My latest sewing FO has been one of those rare projects where I had a spark of an idea in my head and it all came together without a real plan. I dreamt of a… Read more
You may remember that I was having problems with my sewing machine, with snapped needles, bad tension and jamming. To cut a long story short, went on a voyage of sewing machine discovery, and welcomed the Janome Atelier 3 into my home a a few weeks ago. Read more
On a high after the success of my last sewing project, I thought I’d try something more ambitious while being small enough to be achievable in my very limited sewing time. This top is a… Read more
Since making a wedding dress for my good friend Zöe back in 2010 (wow, that was a long time ago) I have done embarrassingly little sewing. This has nothing to do with the wedding dress… Read more
The Knitting & Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace is a quilter’s dream, but I can’t help but feel that contemporary dressmaking is a little under-represented. Never the less I did stumble upon some interesting fabric finds… Read more
I’m half way through making the first of many skirts from my own custom block. After drafting a block from my measurements, fitting and adjusting a toile, and copying the adjustments back onto paper, I… Read more
Recently I hosted a pattern cutting workshop on drafting a basic skirt block from body measurements. The first time I did this was for the I made last summer. I found the hand-outs from the… Read more
This is what went into the dress: Main fabric 3.5 m of heavy silk crepe in ‘natural’ It’s fair to say that I had probably chosen the main fabric in my head as soon as… Read more
Seaming lace is just one of the new techniques I’ve had to pick up for Zoe’s wedding dress. The effect of the all-over lace is stunning, but sewing it is not high on my list… Read more
There were a lot of things I’d always wondered about the practical task of pattern cutting: How do you draw a smooth armhole curve? How do you make a straight hem? How do you add… Read more
With the detailed set of measurements I took in day one of Custom Pattern Cutting and Fitting, day two was spent drafting a bodice block from those measurements. The block is a representation of the… Read more