My blog is packed full of free tutorials to help you to learn a new skill, or to give experienced sewers ideas .
Sewing is ethical, sustainable, you can upcycle, recycle, and the garment you produce will not only fit you perfectly it will last a lifetime, it is empowering to dress beautifully especially in bespoke clothes made with love and care by yourself without damaging the environment
I have Parkinsons
list of additional pages, click on any one to view
Re-use, recycle. Make Do and mend. What is this all about? Why should it affect me?
I am alarmed after doing some research just how much clothing, some of it unworn, goes to landfill. We purchase a lot of cheaper clothes which soon lose their appeal and out they go. Our wardrobes are crammed with things we hardly ever. Or never wear.
When I was young I was taught to buy fewer "good" pieces which would last forever , and they actually do.so why do we do it? And more to the point how are we going to dispose of our unwanted fashion without damaging our planet even more.
The UK could save £3billion per year from the cost of the resources we use to make and clean clothes if we changed the way we supplied, used and disposed of clothing. This would reduce the carbon, water and waste footprints of clothing consumption by 10-20% each. Being part of the Wrap 2020 Commitment we aim to reduce our own and help others to reduce their environmental footprints
350,000 tonnes, that’s around £140 million worth of used but still wearable clothing goes to landfill in the UK every year
This equates to more than 30% of our unwanted clothing currently goes to landfill.
Watch this YouTube video
We Great Britons send 700,000 tonnes of clothing to recycling centres, textile banks, clothes collections and to charity each year. That’s enough to fill 459 Olympic-size swimming pools.57% of people say they recycle their textiles with 41% of people saying they’re not aware of recycling facilities .
Another alarming fact is that charity shops send a huge proportion of our old clothing to landfill , so that is not the answer! So. while you may donate your old clothing to charity, the truth is, even then, a whopping 84 percent of our clothing ends up in landfills. This is wrong, we feel good when we give to charity shops don't we. I often wondered what happened to old stock, this is shocking.
Large clothing manufacturers have waste fabric too. What happens to that? Do you know?
So, what is the answer? Obviously sewing is the long term answer, it is sustainable, Well, we could go into ethical and non ethical fabrics, but that is another blog!
When you can sew , even just a little bit , you can make things, wear things, sell things, it is a massive thing to give yourself the gift of sewing because with it you and your family can be clothed according to your finances. Duvet covers from charity shops can be repurposed into almost anything , for next to nothing. And yes, I have been that poor. Eating nothing but baked beans for weeks on end, eventually getting a job as a school dinner lady so myself and my son could have a free hot meal every day. I was so glad that I could make clothes and I became popular at school for being able to rustle up costumes for school plays out of just an old sheet. So, I could not only make some of our clothes, (coats and dressing gowns were favourites then,) I could also do odd jobs for cash, shortening curtains, knitting. Anything.
So, it helped me all those years ago, now I can pass this knowledge on to you and together we can help reduce waste ,and that in turn will help our planet for generations to come.
What to do with old clothes?
The obvious thing is to transform and upcycle them into something new. ... I have been altering dresses to make tops and altering garments to fit better, and altering necklines.Another great idea is to make dolls clothes , especially lovely if you have garments which mean a lot
We all need shopping bags and they can easily be made from almost anything. If you do nothing else make shopping bags!
Check out local textile & fabric recycling spots. ... Look on the Internet or ask your council about textile collection points
I gave my evening gowns and heels ( I prefer trainers these days) to a group supplying girls with prom outfits. Similarly I give coats and so on to a charity which gives them to people in need.
You could pass on your clothes to others or have a swop evening where you and your friends have fun exchanging garments. I went to one of those and exchanged some dresses I had grown tired of for other clothes. We all ended up with new clothes for nothing! And no waste. There are apps such as Vinted, Ebay and local free sites on Facebook. Can you think of any more? What about craft supplies including fabric.?
One idea is to use them to teach others. This is a great thing to do.
How wonderful it would be if you taught someone else your craft, whatever it is
I have been looking at my stash of fabric and thought how pointless it is to have such a large collection of fabric which is not being used. Its silly isn't it, I had a think and a sort out. I divided the fabrics into summer and winter and started work on the winter pile. I took the shorter pieces of Jersey fabric and turned them into tops.
I believe in reusing patterns too , it's my thrifty side, so once I find a pattern I love I iron it onto cheap interfacing to help preserve it and happily change it and hack it and use it time and time again. Here are just some of my new tops. There are others which you will find on my YouTube video
Another thing I decided to sew is pyjamas / loungewear for winter. I have always used cotton lawn in the past to make them with but they are not nearly as comfortable as cotton Jersey. Plus cotton lawn gets terribly crumpled! Pyjamas are pricy and there is never anything different.So, that was the next task .I did not purchase a particular pattern, I used what I had . The pants are just simple straight leg elastic waist trousers and the tops were adapted from two patterns, details below They are also comfortable for sitting around in and won't scare the postman.
The Cotton Jersey fabric is from Abakhan Fabrics to purchase it is always better to pop along to your nearest store if you can, the stock changes constantly
Love the fabric don't you? It is super soft and has "love" all over it.
Another pair, fabric again from Abakhan this fabric is cute with lollipops all over . Love it.
These are the various patterns I used, you need to refer to my previous post to obtain the direct links to purchase them as I used the same ones My Lurex pants suit
For more ideas, books such as these two are available, you can then make gifts and home wear from your odd bits of fabric
This book was issued in 1943 by the Board of trade , and its intention was to show you how to get every single possible use out of clothes , textiles, food and so on.It is still readily available and whilst you would not want to take on board all the advice there is certain to be something of use. It is a fascinating read actually, so if you can get hold of one do.
So, will you join me in pledging to do at least one thing to stop sending clothes etc to landfill? You could pledge to purchase no new clothes for a month. You could buy from a charity shop. If you can have a clothes swop party . Whatever you do, dust down your sewing machine, knitting needles or crochet and make something.
I look forward to seeing your ideas and hearing about your projects
Channeling my inner Abba in this fabulous pants suit
This fabulous lurex fabric is on sale so I just had to grab myself a few meters. I am a dancer and it can get chilly in winter so a pants suit which I can move in, and which also has movement is perfect. I also have Parkinson's and exercise is every bit as important as my medication. I like to dress up for my dance classes as it makes me feel even better.this outfit would also be perfect for a lazy boxing day at home don't you think.
This is a wonderful wearable dress in luxurious stretch velvet from Minerva.com , see Minerva.com for more details and order fabric on. My Bella Dress info
You will be amazed and delighted at the price
I love this fabric so very much and the style of dress is perfect. Stretch velvet is very luxurious but easy to wear and easy to sew. I think I am going to take it in a bit more in the hips where it is a bit loose. I like short skirts so I took the hem up, but you can make it longer
Even better news, the fabric is on sale!
The pattern requires a zip but when I was fitting it I realised that because the stretch is so good I didn't need one.
As with any stretch fabric bundle it has is essential to let the garment hang for 24 hours before heming and I was glad I did because it did become uneven.
This is a lovely dress and I know I will wear it a lot. Why don't you make one too?
Pattern hack
I wanted to make a galabeya for dance class.
I altered the pattern by lowering the neckline and adding around 12" to the hemline. The side seams are split to mid thigh
I then set to work adding sequins , add as many as you like, and it is now dance worthy and fab. Especially with my coin belt
Do have a go, and do check out the price of the fabric! Link here ,
If you are anxious about learning to sew then have you thought of starting off with making dolls clothes? It's how I first learned to sew.
When I was very young I learned to sew by making dolls clothes. I feel that if you have little girls in your family you could also save a fortune as dolls clothes are very expensive Dolls clothes are easy to make but will demonstrate perfectly how you would make an adult garment as you use the same processes. Making dolls clothes is a great way to learn to sew for any age as the garments are small enough to be completed in one go.
A very short video on YouTube
There are many patterns to choose from. The instructions remain the same
Look in the Craft section of one of the major pattern companies to find patterns .
This is possibly the pattern I have used most, as I have dressed several dolls for the little girls in my family
For fabric I suggest looking at either cotton or polycotton. There is plenty of choice. Try to choose a small print as it will look nicer on a small garment and be more to scale
Another lovely source of fabric is to use the child's favourite clothes when they no longer fit. It just makes it special
I used a dark floral cotton from my stash to make the first dress. Cotton is the best fabric to start sewing with as it is so well behaved. I used a white handkerchief to make the bodice of the two coloured dress You need to cut your pattern pieces out so when you are ready open your pattern instruction sheet and find the instructions for making the dress as above.
Find all the pieces you need to make the dress. These are clearly shown on the instruction sheet.Very carefully press the fabric and the pattern pieces in order to get the creases out
take a look at your pattern pieces. Some will say "place on the fold" that means you must pin them onto the fabric along the line where it is folded so that the piece is cut doubled. Some will have a line or an arrow saying "place on the grain line" That means that the line or arrow has to be parallel to the edge of the fabric all the way down. Grain lines are important because if it is wrong it could easily affect how the garment hangs.
The dress in this pattern is the one which takes the most fabric. To get all the pattern pieces on to the fabric take a good look at the photograph above, because in order to get the most out of your fabric you need to fold it like this:- Lay the fabric out flat and fold the left side in so that it is just wide enough to put the dress front on the fold and the dress back below it slightly away from the fold. Bring the right side over to meet the edges of the fabric.
Pin the dress top pieces in place on the left side as shown. Then pin the front skirt right on the fold on the right of the fabric. Take your Tailors Chalk and a ruler and carefully draw exactly round the pattern piece.
Carefully remove the pattern piece and move it along next to the markings to cut out the back skirt. Pin that in place too. You need to take the sleeve pattern and fold the lower sleeve carefully along the short sleeve lines and pin that sideways next to the back skirt with the pockets underneath.
Take your scissors and very carefully cut around each pattern piece remembering to cut the little triangles facing outwards as they are important. A lot of adults make the huge mistake of just snipping into the points instead of cutting around them, but this is wrong and it means that if you need to make the seam a bit smaller you can't because you have cut into it. So learn the correct way now.
Using your tailors chalk again mark the position of the pockets. If you look at the frompnt pattern piece it shows you exactly where to place them. On this photograph one pocket is already in place. To make the pocket turn under the top by 1/4" and sew it down iether with your sewing machine or a neat hand sewn back stitch . Press the seam allowance, again 1/4" to the inside on the other three sides. Stitch the pocket to the skirt front lining up the top with the markings. Dont forget to leave the top open!
This is the pocket sewn in place.
To make the bodice, (the bodice is the top part of a garment) sew the shoulder seams together and neaten the edges. You can use pinking shears or if you have a sewing machine use a small zig-zag stitch.
You should now have something which looks like this. Neaten the sleeve edges next. Zig zag or pink the edge and turn under and top stitch.
You would not use pinking shears on clothes for people as this sort of finish will not withstand frequent washing
Now to put the sleeves in. This is the hardest part because you have to sew two different shaped pieces together without spoiling the appearance by making any pleats or gathers show in the right side. A lot of adults struggle with this I can tell you. So, matching the triangle to the shoulder seam and pinning the ends together start to pin the sleeve onto the sleeve opening using a lot of pins so that it is going in evenly.
To make it easier, close to the edge of the sleeve put a row of running stitches and pull them to gather the sleeve very slightly. You will find by doing this the sleeve goes in perfectly . If it doesn't, use your seam ripper to take your stitches out and try again.
You now should have this! Neaten the seam edges as before .
Then right sides together stitch the sleeve seam and side seam all in one go. Neaten the edges and press. Turn right sides out and press again.
That's the bodice done, so now we have to make the skirt part. Right sides together and matching the notches (the tiny triangles you cut out) stitch the side seams and neaten the edges. Press. Pressing is important, it makes the garment look professional and accomplished dressmakers and tailors press every seam every time they sew one. Whenever I start sewing I always set my ironing board up too and I have things like a pressing cloth and a sleeve roll and many other things ready too.
Very close to the edge of the skirt sew two rows of running stich to make the gathers. If hand sewing use a small running stitch with a knot in the end. On a machine use a long straight stitch. Start to pull the gathers up
Put the bodice and tbe skirt together, right sides together. Match the side seams together and adjust the gathers so that they are the same size as the bodice. Make sure that they are distributed easily and pin together. Sew the bodice to the skirt , neaten the seam and press.
On the skirt pattern back there is a dot. Mark this position on the skirt back because you need to sew the back together from the bottom to this dot. Above it will be the back opening so you can get it on to your doll easily.
To finish the back opening neaten the edges and fold the ends in by 1/4" and sew them down with a straight stitch
You now need to think about how you are going to fasten the back. You can use press studs which you sew in yourself. choose a small size.
You will also need the pliers . Both are widely available
I use no sew poppers which are great fun and very easy to use, they come in lots of sizes and lots of colours. Before you put one on your garment read the instructions and do a practise one. A tip for you is to put the top one on first. Cover the back with tailors chalk and press the front and back openings together with your fingers. The chalk will leave a mark where the bottom bit goes!
So, that's the dress almost finished just the hem now. Zig-zag or pink the end. Turn it under 1^4"and stitch it down iether buy hand with a tiny slip stitch or by machine with a straight stitch Give it a final press and there it is finished!
This is the finished dress.
This is the back showing the non-sew poppers.
To make this dress which looks like a skirt and top. Use some white and sew lace down the front and on the edges of the sleeves. Cut the skirt out of a different fabric and make it just the same as the previous dress. Add a ribbon bow at the waist. If this is for a very small child I would sew the ribbon on securely at one side or leave it off altogether
For the blue dress I added lace to the front and hem and sleeves. Then I added this pretty floral lace which you can buy in most haberdashery shops. I added a small flower to the front. You could make her a headband to match.
About sewing machines
To get started with using a sewing machine you will need the quick start guide leaflet which explains step by step how to thread the machine and how to wind the bobbin. The instructions are very easy to follow and the machine easy to thread so don't just guess ag how it threads, do it correctly by following the instructions step by step. This way you can be certain that the machine will work first time. It is very important that you do take care when threading the machine and will avoid getting stressed because it does not sew correctly.
Once you have threaded it and stitched a test row,then get your instruction manual out and play around with the various stitches . If you look at chapter 2 in the manual, on page 39 it shows clearly how to select each stitch. This is a very easy machine to use it is by brother from Jaycotts.co.uk By the way it threads needles automatically which is bliss!
We are going to make the Shirt which is view A together with the flared pants, so first of all select your pattern pieces and press your fabric. I am making the short sleeved shirt, but if you prefer the long sleeved version the process is exactly the same.
Cut out all your pattern pieces and put them to one side.
Just as we would make an adult shirt, certain parts of this shirt need interfacing. You will need small pieces of a lightweight interfacing, do buy a good quality one , and follow the pattern instructions foe Shirt view A to cut the pieces out. Carefully iron them on to the fronts and the collar. Press the front facing in and press the collar in half as shown.
Following a pattern is very easy but it does require a little practise, so do persevere.
This is the interfaced collar and shirt fronts.the shirt fronts have been pressed to the inside.
Using your sewing machine select your stitch, I chose a basic sewing stitch, number 2 which is shown in the Manuel on page 53. Pin the fronts to the back at the shoulders right sides,together. Carefully measure 1/4" seam allowance and stitch the shoulder seams. When you start and finish a seam secure the stitching so that it does not come undone by pressing the reverse button to do a couple of reinforcing stitches. Page 45 of your manual shows how to do this.
Once you have sewn your seam you will need to neaten the edges. Now is a good time to experiment with the various stitches on your machine. Again referring to your manual and using a spare scrap of fabric have a go at using the utility over casting stitches on page 51. Experiment with changing ths stich length and width too. When you feel comfortable make a note of the stitch you like best and use it to finish the shoulder seams.
This is an example of a zigzag stitch I used when making this garment.it is a fairly short stitch, 2, set at an average with, 3.5
Stitch the collar down the sides, right sides together, clip the corner carefully as on the pattern instructions , fold in half, press. This is great practise at following a pattern by the way! Overedge the facing in the fronts of the shirt Stitch the collar in place and press. Top stitch all around the front up and around the collar and back down the other side. Choose a longer straight stitch and keep the stitches close to the edge.
Now it is time for the sleeves. On an adult garment you would finish the sleeve edges later, but because this is a small garment it is far easier to do it now. So overedge the sleeves, turn them up by 1/4"and top stitch.
TIP - If you add a row of long stitches to the top of the sleeve you will find it easier to ease the sleeve into the armhole. Right sides together pin and stitch the sleeve into the armhole. Press and overedge the seam.
Pin the side seams together from the sleeve edge to the bottom of the shirt. Stich and overedge the seams. Press. Overedge the hem and press the hem allowance up. Top stitch the hem.
Put the shirt on your doll to check the fit and mark the position of the buttons. I am using poppers, the details of which can be found in my precious blog post as I used them when making the dress. It is ok to mark the position of the poppers with a pencil dot as it will not be seen once the poppers are in place.
This is the popper kit, it has everything you need in the pack including a tool to fix them on with. There is a great selection of colours available, don't forget to choose small ones for this garment. Once the poppers are in place then give the shirt a press and it is ready to wear. Dont forget to cut off all loose threads.
The trousers are simple to make with just four pieces all the same. When you cut the pieces out try to match the pattern if you can, but don't get too hung up about it, whilst we are still learning about sewing.. Lets start by placing two fronts and two backs right side together and sewing the centre front and back seams.don't forget to neaten the seam edges.
Let's take a look at the machine a bit more. You will notice that there is a pull down accessory box which will hold your spare feet, screwdrivers and other accessories.
The machine has a drop in bobbin which is very easy to use as you can see easily what you are doing.
The storage box slides off to enable you to sew narrow tubes such as sleeves etc. It is a good idea to keep your manual close at hand when you are sewing as I promise you will constantly discover new things about it!
Stitch the side seams and then neaten the hem just as you did when making the shirt. Pin and stitch the remaining seam by starting at the bottom of one trouser leg and sewing right round to the bottom of the other leg. Neaten the seam.
The pattern instructions tell you how to cut a piece of elastic to fit the trousers waist
Stitch it together to make a circle and mark it into equal quarters. These markers match up the centre front, back and side seams. Stretching the elastic, and using a wide zig zag stitch sew the elastic onto the wrong side of the trousers top.
Finish the waist exactly as on the pattern instructions . Press the trousers.
This is Annie's new causal outfit made and we have explored how to begin using a sewing machine. If you do not have access to a machine these can still be made with hand sewing, so do not worry. The headband is easy to make by sewing a tube of fabric, turning it right side out and stitching a small piece of elastic to the back. Why not make one for yourself too and have something to keep the hair away from your face when removing make up etc
Teddy Bear Clothes + Build A Bear
There are shops devoted exclusively to Bears but to build up a reasonable wardrobe you would need to spend a small fortune
I found that there are hardly any sewing patterns for these bears clothes , but by sheer accident I found that the patterns for " our Generation " dolls and the like can very easily be made to fit a standard Build a bear or similar This dress for example is from a 18" dolls pattern and all I needed to do in order to make it fit was to increase the side seam and sleeve seam allowances to make it wider.This blue dress is now the perfect size!
Don't forget that bears and so on have tails so leave a gap in the centre back seam !
The original pattern - made from a Christening Gown, is the original pattern and fits the doll beautifully
I am very fond of this little outfit. The pink coat is made from a bright pink seersucker , which is very easy to sew and the trousers and top are from fat quarters of quilting cotton.These two garments, and all the rest, can easily be made wider to fit a bear, and boys clothes can be made just as easily.I hope that I have given you some ideas. Sewing small scale garments is great fun, you have a chance to be creative and you will end up with gifts.Two of my great nieces were given entire wardrobes of clothes which I enjoyed making, everything from underwear to bags was included.
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