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Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge
Marie at A Stitching Odyssey has pledged to sew up at least five of her vintage sewing patterns during 2014 and wants us to join her. What a great idea!There are no strict rules and you don't even have...
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Emery dress - read all about it
I was lucky enough to be offered a pattern to review by Alice at Backstitch recently. It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it… Alice stocks an impressive array of independent pattern designers,...
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Tutorial: How to Make a Waist Stay
Today I want to show you how I made the waist stay for my Emery dress. There are many reasons for adding a waist stay: they can stabilise the waist seam and prevent it from stretching, they can support...
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Coco revealed
Have you seen Coco- the latest pattern release from Tilly and the Buttons? It's Tilly's third pattern but the first that's available printed and I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester, wahay! Let's...
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Coco round two: the dress
I told you I had another Coco up my sleeve and here it is: a dress version with slash neck and long sleeves!If anything, this was even quicker to make than my first Coco top, probably because I'd been...
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Social media dinosaur inches forward
When it comes to social media I'm well aware that I'm about five years behind everybody else - all the hip young gunslingers have moved onto something else by the time I catch up. But indulge me...
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Liberty lawn spring giveaway
Remember my Betty Draper blouseI made last summer? I used floral Liberty Tana lawn fabric which was soooo easy to work with and lovely to wear. I've always been a big fan of Liberty lawn, especially...
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Overlocker thread tip
Having sewn quite a bit with knits recently, I thought I'd share a tip on changing overlocking thread. I always go for a tone match rather than an actual colour match with overlocker thread e.g....
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Liberty fabric giveaway winner
Wow, what an amazing response to theLiberty Lawn spring giveaway, probably my most popular giveaway to date! I'm delighted that there are so many Liberty fans amongst you, but I'm afraid there can only...
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Georgia dress FBA
When it was released last year, the By Hand London girls very kindly sent me a copy of the Georgia dress to try out. Although I LOVED the bombshell look of the dress, my initial reaction was one of...
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Georgia on my Mind
The gorgeous, gorgeous Georgia Dress was released last November and as usual, I'm a little late to the party. On the plus side, making a dress after the initial pattern hysteria has died down means you...
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Mother's Day apron and giveaway
First off, can I just say a massive THANK YOU for all your kind words and wonderful comments about my Georgia dress. The style was a big departure for me, so to receive such encouraging comments really...
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Purple Stitches fabric winner
Thank you very much to everybody who entered the Purple Stitches fabric giveaway - I hope my high glamour apron inspired you all to get sewing for Mother's Day! The winner is Katie from What Katie...
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Spring sewing inspiration
Good morning! Blimey, the past two weeks have been busy, busy, busy, but all the action has been behind the scenes, so there's not much to show for it I'm afraid. First of all I've been pattern testing...
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Jennifer Lauren Vintage: Afternoon Blouse
Yay! Hot off the press today is the Afternoon Blouse - a brand new PDF pattern from lovely sewing blogger Jennifer Lauren. I was lucky enough to be a tester for this pattern so I can tell you all...
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Phone Holder Tutorial (and giveaway!)
Today I'm going to share a tutorial for a mobile phone or iPod holder. I've lost count of the number of these I've made - they're quite simple to put together and make great little gifts. They're also...
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Oooh Betty!
It's my pleasure to present to you the new pattern on the block from Sew Over It - the Betty Dress. I LOVE the cover illustration!The Betty dress is already taught as a dressmaking class at the Sew...
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The best laid plans...
Remember my spring sewing plans from a few weeks ago? Oh I had it all worked out - a Peter Pan Collar Blouse pattern and a beautiful Liberty lawn, both courtesy of Sewbox. With the help of my readers,...
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A look at vintage fabric, patterns and notions - guest post by Carol Seatory
Today I have a rare treat for you - a guest post by vintage fabric aficionado Carol Seatory. Carol works as an illustrator and graphic designer and spends her spare time sewing, upholstering,...
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Sew Dolly Clackett
First off, the winner of the Elephant in my Handbag FQ giveaway is Diane from Vintage Zest. Yay! Please email me your address Diane and I'll make sure your prize is sent out to you. Thank you to...
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