Sewing 3/4 New Makes and Fabric Sort out

 Hello darlings x

This is the third quarter of the year sewing blogpost unfortunately 2/4 never materialised. Well I just never got round to posting it and now this one is being posted late as well. 

What I have been sewing

I made some pyjamas for my partner which were meant to be a gift for Valentines Day and then they ended up taking me ages because my sewing machine broke... then the iron also broke.

There are variations on what pockets you could choose: a top breast pocket; four pockets; two bottom pockets and a breast pocket; or two bottom pockets. I went for four pockets because I think it gave it a more vintage look. There was also piping around the collar which I made myself using a zipper foot. The waistband was drawstring and elastic.

I used this really helpful video to learn how to do the pattern matching on the centre and on the pockets (something I had never done before)- it's so easy to follow and amazingly it worked.

I brought the fabric online. The fabric is a William Morris design. I have a lot of this fabric left over and I am not really sure what to do with it because there is probably enough for like another garment but... idk I just see this fabric as more masculine and I wouldn't wear it. I have a metre and several large scraps... I am going to have a think.

The sewing pattern I used was McCall's M8262.

I hope my partner liked them. 

Fabric Sorting

One of my goals this year was to clear out my fabric stash so it fits into a box and I have actually managed it. I sorted through most of my fabric. I had two boxes and a bag and I have managed to reduce it to a box and a bag of scraps. Some of the scraps I started cutting up into patchwork squares and hexagons- it was sort of just a relaxing task to do in front of the TV.

For larger pieces of scraps I think it would be a good idea to make a pair of the pyjama/boxer shorts (you know the ones all the scandi girls are wearing?). There isn't a huge amount of these fabrics however I think I could probably manage it.

These are the larger scraps.

Hawaiian Camisole

I made this camisole from this really cute Hawaiian style fabric I bought last year. I whipped it up a couple of days ago. It has a facing, darts and a slightly sweetheart neckline. I think it will look really cute with a pair of shorts in the summer. I have leftover fabric from this and I was thinking of making a bucket hat to match- idk tell me if that is a vibe or not.

I do need to hem it but that shouldn't take too long.

You can see the neckline slightly better in this photo.

Okay chat in December or so. Leave me a comment if there are any projects you would recommend for fabric scraps and small pieces. 

Love

Happy Hippo x

Sewing Updates 2024 1/4 Sewing purchases, new dress and goals for 2024

 Hello, 

I thought I would maybe post a sewing blogpost every quarter, just because I don't really think it fits in with the Revenge Friday posts and it is not really going to interest everyone. This blogpost is going to be very boring. Also I know this is being posted really late for the quarter (2 months late) because I wanted a good photo of me wearing the dress, not just stood in front of the mirror, however I haven't worn it.

Sewing Purchases/ things that were gifted to me

My sewing machine broke just over a month ago and I actually sent it off to be repaired and they took a look at it and quoted me for the repairs. They quoted £132 to get fixed... the machine had been purchased for £105. Basically I just decided I will buy a new machine and I had that machine for like 10 years so it felt sort of time for an upgrade. I did keep it because my partner said he could fix it for me- we shall see lol. But this is the machine I purchased...

It is pretty much identical because my old machine was John Lewis which are made by Janome. It also means I can use the feet from my old machine on this new one. Yeah I am really happy with it.

My sister got me this gorgeous 80's sewing pattern for Christmas which is really nice of her. I feel quite inspired by the colour and pattern combination they have on the illustration, so when I make it up I would do something along that lines. There is a bit of a catch... it's in French! So yeah I have no idea how this will go lol.

My mum also gifted me a quilting pattern and quilting template for Christmas. I have no clue how to quilt so I will need to read up on it. This actually could be handy because (I will go onto my goals in a moment) I really want to use up my scraps this year so I could use something like quilting to do that. Yeah I think I will defo give it a go. 

Ooh I brought this seam gauge which is a sort of ruler. It was like a couple of pounds. Tbh I originally purchased it to make up minimum for free postage when I was buying some fabric online. I do think this is quite handy and it just makes your sewing bit more precise.

Sewing Goals 2024

✀So one of my sort of new years resolution this year is to use up my craft supplies or at least make my craft supplies a bit more curated. I have a lot of fabric- I have two boxes (and a half) and it is not all stuff I purchased (in fact a lot of it isn't) it is like a mixture of large fabric scraps from projects and fabric that has been given to me by family members. I want it to fit into one box. It is just having a project in mind and the confidence to start.

✀Same with the smaller scraps of fabric I have been hoarding- I need to use them or get rid of them. I have been thinking of small projects to use the tiny scraps for.

✀I want to do some free machine embroidery. We did this a lot at school and I always found it really fun but you couldn't do the technique on my old sewing machine because you couldn't lower the feed dogs but on my new machine you can. That being said it has quite a twee look and so I need to work out how to achieve something slightly chic with the technique.

✀I want to do a project that involves some sort of lace applique.

Completed dress

I started this project a while back and then my sewing machine broke but I have now completed it. I am really chuffed with it and I think I am going to wear it loads. The pattern is by Tilly and the Buttons and it is the  Marnie pattern. It is a lovely pattern and you can make it as a blouse or a dress and it has several variations (it had the option for a frill collar but I omitted that because I thought it would look a little fussy with this fabric). The fabric is from Hey Sew Sister- they no longer sell it but it is by Rose and Hubble and it is the toile du juoy design. 

This is halfway through sewing.

I did the undulating tucks... I love these but I would probably not be in a rush to do them again because they did take a while. The sewing gauge was really handy making the undulating tucks.

I would defo make this pattern again. I have been sort of thinking about my next one.

I will post a picture of me wearing it when it goes on its first outing because I don't know if this photo is doing much justice.

Okay see you in three months for the next blogpost x

Love, 

Happy Hippo