A Sewing & Style Blog
In theory, having a birthday in lockdown should be no fun… but I had a straight-up blast this year! I received some lovely messages, cards and gifts, and I drank plenty of gin cocktails 😊 Plus, my gorgeous housemates constructed a huge, whimsical balloon arch in our lounge as a surprise and they got me […]
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I really amped up some witchy-vibes for my sixth #MinervaMake here! This amazing Lady McElroy fabric was gifted to me from Minerva and I knew I wanted to make it into a fairly dramatic wrap dress with a full skirt; I previously made a wrap dress out of ITY stretch fabric last summer, but I […]
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A few weekends ago, the lovely Megan from Pigeon Wishes hosted an online party on Instagram to celebrate Galentine’s Day — to join in with the fun, all you had to do was post a picture of yourself wearing pink and red and tag #PigeonPinkRedParty! So many people created really beautiful garments for the day […]
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For my fifth #MinervaMake, I had been thinking up a little summer outfit (hey, anything that helps me get through these dreary lockdown days…!). I was daydreaming of an outfit that would be comfortable for wandering around a museum in when paired with a pair of sandals, but also cute enough for heading to an […]
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For my final #MinervaMake of 2020, I fancied challenging myself! I decided to go for a classic button-up shirt by Sewaholic and paired it with a few metres of this quirky cotton poplin by Art Gallery fabrics that was gifted to me. Head over to Minerva to see my blog post! Let’s talk about fabric first, because […]
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I recently joined the #MinervaMakers team in September and was gifted this gorgeous printed cotton poplin! I paired it with my tried and true McCalls 6696, opting for the fitted straight skirt and sleeveless bodice. Head over to Minerva to read all the details in my blog post!
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For me, this sundress feels like an Italian summer; I can just picture myself wearing it in the sparkling sunshine in Palermo, eating gelato and people-watching… oh well, perhaps next year! In the meantime, this sundress can brighten up my days in Oxford — the punchy red background against the zesty lemons is so cheerful and I am pretty proud of myself for all the additional details I put in when pattern-hacking to make this my ultimate summer outfit. […]
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One of my favourite parts of sewing is feeling inspired by ready-to-wear fashion, and then thinking how I will make it ‘mine’. Perhaps I will see a dress with an interesting skirt style, but the back bodice is not bra-friendly; no matter, because I can change that to something that works for me when I create my own version. Being able to pick and choose design elements is incredibly freeing. […]
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Wrap dresses have been considered a sartorial staple for decades now — and for good reason! Wrap dresses work in the office, for special occasions, for lunch dates… the possibilities are fairly endless with a wrap dress, especially when you make them from knit fabrics. I am still getting used to sewing with jersey, so […]
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Can you still call it pattern hacking if it is your own poor-planning that is to blame…? While I absolutely love this finished smock top, getting to this point involved plenty of playing jenga with pattern pieces, adding in additional seam allowances and changing a pretty big element from the original design! I think it is only fair to highlight the I mistakes made — making mistakes and working around these challenges are so important to grow and improve as a sewist — but I really don’t think it detracts from the finished garment, which is as swishy and dreamy as I envisioned! […]
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