Diary of a Chain Stitcher

I'm back...with a completely seasonably inappropriate dress! I made and photographed this dress way back in August and it became such a favourite over the last few weeks of summer that I decided it was too good not to share. Plus when the thing I like least about sewing and blogging is taking the photos and I've actually gone to the effort to take some I'm going to share them!

These two garments are a result of the rummaging through my fabric and pattern stash I did back in January. I've had this pattern for absolutely ages as I really love an interesting back design and this has four of them! It is McCalls 6751 and I think I bought it at one of the sewing shows years ago. However, since then I haven't been all that inspired to make it, I think because I hardly ever wear tank style tops; a lesson in making sewing plans that actually fit your lifestyle and needs! Fortunately inspiration struck when I was pairing up stash fabrics with patterns. I had a number of small lengths of jersey and needed to refresh my selection of yoga clothes... this top is perfect for that!

The story of this project begins with a utility style jumpsuit I spotted on the high street when I was shopping for a show a couple of months back. It is quite unusual nowadays for a RTW garment to catch my eye in the way this did but I just knew it was the kind of clothing I would wear day in, day out. I did consider buying it but when I tried it on didn't love the fit and there were a couple of things I wanted to change about it; namely the lack of hip pockets (my hands felt like they had nowhere to go!) and the elasticated waist which I never find very comfortable in a woven garment. If I didn't sew I might have bought it anyway but luckily I do and I knew I could make myself a version I loved even more! I spent quite a lot of time looking for a similar pattern and put out a poll on Instagram for ideas before settling on McCalls 7330 . Jasika Nicole actually posted a very similar hack of this pattern a couple of weeks back. Thanks for the advice if you put forward ...

I did a fair bit of unselfish sewing before Christmas and for some reason when we ticked over into January I couldn't stop. To be fair some of the things I've been making have been long promised as birthday gifts...sorry you had to wait so long for this one Dad! I think I've been getting a lot of satisfaction from sewing things for others recently for two reasons. Firstly it fulfils my desire to keep on sewing when I don't really need a huge amount of clothes of myself anymore. Secondly it means I get to challenge myself by making things that I don't wear; I get to utilise some new skills and construction techniques which is one of the things that really motivates me to sew. I particularly enjoy sewing for the men in my life for that reason! The idea for this jacket came when we were talking about my sewing a long time back and Dad made a flyaway 'could you make me a proper Harrington with tartan lining?!' comment. He has a real love for the seventie...

I never thought dungarees would be a big hit in my wardrobe and even whilst making my teal linen Turias I was doubting whether I could pull them off or if I would just end up looking like an oversized toddler. However, I wore that pair at least once a week over the summer, got compliments on them every time and still have a couple of people constantly hounding me to make them a pair! I wore them as long as I could through Autumn but had to concede defeat to the plummeting temperatures about a month ago and have been really missing them as an outfit option ever since. A warmer pair was definitely needed! I actually had plans to make a denim version before I even thought about the linen pair. I bought the McCalls 7547 pattern at the Knitting & Stitching Show at Olympia way back in the spring. I'd been looking enviously at women rocking dungarees around London and totally fell for the grown up styling and slightly seventies vibe of the flared version pictured on the patte...

Today it's my turn to share with you the outfit I've made for the Vogue Cocktail Hour Social Sew-Along in aid of The Eve Appeal ! I really enjoyed taking part in their Big Vintage Sew-Along last year and am delighted to be one of the bloggers spreading the word about their campaign this year. McCalls UK have selected a variety of cocktail hour appropriate patterns including dresses. jumpsuits and separates. The proceeds of the sales of these patterns from March right through until November will be donated to The Eve Appeal who are the only UK national charity raising awareness and funding research into the five gynaecological cancers. They do invaluable work focusing on risk prevention, early detection and screening. There are a whole host of fantastic bloggers taking part in the sew-along and sewing up their choice from the patterns to show you their potential and inspire you to make your own! So this is the maddest outfit I've ever made and I LOVE it! I chose the...