Simple sew kimono dress

Hi Everyone!

I have really been getting back into my dressmaking really after teaching beginners sewing classes it has inspired me to get back into it myself. Don't get my wrong I love my homewares and bag making but being able to sew your own clothes is very rewarding but i'll still be sewing and blogging about everything just expect to see more dressmaking.

So I must have over 100 sewing patterns in my stash lots of them being vintage patterns and I have been sorting through these recently as I will soon be moving into my new sewing room so get ready for lots of blog posts about organising.

I came across across a simple sew pattern that I got free with Love sewing magazine quite some time ago. I remember wanting to make this as soon as i got it but life takes over and I never got round to it. I knew this would be my next make I just needed the right fabric.

The biggest issue I had with this pattern is that it takes 4.3 metres of fabric at 45" wide meaning I would have to buy 4.5 metres. But as I was in my local market the other day I decided to look at fabric and saw this gorgeous print that really reminded me of holidays. When I felt it, it had a lovely silky feel to it and thought this would be perfect for the drapey-ness of this pattern. It was even 60" wide which meant I only needed 2.7 metres so bought 3 and at only £5 a metre I was more than happy.

This fabric is very tropical it has a gorgeous purple background and flowers in different shades of pink and green palm leaves and to top it all off, pink flamingos!

The dress itself is so easy to sew and from cutting out to finishing only took me about an hour and half. I want to make more now. If theres any beginners out there just getting into dressmaking then this pattern is for you.

The sleeves are joined in with the front and back pattern pieces giving it the lovely drape.

I can't wait to feel all summery on my holiday in September although i'm sure I will be wearing it before if we get the weather.

Has anyone else made this dress, let me know i'd love to see your take on it.

My First ever quilt

Today I am going to share with you my progress on my first ever quilt!

Working in a fabric shop where a lot of the customers are quilters I thought I better have a crack at a quilt myself. I didn't want to just make one for the sake of it either I wanted to make one for a purpose and wait for the perfect fabric.

A couple of weeks ago now some lovely charm packs got delivered to the shop. I knew this was the fabric for my first quilt when I saw it. The fabric is from Moda and the collection is poetry. The prints in this remind me a bit of Cath kinston but more traditional and softer.

The lovely People I work with helped me pick out the quilt pattern I was going to use. They chose a lovely one called Parade. These patter cards are brilliant they show you a picture of the finished quilt on the front and then what fabrics you need on the back and the instructions. This particular pattern required 5 inch squares which is why we chose it as my charm pack was perfect for it I also needed a plain border fabric I chose a pink fabric to contrast which was a makower Linea fabric.

This is how far I have got so far, there is an option to add another border around the edge to make it bigger which is what I am going to do I am going to use a patterned fabric, possibly a spotty fabric, nothing that will distract away from the rest of the quilt.

I also need to choose my backing fabric and binding fabric. I am thinking of a white fabric for the backing and picking out the lovely blue colour in my quilt for my binding.

The finished size of my quilt will be 49" by 63" not big enough to be a bed quilt but I am going to put it on the bottom of my quilt as a bed runner.

I will keep you posted on how I get on with the rest of my quilt.

All fabric and pattern card was bought from www.ohsewsweetshop.co.uk  Not everything is available to buy online but if you don't live far it is definitely worth a visit and you never know it might be a day I am working!

What I bought from Fabworks

Yesterday I received my order from Fabworks. I have placed quite a number of orders from Fabworks before and visited the shop several times as its only about 40 mins in the car from my house.

This time I purchased some of their scuba fabric which I haven't had before. I am really pleased with what I bought.

I love how when you place an order they put in a little sample of what the next fabric of the week will be, that way if you love what you see you can grab it as soon as it is available at the special price. I won't show you the fabric of the week as it may spoil the surprise!

So I bought three different scuba fabrics. The first being Graffiti Rose plaid. I bought 1 metre of this. I love this print and think it looks even better in the flesh. Here is the link for this one.
https://www.fabworks.co.uk/collections/scuba/products/graffiti-rose-plaid

Next I bought Polynesian Paradise, again just a metre. I loved that there was so many different colours on this and they really stand out on the black background. This fabric just reminded me of holidays.
https://www.fabworks.co.uk/collections/scuba/products/polynesian-paradise

Finally, I saved my favourite till last. Island blooms. I love love love the colours of this fabric a beautiful lilac background and large flowers in pinks and purples. I think I want to make a jumpsuit with this one. Possibly culotte style bottoms. I'm sure I will be sharing what I make with you all.
https://www.fabworks.co.uk/collections/scuba/products/island-blooms

Have you bought from fabworls before? I love all their jersey fabrics and think I may need to buy more scuba fabric soon!