What a busy week!
Bianca SilvaHello, hello!
I wasn’t sure I was going to survive this week! 😂
It was just so busy, but taking one day at a time got me through.
I was at Leon’s for 2 days (like usual), private sewing lessons on 2 other days (one of these sessions was 4 hours), a workshop at Janome and college in the evening, a Sew&Bond™, and friends over for lunch today!
Plus I squeezed in a Leah dress in time for the workshop at Janome (details below).
And there was no time for knitting this week.
I’ve not even had time to do my washing this week!
Anyway, nothing much happened at college this week.
The tutor wanted everyone to catch up and be at the same stage in the skirt drafting process, but I had done most of my final pieces in the previous sessions.
I was just missing one skirt piece, and I finished it quite quickly even though I arrived late because I had the workshop.
I hadn’t realised that was all we were doing for the session and I went around for about an hour talking to everyone and seeing what they were doing.
Once the tutor said we weren’t starting the next topic, those that had finished were allowed to go home and that’s exactly what I did after having done a full day workshop.
On the way home on the tram, it started pouring cats and dogs and it didn’t stop so I could walk home (how rude! 😂). I got home completely drenched, dripping all over the floor and it didn’t help that I chose to leave the house in the morning with a teddy coat instead of a raincoat.
There is still time to book on to the Halloween Treat Bag Workshop that is happening next week Saturday!
I picked up the sewing machines this week at Janome so they are all ready to go!
Next week, I need to cut all the panels for the bags so we can focus on creativity and not spend our time cutting out the main fabric.
I’m super excited for this workshop! It’s the first time I am going to work with a young group, but I am most excited to see their faces when they realise they made something they can use.
The happiness across their faces is what I can’t wait to see! 🥰
I want to thank everyone for all the well wishes after I announced that I’m going to appear on Sewing Street in November! 🥰
Some of you even have alarm clocks set to wake up and watch it live and I am very grateful for all of your support.
Here is a reminder (that I will remind you of weekly until then 😂) I will be live on the 17th of November between 7am-8am.
I have since gone back into my emails and read that viewers will be voting for their overall winners the following week.
If you can’t watch it live, you can always watch it back later and be ready for the voting the week after.
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Christmas Dinner
I will be booking the table this week so if you want to join us on the 6th of December at the Metropolitan in West Didsbury, RVSP on the website!
There are quite of us already going, plus it’s an excuse to make/wear something festive and enjoy a lovely meal with each other.
If you can join us, please RSVP with the link below so I know we have reached our limit for our reservation.
RSVP here!
Stitches of the Week
BeeSilva - Sew&Bond™
What a lovely day this was! 🥰
It felt like everyone was just so busy with their projects, yet we had lots of time to talk to each other.
We had a couple of new people join us and some that we hadn’t seen for a while - one since the Sewn at Midnight Gala!
It was so lovely to catch up with everyone and see the latest projects. And we had some very interesting ones.
There was a special request from a partner and he wanted a chest tool holder made for very specific tools. There were some head scratching moments on which would be the best way to sew it together, but Morgan managed to figure it all out!
Then Sarah was working on an upholstery project. She was sewing the cover for the foam for the seat and then also made some piping - 20 meters of it!
Other projects being worked on were dresses, blouses, adding a lining to a store-bought coat, and some pj trousers by our youngest guest, a 15-year-old, and she did an amazing job at it!
We even had Lena come in wearing a dress, finished sewing a different dress during the session, changed into this finished dress and chopped off the bottom of the dress she was wearing because she felt it was too long for her.
Ultimately, Lena left wearing the dress she finished and not the one she came dressed in! 😂
I also did some hand stitching, but only small bits. I forgot to stitch the overlays on the limbs of the Cherry Cat I gave my daughter for her birthday.
After using bondaweb to fuse the fabrics together, they started coming off without the topstitching. So instead of waiting for them to fall off completely, I did a blanket stitch to keep them in place but I only managed the arms. The legs will have to wait for another day.
We had lots of delicious food to keep us fueled too.
On our menu this time we had homemade bread filled with ham and cheese, cheese and onion, scrambled egg and homemade sausage rolls. For treats, we had jam and cream scones, orange cake and cherry cake with pink frosting!
It was a day very well spent with everyone!
Thank you so much for coming! ♥️
Tilly and The Buttons - Leah Dress
For weeks, I had been thinking about a winter version of the Leah shift dress! And I wanted to have it done in time, so I could wear it to the Leah workshop this week at Janome.
We all know how last minute I tend to be, so this was no different.
I had cut the fabric last week, but hadn’t found a moment to finish it.
Into this week, Monday and Tuesday I work all day at Leon’s Fabrics and with the workshop on Thursday, I only had Wednesday to make it.
And that’s exactly what happened!
I decided to line it because I didn’t want the needlecord to stick to my tights. I used a black paisley lining from Leon’s that was perfect to add some character to the dress.
Essentially I cut and made 2 dresses, then basted them together at the neck, armholes and centre back seam, and treated them as one from then.
This meant that I anchored the lining at the centre back and I love it!
To help with time, instead of making my own binding from the needlecord, which would have been too bulky anyway, I used a ready-made black bias binding I had in my stash.
Everything worked out brilliantly except for the part where I sewed the binding to the wrong side of the neck, but it wasn’t too dramatic to unpick it.
One detail I wanted to add but knew I wasn’t going to have time was a scalloped hem.
So I did a simple hem and, fingers crossed, I get to make a scalloped hem on it sometime soon.
Now I finally have a little black dress in my wardrobe that I can layer and wear with any of my coloured tights.
Materials: Black cotton needlecord, polyester paisley jacquard lining, ready-made binding and Vliesiline seam tape.
Size: My measurements fall into a 2 and 3, but I made a size 1.
The Drama: Sewed the binding to the wrong size of the neck!
The Win: Finished in a day! 💃
Maker Spotlight
This week’s spotlight goes to @annetteart1!
Annette made this gorgeous dress to go to London Frocktails!😍
When she came across this end of roll piece in a sale, she knew exactly what it needed to become.
The contrast panel at the bottom using the wrong side of the fabric is just brilliant to give it visual interest!🤩
The fabric is a structured brocade with rose gold polka dots on a blush pink background made into a McCalls 8060(view C).
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!😍
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'My Sewing Journal' - Order Yours!
Events:
Sewing Retreat 2026 at Browsholme Hall (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 31st of Oct 2026 (1 spot left!)
Sew&Bond™ - 14th of Nov 2026 (2 spots left!)
Sew&Bond™ - 28th of Nov 2026 (SOLD OUT)
Sew&Bond™ - 12th of Dec 2026 (6 spots left!)
Workshops:
Make Your Own Dress/Top Workshop - 15th Oct 26 (SOLD OUT)
Trick or Treat Bag: Parent & Child Halloween Sewing Workshop - 24th Oct 26 (2 spots left!)
Sew Your Own Trousers Workshop - 13th Nov 26 (SOLD OUT)
My Sewing Patterns:
Lisbon Organiser
Roma Necessaire
Paphos Pouch
Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
Bye for now, B! xx