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Green Jumbo Cord Mini Skirt

Green jumbo cord mini skirt

Elwen wearing her jumbo cord mini skirt using Burda pattern 8237. Elwen has the sewing bug quite seriously at the moment, to the point where she was binding her seams on Christmas Day. That’s dedication!
She lined the skirt in a peacock Venezia lining and asked us politely to not look at the invisible zip (it’s really not that bad).
You can find lots of cords HERE

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Technicolour Chevron Jacket

missoni chevron wool mix fabric

This is Jacoba wearing her woven Italian Designer jacket, she said, “I am very pleased with it even if it is a little wide on the shoulders. I used Vogue 8933 but changed how the collar fastened at the end. It was too high for me in the original style despite my long neck so I just let the fabric go where it wanted to fold over- it seems to work and I have had huge compliments from all :-). I love the huge wooden poppers. It does lend itself to being worn solely with black – bright even by my standards!!”

This Italian Designer is a woven fabric with more stability than the knitted, it lends itself well to this type of jacket where you have no fiddly pockets, or such like.

Find more Italian Designer fabrics HERE

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Green Bamboo Jersey Tunic

green bamboo jersey

Anastasia made these fabulous tunics, here’s what she had to say about them:

I would like to thank you for your great service and share with you the pictures of tunics that I have made for my mum in the beginning of the summer. The fabrics are lovely – brown printed viscose Jersey from John Kaldor (sold out) and chartreuse green bamboo Jersey ( 2910 ). It was a pleasure to work with them and the result is so nice 😉 I am very happy that I found your online store with such amazing range of beautiful fabrics!

You can find other suitable jerseys HERE

brown Kohn Kaldor printed Viscose and Elastane Jersey tunic
brown Kohn Kaldor printed Viscose and Elastane Jersey tunic
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Chinelo witchcraftery Dress

reversible denim and printed viscose dress

Bess went on a course down the road at Social Fabric with Chinelo from the Sewing Bee. Despite being utterly star struck she made this dress using Chinelo’s amazing free cutting method. It’s witchcraft, I tell you. No patterns, no dummy… not much table space, not even that much measuring, and hey presto, a few hours later we have a dress! Bess being Bess made it less fitted than it is supposed to be and reversible.

Fabrics used: Black and white printed viscose twill.

Reverse: Lightweight washed denim.

Other notions: Bias tape.

 

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Red Linton Tweed Cardigan Jacket

Red Linton Tweed

Ann-Marie here modelling her fabulous red Linton Tweed jacket, in keeping with the traditionally made cardigan jacket she quilted the fabric onto some silk lining, this not only stabilises the tweed but also strengthens the whole jacket. A cardigan jacket should be soft and cardigan like, with no heavy interfacing, there is a fair amount of hand stitching (a swear word in some circles) that needs to be done, but the results of the hard effort is amazing.

You can find lots more cardigan jacket type tweeds HERE

 

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Moonstone Beaded Silk Dress with Tail

moonstone embroidered silk moroccain dress

Jane made this silver grey Silk Moroccain crepe cowl neck wedding dress for her eldest daughter, Jessie. It is beaded with thousands of moonstone chips (Jane has the patience of a saint).

To ensure the fabric had enough strength the silk was blocked onto Venezia lining (those chips are very heavy). All in all the dress took about 3 months; a lot of evenings and weekends, and never more than a few hours on the trot due to a broken elbow- and concern for her own sanity. Jessie helped with the beading and Bess was responsible for constructing the tail (Jessie insisted on a tail, Jane was appalled at the idea but the Bride gets what the Bride wants).

Silk Moroccain is a double crepe that drapes well and has a subtle lustre to it. We try, but don’t always have it in stock,  but can order it (next day delivery) in around 40 colours.

The tail hooks on to the back with corset hooks and was stuffed with Polyfil.

Well you wouldn’t have a normal dress for getting married in Vegas by Johnny Cash, would you?

Jessie swinging the tail of her moonstone embellished wedding dress
Jessie swinging the tail of her moonstone embellished wedding dress
Johnny Cash and guests
Johnny Cash and guests
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Yellow Giraffe Circular Skirt

Tina Givens printed Cotton circular skirt

Gracie wearing her pink giraffe print circular skirt made by Lizzy, with yellow lining and fuchsia pink netting.

This was the first (clothing) sewing project Lizzy had done for years, she was really happy with the results (and Gracie loves it too). She overlocked both the skirt hem and the raggedy hem of the lining.

All you need for this skirt is:

Giraffe print cotton by Tina Givens (or any other quilting weight cotton)
Lining; a soft one such as Venezia,
Dress net; we have these in lots of colours but most are not online yet. Just ask us for what you would like,
Elastic,
Thread.

You can buy circular skirt patterns but it is just as easy to make your own, There’s a great calculator to do the Maths for you on By Hand

 

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White Cotton Dobby Flower Girl Dresses

cotton dobby lawn dresses

Kitcat and Miaow wearing their white cotton dobby flower girl dresses. (They were so excited about being flower girls I thought they might pop).

The necks were too wide (the joy of making clothes for girls who live 200 miles away) so Jane made little tucks sewn down with french knots (so not a mistake, a happy accident!), she also used the same french knots to hold up the hems.

Pattern: Simplicity 5226 (but without the buttons down the front)
Cotton dobby lawn, like these HERE

They were lined in Riviera cotton lawn

Miaow in cotton dobby lawn flower girl dress
Miaow in cotton dobby lawn flower girl dress
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Red Ribbon Embroidered Jersey Shift Dress

Red ribbon embroidered jersey dress

Red ribbon embroidered jersey shift dress made by Jane for Jessie.

The embroidery stabilises the jersey so it is not that stretchy, and although the base jersey is quite fine the embroidery adds a lot of bulk so it is only necessary to face the neck rather than fully line the dress. This dress was sewn on an overlocker (for speed) but would be fine sewn on a sewing machine too. Just remember to use ballpoint needles when sewing jersey.

Find embroidered jerseys HERE
The pattern was Jessie’s block.

 

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Linen T-Shirt with Wide Leg Trousers

White linen jersey and black heavy viscose

Bess wearing a white linen jersey raglan sleeved t-shirt with ‘modesty’ panel, and black viscose pique wide leg trousers.

Bess has a bit of a linen jersey obsession, this is the fourth (at least) she made of these tops in as many weeks. This was lined in a bandeau panel with a very stable white cotton jersey, the same jersey was used to bind the neck.

The trousers were made from a stash of Viscose, a slightly piqué weave cloth that drapes beautifully but has a lot of ‘substance’. There’s a fly and button closure and then ribbons that tie to the side.

Both patterns are fairly unrecognisable from their origins, but the trousers were Burda 8087 and the top is Burda 6990

You can find other linen jerseys HERE, the viscose trousering is kind of unique, we will buy more if we ever see it, but you will get a similar drape with Worsted Wool suitings

 

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Giraffe Print Quilting Weight Cotton Circular Skirt

Tina Givens printed cotton circular skirt

Mia-moo wearing the giraffe printed circular skirt using #5102 -a quilting weight cotton– made by Jane (making the pattern AND making it took less than an hour). She has a frou frou net skirt to go under here when she’s feeling more frou-frou.

You need to remember your school geometry lessons to make a circular skirt without a pattern. It’s that moment you realise your grotty teenage self was wrong when they said they’d never need to know this pi-R-squared rubbish.

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Pink Denim Jacket

Pink denim jacket with odd buttons

Pink Denim #4993 jacket with odd buttons and superhero printed quilting weight cotton lining made by Bess.

Bess was a bit concerned about the level of ‘pink’ in this denim so chose to tone it down (her words) with a non-girly lining and a mixture of buttons in the hope that it makes it more versatile (she works on the basis that ONE of those buttons will match a colour in her outfit.

The pattern is an ancient Burda fur coat pattern -somewhat altered !

pink denim jacket with super hero printed lining
pink denim jacket with super hero printed lining
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Car print three quarter sleeve T-shirt

car printed jersey T-Shirt

Car print raglan sleeve T-shirt made by Bess for Lulu.

Fabric: 4983 Cotton jersey with 8% Elastane

Adjusted from Burda pattern 6990

Because the fabric is soooooo wide Bess managed to not only get this top but also a knee length a-line skirt for Lulu, and a little tiny skirt for her daughter, Mia-moo, all out of 1.4mts.

Altogether now, Awwwwwwwwwww!

Mia-moo wearing car-print jersey mini skirt made out of a remnant
Mia-moo wearing car-print jersey mini skirt made out of a remnant
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Pussycat sweatshirt with glow in the dark pussycat eyes

red sweatshirt with pussy cat eyes

Bess wearing her pussycat sweatshirt made using red brushed back cotton sweatshirting and appliqued glow in the dark cotton eyes with remnants of jersey for the whiskers and nose.

Bess might have a bit of a pussycat (particularly with glowey eyes) obsession at the moment. (Inspired by a sleeveless top bought from Uniqlo earlier in the year designed by Lulu Guiness).

Get your glow in the dark fabric HERE

 

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Leather shopper bag. Modelled as hat.

leather shopper bag

Rob (Bess’s worse half) modelling the shopper bag she made for a Christmas present. She thinks he looks better this way.

The tan brown leather was from a stash from possibly 15 years ago (See! I told you it would be useful one day!), the chartreuse green straps are a new acrylic webbing we have that’s only 90p/mt (looks much more expensive). It made up in no time. This is what Christmas presents are all about 🙂

 

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Black and White Wool Coat

black and white coat with reversed contrast collar and pockets

Carole from our Cloth club made up this fab black and white coat utilising the reverse for contrast collar, pockets and facings. This was her first attempt as a coat and proof that everyone should try it!

Pattern is Vouge V8933 which was selected for it’s simple shape and the use of snaps rather than buttons. Carole’s version is a bit larger than the original design as she wanted a big snuggly coat to wear over a chunky jumper in the winter. The fabric is #4275 and I made use of both sides. She thanks the staff who suggested 3491 as a lining and also advised her to use organza to line the front which worked really well.

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Glow in the dark pussycat eyes applique denim dresses

denuim dresses with embroidered pussy cat faces and glow in the dark eyes

Denim dresses (Butterick B5876) made using medium weight denim with appliqued glow in the dark eyes (LOVE LOVE LOVE this glow in the dark fabric). Made by Bess for her 4 and 6 year old nieces.

Used bondaweb to fix the appliques (then machined round with a small stitch). The skirt is lined and faced with a poly spotty satin.

The pattern was supposed to have patch pockets (view C) but Bess put them in the dropped waist seam instead. (didn’t want packets distracting from the pussycat).

Sooooooooo CUTE.

Get your glow in the dark fabric HERE and denim HERE

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Brown Wool Melton and Tweed Coat

brown wool melton and tweed coat

Brown wool coat made by Lesley (Twice!)

“I thought you might like to see the before and after of my coat.    The photo below is using a vintage vogue pattern which just looked so bad on that I only wore it twice.  So 2 years on, not wanting to waste the the fabric and with help from Jane I have just finished the coat pictured (above) and I am over the moon with it.  The second pattern is Katherine Tilton Butterick B5960.”

Brown wool coat using vintage vogue pattern
Brown wool coat using vintage vogue pattern

 

This is proof that it is worth persevering with a project that hasn’t gone exactly how you had anticipated.

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Cobalt blue stretch crepe dress with wiggly eyes

stretch crepe dress with wiggly eyes

Cobalt blue stretch crepe dress with wiggly eyes made by Bess.

Confession: Dress was made the day before going to a swanky wedding (when realisation struck that there was NOTHING to wear), it was much too big but rather than taking it in Bess just sewed a couple of wiggly eye buttons on the back and graunched it in with petersham ribbon. Job done!

Not quite sure what Pall Mall really thought about wiggly eye embellishments but….

Have a look at stretch crepe HERE

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Chevron knit long cardigan

Missoni knit long cardigan

Long cardigan made with Italian Designer chevron cotton viscose and silk knit, made by Bess.

This was supposed to be a uber-simple cardigan with no darts or back seam or anything, but as is the way with Italian Designer knits it was cut way too big so ended up needing a centre back seam and princess seams.
It looks nicer with those seams. That’s her story and she’s sticking to it.

Find Italian Designer knits Here

 

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Amy Butler Print Long Skirt with Twisted Side Seams

Amy Butler Chinese lanterns printed cotton DKNY A-Line long skirt

Bess doing I-don’t-know-quite-what wearing her Amy Butler Chinese lantern skirt (as seen on the Great British Sewing Bee), or onion skirt as her husband calls it. The pattern is a Donna Karan for Vogue but has been (infuriatingly) discontinued. It’s great; the side seams are twisted so at the hips the back wraps around to the front and at the hem the front wraps around the back. The yoke is cut in one piece which made fitting a bit of a nightmare (no side seams to take in), but for a pattern like this you get a great effect on the back where the grain is taken off to near bias. Bess piped the side seams to make them a feature and gave the skirt an extra-deep hem so the skirt had a bit of weight to it; you should be careful what you make out of these ‘quilting cottons’ as they don’t drape terribly well, but they are an excellent choice for garments such as this.

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Linen Jersey Camisole and Spotty Linen A-Line Skirt

Linen Jersey Camisole and spotty print linen A-line skirt

Bess on top of the world wearing linen jersey camisole and red and white spotty linen skirt. The camisole pattern was made by drawing round an existing vest. The front and the back are the same which makes it super easy to construct (no markings!), Soft elastic binding was used for the straps, Bess made a few of these for her holiday and got the making time down to 20 minutes. The skirt was made a few years ago (fabric long since sold out 🙁 ), due to the linen being so fine Bess lined it with white ‘Riviera’ lawn. Double belt loops were attached to hold a decorative saddle stitch grosgrain belt. She’s had a lot of use out of this skirt.

You can find lots of Linens HERE

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Linton Tweed Cardigan Jacket with Organza Ruffle

Chanel style jacket in Linton Tweed

Lennie from our Cloth Club made this beautiful cardigan jacket using Linton Tweed and trimming with organza that she ruffled herself. The Vogue Pattern used (V8804) details how to do the traditional quilting that helps to stabilise this very loose weave fabric, there is additional advice in the Claire Shaeffer’s couture sewing techniques book, and we have a leaflet we can send you with tips. It is important to choose a lightweight lining (such as silk crepe de chine) as more stable linings (whilst easier to work with) can stiffen the jacket up too much once quilted; the jacket should remain soft, more like a cardigan).

Fabrics and Notions:

Cardigan jacket type tweed
Ivory Silk Organza (for interlining and trimming)
Silk Crepe de Chine (lining)
Buttons

Pattern: Vogue 8804