Suede love and saying hi

It's been a while!  I've been sticking my head in the books and also stitching away for a fabulous wedding.  Here are the 3 bridesmaids in the dresses I made.


It was really a most beautiful day and the bride looked stunning.

So now I have submitted a few assignments I have returned to the sewing machine for a days chilled out sewing.

Recently I got given some suede scraps to use - for me scraps are teeny tiny bits of fabric that it is hard to decide what to make with.  I guess when you start doing upholstery scraps take on a different meaning because at the end of the suede session I have 3 cushion covers and a new skirt!

It was a totally new experience for me sewing with suede - something I have never tried but I really enjoyed it.  Yes it is not very forgiving - sew in the wrong place and the fabric lives to tell the tale but if you take it slow and steady it is fabulous!

I decided to make a wrap skirt done up with a button - when using a new fabric I thought I wouldn't try to tackle the zip!  I didn't have a pattern so just free-handed some shapes and lay them together until I was happy.

If you want to give suede a try I would suggest getting leather needles as using them made a huge difference to the sewing experience.  Other than it is much the same as usual just take it slow and steady!

So here it is ;

It is just an all round fun skirt - good to dress up and good to dress down.

I made the top too but more on that on another post!

Hope you're all having fun sewing

 :) 

Slouch cardigan

A lovely afternoon spent wandering resulted in me discovering some fantastically blue fabric in a charity shop.  It was reduced to only a pound so I went for it and began to plan the fabulous things I would make from it.  Pinterest to the ready and off I went.  I found this fantastic pattern for a super comfy slouch cardigan. If you decide you fancy giving it a go you can find the pattern here from True Bias.

The pattern seemed pretty straight forward so off I went - 2 simple rectangles, a bit of shaping and I find myself already at the sewing machine.

It really was nice to just have to cut this much out before sewing.

As I got to work I realised how much this fabric would fray and actually a much more complex pattern might have been a nightmare to work with.  This is what my overlocker looked like after a few seams being done. Super fluffy!

Upcycling my things!

This week I look around at my sewing room and realized that although I think I am pretty good at taking old things and making them new I am not always good at taking my old things and making them new.  I have so much fabric that is cut too small to turn into a bag or purse.  I have scraps or fabric with tears or stains literally everywhere.  They are beautiful pieces of fabric but need to find a way to be used.
 Following on from my patchwork bag which I continue to be in love with I have been feeling the patchwork vibe! I spent a lovely afternoon after work last week chatting to a friend and cutting up fabric scraps into more usable scraps.
 I have now set about attaching them altogether to create a patchwork something!  Given how many scraps I need to work through I think it will probably result in being a quilt but currently I am keeping an open mind.
 So far my patchwork has been using new fabrics - patches that have been bought for me by friends.  But patchwork was originally about making do and mending!  Taking the odds and ends of old clothes, old bedding, leftover fabrics - anything really - and turning them into something useful and hopefully beautiful too!
 I intend to get going on that style of sewing for a while - so this is going to be my first piece of patchwork that truly uses odds and ends of fabric.  I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out!  It will definitely be something I pick up and put down so don't expect a finished product any time soon!
 As much as I love the other patchwork I have done that followed a pattern and theme I am starting to love the absolute randomness of it.  It feels somehow more authentic!  We will see how it looks on a bigger scale!