She Who Sews

Last Autumn I felt spurred on to pattern test again, and saw a call for testers to join Misusu Patterns on instagram. I applied for both myself and the kids. Shortly after, a call was put for the Bing Shirtigan, which Arthur refused (fussy tweenager) and Layla emphatically wanted, under the proviso I made it in pink. I was accepted into the testing group, but then the whole test was put on hold until the new year. January came and the test began. I was in the first round of testing, to help iron out kinks in the pattern, with sizing or with instructions.



Actually, it turned out that sizing needed tweaking, so my final version pictured is as close to final size as possible, but I made a load of adjustments to get it like that. Don't worry, the final version is perfect!!



I admit to never having made a Misusu pattern before, so it was all new to me. However, the pattern pieces and instructions are brilliant. Very clear, with clear markings on the pattern pieces. Everything is true and just fits together perfectly. The unisex Bing is designed for stable, heavier knits for the sleeves and top of the bodice. This is an all-in-one piece, and requires a bit of stretch for the shoulders to sit nicely. I made the hooded version, again, the hood is made from knit and bound with thin contrast knit. I think this would have worked with a woven binding too, there isn't much stretch, if any, required in the hood seams.



The lower body is designed for woven fabrics, it features a back pleat, and a sweet curved hem. The hem is faced, to keep the curved lines nice and neat, and is perfect for a contrast colour, or splash of floral (in Layla's case!). I used a thick cotton sweatshirt fabric in pale pink for the upper part and hood of Layla's Bing. I bound the knit seams in a thin dark purple knit (very old, no idea what type of fabric composition it is!), I love the contrast against the pale pink fabric.



The main body is sewn from thick bright pink whale corduroy. This met Layla's exacting 'pink' standards perfectly. I used the corduroy for the pockets too, but the pocket flaps were lined with the same floral as the contrast hem facing.



I chose to bind the bodice seams in floral binding, I wanted to create a fully bound shirt. When worn open, you catch flashes of the floral binding, which I think is really sweet. This is not detailed in the pattern, and was artistic license on my part. When I make another of these (it has already been requested), I won't use the binding all the way into the front button placket. It made the seam extremely thick, and my sewing machine struggled really badly to sew over it. I would definitely bind the seam up to the point of the placket though, as I think it adds a lovely touch. I'm kicking myself that I didn't take the time to bind the side seams in the same way, so they are just overlocked as per pattern instructions.



Layla has worn this shirt a huge amount since I made it, and I'm genuinely surprised how much she loves it!



Pattern: Bing Shirtigan by Misusu Patterns - Hood OR collar options.
Fabric: 100% Cotton Sweat knit from Fabworks, Corduroy purchased locally a few years ago



The pattern will release on Friday 28th February and be on special release price until Sunday 8th March.

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*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!*

I just love a lot of the Duchess and Hare patterns. They have such a sweet vintage vibe, which is what drew me back to sewing when Layla was a toddler.



This new dress, the Sugar and Spice was first advertised for testing way back in October. At the time I saw it and loved it, but just couldn't commit to the testing process because of life getting in the way.



So I actually did a double take when it was put back up this month. I had a strange sense of Deja vu, that I'd seen the dress before, but couldn't put my finger on it. It was only when I was accepted into the testing group that I realised it was the dress I'd loved before.... Sometimes I'm such a twit ;)



I threw myself wholeheartedly into the test, and tried to get my dress finished quickly. I went off piste, and asked if I could use horsehair braid in the skirt hem which was agreed. But then it became clear that simply machine sewing it into the hem of the satin would look odd. So I spent two days, yes, you read that right, two days handsewing the horsehair braid into the skirt hem, approximately 4 metres of it (did I mention this is almost a double circle skirt?!).



But the dress just didn't hang right. I sat it on my dummy, and photographed it, and primped and preened it. I put Layla in it, and photographed her, and tried to make it sit right. But it was just wrong. The braid was fighting the satin and the pleats in the skirt too badly. On a very low day, of tears (building work in my house is now bringing me to tears), and general miserableness, I unpicked the entire hem. It only took about 10 minutes to do. I ironed the whole thing out again and made up my own satin bias to hem the skirt that way (who knew that the designer would be right.... oh yeah, everyone except me!).



So I did machine stitch the bias into the skirt hem this time. Yes, it would have looked better to be handsewn again, but I simply didn't have an extra two days time to do it. My handsewing is slow!



I made my dress with a silk satin bodice, and a poly duchess satin skirt and collar. The lining was a cotton lawn. I made my own bias binding for the skirt from the silk satin as a contrast colour. The dress is closed in the back with an invisible zip which is enclosed in the bodice within the lining. The skirt is a very full almost double circle, which is pieced and pleated into the bodice. It's a fabric hungry pattern because of the skirt, but if you use a non-nap, non-directional print, tessellates nicely onto the fabric.



I love the collar that rolls round from the front into two points at the dropped back. And the included petticoat pattern adds that extra oompf (if you don't use super heavy duchess satin!).



This Sugar and Spice dress, along with several others will be in the Black Friday sale, with 40% off storewide, running until midnight, Monday 26th (PST).



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*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!*

There's not been much happening recently in my sewing world. I have not had the time or impetus to complete anything, but Layla saw this top whilst scrolling and actually let out a little squeal of delight. So I figured I had to join the test for her! This is the Appeltaart Top by the Eli Monster.



The fabric that Steph used on her daughter's version was amazing, and I told Layla that she couldn't have it, I wasn't buying anything new. So she nonchalantly said, 'oh I'll just have butterflies then'. Nothing like resigning yourself to beautiful fabric eh?!



I managed to get a version 2 of the pattern sewn up and complete when it became clear that the top needed a bit more swing, so the final version has a bit more flare to the hem, but I didn't have the time to sew up another, so bear in mind that my final pictures are a bit narrower than the final pattern.



The top features a ruffle, forming a cap sleeve on one shoulder, and following all around the front petal, to the back and up to the centre front on a faux wrap petal. It's finished at the neck and armholes with bias binding (my nemesis, but woohoo, I managed it this time!).



The back is finished with a simple neck placket and button and loop fastening. These are super quick and easy to do.



The thing that took me the longest was gathering the long ruffle, I really need to invest in a ruffler foot for my Bernina.



The blouse that this pattern produces is super cute, and it could be made into a beautiful showstopper with some super special or sparkly fabric. Just imagine it with a tiered maxi skirt!



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*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!*

These new patterns couldn't have come at a better time for my daughter. All of a sudden she seems to be moving away from the many, many dresses I have made her and complaining she doesn't have any tops or shorts to wear.



So when I showed her the pictures of this summery top and shorts set, she surprised me with her enthusiasm for them! This is the Sunny Side top and Heat Wave shorts.



The top is a tube top style with a shaped pointed front bodice, and an elasticated straight back. The front ties around the neck creating a cute v-shaped teardrop shape, but also helps secure the top into the correct position. An option to tie the neck ties to the back bodice was also included in the pattern.



A big frill, or ruffle, encircles the top of the bodice, adding detail, but also hiding the elastic casing in the back. The 'skirt' portion is gently gathered into the small bodice to give an airy feel. This top can also be made into a loose and breezy dress. From a sewing point of view, this top is ace, it has fully enclosed or french seams throughout, so much so I think I need to put a label in it for my daughter as she can't tell which side out to put it on!



I bought this bright blue check fabric from Fabworks last year (I can no longer see it on their website, but they have very similar fabrics in stock), with the intention of making a shirt for my son. However, despite picking it from the website, he then declared when I'd ordered it, and it arrived, that he really didn't like it. It's sat, unloved and folded in my large fabric stash, along with two other checks I ordered at the same time, ever since. I felt in the interests of using up my stash and not buying more fabric that they ought to see some love. Thankfully, adding this top to the white shorts with pink spots has worked well for Layla, she doesn't object to the blue, so long as there is some pink in there somewhere!



The shorts have a simple elasticated waist, but are slim fitting, with a very cute faced scalloped edge. I made a straight age 6 for these, even though she doesn't measure a 6 on her teeny bottom or waist. Instead, I took a smaller length of waist elastic, so they are more cinched in than perhaps they should be.



The set just works! I sent the pictures to my mum and she exclaimed that she had a very similar set around the same age (sorry mum, but have to mention it's an early 60's style!), so vintage looks are definitely coming around again!



Since taking the final pictures for this set, she has worn it every day. I think this is definitely a measure of how comfy, and how much she liked it. As a little budding gymnast, she even proved that given a big lawn, she could cartwheel, handstand and do numerous back and front walkovers in this set, so I conclude it is 100% playproof.



You can buy the shorts and top set as a bundle, or the Sunny Side top and Heat Wave shorts separately, they are all on sale until Sunday 3rd June, midnight PDT.

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*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!*

When Bernadette issued a testing call for this new dress, it was so lovely, that I agreed to test it out even before I showed it to my daughter. This could have been a totally fatal flaw, but as it turned out, even Miss Fussy Pants liked the design! This is the U-Turn dress.



I tested out several variations of the non-reversible, round neckline dress, from the very first version to making up a muslin of the final pattern. I won't bore you with all the muslin fit pics.... most are of a very grumpy unkempt looking child! The bodice can be made with either a round or square neckline, and can be adorned with ruffles (either single layer or lined) or not. Although I didn't try it out, the dress can be made fully reversible.

My first dress was made up in a mashed age 4 width with age 6 height. The waistband was originally darted to give it shape, but in the end, this caused far more problems than the darts fixed, so this was the first version change.



I chose the vintage length skirt, with lined ruffles on the bodice for my first dress, as per Little Miss Fussy Pant's directions. The dress has three skirt lengths to chose from, vintage, ruffled and basic. The vintage length skirt should hit 2/3 of the way to the knee.



This first version came out a bit too vintage length and would require shorts or bloomers underneath for most (not my girl, she doesn't care!), so that was another change to be marked down for the final version. My girl could happily twirl and spin all day long on the beach in dresses like this!



And on to the back, the back is the one bit of this pattern that I adore the most. The shape is just wonderful. The back gently curves down each side, and when crossed over creates a wonderful soft v-shape.



The dress wraps over at the back, secures on the waistband with snaps (or buttons if you prefer). Don't be worried about an 'open' back skirt, the wrap over is large enough that even the strongest gust of wind won't deem the dress inappropriate.



I used a plain yellow cotton poplin for my bodice and waistband, and paired it with the bright floral, Floating World - Hiroshige by Snow Leopard Designs. This is quilting cotton and has a good weight to it, I would only use this on the non-reversible dress version, it would be too heavy in the reversible option.



My second version uses the final pattern, so it has a lengthened bodice, a straight fully enclosed waistband, and for this version, I chose the skirt ruffle too (again on Little Miss Fussy Pant's request). This was an age 6 bodice and skirt, and age 4 width waistband. I wished I'd gone for the age 6 waist which was Bernadette's suggestion, but I thought I knew better... however, I will now be unpicking the waistband and fiddling around letting out the seam allowances to make it fit for more than a few weeks!



We were at the beach again! You'd think this was the same day, but no, it was about two weeks apart in some very unprecedented warm weather that graced our patch of Cornwall.



This version has more ease in the waistband and a longer length, fitting more gently into the natural waist, and the ruffle skirt giving a bit of growing room in the length. This ruffle length skirt and the basic skirt both fall just above the knee.



This final version gives an even more stunning shape to the back!



Since these pictures, I have unpicked my original dress and replaced the first darted waistband with the new updated version. I haven't yet got pictures as my daughter has clearly had some sort of growth spurt and now the waist is simply too tight in the size I made it!

The U-Turn dress will be on special release price until midnight (PDT) Sunday 20th May. Why not join the Duchess and Hare pattern group on Facebook to check out all the other versions?!

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!*

During November and December I sort of lost the blogging bug. I was making a lot of gifts for Christmas and birthday presents, and as I couldn't advertise them online (or the recipients would see!) I didn't bother much with writing anything. What I should have done was written up the posts in draft form and released them all en masse after Christmas. Isn't hind sight such a wonderful thing?!



Instead, I didn't and now I have this huge hole in my blog. BUT I'm getting back on track with this post. I have just completed my second pattern test of the year (I'll have to write up the first one next). It's my first time testing for Bernadette of Duchess and Hare patterns and overall the experience was great!



I was accepted into her tester pool before Christmas and have been waiting patiently for the festive period to be over to get sewing. The request for these two patterns popped up and I jumped at the chance to join in. I have a serious love of the vintage vibe, and secretly, I want to keep my little girl 'little' for as long as possible. The Spinny Mini dress and A La Heart Pinny certainly fulfil the criteria.



The A La Heart pinny has a heart shaped bib attached to a simple elastic waistband, with straps joining at the centre back with a button. The skirt can either be a full circle, a tulip circle or gathered. It has the option to attach to shorts on their own, or underneath the various skirts, but my girl is really not a fan of rompers, or suspender shorts.



She squealed with delight the morning she saw the pinny on the dressmakers dummy, waiting for her to try it on for sizing the straps. She immediately put it on, and I pinned for buttonhole size, with the request I sew the buttonhole and button on before breakfast!



The pinny was made to go over something, as it's a bit indecent with the tulip skirt, so I had to get on with the Spinny Mini dress asap. The dress came together surprisingly easily and quickly. It's so refreshing to have everything line up in flat pattern stage, and then the sewing is easy on top.



I have never made elastic casing using self made bias binding before. I'm not quite sure why I haven't? It is the neatest, easiest way ever to make a casing, and I think I'll use it on many, many projects in the future.



My only gripe is threading elastic through casings. I hate it, even with my little nifty elastic threading bodkin. I have since found though that my 1/4" elastic is not actually 1/4" and made life a challenge unnecessarily for me. The problem between switching from imperial measurements, to metric, is that it's never going to be quite exact. Elastic is sold in mm sizes here, and my '1/4"' elastic was actually just over, oh well, at least I know for future.



The Spinny Mini dress comes with either short of three quarter length puff sleeves, I had to choose the short version, I just love the way the sleeve puffs up into a ball, it's just so sweet! The dress also has the option of the mini circle skirt with ruffle, or a longer gathered skirt. I wanted to go proper vintage length, so opted for the mini circle skirt. Obviously this option gives maximum twirl too. And, for common decency (not that my daughter gives a stuff...) there are a sweet little set of bloomers included in the pattern. I made a straight age 4 in these, and had to tighten my elastic to account for the tiny bum and skinny thighs of my daughter.



I bought three prints from the Priory Square collection of fabric by Art Gallery Fabrics before Christmas. I thought they would be good for my Christmas and birthday gifts, as well as my planned new collection for my shop. I simply adore the Sunday Clippings print, which pairs wonderfully with the Clover Field and Shambles prints. But now I have used up my supply of Sunday Clippings and I can't find it to buy anywhere in the UK, or even see it anymore on the Art Gallery Fabrics website, which puts paid to my plans to make a new collection out of it. Such a shame it seemed to be on such a short print run. Sunday Clippings has made the cutest Spinny Mini dress, paired with the Shambles print for the A La Heart pinny, with Clover Field underneath as the bloomers.



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!*