Diary of a Chain Stitcher

I must admit that I wasn't sure on this top when I first made it. I finished it back in February and I must have been trying it on with the wrong trousers or skirts when trying to make it work for winter because I put it back on last month with some slimmer fit jeans and sandals and have been wearing it on constant rotation ever since! That age old story of putting something away in the wardrobe for a little while and coming to it with fresh eyes strikes again. 

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 made this top a while ago and it has swiftly become one of my favourites. It has been particularly good for that late summer into autumn season when I find it tricky to know what to wear. It looks great with jeans or wide legged trousers. The pattern is the Sofia from Victory Patterns which I've used once before to make a dress but I wanted something a little different from it this time.

Hello! Long time no blog.

I've been a little uninspired to sew of late. I always find my sew-jo has a little lull in the winter months. I find the warmer weather so much more exciting to sew for and I can feel my motivation creeping back with the first bulbs peeking up at this time of year. However, I have recently added two winning winter garments to my wardrobe which have seen a lot of wear since I finished them in January.

I have been intrigued by zero waste sewing patterns for some time now and there seem to be more of them available lately. I recently updated my list of Independent Sewing Pattern Designers to include a number of companies who have zero waste patterns if you'd like to explore. The idea of a zero waste garment is that it uses up every little bit of the fabric you have, using clever tessellating pattern pieces to leave you without even a tiny scrap left over. I'm always quite careful when buying fabric to not buy more than I need and often lay out the pattern pieces prior to purchase to figure out how little I can get it out of as pattern designers often over estimate to avoid disappointment. Despite this I still end up with large amounts of unusable awkward shaped and sized scraps which I never know what to do with in an environmentally responsible manner. A lot of work and resources go into the making of every single piece of fabric so shouldn't we do our best to use and no...

I was drawn to the Coeli Blouse from Pauline Alice when it was first released last year. It was the sleeves which hooked me! I love the big balloon shape combined with the beautiful tuck detail. But two things delayed me from sewing this up. Firstly I wasn't sure about the high neck collar in combination with this voluminous style on me; it felt like it could potentially be a bit overwhelming and I might get a bit lost in it. Secondly I had a hard time deciding what fabric to use. You obviously don't want anything too thick and bulky with all that gathering but I wanted something with enough body to really amp up the drama of the sleeves. I didn't want to use a print and loose the tucks in it but I also felt like the fabric needed a bit of texture or something going on in it to break up the expanse of fabric. 

The Elio Top from Allie Olson caught my eye as soon as it was released. I love a wrap neckline and particularly liked that this has nice clean lines without any bulky ties which means it can be easily tucked into high waisted trousers. This is due to it being a 'mock wrap' and the edges of the wrap are sewn into the side seams. When thinking about gaps in my wardrobe and what I miss when I'm getting dressed it is often comfy, casual tops that I can wear with high waisted trousers and skirts. The Elio fits the bill perfectly and goes with my Dawn Jeans, Persephone Pants and Evie Bias skirts beautifully.

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!

I've had this beautiful embroidered organza fabric in my stash for sometime now. It is rare for me to buy a fabric without a project in mind but this was one of those occasions when I fell for something and ordered a length without much thought! I originally got it from The Fabric Store ; it is still in stock and comes in white too. I really love the large scale of the foliage pattern, it has real drama. The contrast of the dense embroidery and the sheer organza is really stunning.

My first post of 2021 is actually about a project I made last year but never got around to posting. I was tempted to just forget about blogging about it (despite having taken and edited the photos) as I can't remember making it all that well. But as I mentioned in a recent post I've actually found reflecting on a garment after a few wears quite interesting and constructive.

This is another slightly spontaneous sewing project which wasn't initially on my plans for summer. I don't usually have a tendency to jump on a pattern the instant it is released. I'm one of those sewers who likes to sit back and see it made in a few different fabrics and on a few different body shapes first. Particularly when it is a pattern from a company I haven't used before. However, I've been totally sucked into the square neck with big sleeves trend of this summer and when Stitch Witch Patterns released the Tudor Blouse I knew it was for me! It felt slightly more accessible as a way to dip my toe into the trend rather than a full on dramatic dress. Plus I'd identified that I needed some more tops to go with the high waisted skirts and trousers in my wardrobe.

It was love at first sight when this bold linen gingham appeared in the new arrivals section of The Fabric Store website. As I've mentioned before I very rarely click 'Add to Cart' without a specific project in mind but I did with this. I loved the dramatic scale of the check and freshness of the white and golden yellow combo, all on a base of glorious slubby textured linen. I felt like head to toe large scale yellow gingham might be a little out of my comfort zone and had visions of a summery little crop top so restrained myself to an order of one metre (a choice I'm now slightly regretting as I love it so much).

This top would have been my contribution to The Refashioners 2020 which has unfortunately but understandably been cancelled this year. I had already completed my project and wanted to share it with you all as (despite not being the most dramatic refashion ever) it really pushed me outside my sewing comfort zone and I'm hoping it might inspire some of you to give it a try too!

The project I'm sharing with you today was so enjoyable to make. I don't know about you but I haven't had the concentration of late to get stuck in to an all day or even all afternoon sewing sessions. This project turned out to be the perfect antidote to feeling frustrated with that and I sewed it up across a number of half-hour/hour stints. As I've become more experienced and confident with sewing I think I've developed a tendency to dive right in and speed through things. But this pattern (despite being straightforward and not particularly taxing to construct) made me stop, think and try something new. Trying something new and enjoying the process always makes me fall a little bit in love with sewing all over again. Plus at the end of the process I've made something I'm really proud of and I think improved my techniques slightly too. This Wrap Top Pattern is one of the impressive selection of In The Folds patterns free to download from Peppermi...

The project I'm sharing with you today is a bit of a sewing fail. I don't often write a project off as a fail but persist until it turns into something that I can love and wear but I don't think there is anything I can do to save this one! I'll be writing it off as a toile that taught me a lesson and moving on. The pattern (the Solina Top from the Breaking The Pattern book from Named Clothing ) is gorgeous. And the fabric (a viscose crepe in a beautiful deep navy from Atelier Brunette ) is equally gorgeous. They are unfortunately not so gorgeous together. The fault is entirely mine as I didn't read through and think through the construction of this top before taking the plunge. If I had done I would have realised that the style would benefit from a fabric with a bit more body and structure than this very delicate crepe. Looking at the images in the book I presumed that the top was loose fitting and cinched in at the waist by the ties. The ties are actually s...

The Hannah Dress from By Hand London has been on my radar since it was released last year and has proved to be a very popular choice so far this Me Made May . I love a wrap style; so flattering and easy to wear and sew too without any buttons or zips to fiddle around with! I have had trouble previously with getting wrap necklines to sit right on me and therefore before plunging in with a dress I opted to make the top/tunic version first. The top isn't illustrated on the pattern but there is a marking for the tunic length peplum on the skirt pattern pieces which I used. This is the exact length you're looking at here. The fabric I've used is a beautiful viscose twill from Atelier Brunette . They very kindly gifted me two lengths from their Autumn 2019 collection shortly after release. This is the 'twig' design in the ochre colour-way. FYI their new Summer 2020 collection is absolutely exquisite! I've worked with Atelier Brunette fabrics previously and ...

After all those garments from my holiday wardrobe I've got something more seasonally appropriate to share with you today...an entirely woollen outfit! The Mandy Boat Tee is a free pattern download from Tessuti Fabrics which is very popular with sewists online. I'm sure many of you have made one already! I've finally jumped on the Mandy train and am wondering what took me so long when I am such a fan of Tessuti's pattern drafting and suggested construction techniques. This top is a slouchy knit style with boat neck, dropped shoulders and close fitting three quarter or full length sleeves. It is a very quick sew and so so easy to wear! I like to wear mine with a high waisted bottom and a french tuck - very Tan France! I think I had been tentative about making this top (despite the rave reviews) as I tend to prefer a more figure skimming silhouette. I'm quite petite and don't go straight up and down so always feel a bit swamped in 'oversized' or ...