Diary of a Chain Stitcher

It's a challenging and unusual festive season this year but I hope you've all been finding some joy in whatever you've been able to get up to. Ed and I enjoyed a quiet Christmas Day here with our little Shiba dog Ruby, plenty of yummy things to eat and drink and a lot of zoom! I've been a little quiet on here and Instagram for the last few months as I (very fortunately, given the state of the theatre industry here in the UK) had a busy spell of work which meant not much time to be creative here at home. The project I've got to share with you today I actually finished just before I got busy. I've found I actually quite like posting a garment once it has had a bit of wear as whilst the details of the construction may be slightly more hazy I find I can give a more honest review of the fit and comfort and how the fabric performs.

I'm really excited to share this finished project with you today. I'm sure most of you have spotted some of the gorgeous projects that have been made by other bloggers as part of the McCalls Big Vintage Sew-Along . Today it's my turn! To get us inspired McCalls have selected a number of designs from the 1930s through to the 1960s. The proceeds from the sales of these patterns will be donated to The Eve Appeal , a charity who raise awareness of and fund research into gynaecological cancers. I was keen to join in as, whilst not really a vintage dresser, I love all the unique details in vintage designs. The market today is awash with a lot of 'clean lines' and simple designs that after a while all seem quite similar so it's been lovely to get stuck into a project with some interesting design features and different construction techniques. It was tough to choose between such a plethora of gorgeous styles but I eventually settled on Vogue 9082  from the 1960s. I...

  So this dress is actually a muslin...and a pretty poorly fitting muslin at that! But I LOVE it. And I have worn it out more than once, admittedly largely because I was determined to have a dress like this to wear to Christmas parties but ran out of time to make the sequin/velvet/other-extravagant-festive-fabric version. Luckily the black is pretty forgiving when it comes to poor fit/poor construction, especially in photos! It's highly probable that this will be worn again too (as I most likely am not going to get around to making that glamorous version any time soon) and I figured that makes it worthy of being shared with you guys. It's the Seda Dress from Pauline Alice which was released towards the end of last year. I wanted it as soon as I saw a sneak peak she posted on Instagram before the patterns' release! I just love the design, it's definitely got a vintage glamour to it but yet feels so modern in a contemporary fabric. It feels wonderfully feminine ...

My boyfriend sent me this photograph from 1939 and I just had to share it with you guys. It's of a rather strange invention; a bicycle that fits a family of four...including sewing machine!! Picture from this page here . It's worth checking out as there are some other fantastic unusual images including 'face cones' to protect yourself during a snow storm, stunning 1950s dresses and a little boy who looks as excited about getting new shoes as me!

So my latest sewing challenge was to make a bowling shirt for a night of bowling, milkshakes, burgers and karaoke with the Spoolettes! (If you don't know about the Spoolettes then head over to Sew Dixie Lou right now and get involved!) The girls had all excelled themselves with their bowling shirts and embroidery skills so hopefully you'll start seeing quite a few of them popping up in your feeds. An amazing time was had by all and the lovely Alison from Another Little Crafty Creation made us all these amazing little badges! Thanks so much Alison. I decided to go down a fairly simple and feminine route with mine, concentrating on the 1950's/60's look. It turned out as more of a 'bowling blouse' and I look like I belong in a diner but I love it and think I could even get some everyday wear out of it too! I used vintage Vogue pattern 9318 which I was lucky enough to pick up in the swap at Rachel from House of Pinheiro' s epic meet up at the V...

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you've all enjoyed a lovely relaxing weekend and found some time for a little bit of stitching! I've recently been going through my things from when I was a child back home as my Dad is moving house soon. It was really amazing to go through all my old things; I found my very first sewing machine! This has been kept, of course. My Dad had also found these two amazing sewing books in the loft which my Mum says belonged to my Nan. My sister said when Dad found them he said 'well at least that's one thing we know what we're going to do with!' Without a doubt these two have found a home with me. I was sooo excited! I love these kinds of finds and the fact that I can actually make use of these now is just amazing! The Singer book has a copyright date of 1969 and the other doesn't have any kind of date or copyright page so Mum thinks was some kind of magazine or sewing materials supplement. From the clothes and the pictures I...

Before Christmas Vicki Kate organised the Sew Very Merry Christmas Swap , Krafty Kat organised the Sewist's Secret Santa and I jumped at the chance to take part in both. I had a great time picking gifts for my two partners and now it's time for the big reveal of what I was lucky enough to pull out from underneath my tree! To sum it up before I get into detail I was hopping-round-the-room-delighted! First up is the lovely package I received from my Secret Santa. Let's start with the vintage pattern. I LOVE it! I'm a big fan of maxi dresses and skirts in the warmer months (and also the not so warm months with boots) but have never found a pattern I liked that wouldn't turn out as an unflattering tube. This, with a bit of flare and a fitted waist, is ideal so thank you so much to the mystery giver! I particularly like it in the floral print on the envelope, don't all of the colours in the illustration just scream seventies? Also in the package were some...

Hmm so I may have been doing a bit too much research and planning and not enough sewing for this challenge! I think it's highly unlikely that I'm going to make the end of March deadline for this but I'm still ploughing on and think I finally have my plan! Kinda... When I first heard about the challenge my immediate thoughts were drawn to the outfits of Betty as my tastes veer towards her feminine full skirted look and it is a shape which suits me. I particularly love the dress in the centre image below with the wide fitted waist section and one of may favourite styles of sleeve. However I could make a dress of this style and completely love it, wear it to a wedding or similar occasion and then never wear it! Or at least not wear it as much as I'd hope too because dresses of this style are completely impractical for my day to day life. I am still tempted to make a summer shirtdress in a nice cotton or rayon in a similar style to the pictures either side above....