Diary of a Chain Stitcher

As usual, I’m playing catch up and still sharing some of my favourite summer sewing projects! I also don’t have much to share in the way of winter appropriate sewing as my sewing time has been occupied with sewing baby clothes ready for the rapidly approaching arrival of my niece. I'm also about to tackle a big coat project which I think may take me some time...I'm excited to get my teeth stuck into a long and complex project though.

I'm going to start this post with a confession. I didn't expect to like this dress as much as I do! I loved the style of the Closet Core Patterns Pauline Dress from the moment it was released but I wasn't 100% sure whether the design would suit my proportions. I'm so glad I pushed those doubts to the back of my mind though as I absolutely adore it! 

The team at The New Craft House asked me to join their ambassador team a couple of months ago and I was really excited by the prospect of working with their fabrics. All the fabrics they stock are deadstock and sourced from local designers. Deadstock fabrics are left over once collections have been manufactured, which means when buying this fabric you are using up waste products rather than buying 'new'. I've been thinking a lot about the sustainability of my sewing recently, given that I like to sew a lot. Looking in to where your fabrics come from and have been manufactured can be quite a daunting process so buying deadstock is a straightforward place to start.

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.