Diary of a Chain Stitcher

After much umming and ahhhing I've decided to go for it and participate in Me-Made-May this year! I don't really feel like I have enough of a me-made wardrobe to be giving this a go, well at least not enough everyday wear, but I've got much more than I had this time last year and I do wear more me-made garments out and about as my sewing confidence has grown. So.... 'I, Fiona of Diary of a Chainstitcher, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made garment three times a week for the duration of May 2013' Hopefully three garments a week won't be too much of a push. I've already got some plans and am hoping I can get a few more bits and pieces made up during May itself to give me some variety towards the end of the month. I'm planning on doing a once a week post on here to round up my three outfits for the week. Hopefully the fact that I have you all to keep tabs on how I'm doing will keep me on tra...

It's time for my very first giveaway! According to Bloglovin' I've just reached 50 followers! Well actually that big number has passed by in a sudden surge which I'm putting down to Rachel's fantastic meet up at the weekend! Google reader has me down as having 25 followers too so actually I could say I've just passed 75 but I've got an inkling that some of those may be the same people as on Bloglovin' due to the recent news about the impending end of Google Reader; so let's just say this giveaway is to celebrate passing the big 5 0. I can't believe there's that many people out there in the world who want to see what I have to say and what I have sewn! I get so excited every time I see a new follower and every single one of your comments is HUGELY appreciated so thank you for taking the time to read and share your thoughts. I feel like I'm making real friends through this little blog of mine and I've learnt so much about sewing fro...

Just a quick post for any London based fabric lovers (which after the awesome meet up at the weekend I know is quite a few!). The Berwick Street Cloth Shop, The Silk Society and Broadwick Silks (all based on or just off Berwick Street) are currently having a remnant sale. This group of shops are normally way too pricey for my amateur dressmaking purposes but if there's a chance to get some gorgeous high quality fabric at bargain prices I'm there! I managed to bag a good sized piece of a beautiful emerald green wool crepe for £9 a metre instead of £35! The dangers of working around Berwick Street and spotting a sign... The address is 77 Berwick Street, London, W1F 8TH. You go in what looks like a door to a flat with a big sandwich board outside and upstairs to a teeny tiny room full of piles of fabric. It's on until 26th April. Have fun!

I have a confession to make. This isn't what I had planned to submit for Julia Bobbin's Mad Men Challenge . That lovely dress is still not finished, well pretty much only just about cut out. It's taken quite a lot of planning as I'm attempting to incorporate elements from a few of her looks into something that suits what I can wear every day.  I initially pinned a lot of images to my Pinterest board devoted to the challenge but couldn't see any one dress I wanted to exactly copy which I knew I would then get wear out of afterwards. So I decided to go down the 'Joan inspired' route. I want to get it just right and not rush it so I went with a much simpler idea and am very pleased with the result! Joanie is by far my favourite Mad Men character so I stuck with basing my garment on her style. I still wanted to make something I would get some wear out of as a lot of my sewing projects err on the side of evening or special occasion wear. I went back throug...

Top of the Rock So I am unfortunately back from NYC. I had the most amazing week and it was so difficult to tear myself away from the city to go to the airport Saturday afternoon. But what did make it slightly easier was taking some beautiful fabrics back home with me! I did of course shop the garment district, and I did of course do that on more than one occasion! In fact the first time I went I only made it to Mood and I was so overwhelmed with the vast and beautiful selection I left empty handed, resolved to return with a better plan of what I was ideally looking for. Because they have EVERYTHING. You NYC and LA seamstresses are so lucky. I can't think of a single UK fabric store, in reality or even online, that comes close to comparing to the size and variety of choice. Garment District Information Booth BUT a little Mood birdie told me that soon us London ladies may be feeling pretty lucky too. This is mega exciting news (which could possibly be news that everyone...

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you've all enjoyed a lovely relaxing weekend and found some time for a little bit of stitching! I've recently been going through my things from when I was a child back home as my Dad is moving house soon. It was really amazing to go through all my old things; I found my very first sewing machine! This has been kept, of course. My Dad had also found these two amazing sewing books in the loft which my Mum says belonged to my Nan. My sister said when Dad found them he said 'well at least that's one thing we know what we're going to do with!' Without a doubt these two have found a home with me. I was sooo excited! I love these kinds of finds and the fact that I can actually make use of these now is just amazing! The Singer book has a copyright date of 1969 and the other doesn't have any kind of date or copyright page so Mum thinks was some kind of magazine or sewing materials supplement. From the clothes and the pictures I...