Diary of a Chain Stitcher

I (like the majority of half of the online sewing community it would seem!) fell in love with the Wilder Gown pattern from Friday Pattern Company when it was released last year. Bohemian and easy breezy chic with on trend gathered tiers, it was irresistible to image it sewn up in a plethora of different fabrics (and if you search #wildergown on Instagram you can see just that!). Despite wanting to make it and wear it right that second I was a little hesitant about what the high gathered neckline would look like on me. I'm quite petite and short in the shoulder with a bit of a bust so this kind of style is never a failsafe win in my book. After seeing it look wonderful on lots of different body shapes as it surged to popularity online though I thought it was worth a go. As the pattern for the full length gown is quite a fabric eater I decided to give the top a try first to check out that neckline before investing too much time and money in a dress. The month before I'd o...

The next item of my travel wardrobe is done and dusted and it is a true staple. These denim shorts are made with the new Dawn Jeans pattern from Megan Nielsen and were an absolute joy to sew. I'd forgotten how much I love getting my teeth stuck into a challenge and a garment with so many little details and techniques to master. I used a denim which I picked up at the last  Fabric Godmother  open day, I believe it was this 12oz Raw Denim if my memory serves me right! I actually managed to squeeze these out of what I had left over from making a pair of Persephone Pants (still awaiting a blog post but there is a sneaky peak at the end of this post !). They don't take much fabric as lots of those little bits and pieces for pockets and fly you can squeeze in around the main pieces. This denim is nice and robust for a pair of jeans or shorts and is the kind of denim which will only get better with wear. I got so much pleasure out of sewing all those little details particu...

So it has taken a silly amount of time for me to get around to posting these jeans. But I'm actually really pleased I've left it so long as my opinion on them has changed with wear! These are the Mia Jeans from the Sew Over It My Capsule Wardrobe: City Break ebook which Lisa asked me to test at the end of the summer. I made these soon after my first pair of Ginger Jeans (which had it's benefits as the sew-along for the Gingers is so thorough I picked up lots of tips to help with these) and if I'm completely honest I didn't like them as much as the Gingers at first. But I've been surprised to find over the last couple of months that these are the jeans I've been reaching for without thinking and wearing day in day out. They are so comfortable I forget I'm wearing them. They've actually featured in a couple of blog posts already as they look great with so many of my favourite tops! The Mia Jeans are a classic pair of stretch skinny jeans. T...

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. ...