It Took Me 3 Months To Finish It!

Hello hello, hope you’ve been keeping well!

I can finally say the purple Gumdrops Sweater is done! Blocked and all!🥳

And I had a week free of knitting which makes me feel a little lost. Don’t remember when was the last time that happened.

We are just a few days away from the end of May and the end of Me Made May.

I am still documenting my outfits everyday and have managed to not repeat any of my me mades.💪

I have realised I need a few more cardigans and trousers in my wardrobe, so hopefully I can work on that in the upcoming months.

The kids are off school for half term now. I hope the weather hangs in there and we get to have lots of outdoor time for the next few days. 😃

 

Stitches of the Week

New Look N6707

I started and finished a blouse within the same week! Who am I?

This blouse had been on my to-do list for such a long time! I have always been drawn to big collars with ruffles and now I finally have my own.

I am pleased with how it came out, and I have a few plain colour bottoms that I think it will go lovely with, like my pink Lander pants, or my red Peppermint Pocket Skirt.

Fabric: Leopard print cotton poplin (another length of fabric out my stash🥳)

The Drama: I kept on knocking the buttonhole lever when stitching the buttonholes. It threw the machine completely and I had to unpick 3 buttonholes because they either were too big or finished too small.😑

The Win: The buttonholes didn’t win, I did! Another fabric out my stash and I did pleats for the first time(on the sleeves).

Size: 8 which is two sizes smaller than me bust measurement.

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The next sewing project in the queue is a pattern test for The Petite Dressmaker, the Ellesmere dress.

I had the pattern printed on A0 and I used CLC Prints for this. Now, I need to trace my size to toile it because I need to blend between 2 or maybe 3 sizes.

I had the lovely ladies at my sewing social help me choose which version of the pattern to make, but not before they all confused me first. 😂

I still need to pick which fabric I am going to use, not only for my toile, but for the real version too.

These fabrics are that I am looking at to toile it in first:

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Final update on my purple Gumdrops Sweater (Rita Made This)! 😀

I blocked it this week and made use of the gorgeous sunshine to dry it quicker! It took about 4-5 hours to be completely dry.

I haven’t yet woven in the tails of the crocheted stripes on the sleeves, but I am not going to worry about that now. I’ve had enough of weaving in ends for a while.

I am going to tuck them back up the sleeve if they peak out and weave them in whenever I next feel like it. 🤭

Yarn: Yarnsmiths Merino DK and Yarnsmiths Kid Mohair Silk gifted by Wool Warehouse

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Our Sew&Bond was this weekend and what a brilliant time we had!

It was so nice to welcome a few new faces to our group and getting to know them throughout the day.

My partner made us some delicious homemade treats to keep us fuelled like sausage rolls, sandwiches, Manchester Tart, banana bread and fruity cream pastries! 😋

Thank you so much to everyone that came this weekend!

 

Skill Builder of the Week

How to wind a bobbin

This week I came across a beginner sewist who was using their hands to hold the thread while the bobbin was winding.

I asked if there was a particular reason for it first because I was unsure if anything on their machine was damaged. But this wasn’t the case.

So I showed them that their sewing machine had a screw looking part that was meant to provide the correct tension to wind the bobbin instead of using hands.
Different sewing machines have slightly different ways to thread the machine for bobbin winding.

Usually there are drawings on the top of the machine showing you which points you need to thread the thread through so you can get the correct tension on your bobbin.

If you don’t have a drawing on your machine, you can always check the instructions manual for the correct steps.

Not having the correct tension on the bobbin can lead to all sorts of issues like:

• Uneven stitches
• Skipped stitches
• A nest of stitches on the underside
• Thread jams
  

 

Maker Spotlight

 

This week’s spotlight goes to @dinigooseanbird!

Megan made this fun Drafters Grid Dress as a skirt in these fun colours! And hacked it to include the flowers. 😍

This pattern is definitely on my radar! The colour combinations are endless, especially if you want to use up all your different scraps from multiple projects!

Want to be featured in my newsletter? Just reply with a pic of your make. I’d love to see what you’ve made!😍

 

Catch up:

 

I speak more in depth about my sewing and knitting projects of the week on my WEEKLYBEE episodes:

 

 

How to Add Elastic to a Dress for the Perfect Fit:

 

 

Next Events:

Sew&Bond - Social Sewing Event: 28th of June 2025

 

My First Sewing Pattern:

Roma Necessaire

 

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
Bye for now, B! xx