Diary of a Chain Stitcher

I don't know about you but I don't know where January has disappeared to! It's been a wee bit hectic around this parts and from the looks of the amount of news I've got to share with you it's been a hectic one in the indie pattern designer community! New Pattern Companies/First Releases! Erin launched her new pattern company Seamstress Erin Designs . There are currently just accessories patterns available but she has got some garment patterns in the works! The next new indie pattern company in town is Lileth & Eve and they are looking for pattern testers ! It sounds like they've got some really good drafting and design experience between them so I'm looking forward to seeing their first release. Beth from Sew DIY released her very first PDF pattern; the Lou Box Top . It's a simple and versatile top with six possible variations. It's probably the exact kind of thing I need more of in my wardrobe at the minute to be honest! New P...

The first completed garment I've got to share with you in 2015 is actual one of my final projects of 2014. It racked up a fair few wears in those last few weeks of 2014 too! They don't lie when they say having a classic little black dress in your wardrobe will save your bacon for any occasion; this dress worked perfectly for pre Christmas cocktails, pub drinks, lunches and even an afternoon tea! Ever since making my polka dot version of the Laurel blouse from Colette Patterns I'd had a plain black version of the dress variation on my mind. I'd had such success with the style and fit of the blouse on me that I'd been dreaming about it in all kinds of fabrics and variations to be honest! For this dress I used this gorgeous wool sateen from Mood Fabrics and only needed just over a metre. It's kind of like a fairly lightweight suiting with a small amount of stretch, I bet it would make a lovely pair of trousers. It's hand is very smooth and it was lovely...

It's taken me a little while to get motivated to write this round up of last year and onward look into the next but finally writing it has made me feel incredibly inspired to get sewing! It's been so satisfying to look back at how much my sewing has improved over 2014; it was a great sewing and blogging year for me and my interest in and passion for garment sewing has only increased the more I've sewn. Some of my personal highlights of 2014 have been sewing related, in particular meeting up with many of you in person in London and making friends from all over the world online. I'm continually amazed by your lovely comments and how many people are interested in reading this blog! Some of the brilliant sewing related memories from 2014! Pics thanks to Katie , Alex and Brian Doherty I did a quick count up and I made 41 garments this year which was a lot more than I thought I had! Although I end up posting completed garment posts fairly regularly throughout the year...

Sorry that last month's update of news from the Independent Sewing Pattern community is coming to you a little later than usual. I allowed myself to become completely absorbed in the festive season this year and am only just getting back on track! I hope you all enjoyed some time off with your loved ones too and are looking forward to 2015! It's been a slightly quieter month as I'm sure designers have all taken some well earned time off but I'm sure more snippets of news have fallen through the cracks than usual so feel free to make additions to the list in the comments. I've only included news up to the new year, anything that has happened in the last couple of days will be included in January's update. New Pattern Companies/First Releases! I've long been a fan of The Little Tailoress so I was really excited to see Ami launch her very first PDF pattern this month. The pattern is called the Emmeline Tee and is a versatile dart-less tee for knit o...