Tomato Party on a Pepin Tote

I am so excited to announce that I had my fabrics printed and bought BY AN ACTUAL SHOP!!!!  

The other week I alluded to an exciting project with Beyond The Pink Door - well this is it. I designed a tomato print fabric called 'Tomato Party' a while back. Andrea so kindly took a punt and ordered a load for her shop. (We had to keep it secret for a few months!) 

Here it is! 

There are 3 colour variations - cobalt, aqua and pink. Each of these come in either a lovely viscose or a cotton canvas.  

 If you fancy a piece please do hop over and have a shop! This is not an advert as I get zero money for writing about this or making stuff, Andrea already bought it outright so please support her gamble on me! 

I obviously have saved some for myself and used the canvas to make a really cute tote bag. The pattern is Noodlehead - Pepin Tote. 

This pattern is wonderful. So simple but elegant in its design. It is a big deep tote bag, with side pocket and the best part - choice of zip closure. I hate open bags so having a closure recessed into the tote is perfect. A bit of added security for your stuff. 

 I love that the fabric can really do all the work with this pattern, it's a great one for using a fabric you want to show off. In this case - my own haha! Here is Sammy giving it an inspection.

 I added some very relevant tomato applique from Petra Bose to the front to break up the plain pocket - and even found a mini tomato for the zip tab. I adore tiny barely-there but definitely-intentional details like this. 

 The handles are faux leather and give it that organic vibe. Clyde there also giving it the seal of approval. 

 The Pepin Tote would be a great into into bag making if you have been tempted. Not too many working parts and mostly rectangles! I have been tempted to make these and re-open CraftyClydesEmporium but will think on that. 

I love my tomato bag and it has been used so much this summer. If you have an Christmas presents to sew up - definitely one that would have the wow factor without taking up all your time. 

And if you make one up in Tomato Party canvas - wonderful!!! I think the fabric would also make a great kitchen apron or gardeners belt apron. I may have to see if I have any left for that...

Thanks for listening to my tomato news, and please do consider supporting Andrea who has taken a chance on me - buy yours here!  

Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx      

More Myosotis and some very Pink News!

 Happy Sunday all!

 I'll start with some news for you - I have been selected to be a Beyond The Pink Door Ambassador! That means I can share lots of cool kits, fabrics, discounts etc for you before they hit the shelves and help Andrea promote her business. 

It's one of my absolute favourite places to shop online and Andrea, the owner, is just the kindest and funniest person so this is a lovely honour. 

To be clear I am not being paid for any opinions or fabric uses, I genuinely love it and hopefully you know me - I just wouldn't do it if I didn't like it.  

That brings me to a nice little segue into sharing some fabric that I bought from BTPD a while ago - this fun print called 'Millenial Summer'. 

The pattern is an oldie but a goodie. The Myosotis Dress - in hacked format - a shirt.

I made this hack so long ago now and it turned out to be one of my most worn items ever. I love the fit, the fabric, the floatyness. The lot.

As that was the case I figured I needed a couple more in my life.  

I had a little bit of this ladder lace trim and wanted to use it up - so sliced into the bodice piece and inserted the lace. 

The result. Another great shirt and another cowboy style! 

 I have recently been doing a bit of art and prints (:gasp: yes a different hobby) and painted a lovely little pigeon that had nested in my garden tree.

I couldn't resist putting her on a bit of fabric.

 

I only printed a small amount of this as I had no idea if it would work so my Mysostis shirt hack was great for fitting onto 1.5m. I did a short sleeve version (mostly because I forgot the others were 3/4 length) and actually it's another nice look. 

On a recent shopping trip I noticed the Myosotis neckline shape is on a LOT of garments this year. Not that I care too much about the trends- mine has bloody pigeons on it for christ sake - hardly fashionista but interesting none the less! 

I found this shirt type works best in a light cotton rather than viscose and therefore I chose a Cotton Voile for this one.   

This all brings me neatly back to Beyond The Pink Door again - as this evening there shall be some very exciting news! 

All will be revealed shortly (this evening at 7pm to be exact) but I'll leave you with a clue....

Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx    

Princess Seams and Disney Dreams

 Well this post is wayyy off my usual creations! For a kick off it's not for me. Clearly...

This lady is my lovely friend Anya who is absolutely Disney obsessed. About 8 months ago she had shown me a whirly twirly pink dress that she would have liked to wear on her holiday.

8 months later - we made some magic come true!

Anya works for cancer charity Little Lifts who have helped me no end, so I wasn't doing this for just anyone! 

The bodice of the dress started as a Vintage pattern I borrowed from The Fabric Wrangler however we altered the design so many times during the toile process it bears little resemblance other than having princess seams. 

The sketch below is what we started with...

 

Criteria: square neck, v-back, twirly skirt, bow. Pink. 

I think we got there!

I made a toile in some lovely supima cotton which was nice and easy to fit and adjust where needed. I squared off the neckline, moved the shoulders outwards to get that 'princess' feel to it and cut a huge V into the back seam line. It took about 3 versions to get the fit right which to be honest, I thought it would be more so I was a little relived at that!

This is probably one of my biggest projects in terms of drafting, fitting another human, lining, using satin etc etc. 

The 'real' dress is made of a really luxurious duchess satin. The bodice is entirely lined with a light pink cotton voile, hand stitched to the circle skirt. The skirt is, just a circle skirt. But it does have pockets!

 

Unfortunately time was not on my side towards the holiday deadline and I did machine hem it rather than handstitch, which fortunately pressed flat in the end despite the photos. (The mannequin is a bit bigger than Anya so pulls a bit).

There was an additional bit of engineering to this as the bow needed to be removable. I therefore created a little ribbon belt, which also served to nip the waist in when needed. The belt slider could then be moved to the back, and pushed into the center bow loop to hide it. Not going to lie, I was pretty proud of this invention. 

A lovely project for a lovely person that spanned the course of this year so far - and so great to see it being worn where it was intended!!

 For all non-sewists out there:

No, I will not make you one.  

 😉

Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx   

Gold Boots and Cowgirl Kalle

Yes it's Kalle again - I couldn't help myself. This is only really getting airtime because of the fabric and the theme. 🤠

Steady on people don't fall off your chair - that is indeed a picture not taken in my back garden next to the same tree you've seen for years. :: gasp::

I've always wanted to try line dancing and when a local venue hosted a Hoedown with a corn maze, well to the hoedown we did go.  

This fabric is called Filly - by Fabric Godmother and I didn't realize how similar it was to my Charlie Caftan! Clearly I have a type.  

Obviously I felt the need to make my entire outfit, so panic ordered some fabric with about 1 day to spare. Shout out to FG who dispatched this in a flash! 

I had originally picked up some cowboy print viscose from a destash but decided I would probably get more wear out of a something that was leaning more to summer dress and away from overtly costume. This one has horses on so that counts right? In a nod to the theme I did also use these amazing horse buttons and a gingham label.

 Again as time was of the essence, the ol' faithful Kalle was the front runner for a pattern as I can just whip that up without much issue (normally) and in this case it did actually fit the western vibe. 

 Guess who won best dressed and a £20 voucher!!! Yeehaw!

It almost certainly had something to do with my boots which I also had a hand in making. Obviously not from scratch but LOOK AT THESE! I found a cheap pair of brown boots on Vinted and after several hours of paint, foils and varnish - the best boots ever!

I shall write more about my shiny shoe adventures as I have become addicted and already had 3 more pairs and a workshop on the cards. 

Until the next time folks - keep on truckin'.

Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx  
 

 

 

 

Charlie Caftan Revisited

 Happy Sunday all

This is a very old pattern and one that I made a version of back in 2017....and then never again. For no particular reason. Wow those years fly by.  😧

The wonderful Closet Core Patterns always seems to have something that fits the bill just when you need it. The Charlie Caftan is no exception especially when we had the mega hot weather. This pattern is the perfect waft-about-look-quite-stylish dress for when you don't want a great deal touching your skin.

There are three versions to this pattern - a Mini Folded, a Mini Gathered and a Maxi Gathered - so obviously I ignored that and made a Midi.

To be fair the reason I have a Midi version is because I only had 2m of fabric or else it definitely would be maxi. That being said I think this version is probably more wearable. I extended the 'mini' pattern pieces to fit 1m front and 1m back. The facings, pockets and ties were all cut out of the wastage from the sides. There was only a tiny pile of scraps left after cutting this which felt very satisfying!

The fabric is some very vibrant and summery viscose crepe from Fabric Godmother called 'Sandy'. Not a hugely inspiring name but a very loud print!

I no longer resemble the same human as 2017 therefore I reprinted and recut the pattern, this time opting for the gathered front version of View B rather than the 'foldy-origami' of View A. This is a size 16/18 as per the chart. 

The reason I think this pattern may get a bit overlooked is because of the waist panel insert which can be quite complicated to do. It is inserted without any waist or side seams so you have to pivot and match points exactly, then hand stitch or match the other side internally. 

Forget it. Why make life difficult. I chopped by pattern straight across at the waist where the line indicated the gathers would be. I cut 2 placket rectangles, stitched them together to form a strip, then top-stitched that bad boy right on there, trapping the waist ties underneath. Minimal fuss, pretty much exactly the same effect.  

After completing the dress - which did not take long on account of it being only 3 main pieces thanks to my panel hack -  I found the deep neck looked a bit daft so I took that in. I simply just nipped the centre front seam in to where it felt comfortable and stitched a line in a wedge shape down to the waist. 

I like the position of the panel and waist ties, they nip the dress it at my natural waist (whatever is left of it) and create a really easy to wear garment.  

I wore the dress for the whole day that I made it, but in true British fashion the sun disappeared so it is still waiting for another trip out! Definitely a keeper though. 

 

Let me know - are you still sewing for summer or is it getting a little close to those cooler months? September is usually lovely so I'm hedging my bets on more fun dresses before then!

 

Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx   

The Sandhill Sling and Leopard love

 Hola, happy Sunday people!

 A quick little ditty about the Sandhill Sling today - another marvelous Noodlehead creation.  

I had been tempted by this pattern for a while due to it's demi-back pack qualities which looked useful for trips out and dog walking etc. (I walk other people's dogs we don't have one!) 

Andrea at Beyond the Pink Door then started making kits for it so I thought I would try that out - it was quite refreshing having all the bits and pieces in one place and taking the thought out of it! There was even a QR code to a super helpful sewalong to go with it so definite value for money there. 

Sandhill Sling Kit

 There were loads of colour options but I went for a vibrant cobalt. The bag itself is surprisingly easy to construct as it is mostly just a series of rectangles. 

I did not use the written instructions but instead used Andrea's video for the construction, whizzing past any bits that were not necessary (cutting out etc).  

This thing is ROOMY! I took it for a little test drive on a walk and managed to fit in keys, phone, card wallet, handbag organizer zippy-purse thingy, a notebook and a water bottle!!

Due to the bag being a 'sling' you do have to decide which shoulder you want to wear it over before committing to the strap. Just something to consider if you like different sides to the pattern. 

Whilst I absolutely love the bag itself, colours, construction and all - I'm not entirely sure I like the feel of wearing it. There was something about the weight across one part of my back and the strap moving. An actual backpack with equally weighted straps may suit me better as it appears I am fussy, but I shall preserve and see if it grows on me. 

And before I forget - check out the bright lining!! I loved how accurately the lining slipped right into the outer bag - hand stitched around the zip just makes it beautifully neat.

In a slightly less classy colour combo I decided to use up some A4 pink faux leather I had been hoarding. One thing led to another and I ended up with a super colourful leopard bag!

This is not a pattern of any kind - I just started cutting rectangles and made it up as I went along. It's essentially a simple zipper pouch with detachable straps.

The front is a functioning pocket with magnetic clasp and there's an inside zip compartment too. The blue leopard print is quilting cotton all interfaced with foam.   

Back at the Stitch Festival I had acquired the aqua leopard bag strap from Purple Stitches so low and behold that matched perfectly with the vibe and on it went. 

The bag is finished off with a little pin badge for that added bit of jazz (because clearly that's what the bag needed...more jazz.) 

Let me know if you have tried the Sandhill and what you have thought about it - plus if anyone has any little backpack patterns to recommend I'm all ears!

Hopefully I'll be coming back with something more interesting and a new pattern soon - but don't wait on that!  

Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx  

Downtown Jacket of Randomness

When you love a Boden jacket but don't want to pay £160 and can pick your own patches....

I'm playing copy cat again today. This project came about after relentlessly being advertised this utility jacket:

I do love a stripe. I do love a jazzy little applique. I did not love the price tag. (No shade on Boden or buyers of such jacket, but you know us sewists love a challenge don't we.)

Right off the starting blocks I had already seen some really lovely soft stripe denim on Jenny Stitches which was an almost exact match.  

Pattern-wise I did deliberate on this for some time and considered the Helen's Closet Spindrift, Pattern Emporium Smitten and then the one I went for, Pattern Emporium Downtown Jacket. 
 

I picked the Downtown Jacket as the button placket was more of an exact match, together with the patch pockets it was a nice casual vibe. Plus, Pattern Emporium tends to fit out of the packet and I didn't fancy much fitting and faffing.  

The jacket comes in a Regular and Roomy fit - I went regular as I didn't want it to entirely swamp me as it is boxy enough as it is. This was my usual 16/18 in their patterns. 

It was a really satisfying sew - no darts, a back seam and an inside yoke gives a great little detail. I used the cutest puffin fabric for my yoke to match my seaside feel. And of course a The Cosy Club Handmade seagull label. 

I struggled a bit with the collar attachment on this as I am not used to the kind that doesn't overlap the button placket. There is a bit of hand stitching going on in those 90 degree corners to keep in down. This was not the pattern's fault - entirely my own as I hadn't looked at the instructions at all at this point and had got carried away. 

Modifications to the pattern were made - simply that I didn't add the cuffs. When I tried this on without the cuffs for fit, I really liked the bracelet length as it was more 'summery' and light to me. So I just bound the sleeve hems in the same denim. A slightly different take on a bog standard denim jacket. 

The best bit.....

Googly eyes baby!

Picking out patches was probably my favourite part of this and I went wild in the aisles with Petra Bose. I replicated the original Boden jacket placement to some extent but after forgoing some ric rac on the collar chose to put the ol' classic swifts on there. 

Here is a closer look at my patches above. The blackbird is especially cute. I have a blackbird tattoo on my arm aswell so he has a nice companion for when I wear this. I have not yet worn this as it has been too hot and humid but I'm sure it will have its day.   

There we have it - the power of sewing to make something you can't find elsewhere and a new pattern to try out. 

 Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx