Going crazy for pencil skirts

I set myself a challenge a few weeks ago to make a selection of outfits that I can wear into work. Working in an office means I need to be fairly smart each day, so it’s great to be able to create exactly what I want to wear from fabrics I have chosen.

My new Ultimate Pencil Skirt 

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me due to starting a new job, but I was able to squeeze in making two new pencil skirts before this.

The skirts are both based on patterns I’ve used before but the bonus with this is that I knew what I would like to amend/change from last time.

The pink floral skirt was made using the Sew Over It Ultimate Pencil Skirt pattern and a bright cotton satin (also from Sew Over It). If I’m honest the cotton satin did have stretch but probably not quite as much as I would like in a fitted skirt like this.

I graded between two sizes at the waist to make this skirt, as I’m a different size on my waist to what I am on my hips. This was fairly easy to do, it just took a bit of trial and error tacking the skirt on my machine, then trying it on to check the fit. I also reduced the length by a few inches, which is surprising me being so tall but I only wanted it to come down to my knees.

The second skirt I made was the Tilly and the Buttons Bibi Pencil Skirt, made using a very stretchy ponte roma sourced from a local shop (I can’t include a link as they aren’t online). Last time I made this project I decided I didn’t really like the waistband as it seemed to go a bit baggy after I wore it, so this time I decided to make a facing around the waistline instead that simply folds to the inside and was sewed in place using a few a stitches along the seam lines.

My Bibi Pencil Skirt 

I’m pleased with these skirts, albeit I don’t think the floral one is quite as comfortable as last time due to my fabric choice.

I’m still trying to work my way through the other projects I wanted to make for my capsule wardrobe, but I’m getting there slowly. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Until next time, happy sewing.

Becky x

 

My Sewing The Scene entry

Sewing The Scene is an online competition hosted on Instagram by @theunfinishedseamstress and encourages sewists to make something they love inspired by film or TV and share pictures of their projects by the 1st of October.

My new Coco Dress 

I gave a lot of thought to my entry wondering how I could create an outfit based around one of my favourite films or TV shows, but in the end settled for the general theme of ‘Disney’.

If I had to choose a favourite Disney character I’d go for Minnie Mouse so used this as my inspiration to make my 2018 competition entry. Minnie, as you probably know, is famous for wearing a red spotty dress. I love polka dots but felt that a red spotty outfit, although lovely, wouldn’t really fit in to my everyday wardrobe so I decided to go for a black spotty fabric instead and accessorise it with a red cardigan (from Bettie Vintage), belt and necklace (one my husband bought me for Christmas a few years ago).

I used the Tilly and the Button’s Coco pattern to make my dress, picking the fabric up from the recent Handmade Fair at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey. I loved the ponte roma material as soon as I saw it on the Sewalicious stall so had to buy it, it’s a beautiful medium weight that has spots on the outside and stripes on the inside so you could actually have a lot of fun with using both sides of the fabric if you wanted to.

Minnie Mouse in her red spotty outfit

The dress also ticks off one of the handmade makes I wanted to create for my new ‘office ready’ wardrobe too, so I’m pleased about that. I actually wore the dress out for dinner tonight and it is super snuggley – great for a cold September evening.

A close up of my dress worn with a red belt 

Are you entering the Sewing The Scene competition? It’s a fun challenge as there are so many possibilities of things you could make.

Until next time, happy sewing.

Becky x

Making myself a ‘work ready’ wardrobe

Working in an office I need to look smart each day, but the cool thing about making your own clothes is that you can choose the fabrics and designs that work best for both you and the wider work environment.

My latest Agnes Top

The Sew Over It Work to Weekend E-book literally couldn’t have been published at a better time for me. I’m just getting ready to start a new job and want to update my work outfits so the trousers and Dana Blouse from the book will be perfect.

If you have ready my blog before you will know that I generally like to make clothes that I can wear for lots of different occasions, including for work, so I thought I would make myself a little ‘to sew’ list to try to organise my sewing plans.

Patterns from the new Sew Over It E-book

1. I picked up some gorgeous black spotty ponte roma fabric from the Sewalicious stand Handmade Fair – I think this will be a great Tilly and the Buttons Coco dress.
2. I’m planning to make a plain purple Sew Over It Molly Dress, this will be great for winter to wear with thick tights. I’ve had some purple ponte roma material in my stash for ages and this will work well for this project.
3. Blouses are great to wear for the office so I’m planning a floral Sew Over It Dana Top from the latest e-book. I bought a remnant of black viscose fabric from Sewalicious to make this (this project is now cut out and ready to go).

   

   Light weight fabric I’m going to use to make my new blouse

4. Since I started making my own clothes, wearing pencil skirts has become something I now enjoy as they actually fit! My smaller waist and bigger hips just don’t work for shop-bought patterns. I’m planning my second Sew Over It Ultimate Pencil Skirt in a beautiful stretch cotton satin (I got this as part of a kit my husband got me for Christmas last year).
5. I made a Tilly and the Buttons Bibi Pencil Skirt a while ago (from the Stretch book) and have since had loads of compliments on it – so want another in my wardrobe. A stretchy skirt is really comfortable to wear in the office as well as looking smart. This also works well as I want to make more projects from the sewing books I already have rather than buying new patterns all the time.

   

   Fabric from Sew Over It I’m going to use for my new Ultimate Pencil Skirt

6. Finally, I’m hoping to make a few more plain jersey tops (the Tilly and the Buttons Coco or Agnes tops but have’t decided yet) to wear with my new skirts that can be mixed and matched over the course of the week. I often find myself swayed towards patterned fabrics when a few new plain tops would be much more practical for my everyday wardrobe.  I just need to find some suitable material now!

I’m hoping to make a start on my sewing list soon, so will keep you posted on how I’m getting on.

So far this week, I haven’t had a lot of time but managed to make a quick Agnes Top in a spotted viscose jersey I got on a recent Sew Notts meet up. I’m sure I can wear this in to work but its great to wear on the weekends too. Plus, the fabric only cost me £1 as the shop was closing down, amazing!

What are you working on at the minute? Have you made any projects from the new Sew Over It E-Book yet?

Have a good weekend,

Becky x

Visiting the Handmade Fair

I was so excited to visit Surrey this week and explore Kirstie Allsop’s Handmade Fair.

Me with my bird feeder 

If you are unfamiliar with the fair it is one of the biggest craft events around and allows visitors to take part in workshops, listen to talks and visit a number of craft-based stores exhibiting on site.

I booked tickets pretty much as soon as they went on sale and have been looking forward to attending for months.

Wanting to make the most of my day, I booked a couple of workshops themed around crafts I hadn’t tried before. I took part in a class to make a wild bird feeder which gave me the chance to have a go at basket weaving. This was actually really tricky, particularly as the willow we used was really long and seemed to have a mind of its own moving in every direction apart from where I wanted it to go in the weaving process.

I felt a bit sorry for the man running the class as he had a lot of people to help to make the bird feeders, but I think everyone had a good time and all left with their own individual project.

Meeting Tilly at the Tilly and the Buttons stand

The next 30 min class I tried was based around paper crafting. I made three butterflies using origami techniques following what the teacher was demonstrating at the front of the workshop. I’ll be honest I wasn’t very good at this but it was still cool to test out a new craft.

Paper butterflies 

There were two large tents filled full of small shops selling fabrics, craft items and jewellery, as well as two smaller tents selling food-based products (I did pick myself up possibly the best tasting brownie I have ever had there).

As well as smaller retailers being on site there were also brand names you would  recognise like Sew Over It,  Tilly and the Buttons and Sewalicious. Kirstie Allsop could also be found wandering around the event too (I was really excited about this) so I got a photo with her.

Visiting the Sew Over It stand

If you are planning to visit, I’d recommend planning your day carefully, particularity if you want to take part in a few workshops, to make sure you can fit everything in. I wished I had got more time to try out the class upcycling some old wooden pallets into a new usable storage box, but this was fully booked.

It was such a fun day and definitely worth the long trip to Hampton Court Palace and back. I’m looking forward to next year’s event already.

Have a good weekend.

Becky x

Printing PDF patterns

I was really excited to hear that Sew Over It have released a new e-book called Work to Weekend as this sounded perfect for me.

Printed patterns 

I had promised myself that I wouldn’t buy anymore patterns for a while, but I love the Sew Over It brand so had to order the latest e-book particularly as there are at least three things in there I would like to make.

Finding clothes that I can wear in to the office and out during my time off is always a challenge so hopefully these designs will fill a gap in my wardrobe.

The only thing that puts me off buying PDF patterns and e-books generally is the printing. The idea of spending hours sticking A4 pages together fills me with dread as I just want to get on with the sewing. I find it a pain having to print out the patterns and lay them out on the floor to stick together with sticky tape, if I wanted to do a paper-based craft project I would!

Me with my new patterns

Discussing the draw backs of PDF patterns with a friend, it was suggested that I try printing my patterns on A0 sized paper – completely reducing the time I would have spent sticking the A4 pages together.

I’d researched how much printing on A0 paper would cost at my local printers and was horrified to be told it would be as much as the e-book itself to do this. My friend said I should check out Net Printers as she had used them before and it was really cost effective.

It was actually really straight forward to order my printing online – I literally uploaded the files and added in my payment details. Just two days later my patterns were delivered to my door by courier, amazing. It was about £1.50p per A0 printed sheet plus delivery and I was pleasantly surprised at the good quality paper the patterns are printed on.

I will certainly print my patterns online again. Saving that vital time sticking means I can maximise my time sewing my new outfits, yey 🙂 . I only wish there was more hours in a day to squeeze in more crafting!

Not sure which pattern to make from the e-book first, the trousers and the Dana Dress both take my fancy 🙂 . I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Until next time,

Becky x

Simple Sew: Sienna Dress

With a family birthday party on the horizon last weekend, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make myself a new dress.

My new dress 

It probably sounds boring, but I hardly ever go ‘out out’ these days so the idea of going out for dancing and drinks filled me with excitement so I wanted to try to look my best for the occasion 🙂

The party was held on the Thames in Surrey in a pub and was the perfect location for people watching and catching up with old friends and family.

I didn’t know what people would wear for the party so as normal I just decided to do my own thing and wear what I felt comfortable in. I picked up some lovely mustard kitten heel shoes from Marks and Spencer and a matching cardigan from Hell Bunny so wanted to make a dress that would work with these things.

After hunting online for ages and then ordering a few things, no fabric I came across seemed to be right for my project. Then I had a brainwave and dug deep in my fabric stash to find a lovely chiffon fabric I’ve had for a while that is navy blue and has a lip design all over it. I thought this would work perfectly, so with one week to go launched into making my second Simple Sew Patterns Sienna Dress.

I got the pattern free on Sew Now Magazine last year and the design of the dress is right up my street. It is fitted into the waist and has a flared skirt. As the fabric I used was a bit see-through I lined the bodice in the same fabric I was using on the outside and lined the skirt with a black anti-static material.

A close up of my dress fabric 

This was the second time I’d tried this pattern so I tried to learn from my last attempt. I reduced the seam allowance slightly to make the dress a bit more roomy (I used a 1.2cm seam allowance instead of the 1.5cm noted on the pattern), and this time I tried the sleeveless design instead of the version with cap-sleeves.

I’m pleased with my final project, although it is may be slightly on the long side. If I decide to make a third version I may reduce the length a bit so the skirt finishes just above my knees.

Now the party is over I’m hoping to get plenty of wear out of my dress in the daytime after all what’s the harm in dressing up to go shopping or out for coffee?!

Have you tried the Sienna Dress? How did you find the pattern?

Until next time, happy sewing.

Becky x

Sewing projects ‘on the go’

This week, I thought I’d share a few sewing projects I have ‘on the go’.

A previous Simple Sew Sienna Dress I made last summer 

I don’t know about you but I often find myself day-dreaming about what I’d like to make and immediately feel the urge to start whatever my latest idea is (time permitting of course) 🙂

Life has been so busy recently though with working, trying to get fit (I’ve started to do the ‘couch to 5k) and other boring house stuff like shopping, cleaning and DIY there hasn’t been much time for sewing. However, trying to be resourceful I have cut out and started a few new projects so that when I do have time I can sit down at my machine and dive straight in!

You may have read one of my previous posts about trying to make more patterns from my sewing books – I’m challenging myself to make more projects from resources I already have rather than buying new paper patterns or downloading new patterns all the time. Plus, buying new patterns is expensive so using books I already have on the shelf should be good for my purse too!

The first project from the Sew Caroline Weekend Style Book I’ve decided to make is the Tilly T-Shirt. It’s just a really simple top, but I honestly think I can’t have too many t-shirts in my drawer, plus I can maybe use it as part of my new exercise regime! I’m going to make this in some bright pink cotton jersey I have left over from a project I made ages ago so I will keep you posted on my progress.

Weekend style book

Next on my list is another Sew Over It Cami Top. I’ve made quite a few of these already but I’d really love a plain white one to wear with patterned skirts. This project is cut out and ready to go soon 🙂

Fabric I’m using for my new Simple Sew dress 

Finally, I’ve been rushing to the finish line to make another Simple Sew Sienna Dress for a party I’m going to over the bank holiday weekend. I’m using a chiffon fabric with red lips all over it to make my new outfit. I’m really annoyed at myself that I have left it sssooo late in the day to make this but time just seems to fly by sometimes. I’ve been squeezing in 15 mins here and there though so fingers crossed this will work out.

I don’t know about you but even if I sewed non-stop for a few weeks, I’m sure I still wouldn’t be able to make all of my dream projects. If only there was more hours in a day… 🙂

What have you been making this month? Do you cut out projects so they are ready to go when you want them?

Until next time,

Becky x

Making a Mortmain Skirt

It’s my birthday this week so I decided to make myself a new skirt. I’m not really going anywhere special but I wanted to make myself something new to wear anyway, is that sad?!

My new knee length skirt

I picked up a lovely blue and cream cotton poplin fabric for about £2.50p per metre from Material Girl Fabrics (can be found by searching on Facebook) which I thought was a great bargain.

I fancied making a light-weight gathered skirt and thought the Gather Pattern called The Mortmain would fit the bill nicely. I’ve made this pattern as a dress I few times and absolutely LOVE it.

The pattern I used for this project

In order to make the skirt I literally used the two skirt pattern pieces and then added a waistband, along-with a 9 inch invisible zipper. The pattern is designed to have a pleated skirt but gathering is also an option of course.

I don’t normally go for the ‘gathered’ look mainly because it always takes me ages to make gathered skirts/dresses and I’m always a bit worried the gathering is not completely equal. Plus, I often prefer an a-line or circle skirt design but I thought I would give it another go.

I’m really happy with my new birthday skirt and will definitely wear it out for lunch.

My latest project 

Have you tried The Mortmain pattern? I’d recommend it if you haven’t – it’s one of my favourite ever patterns as it looks smart but has a relaxed fit.

Until next time, happy sewing.

Becky x

 

Making a reversible tie hat

This week’s post is focused around a project that I was asked to do by a friend who was recently diagnosed with an illness meaning she may temporarily lose her hair.

Seeing my sewing machine sat on my dining room table, my friend asked if I would be able to make her a head scarf or tie hat of some description that if needed she can wear during the course of her treatment.

Here I model the tie hat

It’s not my place to go in to the ins and outs of her illness, but I can say it is an illness that touches the lives of too many people around the world.

I felt honoured to be asked to undertake such a useful project and wanted to do my best to make something that was both comfortable to wear and stylish.

Hunting through the internet I managed to find the perfect downloadable pattern made by brimmingwithlove.com . The pattern comes with easy to follow step by step instructions, as well as including images for the more tricky steps.

A close up of the fabric I used

Having never made a reversible tie hat before, I had to concentrate on how to construct the hat as I wasn’t really sure how it would all come together.

I used a pink floral viscose fabric to make both the inside and outside layers of the project, although there is an option to use contrasting fabrics on either side if you wanted to wear different colours / patterns on different days.

I thought a floral viscose was light-weight and perfect for summer, meaning that hopefully the hat wouldn’t be too hot to wear in the warm weather we are experiencing in the UK at the moment.

The pattern actually came together really easily in the end, and I was delighted to be able to hand it over to my friend who was over the moon with her gift.

My pattern pieces before I started sewing the project

To be able to bring a little bit of joy to someones life who is battling a serious illness was amazing. Sewing is often something I do to pass the time or selfishly make myself something new, so to be able to put my skills to a much better use was amazing.

I wish my friend all the best and know that her positive attitude to life will serve her well.

Until next time,

Becky x

Sew many books

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a hoarder of sewing patterns. Recently my husband bought me a filing cabinet for the spare room with the idea that I could have two drawers for my sewing patterns and the other drawers would be used for other things.

Me reading the Stretch Book by Tilly and the Buttons

Until I was forced to delve into my drawers, on to my shelves and in to cupboards to sort out the patterns I had accumulated, I honestly didn’t realise how my ‘collection’ had grown.

Not only had I got a number of printed and pdf patterns I have purchased, I had also got loads of ‘free’ patterns I’d either been given or (in most cases) got free on sewing magazines.

As well as more than filling two drawers of my new filing cabinet – I also tided my numerous sewing books and wondered how many of these publications I had actually made projects from.

A few of my sewing books

So, I made a promise to myself that firstly I would donate my unwanted patterns to my local charity shop (this was before the recent ‘pattern swap’ hosted on Instagram) and that I would make more clothing and craft projects from my much loved books that in the past I’ve spent ages browsing through but not done much else with!

First on my list are both of the Tilly and the Buttons books, followed by the Sew Caroline Weekend Projects book that I bought myself for my birthday last year.

Inside the Sew Caroline Weekend Style book – a project I hope to make soon

I will keep you posted on my progress 🙂

Do you have lots of sewing books? Have you made many of the patterns? I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you made and what you enjoyed.

Until next time, happy sewing.

Becky 🙂