easily distracted by shiny things…
Posted in Uncategorized on May 26th, 2011
I thought these might be an improvement on the teeny-tiny strawberry shorts, but they’re not. They’re bunchy between the legs, the satin bias tape is stiff and horrible, and the elastic’s all rolled up inside the casing. Very disappointing. I was hoping that these would work in the organic cottons, which are a similar weight to quilting [...]
Remember the black silk knickers I made back in January? Well, they were gratefully received, but unfortunately they turned out not to fit terribly well. So, despite the best efforts of both my sewing machine and my overlocker (which I think are both overdue for a service), I made another pair. I made some changes [...]
The Easter weekend was very hot, so I thought it would be a good idea to sew a little pair of floaty shorts for the summer. (SInce then it’s been too cold to wear them. Typical.) They’re McCalls 6328, view D, and this is a link to a line drawing because you can’t really see [...]
Right back at the end of last year, my Mum gave me a length of fabric for a new summer skirt. It’s made using my basic gathered skirt instructions, with modifications to the waistband. Instead of being elasticated all the way round, the waistband is flat at the front with the skirt gathered into it. [...]
Today I have been mostly making my own shoes. They’re not quite finished yet – they’re waiting for the welts to be trimmed (I need good light and a sharp knife) and a rubber layer to be glued onto the cork soles. But as soon as that’s done, I’ll have a pair of wearable outdoor shoes! [...]
Posted in inspiration, sewing, shopping, tops, Uncategorized on Mar 11th, 2011
I walked past my local branch of Hobbs yesterday, and spotted this lovely pink dress in the window. Then I came home and looked in my wardrobe at my pink party dress, which has a very similar keyhole-and-knot detail on the back. Now I don’t need to covet the Hobbs dress, and have thereby saved [...]
Posted in embroidery, inspiration, sewing on Jan 27th, 2011
The trouble with buying men’s shirts is that the sleeves are always too long. I buy them because it’s quite difficult to find women’s shirts that fasten with cufflinks, unless you can afford to shop at somewhere like Thomas Pink. Then it can be difficult to find pretty or interesting cufflinks, but fortunately it’s extremely easy [...]
Today I have been mostly sewing an outfit that I planned almost a year ago, when I was offered my current job. I bought three men’s shirts from Marks and Spencer (lilac, pink and lemon), and bought some poly-cotton and broderie anglais trim from Fabric Land to make three matching petticoats. Here’s the first petticoat [...]
Posted in teaching on Jan 25th, 2011
Given that my current job contract runs out at very soon, I’ve decided to offer sewing lessons. They’re held in your own home, so that you can learn on your own equipment. Unless you’re booking a hand-sewing session, you’ll need to have your own sewing machine. I’m based in Reading, Berkshire, and prefer to teach [...]
This is Butterick 5260, a variant on View A. I only had a very small piece of fabric, so I ended up shortening both the top and the sleeves. It was supposed to be a short dress, but it’s a long top now! I also did away with the little piece of elastic gathering at [...]