Diary of a Chain Stitcher

The dress I've got to share with you today has been a real labour of love and I enjoyed every single second of making it. Even the whole day spent fitting the bodice! I like nothing better than a reason to sew myself something special and challenging and what better reason could I have than the wedding of my step-sister 10 days ago? I mulled over what I wanted to make for over a year and bought the fabric long before I decided on a style and pattern. When I visited Mood Fabrics NYC last April I spent a good hour pawing at bolts in the glorious silk section and when I glimpsed this vibrant Kelly Green 4 Ply Silk Crepe it was love at first sight. It has got the most amazing thickness and weight to it combined with such a luxurious drape and sheen. Its similar to what I would call a silk morocain here in the UK. At $35/yard it was a real treat but similar silks this side of the Atlantic are likely to cost double. I on the spot decided that this was going to be used for my wedding o...

One of the joys of being self employed is that I often get to work from home or have a bit of down time between contracts to stay at home and sew! If I'm working at home I'm sure going to take advantage of the opportunity to dress as comfortably as possible but I'm a big believer in keeping a getting up and dressed as if you were going out to work routine anyway as I think this really helps with productivity. Plus answering the door to the postman in PJs at 3 in the afternoon on a Wednesday (yes guilty!) isn't ideal. I decided I needed to top up my secret pyjamas, that part of my wardrobe that is super comfortable yet still looks somewhat pulled together. For this month's Mood Sewing Network project I chose to whip myself up a little three piece outfit using classic fabrics in neutral colours and choosing garments with classic minimalist cuts which I could get a lot of wear out of. I've had the Marigold Jumpsuit & Trousers from Tilly and the Buttons...

I'm finally getting around to sharing with you what is possibly my favourite pattern of the summer. The True Bias Ogden Cami was released back in July alongside the Emerson Cropped Pant/Shorts . I bought it immediately as it was at a time when I was giving the holes in my handmade wardrobe a lot of thought and the one RTW garment I was still wearing repeatedly was little camisoles. This design was very close in style to my favourite Topshop cami so it was a no brainier of a purchase. Since then I've made these two, have got another to show you later this week as part of this month's Mood Sewing Network post plus I've been working on a hack of the pattern this week. I think that's worth the $10 and time assembling the PDF don't you?! This is exactly the kind of design I need to be making more of for my wardrobe, minimalist and classic with a host of outfit opportunities. The simple design plus the fact that it needs less than a yard of fabric makes it the p...

London has been clinging on to summer and I have been clinging on to my handmade summer wardrobe but with this month's project for the Mood Sewing Network I have finally taken the plunge and started some projects more suited to the approaching season. Sewing my own jeans has been in my sewing queue for nigh on two years now and I am almost ashamed to admit that I actually cut these Ginger Jeans out well over a year ago. It is by far the longest a project has taken me from putting scissors to cloth and completion and I'm not really sure why as once I started sewing I had them finished within a matter of days. Despite the amazing looking jeans popping up on sewing blogs all over the internet something about the task really daunted me and I kept telling myself there was no point starting such a massive challenge until I had a good chunk of sewing time carved out to focus on the task at hand. How wrong was I. Jeans making is the perfect thing to take one little step at a time. ...

Next up in my run of projects from Named Clothing  is the Kielo Wrap Dress . This pattern was released alongside the Ailakki Jumpsuit (which I posted about last week ) as part of the company's second collection and the combination of these two pretty much knocked me off my feet. I was hooked from then on. This simple but unusual design had instant appeal for me. I love a maxi and the wrap style slightly echoed the lines of my favourite RTW maxi dress which I have worn almost every week of the last five summers and still am despite it being on its last legs. I'd ordered 2 yards of this stunning rayon crepe from Mood Fabrics a few months ago with the intentions of turning it into a simple summer dress. I'm not usually one for wearing a particularly vivid/bold print but for some reason I saw this online and it was in my basket in a flash. When it arrived I congratulated myself on the impulse order; the colours are vibrant and the crepe spongy yet fine. It's liste...