I've got a slightly different post to the usual garment sewing today as I wanted to share this cover I made for my overlocker/serger a couple of weeks ago. My sewing space is in our living room so I'm always trying to find ways to tidy/hide things away or at least make them look nice and non intrusive. I often put my sewing machine away but my overlocker sits out on the desk and up until now has been covered by the thin and flimsy cloudy plastic cover it came with.
I don't know what possessed me to make this dress when I'm not going any place suitable to wear a dress this fancy for the foreseeable future. But I do know that I loved making it and I'm excited to be able to wear it to drink some sort of cocktail in eventually. I guess I had an urge to work with a piece of really beautiful fabric which this Liberty print silk satin certainly is. After making somewhat practical clothing for quite some time it was refreshing to put my sewing skills to the test making this and bring out all those refined techniques.
I mentioned in a post earlier this year that one of my aims for 2021 is to make better use of my fabric stash. I'm not limiting myself with a rule of not purchasing any new fabric as I firmly believe that making good and careful fabric choices is integral to the success of a project. I don't want to settle with 'that fabric will do because it is in my stash' and then end up not wearing it because the fabric wasn't quite right. That doesn't feel sustainable to me. However, sometimes a really interesting a unique fabric choice is right there in front of you when you take the time to think about it and you don't need to buy something new.
After my little stint of sewing quick jersey palate cleansers I was up for a more challenging project but still wanted to make something cosy, comfortable and appropriate for our current lockdown lifestyle. I've had this amazing cloudy quilted fabric from The Fabric Store stashed away awaiting the perfect project for a while and decided it was time for me to get my head down and put it to good use. It is so beautifully soft and spongy that I was tempted just to hem it and use it as a throw but in the end I kept coming back to the idea of turning it into a (hopefully!) sophisticated quilted jacket.
