I’m having a bit of a love affair with this fabric at the moment and amidst the mayhem of wedding dresses in the studio decided that life couldn’t go on unless I made this fabric up into a skirt. I used a yoke from an old Burda pattern (8677 incase you are interested – but I’m not sure if it is still in print) and then drafted the skirt as a half circle (two quarter circles) to fall from the yoke to maximise the fabulous print. At the last moment I decided to add pockets to my skirt. Everything is better with pockets, right? So I drew myself a side seam pocket pattern (you could borrow one from another pattern), shaping the top edge to match the top edge of my skirt panel, so that it would be caught into the seam when later attaching the yoke. I cut 4 pieces from... read more
Pattern Review – Vogue 8577 To be honest, I’m not sure where this pattern came from, I found it in my stash, complete with sticky tape holding the pattern extension pieces together. I must have lent the pattern to a student, or made it up for a client? I’m not normally drawn to full-skirted dresses for myself, but the oversized pockets really grabbed me, so it quickly jumped to the top of my must-make pile (I’m terribly fickle, I know). One of the beauties of making your own clothes is that over time you get to know what shapes suit you, and also how to alter a pattern to flatter your body’s little quirks. For example, I know that I don’t suit a bodice that comes to the edge of my shoulders (Quarterback alert!) unless they extend into a cap sleeve, or drape beyond my shoulders. I also wanted to... read more
As a dressmaker, people assume that I must make all of my own clothes. Wouldn’t that be a dream! But in real life I am usually too busy teaching and working on commissions to be able to lavish such attention on my own wardrobe (in fact, much like plumbers always have dripping taps in their own houses, I’ve been known to walk around with trouser hems held up with double sided sticky tape and dresses held together with safety pins!). January however, is a quieter month on the whole and gives me the chance to partake in a little fabric-stash-busting, and wardrobe restocking. So this week I’ve decided to share with you the latest makes from my handmade wardrobe. I found this gorgeous piece of wool on the remnant table in Ditto and after a month of sitting on the cutting table being admired by my students it became this mini skirt, with... read more
You know what it’s like when you’ve got a favourite garment? The fit’s just right, the colours go with everything, and the fabric has that lovely worn-in softness that only comes with years of love. Well, this shirt is just so for me. I’ve worn it year in, year out in summer and in winter. I made this shirt years ago and in the 4 times I’ve moved house since, thought I’d lost the pattern. But in a recent sort out of the stuff under the cutting table it turned up, Yay! So I recently made another… And since I was on a roll, another. In Christmas fabric! Since I’m in a shirt making frenzy at the moment, what with making them for Christmas gifts too, I thought I’d share with you a couple of methods of getting a sharp corner on a collar. These are the two ways I use frequently to get... read more
Two winters ago I cut out a coat in some beautiful grey wool that I bought in Ditto, but time was not on my side and Spring had sprung (twice) before I’d finished sewing. The coat pieces were relegated to a carrier bag and banished to the piles of denial beneath the cutting table. Although I don’t make New Year’s resolutions I did promise myself that this year I’d try to finish some of my started projects and not leave anything hanging around in bags gathering dust. So it’s been my mission this week to get this coat finished. I’m hoping to wear it tomorrow on our class trip to London, there’s nothing like a deadline! And here’s the finished article, I really rather like it, what do you think? The pattern I used was Burda 7131, option B. As ever, I didn’t quite stick to the pattern (I added a... read more
I was out shopping and spotted this beautiful wool/cashmere mix in Ditto. I knew it wasn’t a good idea for me to make a garment (such a fine, loose weave wool is fairly disastrous when you have pets), so I bought a square and decided to make a shawl. It is such simple thing to do, and allows you wear a piece of fabric you love without making a long term commitment. You could still turn it into something else later. First step was to straighten the grain. Pull one thread from the selvedge of the fabric near the cut edge, I used tweezers to ensure only grabbing one thread… When you pull the thread out it will leave a slight ‘shadow’ giving you a perfectly true line to cut along. Select a very narrow zig zag stitch… Once the edge is cut true, zig zag stitch along parallel to... read more
I love wearing vintage clothes but it’s not always practical for daily life. They are often too delicate or fragile, and can often be difficult to launder so don’t stand up to the requirements of everyday wear and tear. The other problem for many of us with wearing vintage is that gals were shorter and thinner back then. In addition to their smaller frames ladies would usually wear foundation garments to give them a defined waist and curvier silhouette. Even as a UK 10 I struggle to find dresses from the early 20th century that fit properly, without resorting to this kind of thing… If you simply can’t find vintage clothes to fit then why not cheat and make your own? There are some fantastic patterns available, here is one of my favourites from Simplicity… I made it in a wool/viscose mix from Ditto and used some scraps of red... read more
I recently purchased a walking foot for my sewing machine. Without being over dramatic IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE! There are certain materials that can render even an experienced dressmaker to a gibbering wreck, reaching for the nearest bucket of gin (I love the idea that you might just happen to have one lying around for emergencies). For me this material has always been leather, but armed with my new foot last week I merrily set about the task of making myself a leather jacket. It has been so much fun and so successful that I thought I’d make a little clutch bag from the left over leather, and share with you so you can have a go for yourself. First of all, decide on the size of you bag. The bag is designed to be turned down twice much as you might fold a paper bag containing sandwiches or a chunk of cake. Draw... read more
I’ve had this piece of fabric for years and always imagined that it would become a Maxi dress, but when I held it up in front of the mirror I felt that the pattern was a little bit too repetitive for a dress, and may be overpowering. After the Great British Sewing Bee there has been a new wave of students starting dressmaking classes. Since my suggested first project is usually a pair of pyjamas bottoms, there have been quite a few pairs being made in the studio recently. Truth be told I’ve been a little envious, so this week I treated myself to a pair of freshly made pyjamas. The floral silk takes centre stage… Technically there was no where near enough fabric to make Pyjamas, I was 1.2metres short, but I like a challenge so was determined to prove the pattern company wrong. As the design is large... read more
Last week I popped into Ditto to have a look at the new season fabrics, and totally fell for this beautiful vintage looking viscose crepe. Not sure what I’d make I bought 2.5m (my standard impulse-buy length), this way I knew there’d be enough for anything from a maxi dress or lining for a long coat. Spurred on by the beautiful weather, I made my gorgeous fabric into a retro smock-dress over the weekend. It’s perfect for this time of year as it can be worn with leggings, boots and an oversized cardi, or ballet pumps and bare legs. The pattern I used was Burda 6967. Never content with keeping life simple and using a pattern just as it is I decided to alter the neckline, losing the oversized collar and adding contrast piping to define the yoke and new neckline. I always doodle my ideas out first to see... read more
