I’m finally getting round to showing you guys my more than just a Halloween Dress, i was inspired by Vicky @sewstainability and Elle @sewpositivity to try and be more environmentally friendly with my makes so instead of just creating a dress that i would wear once for Halloween, i could wear year round!

I found this fabric on Ebay and it was a mere £7.98 for 2 metres with free postage! But once it arrived, I was a little stumped on what dress to make at first but after discussions with Lisa @sewlastminutelisa, finally decided on using Pauline Alice Patterns Aldaia Dress there is a whooping 27 different options to make it yours!

I decided on the View B Bodice with View A Elbow Length Sleeves and View C 6 Gore Skirt. According to the Sizing Guide i was a 46, only alteration i made was to the sleeves as i usually do with my short arms.

The instructions were quite clear on how to sew the dress but I did have to refer to other parts of the instructions as I have combined 3 different parts of each version of the dress but I got there in the end.

For some reason I couldn’t get my darts on the bodice to match with the seams on the skirt hence why I used a quite apt ‘imperfect’ side seam label by Kylie and The Machine. You wouldn’t know as the pattern is quite busy but I know and you know what I ain’t going to let it bother me as at the end of the day, I’ve sewn it and I like it so monkeys to anyone else!

I really do like finishing my hems with a twin needle it gives really good looking results. My Mr Singer (Quantum Stylist 9960) actually behaves quite well for this task.

So here is my finished Dress and you know it’s such a good fit to say I’ve not used Pauline Alice Patterns before and especially not having to shorten the Skirt either! Win win in my book!

So here i am out in the Garden to get a bit of natural light while it lasts! This Dress highlights my good bits so i’ll be definitely making more

Thank you to the Biggest lad for being my Photographer.

So if you haven’t tried Pauline Alice Patterns yet i would highly recommend them for fitting straight out of the packet.

Happy Sewing!

Sal x

The post My more than just Halloween Dress! appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

This is my 1st post for Fabrics for All who are based in Leeds (who have a physical shop along side being able to order online too!) so they are not too far from me and they have such a vast array of different fabrics so not just for dressmakers but quilters and crafter’s too! They kindly gifted me these fabrics in exchange of a blog post.

I decided to finally get The Stitch upon a Time Shirtzie Dress made (not a lot of pages to stick together to say its a PDF Pattern) as I’ve seen so many pretty ones and thought I’d love to have some secret pjs so I decided on the ever so lush Lemon Print Jersey on Grey (this fabric is to Öko-Tex Standard 100 certificate, which guarantees that this fabric are free of toxins) which is one of the most softest yet easily sewable jerseys I’ve come across it’s not too think or thick and Mr Singer actually behaved himself whilst twin needle my hems where normally he would try and eat it ?. For a bit contrast i went plain black jersey for the cuffs and waistband just to break up the print.

These fabrics also cut out really well too and was quite stable whilst cutting with my Rotary Cutter and Mat.

I used Mrs Singer (Singer 14SH754 overlocker) for the majority of the sewing and for pure laziness I only changed the 1st two cones for the stitching to match through and also it gave a funky monochrome look to my finished seams inside.

Whilst Mr Singer (Quatum Stylisy 9960) came into play to baste my skirt to my waistband to make sure I got the gathers ok and to finish the hems with twin needle. Which Mr K kindly brought home for me on his way home from work as forgot to replace it after I broke it a couple of projects ago…oppps!

I managed to get this beauty finished the day before my annual fundraising event at work where I manned the Tombola and stayed away from all the cake… Somehow ??? all together we managed to raise over £400 which is fantastic to say the weather was not on our side so I’m glad to see the monies going into the Amenities fund where it will be used to enrich my Residents lives ?

Now this never happens by the way with such a tiny amount of thread left on my bobbin from using my twin needle to topstitch… Think the sewing god’s was on my side for a change!!

Finally, here is my dress in action!

And a few close up of the details that I love about this dress, the lined bodice with a twin needle topstitch, the little cute label from Kylieandthemachine, the contrast cuffs just to name a few and of course it has pockets!! Who doesn’t love a dress with pockets!

Just to finish this post, i stumbled across this quote and totally sums me up right now ?

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade and sell it to all of those who get thirsty from complaining.

Happy Sewing!

Sal

Xx

The post When life gives you lemons… Make a dress!! ♥️ appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

Hi all!

Can you believe that I haven’t blogged since November! I’m so sorry, life has been quite upside since I’ve been diagnosed with b12 and Vit D deficiencies, I’ve been back and forth to GP fo injections, medication and appointments. Fingers crossed things will be on an even keel soon but thankfully some of my energy is returning and managed to get some sewing! But then to top it all off i’ve gone and fractured my knuckle!! So I’m a little bit annoyed that everything has come to a stand still yet again!

A part of my treatment is to get exercise back into my week but slowly and not to overdo myself which will set me back so I attend my local leisure centre at least once a week with a PT session to see how I’m getting on and making sure I don’t over do it lol, easier said then done though!

So I thought to get my sewjo going I’d make myself a Gym top.

I choose the awesome Saturn Spandex which is more like a scuba in the way it drapes and it’s thickness but it’s really good quality. It’s perfect for activewear! Just look at how cute Sammy packages your goodies!!

I’ve had Melissa book of sewing your activewear for a while but not dared to make anything from it till now! I put on Instagram that I was going to tackle my first activewear project and Melissa kindly replied to tackle the loose fitting top.

First of all, i read the instructions and carefully looked at the sizing chart to make sure I get the correct fit.

So armed with my tracing paper, hello kitty pencil, grading ruler I made a start of tracing my block. Melissa’s instructions are really good to get the perfect fit. At least i did remember to add the Seam Allowances too! 

The loose fitting top is only 4 pattern pieces – front, back, sleeve and neckband. Gotta love simplicity!

Armed with Mr and Mrs Singer I was raring to go!

To give my top an extra special touch I decided to use a twin needle finish to hems and it didn’t take long to get the tension/stitch length right for the fabric.

So here we are the finished results!

My Gym Gear and of course Moi in the leisure centre changing rooms…. I like to be colourful!

It’s also a fab too for running in too as it didn’t ride up  I started back to running/walking last week with the eldest wanting to join in. Well at least i managed to get this made before my accident so its been washed and put ready with my Gym clothes to make a return soon as i’m all healed!

Happy Sewing!!

Sal xx

**All Fabrics and Habersashery were given to me to free of charge for promtion of SewCrafty Shop**

The post Sew Crafty Design Team Project -My 1st activewear Top! appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

As you can probably tell, I’m off with the kids for Easter holidays so i can finally play catch up with my blog!

The lovely Muriel from Craftine asked if i would like to review one of her bi-monthly subscription boxes as they have recently started offering this beautiful boxes to the UK, well as a Yorkshire lass can’t say no to that!! Hahaha!

Let me explain a little about how it works!

It’s a Sewing Subscription and every two months you will be sent out a Box of Sewing goodies directly to you with free delivery! You can’t get better than that can you!

You have everything you need to make yourself a garment as the fabric given in the box is very generous! I was surprised that inside the box that you even had the matching thread and sewing machine needles a very big win in my book! Plus, a little treat of Herbal Tea, such a nice touch!

The pattern in the box was for Bergamote Top which is sized 6-20 UK which covers a lot people which is fab and there is a link for the instructions online, where I personally prefer this method as it saves paper and I actually get to use the iPad from the kids!

The pattern supplied is a suggestion to use but I didn’t feel pressure to use as they say in the notes which was nice.

Truth be told, i wasn’t a fan of the sleeves but the pattern is in my stash ready and waiting if i ever changed my mind or want to make one for a friend!

So i decided to make The Frankie Top by Tilly and The Buttons. This Top was a freebie inLove Sewing Magazine Issue 50 or in her new book Stretch!

The fabrics supplied were absolutely gorgeous! I’ve never sewn with Milano Jersey before and my word it’s a dream!! Its a great quality thick jersey that doesn’t crease or unravels! Win win! So this fabric would be great for a beginner tackling their first jersey project or even for the experienced amongst us that want a little bit snugness!

I love the fab little note inside the box of giving you all the details of what is inside, tips and info!

So me being me, i decided to live a bit dangerously and use 3 colours to make my Frankie! Well i just thought of Frankenstein( yes my brain works in peculiar ways!) aka Frankie so i thought it’d be quite appropriate for a mash up of colours!

I used Grey Velvet Polka Dots Milano (love it!!) for the Sleeves, Blue ( i would say teal!) Milano and for the collar, i used some Black ribbing in my stash.

I cut out a straight size 4 as with my previous make of the Stella Hoodie but then shortened the 3 quarter length sleeves by 2″ for my stupidly short arms! hahaha!

I put in the new needle out of the pack provided, wound the thread onto the bobbin and tested out which stitch length/width to use before i got cracked on and i’m glad i did as it took me a few attempts to get it right so that the stitches were showing through when stretched. So i set my machine to zig-zag stitch at 0.6 length and 2 wide and off i went!

I’m thankful of the menthol Tea that was in the box too and it helped clear my nasal passages as i was bit congested, blumming kids being caring and sharing of their cold! It was rather sweet yet menthol taste at the same time, unusual but at least i gave it a go!

The Milano was a dream to sew with, it behaved itself with Mr Singer who is known to eat said Jerseys in the past.

I didn’t bother with changing the colour of the thread as i went onto the Grey as i quite like the contrast of the blue to the Grey and i think it helps tie in the colour theme i’ve got going on!

So after a few hours sewing my Frankie was made!!

Of course moi wearing it! It’s a secret PJ Top!!

So my verdict of the Craftine Box is well worth its weight in gold!!

It’s such a great box aimed at the Dressmakers of all abilities rather than Quilters or Crocheters – no offensive of course but us sewists don’t seem to have many ‘Happy Mail’ boxes to come through our letter box like this! I’ve got left over fabric to make myself some knickers, just need some lace and fold over elastic! Yay!

Happy Sewing!

Sal xx

The post Ma Craftine Box Review appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

In Issue 40 of Simply Sewing Magazine there was a fantastic freebie pattern by Tilly and The Buttons – The Stella Hoodie!! It’s also available from her new Book – Stretch! Make yourself Comfortable Sewing with Knit Fabrics.

Truth be told, I’ve not had much look with Tilly’s patterns in the past but on a whim i decided to give them another go and I’m glad i did!!

GirlCharlee has kindly provided me with the softest French Terry in Teal that i have ever come across! It’s a bargain at £10.96 per metre! It even behaved really well on my Singer Quantum Stylist 9960 and Singer Overlocker so a def winner in my eyes!

I had a rummage through my stash too as i wanted to add a bit of pop to my hoodie and thankfully i had some left over Grey Floral Cotton Jersey from January’s Sew My Style of the Sunny Top.

According to my measurements I need a size 4 and i risked it by not making a toile but as the saying goes “risk it for a biscuit” and I’m glad I did as it saved myself time and the fit is great! but I wouldn’t recommend it if you do have to grade between sizes as making a toile would make sure you had the perfect fit.

I used my Overlocker for the majority of the construction of this Hoodie as i am sucker for nice neat lines inside and out. Doesn’t hurt have a glass of wine as a companion either, especially when the football is on! Hahaha!

I love my Automatic Buttonhole feature on my machine as it makes buttonholes a breeze and remember if you are using jersey to interface the back of your fabric to stabilise it and to achieve a great buttonhole.

The only thing I did change was that rather have a normal cuff, I wanted thumbholes! Since the weather is still naff and i wanted to try something new!

I’ll show you how to do this! It’s rather simple but uber effective!

I had to shorten the sleeve itself by 2 inches but that’s me with short arms so best check where the cuff would be by pinning the folded cuff piece to the sleeve using 1.5cm seam allowance for guidance.

First of all I pinned the cuff piece in place and added an extra 3″ to the height of the piece.

Take one cuff and pin so that the raw edges meet, right sides together. Now mark 1″ away from the edges at the top and bottom of the cuff and then measure 1.5″ (that will be your thumbhole) so once folded they will line up when you fold the cuffs.

Sew the seam using 1.5cm seam allowance, stopping and backtacking on either side of the holes to leave them open. Start at one end to the 1st pin, remembering to backsticth and then continue on from the 2nd pin as you will need this gap for your thumbhole and repeat to the end of the seam.

I graded my seam allowance down by half and pressed the seam open.

Fold the cuffs with wrong sides together, lining up the thumbholes. Pin together along either side of the holes and along the seam. Yeah… I go overboard with Pins!

This next step is a little awkward on your machine. I flipped my cuff so that the pins were in the inside and gently eased the rest o the cuff away whilst sewing. Sew 1/4″ from the seam from end to end, closing up the sides of the thumbholes. Repeat on other cuff.

Add a bartack at either end of the thumbholes to secure this stress point.

Ta-dah! You now have a thumbhole cuffs! Yay! Can you believe that’s all there is to it!

Just remeber when attaching the cuffs that the thumbhole and seam match to the sleeve seam or you will end up with the thumbholes wrong way round.

Tilly’s instructions are great for making this hoodie and i’m thinking I need a copy of her book as the patterns look fantastix and that this one has fitted really well it’s given me the confidence to try the patterns again! So win win!

I finished the hoodie by using aqua 1.5cm wide cotton tape that I bought from eBay for 99p, gotta love a bargain!

I hope you like this little tutorial on making your own thumbhole cuffs, I have a feeling I’ll be making all long sleeve tops like this now ?

Now here is the finished result hung up.

Of course moi wearing my new secret pj top, it’s soo comfy yet pretty with the floral accents!

Happy Sewing!

Sal xx

The post Tilly and The Buttons Stella Hoody and a Thumbhole Hack appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

Hi All! I’m back for my 2nd year with The Sew Crafty Design Team and kicking off my 1st Project for 2018 showing you how to make your own Passport Cover! Honestly, It is really easy as i say it is!

List of Supplies:

• Pattern Ruler
• Pins
• Medium weight fabric for the outer and the inner – I’ve used the ever so gorgeous Blend Faraway Forest Dream a Little Dream in Grey
• Medium weight woven fusible interfacing
• Chop stick/Skewer! I ain’t that fancy to own a point turner but if you have one then use it.
• Tailors Chalk
• Scissors
• Gutterman Thread and Full Bobbin
• Sewing machine Needles 80/12

Let’s make your Cover!

Fold the Fabric Right Sides Together.

I calculated for a UK Passport that i needed a rectangle of 31cm wide and 16cm high and includes a seam allowance of 1/4″ (o.6cm). It’s all written down in my Sew Crafty Journal, which is a fab tool as it had plenty of room to add my notes and calculations instead on a scrap piece of paper which i would end up losing!

I drew on the fabric using my tailors chalk and my Pattern ruler and tried my best to get it straight with the aid of the Ruler and my mat but i am only human after all!

Cut all the way around the fabric, following the outline we just drew.

Lay one piece of the Cover onto lightweight woven fusible interfacing. Pin and cut out one piece. I cheated a little, i folded my piece in half and then did the same for interfacing and pinned in place and cut out which meant less cutting! So now you should have 2 pieces of the fabric for your cover and 1 piece of interfacing

Sewing it all together!

Fuse the interfacing to the outer layer of the fabric with the glue side of the interfacing facing the wrong side of the fabric.

Place the two layers of fabric right sides together. Pin around the entire piece leaving a section about 2″ wide marked to be left unsewn for turning the piece right sides out.

Sew around the perimeter of the pieces using 1/4″ seam allowance starting at one side of the opening and remembering to Pivot (That word always reminds me of the episode of Friends with Ross and Chandler are moving the sofa to Ross’s apartment!!) when you reach each corner. Then back tacking at the otherside of the opening.

Trim the corners to reduce bulk. I trimmed at a 45-degree angle and also shaved off a little bit on either side of the corner to create nice corners.
Carefully turn the entire piece right sides out through the opening left in the bottom. Use a point turner or chopstick like i have to form nice corners after turning right side out.

Fold the seam allowance into the opening left in the bottom of the fabric and press the entire piece.

Now to finish the Cover!

Measure and fold each end of the fabric 2.1″ (6cm) into the inside. Pin in place all the way around the entire piece, and press.

Edge stitch the hole closed and the flaps in place all at the same time by stitching the perimeter of the cover at 1/4″ (0.6cm) seam allowance. Be sure to pivot at each corner. Press the entire piece after sewing.

Slip each end of your passport into the end flaps (hahaha!) sorry i am crude at times, and you’re ready to go!

So here is my lovely cover with 2 other covers!

Of course the boys needed one a piece doing! Ethan went for Star Wars Darth Vadar Fabric and Rhys went for Spiderman Comic Fabric – which are both are currently on sale for £3 per half metre, bargain!!

Mr K had already bought himself one from Amazon so it saved me a job! So my fist lot of Holiday Sewing! Can’t believe it’s only 10 weeks away till we go away to Florida!! Best get a wiggle on on sewing my holiday wardrobe then!

Happy Sewing!

Sal xx

The post Sew Crafty Design Team Project #001 for 2018! Passport Holder Tutorial appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

February has been a bit hectic for me! Kids on half term and We’ve been planning our trip to Florida in May and everything is now finalised and paid for including the dollars so just need to sort our holiday clothes!

February’s Sew my Style was either the ever so gorgeous By Hand London Rumana Coat or Style Arc Estelle Cardigan.

I opted for the Estelle as I didn’t have the time or patience for such a big project of the Rumania as the Estelle is made with Ponte jersey and I whipped this one up in an afternoon just as the instructions stated.

I even opted for the in seam pockets as a girl can’t have too many pocketed garments can they?!

I made this from my stash from Minerva crafts originally as it’s still on the site here it’s a beautiful Boucle Double Jersey.

The only alterations I made were taking 3 inches of the length of the cardigan and 2 inches off the sleeve length as I am short! ? Like my Hello Kitty pencil?

I didn’t like the too rough and ready look on the edges of my cardi think its the perfectionist in me, so I decided to use a rolled hem using my overlocker and really like the look with the contrast of black and grey.

This is a great staple for my work when I go to head office as it’s quite smart yet relaxed at the same time. I love it!

Now I’m on a roll, i’ve completed 2 projects from sewmystyle now! Boom!

I’m looking forward to March’s project of the Kallie Shirt/Dress by Miegen Nielsen as I can see this being perfect for my holiday as it’s loose fitting and casual, I really like the curved hem of it! Just need to decide on the fabric!

Happy Sewing!

Sal xx

The post February’s #sewmystyle – The Estelle Cardigan appeared first on The Yorkshire Sewist.

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.

I’ve been wanting to make these PJ’s since it was a freebie that landed on my doorstop with Issue 10 of Sew Now Magazine…. trouble was that I didn’t have the perfect Fabric in my stash!!

Now surely when making your own Pj’s you want them to be –  A) comfortable and B) the most craziness Fabric print!!!

So the search went on….finally came across Flamingo Fabrics that sold this ever so awesome Unicorn 100% Cotton Fabric for such a steal at £2.39 a metre and its 60″ wide too!! Yay! I’m sorry but who can’t say no to Unicorns?!

Now I haven’t been blogging in a long time, with my 1st post in 2 months was posted a couple of days ago…. so i’m finally get back into the swing of things and came across Laura’s #Wardrobebuilder August Project which is Nightwear and Jo’s #sewingthescene which has Prizes!!!!!

The idea for Sewing The Scene is to sew something for your normal wardrobe (not a costume) inspired by film or TV, then share a photo on Instagram with the tag #sewingthescene.

Now if you haven’t seen my Insta feed I posted the delightful Agnes cuddly a Fluffy Unicorn!!! I love the Minions/Despicable Me franchise…even more than my kiddies i think! So i decided to dedicate my PJ’s with Unicorns!!

via GIPHY

According to the measurements, I decided to make a medium for the shoulders and bust then grade to a large from the waist and hips as PJ’s are meant to comfortable!

Now for some reason…I’ve not made an old fashioned type PJ before as I’ve recently made Tilly and The Buttons Fifi which i loved making to truth be told the PJ’s were pretty quick to sew together espically when using Mrs Singer to finish my Seams before hand

I seem to like making buttonholes at the moment, you’d think since making 15 for my Hawthorn Dress I’d be like “hell no!” but who couldn’t resist sparkly buttons!

For the length of the Cropped Trousers, i still took a massive 10″ off them so the sit nicely just under my knee Yeah…..I’m a short ass!!! So for the Hem on these I decided to do a double hem instead of an overlocked one just for a change! Hahaha!

With using 0.6mm aka 1/4″ Seam Allowance for Sewing them up, it allows for this truly nice finished inside the PJ’s

The only downside I had with this Pattern was the instructions to make the casing for the Elastic for the PJ Bottoms. I just thought it was a fiddly way of doing that step so i resorted to what i know!

I made the channel 1st by pressing it 2cm to the wrongside (to the inside of the Bottoms) and then stitched in place, remembering to leave a gap and then thread the elastic through with a safety pin and then stitch the elastic together and sew the gap! One Easier way of making Casing!!

So in a couple of days (probably be a full day if i wasn’t at 9-3 at work lol) I made these beauties!!

I just love the Collar on these its so crisp!!

And of course nothing else isn’t compete without a Cuppa in bed with your Unicorn Jammies and no work!!! Bliss!!

Enjoy what ever you are up to today! I’m off School Shoe shopping for the boys…..wish me luck!!

Sal xx

The post Kwiksew 3553 – Unicorn PJ’s!!! 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

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