Sewing a Nautical BURDA Anchors Shirtdress

This is a #MCBN post.

What a fabulous dress this is. Shirtdresses are so fashionable at the moment and this dress not only ticks that box but it has a nautical theme and can be worn with or without a net petticoat. This dress is made in stretch cotton but picture it in a floaty cotton lawn too. However you make it this is one stunning dress.
The fabric is very well behaved, and easy to sew for all abilities. I love the anchors don't you! And the buttons are just stunning!

Please do follow the link under  read the full post on the Minerva Craft Blogger Network . It explains how I made it, and what fabrics I used and how you can make one yourself.

Anchors dress on MCBN

And do leave me your comments,They are very much appreciated.

Thank you

Angela x 

How I made My white lace pintucked blouse

A Jaycotts.co.uk blog post 

This is how I made my beautiful lace pintucked blouse and how I wear it without looking too "girly" Thanks to the wonderful Alex Jaycott for his input into my  adventure with corded pintucks.

If you don't have a pair of leather trousers do go and try some on right now, they are an effort to get into I admit, well my skinny ones are , but they are the most comfortable thing ever. I love lace but for me it needs to look edgy rather than girly, so this pretty blouse will be worn with my leather pants and upcycled leather biker jacket. I will show you how I blinged my jacket later.

To give you a view of what we are going to make this is the front whilst It is being worn. The shape is very flattering with a fitted waist and lots of pintucks to create shape.

I must stress that if you do not want to do pintucks then gathers are quite acceptable, but do at least try them

How I made my BY HAND Anna Dress. A Minerva Blogger Network Post

A BEAUTIFUL EVENING DRESS

I had such a great time choosing the fabrics for this post. I wanted to try a brand of pattern which I had never used before and this By Hand pattern, named Anna, really appealed  to me.  I am enjoying making and wearing garments made from the new pattern houses which are emerging. This one in particular fits well with little adjustment, the instructions are very easy to follow and the overall effect is extremely flattering. If you have not tried one of the new pattern houses yet then I do urge you to take the plunge. You wont be disappointed! The link to the pattern is below. Please note that this particular pattern is now only available to download,  the paper version is sadly no longer available. This design can quite easily be copied on any simple dress pattern though, so don't be put off

BY HAND PATTERNS

I am lucky in that I do get to wear a lot of evening dresses both long and short, so it was an easy decision for me to want to make the long version of the dress. I decided against the slit in the skirt seam as it can be very draughty in hotels!

Using an Overlocking foot on your regular sewing machine .Making warm jersey tops.

A review for Jaycotts.co.uk 

Do you have an overlocker? They are great and I would not be without mine, I love owning one, but sometimes it seems too much hassle to re-thread it when you only want to overlock one thing, or you do not want to go out and buy overlock threads in a colour you will not use again.

What is the answer?  I recently made this stretch jersey top using just my sewing machine with an overlock foot. I have to say it was no trouble at all to switch feet and choose a different  stitch in fact it was quick and enjoyable.

I found a piece of this unusual burnout fabric at Abakhan Fabrics. It is a soft feel stretch jersey, there was just enough to make a top.

How to make bags, totes and wallets Perfect for gifts!

I love making bags, there is something satisfying about using up remnants of fabric to make something practical (and free) Whenever I make a coat or jacket I always make some sort of bag to use when wearing it, especially now that we need to take a larger bag shopping with us. It is an opportunity to be a bit creative too and use trimmings that would otherwise me overwhelming on a garment.

These are two toiletry bags which I made out of leftover fabric. Have you seen how expensive they are to buy in the shops! A length of bag interfacing will make you lots of bags, then you just need a fastener.  I will talk about magnetic snaps and zips in each section.

All of my bag making supplies are from Jaycotts.co.uk,  take a look at the link  HERE  They sell handles, snaps, interfacings and everything else you will need including patterns and some fabulous templates so you can design your own.

The pattern I am using is this one and in this post I am making a bag and two envalope wallets using an interfacing called   DECOVIL which is a firm but flexible stabiliser for bags, and also some FUSIBLE VOLUME FLEECE which is easier to use