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

Sewing for Beginners - Fabric, Cutting out, and Patterns

This is a Jaycotts Post

All about Sewing Patterns, Fabrics and Cutting out.

It is daunting knowing where to start isn't it, so I am going to talk about the basics of cutting out and why you need to follow the guidelines on your sewing pattern.  I am making two garments, one in velvet the other in suiting and at the end of the post you should be well on your way to cutting out with confidence.

You can start with any garment but I have chosen a pair of straight leg trousers which are actually simple to make and always look good on.
All the links to patterns and haberdashery are given in the post making it easy for you to place you order with Jaycotts
When choosing a pattern consider what styles you already own and like and look for patterns which are similar. After a while you will want to make garments which are new to you, so it is a good idea to go and try clothes on and  to take a photograph if at all possible, then you can look for patterns in a similar style.

Very easy, very cute Christmas Decorations .

My Christmas Blog post

A Jaycotts.co.uk blog post

I wanted to show you how to make some very easy Christmas decorations and table accessories.
These are perfect for you to sew with your children as no special skills are needed for any of them
This post also talks about how to make a narrow rolled hem on your overlocker.

 These are some of the items which I am going to show you how to make, they are all easy inexpensive and fun.

You will need a pattern . This one is by Simplicity and is sadly no longer available available . However I found templates for stars, snowmen, gingerbread men and much more by searching for Free Templates on Google. So you can still make these.

 There are other simple toy pattern's in the range at Jaycotts  so do take a look.
Including Christmas decorations patterns

There are more gift ideas in this section Craft and home patterns
And lots of cute toys and dolls clothes too Toys and dolls clothes


You will need some felt pieces in assorted colours,  There are plenty of colour choices plus some sparkly ones see the range here  Various Felt available widely from craft stores to fabric shops and more. I used sparkly felt in white, green and black as well as other plain colours. You choose which ones you like best, there are no Rules!

When making the smaller ornaments I found it easier to photocopy the pieces and to cut them out in thin card so that I could then draw around them on the wrong side of the felt to make cutting out easier.
I am starting with the stars which I think are really cute, and I am using white felt which has a sparkle all over it.
Cut the felt shapes out and mark the position for the eyes and the mouth. You will need to embroider the mouth with a back stitch or a stem stitch. The eyes are safety eyes and are available from MinervaCrafts you will need various sizes according to which decorations you are making. The sizes are included on the back of the pattern envelope. Toy safety eyes these are also widely available.
The cheeks are made by colouring them with a soft red pencil. You could use a touch of blusher  or lipstick, but practise on a spare piece  of felt first.Once done the features sew two stars together with a blanket stitch, or even  a straight stitch or to be honest any stitch you fancy so long as it is small. Enclose a hanging thread at the top. This can be ribbon or string or a thick embroidery thread as I used. Remember to leave a gap so that you can stuff it.

how to make a MANS or Boys TIE

How to  make a Mans tie

When it comes to making gifts for men ties are incredibly simple and even when made up in expensive silks are still a lot cheaper to make than to buy in the shops.

so, for Father's Day or when you have a birthday or Christmas and need a gift for a man make him one of these. I assure you he will be delighted with it and in awe of your talent! 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A TIE

for our next project we are going to make the mans tie. This is made in a cheaper fabric as a Test or Toille. Later we will make it in silk, satin or a Liberty Tana Lawn - or why not use a Christmas fabric?

There are plenty of tie patterns , I used this one Tie pattern

For a first attempt make it up as a toille in a fabric you already have - I used a printed cotton, just to get the feel of it, and then be creative and make it in whatever takes your fancy.
Make sure that you choose a good quality sew in interfacing in  a weight to complement the fabric whilst remaining pliable. I used Vilene Light weight sew- in

You now have your pattern and material,  so here goes. (This bit applies to any project by the way, not just the mans tie.)

Cut out all the pattern pieces and lay them on your fabric taking note of the grain line which will be clearly marked. On this pattern the pieces are cut on the bias. (Ask me to demonstrate if you are not sure)
The next step is to transfer all the pattern markings onto the fabric. Dont skip this step as it makes it easier for you and makes for an accurate fit whatever you are sewing.

,

My fabulously Fishy Frock!

My Fabulous Fishy Frock

A MCBN post

I fell in love with this beautiful fabric as soon as I saw it. The more I look at it the more detail I can see. The fabric design is totally made from fish shapes, and they have incredible expressions on their faces. There is a close up of this amazing fabric and details of how to purchase it on the link below .

I was intending to make a shirt but the fabric was screaming full- skirt dress at me. I looked through all of my patterns and couldn't find one I liked. So I ordered some new ones.

When my new dress patterns arrived I kept looking at them and still couldn't find a way of maximising the design by having as few seams as possible. The new patterns all had too many seams and even careful pattern matching wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want to have a centre front seam or a two part sleeve as one of my new patterns has for example.................

Read the rest of the post to see what happened next!

Here is the link My fabulous Fishy Frock

Enjoy! 

Angela

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 Little Black Dress

The little Black Dress

Everyone needs a turn-to dress in their wardrobe and this one is a basic staple that you will wear time and time again.

Mine is made in Black Velour with an embroidered Gold dot , but you can choose any knit fabric you prefer - Ponte Roma would be a good choice.

You have probably noticed that my blog posts feature simple garments most of the time. I am a fully qualified Tailor but on the whole I want to encourage people who haven't sewn much to have a go. There is no better feeling in the world than someone admiring your dress and you replying " thanks, I made it".
Even if you are a seasoned sewer I hope that you still learn something new - I am learning constantly.

Bollywood. Indian style Dress.

Bollywood. Exploring different cultures and fashions.

The Duchess of Cambridge wore outfits similar to this on her recent tour of Pakistan.

A Jaycotts post.

One of my life long hobbies is dance. I learned ballroom and Latin and loved them but more recently I decided to explore something I have always wanted to do and that is Belly Dancing. This has led to Bollywood dancing and of course I need to research and make outfits  to dance in, which is immense fun 

I need a Bollywood outfit for an event next month and this led me to exploring Asian fashion.

The Shalwar Kameez is a two part outfit consisting of a tunic top and pants and it is what we are going to make in this post.

Traditionally worn by Punjabi women the Salwar (trousers) and Kameez (tunic) have been westernised somewhat in this pattern, and there are lots of variations on style and fabrics.

The top that nearly never was ........

 A MCBN post

I made this beautiful top from. Lady McElroy cotton jersey, and I love it.

It was a near disaster at first though! Intrigued?

Read on and find out how I rescued a "huge" (in every sense of the word) problem! I guarantee you will laugh.

The link to read the rest of the post is The top that nearly never was

I would love you to be brave enough to show your near disasters too

Angela

 #Sewangelicthreads

Sewing for Beginners. The Lady in Red - a fab dress or top in Ponte Roma .

This a post for Jaycotts.co.uk

The Lady in Red (Ponte Roma)

Sewing with Moderately stretch knits for beginners .

There are many different fabrics which stretch, some more difficult to sew than others. Some just stretch along the width, others will stretch every way, and it is these we want to avoid .
This fabric is called Ponte Roma and it is a delight to sew. Some knit fabrics can be extremely challenging even for experienced sewers - the edges curl up, it stretches out of shape as you sew it and you need special equipment such as a walking foot and a LOT of patience!

Ponte Roma can be purchased from Minerva.com Ponte Roma there are lots of choices both in colour and price so do take a look
Ponte Roma is a double knit fabric, so it looks the same on both sides. It doesn't have much stretch and this factor alone makes it easy to sew, even for a beginner.
It is easy to care for and it can be tumble dried.
A word of warning though. Although it doesn't shrink very much, a strong colour like this red bleeds,  and if you do not wash it before sewing you will end up with dye stains on just about everything - the ironing board cover, your underwear and even your sewing machine.  Don't say I didn't warn you!