Diary of a Chain Stitcher

Another month of 2017 has flown by and the steady stream of beautiful and inventive new pattern releases shows no sign of letting up! I've got a list as long as my arm of projects I want to sew for my spring/summer wardrobe and a pile of fabric waiting to be cut. I always feel more excited about sewing for the warmer months but this year have a couple of jackets and trousers in the works too. Let's take a look at the new releases and news from the indie sewing pattern community in March and see what you'll be adding to your sewing queue! New Pattern Companies I've been following Nina from Thumblenina 's blog for a while now and admire her sewing skills so I was delighted to see her launch her own pattern line, Nina Lee London . She's launched with three patterns; the Carnaby Dress , Portobello Trousers and Bloomsbury Blouse which is sure to be a big hit this season with all those ruffles! New Patterns Kommatia had a busy month releasing, a...

Today I'm sharing a super quick and satisfying project that's a little different to my usual sewing style. After all the intense and lengthy coat and dress making I've been doing recently the speed and ease of this really was a breath of fresh air. I love those fiddly projects with a thousand pattern pieces and techniques to work with but I think mixing in the odd super simple project helps to keep things fresh and enjoyable. This project was particularly great as the lack of a pattern and totally different construction processed made use of an entirely new part of my creative brain. As I mentioned in a previous post I went to the Knitting & Stitching Show at Kensington Olympia with my mum a couple of weeks ago. We were keen to attend one of the events on the main stage and when I saw that the line up included Chinelo Bally from the Great British Sewing Bee and she was going to be demonstrating her impressive freehand cutting skills that seemed the obvious choi...

Firstly thanks so much for all of your lovely comments on my last couple of coat posts ! Reading them really made me stop and think about how far my sewing has come since I made my very first top about five years ago. It was so lovely to look back and think about what me then would have thought about the possibility of me ever sewing something so complex! So thank you for making me realise how much I've improved! A couple of people asked about how I applied the piping between the lining and facing on the coat, particularly about how I managed to keep it an even width all the way around that seam. So I thought I'd do a quick tutorial for you all as the method I used was pretty straightforward. This tutorial is for making your own piping from fabric rather than using a shop bought piping or bias, which might not be your ideal width and therefore need to be applied slightly differently. First you need to cut bias strips of the fabric you are using to make your piping. T...

Two coat posts in two weeks! This one is slightly different in that it was for my Mum not me and was A LOT less involved and complex than the tailored coat which I posted last week. You may remember from my post a few weeks back that I made that emerald green silk dress for my step sister's wedding last month. Shortly after she got engaged my mum and I were at the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show  last year and chatting away about our outfits when she spotted a coat she loved made up on one of the stands. Ten minutes later she'd somehow managed to get me to agree to make it for her and we were walking away with a copy of the pattern. Of course me being me with a thousand things on my 'to sew' list I didn't actually get around to making it until January but I must say mum was very patient and trusted that I'd get it done in time. For some reason she didn't have so much confidence in me finishing my own dress! The stand we were on was Little Wool...

The idea of making this coat began around this time last year but the prospect of actually doing it was so daunting that I didn't start making it until winter really kicked in here in London in November. I finished it just in time to wear home for Christmas! I was at the Spring Knitting & Stitching Show with my mum last year (which coincidentally I did yesterday...has anyone else been? So much fun!) when I spotted a few bolts of to-die-for for coating lurking at the bottom of the Higgs & Higgs stall. Mum was laughing because apparently I just zoned in on what everyone else was missing down by their feet and made a beeline right in there on my hands and knees! I bought some gorgeous soft pre-washed grey denim from them this year that I can't wait to make into dungarees. They had the fabric in a few pale neutral colours including a camel and cream but the soft grey stole my heart on sight. It looked glorious and as soon as I touched it I knew it was special. The reve...