or to charter your progress through social media.  The challenge is an individual one set by you. I didn't officially sign up this year (mainly because I didn't read the post properly to see that you needed to add a comment to sign up) but went along with it anyway.  The challenge I found with #mmmay16 was that I have made a lot of summery dresses and May in the UK this year has been quite cold at times!  I did set an achievable goal - to wear something me made on a couple of days each week in May - but I found that the most versatile garment in my me made wardrobe is the knitted cardigan I made 3 years ago in double knit weight yarn!   The second garment I wore the most was the top I made as part of #miymarch16 for the knit material day.  This top was great as I could layer it up depending on the weather! Other items I wore was the dress I made during #miymarch16 and the wrap skirt, which was good for the warmer days of the month! This challenge has made me reflect on the type of garments I make.  I can see that although it took a good couple of months to make my knitted cardigan, the pattern was a good one and I wear it a lot.  Also, I have tended to stick to simpler patterns with easy to use fabrics which are more suitable for hot summer days in my dressmaking experience. As a result, it looks like I need to diversify my dressmaking challenges.  here are the ways I am going to do this: Make more tops in knit materials Make more tops in specially selected materials Make more items for all year or in particular Autumn, Winter and Spring Learn to make fitted trousers Make more knitted cardigans! It will be interesting to take part next year and see if there's any progression!

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Read more about the article The Poppy Playsuit

The Poppy Playsuit

Once again, it's been a while since I've had another go at dressmaking.  I remedied this by combining a recent pattern in Simply Sewing with a recent material purchase! There's a lovely charity shop nearby who sell craft supplies.  I was very lucky to go into the shop when they had a material sale on, which meant I got two fabrics for the price of one!  One of the fabrics I came across is this lovely one above. I am not sure what type of material it is, but it drapes well and there was enough to try out the Poppy Playsuit by Sew Over It, which came with issue 16 of Simply Sewing.  The main criteria for the material for this pattern was one which drapes well so I had the perfect match! This is the first pattern I have tried making a basic alteration with.  I found that the bust and waist measurements were close enough to one pattern size, but my hips definitely needed a smaller size.  The pattern pieces did not highlight where the hipline was, which was a shame, but I still made a basic alteration from the waist to one of the notches which I felt was close to the hip measurement area. The fabric was a challenge to cut out as it moves easily - I found that pattern weights and then pinning it helped.  The pattern's instructions suggested pinning the edge of the fabric too, which was a useful tip. As I was concerned about the material moving too much, I pinned and tacked at every stage.  Tacking increases the time considerably, but it did mean that I didn't have any major unpicking sessions! The pattern directions are clear and and concise.  Key terms are defined, which saves a google search part way through your make!  The only section I had to re-read again was how to do the turn-ups, and they turned out to be really simple once I focused on the directions carefully. The only bit of unpicking I had to do was related to the hook and eye.  I attached the hook so that it would meet the edge of the right hand side opening.  This caused a gape in the material when fastened.  I changed this by placing the hook on the very edge of the right hand side opening and put the bar further in on the left hand side.  Also, I didn't read the pattern carefully when attaching the facing and did a 1.5cm seam allowance instead of 1cm! I was surprised by how long it took me to make this item, but that's mainly because (a) I'm rusty at dressmaking and (b) the material required more care than a standard cotton or linen.  However I think it's well worth it and I look forward to some warmer weather soon so I can wear it!!  I would definitely complete this pattern again, and I expect I would find it even easier and faster second time round.…

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Read more about the article Upcycling jeans – the sewing pinny!

Upcycling jeans – the sewing pinny!

One of the projects I made during #miymarch16 was the upcycled pinny from an old pair of jeans. I got these jeans for my 21st.  I'm a bit of a hoarder, and while they had a tear in them where the fabric was so thin and worn out, I hadn't had the heart to chuck them away. When I met up with my mum and sister in March, they suggested cutting them up into something new.  Due to the location of the worn out section, a skirt was not suitable!  However, we came up with making a tool belt. One of the best parts of making something from something you're prepared to throw away is that it doesn't cost you anything and you have a lot of freedom to just go for it!  I simply placed a ruler over the jeans roughly where I thought the length would be good and took a rotary cutter to it! As you can see, I curved the back to make it more apron like, but also so I could keep the back pockets.  Jeans lend themselves to being a belt because of all the pockets!!  I added some patches to the back pockets and then added a pom pom trim and ribbon border. I wanted to add more decoration, and following my recent addiction to free machine embroidery (which I will go into more detail at some point in the future), I drew out some sewing related appliqué onto bondaweb! Et voila!  Here is the end result!  I added some random buttons to the front pockets and stitched additional detail on the appliqué.  Now I put my scissors on a bungee rope so they're always with me but I do think I need to add a scissor holster to it to improve it.

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Read more about the article #miymarch16

#miymarch16

#miymarch16 may have been a couple of months ago, but here are the resulting images I posted from it below. Make it Yourself March is an Instagram event.  It involves posting an image based on the daily photo prompt - a list can be found on Wendy Ward's blog from this year. New to Instagram, I found this event coincided beautifully with a couple of my goals - to become more familiar with using social media and to push myself to create more.  It was a great way to be inspired by fellow dressmakers. Instagram is an easy form of social media if you have a smart phone and I've carried on using it since. During March, I made 4 dressmaking items, completed upcycling projects, planned future projects, made gifts and machine embroidered.

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Read more about the article Mother’s Day gift making – bath hats and bags

Mother’s Day gift making – bath hats and bags

It didn't take long to come up with this year's mother's day gift - mainly because I knew she wanted a new bath hat! I made her one years ago from the Cath Kidston "Sew!" book.  Unfortunately, the waterproof fabric I chose for inside the hat was quite thick and stiff.  Also, we have big heads so I think the pattern was designed for a smaller circumference head! I'd made my nan this green bath hat above using material I got online which I think is used for making tents.  It was much more versatile than the thick waterproof plastic for bath hat #1 anyway!  I made a much larger template for this hat and added a brim and bow! As hat #2 was a much better fit, I went along with this design for mum's.  However, I tried a new lining.  The fabric I used was a white showerproof material from Fabricland in Bristol.  I was apprehensive about using this, as I wasn't sure how robust it was for using for practical and wearable items.  However, it seems to have turned out to be the cheapest and most shower hat like option of the three tried and tested! Still chirpy from making a toiletry bag for my dad's birthday, I felt that the hat required a matching toiletry bag.  As I wanted the bag and hat to match, I added a strip of the duck material to the top and appliquéd a duck on it too.  I couldn't resist having another go at writing with the sewing machine, so I wrote "like a duck to water" on it. I really enjoyed this gift set make.  It's something I am considering to sell on my Etsy store in time for people preparing for their holidays!

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Read more about the article Making Individual Gifts – for Dad

Making Individual Gifts – for Dad

For my dad's birthday this year, I decided to use my new skills to make some different gifts to normal. Cufflinks Here is a photo of him wearing the cufflinks I made in glass.  I had no idea you could make cufflinks from fused glass (or didn't think of it until it was pointed out to me)! I'm quite limited in my glass fusing skills at the moment, particularly in cutting, so I used inclusions for the decoration (note: inclusions are when you include certain metals between the two layers of glass so that they become sealed into the piece).  The inclusions are feet.  I chose feet as he enjoys running, so it fits in with one of his hobbies. The class pieces were fixed onto the cufflink backs with an amazing adhesive called Hang-your-glass, which creates a strong finished piece. Toiletry Bag Here is a photo of the toiletry bag I made.  I used free machine embroidery to decorate this item.  I made up the design from a family saying - "A bath is worth two hours' sleep" which I believe he relies on to keep up with his busy schedule! I really enjoyed making the personalised design on this bag.  The bath tub was appliquéd on with an old curtain swatch remnant.  I particularly enjoy writing with the machine, which is great because I no longer gaze longingly at impressive but expensive embroidery machines with preset lettering options.  Sure, a machine program for lettering is faster and accurate, but free machine embroidery comes out differently every time.

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