Heather: February Sewing Roundup

Sitting down to start writing this blog I thought I would struggle to find much to share- I haven't managed a single blog post this month- but the sewing has been ticking along quite nicely even if it hasn't felt like I'm getting a lot done, and I've ended up with a pretty full roundup!

 

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The month started with a bit of a mad dash to finish my make for the Secret Valentine Exchange organised by lovely instagrammers Ute and Sanae. 

 

Into its fourth year, the international exchange invites crafters of all kinds create a beautiful item and ship it off to another creative soul to share a bit of love during the Valentine's season. I was paired with a lady in Canada who liked grey and yellow, and with very little other info to work with I decided to make a tote bag (who doesn't love a bag?!) in a remnant of Snoopy-print fabric from Fabric Corner!

 

It seems the gift was well received, which is really lovely- it's pretty scary to send something half way across the world not knowing if it's what someone will want. I received a parcel of gorgeous flamingo-themed gifts from Ginny '@ginpins' which couldn't have been more appropriate given my love for those leggy birds. 

 

Look out for sign ups in January next year if you'd like to take part! 

Valentine's Day was also broadly the theme for this month's Dressmaking Blogger Challenge, where we asked the blogging community to share an item which they had made for someone else, or something that they had made for themselves with love. 

 

Back at the end of January I came across a forgotten piece of autumnal print viscose which I had purchased back at the 2016 Knitting, Stitching and Hobbycrafts show in Manchester. I bought it specifically because I knew it would be perfect for my Mum, and then promptly forgot about it amid the making-flurry of last year's challenge! 

So I decided to finally make good on my intentions and make a blouse for Mum to wear to Grandma's Birthday Party (I won't tell you how old; she wouldn't thank me for putting her age on the Internet!). I picked out a tried and trusted Burda pattern that I also used for her Birthday gift last year and whipped this up in an evening. 

 

(My Mum enjoys neither standing still, nor having her photo taken... but she did really like her blouse!)

February also saw my first ever trip to Abakhan! (I know, how have I lasted this long?!). We don't have a store here in Lincoln so when I arranged to meet an old friend half way between our homes we settled on Manchester and I made my maiden voyage to the fabric mecca. I really had no idea what to expect, so was pretty thrilled to come away with a metre of printed sweater knit, 1.5m of border print viscose and 1.5m of indigo denim for the grand total of £15. £15!!!!

Not hanging about, I made the viscose into my favourite Burda Patti dress, and the sweater knit into a jumper which... I'm not sure is totally me. I spent ages trying to make sure the pattern placement was right but in the end I think it overwhelms it a bit. But actually it looks really fab with my Cleo pinafore and is super cosy, so even if it gets destashed at the end of the season I will have been warm up to that point.

 

 

It was at this point in the month that I decided my sewing room was getting a bit out of hand. I spent an evening tidying up and sorting out my fabrics, and even managed a mini destash (some of it may have been restashed...). I picked out quite a few pieces of fabric that I'd completely forgotten about and made a rather bold commitment to use up 6 pieces of fabric, or destash them at the end of the month...

 

So on the plus side the Patti dress (top right) got made that very evening. 

The bottom two fabrics have become a gorgeous Sew Over It vintage shirt dress and there's a jacket in the making too.

 

The rest of them... well perhaps we'll have a rollover into next month...!

My next make was the unexpectedly lovely McCalls 7381 which came free with this month's Love Sewing magazine. I'm not going into much detail as I intend to write a full blog about this one, but here's a pic of my rather hacked version in a piece of jersey from the stash which has been waiting quite some time for its perfect pattern partner!

 

And finally, what's the end of a month without a party? I decided to join in with the Moneta Party (another full blog on the way about my hacks for this pattern) using some stripe zigzag sweater knit from SewEssential. It's basically my new favourite dress! 

 

So those are my highlights from February. There were a few more makes which haven't made the cut this time but perhaps will feature next month! 

All that's left is for me to introduce the theme for the March Dressmaking Blogger Challenge which is... Springtime ! 

 

We want to see lots of cheerful brightly coloured garments. Perhaps you'll pick a spring flower for the theme of your garment, or maybe just something bright and cheerful. As always, the challenge is just for fun and you can tag your posts with #dressmakingbloggerchallenge to share them with us online.

Happy Sewing everyone, see you next month.