I came across this quite festive fabric and it screamed to me to be made into a Dress and i chose a tried and tested pattern of the Moneta Dress by Colette Patterns

I chose Size Large based upon my measurements and thankfully with this PDF pattern it was layered so i could ‘turn off’ the different sizes i didn’t need and only print the size i wanted. The only adjustment i made was to shorten the Skirt pieces by 1″ but everything was ah ok like last time i made the pattern. For some reason i decided to make version 2 of short sleeves instead of version 3 of three quarter but it still works great with wearing a cardigan on top.

This was delivered in a couple of days from ordering online to being delivered and of course i got straight into the washing machine at 30 degree wash. It’s made of 96% Polyester 4% Elastane, so a good stretch. This fabric is ideal to make T-shirts and Dresses out from and when stretched doesn’t become see through!

With all thin jerseys my Mr Singer aka Quantum Stylist 9960 does like to eat this fabric even with endless amounts of adjustments of stitches, different feet etc. So outcome Mrs Singer aka 14SH754 Overlocker. I set my dials to 5 for all 4 threads and tested the stitch on a scrap of the same fabric to make sure i got the tensions right and voila ah ok. Yes i had two machines on the go and the laptop with the instructions!

I used Mr Singer for the Twin Needle Hem of the neckline, where i folded the hem twice as i found last time it was gaping and folding it twice solved that issue. I tested the stitch length on a scrap piece again. I used the twin needle to hem the sleeves and skirt also.

Who doesn’t love a dress with pockets! In-seam pockets are a breeze to put in.

I really love this bit, using clear elastic for gathering! I made sure there was a length of the elastic at the edge of the fabric so i could keep it taught whilst i started to sew and then kept it taught at the other end whilst sewn in place.

Then on to attach the bodice to the skirt and then hem!

Here is my Festive dress!

A few close up of the fab details it has, who doesn’t love putting in a Kylie and the Machine label

Of course moi modelling said Dress! It’s so comfy and it definitely comes into the Secret PJ club! I have received so many compliments of this dress, this print is so cute!

Happy Sewing!

Sal xx

I was kindly gifted this fabric from Fabric Styles in exchange of a Blog Post where i chose what fabric and what to make with it.

The post A Festive Moneta Dress appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

Well it’s been of a bit of a strange couple of months, my sewing mojo totally went awol and my hubby hasn’t been very well at all, a week of him being in hospital and just me holding it all together at home, juggling work, kids, back and forth to hospital etc it took it toll on me.

So fingers crossed, everything will get back to normality soon I just hate being in “limbo” feeling.

Anyways! Finally, last week I decided to get my act together as the hubby and I had a very rare opportunity to go out and meet up with friends, eat good fatty food and have a good laugh! it spurred me on to make my Sew Crafty Design Team Project!,,

When I received my Gift card and browsing the lovely Sew Crafty Shop, I came across this beautiful Cherry Print 100% Cotton Fabric it screamed at me for a Dress! It’s a steal at £4.85 per half metre as its fantastic quality and to boot it’s 150cm (60″) wide, get in! So for a new challenge I decided to pick the Hawthorn Dress by Colette Patterns.

What a combo right with the Fabric and the pattern?!

Truth be told…. I’ve never mad a Shirt Dress before but I thought it’s always good to learn new techniques! With Colette Patterns they are great to follow with clear instructions and their Patterns fit me great without the need of taking the skirt up or making a narrow shoulder adjustment!

But to be on the safe side I decided to make a toile of the bodice as this was unknown territory of making a shirt dress and wanted to make sure it fit nicely across the Bust.

For the toile I used some scrap fabric and followed the instructions all the way to finish the bodice without the buttonholes.

As always I pre-washed my fabric on a 30 degree wash and it hardly shrunk and kept it vibrant colour, you can tell it’s a good quality fabric!

According to my measurements, I cut out a straight size 8 no grading out for the hips as it’s a half circle skirt yay!

After Cutting it all out and sewing the Darts it was time to get cracking sewing it all together!

It is pretty straight forward to sew together as always Colette Patterns have beautiful diagrams and easy instructions!

1st time ever, I’ve used the bias binding technique for armholes and my word it’s so neat!! I will have definitely have to remember this when finishing armholes in the future!!

With the help of the pins and my Simflex Expanding Gauge (My Sewing Bestie Becca aka Redwsews gave myself one for my birthday recently!!) to get the button placement right, i’d mentioned on my insta feed that i always struggle with rtw blouses/dresses, I would have ended up with a safety pin in between to stop the boob exposure but not this with Dress!!

Now the boring task on stitching 15 buttons by hand!!! Yes the pattern does state that it requires 13 but with my movement of said buttons for no gapping I just need a few extra

Now at this point…. All I wanna do is hem by skirt and get ready for twirling but no…. the instructions stated to slipstitch the hem!!! What?!!!

I was definitely not in the mood for that especially as i needed the dress all ready for the day after…. So Mr Singer came to rescue with his blind hem foot!!! It just made it a lot easier and quicker

And here is the Hawthron all sewn up!! Isn’t she a Beauty?! Maybe a little bit biased here….

Moi modelling on the Train Station! Yeah my shoes got cut off the only pic so here are my beauty of irregular choice cherry print shoes to match!!

unfortunately I’ve not been able to wear my heels at the mo to get a better overall outfit photo shoot as I’ve got blumming soft tissue damage in my right foot so I’m on high dose of anti-inflammatory from the hospital to bring my swelling down and instructions to rest and ice

But here is my fancy Dr Pepper alcoholic Cocktail and Best Brownie ever when we met with Friends in Hull and ate at the NYC Bar and Grill! Nom!

So here you go folks my Design team Project at last! I’ve got my shopping list in for my new Project coming soon!!

Sal xx

The post Sew Crafty Design Team Project – a Very Cherry Delight of a Dress appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

Hi All!

Welcome to my 1st Project as a part of the Sew Crafty Design Team!

With my Project being in the Month of February, I couldn’t resist it being a Valentine theme!

So armed with my Giftcard and a brew, I browsed the Shop extensively trying to make my mind up, I’ll tell you It’s very hard to do with all the lovely goodies that they have!

Finally, I decide to make myself the Moneta Dress by Colette Patterns which is a Steal for £12.50 as there is a lot variations to it! In the Pattern, it does state to use Clear Elastic to Gather the Skirt but in my past experience of using thin 6mm Elastic (which comes in 3m lengths by the way!) to Gather, i used that option instead!

Now to keep with my chosen theme, I decided to go for the Black and White Textured Rose Print Jersey which is on sale at just £3.41 per Half metre and its 140cm Wide, Boom!

Here are a few pics of my lovely package that was sent very quickly might I add, which is always a bonus when your itching to make a stat on a very eagerly awaited Project! Now aren’t they beautifully packaged!! Of course I couldn’t resist a new Fab-ri-co-lo-ogy Shopping Tote either…well I had some left over pennies so I treated myself!

With looking at the Instructions to the Moneta, It is one easy Dress to make so it’s ideal for someone who hasn’t sewn with jersey before. It doesn’t have loads of different pattern pieces either!

According to my measurements, i was a smack on Medium and it stated on the Pattern that you go with your Body Measurements rather than the measurements of the finished Garment as you are using Jersey it stretches and it’s supposed to hug your curves

So after i cut out the pattern and made the necessary adjustment of shortening the Skirt Pieces as i am only short! Thankfully I only needed to take an 1″ off, Yay!

I was Ready to begin! Armed with My Black Guterman 250m Thread, a new 80/12 Ballpoint Needle and a very new to me technique of using a Twin Needle to use in My Singer Quantum Stylist 9960 together with My Singer Overlocker, I was ready to make a start on my Project!

As some of you may seen on my Instagram Feed, Its is a very quick Sew! In 15 minutes, I had the Bodice and Sleeves sewn!

A photo posted by Sally Kendall (@theyorkshiresewist) on Feb 3, 2017 at 12:52am PST

I finally plucked up the courage to use my Twin Needle for the 1st time! Yay! After I stitched the Neckline Hem, it stood out a little from my Chest. I must have a slight shallow chest which makes sense as i do have to make a narrow back adjustment with some patterns, So with a quick adjustment of turning the hem again and stitching in place again using my Twin Needle, It sat great on me, so i used 3/4″ hem for the Neckline Hem. I must say though that using a Twin Needle isn’t as daunting as it sounds as long as you take your time and don’t rush, that’s where you won’t get a nice even looking stitching

The only time consuming part of this Dress, was making sure I had the Elastic spaced out evenly and took my time to make sure it was stretched properly.

Also not to forget to use The Make Arcade Glitter Brooch Kit to finish off my Dress nicely! It’s such a cute and fun kit where you basically trace round the Wooden heart on the back of the Glitter Fabric, Cut and Out, Glue it to the Wooden Heart and then attach the Brooch back and boom!! One Cute Brooch!

Now the Moneta being modeled on ‘Dorris’. Love the proffesional and clean lines on this Dress if i do say so myself!

Of course Moi out and about! First of all with my outing to the Stitching and Hobbycrafts with my Sewing Bestie Becca aka Redwsews. Oh we was getting funny looks from the ‘Card makers’ LOL they don’t undestand us ‘Sewing Bloggers’ hahaha!

Then of course I wore this out to a very nice Valentine meal with the Hubby as unfortunatly I’m at work Valentine Night so we made the most of a child free evening together! Bowling and eating scrummy food in peace! I’m no longer a Nando Virgin! LOL

So here you go folks, my 1st Design Team project for Sew Crafty! Hope you enjoyed and keep your eyes peeled in March for my next Sew Crafty Design Team Project!

Sal xx

The post My February ‘Love is in the Air’ Project for Sew Crafty Shop appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

Wow January had came and gone already!

But I have managed to get my January Sewing Plans done! Yes!! This is a fab way to keep you motivated on track with finishing Projects as i am a monkey for UFO’s aka Un-Finished-Objects lol!

In case you don’t know what Sew the Year is about……

Sew the Year is all about taking a moment at the start of every month to be intentional about your fabric and pattern choices you hope to tackle that month.  Not only to create garments that you are going to love to but also ones that will actually be worn.  Instead of starting the year with a huge list of makes you want to accomplish and piles of fabric you want to buy you can break it down each month into manageable projects while considering the rest of your life.

Sew the Year is a chance to get inspired, be intentional and have fun. To join in use #sewtheyear on social media so Kimberley can see what everyone else is planning and please come share in the Facebook group.

Right now onto my plans!

1st up is The Freja Pinafore Dress

Finally getting round to using my Cherry Print Needlecord that I picked up in Sew up North! When I saw the freebie pattern from Simply Sewing Magazine, i knew this was the right shape of Pinafore for me! I would love to sew up the Cleo by Tilly and the Buttons but feel it wouldn’t do me any favours in the ‘hip and bum’ area and make me look hugh! So this pattern is A-line shape which is more flattering in my opinion!

Of course you can’t escape a Valentine make or two! Also my 1st Design Team Project for Sew Crafty – The Moneta Dress by Colette Patterns. You can buy all my project items from the Shop and it just so coincides with the Moneta Party that is going on Instagram! Boom! Love multi-tasking!! So if you don’t know about this awesome Party with plenty of giveaways and prizes the check out the hosts @sewpositivity, @rach_wain and @sewabigail for all the info!

 Finally! The February Sew My Style Project for February which is the Saunio Cardigan by Named Clothing, just need to decide what knit to use for this! I’m thinking of lengthening the Cardi a bit to make it a little bit more snugglier lol

So here is my 3 Projects for February as it is a short month after all

So what are your Guys and Girls plans for February ?

Sal xx

The post Sew the Year February Plans appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.