Patterns

Friday, May 22, 2015

Really Easy high waist shorts


I absolutely love my high waist, vintage style shorts. They are so quick and easy to make and I have made them in an assortment of colors for myself.





They should take no more than an two hours to make (if not one, depending on how prepared you are and how fast you work), and can be made in just 10 easy steps

I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I do! Click on the button to the right of my blog to go to my online store and get yourself the digital version of this pattern now!




While making the denim pair for the instructions I was inspired to add some brass buttons I had lying around... the result was fabulous! Feel free to play around with embellishments for your shorts too, you can really have so much fun with these!


HAPPY SEWING!



Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Tacking or basting stitch


A loose, looped stitch used for tacking purposes, or as I call it, loose tacking. This is a simple, large hand stitch that is used in sewing, usually to hold something in place temporarily or to show pattern markings. It is also known as basting.


I am as guilty as the next seamstress, yes I have tried to use pins instead of tacking stitches before... usually it ends up with blood being drawn and machine sewing needles being broken... I might have even cried with frustration once or twice, but I can say I have learnt my lesson... and hopefully those reading this can learn from my mistakes too.

It can seem like a waste of time, and sometimes you might feel that it is better to use pins instead, this stitch helps not hinders. The short amount of time you would take to tack or baste something together, will help you save time and stress from fighting with your fabric while trying to feed it through your sewing machine, or fighting pins (and shedding blood) while trying to sew or even hoping that pressing will be enough to keep a seam in place so that it holds its shape and size (it often does not).

This is a temporary stitch and is meant to be removed once the garment has been completed, or the seam has been sewn into place.


It is usually a long straight stitch, but a loose X stitch can be used at times too.

This stitch can also be used to temporarily attach parts of the garment together to allow for fittings, that way when changes need to be made to individual parts of a garment, the stitches can be easily unpicked to allow for this to happen. This stitching function can also be done by machine, where you can sew using your largest, loosest stitch function.

You would also use tacking when it comes to creating gathers in a garment, quickly sewing a loose stitch and then pulling the thread through until the garment is the desired length with the right amount of gathering.


This is such a simple stitch, but I do feel it is important enough for me to mention it in a blog post as not only can it save you time and effort but it can and will help you to produce a better quality garment.

I have created a short you tube video for you to look at to see how to create a tacking stitch from scratch (click on the YouTube button to the right of the page), I hope it helps.


Happy Sewing!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Bare bottomed... well, almost!

Oh my goodness! I stripped down to my knickers for my fans last night. o_O

While bravely parading around almost bare bottomed, and trying my best to look as if I have hips (I have a straight figure and am not as well endowed in that area as I would like), I was reminded of how close we are to winter in the cool evening.

I persevered though, and promised to reward myself with one of my home baked date and citrus muffins afterwards (with a hot cup of coffee).


Here are a few shots I managed to pull off for you guys, remember to pop into my online store (click on the button to the right to visit my store) and keep an eye out on this blog space as soon I will be posting the free tutorial on how to add suspenders to your vintage style knickers.



And I have decided that since I love my sewing fans so much, for the first 10 people to purchase this pattern, I will throw in a free g-string pattern! (Will be emailed to you shortly after receiving your purchase confirmation email). Thank you everyone for your wonderful support.

Happy Sewing!


Saturday, May 9, 2015

Excited about knickers

I spent my Friday afternoon grading knickers, it was wonderful.

Sounds a little weird, but I loved it, there is an art to making a great pattern, and spending time creating one, drawing in the curves and calculating the sizing (or grading), has almost a Zen effect on me.

I can get lost for hours in my pattern making, but yesterday’s pattern making session was especially necessary. The past two weeks have been nothing short of chaos, we decided it was time to move house so that my business could expand, being a bridal dressmaker and pattern creator was simply no longer doing well in a single bedroom cottage. So finally we gave in and bought ourselves a beautiful four bedroom house.

The house is still a stack of half unpacked boxes, but the two most important rooms are somewhat organised. My sewing room (Yay! I have my own sewing space... it’s AMAZING!) and the kitchen... need to be able to bake those muffins!

We are busy putting the finishing touches, and last lick of paint on the walk-in closet (a very important room indeed!) then the rest of the house will slowly become organised too.

The move was exciting and stressful, so a good pattern making session is always welcome. I am loving my new high-waist, vintage style knickers (I always make the sample for myself first), I’ll post a few pictures soon, and I promise to have the pattern up and available as soon as possible, I have created the rough draft by hand, now comes the time consuming part of turning it into a digital pattern. It will be available in sizes 6 to 22! So everyone can give it a try.

I am also looking at doing a free tutorial on how to add suspenders to them as an optional extra! This may take time as it will be my first time doing such a thing, but as soon as I have come right I will definitely share my process with you.


Thank you to my fans and your wonderful patience during my move. I hope you enjoy my patterns (click on the button to the right to go to my online store), and most importantly, HAPPY SEWING!

Friday, May 8, 2015

Stylish Sunglass Pouches

After creating the free tutorial (see below) for the cellphone pouch for Mother's Day, I discovered that the size pouch I had created was absolutely ideal as a pouch for sunglasses.


I love my sunglasses and have quite an assortment of styles and colours to suit all kinds of occasions and outfits, so I am always on the look out for a stylish way to carry them around in my handbag, or even just to keep them safe while not in use. This inspired me to create a pattern of three different style pouches and share them with my sewing fans (please click the button to the right of the page to visit my online store).

I hope you enjoy the pattern as much as I do. Happy Sewing!

Thursday, May 7, 2015

The wedding ring pillow


No one is too sure of the exact history of the wedding ring pillow that is used during wedding ceremonies, although it does lean strongly towards ancient Egyptian times, there are many small cultures across the world who seem to have had similar traditions.


For me it is a symbolic act that shows, at the beginning of the marriage, the importance of the coming together of two people, a sacred union. Wedding rings are the everyday symbol to be worn by each person to express their dedication and love to one another.

I have created a wedding ring pillow pattern to share with all the brides and grooms to be so that they can continue to share in this beautiful tradition, and it can be kept as a keepsake and reminder of their dedication to one another.

It includes an elastic along the bottom to prevent any nervous ring bearers from dropping the pillows while making his or her way to the altar and the happy couple, and can be made from most fabrics (perhaps even left over extra fabrics from the bride’s wedding dress and the grooms suit).

This little pillow also works as a prop for photographs of the wedding rings, and beautiful, memorable images can be created to remember your special day!

I hope you enjoy sharing in such a magical moment, and happy sewing!