Jill came to the shop (by appointment) and chose this wonderful paisley print needlecord for the Homer & Howells Cissy Dress and YAY! it has pockets!
Gotta love a dress with pockets and this style is such a lovely easy to wear dress that suits Jill well.
Lined in a lovely plummy burgundy Venezia lining which works well with babycord dresses.
Janet made up this super shell top and A-line skirt combo for Lucy using our green and pink archive floral print pima cotton lawn and olive green tencel feel medium weight linen and viscose. Both are unlined and perfect for hot summery days (oh I dream of those!), a concealed zipper is in the back of the skirt.
All praise this super simple (no pattern) shirred cotton gingham sundress made by RhiannonP. ❤️
Why complicate what is perfectly simple?
A bodice like this is simply a rectangle about 3 times the bust measurement and shirred (elasticated) in to fit. The skirt is approximately twice the hip measurement and gathered in to fit the bodice.
What is harder to achieve (in the UK ) is the sunshine to go with the dress. 🙄
Joan bought indigo and a black stretch denims from us in a bid to get some jeans that fit and she did a stellar job.
The pattern she used was a mix up of various elements: an old Vogue pattern for the blue jeans fly, Closet Core Ginger midrise jeans for the start of the black fly, and a lot of the sewing method, plus a pattern drafted off an old pair of her best fitting jeans and tweaked for a better fit. She modified the fly so that it more closely resembled RTW finish in the black pair and that worked better than the blue pair.
She bought the Mara 70 thread and found the best success when using it in the bobbin plus top thread.
Lindy made New Look 6560 wrap blouse in lovely parasol print 100% Pima cotton lawn, she used view C, lengthened it by an inch and added a flounce. It has ties which she integrated into the top instead of having one loose one.
Really pleased with it. It’s fabulous.
This crewel embroidered lightweight denim has scalloped design running down the selvedges which Anne utilised to perfection on this pleated skirt dress. We LOVE! ❤️
The lovely Anne made up our teal stretch babycord as a panelled A-line skirt and the bug print cotton poplin as a fun blouse. The sewing is impeccable (of course!) -beautifully turned collar, perfectly straight waistband… she’s a great sewer who kept herself busy during lockdown making a fabulous new wardrobe.
Black Denim jacket fabulousness made here by Sue in France, the denim is a 9.5oz washed Cotton – heavy enough for a jacket but not too heavy so as to cause tears whilst topstitching on a domestic sewing machine. As the jacket is unlined all the seams on the inside are beautifully finished with Bias Binding.
The Pattern is the Sienna Jacket by Close Core Patterns (used to be Closet Case Patterns)
I keep looking at this jacket thinking shall I? Shan’t I? Do I really need a new jacket. Yes. I absolutely do! I do need a new jacket!
Our customers are such bad influences on me!
Bess used this fabulous nearly black suiting for her Bleuet Dress (by Deer and Doe Patterns), the fabric has a great drape and hardly creases despite the natural fibres so is perfect for a close fitting dress (so you don’t get those unsightly crease lines across the tummy). Bess highly recommends the pattern – it all went together beautifully. We especially like the closely placed buttons which allows for some fun with choices, she used up all manner of mismatched dyed shell buttons which she said was only a fraction of extra brain power when doing the button holes (different sizes!).
Despite loving the back waistline bow on the toile Bess was worried she would feel foolish in a bow (she’s not a bow kind of girl), an epiphany in the shower (it’s always in the shower!) came with the idea of using a slider buckle instead – same shape and idea as a bow, but without the prissiness. Her primary excuse for making this was she needed a “plain black semi-respectable dress” – despite the multi colour buttons and the not quite black of the fabric this sort of fulfilled her brief 😊
How glorious is this yellow dobby cotton voile sundress? As the fabric on it’s own was a little too see-through Angela lined it with cotton muslin. The pattern is based on McCall’s 7407, Angela says she’s going to make a tie belt to wear with it sometimes but thinks it will be very good loose in the hot weather! (definitely!)
This is Catharine (a longstanding Cloth Club Member) who sent us these photos of her “Signature Dress” in cotton voile which, obviously, we love. She said, “Couldn’t help but call this my signature dress! Pattern is vogue 9100 and only change was that I fully lined it (not just bodice) with the riviera cotton lawn as the voile needs something underneath.
Sue used mid weight cotton twill for this fabulous romper suit with contrast accents in a fun sausage dog print cotton lawn. The dress is using the twill for the accents and a geo floral cotton poplin for the main. Such fun, and such a fabulous thing to be able to do for your grandchildren 😊
The pattern is Burda 9712 (there’s also a little jacket, a sun hat and trousers)
Jessie continuing her obsession with orange and pink by this skirt in Pink Panther cotton canvas and contrast orange lacey tape zip. Made by Jane using the ancient and much missed Burda Start A-Line skirt pattern (Burda 3198)
Melanie sent us her me-made chambray denim shirt made in the softest washed cotton for this fabulous short sleeve shirt. It’s an instant favourite.
Who doesn’t get cheered up looking at this brilliant cartoon print? Rachel is not one to shy away from colour and looks ace in this perfectly fitting cotton canvas A-Line skirt. It is lined in Venezia to keep it looking perfect all day long.
Who new at the beginning of 2020 we would madly be making scrubs? We have a lot of customers who had to very quickly put their dressmaking skills to something a little more utilitarian. This is the super dapper Mark, the husband of Cloth Club member Lynn who made him these cotton drill scrubs (pattern taken from For The Love of Scrubs facebook group) to wear at the doctor’s surgery when it was deemed necessary for all the medical staff to wear PPE.
Tina (Sewimpatient) made this brilliant @alinadesignco Hampton jean jacket using silver grey stretch denim and we LOVE it so much. Tina has a brilliant eye for detail and her makes are so well executed. Fabulousness.
She says: I managed to get my Hampton Jean Jacket sewn up and just wanted to say thanks so much for the fabric recommendation as it turned out to be the perfect choice. It’s super soft and the fact that it has some stretch didn’t cause any problems. If you need a jean jacket it’s a great pattern to have.
The fabulous Janet who teaches pattern cutting at Exeter Sewing Machines showing off her skills with this amazing self drafted jumpsuit made using printed Japanese cotton., and to top it off (quite literally), a magnificent matching hat 😊
Bess made these stretch denim shorts for her ridiculously fussy husband (she keeps swearing she will never make for him again, but then the morale boost when he likes it and wears it is too much of a temptation). The denim is not that heavy but to keep them light she lined the waistband, pockets and fly with the pointy finger print cotton poplin.
She used odd buttons on the fly because she was using up old stocks, but loves that feature. and will do it again.
The pattern is taken off an old favourite pair.
The shorts passed the temperamental sewing machine test AND the fussy husband test 😊
Jane made this fabulous shirtdress for Miaow using tencel denim and the Ottobre spring 13 pattern. It is topstitched with pink silk thread and because life is too short to turn rouleau loops Jane used a denim herringbone tape
Pamela made up this super navy and white seersucker lawn into the Vogue V9251 wrap dress, the proportions of this dress are beautifully cut and suits Pamela perfectly.
Sewing for boys can be harder than girls ads the choices of prints and colours are more restricting, but Susan gets and A+ with these these delightful romper trousers and shirt using burda patterns. The trousers are a mustard babycord and the shirt is a quilting weight cotton
Bess wanted a lightweight but warm jacket so used grey herringbone cotton poly and elastane -it’s a medium weight, the sort that would make lightweight chino type trousers, then she quilted silk crepe de chine (in the brightest coral colour possible) to wool wadding. The results are a super snuggly jacket that feels like you are putting on a duvet (if you ever wondered what the definition of hygge is, this jacket is it)
Whilst the outer fabric is not waterproof it is a tight enough weave to not get wet through in a brief shower.
The pattern is the Kelly Anorak by Closet Case Patterns, the instructions and drafting is simply brilliant. Bess shortened it and hacked the collar and hood pieces to enable both (the hood folds away into the collar)
Alice’s further adventures in bananas here with a cotton poplin dress (McCall’s McCalls 6696 view A). She made quite a few alterations to the pattern –
Changed the back bodice to get rid of the gathers at the yoke and added darts at the waist.
The front bodice was a bit too big in an 8 which is the smallest pattern size so pinched out the excess on the toile and re-drew the pattern which resulted in making the neckline smaller so the collar and collar band also had to be resized.
Trimmed about half an inch off the collar long edge to make it neater.
It sounds worse than it was in practice!
She decided to gather and line the skirt rather than pleat it and omitted the side seam pockets. This is the second dress she’s made for Lizby in this pattern which makes the adjustments worth the effort!
The fabric was a dream to work with and Lizby is delighted with the finished results.
This is Carole wearing this super loose-weave cotton shirt using the Butterick 6070 which she has used several times as the buttonholes are hidden behind the placket. Great if your buttonholes have the occasional wobble!
This cotton is super soft with a gauzey jacquard type weave (unusual), it resists creasing and is great to wear in the hot weather as the drape tends to hold it off the body.
The lovely Sian here visiting all the way from Australia* wearing her lovely red cotton voile shirt dress that she made with her purchases from her last visit. The pattern is Burda 6353 (lengthened in the skirt), it’s lined in an equally fine cotton lawn to keep the lightness and coolness. (and it is very cool 😎)
*I don’t think Sian travels 10,000 miles just to see us.
Bess made up this sleeveless shirt using a fabulous eye print poplin cotton. The pattern is taken and amended from an old White Stuff shirt, the buttons are wiggly eye buttons but how long they will last is debatable as she keeps ironing over them!
As the poplin is very stable and Bess wanted the shirt as light as possible no interfacing was used apart from down the front placket so the button holes would be stabilised.
Whilst Bess lined up the front and back when cutting out no attempt was made to match the pattern. It actually does match where the yoke meets the back piece but that was an accident.
Rachel doesn’t believe that kids prints should be solely for kids. Here she is in her self drafted quilting cotton dress printed in sugar plum fairies.. and frogs… and things. 😊
Jane made this lovely pineapple print yellow seersucker sundress for Mioaw, she chose the fabric herself which has proved a good move as she has lived in it all summer (YAYYYY!). The pattern is Burda 9417.
Martine made this lovely printed needlecord dress up for her 9 year old granddaughter in dressmaking classes in the South of France. We ❤️!
Rachel in her brilliant space travel print t-shirt using a self drafted pattern. The neck is bound with the same jersey cut binding. 😍😍😍
Louisa here wearing her lovely denim cleo dungaree dress from Tilly and the Buttons, complete with impressive top-stitching and super fastenings.
Karen came to the shop wearing this brilliant blossom print Japanese cotton shift dress, she made it using the Tilly and the Buttons Françoise pattern, it has been lengthened and a with bit of tweaking to the french darts (hardly visible in this fabric) this has become a firm favourite in Karen’s wardrobe. This cotton has a great weight to it that barely creases, doesn’t shrink (and so pre-washing shouldn’t be necessary) and is loose enough weave to remain cool and breezy.
The wonderful Julie cheering up a decidedly grey day with this amazing parrot print heavy cotton canvas made up into the Kwik Sew K4097 dress.
We love it. We love it!
The lovely Sandra here modelling her navy blue needlecord/babycord cotton shirtwaister with matching classic marble effect buttons. The pattern is McCall’s 4769. She is really please (as she should be) and has had a lot of wear out of it 😊).
This is Christine’s Granddaughter Georgia, who was nearly 5. She’d just been to stay, and as soon as her parents had dropped her off she wanted to ‘do sewing – a hat and a dress!’
They found a lovely free bucket hat pattern online – from Oliver + s – a PDF, a first for Christine but very easy, and sewed up nicely. Then they found a New Look G205 pattern for the dress.
Everything made up really nicely in the seaweed print cotton. Christine was thinking of ric-rac, but as soon as Georgia saw the daisy trim she fell in love with it. As you can see, she loves her dress, and thinks it’s very good for twirling in! The hems are sewn with a daisy stitch to match the trim.
Sheryl made this lovely tunic up in heavy slubby cotton with a blue paisley overprint. The pattern comes from the book The Tunic Bible. Continue reading Blue and White Paisley Print Slubby Cotton Tunic
Heather in the sunshine wearing her lovely embroidered denim Cleo dress by Tilly and the Buttons. Sooooo Good!
Marion wearing her mauve and blue geometric print cotton needlecord shift dress with short sleeves and princess seams. made and designed by Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead)
We have been looking at this stretch cotton sateen multicolour stripe for a while thinking “something FANTASTIC could be made out of this”, and here we have the proof. Marion, with her dress made and designed by the clever stick Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead). We love the chevron detailing on the back, and the perfectly matched seams. This kind of attention to detail really pays off. 👍
Marion wearing this great animal print stretch cotton sateen dress with asymmetric zip detailing and shawl collar. Made and designed by Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead).
White Broderie Anglaise embroidered cotton dress made by Jane for Lulu using Vogue pattern 1942 (discontinued). IT is trimmed with turquoise blue satin bias, soft cotton bias and piping around the neck, and lined in cotton voile.
Jane this lobster print cotton voile shirt for Scotty. Cut extra roomy as the fabric is super fine, and french seams all round. The pattern is Burda 3800
Marion in this super fresh blue and multicolour print cotton needlecord short sleeve dress made and designed by Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead)
Marion wearing her super dress made with brown and yellow geometric floral print cotton babycord, there are clever princess seams that are piped and curve out to the side seams below the waist, which is a very flattering design feature. Made and designed by Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead)
This is Sophie who has a degree in Costume Design and keeps turning up at the shop with friends and family working out what she will make next. She is quite an inspiration.
The pattern was drafted herself and is using a cotton brocade which is heavy enough to hold shape but drapey enough to swing and not stick out.
Pauline made this delicious summery watermelon print cotton up into this great a-line dress from McCall’s (M2401). The cotton is pretty lightweight (somewhere between a lawn and a poplin) and could have got away with no lining but Pauline went for the smarter option and lined it in cotton voile.
Ann came in smiling wearing this skirt that gets her stopped in the street to ask her where it’s from 🙂
Made from meadow print slightly brushed cotton canvas with just a centre back seam, elasticated waist and a ruffle hem. It only took an afternoon which is fairly impressive, until you see every single seam is sewn beautifully BY HAND (at which point the staff at Stone Fabrics jaws drop). Ann argues it’s quicker than getting the machine out. 😮
Another superb shirt made by Rachel and modelled here by Luke. Again the fabric is a quilting weight cotton which is great for casual shirts. There is a light knit interfacing in the collar, cuffs and front placket.
Marion looking fabulous in her peacock blue abstract print short sleeve stretch cotton sateen dress made and designed by Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead)
Rachel made Luke this beautiful harlequin jacquard cotton shirt. I think we can tell he likes it 😉
Two little sweeties here (like butter wouldn’t melt) wearing their printed brushed cotton pajamas made by Aiste. Love the funky flared cut. 
Rachel made this fabulous vinyl records print shirt for Luke, perfectly matching everything, of course. Shirtmaking is an art Rachel has mastered to a tee. The fabric is a quilting weight cotton which is on the heavy side for a shirt but great for casual (and fun!) projects. There is a light knit interfacing in the collar, cuffs and front placket.
Here is a close up of Rachel’s matching: (in her previous life she was a chameleon)
Pauline made this fabulous denim jumpsuit using a 1970’s jumpsuit pattern from Simplicity (3322), she used a soft medium weight linen mix denim with floral painted buttons and hand embroidered pocket details.
Pauline made this sweet bunny print shirt with printed quilting weight cotton. It is a Butterick pattern (6324) that has minimal/confusing instructions (it is clearly the instructions at fault and not the readers!), so Pauline came a bit unstuck working out how to do the concealed buttonhole band, but she got there in the end 🙂
The collar and cuffs are interfaced with lightweight knit iron-on interfacing
Marion wearing her lovely blue and yellow geometric print stretch cotton sateen shift dress made and designed by Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead).
Rachel made this fabulous cotton shirt for her son Luke. Rachel is applying for title ‘Queen of shirt making’. This fabric is quilting weight which is great for a slightly heavier warmer shirt (and also happens to have the wackiest prints).
Thank you Luke for modelling for us, much appreciated!
Marion again, this time in a floral and paisley print cotton babycord top and skirt. All of us at Stone Fabrics are loving the scalloped hem and pattern matching. Made and designed by Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead). Soooo Clever!
Marion here wearing this super fitted stretch drill dress with lovely cut out detail on the back. She cheats by getting the uber talented Dawn Hooper of Hardy and Hooper (Maidenhead) to design and make it up for her (I must say if I had a Dawn I would too).
There is a danger with not-so-good designers to make ‘funeral clothes’ -clothes that look great on the front but are plain and boring on the back (you don’t need the back to look pretty if you are lying in a coffin). When we look at ourselves we rarely see our behinds (hoorah for that I say!) but other people do so it’s good to make it look pretty.
School shirts don’t have to be made out of polyester to be easy care, why are all the school shirts in the shops either horrid stiff cotton or polyester? Jane makes Kitcat and Miaow’s school shirts in supersoft cotton dobby lawn which hardly needs ironing at all, just flatten the collar and they are good to go! Made using Burda 9744 with such a tiny bit of fabric the under collar has been seamed in the middle.
