StyleArc Nina Cardigan in bold leopard print

Hi there, I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, did anyone get up to any sewing? Have you heard the amazing news that Sewing Bee is back on British TV on Feb 12th? That's less than 3 weeks away, I couldn't be more excited! But anyway that't not why I am here, I am here to tell you all about this StyleArc Nina cardigan which is my most recent make and a big tick for the first project in my #makenine2019 list. If your not sure what this is head over to instagram and have a little goosey.

Its the first time I have ever made a cardigan so its nice to add a new skill to my repertoire, and this fabric has been in my stash for at least 12 months so I am happy to finally give it a lease of life. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this make and I will go into more details about that below.

2 nap times, 2 maternity dresses - part 1

Its probably a little late to start sewing more maternity clothes in my 3rd trimester but I got so fed up of hating all my clothes and how I look in them I had had enough and decided I might as well just do something about it to cheer myself up.

I mean I probably only have about 12 weeks left, which when you think about home sewing doesn't really seem worth the effort. That being said I know I will get a lot of wear out of these in the coming weeks and as the title of the post implies these dresses really didn't take me very long at all (2 nap times in fact!).

The first one I am going to show to you in this post is this amazing white leopard print version which as you can see I appropriately wore for a recent trip to the zoo. Thankfully I wasn't attacked by a lion or adopted by the snow leopards.

The main reasons why these two dresses were so quick is firstly they are both the same pattern, meaning I could sew them simultaneously and secondly they are a dress I have made before so I already know it fits and the construction method - bonus.  The pattern is the Cara top and Erin skirt from the Megan Nielsen Maternity survival pack. I made another leopard version of this dress a month or so ago which I blogged about here. For this version I used the ruching placement for the top rather than the skirt which I think I did last time and its sitting a little higher this time giving a much better fit around the bump. I also made these versions ever so slightly longer as its getting warmer meaning I could wear them without tights if needed. The technique for this hack couldn't be simpler, just cut the two patterns out in your size and then overlay them following the contours. You will likely find the skirt is slimmer than the top. When cutting I decided to keep the bottom of the skirt the same size, graded up to the top size in the hips. because I am a very curvy figure, then follow the shape of the top up to the shoulder.

This pattern hack really is so easy to do and its super quick to sew, I really recommend it.

(It's actually snowing in this picture, I mean its April and its snowing!)

I have basically decided that this type of dress is the only type of thing I am comfortable wearing during pregnancy and its completely pointless trying to wear anything else. It fits easily, pulls on, grows with you and is not in any way restrictive so its just so comfortable. Its definitely the type of clothing I reach for every morning as long as I have a clean version so I am really happy to have two more in my rotation of clothing hence my decision that this was not going to be a waste of sewing.

I love this dress, i'm so pleased with it. I think its the fabric that really makes it so amazing and it brings my total count of leopard maternity dresses to 3!

Next week I will post the second version of this dress and talk about the fabric in more detail so I look forward to seeing you then.

How do you feel about sewing for the short term? Is it worth it? I suppose a lot of us sew for special occasions, items which might be quiet costly but only get a very small amount of wears? Is the value in the longevity of an item or the amount of pleasure you get from it? I've often previously thought it was about it only being worthwhile if it was going to get a lot of use, but maybe I have been looking at it all wrong?

Leopard Maternity Dress

Hello, finally as a little respite to all the baby sewing I am pleased to say this week I am here to show you some slightly more grown up sewing in this lovely leopard print maternity dress.

I love wearing dresses when pregnant, nice big stretchy ones! You see all these stunning pictures of pregnant ladies in their skinny jeans, but its not for me. I wish I could wear a pair of jeans but I just find them so uncomfortable. Hand me a nice stretchy dress instead and I'm so much happier. As you can see my bump is progressing very nicely (with a big help from chocolate!) so its nice to get another outfit to add to my currently very limited wardrobe of clothes that actually fit (and look good).

The dress is actually a mash up of two of the patterns from the Megan Nielsen Maternity survival pack set of sewing patterns. It is the Erin skirt and the Cara top. I cut out both patterns to my size and they overlay one over the other. The ruching is in slightly different places in both patterns so I had to wing it a bit but it came together really nicely. I think the ruching maybe could have been slightly higher but it works where it is perfectly fine.

These patterns really are so quick and easy to sew and this dress was no exception to that. The fit is lovely and its just so easy to pull on and can be worn with tights or without. I can definitely see me adding at least one more of these to my collection before baby is due.

The fabric is some very old jersey that I bought at a local market which I used to make my first lady skater dress (some time ago now). Its been sitting in a box in my craft room for at least 2 years maybe more. I hadn't managed to find a better project for it before now so its nice to see it finally getting some love and in turn making some more room for me to buy more lovely fabric in its place.

I hope you like the dress, and I hope it inspires you to have a go at making one if you haven't already. Its so nice to make maternity clothes, even if they aren't going to get the most wear ever.

Now i'm off to go consider whats next on my ever growing list of sewing projects, whats your next project going to be?

Leopard Prom Dress

Pregnant lady on a swing in a leopard print prom dress... Very dignified of course! 

So of course I changed my mind didn't I! After making the jade prom dress I decided it was too dark for a wedding and thought about going out and panic buying a new frock from the fabulous Frock. Though I know what I am like and the one dress I would have wanted was the leopard print poplin bombshell dress! So having already got 2 meters of the fabric and a pattern that still fits for now I decided I might as well just have a go at rush jobbing the thing myself last week and I successfully managed to make this dress in time for the wedding.

We had a fabulous time in Scotland seeing two of our friends getting married. What better way to spend a weekend than sharing two peoples really special day with them in the company of more really good friends! We all had a really great time (dispite my complete sober ness) and I am so thankful that we were invited along :) 

We visited Scotland twice in one day (due to our hotel actually being just the other side of the border), ate far too much food, played on the park, danced, sang and were generally very merry. All in all a great time was had by all. And despite this being the hardest occasion for not drinking I was at least glad to not have a hangover the next morning. So here's to many more weekends like this one.

On a less exciting note for now... They are ripping the kitchen out this morning... I am already fed up of. Noting gift being where it should be and tonight there will be even more chaos. I am sure it will be worth it in the end. Here is a picture of what it looked like this morning ( I hate that oven in the middle of the room!).

New Mollie Makes Subscription and This Months Shoe Clips

  

You know we all need more shoe clips right? Of course we do! and here are some more DIY clips brought to you as the DIY project on the front of the latest issue of Mollie Makes magazine.

Aren't they so cute! pretty pastel pink tulle and some added sparkle make these a perfect way to jazz up a pair of old pumps. 

Its ok to wear leopard print tights and leopard print shoes at the same time isn't it?   

 

The issue (41) is out now and choc full of retro makes. I personally really fancy trying out the floral crown and the record label place mats (which would make an excellent gift for my daddy). I love this magazine. I always check it out and buy more copies than I think I do so decided that I might as well just say 'sod it' and I purchased a 6 month subscription. It will be so nice to have a bit of craft inspiration through my door each month, especially as I get more and more involved in the blog with you guys. 

The flowers are made in a very similar fashion to some of the ones we made during our away day, however instead of one long piece of fabric is it three smaller pieces overlapped slightly. You then do a quick running stitch across the bottom, pull it tight and secure. Then add the pretty sparkley gem to the front and the show clip to the back. Really simple but wonderfully effective. I made these up in one of my lunch hours it was that simple!

So what did we get up to this weekend? Well Me and Mr Fox had a lovely chilled out one. Finished off our new front garden (pics on my Twitter if you are that interested), saw family, went for a dinner at friends it has been great. Now just one more week of work and we jet off for some sun, sea, sand and relaxation! Bring it on!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? I would love to hear about them.

Wire Wrap Headband

Hello and happy Friday. I really don't know where this week has gone but it will soon be the weekend again. Mr Fox is doing his dissertation presentation today which is the very last part of his degree. I am very proud of him and have everything crossed for when he gets his results. I know he is going to be very happy and relaxed after he has this last hurdle out the way. We also booked a last minute week in Rhodes in 5 weeks time Yippee! Sun, here I come!

This weekend we are going to do Go Ape at Sherwood Forest on Saturday for a friends birthday, though with forecasts of thunderstorms it could be interesting! Then on Sunday my mums 60th so we are all going out with her to spend a day celebrating everything that is mummy. 

Thinking about going and having some fun in the sun, I don't know how many of you have noticed but I am actually of the ginger persuasion and so my skin doesn't do well in any kind of sun. I am one of those factor 50 I even in the UK gals! I have spent my life listening to my mum tell me 'don't forget your hat' but to be honest she is not wrong and I have even taken on the mantle of reminding everyone of this myself. However, I hate hats and I look ridiculous in them. I do have a big floppy pink one but it's still not something I would want to wear when out for a sunny strole in the UK, only on holiday where I don't know anyone! So how do I keep the sun off my head without looking ridiculous? A fabric headband.

I do find sometimes though that ones in the shop can be quiet tight, or too loose so when I saw some tutorials for wire wrap headbands on Pinterest I decided to have a go. 

The concept is very simple. Measure the circumference of your head where you want the band to sit and add 8 inches. Cut a long strip of fabric the length of this measurement and twice your desired width. With right sides together fold the strip of fabric in half along the length and sew about the edge of the fabric leaving a small gap to turn the band right side out. Cut a piece of wire the length of your band with a little extra on the end so you can fold this over and not have a sharp edge. Feed the wire inside the headband and then sew the hole closed. Now wrap the band round your head and twist the ends into a little bow. Soooo easy! You can see I made it in my favourite fabric haha!

The one I have made is a bit more decorative than functional, I need to make one which is much wider at the bottom so I have the option of wearing it the other way up to keep my head safe from the sun. 

And that's it from me for now, I hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever you have planned xx

DIY Fabric Bow Belt Tutorial

Hello, and happy bank holiday! Its a gorgeous day so you shouldn't be reading this, you should be outside enjoying yourself, but if you are saving this until after the bank holiday then read ahead.

Last week I brought you my leather bow belt tutorial to make your very own very easy elasticated belt featuring a leather bow on the front.

This week I wanted to show you that this pattern is so very versatile and so if you don't fancy having a go with leather you can make a version from your favorite fabric, how good is that! Whats even better is that this is a great little stash-busting idea, perfect for your favorite fat quarter, or just some of your favorite leopard print fabric that you use to make everything! This little version took me less than an hour to make yesterday whilst I waited for the supermarket delivery so gogo get at it. 

For that fabric bow belt you will need:

• Enough 2inch wide elastic to fit round your waist (colour of your choice)
• Some of your favorite fabric
• Heavy Interfacing
• Polyester thread
• 4 x popper notions (I used the same as my leather belt but you can use sew on as well)
• Popper tools (if not using sew on studs)
• Bow pattern (click here to download the PDF)

N.B. this will work with most fabrics but cottons work best. thicker fabrics such as denim/twill may not require interfacing, but anything thinner will to keep the bow looking sturdy.

The pattern follows the same basic steps as the leather version however there are a few additional sewing steps.

Step 1: 
Using the outside edge of the pattern cut out the following in both your fabric and your interfacing:
2 x large bow pieces
2 x thin center pieces
4 x rectangle popper pieces (on the fold)

Step 2: 
Iron on a piece of interfacing to wrong side of each fabric piece

 Step 3:

Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance sew around the pattern pieces as shown on the pattern document, making sure to leave one end of the large bow piece open to turn

Step 4:
Turn all your pattern pieces the right way up and press

Step 5:
Finding the center of the elastic, and with the ends of the bow folded in to the center at the back, stitch the center of the bow to the center of the elastic with a straight line making sure your raw edges or tucked in.

Step 6:
Tuck in the two raw edges of the center bow strip and stitch them together. Thread them over the elastic and bow so it sits neatly in the middle covering your straight line of stitches.
(picture details on these steps can be found here)

Step 7: 
Making sure your raw edges are tucked in fold your popper piece over the end of your bow and top stitch round all edges on both ends of the belt.

Step 8: 
Attach two poppers to each end of the belt making sure the tabs overlap neatly when closed.

Step 9:
Wear your new creation with pride, and contemplate just how many of these you can fit in your wardrobe!!!

Of course it would make me very happy to see your versions of these so please feel free to leave a comment linking yours, or send me a picture.

Don't Fear the Twin Needle: My First Lady Skater

 

I went shopping this weekend and had such a huge attack of 'I could so make that myself, and it would fit better'. This can be quiet an irritating habit because not only do you need to find the time (who are you trying to kid you have time for this), but also getting all the fabric/notions required to actually make the thing that you probably could have purchased for less than £20! Never mind. I did at least come home and do some sketches as well as making a pinterest board to keep my ideas together before I forget.

 

But that wasn't what this post was supposed to be about was it, no! Its a post about my first ever Lady Skater. I did it, not only did I conqour a fear of knits, but I mastered both the overlocker and had my first ever attempt at using a twin needle. My conclusion: Don't fear the twin needle, its great and really easy to use (even if my threads did tangle on one occasion).

A bit about the Pattern:
Pattern: Lady Skater by Kitschy Coo
Fabric: Grey Leopard Jersey Knit
Size: 3
Alterations: I took the hem up by 2 inches.

Verdict: I LOVE this pattern and can foresee many more versions of this in the future. Its so easy to fit, I fit it on my waist size and you can see that the girls are sitting in there fine with no major issues at all. The skirt is flared so there is no need to worry about hip adjustments either. All in all this is the perfect pattern for trying your hand at some knit/jersey sewing. The instructions were really clear and it has a simple construction. I ditched the iPad half way through as the construction was so obvious. This makes me happy. When making this up again I will probably try and scoop the neck a bit more by tracing one of my favourite vest tops. I will also shorten the sleeve as I am a bit strange and don't like a 3/4, I sort of prefer a 1/2 coming just to the elbow (you can see its already bunched up and will stay that way!).

At this point I want to impart a bit of wisdom on to you all. If you only ever buy one additional foot for your sewing machine make it a walking foot. I bought mine because I was doing some quilting but my goodness this thing is so useful for EVERYTHING. It basically 'walks' both layers of fabric through the machine at the same speed. Perfect if you have fabrics of different construction, or are sewing knits to stop them from overstretching.

Those of you who have already made the Lady Skater might notice the issue I had with the elastic on this one. I am not going to lie to you, its a mess! This pattern wants you to sew some thin elastic into the seam allowance on the shoulders and the waist to stop the fabric stretching over time. Wearing it I can see why you would do this, however putting it in was a mare! The elastic I used is very plasticy and so it wouldn't feed under the machine foot. I ended up having to pull it through the machine to attach it and it just stretched the seams way out of proportion. Thankfully the lovely Amanda who designed this pattern gave me some top tips which I will certainly test out to find out which works best for me before sewing up the next version. These were: try a walking foot (literally D'OH, why did I not even try this!); make the feed tension lesser, i,e treat it like you are sewing something very think; stick some masking tape to the bottom of the presser foot to stop it sticking (I have also heard this is good for sewing oilcloth, so I need to try it on PVC) or stitch through some tracing paper and then remove after sewn in. Hopefully the walking foot will work but there are lots of options to try if not (Thank you Amanda).

How cute are these tights! Meow! They were from Primark in case you want to snap up a pair.

So if you haven't tried this pattern I really suggest you do, overlocker or no, its really great and so comfy to wear. Not to mention knits come in the most amazing array of prints. Despite this being a bit of a glorified muslin I think it will still get worn with the belt as it covers up the biggest sin.

And don't forget, don't fear the twin needle, honestly, try this for knits it gives a perfect finish. I will leave you with some of the sketches and the pinterest board that I made instead of just giving myself an easy life!

Simplicity 2258

I am cheating a little bit with this post as this is actually something I made around a year ago, post GBSB1, that never made its debut on the internets.

The Pattern: Simplicity 2258

View: C

Fabric: Leopard print cotton (I think quilting)

Fabric Source: Derby Eagle Centre Market

About the pattern: This is the first item of clothing I made from a pattern (apart from a corset) in many many years, I don't know why I feared it so much. I was determined with this pattern that I would follow the instructions and sew it word for word. The pattern is actually really easy to follow and the construction was simple. This actually was the perfect starting project. It has an elasticated waist so no fiddly fastenings, but the pockets and tie make it a bit more interesting.

About the item: I hate it! I mean its really horrible. The skirt itself is really nice and the pockets are really deep and AWESOME, I want to keep my hands in there all day! I like the length as well. However; the elasticated waist is not flattering, I really don't like the tie bit, I know it hides the elasticated bit but it just feels really big, and the shape of it on me just makes me feel like I am wearing a sack. I think a lot of this might be down to the poor fabric choice (I know, I know, novice seamstress sewing in quilters cotton!) but I am reluctant to remake this because of the elasticated waist. It really is a shame as I really want to like it.

 

I am sure one day I will find a suitable fabric/use for this pattern, I maybe need to figure out the darts whilst keeping the pockets and add a zip in there. But that will wait for another day. Do you have any items you love to hate/hate to love? I would be interested to hear about them, I am sure we have all been there done that at some point. 

p.s. I apologise for looking grumpy in these pictures, the neighbours 16yr old son and his mates were hanging out in the garden, and needless to say, I was trying to look less weird than I already did taking pictures of myself in the garden!

By Georgia, She's an Animal!

Happy Friday! This weekend will mostly be spent looking at new kitchens which is both very exciting and very dull both at the same time. However it is the first time I have ever had to design my own kitchen so I must enjoy the process as much as possible Yay!

This week I am proud to present my second version of the Georgia dress in this gorgeous leopard print cotton poplin... Rawr! Topically Animal by Def Leopard is playing as I type this and because you are bound to want to know, the ears are from the fabulous Crown and Glory.

Project Details:

Pattern: Georgia, By Hand London 

Fabric: Leopard print poplin, bought locally from My Fabric Place

Size: 6-10-14 with a 3" FBA

Other adjustments: shortened and  widened the straps

I am very happy with this dress, it's so easy to wear, the fit around the body is lovely and the straps are much better on this version meaning I can actually wear a bra (can I just say that my bra, pants and socks are also all leopard print under this outfit! Meow!). I did have some fitting issues, I don't think it needed to be drafted out to a 14, I think a 12 would have sufficed. In addition to this, because I shortened the straps the waist sections came up a bit high so I had to do a bit of adjusting in the seams there. Nothing too complicated though. 

The only issue with this version is my chest just will not fit in there and so if really needs to be worn with a cardi, though I am carrying some extra pounds, so hopefully that won't always be an issue. I think this is again down to the straps being a little too short, I think I need some sort of happy medium between the two versions. 

The thing I like very best about this dress though is the inside, its shocking pink! I almost wish this was the outside its spectacular. I wanted to line the dress because I know that poplin has a tendency to stick to tights and so I wanted it to be a bit easier to wear. Lining the dress was very simple, essentially you just make the dress twice and joint them at the top of the bodice... simples!

This time I also needed the zip so check out my invisible zipper insertion, I am really happy with this. I realise its not perfect (its not invisible for a start) but looky it goes all the way to the top and everything. 

I am thinking about the possibility of adding a trim to the outside, just under the bust, to break up the print a bit as it is quiet overpowering. I am thinking of some kind of thick lace trimming but can't yet decide if this should be black or shocking pink to match the inside. I think I am worried that if I add the pink it might start looking like nightwear instead. Do you have any thoughts?

Finally, on a complete side note, I was outside happily snapping these pictures for the blog and little to my knowledge the cheeky Mr Fox was inside doing his very best to photobomb me! Well, he gets what he deserves and so here he is acting like a banana for all your amusement.

Fabric Flower Workshop

Check it out... I managed to teach some lovely people how to make lovely pretty things!

We had our work team away day this week and our boss decided it would be quiet nice for us to do something fun for the last part of the day. She shares my slight obsession with craft so we decided it might be nice to all be able to make something on the day. We decided that some sort of fabric flower would be an excellent choice because not only are they pretty, but they are also simple enough to be able to teach in a short time without needing any specialist equipment. So I was tasked with researching different types of flowers which I could teach to a small group. I am really pleased with how well everyone's flowers came out, they all did an amazing job.

In the end I picked three different techniques to teach. Firstly, I of course went for the same felt flower which I used to make my wedding bouquets. I love making these flowers, they are so simple to do and yet so effective. We had a great discussion about how lovely it would be to make a bunch of these on floristry wire to give as a gift on Mothers day.

Next up we did some lace and button flowers. I got the idea for this one from a brooch which I bought at a craft fair years ago. I love that brooch, but on looking at its construction it is really very simple. The idea is to get a length of lace trim (about 50cm maybe) and just do a simple running stitch across the bottom edge of the trim. You then pull and gather the trim until it is tight and join  the two ends with the remaining thread. You will have a little gap in the middle but this is covered up by sewing or glueing on a cute button or bead to make the centre of the flower.

The last flower we did was a lovely pom pom fabric flower. I have bought so many of these as accessories in my life I can't believe I haven't tried this sooner. Rather than me explain there is an excellent tutorial right here

Aren't they all excellent. I am really pleased with how it all well and I would love to do this kind of thing again, I am thinking maybe a clasp purse workshop? I really want to do a knicker making workshop but that would require patterns and sewing machines and a lot of materials so this one is probably a little way off yet. If anyone wants a better description of any of these flowers let me know. There are however a million (slight exaggeration) tutorials out there already for these types of flowers (where do you think I found them) so I didn't see the point in duplicating them here.

Sewing for Your (My) Style

Tilly wrote a very informative post a while back which I came across recently called 'Sewing for your style'. This is something which I really want to keep at the forefront of my mind whilst trying to develop my sewing skills. It's all well and good being able to make stuff, but if I am never going to wear it what really is the point. For example, I know I am not a fan of floral prints. They look incredible on some people, but they are just not something I would pick to wear. But show me some leopard print and its straight in my wardrobe.

With that in mind I bought my first sewing pattern for the year from M is for Make which is Ava by Victory Patterns. I really like the idea of sewing dresses, because most of the clothing I buy tends to be jersey basics, they are so cheap there is not much point in making them a lot of the time. However I can never buy dresses that suit or fit my shape. The things that really draw me to this pattern, and that I feel fit my style, are the sheer neck, the sweetheart neckline and the fact it comes in at the waist.

This pattern is great as it comes in 3 different lengths, peplum, above the knee, and tea dress. I am going to have a go at the peplum version first just because it will require less fabric whilst I am practicing. I haven't yet decided on the final fabric choice as I am just making up a toile at the moment but I want to make sure it is something which I will wear.

With this philosophy in mind though I have been out and bought some fabrics which just caught my eye, and that I thought fitted my style. First is this stretch fabric in black with pink lips on it. I purchased it from ebay and expected it to be quiet a thin jersey type stretch with just lip print on, but when it turned up it actually has a bit of weight to it and the lips are a sort of raised brushed velvet or something of similar description. It would make a really good dress I think. Isn't it funny how you really need to feel a fabric to know what you are going to get.

Finally I picked up another few of meters of the brown leopard cotton from My Fabric Place in Beeston. I went in and just couldn't help myself from making sure I had some more of this stuff in my stash! I am not sure of its destiny either, I was thinking either a version of the prom dress, but who knows, now maybe the Ava peplum, or perhaps my next project. Only time will tell.

Do you have any patterns which you think particularly fit your style, or any staple fabric choices which you make over and over? Leopard is what I magpie over every time! are you the same but maybe with stripes, or floral prints?