Shoestring Splendour

We’ve been a bit sewing obsessed on the blog over the last few months, what with my skirt and adding darts to a baggy dress, and Hannah’s jumper embellishment. Did you watch the Great British Sewing Bee this year? We completely fell in love with it! If we weren’t already excited about sewing this year (which we were), this programme got us even more ready to get our sewing machines out and definitely inspired us to do more.

And they’re coming back next year! My one complaint about the show was that it was just too short, so hopefully next time around they’ll be on our screens for a little longer. Which brings us to the point of this post – Love Productions, who make the show for the BBC, contacted us this week to ask us to spread the word about their call out, because they’re looking for home sewers to take part in the next season.

If you think your sewing skills are up to scratch (or could be by the time they film!), then get in touch with them! They’re looking for men and women – you just need be UK based.

To find out more, contact them on 020 70674822 / sewing@loveproductions.co.uk

Or for an application form go to http://www.loveproductions.co.uk/be-on-tv

I nominate Elena from Randomly Happy to take part – have you seen her skirt tutorial (which I made here)? Or her new slouchy t-shirt tutorial? The lady has some serious sewing skills.

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A few weeks ago, taking the bus from Brixton to Brockley, Peter and I passed the Horniman Museum and Gardens. Founded by Frederick John Horniman, who inherited his father’s tea business and used the income to create an incredible collection of STUFF.

Our main reason for going was to visit the small aquarium and to have lunch in the gardens, but we couldn’t resist taking a quick walk around the natural history section of the museum. There are stuffed birds of every variety and pinned butterflies, and monkey skeletons and all sorts of creatures from around the world.

Then we headed down to the aquarium, which was brilliant!! It’s not a huge space, but there are so many beautiful fish and other undersea creatures like starfish, live coral, anenomes, crabs, POISON DART FROGS (I got kind of excited about these) and JELLYFISH (I was also really excited about these). Basically, the aquarium had my feeling like a kid!

After walking through the aquarium (twice), we went into the museum gardens for a panini, which we picked up down the road. The gardens are absolutely beautiful and, considering that it was a beautiful sunny day and there are benches with a view over central London, reasonably quiet. There are lots of picnic benches with tables, an outdoor sound garden, a food garden, wide expanses of grass, beautiful flowers – it’s a wonderful place. Plus, there are no plane trees, which I’m allergic too, so come June, when my hayfever kicks in, this might just be the only garden in London that is safe for me to visit without my eyes streaming.

We only visited a very small portion of the museum – there is also a huge collection of musical instruments and a photography exhibit that I would like to go back to.  The events the museum holds also sound absolutely fantastic. If you’re in the neighbourhood this Thursday, for example, they are having a late night Garden Party, with an alternative tour of the museum showcasing some of its secrets and a gin garden where you learn how to make gin cocktails!

I really had such a wonderful time at the museum and highly recommend it to anyone who fancies doing something a bit different. It’s a cheap day out, too. The main exhibits are mostly free (there was one paid exhibit about the Amazon), and the aquarium is only £3 per adult. I think you could easily spend half a day exploring the different rooms.

Find out more about the Horniman Museum and Gardens

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Have you ever bought something because you thought it looked okay in the dressing room, and then you get it home and you realise that it looks terrible? There’s a girl I work with who always wears these big baggy dresses and she makes them look amazing. In the dressing room of H&M, I thought I could pull that look off too, but when I got home I realised that it was least flattering thing I’d bought in a long time.

It actually makes my stomach look as big as my boobs. Which is not generally the look I go for (and also, I hope, not actually the case). “I’ll return it!” I said, but of course, I didn’t. It has been sat in my wardrobe for at least 8 months.

BUT! Inspired by my skirt making and Hannah’s alterations, I decided to get my sewing machine out and try to rescue it. And… I think I managed it! It turns out that taking in a baggy dress isn’t that hard.

I wanted something that was still a bit loose, but fitted. This was mostly because I didn’t want to have to create new sleeves, which I think I would have had to do if I made it totally form fitting. The first thing I did was turn the dress inside out and create some darts at the front. I pinched the fabric around my waist until I got it to the size I wanted, then made a set of marks: one mark on either side of each pinch at my waist, and one mark where the dart was going to end at my chest.

I then took the dress off and used a ruler (okay, technically it was the edge of a magazine) and some chalk to mark out exactly where I wanted to sew the darts, resulting in two triangles starting at the chest and getting wider going down to my wasit. Make sure that the tops of the triangles are in line with one another. I pinched the fabric together again and pinned it, making sure that the pins matched the chalk. Then I tacked it together.

I found this video from the Crafts Channel very informative on how to make sure you get a good dart and how sew them up well.

So, front darts were in!

But the back was still pretty baggy..

I thought the back would be really complicated, as it meant unpicking the entire back of the dress from the bottom to the zip at the top, but actually, the unpicking was the bit that took the longest. Once was was all unpicked, I pinched the fabric to where I wanted it to be, making sure that the edges still matched up, and got Peter to put a few pins in. Then it was off again for me to do a chalk outline of where I wanted to sew and to tack in place.

Then I just sewed up the back, following along the chalk line and I was done!

What do you think? It’s not a super professional job, obviously, but the fit is SO MUCH BETTER and I feel as though I could actually wear it out of the house, which is more than I could say before. In fact, I’m really excited to wear this dress now! Yippee!

My next sewing project has to be to learn to read a pattern. I’ve bought quite a few patterns over the years (“for when I know how to sew”), but they’re currently sitting in a drawer languishing. Does anyone have any advice for blogs to read on reading a pattern? Tilly and the Buttons has a good looking post about it, so I think I might need to get a pattern out and study her blog while I try to figure it all out…

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As a big fan of The Great British Bake Off and someone who enjoys sewing I was in no doubt that I would like The Great British Sewing Bee. I did but my one complaint is that the series was too short and there wasn’t really time to get to know the contestants.

The publishers Quadrille were kind enough to send us a copy of the tie-in book, a weighty companion to the series. The book starts with lots of useful basic tips for beginners, like what sort of things to keep in your sewing box, simple tips for sorting out machine jams etc. It’s actually a rather long time since I made a garment properly from scratch and all this information was a good refresher and I learnt a few new things too. This section will be invaluable for a true beginner.

The projects are also designed with beginners in mind, with the exception of two that were part of the programme. In the back of the book is a whole pattern for a tunic top, which could also be altered to make a mini dress. The rest of the patterns are drawn in the book which can be blown up on a photocopier or you can download them from Quadrille’s website here.

The content of the book is great, lots of projects I actually want to try (if I can relocate my patience for sewing) and lots of things that beginners can start off with like cushions and aprons to gain skills and confidence. I am less impressed with how the book looks, the colours inside are a bit drab and the less said about the cover the better.

The great thing about making your own clothes is that they can be really made to fit. I find skirts and dresses that fit exactly right difficult to find because I’m tall so perhaps this summer I’ll be wearing a bespoke wardrobe.

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I’m a bit of a magpie and love a splash of sparkle on clothing. There are lots of jersey jumpers in the shops at the moment embellished with sequins and beads but it’s very easy to do yourself. I decided to give an old black jersey a refresh and embellish a jumper of my own.

This simple jersey top from H&M is a few years old and has been a great wardrobe staple. Over the years though it’s slightly lost it’s structure and the wide boat neck slowly slips of my shoulders throughout the day. I had unpicked some sequin embellishments from an old tatty top a while ago and saved the pieces and yesterday inspiration struck.

I had three strips of sequins and pinned two from front to back across the neck to make straps. They will stop the top from slipping off my shoulders, practical as well as pretty! I then played around with the third piece and decided to use it across the middle as a waist highlight.

There are lots of other ways to embellish a jumper and I think I’ll try something a bit more complicated with beads next.

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Over the weekend, Hannah and I fancied doing a spot of crafting. After spotting this giant paper tissue flower tutorial on Pinterest, we thought that sounded like quite a fun way to spend an afternoon, and although we couldn’t find a huge selection of colours at our local craft shop, decided to go ahead and make them anyway.  Here’s how we made them:

Step 1: Layer up to six pieces of tissue paper on top of each other – 2 for the middle section, and 4 for the outer layers. I used 6 for the outer layers, which actually caused some issues later on, so I’d say 4 is an ideal amount. Fold the tissue paper back and forth like an accordion, with each fold about 5 cm apart. Try to do this as neatly as possible, as it will be important later on.

Step 2: Use a ruler to ensure that the creases are really strongly defined.

Step 3: Separate the inner colour from the rest, fold in half and then cut in half. Then use scissors to make long cuts to about 2/3 the length of the tissue.

Step 4: Fold the outer layers in half, and shape the ends. I would recommend starting the shape from around 1/4 away from the fold – the closer you are to the fold, the more separated your petals will be. Also, the better you have folded the tissue in step 1, the more likely you are to cut every petal evenly. This was the hardest part for me – the scissors weren’t particularly strong, and cutting through so many layers of paper was a bit of a struggle!

Step 5: Unfold the outer layers and put the inner layers back on top. Re fold it, then fold them both in half. Take a piece of pipe cleaner (or florist wire, which is what we used), and wrap around the bottom where it has been folded in half. Twist to secure.

Step 6: Now you need to separate every layer from each other and ‘jujj’ them to put as much body as possible between the layers. Scrunch up the bottom of the inner layers so that that the stamen stand up tall. This sounds like the easiest part, but I think is probably the bit you need to spend the longest on, as the more volume you get, the better the flowers will look.

And that’s it! These are really fun for parties, or we’ve also spotted them affixed to the top corner of bedroom, as a fun decoration!

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Now that we’ve had a little more Spring-like weather my thoughts have started to turn to the garden. Today we had a good tidy up, mowed the lawn and lightly trimmed a couple of shrubs that had started to get out of control. They are just about to flower so I’ll give them another once over after that has happened.

Meanwhile I referred to my trusty Alan Titchmarsh book How to be a Gardener (Book One) to see what other spring jobs in the garden I should be doing at the moment.

Key jobs for Spring

Mid Spring (normally April, perhaps a bit later this year)

• Begin mowing the lawn regularly. Apply lawn feed and treat weeds or moss. Prepare soil and sow grass seed or lay turf.
• Feed beds and boarders, specimen tress, roses, shrubs and hedges with general fertilizer
• Plant roses, tress, shrubs and perennials. Move evergreens or conifers. Plant spring bedding in containers and gaps round the garden. Plant dormant dahlia tuners and gladiolus corns.
• In the greenhouse, prick out seedlings, or pot up if they’re ready.
• Plant sprouted potato tubers. Most maincrop vegetables, other than frost-tender ones, can be sown now.

Our lawn is in a really bad state so next weekend we’re going to sow some seed and see if we can revive it. I’ll keep you updated!

Extract from How to be a Gardener (Book One) by Alan Titchmarsh, BBC Books, £18.99

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It’s a bank holiday this weekend! I can’t wait. Last weekend was spent finishing off my skirt (which I think I’ll be wearing for the first time this weekend), and now I’m planning this weekend’s crafting. If you’re looking for something to make over the bank holiday here’s a little crafty round up with a few fun ideas for you.

Randomly Happy’s Shirt Upcycle

Have an old shirt in your cupboard that feels a bit tired? Give it a little lift with a new collar and cuffs! I have one shirt in my wardrobe that I never wear because it feels really formal – Adding some funky fabric to the cuffs and collar might just get me wearing it again…

Lotts and Lots beady bracelets

I was in The Crafty Sewer the other day (the best craft store in London, BTW), and looking at some of their beads thinking ‘I wish Charlotte was here to look at these and give me some good ideas’. She’s always full of so many great jewellery ideas and these bracelets are no exception – they’re so delicate and different, yet look really simple to make (once you have the tools).

Etsy’s pressed flower iPhone case

I actually don’t have an iPhone case, I just let my phone get bashed about, but I can think of loads of other things this would be suitable for – I never really thought about how easy it was to set pressed flowers if you have some kind of resin to fix them and give them a glossy finish. I’d love to do this on a plant pot or maybe a picture frame.

Sewing a top with Coletterie

I love the look of this top, although I would have to work out how to add sleeves, as I don’t like tops without them. But I think the little pleat in the front is so sweet and it looks so pretty and (dare I say it having only made one thing ever) fairly straightforward to sew…

Do you have any crafting plans this weekend? What are you planning to make?

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After taking a course earlier this year at Sew Over It, and successfully making several cushions for friends and family (cushions are SO EASY, who knew?), my next challenge in learning to sew was to make a wearable piece of clothing. Then, as if by magic, Elena from Randomly Happy started posting a weekly step-by-step guide to making a skirt. I bought my three metres of fabric, and then a few weeks ago, started cutting out my pieces!

I wanted to do this for the first time using materials that were fairly cheap and cheerful, as fabric can be quite expensive, and I didn’t want to waste money if things went horribly wrong. I ended up using quite a thick fabric from IKEA, which is probably meant for curtains or furniture, rather than clothing, but I liked the pattern and it wasn’t too expensive, so I picked it up.

I’ve never even thought about making a pattern from scratch before, so splashed out on some pattern paper from John Lewis. In the end, however, it was too small for my skirt so I ended up having to tape more paper on to the end – I think if I were to do it again, I wouldn’t bother with the pattern paper – a Sunday newspaper would probably be better and cheaper!

The first part of my skirt!

For the pockets, I decided to use a different fabric. My old flatmate gave me a dress years ago, which I had long ago unpicked and stored as fabric in a box, but it was a very short dress, so I didn’t know how I would ever actually use the fabric until I started making this and realised I could have funky pockets!

All in all, this was actually remarkably straightforward and easy to do. There were three things that I found frustrating, though.

1. Wrong side to wrong side/ Right side to right side = endlessly confusing to me. I read it, and know what it means, then somehow STILL managed to do it the wrong way twice, leading to a lot of unpicking and even more swearing.
2. The sizing. When I pinned the pleats in place, the skirt fit me perfectly, but somehow between pinning and sewing, it became about 2 inches too big! I couldn’t face unpicking it at this point, so instead I did a little cheat – I attached a small hook to one side at the back, with an eye on the other. Now, you zip it up and then hook it tight. With the pleats in the rest of the skirt, it doesn’t actually stand out or look unusual, so I’m pretty happy with this fix. However, when I do it next time, I’ll definitely be more careful!
3. The stitching – I wasn’t sure what size stitches to use for some parts of this, and I definitely got it wrong on the hem. I might actually go back and re-hem it at some point. They’re just a LITTLE bit loose, and I know that’s going to get on my nerves.

And the final thing? I wouldn’t look too close at the finish, but I’m pretty happy with how it came out! When the weather warms up, I will definitely wear this in public, which I think is a pretty good result. I also feel much more confident in my sewing, as there were quite a few challenging steps when putting this together. I’ve already gone out and bought some more fabric (something slightly thinner and more delicate, but thick enough not to be see through!) to make my next skirt, which I’m hoping to iron out the sizing and stitching on.

What do you think? Not to bad for a first attempt, is it!?

I found the process of following a step-by-step tutorial on Elena’s blog really useful. I have struggled in the past when looking at sewing books – I don’t really understand the instructions and can’t visualise what they mean, so having photos for every step was really helpful. Thank you Elena for putting it together!

Now – once I’ve finished my next skirt, what should I do next? If you have any good sewing blog or tutorial recommendations, send them my way!

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Today might be a bit rainy, but generally this week has been absolutely beautiful in London, hasn’t it? It’s been so amazing not to have to think in terms of how many layers I can get on and to give my tights a bit of a rest. The night’s are still so light, it really feels as though I have so much more time in the day. Last night after getting home from work, I decided to treat myself to an absolutely delicious and very summery cocktail!

I used around half a tablespoon of blackcurrent cordial, a tablespoon of raspberry vodka (my absolute favourite), a quarter of lime, and topped up the glass with soda water. My glass was very little (it’s a champagne bowl I inherited from my grandmother – I think people drank less in the old days because it’s dinky!), but if you were making this in a regular sized glass, I’d have a full shot of vodka to every half shot of cordial.

So delicious! Super refreshing, but the lime cuts right through the sweetness of the cordial and the vodka to balance it out a bit.

Happy Friday! We hope you’ve had a great week and managed to get out while the sun was shining.

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