Burda Girls Harlem Trousers 05/2013

For those of you who follow my blog regularly will know that I have a younger cousin who lives quite a while away and whom I only get to see once or twice a year. Last weekend I was in her neck of the woods, so of course I had to drop of a gift. The pattern I decided to make for her was the burda Harlem trousers, which you can find here. 

This was such an easy pattern to make. It has only two pattern pieces (the front and the back). I then choose to add a yoga style waist band and cuffs around the ankles. As the pattern was so easy to follow, this piece took around two hours from start to finish.

For the fabric, I choose this light blue jersey that I've had in my stash for nearly 4 years now. The fabric originally came from a 60p and was perfect for this pattern.

 

Sadly I didn't get to see my cousin try on the trousers but I did get a call from my aunt, saying that my cousin really liked them.  

Book Review- A Guide to Sewing

A Guide to Sewing

By igloo

This was the very first sewing book I ever bought myself. I found it reduced at 'the works' and boy am I glad I did.
Although I originally bought it for it's projects, I actually found that the guides at the front where the most useful parts of the book. The book has a really detailed guide about types of fabric, types and sizes of needles and threads. As well as lots of hand drawn instructions on various had stitches. I think the aim of this book is to give a brief introduction to sewing for complete beginners but I think it goes well beyond that and gives beginners and wide range of information that comes in useful time and time again.

In terms of projects, I have successfully completed the infinity scarf, the coin purse, the Retro Cushion, the headscarf top, the pillow case dress and drawstring skirt.

I found that the project instructions lacked visual sources and relied far to heavily on text. Although the hand drawings that accompanied the instructions on occasion, where a pretty little touch in terms of the graphic appeal of the page, they did little to help explain the method being used.
Overall I'd recommend this book for beginners that want to get a deeper understanding of materials, threads and needles.

Burda New Collection: In full bloom 06/2017

I made this top as a birthday present for a friend. I bought a Burda Style magazine whilst on holiday. Although the instructions are in a different language, it's nothing that google translate and basic expectations of what the pattern was going to say, I was able to knock up this beauty.

Sadly I couldn't find this pattern anywhere else, nor could I find the official name for it. So for the title of this blog post I went for the name of the collection that was on show in the magazine.
As you can see I choose a sparkly and see through fabric. It wasn't an easy fabric to sew with but since it came from a £1 bundle, I can't really complain. I used the pattern as a basic template and then added my own embellishment (the lace). I used the lace to cover all the raw edges and for the straps. This made the pattern even easier. It also added to the fancy/ party feel of this top. With a vest underneath, this top will be perfect for a night out.
I can see myself making more tops with this pattern, due to how quickly I was able to make this one. It took less than an hour!

Finally... My First Block Quilt

It's been two years in the making! It's finally finished! I really can't contain my excitement.

Back in the summer of 2015 I really wanted to make a quilt. I think my words where "how hard can it be". Oh it was hard... Actually let me rephrase that. It wasn't hard, it just took a lot of time, patience and accuracy (not exactly traits I'm known for). As a result I returned to this project multiple times. In fact I mentioned this project in a post back in September 2015.

If I went back, would I start this project? No. But am I glad I made this quilt? Yes. The quilt feels like a personal achievement. It has proven to me that I can stick with and complete a project that lasts for more than a week. It is also another skill that I have tried, I wouldn't say I've mastered the art of quilt making but I have definitely tried new techniques. That being said, I don't think I'll be making another quilt in a hurry.

Sewing inspirations- How to create your perfect modest swimming costume

It's finally here! I released my very first Ebook about a month ago and now I'm able to share the second Ebook, that has been written especially for those wanting to sew modest swimwear. If you'd like to read it follow this link.

I hope this has inspired you!

My second Ebook!

So after a long wait, I'm finally in a position to share my second Ebook in my sewing inspirations series. I must admit that I had hoped to get the Ebook out earlier but that just hasn't been possible.The link should be going live tomorrow, so stay tuned!

My Super Simple Pirate Outfit

Recently I needed a pirate costume. Of course there was no way I was going to buy an expensive outfit when I could easily sew my self one.

All I did to create this outfit was to buy a second hand large mans shirt from my local charity shop. Then I cut off the top, created a casing and inserted elastic.

Then I simply paired it with my old ripped jeans, black boots, a red belt, an eye patch, a red bandanna and a puppet parrot. These where all things that I just had lying around the house.

I hope this has inspired you!

Sewing Inspirations- How to create your perfect swimsuit

It's finally time! I can share my new eBook, which you can get for free by following this link.

There will also be a modest swimwear version that I'm still working on but should be out soon, so stay tuned.

New eBook!

So you may have been wondering what I've been up to recently and I'm finally in a position where I can share with you exactly what I've been doing!
I've written an eBook!

The eBook, is all about giving you tips on how to sew your own swimwear and even better, it's completely free! Can you tell that I'm really excited about this? The eBook will be available tomorrow. I've also written a modest version, that gives hints and tips on how to make a piece of modest swimwear. I'm not sure when I'll be able to share that. It's almost finished so stay tuned!
I hope you come back again tomorrow to read my new eBook, Sewing Inspirations- How to create your perfect swimsuit.

Misses Top (Newlook 6816)

Well hello again! I know it's been ages since I last posted but I'm back!
I've almost finished all of my exams. I've got one more, tomorrow and then I can well and truly welcome in the summer.

Today I wanted to share a top that I started to make a while ago, with a piece of fabric that was only 20p. When I started making this top, I was completely in love with this pattern and to be honest, I still am. If you want to see the first Newlook 6816 top that I made, you can find the post here.
This top has been lying in my to do pile for a good couple of years however I finally got around to finishing it when I went to this craft evening.

I pretty much followed the pattern to the letter, except for the fact that I added in a jersey strip along the back, as otherwise the neck hole would have been too wide. I do really like the way that this top turned out, however if I do regret not being able to pattern match the sides, due to not having enough of the fabric.

Overall this pattern is great for an easy sew, that has nice wearable outcomes.

I hope this has inspired you! 

Cousins New Swimsuit

I hope you all had a good Easter mine was a little chaotic but great fun no the less. For Easter my family generally give small gifts to each other, whether that be chocolate or something else that's small.

So this year I gave my little cousin a swimsuit that I not only sewed but also designed. The swimsuit was originally meant for my little sister but I've only just finished making it in fact it's the one of the projects I spoke about in my previous post.

Also when I started making it last year, I used one of my sisters old swimsuits to trace round by mistake, so it was already going to be on the small side and then I never finished it in time.

It may be a little big on my cousin at the moment but I'm sure she'll grow into it in no time. If you interested in more swimming related post you may like to have a look at these posts:

• The Meer Dress
• My Sisters Swim Dress 2014
• Our Modest Swim Dresses

I hope this has inspired you!

The jumper dress

Hey guys! So today, I want to share with you a dress that I made for a photo shoot last weekend. The dress was super easy to make. In fact I made the dress I'm about to show you in one afternoon.

 I sourced the jumpers that I used from my local charity shop, so as to save money on the cost of the project and because it meant I would be using items that where already finished along the edges. This made the whole project a lot faster and made the final outcome look more professional.

If you'd like to make one for yourself, here's what you'l need:

• A sewing machine
• thread
• 2 jumpers
• 2 cardigans (or 1 if you skip the part where I replace the arms)

So with out further to do, let's get onto how I made the dress:

1. Firstly I took the first cardigan and carefully removed the sleeves at the shoulder seam.
2. I then removed the sleeves (at the shoulder seam) from the other cardigan.
   
3. I then placed the sleeves of one cardigan on the other by simply reattaching the arms at the shoulders.
   
4. Next I measured out the width of the cardigan (this includes both the front and back) and the divided the measurement by 4. This measurement will be the top width.
5. Using this measurement as the top, I created trapezium like shapes from the two jumpers, making sure that I used the full width of the jumper at the bottom of the pattern piece. At this point don't forget to add seam allowance. 
6. Then I cut out these trapeziums, which left me with 4 pieces to make the skirt from.
   
7. I attached these pieces to each other, making a complete skirt.
8. Finally I attached the skirt to the cardigan (when doing this, it's important that you make sure that the cardigan is buttoned closed)  

And there you have it, how to make a jumper dress. So as always,

 I hope this has inspired you!

5 Sport Inspired Crafts

So With January being the month where people love to get fit, I've collated 5 sport inspired crafts. Enjoy!

How To Make a Cut Out Sports Bra

DIY EOS Lip Balm Sports Addition

How To Make A Baseball Flower Hair Bow

DIY Basket Ball Case

DIY Team Spirit Tee

I hope this has inspired you!

Sewing Quiz

I was surfing the internet when I can across this sewing quiz, it's definitely worth a try. I was shocked at how little I knew when it came to the history of sewing. Let me know how you get on with it :)

Most popular posts of 2015

So I wanted to look back over 2015 and I thought the best to do that would be to look at the top 3 most popular posts of 2015.

My Tartan Skirt

The owl dress

Old t-shirts to new pyjama bottoms 

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store.

The Grand Reveal!

So here it is, I'm not going to write much as I'm keen to rejoin my family to enjoy the celebrations.

The unwrapping

Grandma

Mum

Dad

My Sister

In the end my sister, as she her self said, decided to "go solo" and she choose not to match my Granddad.

Granddad (and his interesting way of styling pyjamas)

And finally, Me

I hope you have a very merry Christmas!