Seamwork Audrey jacket
6th September 2020The seamwork Audrey jacket is a denim jacket pattern, but you could also make it out of corduroy or twill. It’s made for woven fabric and is fairly loose fitting. Notions needed: About 2m of fabric 12 denim buttons Small rectangle of lining fabric 4 spools of matching thread!!! (400m) Time taken: 2 days + 4 evenings Learning opportunities: Topstitching/ triple stitch Welt pockets Button holes What I wish I had known That I needed a whole 4 spoils of thread This wasn’t a quick job My version: I sewed mine with some slightly stretchy denim. I didn’t sew stretch…
How to fix thread nests and tangles?
So you’re in the middle of sewing, your machine makes an almighty awful noise, and you notice a big tangle of threads which looks a little like a birds nest under your fabric. What do you do?…
Paper or PDF sewing patterns. Which is best?
In this blog post, I shall cover the pros and cons of PDF and paper patterns. Is it better to buy paper patterns or should you print them out yourself at home? I’m probably one of few…
Make Nine 2020
At the start of every year, sewists post their sewing plans for the year ahead on Instagram under the tag #makenine. I did this last year and have done so again this year. So what do I…
Friday Five!: Trench Coat Sewing Patterns
It’s been a while since I last posted here, due to one long-ass house move (more on that in a later post!). Now that I’m more or less settled into my new abode, I thought it was…
Painted feature walls: 2 ways
In this blog, I show you how to paint two features walls using just paint and masking tape. Version A: Criss Cross feature wall For this version I made small pencil markings on the wall as per…
Pattern Hack: Adding a zip and hem cuff to TATB Stella Hoodie
In this blog post, I show you how to insert a zip and a cuffed hem in your Stella hoody from Tilly and the buttons ‘Stretch’ book. The Stella is the last pattern that I had left…
Boeuf Bourguignon Pie
In this blog post I show you how to make a beef bourgignon pie, loosely based on a Delia recipe. I like to believe that I was the first to come up with the idea of the…
Tilly And The Buttons: Joni dress
The neckline of Joni dress is what drew me to buy the latest Tilly And The Buttons (TATB) book, even if I originally assumed it was a top on the cover photo. Despite being the main draw,…
IKEA shoe cabinet makeover
A few years ago I was given an IKEA Sandnes shoe cabinet. I found the style of it very practical. It hides the shoes but also takes very little space. I liked it until we had done…
Ikea Hack: DIY Farmhouse table from Ingo + Ivar set
[originally published on an old blog in 2013] After moving into our new home, there were so many items of furniture to buy. One of these items we needed was a dining table. After seeing some tutorials…
Bathtub Gin
I’d been reading in a few places that you can make your own gin from Vodka. Cost-wise it’s not that different, by the time you’ve bought Vodka and all the ingredients you might as well just go…
A pink wrap top
I sewed the wrap-top pattern included in Simply Sewing magazine. Last summer I signed up to a free subscription of Simply Sewing magazine. I think it was £0.99 for 3 issues or something like that. Of course,…
