Florals are out again

Here’s another of my Minerva projects from last year. It was the usual race against time as I sewed frantically to have something new to take on holiday with me. I’m trying the Minerva Exclusive Linen Viscose Blend. I chose this vibrant eye-poppingly colourful floral print called Beaming Blooms. The tropical flower motif is a […]

Babelone Art Viscose Jersey

This project is so simple that there is not a lot to say about it apart from showing you. This was from last autumn and I have to say not only have I forgotten the process of the make but it was done so rapidly that I have no process photos to remind me or […]

Waffle Fabric Faux Jumpsuit

Now I love jumpsuits and I’ve got quite a few in my wardrobe and this next project was supposed to be one. The inspiration was this blousey all in one that’s been on my Pinterest for a few years now. I still haven’t plucked up the courage to try and draft this – instead, I […]

Cowl neck sweater

Hello… hello… it’s me. If you’ve been checking in every now and then thank you and I’m sorry. Travel and lack of sewjo hit hard last year. It’s scary how quickly you can fall out of a good habit. I’m back on my blogging horse and hoping to get back into a good flow. Today […]

Stevie Jeans Jacket Finally Finished

This is a post all about catching up. I’m catching up on blogging this finished article which was catching up on finishing a UFO which was catching up on a project that had been waiting a long time to be done. Way back, almost at the beginning of this blog’s life, I shared the need […]

Simple sewing: When you’re not really feeling it.

At the beginning of the year, I said I was going to slow down my makes so that I could concentrate on drafting and fitting. Well, my creative impulses kind of ground to a halt. Not only has my sewing dried up to a dribble, but I did not really achieve any of the planning […]

Designin’ December vs. Little Red Dress Project – Xmas 2022

It’s time for my favourite end-of-year challenge. Linda Maki’s Designin’ December is a sewing challenge to recreate or take inspiration from a designer item that you love. I spent a few years on the sidelines before jumping into this challenge and now this is my third entry. This year I might be able to kill […]

Sleeping Bag Puffa Jacket – I try Upcycling

Often on my semi-regular walks on the Downs, I have admired my friend’s lightweight down jacket that she wears when the weather has just a little nip in the air but it’s not cold enough for a big jacket. I continued to covet my friend’s jacket and also considered the ££££ demanded by outdoor apparel […]

Black Skinny Jeans from PatternLab Block

My latest jeans project uses the Pattern Lab system to hopefully get a good fit on these trousers. I’m using PatternLab.Ldn skinny jeans block with some black stretch denim from the stash. Here’s my Affinity Designer sketch for these classic-looking jeans. The denim is a lovely deep inky black and I decided to use white […]

My FrankenStyle triptych and how I can’t dress down

Oh dear, some scheduling shenanigans happened this is the proper version, sorry if you received this too many times. Autumn seemed to arrive abruptly after the glorious summer of heatwaves that we have had this year in the UK. I find that although where we live, the weather is quite mild, it always seems to […]

Waffle Patterns Kaede Utility Apron

Out of the blue just before my Italian holiday, I was contacted by Yuki of Waffle Patterns. She was testing a new pattern. She must have read my mind because the latest pattern was a utility apron/belt. That’s a bit out of the ordinary, you may think but, for the longest time, I had been […]

Soft Suit Combo – the Trousers

For the last few years, I’ve been focused on perfecting the fit of my trousers and last summer I made the first of what is now a few pairs of linen trousers. I’ve had linen trousers in various colours over the years and they all were worn until they fell to bits. I’ve been meaning […]