A Stitching Odyssey

I've got exciting news today friends! Claire (SEW, Incidentally...), Kat (Krafty Kat) and I are organising another Birmingham meet-up this summer and we thought we'd give you plenty of notice in case you fancy joining us from far and wide.

BIRMINGHAM MEET-UP

DATE: Saturday 15 June 2013

MEETING PLACE: Birmingham New Street train station, just beyond the ticket barriers

MEETING TIME: 10:30am – 11:00am

RAG MARKET: 11:00am – 12:30pm

LUNCH & SWAP: 12:30pm – 2:00/2:30pm

MORE SHOPPING: 2:30pm onwards

HOME TIME: 4:00pm – 4:30pm, but we won't hold you hostage if you want to leave earlier!

Kat and I organised a similar affair last year and it really was a blast! Check out my round-up post if you don't believe me! All these smiley faces can't be wrong...can they?

Much like last time, first we'll visit the rag market stalls for some bargains - Roisin made a beautiful Matroyshka print dress and Winnie made an adorable polka dot blouse, both with fabric scored last year!

Then we'll re-charge over a leisurely lunch (possibly at Cafe Soya again as the food is yummy and the venue accommodating), whilst indulging in a bit of a swap. The swap part is very informal and there are no obligations to contribute. However, if you do want to de-stash then bring your unwanted fabric, notions, patterns, books, etc along and they'll get snapped up in a jiffy!

Finally, there'll be time in the afternoon to re-visit the market or experience the awesome local fabric shops (or should I say an Aladdin cave and warehouse?) – Fancy Silk Store and Barry's Fabrics.

Have I convinced you to come along yet? If so, just leave a comment below with your email address...it's that easy! Once we have a final list of names, we'll send out a confirmation email with maps and contact numbers to boot. For now, you can download a Birmingham Shopping Map PDF, which also locates the Rag Market and Birmingham New Street train station.

We're looking forward to seeing you there! If you can't make it though, Claire is also organising Brighton and London meet-ups too!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

If you've never attempted them before, bound buttonholes can seem super scary. Which could leave you in a bit of a pickle if you like vintage patterns or fancy trying your hand at making a jacket or coat. And if you have tried them before, I bet you could still do with a refresher for next time...there are so many steps to remember!

Well, you're in luck! Because the very talented Karen from Did you make that? has just published an excellent e-book called How to make a bound buttonhole. How do I know it's excellent? Because last year I was lucky enough to attend a workshop at Karen's house (with Handmade Jane and Scruffy Badger Time), which formed the basis of the e-book. Up to that point, I had never attempted this type of buttonhole before. But with Karen's patient encouragement and expert guidance, the quality of my first ever bound buttonholes surpassed my expectations by far!

I hope you'll support Karen and buy this e-book. She really has poured her heart and soul into it, which stems from her very genuine desire to share her extensive research findings and make our sewing experience that bit easier. The publication is an absolute bargain at just £2 for over 40 pages of professional, comprehensive and very accessible copy and photos.

You can also just buy the e-book for totally selfish reasons. I mean, why wouldn't you want your bound buttonholes to look this impressive!?!

What are your thoughts on bound buttonholes? Do you think you'll find, or have you already found, Karen's e-book as helpful as I have?

P.S. If you pop on over to Karen's blog today, she's hosting an unmissable giveaway...one part The Great British Sewing Bee and one part silk!!!

Friday, April 12, 2013

The girly pumps are on and the hair's in a top knot, all in honour of my newest make - a floral Dixie DIY Ballet Dress. Granted, the hair would have been better suited to a sock bun, but I can't for the life of my work those suckers...even thought I have looked up my fair share of tutorials!

Some of you may remember that this dress broke my sewing machine, but I'm not holding any grudges as I love the chintzy print and colour. It's so me! As usual, I got it from Stuart's stall on Leicester market and it's a super-soft, cotton jersey...for a mere £4 per metre. Bargain!

Dixie DIY's pattern was also a bargain (just $3 people!) and it's an excellent basic block that lends itself to many potential variations. I cut a size Medium and even though it was the right size, I had a couple of issues that once you know about you can easily rectify. 1)The bodice had some extra ease around the side boob area, which I got rid of with a couple of strategically placed darts - I've now just pinched the ease out of the pattern piece, so it shouldn't be a problem again. 2)The front bodice is a little short if you have a larger bust - I didn't go up a size because it would be too big elsewhere, but next time I will add an inch or two to the length.

I was thrilled with the fit of the back bodice though - it's not often that you get a snug neckline with no gaping at all!

The pattern calls for elastic to be sewn on the waistline and for once, I actually obeyed. I'm so glad I did as it stabilises the waistline and stops it from getting roomier throughout the day. In fact, I'm contemplating re-visiting a couple other jersey dresses I've made and stabilising the waistline in the same way.

Like I did for my birthday dress this year, I replaced the sleeves with the beautiful tulip ones from my vintage Simplicity 1813 pattern. What can I say? I'm just not done with this type of sleeve yet! I think it stops a jersey dress (or top) from looking too sporty and it might be my new go-to sleeve pattern...hehe!

I know this dress is a rather simple and casual one, but it suits my day-to-day life perfectly as I work in a very casual office. However, the floral print and tulip sleeves make me feel really feminine. Feminine enough to want to to curtsey after a posh tea date or to flutter across a sweet-smelling meadow. My balcony had to suffice today...

Sunday, April 07, 2013

Ever wondered what my deepest, darkest sewing secrets are...you know, like why I started sewing, what my first ever make was, favourite online tutorials, experiences of vintage patterns and my 5 top tips for beginners?

Well, wonder no more! A while ago Denise over at The Blue Gardenia was kind enough to interview me as part of her popular Sew how? series, featuring some true sewing greats including Did you make that?, Stitch and Witter, Elegant Musings and My Happy Sewing Place.

You can read my interview here!

Thursday, April 04, 2013

**Important update: I don't know how 'legal' this is, but a clever reader has discovered

that you can watch the first episode on YouTube here. Enjoy!!!**

UK sewing bloggers, are you as ridiculously excited as me about the first episode of The Great British Sewing Bee, airing at 8pm tonight on BBC Two? I'm literally waiting in front of the TV rather impatiently and my excitement is twofold - not only is our awesome hobby finally getting some well-deserved airtime, but one of the UK's most talented and inspiring sewing bloggers is a contestant! I speak of none other than Tilly of Tilly and the Buttons of course and I'm sure she'll do an excellent job at representing our fabulous online community! I can't wait to see what she produces under immense pressure and I'm sure you'll all be joining me in cheering her on!

Doesn't Tilly literally look as cute as a button in her profile?

Anyway, if you're on Twitter and you want to join the conversation, you can follow @sewingbee and use #GBSB.

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

You've had a nice break from my face and you've not seen a new make in 44 whole days! I sure hope you've missed me, because I'm back with a kitcsher than kitsch Sew for Victory dress for you to feast your eyes upon. Despite being over the top – which my boyfriend largely attributes to the contrast pockets – I'm just relieved to have met Rochelle's deadline! A very busy month, coupled with sewing machine woes, meant that a finished project in March was not always a feasible idea.

I'm not actually sure when I'll wear this dress though. It's not that I don't like it, but I guess it feels a bit over the top. Do you agree, or am I being overly critical? Nonetheless, I've always had a hankering to sew up vintage patterns according to their envelope artwork and I took this chance when I fished out some cherry polka dot polyester I bought from the Birmingham Rag Market. For the life of me I couldn't find a lightweight fabric in the reverse colour way, so I was forced to use quilting cotton, which isn't ideal really.

The pattern

McCall 4193 is such a gorgeous pattern from 1941 and I'm pleased I finally got around to sewing it up, if only for all the interesting details it has to offer - thanks to Rochelle for coming up with a wonderful challenge that pushed this pattern to the top of my list! Maybe a solid colour version would be more wearable, but in theory the polka dots were too delicious not to attempt.

Tilly's Mathilde blouse gave me the practice I needed for the front tucks, which to be honest were a little tougher to make with polyester! Luckily, my fabric showed up my white chalk lines well and I literally made one tuck at a time, using A LOT of pins as I went along.

The pockets are such a sweet detail that it felt wrong to leave them out...even if they are the reason I think this dress might be a bit much!

I like the back vent on the back bodice yoke - to me, there's something really feminine about this feature.

And finally, the pleats at the lower back bodice. I love the thought of these and they look great on taller, leaner bodies, but they don't do much for my figure. I can live with them on this dress though and they were another fun detail to play with.

The construction

Needless to say, the pattern instructions are very basic and assume you have a lot of sewing knowledge already. As a beginner, I'm not sure I would have been able to follow them, so I'm glad I've tackled this pattern with a bit more experience under my belt. I also had to grade this pattern up a bit, using Casey's excellent tutorials. I've kind of lost count of what I did though, because there were so many changes and because I ended up reversing some of them! But I think I added a couple of inches to the width of the bodice and skirt pieces, shortened the bodice by a couple of inches, moved the back bodice pleats in by an inch, lowered the neckline by a couple of inches, shortened the shoulders by a smidge, shortened the skirt length by a lot...you get the idea! All this considered, I'm pretty pleased with the fit I managed to achieve!

I omitted the sleeve and neck facings and finished them with bias binding instead. I even lined the skirt in a cotton lawn...and I think I've even done it properly...I think! Lining stuff still baffles me to be honest! Can anyone recommend any good online tutorials or books for lining techniques?

Although my waistline is slightly off at the zip side, I'm really happy with how invisible my invisible zip came out.

The back and side views are probably not the most flattering, but then again, when are they ever!?! I've decided to apply Sunni's brilliantly liberating piece on the myth of perfect fit to style as well. I know certain styles flatter our bodies more, but it would be a sad existence if we never tried out something different and new to us.

Anyway, I've really managed to ramble on in this post...sorry. But before going, I can't not show you my new shoes! They're from Office and I bought them because I felt they have a bit of a 40s aesthetic...am I right, or have I got it completely wrong?