Sew & Bond Social Sewing Day!

Hello!👋

Hope you have been keeping well!

In my part of the world, we were hit with some freezing cold temperatures and a little bit of snow! 🥶

The first thing both my daughters asked when they woke up was “Is it Christmas?”. 😂

Nope, not yet, but it’s fast approaching! 🎄

I have not started any of my Christmas sewing yet, and I am not quite sure what I actually want to make.

Have you made a start? If yes, what are you making?

I have got into the habit of making my daughters something sewing related, but haven’t quite made up my mind yet this year.

Last year I made them a stuffie each, Dainty Deer and Penny Panda, from Violette Field Threads.

I have the sewing patterns for their whole collection of stuffies and was thinking of making them another animal each. 🤔

I want to make something for my partner too, but he reads this, so I don’t want to say too much. 🤭

If any of you are thinking about his jacket, no, that’s not on the cards! 😂

Something else that doesn’t look like it’s on the cards for this year, is the release of my bag sewing pattern. 😔

Procrastination over the name is to blame here. That delayed me sending the pattern off to get digitised and now it’s the run up to Christmas. 

Many of us don’t have time to sew what we want, never mind a pattern test, so I will save this for the new year and go from there.

This should give me enough time to recheck it all and make sure everything is good to go.

If you are curious, the name has now been chosen… Roma Necessaire! 😀

The second pattern I was working on is also now finished, however, I still need to go through the written instructions and decide if I need to digitise it or not.

Most of the pattern pieces can be drawn out easily, this is why I am not sure if I should digitise it or not. 🤔

I am very pleased with how it turned out, but I am looking forward to the testing phase to get some feedback on it.

I have also named this pattern already!

I wanted to stick to a theme, and I had thought about including the names of places I have visited over the years or flowers.

After putting out a request to help me name the necessaire, one person suggested I use the names of places I have visited. This just solidified my initial thought and have gone with it now.

So the second pattern I have been working on is going to be called…

Palma Pouch 😀

Please stay tuned for the Roma Necessaire and the Palma Pouch that will be making their way to you in the new year!

The only other, not so exciting, sewing I did this week was alterations for a friend.

I mentioned last week that I need to stitch the hem in place on some trousers and shorten a jacket.

They are both done!

The jacket wasn’t as bad of a process as I thought it would be, but the construction and stitching on it wasn’t the best.

My friend purchased it online at a well known fast fashion brand so it didn’t come as a surprise.

A few puckers, distorted fabric that was pulled and stitched down with ripples and fabric that was not cut straight made me scratch my head a few times.

Unfortunately I never took photos of the jacket because I was too focused on just getting the job done, but I had to redo the bottom 3 times.

Just cutting the same amount of fabric off from the lining and the main did not work out, and since the whole jacket was already constructed it was hard to lay it out flat and cut it straight myself. 😵‍

I managed in the end and had to do some hand sewing as well to make some parts look neat, which you may or may not know, is also not my favourite thing to do. 😂

Anyway, both items were finished and delivered to the owner, so happy days! 😅

I finished my socks!!

I am super happy with the outcome and, apart from finding that knitting the second sock was a little boring , I loved the process.

There is also a light variation in tension from one sock to the other, but it is not so bad that you can visibly see it. I just feel it a little when worn that one sock is tighter than the other.

I also don’t feel like I will wear this pair out the house. It is a little too thick for what I am used to, but they will definitely be used around the house to keep toasty this winter.

Knitting on DPN’s successfully, after a bit of a failure a few years ago, has given me more confidence in my knitting abilities!

Although I did lose 2 out of 5 of my size 3.0mm DPN’s during the process. One is forever buried somewhere I can’t reach in the car and the other must have fallen out when I got out of the car. 😢

I want to try another sock pattern in the near future and have been eyeing out getting the book “The Sock Project” by Summer Lee. 

The colourful sock projects on the cover are pulling me in and I definitely want to get my hands on it soon.

I will hold off for now though until I am ready to start them. It may still be a few months from now. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I have become quite good in not making impulse purchases only for the items to lay in my stash for years before they are used, if even.

Since the socks are now finished, I cast on a new project. Did you guess right which one I went for first? 😂

I decided to go for the Alice Vest test knit first because it is a smaller project and my, has it come together quickly!

The bodice is nearly finished, I just need to work a few more rows on the back panel and the right shoulder. And of course, add the flowers.

I love the finish on the front edge of it, an I-cord, it just gives it such a nice and unique finish without always having the standard ribbing.

As for the flowers, I am still undecided on which colours to go for, I will raid my scraps stash for some inspiration when I finish knitting the whole bodice.

Since this Alice Vest has knit up so quickly, which I didn’t expect, I will hopefully make a start on the Gumdrops Jumper using the Yarnsmiths Merino DK.

I am so excited to knit with merino wool for the first time, plus it’s in this gorgeous colourway, Bluebell! 😍

Laying the beads out next to it looks stunning, so hopefully my vision works out well!

There are 4000 beads in the box which I think is more than enough to cover the front and back bodice, as well as both sleeves.

To end the week (kind of, it was Saturday), we had our monthly get together at the Sew & Bond social sewing day! 🤗

A variety of projects were being worked on in some gorgeous fabrics!

While some worked on dresses, others quilted and some were prepping pattern pieces for their next project!

It was also lovely to get to meet new people as we had a few new faces join us! 🤩

The last Sew & Bond this year is going to be on the 14th of December if you would like to join us for some of our last stitches of the year! 🤭

😎Confidence Corner:

Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much. - Blaise Pascal

Kindness is one of the simplest yet most powerful things we can give. A kind word, whether it’s a compliment, encouragement, or a simple “thank you,” can brighten someone’s day, lift their spirits, or make them feel seen.

Best of all, it costs nothing to be kind.

The beauty of kind words is that they can create a lasting impact, not just for the person receiving them but for the person giving them too.

So, the next time you're in line at the shops, messaging a friend, or working with a colleague, think about what your words can achieve.

Kind words make relationships stronger, build connections, and spread positivity wherever they go.

Let’s not underestimate the importance of small gestures. A kind word may be just what someone needs to hear today.

🧵Today's Sewing Tip:

Machine Quilting For The First Time

Have you ever been interested in quilting but have felt intimidated by the thought of it? It is actually not that bad.

Quilting is essentially stitching layers of material together.

When quilting fabric onto a stabiliser, be it batting or foam, there are many design features you can create with the stitch lines.

There are a few things to take into consideration though:

• A sharp or quilting needle will give you better results for sewing through multiple layers.

• A slightly longer stitch length will create neater stitch lines without puckering the fabric. Around 3.0-3.5 works best, but test on a little scrap piece beforehand.

• The more stitch lines you make, the more your fabric and foam/batting will shrink making the overall size of your quilted panel smaller than what you intend.

To overcome this, simply cut the foam/batting and fabric around 2-4 cm larger than the pattern piece you intend to use.

• Consider alternating the direction of your quilting lines. Continuously stitching in the same direction can pull the fabric and distort your panel. To avoid this, try quilting from the centre outward or alternating directions for a more balanced finish.

In this example I stitched lines in what you may call a chevron design and the panel is clearly distorted.

Having cut the materials larger than my pattern piece (not enough though on this example) allowed me to cut it down to size and remove the distorted appearance.

⭐My Favourite Things This Week:

• Finishing my socks!
• Just about done with my second sewing pattern.
• Casting on and making amazing progress on the Alice Vest test knit from Rita Made This.
• My monthly Sew & Bond sewing social day!

🗓️Upcoming Plans

• Continue working on the Alice Vest test knit from Rita Made This.
• Re-visit the written instructions for my patterns.
• Make some gifts for friends and family - matching Penny Pinny’s for twin girls.
• Cast on the Gumdrops Sweater using the Yarnsmiths Merino DK yarn and silver beads!

🎉Upcoming Events

14th of December 2024 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event - in Gatley Hill House, South Manchester, 11:45h - 17:15h
Email bianca@beesilva.co.uk and quote reference: SEWBOND012
For more information: https://www.beesilva.co.uk/sewbond012/

2025 Dates!

18th of January 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event
23rd of February 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event
22nd of March 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event
26th of April 2025 - Sew&Bond - Sewing Social Event

Question of the Week:

What’s your favourite sewing tool that you can’t live without?

Sign in below to leave your comment. 🤗

Thank you so much for reading it! And if you enjoyed it, please tell a friend about it to allow me to reach more people. 🥰

Bye for now,
B! xx