Heather: Patti floral dress

Back in October 2015 I picked up a copy of the Burda Style Special magazine. (For those of you who have never heard of it, it's a sewing magazine containing 64 free 'trace-it-yourself' patterns each month.) The October special had a 60s theme and was where I first spied the gorgeous Patti empire line dress.

Patti Dress from www.burdastyle.com

With a contrast collar and cuffs this dress is a vintage-lover's dream, and since then I've made it in several colours and styles. (Sorry about the picture quality!)

Navy polyester with contrast in lighter blue viscose.

Stripe knitted fabric with collar and cuffs made from leftover pieces of jumper!

I even made a version for my Mum from this orange floral cotton mix fabric with corduroy collars and cuffs.

But by far the pièce de résistance is this version in black floral, 100% viscose from Fabric Corner. As soon as I saw the fabric I knew it would make a perfect 'Patti'. I decided against contrast collars and cuffs on this one. Despite finding a great spot-contrast in my stash I decided the matching collar was more suitable for this one. (Do you think I made the right decision?)

Instead the spot contrast is on the inside, for a fun detail. I added some vintage style buttons, picked up at a sewing show in Harrogate last year, for a true vintage feel.

I am totally thrilled with the results on this dress. It's goes perfectly with my peach shoe boots and I've worn it twice in a week!

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All fabrics featured in this post were sourced at Fabric Corner Lincoln, based in Lincoln's historic Central Market and at 22-24 Melville Street Lincoln.

Happy Sewing!

Heather: Custom Fit Blouse

Call me old-fashioned, but I do love a good smart suit and blouse for work. During one of my recent frequent visits to Fabric Corner I was drawn to this lovely Liberty-style cotton lawn which had just arrived in store.

Buoyed up from my successes in the Pattern Cutting class last month, I decided to attempt to use my new pattern cutting skills to make this lovely vintage print into a staple item for the wardrobe.

I started by adapting my basic bodice block into a four panelled blouse, adding a stand collar and narrowing the sleeves to suit the vintage styling of the garment.

The print in this fabric is very bold, so it was important to match the pattern as much as possible. I'm rather pleased with the results over the button stand! The finished garment not only has an exceptional fit, but coordinates wonderfully with a pink linen-mix skirt that I whipped up from my stash. Jacket coming soon!

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This project was sponsored by Fabric Corner and Love Handmade. You can find details of pattern cutting classes and a find a range of cotton lawns online or by calling in to the shop at 22-24 Melville Street, Lincoln.

Heather: Let's start at the very beginning...

Unlike my fellow bloggers, I'm what you could call a 'novice' sewer. Yes, I did learn to sew as a child, and made further progress at school (you can read my bio here) but I was never trained to really look at the principles of dressmaking and how to go about creating garments that would really fit. When Bridie asked me to take up the Sew It Challenge it seemed like a great opportunity not only to do something I love, but to gain some skills and learn from the fabulously talented ladies I'm writing alongside. 

And sew (sorry, I'll do that a lot) I booked a place on a Pattern Cutting course, hosted by the lovely Bridie herself, at local sewing shop and haberdashery "Fabric Corner and Love Handmade" (you might also recognise them as a sponsor for this blog!)

The workshop starts with finding and taking all the right measurements for various parts of the torso and arms, with some assistance from other course-goers. Then comes the part when you're glad of the constant stream of coffee provided throughout the course from the adjoining Craftea Cafe!

Armed with ruler, pencil and some thorough instructions, our small group created pattern master drawings, using our own measurements. The day included making up a toile of the new pattern, learning to move and change darts, and creating a pattern block from card to use as a draft for future pattern making. 

But why stop there? Keen to add tools to my pattern making toolkit, I enrolled on a second course, Pattern Cutting Part 2, which shows you how to draft the sleeve block and use the pattern master to create a garment from scratch. 

And sew (I told you so!) I'm prepared to start my first challenge item. Check back here soon to see how I get on!

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Bridie's range of full day pattern cutting classes run on Thursdays and Saturdays throughout the year and can be found and booked easily online at www.sewing-bee.co.uk. All classes include materials (paper, pens etc) and an Afternoon Tea.