Competitions galore

We have so many things going on for our sewing fans right now, we really hope that you are taking advantage of all our competitions and FREE stuff that we are giving away! Click on the images below to find out more on each competition.

Our Sewing Machine Raffle

We are running this raffle through our Etsy store in order to raise funds for our charity, CO-SANC... for only $1 you can help us to raise funds for this worthwhile cause.

 

Mother’s Day Discount

A Mother's Day Gift from us to you during the month of May. Spend $5 or more in our Etsy sewing pattern store and use the coupon code MOM001FB to get a 10% discount. Valid until 31 May 2016

 

A free shirt pattern

This week we are launching two men’s shirt patterns.

We decided that everyone who purchased the men’s simple waistcoat sewing pattern in the last week of April would receive a free copy of out men’s fitted shirt sewing pattern being launched this week... GOOD NEWS! We decided to extend this special until the end of May 2016! So everyone who buys our men’s Simple Waistcoat Sewing pattern from 25 April to 31 May will receive a FREE copy of our men’s fitted shirt sewing pattern too!

 

Our 2016 Sewing Challenge

Join our sewing challenge that we are running throughout 2016 and stand a chance to win an Acer laptop!

Share your creations with us on twitter... click here for more information on the competition and rules.

Here are the themes we have already been running during 2016:

January: Ties – sew any of our tie patterns

February: Dresses – sew any of our dress patterns

March: On Top – sew and share any of our tops, jackets, waistcoat... pretty much anything you would wear “above the belt”

April: Black and white – sew anything you wish from our patterns in this colour combination

May: For The Ladies – make anything from our sewing patterns for women, and remember to share it with us on twitter @MySewingPattern

HAPPY SEWING

Free Sewing Pattern

A new month and a new opportunity to enter our Sewing Challenge! This month’s theme is Black & White... an exciting theme, which means you can use any of our patterns to create something for yourself in Black or white, or both. Remember to share your creations with us on twitter @MySewingPattern

This week’s patterns in review

The High Waist High Low Skirt

A BRAND new pattern, part of our high waist skirt collection. We have decided to give you this one for FREE right here!

Download it and make your skirt today! Pattern includes sizes XSmall to XLarge

You may have noticed that we haven’t  yet posted a picture of the complete skirt, we have decided that during the month of April, all our amazing followers who create this skirt can submit the pictures to us in twitter @MySewingPattern with #FreeSkirt, at the end of April we will pick our favourite picture shared from a fan, and use this as our cover picture for all future marketing related to the skirt.

So exciting, I can’t wait to see what you guys create. Until next time...

Happy sewing!

The life of a sewist

Today is a grey and overcast day, perfect I think for working in my PJ’s while a draw up a few new sketches for patterns I’m going to be releasing.

I have been running my sewing business now for five years, it’s amazing how time flies. Selling my digital sewing patterns has allowed me the opportunity to work from home, sometimes I feel so spoiled to be so lucky.

I want to say a big thank you to all my amazing sewing fans who have allowed me to achieve this in my life. Anyone who knows me knows that my cats and dogs are my children (I currently have 8), and for the last 6 months my oldest baby has been terribly sick, my Jack Russell named Onyx. She has chronic renal failure and some days she requires 24 hour care. Being able to work from home has allowed me to look after her and help her to live a full and happy old age. I am truly grateful to everyone who buys my sewing patterns and online products, you have done more for me than I can possibly express. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I hope you all have an amazing week ahead, and very successful sewing projects. Now enough of the serious stuff and back to the sewing fun.

Here’s a tip when putting together your newly printed A4 pages to create your sewing pattern: Use 2 sided tape to join the sheets of paper together. I do this firstly because the pages are less likely to come apart in the long term and secondly it allows me to fold up my patterns when I put them away, and when I am ready to use them again, I unfold them and use a warm iron to go over the pages to smooth them out (no steam, this will damage the paper).

This week’s patterns in review

Isabella Maternity dress

Our first maternity dress sewing pattern was launched last week. (I tried to make my dressmaker's form look pregnant by pinning a pillow to it o_O )

This fashionable dress is perfect for the mum-to-be who has a special occasion to attend, or who simply wants to look stylish in the upcoming spring and summer season.

I also launched a set of two maternity sewing patterns, the Isabella dress and the Jacqui dress together make the perfect combination.

Sewing Patterns for a year

To celebrate 5 wonderful years of sewing we have decided to launch this amazing offer. You can opt to have our range of brand new sewing patterns sent to you, every second week for a year.

 

The total value of this is over $80, but instead we decided to practically give it away at $29. Which means you’re making a huge savings of over $50! We are only running this amazing special until 10^th March, so take advantage of it now!

When you purchase this amazing offer, you will be receiving your first pattern immediately available to download, the ladies short waistcoat.

 

Until next time...

Happy sewing!

Sewing Patterns for a year

Boo Lè Heart / My Sewing Patterns turns 5 this year! To celebrate we are running a HUGE SPECIAL for our amazing sewing fans!

What you will receive:

·         By signing up the first pattern you will receive will be our Ladies Short Waistcoat.

·         From March 2016 to February 2017 you will receive a brand new sewing pattern every second week – before it is even launched in our online store!

·         In total you will be receiving 27 sewing patterns over the course of the next year, each valued at $2.99. The entire package is valued at OVER $80  but you will only be paying $29.99 that’s a HUGE saving of over $50!

·         VIP Status: You will receive notifications on all our specials, latest opportunities and latest news before anybody else.

·         The patterns you will receive will run along the themes for our Sewing Challenge, giving you a really easy chance to enter into the draw for that awesome Acer Chromebook

This special is only running until March 10^th, so grab this opportunity while you can!

Pop into our ONLINE STORE now!

Happy Sewing!

Thanks Mom!

My entire life I have been sewing, and doing embroidery or knitting and crotchet, thanks to my mom. I know she had me doing these things (before the times of cellphones and tablets) just to keep me out of her hair, in the end it made a big impact in my life. Being a third generation seamstress from a line of textile creative woman certainly helps, so it was no coincidence that I found my passion in creating clothing.

My business is my passion, and my baby and I am continually looking at ways of improving my products and ease of accessibility to them. I have recently installed the Shopify app on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/mysewingpatterns and I am currently testing it to see if it will work for you, my customers.

I have also added a few pages to my blog, so you can now purchase patterns directly from the blog, just click on the relevant page link to the right of the blog (or for mobile use the scroll down arrow alongside the home page bar) and it will take you to view the patterns you are interested in.

I really appreciate for those who purchase patterns through the store to please send me your feedback so that I know whether or not I am on the right track with this system. You can email your responses to mysewingpatternz@gmail.com Positive and negative feedback is welcome.

This week’s pattern in review

Mothers Day Handbag

Because my mother has played such a huge roll in my sewing success, last year to celebrate my her, I designed a handbag pattern for her and to share with all my sewing fans. Little did I know it was going to become such a hit.

It comes in two size variations and can be made in an assortment of fabrics. You can use a fun print for a stylish summer bag, or use a PU or leather type fabric for a more professional look.

Sunglasses pouch

And what’s a fashion handbag these days without an awesome, matching sunglasses pouch. This super easy sewing pattern is the perfect complement to any stylish bag.

 

Our February sewing challenge. It is “DRESSES”, very simple and easy, and you can make anything as part of the competition from a very simple LBD to a fancy wedding gown, the choice is yours! Remember to look up our previous post on the sewing challenge, so you know the rules and stand a chance to win that cute little Acer Chromebook!

Happy sewing!

Love and free stuff

Hello sewing enthusiasts! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that your week to come is an amazing one!

First of all, I must apologize for my quietness last week. I was taking a bit of study leave to complete my studies for my certificate in graphic design. I passed with distinction, Yay for me! And now I have improved on my skills that will allow me to bring you better quality sewing patterns, Yay for everyone!

Last week i announced the sewing theme for our February sewing challenge. It is “DRESSES”, very simple and easy, and you can make anything as part of the competition from a very simple LBD to a fancy wedding gown, the choice is yours! Remember to look up our previous post on the sewing challenge, so you know the rules and stand a chance to win that cute little Acer Chromebook!

This week’s patterns in review

Valentine’s day knickers special

Just for you guys I put this romantic little pack together. Remember by buying the entire pack you save money!

 

Our Valentine’s day 2016 pack includes our vintage style knickers sewing pattern (plus the tutorial on how to add suspenders to your vintage style knickers), our ladies thong sewing pattern, and our envelope style gift bag sewing pattern to help you make that romantic day even more special.

The Taryn Dress

 

By the weekend, and just in time for Valentine’s Day, we are going to be launching our Taryn dress sewing pattern. So for the next 5 days you can still take advantage of the PRE-ORDER SALE and by doing so you will be paying almost half price for the pattern and you will be one of the very first to receive it!

And because we LOVE our fans so much, those who take advantage of the pre-order sale will receive both the long and short version of the dress! Which means we are quite literally throwing in a free sewing pattern just for the fun of it.

 

So much good news to start a week with, remember to check out our competitions!

Happy sewing!

JOIN OUR SEWING CHALLENGE AND WIN

Do you want to get more sewing done in 2016? Whether to practice and hone your skills, or to simply create a fun and affordable wardrobe for you, your friends and family? Then join our sewing challenge for 2016.

By joining our challenge you also stand the chance to win an Acer Chromebook. 

How do you join?

Every month we will be posting a sewing theme, for example for January the sewing theme is ties. Create a sewing project, in theme, take a picture and share it with us on twitter using the hashtag #MySewingPatterns

An example of how your tweet must look

There are a few rules of course:

1. The projects posted on twitter must be from the Boo Lè Heart / My Sewing Patterns range of sewing patterns (CLICK HERE or click on the button to the right of the page to visit our online store).
2. A new pattern theme will be tweeted every month, so remember to follow us on twitter @MySewingPattern
3. Entrants can make any of the 12 themes supplied at ANY time during 2016, as long as you mention which month it is for. For example, you can still make your January tie in March 2016 or sew all 12 themes in the 12 days of Christmas, the choice is yours.
4. You don't have to make a specific pattern, as long as it's in theme. For Example if the theme is "make a dress", you can make a dress from ANY of our available dress patterns.
5. For an entry into the draw to win the computer, entrants must create at least 6 of the sewing challenges.
6. Entrants who create all 12 challenges will receive 2 entries into the draw.
7. The last sewing challenge must be shared with us on twitter no later than 30 December 2016. The draw for the winner, and announcing the winner on twitter will happen on 31 December 2016.

Feel free to add your own sense of flare and style to the patterns!

Here are the themes we have already been running during 2016:

January: Ties – sew any of our tie patterns

February: Dresses – sew any of our dress patterns

March: On Top – sew and share any of our tops, jackets, waistcoat... pretty much anything you would wear “above the belt”

April: Black and white – sew anything you wish from our patterns in this color combination

May: For The Ladies – make anything from our sewing patterns for women

June: Something for the Guys - use any of our men’s patterns for your entry
July: Anything Vintage, Pin-Up or Rockabilly style - bring those classic styles back to life
August: For the Home - Make something that makes your house feel like a home

Good luck and Happy Sewing!

Demystifying our digital patterns

Our patterns come in a very easy, printable format. They are downloaded as pdf, and can be printed on any home based printer, on standard A4 paper.

I even did the maths, and most of the time it works out cheaper to purchase and print patterns in this way, than the traditional way of going out to purchase a physical pattern.

For today’s blog post I just want to go through the basics of how to use our patterns so that you can see that they are so user friendly, anyone can use them.

What you will need:

• A printer to print out on
• Plain, normal A4 sheets of paper
• Sellotape
• Paper cutting scissors
• Additional: I like to put my patterns in an A4 PVC envelope when I’m not using them, just to keep them safe.

 

How do you do it?

1. Print your pattern on your standard, every day printer.
2. You will see that each A4 page has a grid border, these grids are marked on the sides to help you to match up the pages.
3. Each page shows a column and reference number to help you to line them up in the correct order.
4. Once you have assembled your pages (like a really big and super easy puzzle), you tape all the pages together. You will now clearly be able to see your pattern on the pages in front of you.
5. Cut out the size you choose, and just like that your pattern is ready to use.

 

You also still have digital copy on your computer, so if you need a different size our your pattern gets damaged, no problem, you can easily print a new one.

Remember to check our previous blog posts for the competition we are currently running.

Happy sewing!

Batty about bat wings

Happy New Year! May you have a wonderful year filled with blessings and exciting sewing projects.

This year will see us increasing our patterns in two areas. Firstly our bridal collection will be growing and secondly we will be adding in a good few basic patterns, such as a simple woman’s dress shirt, and pairs of smart and casual pants that are simple and easy to follow.

Our aim is to create easy and user friendly patterns for everyone!

 

This week’s patterns in review

We love our bat wing tops and dresses, not only are they easy to make but they are very fashionable.

The Bat wing Top with pleats

Our tops and dresses can be made in a variety of fabrics, from comfortable t-shirting and warm knits (even cut and sew wool) to chiffon and the softer range of fabrics, adding a variety of styles for all different occasions, formal or casual.

Summer bat wingdress in chiffon

They can be made as sweaters or winter tops for the cold seasons and they even make gorgeous costume covers for the upcoming summer months.

Jacqui Batwing top

Knee length summer batwing dress as costume cover

These are some of our favourite and most versatile sewing patterns, and you can have so much fun with them.

Remember to check our previous blog posts for the competition we are currently running.

Have a wonderful New Year. Happy 2016 and happy sewing!

A Fine Vintage

In three days time we are going to find ourselves in a brand new year, filled with new opportunities and adventures... and of course more exciting sewing projects. This past year was filled with growth in leaps and bounds and we are thrilled with how our pattern range is growing. We currently have over 30 patterns and pattern variations and combinations available in store.

Our $1 sale will be running until the 31^st so remember to take advantage of it while you can and stock up on those patterns. As from 1^st January the prices will be returning to normal.

This year our vintage style patterns were our best sellers, so we have decided to share a few of these in review as we reflect back on the wonderful year we have had.

This week’s patterns in review 

High waist shorts

 

This is our best selling pattern of 2015! We have just had the most amazing feedback from this pattern which I based on 1940’s style summer shorts.

 

This pattern is so quick and easy that you can have an entire collection in an assortment of colors in a very short time. Vintage style is in, and this is an affordable and fashionable way to dress up your wardrobe.

Easy as Pie Rockabilly Style Dress

 

This is such a cute dress, it can be made in an assortment of colors and fabrics for the Rockabilly fan in all of us. 

We have posted an earlier blog post to help you create a waistband to give your dress the perfect finish. You can even create a variety of different color waistbands to mix and match and give your dresses more versatility, so remember to look into our archives too!

Trumpet style gown

 

The Trumpet style bridal gown pattern in our online store is our first official bridal pattern. We are so excited to be launching it, and there will be many more bridal patterns to come in 2016.

 

Trumpet style gown in champagne satin with additional flowers appliquéd down its length.

Remember to check our previous blog posts for the TWO competitions we are currently running.

Have a wonderful New Year. Happy 2016 and happy sewing!
 

I can smell Christmas!

Two days to Christmas, and what a busy week I have had preparing new patterns for you. My apologies for the late blog post, unfortunately I had a few unforeseen troubles over the past few days.

This has also affected the launch of my first bridal sewing pattern. The good news is that we are back on track! The sewing pattern for the wedding dress will now be launched on the 28^th of December. So for those who are eager to, you can still take advantage of the pre-order special, it will be running until the launch on the 28^th.

This week’s patterns in review

Perfect Holiday Gift bag

 

This year I was determined to come up with the perfect little handbag to carry around to all my festive social engagements. I created this bag so that it was big enough just to carry around all the essentials but would allow me to be stylish at the same time.

Belt and bags combos available in my online store

 

Picture of combo

Saving money by buying two patterns in one. These two patterns make such a fashionable pair. Making a matching set (or 5) can add that extra something special to your wardrobe this festive season.

They also make great gifts to create for friends and family, especially when packaged in one of our envelope style gift bags. Save even more by buying all three of these patterns together.

 

Picture combo with a gift bag

You can give the physical, homemade with love gifts or print the patterns out and inset them into an A4 size gift bag to give to the sewing fanatic in your life.

Remember to check our previous blog posts for the TWO competitions we are currently running.

Have a wonderful festive season, and happy sewing!

The festive fun continues

What an amazing and busy week I have had! I would like to thank all my customers, friends, family and fans out there for their wonderful support. Without you guys the dreams of having my own business just would not be the reality it has become.

With black Friday and cyber Monday now far behind us, I was in two minds about raising all my sewing patterns back to their regular prices. I found though that I really just couldn’t, I was having such amazing responses from everyone that I decided to continue my sale right through December 2015. Though from 1^st January the prices will be returning to their normal values, so take advantage of these ridiculously cheap sewing patterns while you still can. (Click on the button to the right of the page).

This week’s patterns in review

The envelope style fabric gift bag.

 

This bag was such an instant hit, not just among my sewing patterns fans, but among many who could not sew at all. I had friends and family asking me to make packs of these bags for them to use during the festive season. For days I sat happily sewing away at these packs.

These bags aren’t just great for your own personal use, but to create for friends and family too. It’s a gift that keeps on giving... you too are welcome to use my sewing pattern and take orders from your friends and family for that little bit of extra spending money over the upcoming festive season. And remember the sewing pattern comes with a free gift pattern too.

The under dress, that’s also a great over dress.

I originally created this pattern to go along with my batwing collection of dress patterns. I just loved making these in chiffon for those hot summer days, but needed to wear a little something underneath to protect my... ummm... modesty.

 

Me wearing a knee length batwing dress with the mini under dress

However, as it turns out, the under dress makes a great summer dress all on its own. I have now made myself a few in a variety of colours. It also comes in two lengths, mini and knee length.

 

Selfie time: Me wearing a knee length under dress

A cause close to our hearts

Boo Lè Heart clothing and My Sewing Patterns has had such a wonderful and prosperous year that we have decided that from this point onwards a percentage of our profits will be donated to a worthy cause.

 

For 2015 and 2016 we have decided to support the African Birds of Prey Sanctuary in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. This sanctuary not only creates a sanctuary for birds of prey who are injured beyond being able to be returned to the wild, but it also works as an educational centre to help teach us about these amazing creatures, so that we have a better understanding of them and the troubles they face.

Every month we will keep you updated as to how much we have been able to raise for this very worthwhile cause.

Have a wonderful festive season, and happy sewing!

Festive wardrobe

The festive season is absolutely on us...  I’m not all too sure what happened with the past year, especially the past 6 months. In all honesty I felt that it was still July but then I looked up and it was November.

A year filled with plenty of lumps and bumps, but most importantly a good few lessons learned, especially in business (some I am still recovering from). My spirit might be a little bruised but it is far from broken. I have however (in a mild panic) come to realise that not only is the festive season upon us, but that also means that the party season has arrived.

No doubt you might find yourself, just like I have, being invited to more events than I have time for... but what to wear?

Of course being a woman of fashion I can’t possibly be seen wearing the same outfits too often, this means that I have a lot of new outfits to make, which means you will be receiving a lot of new patterns to play with in my online store.

Me in one of my batwing dresses ***

... and don’t forget the accessories! I am determined to make myself the perfect festive season clutch! Just big enough to hold the necessaries when doing my social rounds.

Belt I made for myself recently ***

I can’t wait to get started (I literally have a starting list of 75+ patterns that I wish to make), so follow me as I get to make all of these new and exciting creations this festive season and into the upcoming year.

Happy holidays and happy sewing!

***Click on the button to the right of the page to purchase the patterns for these items