There’s something really satisfying about starting the year with intention, and that’s exactly what my Forget-Me-Not Adeline Dress represents. This romantic, feminine dress is the very first project in my #FinishThatWIP2026 line-up, and I officially started it on 1st January, with the goal of having this post (and the dress!) finished by 31st January. This dress has been patiently waiting its turn, and 2026 is the year I stop letting beautiful projects sit unfinished.

The Vision

The Adeline Dress has always felt like the perfect balance between softness and structure with floaty, elegant, and completely wearable. This one is destined to become one of my new work dresses, something comfortable yet polished enough to feel put together during the day while still feeling me.
I wanted a dress that feels romantic without being fussy, feminine without being impractical, and this pattern ticks every box.

The Fabric (The Star of the Show)

Let’s talk about this fabric, because honestly, it deserves its own moment.
I’m using a stunning cotton sateen from Rainbow Fabrics, designed by Tula Pink. The print is called “Nip in the Bud” in Carbon Grey, and it is every bit as beautiful as it sounds. The florals are bold yet elegant, and the deep grey background gives it a grown-up, workwear friendly edge.
And the best part?
This fabric is extra wide at 106”, which feels incredibly luxurious to work with. It makes pattern placement a dream and just adds to that “special project” feeling.

The Reality of Sewing (aka the side missions)

Now, if sewing were as straightforward as the plan is in my head, this dress would’ve been finished in record time. But reality, as always, had other ideas.
While my heart was set on finishing the Adeline Dress, I found myself getting distracted by a few side missions. You know the ones… those quick, tempting projects that whisper “I’ll only take an afternoon.”
In my case, they were jersey fabric makes. Quick to cut, quick to sew, and incredibly satisfying to finish in one sitting. Compared to a woven dress that requires more careful fitting, pressing, and patience, jersey projects felt like instant gratification.
And while they did slow progress on the Adeline Dress, they also kept my sewjo alive. Sometimes a quick win is exactly what you need to keep momentum going—even if it means stepping away from the main project for a moment.

Bringing It Back to the WIP

Despite the detours, this dress remains the priority. That’s the whole point of #FinishThatWIP2026 acknowledging that progress doesn’t have to be linear, but commitment still matters.
Each side mission reminded me why I started this challenge in the first place: to honour the projects I was genuinely excited about, not just the quick makes that are easy to finish.
And this dress?
It deserves to be finished, worn, and loved.

Final Thoughts

The Forget-Me-Not Adeline Dress feels like the perfect way to kick off the year. It’s thoughtful, intentional, and made from fabric that truly inspires me. Even with a few jersey-fuelled distractions along the way, I’m excited to see this project through and welcome it into my wardrobe as a new workwear staple.

Here’s to finishing what we start, even if we take the scenic route getting there.

Sal x

The post FinishThatWIP2026 Forget-Me-Not Adeline Dress appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

Emporia Patterns sent me the fantastic Kobi dress Pattern in return of my honest review so here it goes!

Here’s a little bit about the Kobi Dress:

Who doesn’t love pretty packaging! I sure do

It has a simple shape that includes an attached obi style belt and integral sleeve and bodice design. The Kobi Dress is super quick to make and is certain to become a staple of your wardrobe.

The Kobi Dress Pattern features in-seam pockets, an attached belt, and a neckline facing making it perfect for beginner sewists. The Kobi Dress is ideal in lightweight fabrics like cotton, cotton lawn, and silk, but you could also try it out in heavier weight fabrics like duck, twill or velvet or a fabric with a light stretch such as ponte roma.

The adult Kobi Dress Pattern comes in sizes small (8-14), medium (12-18) and large (16-22). Finished length is 99cm.

Fabric requirements: for all sizes 112cm/44″ wide – 2.8m or 150cm/60″ – 2.60m.

Unfortunately, Rhurbarb Patch was closing down but I was able to snap up this beautiful Tiger print which is just be roarsome for this Dress.

I stupidly bought only 2.5m since I am Yorkshire Lass and I like to get the most out a fabric without costing more pennies so I just had to make some adjustments when cutting out like adding a seam allowance to the facings as I couldn’t get the cut out on the fold but you wouldn’t have known if i hadn’t told you as they only show on the inside of the garment.

I did my usual adjustment of shortening the skirt length by 4″ damn my shortness. I made the Large Size but could have got away with the medium.

With the grown on sleeves this sewed up in no time the only time consuming part was sewing the belt together! The instructions were clear and easy to follow.

I finished the seams with my overlocker on which my Cat Raylan made sure I had it at the right settings!

It was rather fitting that I put in “It contains Cat Hairs” Label in it.

So here is my roarsome Kobi! Yes me trying to roar too! Hahahah!

Its a great dress for everyday wear like I have here with my pumps or even dressed up with heels for a meal out… A chance would be a nice thing just myself and Mr K.

Also did you know that Emporia Fabrics and Patterns also sell beautiful fabrics too! You could have your very own roarsome Kobi using this delightful Viscose Crepe!

Happy Sewing!

Sal xx

The post Emporia Patterns Kobi Dress Review appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

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.

Yeah a little bit late of posting about my entry for the #littlereddressproject which is run by Reneta  and Rosa and thought I’d get a Deer and Doe Belladone sewn up using this ever so gorgeous red polka dot cotton from Adam Ross Fabrics that had a fab sale for Black Friday where i picked up 3m for just over £10 and its extra wide too! Yay!

With it being extra wide i was able to get the most out of my fabric which was needed later on as i need to make a new Bodice as there was too much excess fabric! In the end i had to size down (size 42) and make an adjustment to  the upper back bodice piece of by 1/4″ for it to lie flat. Thankfully, I didn’t need to shorten the Skirt for a change! So overall i made Size 42 from the Shoulders and Bust and graded to a 44 for the Waist and Hips.

I also made matching Bias Binding even though it is hidden underneath i wanted it to match inside and out!

For some reason i love installing invisible zips, i find them totally easier than normal zips! Yes…I am a bit of freak! Also my waistband matched up pretty well too for a change!

This is the first time i have used a Skirt facing to finish the hem of a dress before but i do quite like it but instead of overlocking the edge, i used my Blind Hem foot to finish off the neatness of the dress.

I added an hook and eye to the Dress for my personal preference and look what was left on my bobbin after i finished! Talk about cutting it fine eh?! I like to live dangerously!

So here is the Dress! I am in love the cutout detail at the back!

Of course moi modelling it at my Mum and Dads on Christmas Day, you have to wear Kitty socks right? I love the slanted pockets it gives the dress such a cute detail to it and not forgetting the cut out back!

I would recommend that this Pattern is for intermediate sewers as the instructions are a little vague on certain techniques and the bias tape width – where i made 18mm wide for mine and i thought it was just right. So you there you go folks my Belladone on show at last!

All the Best for 2018!

Happy Sewing

Sal x

The post A Christmassy Deer and Doe Belladone – #Littlereddressproject appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

Now the Title just says it all!!!

As soon as the Tickets were realised back in April both Becca and I said we must go!! So Becca was eagerly there at 9am ready for the Tickets to be realised along with the Super theatre access and workshops whilst I sorted the accommodation and Train Tickets for us to be ready and raring to go on the Saturday rather than traveling down and back the same day which is uber tiring especially when travelling over 2 hours each way!!

Now look what I had packed to take with me! Handmade wardrobe even down to the PJs! The Fabricology Bag is my contribution to the pattern Swap!

I travelled down on the Friday evening, navigating the underground and the DLR with ease and got off at Prince Regent Station as the Custom House is being revamped. Now I arrived at 8.40pm and it’s pitch black….

I had Google Maps on my phone but it decided to take me the wrong direction of where i needed to go and then my phone died and I took a very scenic route to my Hotel….. but thankfully I came across Jamie aka MaleDevonSewing from Series 4 who was taking a phone call outisde the Hotel he was staying at and took my luggae trolley off me and said to go and sit down and have a drink with him and some other Sewing Bees! I was amongst Celebrities but of course my phone had died at the point!! Dam!

Jamie kindly walked me to the Hotel i was stopping at, as he knew where he was going (i bloody didn’t!!) as he went to that one 1st rather than the Ibis he was actually staying at! LOL so I finally arrived at the Hotel at 10.40pm!!! I had set off from Doncaster Station at 6:03pm and had a full day at work too!!!

We was up at and ready for 8am, so we made our way down for Breakie. It got very busy after we arrived as there were long queues forming but thankfully we managed to get our fill before it got that busy!

It was a tad drizzly, but that didn’t dampening our spirits…(sorry bad pun!Lol!) We made our across to the Excel!!

I finally got to met Elle, Sarah and Rachel  for a quick chat and hug before we headed to the Cloakroom. But we did say we would met later for a natter.

We dropped our luggage off at the Cloakroom at a bargain price of £1 per item!! You can’t go wrong as it was £2 per item at the ICHF Stitching, Sewing and Hobbcrafts Show at Manchester back in February! Then had a chance to grab some snaps of the the cool olympic membrolia.

When we returned back to where the Show was hosted at N5 a massive queue had formed!! Swear it was only 5 minutes we passed it and there wasn’t a queue whatsoever!!

So we waited patiently, near the entrance and joined the end of the queue when they came to the entrance, whats the point of going all the way back there to come back again?! We even got a friendly smile from Patrick when he passed!!! Ekkk!!

We had a quick look around before the Super Theater at 11am. We found Melissa of Fehr Trade in the corner and spoilt myself with her especially made in Yorkshire Pins!! We managed a quick chat but she was uber busy which understandable!

Said Hello to Kate and Rachel of The Fold Line and who had the most amazing seats ever!

Had a quick look through some of the Stalls and even managed to find Lisa of The Avid Seamstress  and Clare too where i received a another badge to my collection! Yay!

Becca and I met with Pecia aka Mini Adventures who was going to the Super Theater too and the Workshop we was attending too! She was making the most of her Birthday Pressie and that her adorable Pie and Pop were joining us later.

The Super Theater was interesting… even though we paid extra for the premium seats we still ended up at the back which wasn’t really fair but hey ho! Sarah aka Likesewamazing was on the Alteration challenge!! She was teamed up with Jenni Bob Taylor from Series 2. They did really well considering they only 45 minutes to complete the challenge!

We then quickly grabbed some lunch in the form of a Chicken Burrito and Dr Pepper before we knew it it was time for the Vintage Technique Workshop hosted by the lovely Delphine unfortunately the workshop was a little rushed as the previous one had over run but i came away with lots of instructions and new knowledge that i didn’t before.

Then we met with Jamie and chatted outside the workshop area for some reason rather than sitting down like normal people would …… and met the lovely Kellie who was going to Jade’s workshop of sewing with beaded fabric, the lucky thing!!

Oh yes… Did i mention Becca and I are now Cover Stars for Love Sewing Magazine?!

Finally, caught up with Mark of GirlCharlee who was doing very well on his stand, it isn’t surprising as they are good quality jerseys! Also said hello to Tracey from Series 4 too who was with her daughter eyeing up the goodies too!! Yeah I am that short… please don’t point it out any further!!

Also a quick chat to Mrs Maven of Maven Patterns!

Then to wind the day down, we then met with Rach, Elle, Sarah, Jen, Jen W and Sarah for a natter before everyone was going home.

Of course I couldn’t not have a silly photo with Jamie, still can’t believe it’s been 2 years since we last saw each other at the Interviews for the GBSB Series 4 but thankfully we had time for a catch up!!

Wow, what an experience the GBSB Live was! It was great to see people in real life rather than just on Instagram! I do hope that there is another next year but i do think I will go in the weekday rather than the weekend where it would be quieter, more lush fabric to oggle through and to talk with the stall owners properly.

If i have missed anyone out, I do apologise as there was a lot of people there and it sometimes hard to recognise faces to their Instagram handle!

Here’s a few random photos from the Show..

I didn’t get a lot from the Show as there wasn’t really calling out to me as I’m trying not be a Fabric Hoarder and buying Fabric just as it’s pretty, I need to have a project in mind before i buy.

So there you go folks my epic few days ‘down South’ lol I ain’t used to such a big City and the amount of people!! I should of taken more pictures!!

Sal x

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I’ve finally got round to writing up this Dress which was a freebie in Issue 9 of Sew Now Magazine

Not sure if you’ve seen my recent post of the Kwiksew 3553 PJ’s they were another freebie Pattern from Sew Now, I’m really liking their Patterns at the moment which is a rarity when it comes to other Magazines!

Thanks for the Re-gram Sew Now Magazine!

Magical unicorn ? pyjamas by Sally @theyorkshiresewist These cute pyjamas are from issue 10 K3553 @kwiksew If you would still like to make them grab a copy from @craftstashcouk . . #pyjamas #sewcialist #sewingblogger #unicorn #makeyourown #learntosew #sew #sewing

A post shared by Sew Now Magazine (@sewnowmag) on Sep 4, 2017 at 4:47am PDT

I’ve already got the Butterick B6168 Dress Pattern from the latest issue eyed up to make for the Great British Sewing Bee Live later on this Month!

When the lovely Mark from Girlcharlee says if i need any Fabric for a Project …. You can’t say no?!! I’ve blogged for them earlier on the year on how to make your own Bralet and Knickers which can be found here.

So after an good chunk of time browsing the Shop and finally pinning it down to just to one fabric, I choose this one!

The Fabric used is called it’s Homestead Life Dutch Delight which is a part of the Bolt Collection which is Girlcharlee’s own custom knitted, preshrunk 95/5 combed cotton spandex knit fabric, so you know it’s fantastic quality! It’s absolutely lush I can’t help but stroke it it’s that pretty!!

As per usual with Patterns I do have to take some length off the skirt!! But only 4 inches and then after shortening then neaten the Pattern at the sides.

Then this happened….

For fudges sake!!!! Why did this happen to me when I’ve nearly finished cutting out my @kwiksew 3489!!!! I don’t wanna finish it with scissors as it’s Jersery and i want a nice clean cut….is that so much to ask?!!! Just typical, when I’ve ain’t got a spare!!! ? Think it’s wine o’clock instead ???also no pun intended….. #fridaynight #sewinggoals #outthewindow #sewcialists #dailyseam #blogger #instagrammer #sewsewsew #creativemamas #lovesewing #makeitsewcial #makesomething #fabricaddict #makeitsew #fuming #ffs #nospare #blade

A post shared by Sally Kendall (@theyorkshiresewist) on Jun 30, 2017 at 12:08pm PDT

Once i had a new Blade and everything was cut out, Mr Singer did test my patience too!!

He wanted to gobble the lush Jersey even with my even feed foot, right stitch length and right needle!! Arrgghhhh!!! But I preserved and started a quarter down into the seam rather than the beginning and then finished it after….the pesky machine but I do love him! Don’t they all have their little personalities or I am just plain crackers?

Woo-hoo! Halfway point…the Bodice is sewn together!

With this Pattern, you have to make your own ties for the Dress….. They are pretty long and truth be told i ain’t made ties before with jersey!! But I had a plan…. as i was struggling with getting the fabric through to the Right Side Out…. I improvised!! One sturdy straw from a Mason Jar, a wooden skewer (yeah the ones for kebabs!)

I put the straw into the Tie.

The armed with my Skewer…. I pushed through the straw with it through the closed end of the Tie.

And voila!! Perfectly turned out Tie with little effort!! Yay!

I added an Press Stud to the Bodice of the Dress as i felt i would of ‘popped’ out otherwise and to keep my modesty in tact!

Here is the Dress all Sewn up and modelled on Dorris the Mannequin!!

Of course I can’t just show you just on ‘Dorris’ as i don’t think it does the Dress justice, so here I am with the wind catching my Dress a little! Oh err missus!

Again, a big thank you to Mark at GirlCharlee for providing me this beautiful jersey to play with! So if you haven’t had the chance yet to go shopping with GirlCharlee then do it now and treat yourself to some gorgeous fabrics!

Happy Sewing!!

Sal xx

The post Kwiksew 3489 Wrap Dress and a little Trick! 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.

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.

When I cam across Straight Stitch Designs Sew The Year Blog post, I thought yeah…I like the idea of planning my makes and keep it reasonable rather than trying to keep to unnecessary pressures!

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!

I’m currently on with The Dragor Dress by howtodofashion.

This pattern is a fabulous 50’s inspired dress with a full pleated skirt and a well-fitted top.  With my fabric choices i decided i wanted to match my Irregular Choice Cherry print Shoes to totally match the 1950’s look!

I’ve decided to hack the pattern a little and to add a band round the back too as i’m having a Polka Dot top, Red Waistband and Black Skirt. I was quite surprised of how good its turning out already and that i have matched up the front and back perfectly, if i do say so myself

Also my January Project for #Sew My Style – Sew House 7 Toaster Sweater Version 2!

Even though I have purchased both Patterns i felt i swayed more to version 2!

I’ll be using this fab Navy Arrow Knit Sweatshirt that I had bought from Sew  Up North back in November as I’ve been itching to get it used!

Okay now it’s your turn, what are your January Sewing Plans?

Sal xx

The post Sew The Year January Plans! appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

Wow, why I haven’t posted this Tutorial till now, I’m not sure why as this is one popular pattern and on my previous blog one of most popular tutorials!! Also my 1st ever Tutorial!! OMG!!

Today I’ll be showing you have to make The Skater Dress which was a freebie from Issue 8 of Love Sewing Magazine, but the pattern is now available by itself here in Paper format.

Now first things, make sure you launder your fabric prior to you starting to cut your pattern pieces out as this allows for shrinkage as it would be a complete shame not to do this before hand and to make a beauty of dress, wear it and love it then to put in the wash where it’ll shrink and the dress would be too small to wear!

First open up the envelope and make yourself a brew and read the instructions and make a list of materials/equipment you need if you don’t have them already so no last minute dash to the local haberdashery store or waiting days for online orders lol.

Here is what I’ve used:

2.5m of 60″ Notting Hill Birds Lilac by Gutermann from Sew Scrumptious

0.5m Iron on medium-weight interfacing

Guterman Thread – There’s no other thread like it in my opinion, you do need good quality thread as it does show in your creations.

16″ Concealed Zip or if you dont have that size available by a bigger one and you can easily alter it to 16″ by heating up a knife to get hot and gently press on the teeth of the zip of where 16″ is from top of the zip and hey presto!

Paper Scissors – For cutting Pattern Pieces out as these will blunt and make cutting fabric out quite uneven!

Fabric Scissors

Pins

Tailor’s Chalk – For marking on fabric that soon rubs away

Greaseproof Paper – Tracing the Pattern onto as for some reason i don’t want to chop up my paper patterns just in-case i need to make for a gift. Also a great alternative to expensive to Dress Making Paper.

French Curve – handy for getting those straight lines whilst tracing or to grade in between sizes if your measurements are in between sizes but i’m lucky enough that with Simple Sew i can use a straight size 10.

Pencil

Weights – for holding down pattern pieces in place without pin marks. I picked my up for 30p each from Boyes.

Iron and Ironing Board

And last but not least the Trusty Sewing Machine, Normal sewing foot and Concealed Zip Foot as using a normal zip foot will not have the same neat effect. I picked mine up from Amazon for £4.99.

Now then, you can go ahead and cut straight into the paper pattern to the size you require but if your like me and like to keep my paper pattern intact then trace your pattern onto the paper and to make sure you add any nothces/darts/markings onto the paper then cut out like shown below:

Fold fabric Right Sides Together selvedge to selvedge and places the pattern pieces on the top. Align the straight grain line on the pattern piece to grain of the fabric and either pin down the pieces or use pattern weights like i have its up to you! Then of course cut away!

Then iron on interfacing to the wrong sides of the fabric, there are only 3 small pieces to do and just a tip put a tea towel over the fabric and interfacing when ironing just incase you put it the wrong side as it makes a right mess of the iron and also a nice heat that itsnt too hot that would scrunch up the fabric.

Once you have cut out the pieces, transfer the markings onto your fabric using the tailors chalk, A handy tip for the darts i put a pin through the paper and fabric then gently pull away the paper to leave the pin in then match up the lines to the bottom of the dart…simples

Also i like to overlock (if you don’t have an overlock stitch on your machine just use a small zig zag stitch that works a treat too) the raw edges which are bottom edge of the facings, sides and bottom edge of the pleat panel – sides of the front bodice and bottom of the front and back bodice, skirt top, side seams and bottom edge of the skirt pieces that will in contact of me wearing the dress i.e. the seams so they have a lovely soft edge to them so you don’t have to fiddle around doing them whilst constructing the dress together.

Now finally onto the construction!!

Make sure you have plenty of thread in your bobbin as there isnt anything worse than getting halfway through sewing a long stretch of garment and to find you have only sewn half of it, trust me this has happened many times LOL

Make sure you have sewn all your darts in place before hand on your bodice pieces – to sew a dart always start at the bottom and back stitch to secure then stitch along to the centre front then dont back stitch here just tie the ends together as this prevents the dart looking bulky not a good look to have madonna style points LOL! Then press them so that they are facing the centre.

With the Right Sides Together pin the front and back bodices at the shoulders then press the seams opens. It is a good tip to keep pressing as prompted as you go as it keeps the garment nice and crisp and easier to sew.

Now join the Front and Back Neck Facings Right Sides Together and again press the seams open.

With the Right Sides Together pin the neck facing to the Bodice neckline then stitch into place. Clip notches into the inside edge of the neckline facing down to the stitch line just don’t cut into you stitching as this will make it lay flat and not have bulky bits when turning the facing out. So turn it back so it inside of the dress so now you have a lovely neat neckline and of course press flat!

Now onto the sleeves….a must admit I’m not a fan of sleeves as i have only made 2 sets of sleeves in all of sewing experience so far!! But these went in lovely as long as you take your time and not rush

Sew a Running Stitch (basically a stitch that isnt back stitched its just there to hold the fabric together until you have the permanent stitch in place – its stop the fabric from moving around) on the sleeve curve and pull on the threads slightly so it will fit into the curve of the armhole on the Bodice.

With the Right Sides Together stitch the sleeve into the armhole curve on the Bodice

Once you have sewn in both sleeves it should look like this:

Now we are getting somewhere! Now to join the front Skirt to the Front Bodice with the Right Sides Together, then sew the Left Back Bodice to the Left Back Skirt and then repeat with the Right Back Bodice to the Right Back Skirt.

No in the instructions it doesn’t tell how to join the sleeves together so here we go:

Pin with the Right Sides Together of the Sleeve and Left Hand Side of the dress and Sew all the way along from the sleeve end to the hem and then repeat for the otherside and voile you have a dress now just onto the zip and hem the sleeves and bottom of the dress! Nearly there peeps!

Now onto the tricky part, Pin one side of the zip Right Sides Together to the Back Bodice and then tack to secure as this will make it stay in place easier than pins when sewing. Remember to change your foot to the invisible zip foot and to stitch as close as possible to the Zip teeth and when sewing try to get as near to the bottom of the zip as you can. Then repeat onto the other side but remember to check that the zip is aligned at both sides as you don’t want a mismatched length zip lol!

Now turn the dress inside out and change back to your regular foot and sew from the last stitch on the zip to continue all the way down to the bottom of the dress.

Now to finish the zip at the top, as you will see ive stitched the zip onto the facing, hang on it will disappear! Turn the facing to the inside and pin it so it meets with the zip in the inside and hand stitched to secure and then iron the facing so it laid flat inside

and it should look like this:

Boom! Lovely neat Zip ends!!

Now all you need to do now is sew the sleeve hems and bottom of the dress I’ve used 2.5cm hem for my sleeves and 1cm for my bottom hem and hey presto you have a lovely Skater Dress as modeled by moi!!

The Front:

The back:

Please excuse the tannage line at the back LOL But this is a real gem to sew!

A big thank you to Laura at Sew Scrumptious who provided the Lovely fabric for me to make this dress it’s called Notting Hill Birds Lilac by Gutermann It’s 100% Organic Cotton and 145cm wide which is perfect width to make this dress. She has a lovely wide range of fabrics so please go and have a nosey and treat yourselves! Plus she has speedy delivery times too a total bonus when you need your fabric fix!

Now i hope you have found my tutorial helpful and if you have any questions please get in touch!!

Happy Sewing

Sal x

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