She Who Sews

I jumped at the chance to test out the new Fernway Culottes pattern by Twig and Tale.



My girl was in dire need of trousers this autumn/winter, she'd grown out of all the ones I'd previously made her, and the hand-me downs from her brother were too short in the leg!



These trousers feature pleats at the front with a flat waistband, and an elasticated back. And, POCKETS!! They have the all important front pockets.



Importantly for my daughter, they are so wide that the trousers look like a skirt from the front. She's really quite girly and would wear dresses all year long if they kept her warm (which as she refuses to wear tights, is a bit of a problem). Layla chose the full leg length, she wanted long and swishy, and the viscose fabric, covered in flowers was just perfect for her.



I graded the pattern using the comprehensive instructions in the tutorial, using age 5 width, and age 7 length. I had to reduce the waist elastic a bit once I'd basted it in. I always have to make elastic smaller on her tiny waist. She's more of a 4 for waist, but I needed the trousers to go over her bum!



They look so wonderful on. They make for pretty dramatic pictures, but just like the tutorial suggested, she did find them somewhat hard to walk around in.



I couldn't go far for the photoshoot as I'd not long injured my ankle, and walking and operating a clutch pedal in the car were hurting a lot. So we went out to the lanes around the back of our village. I managed the 5 minute hobble.



It's wet and muddy here now, pretty much will be until April/May next year, and she didn't want to ruin them. So after photos, I unpicked the hem, and added elastic. They now maintain their swishiness, but don't pick up mud and wetness from her shoes. She has since asked for a calf length version, and I know the perfect fabric to make them up in, but I'm not sure if I have enough left over from a previous project?



I'm hoping to make up a grown-up version for myself, not to match her, but to bring a bit of style to my own wardrobe. The Fernway Culottes are on new release offer until Thursday 24th October. There are child, and grown-up patterns, available individually or as a bundle.



Did you know you can follow me on Instagram and I'd love for you to give me a like on Facebook.

*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*

It's Cosy Toes week at Twig and Tale!



As part of the inspiration team, I opted to sew up some wool wayfarers for my daughter. The wayfarers were one of 3 patterns that formed my first ever purchase from Twig and Tale. I've made a good few pairs of these from baby size, up to the biggest youth size 4.



I already knew that this pattern was too wide for my skinny girl, so I made the sole piece foot shaped, which took some of the width of the arch section of the foot. I measured her up, and she's into youth size 1, so only a few more to go before she's out of the kids sizes!



Once I'd shaped the sole to be more foot shaped, with a distinct left and right, I made up a trial shoe in some very scrap fabric, and realised I need to shave off some width from the toe section too. With a bit of trial and error, and a bit of measuring edges, I came up with a slimmer footed pattern for her.



I envisioned making some cute, warm, soft, embroidered slippers, and set about looking for embroidery patterns. I found a sweet book in Hobbycraft with many flower embroidery templates, and along with their bumper bag of cotton embroidery floss I set about sewing in some flowers for each slipper on the toe piece.



In my embroidery fuelled obsession, I ended up down an instagram rabbit hole of embroidery videos and pictures, and amongst them was Drop the Weasel. A page I already followed of facebook, with an amazingly well timed new pattern for an autumn wreath. I dropped a message over asking if she needed testers to try out her new design, and to my delight, got sent the pattern soon after.



By this point though, I'd already sewn the shoe together, as far as toe, elastic and heels. It made for challenging embroidery, and it took my a good while, but I managed two small sections of the hoop design on each heel piece. I used a thick felt for the lining sole, and pigskin for the outer sole, so it's non-slip and hardwearing.



She loved them, said they were super soft and squishy on her feet, but that the elastic pulled too tight, and pushed her toes uncomfortably into the ends. I felt super devastated that all those hours of work were wasted. But fear not, I unpicked a small section of each slipper, and snipped the elastic (photographed before I snipped the elastic). Now the backs are entirely not elasticated, but she can wear them comfortably which is good. They haven't got baggy yet, and around the house they stay on her feet.



I'd like to say a big thank you to Lizzie at Drop the Weasel for so kindly sending me her Autumn Wreath design so that I could sew it up onto these little slippers. And thank you Lisa at Twig and Tale for the beginners embroidery course that I followed, which was the inspiration and motivation I needed to pursue hand embroidery!



Did you know you can follow me on Instagram and I'd love for you to give me a like on Facebook.

*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*

This boy is growing like a weed. I frankly can't keep up sewing clothes for him to grow out of in literally a matter of weeks. His wardrobe is currently looking seriously light, he barely has enough clothes to last him out a week during the warmer weather, but his winter wardrobe is virtually non-existent now. And he's a tween, and wants to be hidden away under a big warm hoodie a lot.



So as this was a new to me pattern company, I checked his measurements against the size chart instead of blindly making him an age 10. I'm glad I did, because his measurements put him in age 14 😱

Now, with the best will in the world, my 10 year old boy is not an age 14 anything... but I went with it. I compared the finished length measurement to his tractor hoodie I made earlier this year (that at the time was a bit big, but fits him well now) and it was 1/2cm shorter, so yeah, perhaps he is age 14 in this pattern!



Because his sister gets the majority of clothes made in this house, he was feeling left out. He asked for this to be made, so when Caroline from Olumis sent me a message with pics of this new stock one evening, I thought he'd poo-poo it as too babyish. But to my surprise he loved it when I showed him the next morning.



The polar bears in grey and blue are a really soft, thick, warm brushed back cotton lycra, perfect for an autumn/winter sweatshirt. The ribbing is also lovely and thick and stretchy. I've had mixed results with ribbing from various places, but honestly, this is the best I've found so far.



Don't get me wrong, I do love sewing, and I love that we all wear clothes that are different to shop bought, but it's not cheap. I ordered 1/2m of each colour polar bears, 1/2m of plain grey jersey and 1/2m of grey ribbing. I can *just* make a hoodie for him from this amount of fabric, totalling £24.90 including postage. I have enough ribbing left over to make another hoodie or two, but only very small scraps of the other fabrics. So if you discount my time/thread, this hoodie I guess is similar in price to a branded one on the high street? The bonus being, he's extremely unlikely to meet someone else wearing the same thing!



We searched high and low for several days for a hoodie pattern that he agreed with. Initially he wanted a sweatshirt with round neck, no hood. But we couldn't find one that he agreed to. I found several international patterns with nice colour-blocking lines, but he refused them all. Then searching through instagram, he saw a sweatshirt with a scuba hood by heart.anda.half that he wanted, exactly the same.



Through a bit of research of hashtags I figured out the pattern, then struck up a conversation with heart.anda.half to get her insight into the patterns and others that might work for him. The sewing community is brilliant, I connected with a lady in America, talking about patterns designed in Sweden.

Anyway, I digress.

I bought the True North Hoodie by Max and Meena patterns, printed off age 14, with the scuba hood, not the cowl hood. And then set about cutting out the fabric. He chose to have front pockets which made the sewing process a bit longer. In all, it took me a little over 3 hours, but this included 5 separate attempts to get the front triangle to line up. With much unpicked, I did manage it in the end.



It's a really snuggly hoodie and he's worn it nearly everyday, preferring to put it on in the mornings instead of a dressing gown, and when it's chilly outside.

Did you know you can follow me on Instagram and I'd love for you to give me a like on Facebook.

I feel like a seasoned writer for Twig and Tale patterns now. I was part of the original Inspiration team several years ago, and have just been accepted on to their new team! So for my first project, I decided to slightly modify the Driftwood blouse for me.



When the pattern was released for women, I bought a metre of soft, squishy, double gauze from Truro Fabrics. But I never made the top. I was too daunted to make myself something, and despite knowing how to measure myself, could never make an item of clothing that really fitted me properly, especially on the top half.



But after spending many months earlier this year, I now have a bodice block that is similar to my size. It's been through many iterations. My front is much narrower than my back, and despite what I consider small boobs, because of this narrowness, I need a full bust adjustment most of the time. I have a long waist, and low bust point, but short between shoulder and high bust... hahaha, I'm all over the place! At least I know why I can't just get tops to fit me as is anymore.



So I stuck my bodice block on top of the printed pattern and it became clear I had no idea what I was doing. The Driftwood blouse is raglan sleeved, and gathered along the top edge. Trying to match up a bodice block, and this pattern was almost impossible. However, it was fairly obvious that the waist needed dropping, so I made that adjustment easily enough. I printed out the size that related to my high bust measurement and made up a toile in a Poundland dust sheet (I learned this act of genius from a fellow UK sewing blogger).



As I half suspected, although the shoulders and top front/back fitted nicely, it was too tight across my chest, and now too long (thanks to lowering the waist point). I followed the blog post to the letter to do a full bust adjustment (I needed an extra two inches, so was exactly the same dimensions as the post). It looked weird, and I was very concerned I'd just made the front ultra wide at the neck, but not to worry, as it just gets gathered more!



The second toile had the lowered waist and full bust adjustment, and fitted just great. I also added the long sleeve to one side of this toile to get an idea for length. And typically (something I have to come to realise from shop bought clothes being too short in the arm) I needed extra length in the arm. I chose to cut on the extended 'elastic' hem option, which gave me a couple of inches extra to play with.



Now I had the correct sized pattern, I had to figure out how to do my button placket. There is an add-on for a full button front available, but this didn't exactly help me. I wanted a Henley placket. I found a couple of blog posts that detailed how to do this, and using the instruction/proportions from a child's shirt pattern I own, I managed to put a pretty decent button placket in to the front. I didn't want ties, or a button and loop closure (included in the pattern), just simple buttons.



To add to the Henley placket, I also wanted button cuffs. Again, Twig and Tale have a lovely blog post on how to add a button and elastic loop to the cuff. Perfect for rolling up your sleeves to reach in blackberry hedges!



And here is the final blouse, a long waisted, bust adjusted, monkey armed, lovely soft double gauze top. I've never sewn with double gauze before, and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to work with. Binding isn't great as the fabric gets quite thick when quadrupled, and I wouldn't do it again. But it's a delight to wear, warm when the temperature is a bit cooler, and cool when the temperature is warmer!



I liked the fabric so much, I went back to Truro Fabrics to see if I could get some more (it was a long shot as it was bought a year + ago). They had others, and I bought a pale blue with cream butterflies, which is going to become a child driftwood blouse for my daughter, and a Barefoot romper for my little niece.


Did you know you can follow me on Instagram and I'd love for you to give me a like on Facebook.

*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*

For the longest time my daughter has been asking for a dress-up wedding dress. She loves the flowers, the lace, the drape, the train, the big skirts... all things showy and over the top.



A little while ago, a lady posted a screenshot into a sewing group, asking for pattern recommendations to make her own wedding outfit. Of course, Layla saw it, she is instantly drawn to white or ivory clothing pictures. I grabbed the screenshot and did a reverse image search to find the source. I figured it would be pretty easy for me to recreate the outfit for Layla. It turns out that the outfit was for sale through Etsy, with lots of pretty pictures of a glamorous model. A boxy cropped top, with a pleated high low skirt, probably a circle. Very classy, and very elegant.



I started a Pinterest board all for wedding outfits that Layla really likes, you can view it here: Wedding Outfits.



Luckily I had a couple of patterns that were similar already.







I found both through One Thimble magazine, this was way back in issue 12, August 2016. The Calla Lily Crop top by Jennuine Design and the Brook Blossom skirt by Orange Daisy patterns. I made both patterns when I got the magazine, both for Layla's birthday. I even made matching dolly clothes too. She was so little then!



The Calla Lily Crop top can be made lined or not. I chose the lined option. My outer was an ivory/cream dupion silk, and I used an off-white cotton lawn for the lining. I actually made a mistake and brought the lining to the outer as the button placket, but the end result was actually quite nice!



Layla obviously wanted a high-low skirt, so I chose that option. The Brook Blossom pattern isn't pleated like the inspiration picture, and it's not a full skirt, it's a half circle. But it's a good enough match for me. I used some white Broderie Anglais that I had bought for a reason many years ago, although that reason eludes me now. Because it is white, and has many holes, I added a small lining for modesty, mainly because she normally wears brightly coloured knickers.



I didn't have enough to make the full skirt, the length wasn't in the fabric, so I thought outside of the box and remembered a big wide lace trim I'd bought from a closed bridal and prom business. The lace happened to be just the right length to add to the skirt! I set about ruffling a very long length, I can't tell you how much because I left it on the reel and just gathered and gathered until it sort of fit around the hem of the skirt. I sewed it straight onto the hem, still attached to the reel as I didn't want to end up piecing it. That way I knew I had enough.



I was contemplating adding some of the lace to the crop top in some way, but it is a very wide panel, and would have made the crop top a normal, if not long length top. I'm not sure that was in keeping with the inspiration, so I left it off.



She's worn this outfit lots, she loves the way the skirt feels flowing behind her. I'm not sure she notices all the looks she gets, or I get, as we walk through town or the supermarket. I just love that she feels happy in herself.



Did you know you can follow me on Instagram and I'd love for you to give me a like on Facebook.

*Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission (the price stays the same for you) which will help me in the future to buy more patterns to share them with you!*

My little girl has been doing gymnastics since she was just 18 months old. She started in a Mummy and Toddler stay and play session, and quickly progressed to drop and leave pre-school sessions, then into the relevant age groups. She was just 4 when she was selected for a rising stars development group, and her skills went on from there.



It wasn't until a couple of years ago, that the love of gymnastics grew strong, and with it, a love of all things shiny and stretchy... I'm talking of course, about leotards. I've made a couple, they weren't worth photographing! And I've bought her a couple, but we're not a collector of brands. She is growing out of her current ones though, so I might have to try again for her. Here she is on her birthday last summer, in a beautiful custom leotard, made for her by my friend over at Rose Gymwear.



Being in the mini squad groups meant she trained with older girls, who wore crop top and shorts set. So she's been asking for a similar set for well over two years.



I've refused, the same as I have for a bikini. She's just a little girl and I don't think it's quite right.

But that all changed a couple of weeks ago, when BOO! Designs released their free Bralette pattern, for girls from age 2 right the way up to 14. It's essentially a racer back crop top, and even better, it was free! I downloaded it straight away and felt pretty daunted by what seemed to me, pretty technical knit processes involving elastic, binding and the such. Anyway, I gave it a go, and followed the instructions to a tee, and produced a tiny crop top of an evening.



To say Layla was happy when she saw it was an understatement. She has literally worn it for a week (apart from sleeping and gym practice, and her big competition last weekend). I really need to wash it... eek!



I made a pair of MBJM (Made by Jack's Mum) harem pants in short length to go with it. I totally mashed sizes, with a 5 width and 8 length, and was super dubious they wouldn't fit, but they did. I intended them to be knee length, and they are just a smidge longer than that. I need to take some stitches out of the yoga waistband and add elastic. I've never had any luck with yoga waistbands, they always fall down on my girl. I think she is just so slight, she needs the extra elastic in them.



Both items were made in poly knit fabric (I think it was called Aeolian Ripples? by Avoca) from Fabworks. I bought it several years ago with the intention of selling leggings and floaty summer woven tops in my shop. It never worked out, so I still have a good few metres of this fabric left. It makes perfect gym wear!!



Did you know you can follow me on Instagram and I'd love for you to give me a like on Facebook.