Sew&Bond™’s are the best!

June 14, 2026 Bianca Silva

Hello, hello!

This week I got asked to fix something.

A lady got sent my way by someone’s recommendation to help her out.

A project that I’ve never given thought to but I was definitely up to the challenge, so I accepted.

A lady had a matching tie made for her daughter’s prom partner out of the same fabric as her dress - sequins!

The tailor gave her the hanging bit of the tie without the tie at the top and nothing even to secure it to the neck.😅

I was given a square of fabric which was the only scrap left.

Out of this square, I needed to take fabric for the tie knot and leave as much as possible so it could be used as a pocket square.

Of course after I removed the bit I needed, it became a rectangle but that’s besides the point.😂

I can now say I’ve made a tie with sequin fabric and it turned out great!

A friend of mine also asked me to alter a sequin dress she bought and wants to wear to a wedding in Portugal.

I need to add slits to the dress and shorten the train. So I will work on this next week.

Other things I’ve helped people make/finish this week are the Yuji Itadori's cosplay outfit and flared leggings.

I’ve continued to prep for the Creative Workshop at Janome next week where we are going to use my Roma Necessaire pattern as a base.

I got some more fabrics this week to add more colours to the selection. And not because we need more to choose from, but because I love colour and feel so inspired by each.

So many combinations come to mind each time I touch a new fabric that I hope everyone coming gets as inspired as I do just looking at them.

It’s the perfect chance to play around with colour combos and trimmings, plus there will be a selection of webbing to add handles to the bag too further adding colour to the bag and making it uniquely yours.

The pattern and instruction printouts also arrived this week, so we are nearly set.

I’m just so excited!

There are a couple of spaces left if you’d like to join us for the day:

Click here to book

I’ve been thinking about the next workshop I’m organising too on the 17th of July.

I want to introduce garment making into my workshop portfolio and I’m going to use Tilly and The Buttons patterns.

To help me decide which one to start off with, I posed the question in my Facebook group and the unanimous answer was trousers.

So I’m going to work on it. 😃

P.S. the venue for the retreat still hasn’t gotten back to me.🫠

Stitches of the Week

BeeSilva - Sew&Bond™™

The new seating arrangement is working out so well! I love how everyone is closer together.🥰

It is now even easier to bond with everyone.

We welcomed a couple of new faces this week and one that we hadn’t seen in years! Since 2023 when I first started these sessions.

We had quite a bit of unpicking happening this time.

More specifically, the same project was unpicked multiple times by 3 of us!😂

The trousers legs were sewn without being mirrored because it was hard to tell which was the right and wrong side of the fabric.

After unpicking it, it was then sewed one leg right side out and the other wrong side out.

You can only laugh at situations like this but we all learnt a lesson together on how trousers shouldn’t be sewn and where you need to pay more attention.😂

Other projects being worked on were dresses, skirts, a Toucan dressup outfit and a t-shirt.

There were lots of gorgeous fabrics and lots of goodies on the swap table too. I brought a couple of fabrics home with me for my kids.

On the menu we had sandwiches with homemade bread, sausage rolls, pasties, french apple cake and banana bread with chocolate chips.

Thank you so much for coming, it was lovely to spend the day with you as always.🥰

There is one space left at the end of June if you’d like to join the next one:

Click here to book!

Jamie Dorfman - Lily Cardigan from Fast and Fabulous Knits book

She is finished!🥳

Except for the buttons and blocking, but I can wear out if I want to.😂

I’ve not had time this week to block it or give thought to the buttons but it will happen sometime.

Even though it’s not blocked, the size doesn’t look that bad.

The sleeves have turned out a good length, the bodice is just a bit cropped but I can wear it with dresses and high waisted bottoms.

Yarn: So Crafty Aran Yarn in Plum, but looks more like burnt orange.

Size: XS. And it hasn’t turned out too bad, even without blocking.

Needle Size: 5.5 mm ribbing and 6.5 mm for the main body.

The Win: Finished!🥳

Summer Lee - Trompe Le Monde from The Sock Project book

I’ve picked these up here and there whenever I’ve been a passenger in the car. We’ve not driven far this week so I’ve not gotten a lot done.

I’ve started knitting the decreases after the heel to get the right amount I need for the foot.

With Summer Lee patterns, I normally do an L for the leg and an M for the foot, so I’m doing the same for these.

One thing I’m definitely not looking forward to is weaving in all the ends. 🥴

I've been weaving in some as I go, but there are way more ends to go and still to come.

Yarn: Drops Fabel in pink, cream and brown yarn from Portugal.

Size: Started with an L for the legs, decreasing to an M for the foot.

Needle Size: Cast on with 2.5mm and transferred to 2.25mm for the rest.

The Win: Slowly but surely we are getting there.

Skill Builder of the Week

Labelling your fabric pieces

This week reminded me just how important it is to mark the fabric pieces you have cut for the pattern you are working on.

This is especially important when working with fabric that doesn’t have a visible right or wrong side.

Labelling the pieces as to what they are ( front leg, back leg, etc) and which is the right side if it’s not easy to tell, will help you sew everything together correctly.

You could use chalk, erasable pens, sticky notepad paper or simply pin a piece of paper to the fabric.

This will save you lots of unpicking and quite a few swear words.😂

Maker Spotlight

This week’s spotlight goes to @katiemakesadress!

This coord is just gorgeous!

The overall blues with the pops of colour make it very fun. Plus I love how you can use scraps of fabric from lots of different projects to make this.

This is the Roberts Wood Drafters Grid Dress and I may or may not have gotten this pattern for myself recently.🫣

I have 2 skirt versions I definitely want to make and one of them is going to involve you!👀

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

'My Sewing Journal' - Order Yours!

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

Back to blog

Stitches of the Week

Skill Builder of the Week

Maker Spotlight

'My Sewing Journal' - Order Yours!

Events:

Workshops:

My Sewing Patterns: