Category sewing

New make: Colette Moneta dress

bellecitadel 7 Comments

I decided last week I’d work on a few knit items all at the same time given my current set-up of twin needles, low tension, walking foot etc. etc. I guess it’s partly due to laziness, but I’m still not so au fait with the settings that I can whip everything on and off like a pro. I already made the Metro t-shirt, and so I decided I’d follow up with a women’s t-shirt by Wendy Ward, plus this Moneta dress. Well, my apologies to Wendy, but I massacred the t-shirt by not realising the limits of a serger (or, indeed, my current serging skills) as I promptly shaved off half the t-shirt neck trying to turn an acute corner. It’s a goner I tell you. But I won’t do it again.

20160901_180942 Continue reading “New make: Colette Moneta dress” →

New make: Metro t-shirt in interlock

bellecitadel 10 Comments

Hi all! Wow – the summer is fairly flying by! I’ve been keeping busy the last few weeks with enjoying the great outdoors in glorious Washington and unfortunately my blogging has suffered a little. But I have been sewing! I have been spending rather a lot of my time figuring out the Hannah dress, which is finished, but for a few errors I need to fix. I also finished a woven circle skirt apart from the hook and a t-shirt for myself. But first I’m posting this second male Metro t-shirt that I finished for my husband.

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New make: Everyday Skirt in Sommer

bellecitadel 10 Comments

Someone recommended the Liesl & Co. patterns to me a while back and I briefly looked at the Everyday Skirt at the time. A sale then came up a few months later and I purchased the pattern as a “this will come in useful sometime” kind of pattern. Then I bought this cotton fabric from the Sarah Jane Sommer collection for Michael Miller. I love it and in one of those happy lightbulb moments, I thought of the pattern and it immediately struck me as a perfect marriage.

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New make: Adventure Tank + I bought a serger!

bellecitadel 2 Comments

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Yes, I did it! I went for the old favourite: the Brother 1034D serger/overlocker! And very exciting it has been too. Okay, it clunks along with a fairly noticeable thump and the motor is no Rolls Royce specimen: a smooth ride this is not. But you know what? It works great and I couldn’t be happier so far for the budget-friendly price. I spent a couple of hours practicing threading, which makes me sound very diligent, but it actually took me a couple of hours to crack it after the threads broke the first time. I have it now though and have had no problems. It’s really not that bad: it was one tiny little thing that I’d missed. Continue reading “New make: Adventure Tank + I bought a serger!” →

Making a silk cushion out of a sow’s ear

bellecitadel 6 Comments

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I’ve been dabbling here and there over the last few weeks, with mixed results. Here’s a little summation of a few of the things I’ve been up to, which today comprise two “sow’s ears” and a silk cushion:

One of the month’s themes from the course I’m doing involves ruffles, gathers, smocking and so on. It was all very interesting and I decided to rustle up a couple of things and just let loose on the techniques. Continue reading “Making a silk cushion out of a sow’s ear” →

Discoveries of a novice: Essential websites

bellecitadel 4 Comments

If you’re new to sewing, and online (the latter of which you presumably are if you’re reading this), then you’re probably trying to figure out which websites are the most useful for a newbie. Well, there are lots of great sewing websites I’ve both found and that have been recommended to me. I’ve listed five below that are free and that I reckon are invaluable as a resource/tool to learn and gain inspiration from: Continue reading “Discoveries of a novice: Essential websites” →

New make: Fancy Tiger Crafts Sailor Top

bellecitadel 10 Comments

Well, hello there! Remember me? Three weeks since my last post: eh? It’s not because I haven’t been doing/making things but is actually because it’s been one of those bitty periods where I’ve been starting things, screwing things up, trying little tips, etc. etc. I now have enough bits and pieces to write a post or two, but first I’m going to catch up by posting the last make from my Drygoods Design Apparel Trilogy course earlier this year: the Fancy Tiger Crafts Sailor Top.

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Giveaway: duplicate patterns and Shape Shape 2

bellecitadel 10 Comments

A short but hopefully sweet post from me today. For a variety of reasons (mostly related to my terrible memory) I recently realised I have a few duplicate patterns and a duplicate pattern book (all unopened) in my collection. I can’t say they are very similar to each other, but I thought it might be a nice little giveaway to anyone who is interested.

They comprise:

1. Shape Shape 2 book: a Japanese pattern book for women

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The Great British Sewing Bee: From Stitch to Style review

bellecitadel 8 Comments

Not exactly the most succinct of book titles, eh? And I’m not sure the “From Stitch to Style” subtitle really tells you anything very much, but at least the first part tells you from whence the book originates. I haven’t really written a book review for this blog before, although I may start, since I have such a multitude, but I wanted to jump in on this one right away, because – it’s ACE. I picked it up on a whim really, from WH Smith (I can’t think of a similar US store, but it’s basically a bit bookstore/bit newsagent/bit stationery shop) for about £8 and I see it’s the same on amazon.co.uk. This is a STEAL! Honestly. Continue reading “The Great British Sewing Bee: From Stitch to Style review” →