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 3 October 2019

Summer Pants and Cheesecloth Tops


I have wanted to make these trousers for a while, I made a wearable toile (or test garment) and I am so glad I did! 

I also wanted to make some Cheesecloth Tops and I hand dyed some of a plain white fabric to make them with . More about that later






This is a fabulous outfit and I absolutely love it, but it was not without its problems!

Problems are just puzzles to be solved in my opinion and I enjoy the creative thinking required to sort them out.



This is the Pietra Trousers by Closet Case Patterns . I have made the Ginger Jeans many times and love them so much that I made five pairs!


Tuesday 10 September 2019

This is how I altered a coat pattern to make a simple raincoat.

This is a jaycotts.co.uk  Blog post


First published 20/06/2016


I have wanted to make myself a cheery raincoat for a very long time but just could not find a pattern. In the end , determined to have my raincoat, I did some rather major alterations to an ordinary coat pattern. The pattern has princess seams which would have spoiled the rather beautiful pattern,  so they needed eliminating,  as did some of the shaping because I wanted a straight style. Do you want to make one too? There are some things you need to bear in mind,  but it's not that difficult I promise.





This is the finished coat.  I used a ripstop fabric in a very colorfully print called Ellies. I purchased it from WhiteTreeFabrics.com but do sadly this was the last piece. However I never like to dictate to you exactly what fabric you should use, we all have very different tastes. What you  need to look out for though is a RIP-STOP fabric or a showerproofed cotton. For the linings I chose a firm shot taffeta. With the raincoat outer being quite firm it called for a stiffer lining than normal. I chose a darker colour than my  main  fabric.



And yes, the rather cute 60s style fabric does have elephant's on it!








This is the pattern, it is Mccalls M7058 and you can buy it from jaycotts.co.uk  by clicking on this link  Mccalls M7058 at Jaycotts.co.uk
It is a lovely pattern with lots of variations to choose from. I wanted the style which has the hood, and as I bought the last of this roll of fabric there was only enough to make the mid-length version. Which was what I wanted anyway!




Wednesday 14 August 2019

Setting up a Dress Form or Mannequin


Setting up a Dress Form



An invaluable tool for any dressmaker or Tailor - male or female - is a mannequin which is as close to your own body measurements as possible.
It makes fitting easier, and it gives you the opportunity to try different techniques such as draping.  The cost, depending on which model you purchase equates to a basic sewing machine, so they are not very expensive.

The dress form I have now is the Lady Valet Traditional Dress Form
But there are others including for men and for fitting trousers
Dress Forms from Jaycotts.co.uk




Friday 9 August 2019

How to Sew Palazzo trousers


What a fantastic holiday outfit this is. Palazzo trousers are so comfortable and flattering you will want to make several pairs. I had fabric left over from mine and made a very simple shell top to wear with them, the outfit is a total winner, perfect for warm days . I made this when I spent a summer living on Corfu




Friday 10 May 2019

Palazzo pants and a darted printed top

A short pattern hack 

This is a continuation of a previous blog post Sew yourself Cropped pants and a matching top

The last post was an embroidered pair of crop trousers with a top featuring the same embroidery. I appreciate that some of you have no desire to embroider by machine or hand so this is another idea - Block Printing. 



 Everything is the same as in the previous post
All of the machines, zip, thread and habberdashery etc are from Jaycotts.co.uk Contact Jaycotts