Well, that Was a Surprise! The Brigitte Top by Tessuti

.Reading time 8 minutes.

Hello hello hello!

I’ll start with a confession, I wasn’t overly enthusiastic at the start of this project. One, I was itching to crack on with another coat but knew I should hold off until I had more time to dedicate to it. Secondly, because I really love this vintage-y vibe stripe jersey I’d earmarked specifically to make a top to wear under the pair of Jenny Overalls nearing the top of my sewing queue. I just couldn’t decide on a pattern for it!

And I didn’t want to buy a new one. I had thoughts about revisiting the disaster that was my Paola Turtleneck Tee, routing through my pattern stash to pull it out. Turns out I’d binned it in a fit of pique. Rather than print it off again, I took it as a sign to sew something else. I came across and pulled out the unsewn Brigitte Top by Tessuti instead; I’d forgotten I had it. I felt a bit dubious. Why? Well, … Read More

Inspector Gadget Strikes Again…A Roundup of my Latest Fave Sewing Tools, Gadgets & Gizmos!

.Reading time 9 minutes.

It probably won’t surprise you when I say I really believe the right tools and gadgets make a huge difference to my sewing projects; whether it simplifies a process, neatens an outcome or just makes me smile in using it. So I thought I’d share a collection of the latest gizmos to have quickly become indispensable to my sewing kit. Who knows, something here may catch your eye! They’d all make great Christmas Stocking fillers; just sayin’.

First up, I’ve got this funky little acrylic sleeve placket template from LunaGrafix.com’s Etsy Store. If you’ve sewn sleeve plackets before, like me, you may also find the trickiest part is actually marking your fabric pieces sufficiently. There’s a lot of marks to transfer (fold lines, notches, slash mark etc). This nifty little tool, designed to produce a 1″ wide placket, has cut-outs in all the right places to make pattern transferring that much easier. I’d also imagine this is really handy if you’d like to add a placket to a sleeve that isn’t drafted with them. As a caveat, I will say that this template is obviously of a fixed average size…and it may be bigger (or smaller!) than you want; however, I still think it’s useful for transferring those pesky markings!

It comes with an illustrated instruction booklet or see Inside The Hem’s vlog on how to use it here.

Next up we have what I think is one of the handiest little tools, perfect to pop into your bag when out fabric shopping or if you’re wanting to check your stashed fabric meets the stretch requirements of your pattern, I’m talking about the … Read More

New Sewing Pattern – the Elliot Sweater & Tee by Helen’s Closet – tester make and finalised versions!

.Reading time 6 minutes.

There’s a new sewing pattern launching today – you’ve probably seen – the Elliot Sweater & Tee from Helen’s Closet. I jumped at the chance to test this pattern for Helen; as again it has all the hallmarks of a closet staple; warm but not too warm – perfect as a layering piece for the transition into the colder months.

The raglan sleeved Elliot comes in three views; View A which I’ve made, features a high neck and has a high-low hem which frankly I love; it means I can pair it with leggings without feeling I’m revealing too much backside! That side slit also makes sticking your hands in your pockets easier and provides forgiveness around the hip. View B is somewhat cropped (great for high waisted bottoms) and View C is your everyday comfort tee. There’s 20% off during the launch week too! Read More

Sewing your Sunday Best … and Blogging about it on a Monday! (The Sunday Dress by Pattern & Cloth)

.Reading time 11 minutes.

Hello! Having been quiet here for a wee while (too busy sewing!) I’ve now got a double-whammy of posts coming up in quick succession (haha clearly I blog as I live!); there’s a new sewing pattern launching later today I was really happy to be part of the tester group for; I’ll post on that next but, for now, I want to share the 5 dresses I’ve recently sewn using the Sunday Dress pattern from indie designer Pattern & Cloth. Read More

Getting Crafty Again! Sewing a Machine Cover for my Serger / Overlocker…

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Ah finally the six weeks of bedlam and mayhem that constitutes the summer holidays are over! The minute the children were shooed on their way back to school, I took a sweeping look at the devastation left in their wake and took to frenzidly cleaning, tidying and organising the house. And, of course, once that was sorted, my attention turned to my sewing space!

It’s not that long ago I assembled my ‘bijou’ sewing area – the beginning of the year in fact. But, like my middle-aged waistline, the area has continued to expand! It seems I’d consoled myself with having my sewing time curtailed during the school break with planning; buying a shedload of fabric and patterns, as well as a number of new sewing tools.

So my sewing space got a bit of a makeover too! And as part of that I decided to get crafty and sew myself a new machine cover for my serger, using the free downloadable pattern from Closet Case Files. Read More