Diary of a Chain Stitcher

I said last month that it seemed like a quiet one and perhaps the indie pattern design community was ramping up to some big Autumn releases and that certainly seems to be the case. This month's post is a whopper, packed with some stunning new designs for the next season. Get your feet up, I'm going to dive right in. New Patterns The two new patterns released with the September edition of Seamwork Magazine were the Tessa Jeans (a classic cut with traditional details) and Alice Shirt  (a fitted long sleeve tee). The member exclusive addition to these patterns this month was a tapered version of the jeans. Afternoon Patterns released their Fern Shorts which are a high waisted, vintage inspired style. I love the wide cut of these combined with the turn up and waist tie. The September releases from Style Arc included the Janie Blazer which is a casual double breasted style, the Luna Stretch Pants which feature side seam hem splits and the Patricia Rose Dress ....

I had a good old chunk of this lovely monochrome dotty viscose left over from making my Nancy Dress and it's been eyeing me up from my stash for a while now. I couldn't bear to get rid of it as it is a great viscose challis, nice and matte with a beautiful drape and it feels cool and smooth against the skin. Plus it's been washing and wearing really well and I'm not adverse to having more than one garment made out of the same fabric in my wardrobe! I had just shy of 1.5m left from my original purchase of 3m from Maggie in Lewisham so plenty for some kind of summer top. I considered an Ogden Cami as I absolutely love the few I already own but my wardrobe is kind of inundated with them plus that's a great pattern for using up scraps of less than a metre. I fancied giving something new a try. I spotted the Gypsy Swing Top from Sew This Pattern when writing up one of my pattern update posts a few months back and immediately clocked it as being right up my...

When you can sew it's very tempting to make endless beautiful dresses in gorgeous prints and fabrics. Despite being all for sewing being about the process and the enjoyment you get out of that rather than the end product, over the last couple of years I've had to come to terms with the fact that my wardrobe and day to day life really don't need any more pretty dresses. It's just not what I wear on a regular basis. The old I need more cake but I want to play with frosting dilemma. I do, however, make the most out of ANY excuse to make myself something more extravagant (see for example the dress I made for my stepsister's wedding). Cue my 30th birthday and just the reason I'd been waiting for to make myself something more frivolous. I'm not having a big glamorous party or anything and was actually working up in Newcastle over my actual birthday so an all out show stopper of a ball gown or cocktail frock wasn't exactly the ticket. But I could certainly tre...