Who sews Su's clothes....?

Further on from my last post, The Great British Sewing Bee has given me a nudge, not just to get sewing again, but to try my hand at making clothes.  So, I've finally ordered some patterns - how exciting!!

Since this is my first attempt at clothing I'm going to take it slowly, and I'm sure I'll make lots of mistakes!  I have been reading through Tilly's Learn to Sew course on Tilly and the Buttons which is just brilliant, and full of lots of useful information on using patterns and constructing clothes.  Particularly useful was the post on How to select your sewing pattern size which I was reading before I received my Sew Liberated Esme Top pattern, only to discover that the pattern doesn't list any measurements!  Since I have no idea what size I am post baby, and had heard that the pattern comes up large, I got out my tape measure and worked it all out using Tilly's instructions on calculating seam allowance and allowing for ease, etc.  I'm glad I did too, as I will now be making a top 2 sizes smaller than the one I would have picked going on dress sizes!  I hope I've got it right!

Tilly's own pattern - the Mathilde Blouse - comes as a printable download, so I've been having fun fitting it all together.  It's a bit like a giant jigsaw with the 'can-you-guess-what-it-is-yet' factor!

I couldn't resist buying the Vogue pattern [V1799] as well after seeing Karen's version on Did you make that?  It's very like a dress I bought a while ago that I love.  It's very flattering even on 'fat' days!  I had actually been considering drawing round it to try and replicate it, but this should be safer!  I won't be making it for a while though as it's not really compatible with breastfeeding and also I'd like to lose some baby weight before I start attempting dresses.

Having acquired some patterns it followed that I'd also need to do some fabric shopping - what a shame!  Unlike many members of the sewing blog community I have no stash-guilt, as I'm yet to develop much of a stash!  How I long to join in with stash-busting sewalongs and stash swaps!  It does mean though that I am totally justified in making a few purchases! :-)  I have restricted myself to fairly inexpensive fabrics for now as I don't know whether these first few garments are going to be disastrous, in which case I will have to chalk them up to 'experience' and consign them back to the sewing pile never to be worn!  I bought a tiny floral polycotton for the Esme top, and a red and white floral cotton lawn for the Mathilde blouse (which is actually really soft and lovely and which I am a bit afraid of ruining, but hey ho!).  I'm still humming and hawing over which top to start with.  I expect I'll go for the MB as Tilly's instructions are so comprehensive that I expect I'll learn some new techniques/terminology/etc that will come in handy with the Esme too.

All in all I'm excited by the challenge and raring to get going, but as of this moment I have yet to put scissors to fabric or thread to machine!  Come on free evenings, where are you when I need you?!

Learning to sew

As I said in an earlier post, I started learning to sew only two years ago when I inherited Grandma's vintage sewing machine.  I didn't even know how to thread it until my kind and lovely sister-in-law showed me how and gave me some scraps of fabric to practice on.  Since then I have progressed a fair bit, although I'm still learning to master the basics.  This same kind and lovely sister-in-law asked me if I'd include some tips or tutorials on the blog for those just getting started and in need of inspiration.  I'm aware that I'm often making things up as I go along, and there are probably better techniques for those that know them, but I will write up steps for some of my projects where possible, or else link to the tutorials that I used myself.  

For the absolute beginner I'd recommend checking out Tilly's Learn to Sew posts over at Tilly and the Buttons which go right from learning to thread your machine to basic stitching and understanding pattern lingo with lots else thrown in besides.  

I'm also a big one for buying a book - any excuse!  When I got my new machine I bought this one:

It provides loads of information for beginners on all sorts of sewing techniques in the form of 11 workshops, with clear descriptions and lots of pictures.  Each workshop has its own project (complete with patterns where required) to put the techniques into practice, and the author suggests working through them in order to build up your sewing skills.   

There are some cute projects too!  I'm looking forward to making this apron at some point this year.  

On the subject of books, I had a thoughtful Christmas present from that same kind and lovely sister-in-law:

How exciting!  She knows me well!  There are some fab projects inside.  I haven't tried my hand at patchwork since I was a child but this may indeed inspire me to do some hand sewing again after all these years!

Even better, it comes with all these goodies inside!  Enough to inspire and get you started!

Thank you Rach! xx