My First Garment of the Year for Me!
Bianca SilvaHello, hello!
It’s Mother’s Day! ♥️
Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend with your loved ones.
It’s been a day full of cuddles, snuggles and eating with my kids.
Yesterday was Sew&Bond™ and it was another lovely event!
It was lovely seeing familiar faces and new ones too!
Most of our new joiners are going to be Sewn at Midnight Gala guests, so it was lovely getting to meet them before the big day.
We also got one of our new joiners at Sew&Bond™ yesterday to use an overlocker for the first time! And she has been convinced she now needs to add one to her tool kit. 😀
There were so many different projects being worked too:
Trousers, dresses, blouses, patchwork, t-shirts, bags!
And so many gorgeous fabrics! 😍
On the homemade menu this time we had brioche sandwiches, cheddar biscuits topped with cream cheese, sausage rolls, egg and cheese tarts, lemon cake and carrot cake. It was delicious!
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to get my Lisbon Organiser digitised.
I found a person on the Fiverr website which is a space for freelancers to advertise their services.
The person I chose to go with I am highly disappointed in.
I sent everything they asked for and I got the project back…all wrong!
The measurement square for printing didn’t match its size, and when I did manage to get it to its size by playing around with the printer settings, none of the pattern pieces were the correct size.
One of the pattern pieces which has a rounded shape, this person didn’t even come close to its original shape. They literally sent half an oval shape.
I’m not one to speak bad about services or people, but this takes the cake.
There were so many other issues as well, not just this.
I did inform the professional of all the things that I wanted improved. They understood my requests, improved on some of them, but the sizing still came out all wrong.
Plus with this revision, the A4 file does not even contain certain pattern pieces, and pocket placements are marked on more than one piece when I only have one piece with a pocket.
I am so shocked by this service and I don’t have time to deal with something like this now because I have a deadline I’m working to.
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In other news, there is one space left on the Multi-Purpose Organiser Bag at Janome on the 17th of April!
I need to work on putting all the kits together for this workshop and the one happening on the 2nd of April and I can’t wait!
It’s going to take up a big chunk of time combining fabrics and cutting everything out, but it's totally worth it to see all of them finished on the day, and no two will be the same!
If you’ve been on the fence about coming, don’t wait around too long to book:
We also have a few spaces left on the Sewn at Midnight Gala sewing day at Janome on the 1st of May.
If you’ve bought a ticket and are able to come get some work done on your outfit, please let me know so I can reserve a space for you. There is no extra charge for this event, it is part of your gala ticket. 😀
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A little ‘My Sewing Journal update:
I decided to speed up the delivery for half the journals, meaning these are already on their way to the UK! 💃🏼
I still can’t confirm an exact delivery date, but hopefully within the next 2 weeks they will be here.
Of course I’ve started getting all the packaging ready so I can send the journals to you and some of it arrived this week.
I got mailing boxes to protect the journals during transit and pink and purple tissue paper to wrap them in.
There are a few more details still to sort, but these will be finalised next week. Whoohoo!
There is still time to get yourself on to the waitlist to have access to Pre-orders and an early bird rate here:
Stitches of the Week
Mood Designer Fabrics Sewciety - The Indigo Skirt (MDF192)
I know for basically every project I begin working on, it’s been on my mind for a long while.
This one was no different! 😂
I’ve always loved the look of bias skirts but for some reason I had never made one until this week.
Enough waiting around!
I printed the pattern in A4 because I didn’t want to wait for an A0 to be sent in the post.
Then I scanned my fabric stash and the first fabric that jumped at me was a cream one with black blotches on it.
A couple of hours later, I scanned my stash again just in case something else stood out and out popped a lilac satin.
I was a bit indecisive so I took to Instagram to get some help from you lovely sewing friends and you guys are such enablers!
There were more of you that said make the skirt in both fabrics instead of narrowing it down for me! 😂
I decided to go with my first choice then, the cream one and I’ll get to the purple one after.
Since the pattern pieces need to be cut on the bias, it was too big to cut on my table so I had to get on the floor which always makes my back hurt. But needs must.
The cream fabric was a bit sheer so I’ve lined it, cutting that on the bias too.
I didn’t like the way the pattern suggested sewing a waistband channel, so instead, I sewed the elastic on the right side of the top edge and turned it to the inside. To keep the elastic in place, I am going to stitch in the ditch, in other words, stitch in the groove of the side seam.
The skirt has been hanging for the last 3+ days now to let the fabric stretch and settle before I hem it.
It’s been hanging that long because I haven’t had time to get back to it.
And this is officially the first garment I made myself this year!
Fabric: Both main and lining are polyester. The cream and black was from Leon’s Fabrics and the lining is a Crepe de Chine I got from Karen at Sew&Bond™ - originally from Minerva.
Size: 8-10. The pattern came with sizes paired.
The Win: I finally made myself a garment - it had been about 4 months since my last one!
The Drama: I may need to remove some length from the top or the bottom because I don’t particularly like how it currently sits on me.
Summer Lee - Surf Wax Socks from The Sock Project book
I don’t like it any more this week than I did last week. 😂
The cream heel flap definitely looks better than a blue one would, but I think it's just the colour combo of the variegated yarn that's not my cup of tea.
Yes, I know I’m going on about, so why continue with it you may be asking.
I’m too far in to frog it, plus there’s always hope that the finished product will change how I feel about it.
You may have noticed throughout everything I make that I don’t really do something halfway and let it be. If I start something I need to finish it.
The only time I may leave something to start something else is if I have a deadline for the new project, but I will always go back to the one I paused.
This week I just managed to sew the heel flap.
The next step is to pick up stitches along the heel flap and then decrease to get the right amount of stitches for the foot. I am probably going to reduce the foot to a medium like I did the previous pair.
Yarn: Drops Fabel, yarn I got from Portugal and Hobbii Silly Socks Flower Pop in colour 10 (Forget-Me-Not)
Size: L for the leg.
Needle Size: I cast on with a 2.5mm and then transferred to 2.25mm.
The Win: Slow progress is better than no progress.
The Drama: The colours! 😣
Skill Builder of the Week
Understanding Bias Cut Fabric
The bias of a fabric is the diagonal direction that runs at a 45° angle to the straight grain. When fabric is cut along this diagonal, it has a natural stretch and fluidity, even if the fabric itself isn’t stretchy.
It creates a soft drape that moves more naturally with the body.
There are a few things to take into account when working with bias cut fabric:
- The bias cut edges will easily stretch, so try to handle pieces gently.
- Use fine pins instead of clips to not add too much weight and distort the fabric.
When cutting tops or dresses, even though you’re not cutting the full piece on the bias, certain parts will be, like necklines and armholes. To help prevent these areas from stretching, use a staystitch.
Lastly, and a very important step: Let bias cut garments hang before hemming.
Once you have finished constructing your garment, let it hang for at least 24 hours on a hangar or dress form before hanging.
Gravity will naturally cause some areas to stretch more than others because of the diagonal cut. So by letting it hang, the fabric will drop and settle into its final shape.
After this, you can trim the hem evenly and finish it.
Bias-cut styles are beautiful in dresses, skirts, and slip tops. Have you ever tried sewing a bias cut garment before?
It’s a wonderful technique to experiment with when you want elegant movement in your projects.
Makers Spotlight
This week’s spotlight goes to @sew.leste!
Celeste made this super fun dress in a bright coloured deadstock neoprene fabric! 😍
Since neoprene doesn’t fray, Celeste tried a new finishing by using scalloped scissors and also making a scalloped hem.
They got the fabric from Mood Fabrics in New York.
Want to be featured in my newsletter? Just reply with a pic of your make. I’d love to see what you’ve made!😍
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Workshops:
Multi-Purpose Quilted Organiser Bag Workshop - (1 spot left!)
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Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
Bye for now, B! xx