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.

Thursday 23 April 2020

Vogue 8825 in Lady McElroy "Bolton" stretch jersey knit.



A Minerva Crafts Blogger Network post 

How to sew Stretch fabrics.


Lady McElroy Fabrics are very high quality and are superb to work with. This one, named Bolton, is a 96% viscose 4% spandex Jersey Fabric. It is fluid and drapes well and the print is just stunning. 
To complement the fabric I chose Vogue V8825. There are two choices of outfits to sew in this pattern, a dress and a tunic and trousers.
I had intended to make the tunic but when I looked at the fabric I realised that I had just about enough to make the dress if I was inventive with cutting out........



..... Please do read the rest of the post, the link to this and other Lady McElroy fabrics is on the post, together with a pattern review and tutorial.

Lady McElroy is one of my favourite fabric brands and I hope you will love them too
The post is here. The lady McElroy Bolton dress


 There are lots of other photos on the post too. 



Stretch fabrics - used for sportswear in the program - are featured in the GBSB 2019

I would love your comments

Angela





Do watch my YouTube video all about other dresses on my blog 

Elegant Poppy Dress


My Beautiful Poppies dress 

Sometimes magic happens with sewing and by sheer chance the perfect fabric and fabric combination happens. This is what happened to me when I received this fabric to try and this pattern literally jumped out at me when I went into my sewing room to see what I could make.

I absolutely adore this dress. It is the most elegant one I have seen in a long time and I am looking forward to wearing it very much, It is perfect for any occasion, I only wish I had a wedding to attend as it would look stunning.





 The style could not be simpler. A boat neckline, princess seams and a gathered skirt with a belt which ties in a bow at the front.

The fabric is  a cotton poplin  which has a beautiful poppy print on a black background. Cotton poplin poppy print fabric



But don't stop reading yet - please read the full post on this link  Elegant poppies dress


Thank you to Minerva fabrics for this beautiful poppy print






The Sewing Workshop Liberty Shirt

A MCBN post

The Sewing Workshop liberty shirt


If there are two things I love they are Art Gallery Fabrics and The Sewing Workshop patterns.
Lucky for me this post uses both.

The fabric is Endless Paradise Chambray  from the Denim Studio collection by Art Gallery Fabrics.  This has to be my favourite fabric brand.  I love their innovative designs and the quality of the fabric is superb.
This pattern is suitable for beginners who have a bit of sewing knowledge. The instructions are superb.







I am sure that you too will want to make this fabulous shirt so do follow this link to read the rest of the post and find out how to order fabric and pattern.

I know you will love this shirt too
Angela 






Monday 6 April 2020

Sewing for total beginners - a Simple jacket, top and pants

This is a Jaycotts.co.uk blog post.


Kwik Sew 4250 Jacket, top and pants. A blog post for total beginners or those returning to sewing after a break.



This is the three piece loungewear outfit and isn't it fabulous!






I thought long and hard over this blog post.
The first thing I considered was how much detailed instructions to give, and how much opportunity should I allow for you to follow the actual pattern instructions. It is vital that we are able to read a pattern but I appreciate that they don't always make sense. I hope that I achieved a balance which is right for you.

The pattern I used is this one Kwik Sew pattern K4250
I love Kwik Sew patterns - view the range here Kwik Sew Patterns at Jaycotts
They are good for all levels, have a good design range and are printed on better quality tissue paper than most.



This is the range of fabrics which I used to make each garment featured in the pattern. These fabrics are a very good quality quilting weight cotton from - believe it or not - Jaycotts! They are only available in store at the moment. You cannot buy them online.
You will however easily find good quality pure cotton in most fabric shops. Do choose a medium weight or quilting weight cotton as it will make sewing your garments so much easier.
Mix and match colours however you like, sewing is all about making something which you enjoy wearing.
By the way these particular fabrics are quite narrow, Dress fabrics tend to be wider.

If I could make another suggestion as to fabric comfortable for lounge wear, I would choose a Cotton Lawn it is easy to work with and comes in at all sorts of prices .do take a look.

Fashion is very personal. I showed the pattern we will be using to some friends and asked them where they would wear it, some said lounge wear, some said beach, some said everyday wear, all depending on the fabric chosen.
I have worn my garments in different ways and matched them with other garments and I wanted to leave it to you to decide where and when you are going to wear your lovely new garments without influencing you.


 We are going to start by making the jacket. The pants and top will follow in another blog post. I didn't want to put you off by doing too much all in one go!
In the next post I will show you how I styled all of my garments and there will be photographs.
These are the fabrics I chose to use for  the jacket. We are always told never to mix prints but never be afraid to bend the rules , these two prints actually sit very well together.