Archive for the ‘Dressmaking’ Category
I’ve worn my pink a-line dress so much I made it again! It’s the same fabric, a boiled wool jersey from Truro Fabrics, in a colourway called cream. Personally I think it is more of a beige than a cream. I’m really liking the modern, minimalist vibe of this version, which is very different to […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Finished, Notions, Sewing, Simplicity | 25 Comments
Tags: beige, Dressmaking, modern, Sewing, simplicity
I had visions of one of those geometric Courrèges designs with perfectly symmetrical single welt pockets on the front. So I added welt pocket markings to Simplicity 5320, a structured A-line style, and cut it out in camel-coloured boiled wool. The basic dress is an easy sew but I’ve never done this style of pocket […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Sewing, Simplicity, Techniques | 19 Comments
Tags: Dressmaking, pockets, Sewing, simplicity, welt pockets
New fabric horizons
This dress is made from the most amazing polyester suede fabric. It’s so strokable that every time I put the project down I found myself missing the texture. It comes from Minerva Crafts in a range of colours. It was easy to sew. I needed to use a leather needle but otherwise it was just […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Fabric, Fitting, Sewing, Vogue | 31 Comments
Tags: black, chado ralph rucci, dress, Dressmaking, Sewing, suede, Vogue
The weather in the UK has been so miserably cold that I decided what I needed to make next was a really warm cardigan. For one reason or another it took me a while to sew, and of course the very day I finished it the weather warmed up. Guess I should have sewed faster. […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Finished, Kimono, Sewing, Style | 20 Comments
Tags: Dressmaking, kimono, Sewing
Shocking pink
It seems like a long time since I made this dress. I normally photograph new makes right away, but this one’s been sitting around for a few weeks while I’ve been unwell. Things are getting better now so I have slapped some makeup on and got photos of it at last. The pattern is Simplicity […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Finished, Simplicity, Style, Vintage | 41 Comments
Tags: 1970s, Dressmaking, pink, Sewing, simplicity, vintage
So in an attempt to beat the freezing cold UK weather I bought some wool jerseys to make warm winter dresses. This is the first; a repeat of Burda 122-09-2010 made in a very stable violet coloured wool blend from Ditto Fabrics. I think I must have had about the last of it because it’s […]
Filed under: Burda, Dressmaking, Finished, Sewing | 36 Comments
Tags: Burda, dress, Dressmaking, Sewing, violet
Knowing when to give up
There’s been a long silence from this blog. My latest project hasn’t been going all that well. It’s Vogue 8825. I fell in love with the design when it came out: the sleeves! I didn’t initially realize it was a pattern for knits so decided to make it up in the electric blue chiffon I […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Fabric, Sewing | 15 Comments
Tags: Dressmaking, fabric, quitting, Sewing
When I started sewing I did lots of research about picking a machine. I knew I wanted something I could sew heavy fabrics on, and that I wouldn’t grow out of quickly. Various websites recommended getting one with a one-step buttonhole and stretch stitches for sewing knits. I ended up with an Elna 3210 which […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Machines, Sewing | 18 Comments
Tags: elna, Sewing, sewing machine, singer
In search of long sleeves
The weather in the UK is atrociously cold at the moment and I am rapidly running out of warm clothes. Admittedly cold by UK standards isn’t all that cold, but it’s a problem when you’re not prepared for negative temperatures in the daytime. When I bought clothes rather than making them I used to get […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Patterns, Sewing | 21 Comments
Tags: Dressmaking, Sewing, winter, wool
Electric blue
Thanks for all the kind comments on my sparkly Vogue 8866. A few people said it was more wearable than I thought; I’m not sure but I’m now on the lookout for some non-sparkly wool doubleknit to make it up again as a warm dress for work. And in the meantime I’m sewing up another […]
Filed under: Dressmaking, Fabric, Sewing | 20 Comments
Tags: Dressmaking, electricity, fabric, Sewing, static
