Diary of a Chain Stitcher

Its Christmas week and appropriately enough I have this year's Christmas party dress to share with you! And making it was quite the adventure! I've been really enjoying all the velvet thats about this season and knew this was the route I wanted to go down this year. I'd also been drawn to the slightly nineties trend for strappy little slip dresses so decided to do two trends in one with a velvet slip dress! I feel like velvet is quite a statement in itself so pairing it with a simple style and silhouette makes it feel infinitely more wearable. Just as I was formulating this plan Fabrics for Sale got in touch to see if I'd be interested in trying out any of their fabrics in return for a review. I knew after making a devore scarf for my Nan earlier this year that they stock a particularly lovely selection of velvets so it seemed like my dress was meant to be! The devores (velvets which have some areas of the pile burnt out to create a pattern) are particularly lov...

December is party dress season and I've been lucky enough to have reason to make myself a couple this year. This one came about slightly unexpectedly as it was a pattern test, which I wasn't aware at the time was going to become a total staple in my wardrobe. This is the Sangria Dress from Sally's new collection for Capital Chic Patterns . I had a tough time choosing which pattern to test but my lack of time meant I went with the speediest option with this little knit number. I also made a muslin to test Grasshopper as I fell in love with those curvy style lines. Fingers crossed I'll get time to make up a proper version to share with you soon. The fabric is a top quality scuba fabric from Fabric Godmother which I bought from Josie at The Handmade Fair back in September. I really like Fabric Godmother for the fact that they stock so much fabric that's suitable for dressmaking and reflects current trends; scuba being a prime example. Making a single choice ...

I know its the time of year for some unselfish sewing but the project I've got to share with you today was a real treat to myself. A treat to sew and a treat to wear! About a month ago I visited a new fabric shop in Richmond.  Loving the Fabric has an absolutely gorgeously curated collection of fabrics for dressmaking many of which have been collected during the owner Gay's travels around the world. Her knowledge of and appreciation for beautiful and unusual fabrics was so impressive and I spent a very happy two hours there talking all things fabric and sewing! It was a real pleasure to browse an independent fabric shop filled with charm and passion; the whole experience felt very personal. Apologies for the slightly poor quality of these indoor pics; there was no way I was getting out on my balcony in these bad boys during December! Gay very kindly offered me some fabric for any upcoming projects I had in mind. I'm sometimes reluctant to take advantage of such off...

I adore the skirt I made from the ever popular Rachel Comey Vogue 1247 pattern and have been meaning to make up the top that comes with it for ages. In fact the top was what interested me in the pattern in the first place. I finally got my hands on just the fabric I had first envisioned the top in when Stoff Stil got in touch a few months ago to see if I'd like to try out some of their fabrics. The silk section is one that I gravitate towards whenever I'm checking out a new fabric site as I just love working with it and Stoff Stil did not disappoint with a particular gorgeous colour range of sand-washed silks among other things. For those of you who have not come across sand-washed silk before it's a silk (usually satin) which has been washed with the addition of sand or small stones. This gives the satin side of the fabric a texture and lustre that is hard to describe but it's much softer in the way that a brushed fabric or peach skin might feel touch. You migh...