Sewing
Dream Jumpsuit Progress Update
Last week I embarked on a project to re-create a jumpsuit that I saw once in my teens. Since then I’ve cut out a jumpsuit and run it up on the machine. It wasn’t without problems – I made the crotch 10cm too high and nearly cut myself in half trying it on. Otherwise things…
Read MoreTeenage Me’s Dream Jumpsuit
Back when I was in high school in the 1980s, I saw an oversized fleecy jumpsuit. It was at a mid-year study camp, the weather was cold, and a girl in our dorm wore one to bed (and to study in, if I remember correctly). I loved it! And determined that one day I would…
Read MoreHome Ec at Home
Neither of my two teens have been interested in sewing; their creativity has taken other forms, but a chance combination of events has led to my older teen to try a sewing project. My teen happened to see a checked shirt from the op shop, which was going back to the op shop. Mr H…
Read MoreHow to Sew in Bed
Many years ago, when I was a fashion student, I tried sewing in bed. It was winter, my bedroom was cold, and I had some handsewing to do to finish off an assignment for class. So I sat up in bed and sewed. All was fine and I got it finished. But you can probably…
Read MoreMaking Birgitta Helmersson’s Slip Dress (again)
I’m back on the quest for the perfect nightie pattern for my teen, and I think I’ve found it with Birgitta Helmersson’s slip dress from her book Zero Waste Patterns. My teen has long covid but worse than me, and spends a lot of time resting in bed. Previously I tried making a nightie using…
Read MoreWhen the Right Hem Stitch Matters
I hemmed a wool skirt during the week, and realised at the end I’d used the wrong handstitch. Felt like an idiot (didn’t I write a book on sewing?). Not that anyone passing in the street would notice a skirt’s hem stitch, and I’m sure the universe will keep on turning, but the wearer will…
Read MoreMaking Nicole Akong’s Beach Kaftan
Last year I did a collaboration with Nicole Akong for a kaftan cut from beach towels (read about it here, order the pattern here, and here are three ways to style it). Nicole had gone on holidays and whipped up a kaftan to take. When she got home, people asked for the pattern and she…
Read MoreThree Ways to Sew a Crownless Sunhat
A crownless sunhat has been on my mind for some time, but not literally…until now! I wondered if the low waste sunhat pattern I made last year (or indeed, any sunhat) could be converted to a crownless version. If a person had too much hair to fit within a hat’s crown, it could poke out…
Read MoreThe fabric made me do it
Just before Christmas, I broke my five-year zero waste sewing streak with a Burda pattern. I wanted to make my older teen a Christmas dress, as a surprise, using a spectacular wax print fabric that I already had. However, the print had a huge repeat of 80cm and really needed to be positioned symmetrically on…
Read MoreThe Grey Jacket Makes Progress
To tell you the truth, I was having doubts about this jacket. I’m making a hooded modular jacket as a sew-a-long project for Zero and Zen, a course I’m co-hosting with Kate Ward (we are already underway, but it’s still possible to sign up HERE). The first post on this jacket is here. The jacket…
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