Diary of a Chain Stitcher

Despite telling myself that I was going to leave pattern testing to one side for a bit so I could focus on my ever increasing sewing queue I saw the design for the latest release from By Hand London and couldn't resist getting my hands on it immediately! The Orsola Dress is a chic and wearable sheath dress which features a beautiful wrapped back. This classic cut with interesting and considered details is just the kind of thing I love to wear. The bateau neckline that dips in the back combined with the figure skimming fit is super classy. Both the dress and skirt variations included in the pattern have the option for a straight front hem or a scallop shape detail which I opted for as I love how this echoes the shape created by the wrap at the back. I had some fabric perfect for the skirt in my stash but I wanted to make the dress so I nipped into Lewisham one weekend to find something inexpensive from Maggie's Fabrics market stall. I happened upon this gorgeous viscose...

I am pattern testing much less nowadays as it can be really time consuming when you do it throughly and to be brutally honest my sewing queue is so long that I'm never short of things that I'd rather be sewing! However there are some things that I just can't resist and will squeeze in no matter how busy I am and the new Eve Dress from Sew Over It was one of them! I always enjoy testing for Lisa and the ladies on the Sew Over It team as they really do value and incorporate the feedback from their testers. It's not just a last minute 'quick let's get a few other people to sew this up so they'll blog about it' they use it as a key part of the process to iron out every tiny mistake and make the final release the best it can be. Blogging about what I've made is never a requirement and sometimes I don't but I've been dying to share this one with you. The Eve Dress has been one of the most requested garments from their classes to be released ...

Summer always has me wanting to sew dresses in their hundreds but my wardrobe is well stocked with them so I've been trying to focus my sewing on separates and more practical items this year. However, a little while ago Sew Over It got in touch to see if I'd like to test their recently released Rosie Dress and I cracked! The main reason for this being that the pattern is based on a 1950s style dress they used to run a class for. It was a good few years ago when this class launched but I remember being so smitten with the design that I wrote to Lisa to ask if there was any chance the dress would be released as a pattern in it's own right. The answer then was possibly in the future and now that time has rolled around I could hardly say no could I?! The dress has some really lovely features and options. There are three variations; one skirt and two dresses with wide or skinny straps and an optional collar. As my fabric choice was quite busy I kept it simple with the ...

Yes, it's another post about fabric I got from Mood Fabrics on my trip to LA! But it's another gorgeous bit of yardage which I feel like I made a good decision about what pattern to pair it with! I vaguely knew what I wanted to make with it when I spotted it on the shelves. I love a classic plaid flannel shirt and the check of this Marc Jacobs cotton crepe really reminded me of that style of plaid. However, instead of a snuggly flannel this is a super fine, silky cotton crepe with a lovely drape, ideally suited to a very different type of shirt, one for layering under snuggly jumpers! I really liked the idea of a different kind of plaid shirt and set about finding the perfect pattern. My first thought was a Grainline Archer as I already own and love the pattern but in my head I was imagining something a little more oversized that would show off the drape and flow of this lovely lightweight fabric. Then Kennis from Itch to Stitch put out a call for testers for ...

I have been super excited about sharing this dress with you since I made it a couple of months ago! When Sew Over It got in touch about testing their next pattern I said yes straight away. The Joan Dress (inspired by Mad Men's infamous Joan Holloway and her wiggle dresses) is an absolute stunner. It has some lovely design details like the elbow length sleeves, shoulder darts and neck tie; it nails that balance between vintage and wearable for me. Despite being a slight departure from my usual day to day style I'd had great previous experiences testing for them and just with their patterns in general so I decided it would be a great way to give a new look a whirl! The garment you see today is sewn up from the test version of the pattern so comments I make are based on that rather than the finished product. I feel like it's important to say that I think Sew Over It value and use the feedback that they get from their testers in a great way. I've often seen changes to ...

I'm sure many of you will have seen by now the latest release from By Hand London , the Zeena Dress . I'm also sure those of you who don't live in London will have heard about the little heatwave we've had here recently as when we British get a bit of proper summer sunshine we do like to shout about it from the rooftops! Well Zeena has been my saviour in the muggy heat of the last week or so and has rapidly proved itself to be somewhat the perfect summer dress. I tested this pattern and as BHL are no longer producing patterns in a printed format it was my first experience with one of their PDF patterns. I had absolutely no problems printing or assembling mine, just make sure to check that your printer is printing at 100% scale and not shrinking anything to fit or your dress will end up too small! There's a post here if you need any tips. From a testing point of view I thought the instructions were as thorough and clear as I have come to expect and include some...