ABOUT ME

I am Angela and I love to sew. I started sewing as a child and by the time I was a teenager I was wearing the very latest fashions to go out in. All me-made. I am passionate about reducing the amount of textiles sent to landfill, and encourage you to repurpose fabrics and clothes I started this blog in order to have a way in which to pass on my gained knowledge, and my professional knowledge to you, Sewing is empowering, you can save money by making items, make money by selling then, You can pass your knowledge on to others. What is there not to love? Interestingly I am a direct descendant of the Flemish weavers who came over to England in the 1300's. I find that fascinating especially as most of my family from as far back as I can trace are somehow involved in the manufacturing of fabric . . I have a degree in tailoring with a special interest in WW2 fashion.

Sunday 29 April 2018

The Brother Multi-Purpose Screwdriver

Introducing the Brother Multi-purpose Screwdriver


I love Machine embroidery on my Brother machine, but I have been having problems hooping my fabric and stabiliser .

This is a story about how a tiny gadget saved my sanity.




I  love machine embroidery, who doesn't, but  the results I was getting were so disappointing, all this puckering, it just doesn't look nice.

Saturday 28 April 2018

Explore some different Brother Sewing Machine feet and make a fab blouse


This is a Jaycotts.co.uk blog post

Starting to explore different machine feet.


Labels

Gathering foot
Scalloped edge
Monogram foot
French seam
Buttonhole foot 
mcCallPatternUk


As you know I recently started to use the Brother Innov-is 1300 .If you have not yet read my first impressions of this incredible machine then I urge you to read the blog post. Introducing the Brother Innov-is 1300




I do have rather a lot of Brother machine feet to get through so I am going to go through them all for you one or two at a time, showing them being used on a garment or other project.


The pattern I chose to make is McCalls M7657
The fabric is Plain combed cotton Lawn from MinervaCrafts
This top is tunic  style which pulls over your head. There are two sleeve options but I adapted the pattern to make the sleeves in a different style.
You will need Gutterman Sew All thread in white
You also need a new Sewing machine needle For Lawn I would choose a Fine one. This link is to a large box of machine needles which is great value but they are also sold in smaller packs.




Wednesday 18 April 2018

Introducing the fabulous Brother Innov-is 1300

The Brother Innov-is 1300 from Jaycotts.co.uk

An introduction.

This is one of the most amazing domestic sewing machines I have ever used, and of course it is by my favourite brand Brother from my favourite store Jaycotts.



 The Brother Innov-is 1300 ticks all the boxes both for versatility and ease of use. It is packed with so many features that I cannot hope to go over them all in this one post, so I am going to concentrate on getting you up and running.
It is fabulous for both dressmaking and quilting having just over 8" workspace to the right of the needle, quilters will know the importance of this.

Thursday 12 April 2018

Vogue 1246 Designer shirt by Lynn Mizono in Linen Fabric



 This is a Pattern review for this fabulous designer shirt/ jacket by the American designer Lynn Mizono.

Labels 

Tacking, marker pens, tailors chalk,


I am delighted with this fantastic Vogue pattern and with the whole outfit



The pattern is from Jaycotts and can be purchased here Vogue 1246. The fabric is quite old and I have been longing to use it for ages but never could decide what to do with it. I thought it perfect for this jacket though, and even though there wasn't enough fabric for the entire garment I decided to go ahead anyway. It is an embroidered linen with flower applique on it, purchased as I said several years ago.There was just enough to cut out the main body of the jacket and a small piece was left over for the contrast panel on the top. I had another piece of linen in the same weight but plain. This went into making the sleeves and collar and the trousers. My final piece of linen went into making the bulk of the top. It was a bit of trial and error with pattern placement bit in the end the fabrics go together very well.