Diary of a Chain Stitcher

August was another incredibly busy month in the indie sewing community! As well as endless beautiful new releases there have been some great sew-alongs running and lots to look forward to as well. I'm not quite ready to let go of summer here in the UK yet and partly because I feel like I barely made a dent in my summer sewing plans! I guess its about time I started sewing for the colder weather and put those projects on hold until next year but its difficult as I always feel much more inspired to sew for sunshine! I do love planning projects though so hopefully a sit down with my pattern and fabric stash will get me motivated. Just putting together this update has made me feel more creative and optimistic about the changing season. New Pattern Companies Not new this month but new fairly recently and definitely worth drawing your attention to are patterns from Elbe Textiles . Lauren has launched with a gorgeous wearable collection of PDF patterns for...

Ever since I made my first Longley Cardigan in silver grey merino about 18 months ago I haven't felt the need to add another cardigan pattern to my handmade arsenal. That cardigan and the subsequent maroon patterned version I made work with my entire handmade wardrobe and are ideal to throw at any time of year. It is a fantastic pattern and really fun to put together. I didn't think any other cardigan could steal my affection until I met the Blackwood Cardigan from Helen's Closet . A pattern I liked so much on first sewing that a month later I owned three! I started looking at cardigan patterns because I got the idea into my head that I wanted to sew a dramatic maxi length cardigan for wearing over simple jeans and tee combos. Lengthening the Longley wouldn't work as that waterfall front would overwhelm me with fabric. I looked at the I AM Patterns Artemis for a while before deciding that the cocoon shape wasn't quite right and I wanted something a littl...

I don't know how popular Pinterest is any more but I still use it ALL the time for collecting images to inspire my sewing along with tutorials and tips. It's good for giving my sewing ideas some focus as I can see what I'm drawn to but whilst I'm very good at collecting the images I'm not so good at translating the images into reality. This outfit is finally some sort of recreation of the image below which I've returned to a number of times over the past few summers but have never been able to find quite the fabric I need. I love the combination of slightly relaxed fit, texture and monochrome print. They look chic and somewhat tailored but still comfortable and cool. Click image for source The Fabric Store listed a number of yarn dyed striped and checked linens along with a few prints a few months back and despite still being in the depths of winter here in London they made me instantly think of the above image. I was finally going to have the slouc...