Cosying up in cuddle fleece

 Cold evenings just lend themselves to this snuggly cuddly fleece. Just picture yourself all toasty snuggled up with your book or favourite  TV programme 

Nothing could be easier to make, and with so much  fabric choice you can not go wrong .

How fabulous it will be to make these for children You could add an applique design to the front- a Christmas design maybe, or whatever you fancy. Just a simple heart or a star in sequin  fabric will be fabulous

Fleece fabric can be bought from lots of outlets and in lots of designs 

I use MinervaCrafts Fleece Fabric 

There are lots of other places to purchase it too, so take a look at your favourite fabric store 

The pattern is from Jaycott.co.uk The one I used is Simplicity S9019 but take a look at all their sleepwear patterns for the whole family Simplicity Sleepwear patterns from Jaycotts

Why do I recommend  nightwear and lounge wear so much for beginners  sewing projects?

Sewing can be daunting at first and like everything else it can only be learned by actually doing it. Pyjamas for yourself or a child are generally easy to sew and most importantly  they help to hone your measuring skills, you learn  the importance of cutting out correctly  and  you can practice  sewing straight seams. If you make a tiny mistake no-one will know as you are wearing it indoors. So they are great practice garments and that is why I recommend them for beginners. 

There is another source of fleece fabric , fleece blankets can be purchased very cheaply in various shops and although they may be a suitable size for a top you can always make the pants in another fabric as the pattern shows.

You may not like this idea but charity shops are great sources of fabric. Blankets can be purchased new very  cheaply,  duvet covers and sheets are perfect for toilles  or practice garments.

Just give your haul a good wash and add some dettol laundry cleanser or a cap full of Zoflora to the final rinse and all will be well.

I am not giving a specific  tutorial for these pyjamas, there are plenty on this link 

Sewing for Newbies  so do read a few of my posts.

One thing I will say is that fleece makes a terrible  mess when sewing and cutting out.

It is important  for your sanity to overlook or zigzag close to the edge of all your fabric pieces immediately  after cutting out.

You always must wash your fabric before cutting out as most, but not all ,fabrics  shrink by up to 10% and you don't want any nasty shocks when you wash your new garment for the first time,

The fabric will shed when you are cutting out and be prepared by having a vacuum  cleaner and clothes brush close at hand. You will definitely  need to clean  the fluff out of your machines after sewing and also you will need to wash your finished garment before wearing it to get rid of the last bits of fluff.

This is a lovely  cosy outfit for winter and you will really appreciate  wearing it.

Do choose your favourite pattern ( a sweatshirt would be good too ) and take a look at all the many designs of fleece fabric available and have fun.

I would love to see your fleece PJs or onesies so do share your photos  on my social media channels 

Happy sewing 

Angela

Sewangelicthreads 

Very Pretty In Pink. A lovely dress in Art Gallery Jersey Knit

 This is a Minerva Crafts Blogger Network Post.

                                       Pretty In Pink 

A Beautiful Dress In Art Gallery Fabrics,  Lets Chalk Joyful Stretch Jersey Knit Dress Fabric

This fabric certainly is Joyful, I love the white design on this beautiful bright pink.

The fabric itself is 95% Pima Cotton with 5% Spandex which means that it stretches (and recovers) with ease. It is a medium weight fabric so perfect for a dress

The tutorial for this simple, elegant dress is on The MinervaCrafts web site, so do hop over to read it and hopefully make it.

    Click here                     Very Pretty In Pink

 Thank you  to Minerva for this absolutely gorgeous fabric 

                                         Angela

                                  Sewangelicthreads

 

Vogue V881 Straight leg trousers

The vogue Custom Couture Collection by Claire Sheaffer. 

Straight leg trousers 

A Jaycotts post 

Fashion trends are slightly turning away from nothing but skinny leg trousers and jeans,which don't always suit our shape. Straight leg trousers give a very balanced appearance to the figure and are more flattering.
This pattern is available from Jaycotts Vogue V7881 Trouser pattern

This is a Vogue designer pattern and I love it. The pattern envelope states that the instructions are easy to follow and I certainly found that to be correct.

The Jalie Bra

The Jalie Bra

What a strange world this is at the moment. One day life went on as normal but the next we couldn't go out, it was a struggle to purchase food and strangely, toilet rolls and life changed dramatically.

Some people have coped remarkably well, others not so much. Whatever our experience of this frightening virus one thing we can be certain of is that life will never be the same again.

Simple things such as what to wear when stuck indoors posed many problems ,I think most of us went through the Pyjama stage but it wasn't ideal. "Office wear" became a cross between lounge wear and casual. The one thing which women in their thousands did was to ditch structured underwired Bras for the comfort of softer Bralet's.

I was no exception and took to making my own and learning a new skill

Vogue Nightwear in fabulous Art Gallery fabrics

A #MCBN post

Vogue Nightwear in fabulous Art Gallery fabrics

I saw a  pattern when I was browsing and although it is nothing like I have ever worn I wanted to make it.
One of my favourite fabric Brands is Art Gallery Fabrics and it took me no time at all to decide to use this combination of print and plain to make the garments

I was not disappointed!
This is an absolutely gorgeous outfit and I love it so much.  It is extremely comfortable to wear, it is fun and so different to what is available ready made.

There is also a camisole which I made with the leftovers.

To read this post and find out more about the fabric and pattern please click on this link
Vogue Nightwear in fabulous Art Gallery fabric

I do hope that you follow this link and read my post.
Thank you MinervaCrafts for the beautiful fabric

Angela

Pyjamas and lounge wear

All about our favourite clothes to relax in - pyjamas and lounge wear 

I love pyjamas don't you? They are so wonderful for relaxing in after a hard day working at the sewing machine. They are something which, at least in my case, are the garments I spend least on yet I love them so much.

I decided to address this immediately and kit myself out in PJs made only in premium cotton.

The pattern is straightforward and you can choose design features which appeal to you. The tops have optional pockets but I left them off. You have a choice of sleeve length and there are shorts as well as trousers.

These three  fabrics were actually from Seasalt but they are no longer in stock. You will want to choose your own colours anyway so may I suggest either a. Cotton lawn or a cotton Voile.
Cotton Lawn
Cotton Voile
Both of these come in a wide range of colours, designs and prices

Face coverings - handmade by me

Face coverings handmade just for you 

I don't know about you but I am appalled at the amount of plastic face coverings littering our streets. Not only is it unhealthy for us and animals it poses a real threat to the environment.

All ready to be posted out 

Face Coverings still carry the virus three days after disposing of them. Pause a moment to consider that.

Let me tell you how this all started. Simply I was making face masks and giving them away. I couldn't afford to do this anymore but there are people who need them who cannot afford them.
I still wanted to help them and so I decided that I would make some to sell and the prophet would all go towards buy new materials and postage to be able to help other people. So you can be assured that when you purchase one from me me you are also helping another person, which in itself is a great kindness

Sewing stretch Fabrics the easy way

Sewing for Beginners

An easy to sew dress in fabulous Stretch Velour

I have had such a lot of good feedback from my previous post for Jaycotts about sewing stretch fabrics that I decided to show you a very easy to make and extremely easy to wear stretch dress.

If you think that stretch fabrics are not for you then think again. A figure hugging garment in the correct size looks great on most figures.

This is how to wear a stretch dress

• Don't make it too clingy or it will show up the lumps and bumps we all have.
• Choose a thicker fabric with just a small amount of stretch 
• Choose a darker colour and possibly a print
• Wear the correct underwear - there is a lot of very good shapewear and it will help you to feel confident
• Don't be frightened of accentuating your waist with a wide belt

The pattern I chose is McCall's 6886 it can be ordered from Jaycotts on this link.

It is a pattern which uses a medium weight, moderate stretch jersey knit fabric, so it is perfect for what we want.

The Blue Dress

The Blue Dress 

A MinervaCrafts Blogger Network post 

We all need a special dress in our wardobe, something which makes us feel and look fabulous but which is easy to wear.

This stunning blue dress is perfect for parties and I can't wait to wear it. 

The fabric and pattern are as follows....

But wait! I do want you to read the whole post so head on over to MinervaCrafts website and all will be revealed The Blue Dress

Not only will you find out what the fabric and patterns are you will learn about negative ease and lengthening a pattern and much more! 

Thank you for reading this post, it is appreciated

#sewangelicthreads

Get the fit right! The denim pencil skirt with exposed zipper

Why go to the trouble of making a beautiful garment if it does not fit you perfectly?

Labels

Exposed zipper

Fitting

Top stitching 

I don't know about you but I read a lot of blogs and I see a lot of people showing themselves wearing lovely hand made clothes which quite frankly just do not fit.

What's the point? Why go to all that trouble and expense only to end up with a garment which is either too big, or worse far too small?

I bought some stretch denim Stretch Denim from MinervaCrafts as I wanted to make a skirt. Some stretch fabrics - as this one does, just stretch across the width, some stretch in all directions. You need to ensure that with a two way stretch fabric the stretch goes across the garment.