March Makes

March was a busy month, starting with a visit to the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia on a very snowy Thursday. Amazingly my travels went smoothly and I had a lovely afternoon catching up with creative friends. I …

Simple elegance: Maven Patterns French Dart Shift

Sometimes it takes a while to find just the right combination of pattern and fabric. This time it has taken a couple of months but I’m glad I waited. The fabric – Kirstine from the Outback Wife range by Gertrude …

#2018makenine: Areli Blouse

It’s the wrong time of year for a sleeveless blouse but the need to sew something beautiful and simple was more important on a grey Friday and having not made any progress with my #2018makenine it seemed a good way …

Named Clothing Gemma Maxi Dress

As soon as I saw this pattern in the new Earth Science collection from Named Clothing, I fell for it. The combination of the fabric colour and texture in the original photo and the unusual construction drew my eye. It …

Pattern Review: Solange Dress

I first discovered the Belgian sewing magazine La Maison Victor three years ago, on the shelf of a French supermarket.  I was drawn to both the styling and the wide variety of patterns that was included. The arrival this summer of …

Pattern Review: Kommatia Patterns J006

It’s been mild but often rainy here during the last few weeks, so a lightweight, weatherproof coat is essential!  Jessica from Kommatia Patterns put out a call for a pattern test in late August, which appealed to me immediately.  It’s …

The Easter/Spring Dress SewAlong

For a few weeks, I’ve been watching out for updates on the 2017 Easter/Spring Dress SewAlong, organised by Judith from Judith Dee’s World and Akram of Akram’s Ideas. Being busy with lots of other makes had led me to hesitate …

#sewmystyle March: Leggings

Having enjoyed the January and February #sewmystyle challenges, I was a little hesitant about the March pattern choice – Megan Nielsen’s Virginia Leggings – and had considered skipping this month. Once I realised that I had some suitable fabric in my stash …

Smartening Up: The Tulip Skirt by Sew Over It

As my handmade wardrobe has grown, it has mostly been made up of fairly informal garments. Although my work as a breastfeeding counsellor is flexible and doesn’t require any particular dress code, when I’m facilitating antenatal courses  I like to …

Winter dress sewing

The last few weeks have been filled with sewing in the warm-up to Christmas. Our girls’ school finished quite early this year so I thought I should make the most of the last couple of weeks of term, when I …