Soft Suit Combo – the Shacket

I have resisted the Shacket with all my might for the last couple of years. Although I liked the look of it, I always baulk at anything that “everyone’s wearing”. It was the super trend a couple of years ago and my problem is that I like to be in fashion but I don’t like […]

Sorbet season is here – self-drafted trousers in red shot linen

I’ve always loved linen trousers, especially on the hot days of summer. I’ve had several RTW pairs over the years and I always wore them to destruction. I’ve been meaning to make a pair for ages, but because I wanted to draft my own, it’s taken a while. I’ve also had a piece of beautiful […]

Sorbet season, take two – McCalls 8090

Once again I was hovering on the edge of a trend, the Tiered Dress trend to be specific. It takes a while for me to get my head around whether I like a trend enough to get on the bandwagon. I dabbled a bit last year with my Blouse to dress hack to see if […]

Something tells me I’m into something good.

There I was sitting at my computer trying to force myself to complete the hundreds of exam scripts I still had to mark, I hear the third knock at the door this morning. It’s not as if I need distracting anymore than I can do myself. I have had to put my phone away so […]

Through my eyes; I made a pattern from a photograph in Vogue

I have lovingly kept this Book of Vogue patterns for years and drooled and dreamed over it many times. Now I’m sewing again, I’m trying not to add to my pattern stash before I use some of the ones I have already, but it’s difficult when you see something you like and it’s not in […]

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Neither love or seams can keep you together…

Cloning My ‘Wanderer’ Jeans Every time I looked at them I knew this time had to be the last time we were together, but I couldn’t give them up. They were so good to me; they knew me so well and they knew how to make me feel good. I always ended up giving them […]

Entering an uplifting universe …

In the days when I was a prolific maker, it was the acquisition of new skills which was always a key driver. Once I’d made a two piece T-shirt I had to learn how to insert sleeves, once I knew how to knit and purl, I had to learn how to do cable. This is […]

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Resurrection and revamping: the mannequin dossier – part three.

Well here we are ready to get a girl back on her feet. In part two I showed you how I  re-covered both upper and lower parts of the dress-form. It now just leaves her tipsy stand to be sorted out. There’s often that moment when you have dismantled something and you realise you don’t quite […]

Resurrection and Revamping: the mannequin dossier – part two.

In part two of my mannequin restoration project, I’m now ready to start re-covering my Venus dressform. Having dithered for several weeks about how to do this and also being distracted by other activities, like holidays to Spain; de-cluttering my workspace and the many other projects on my to-do list I am finally there. Ah […]

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Resurrection and revamping: the mannequin dossier – part one.

Did I ever tell you about the time I performed a resurrection? Oh no? Well this is it. What do you with that once faithful friend who after more than a decade of neglect, you suddenly decide you need, only to discover that because you relegated her to that friendless zone of ‘got-no-time-for-hobbies-now-work-obsessed’ uselessness, she is shall we say, less than match fit.