Dragonfly Fabrics Giveaway Winner

Thank you very much to everybody who entered the Dragonfly Fabrics giveaway last week. I've pressed a few buttons and can now reveal that the winner of 2m of fabric and a pattern of their choice is.....kaytebell, hoorah! Congratulations Kaytebell, an email is on its way to you for further details.

If you've been tempted by any of the lush fabrics on the Dragonfly Fabric website don't forget there's currently 15% off all purchases with my special discount code. Just enter the code sew40 when checking out of the site. The 15% discount is valid until 30th August 2017. You're welcome!

Have a good week. x

Dragonfly Fabric summer giveaway

The sun is out and the sky is blue in the UK - perfect conditions for summer dressmaking. I love sewing for different seasons and summer sewing definitely allows you to crack open the light, drapey fabrics in your stash. If you don't have quite the perfect fabric for that summer project then don't worry, because I've teamed up with Dragonfly Fabrics to bring you a terrific summer giveaway. One lucky reader will get to choose a pattern and two metres of fabric from the website. Hoorah! Read on for some fabric and pattern inspiration...

My favourites fabrics are the cotton lawns (see below), but don't forget cotton chambrays which are just crying out to be made into shirts or shirtdresses.

Closet Case Files Kalle Shirt & Dress

 Or linens for stylish trousers or shorts. 

Megan Nielsen Flint Pants & Shorts

These are my favourite cotton lawns, suitable for almost any lightweight top or dress pattern.

Floral Print Turquoise

Soft Cotton Lawn - Brushstrokes

 I love both colourways in this two-tone floral print.

St Ives Floral - Yellow

St Ives Floral - Red

Rayon Challis Viscose - ideal for patterns requiring drape. I absolutely love this teal chalked flower print.

Chalk Joyful

I think it would look awesome sewn up as the Named Helga Wrap Playsuit. It's not really my style, I just think it's a lovely combination!

Inspired to start sewing? Good! To enter, just take a look at the Dragonfly Fabrics website and leave a comment on this post telling me what your favourite fabric is. The giveaway is open internationally and closes at midnight GMT on Monday 24th July 2017. Please make sure you leave your email address if it's not linked to your Blogger profile so I can contact you if you're the winner.  

And there's more…. readers of my blog can also claim a 15% discount on all purchases from Dragonfly Fabrics. Just enter the code sew40 when checking out of the site. The 15% discount is valid until 30th August 2017. It's also worth signing up to their newsletter for updates on any new fabrics or patterns they're showcasing. There's a sign up link at the bottom of their website.

Massive thanks to Simon and Dorte from Dragonfly Fabrics for offering this awesome and very generous giveaway. Good luck everybody! x

How to do Fashion

How To Do Fashion is a Danish pattern company I discovered over the summer via the Dragonfly Fabrics blog. I have no links with the company, the designs just really caught my eye and I thought you might be interested too. How To Do Fashion was founded two years ago by Nanna, who has a background in tailoring and pattern construction and a passion for vintage clothing. The designs focus on vintage details and achieving a great fit and there are currently eleven patterns in the range (two are brand new).

I haven't yet sewn any of them, but one pattern - the No.3 Kastrup Blouse - is next in my sewing queue, so I'll be reporting back shortly! In the meantime, here are my favourites. 

This is the pattern I bought - the No. 3 Kastrup Blouse.

It has fitted raglan sleeves (short or capped) and princess seams and can also be made with more volume to the back. I like that it has a very different look in different fabrics. For instance this is the standard blouse made in a light drapey fabric, which gives a smart, retro look.

And here's the cap sleeved version made with two jersey fabrics, which gives a completely different casual feel.

Other designs which caught my eye were No. 8 Svaneke.

I actually like all three pieces from this pattern, even the crop top (although I'd probably lengthen any version I made!) The crop top and pleated skirt look so elegant together.

And I love this striped version of the buttoned blouse.

This is the same blouse with an additional frill placket which changes the look of it completely (there are instructions on how to make your own on the blog).

And finally, No. 6 Kobenhavn - a fifties inspired wiggle dress.

The halter neck would be great for a special occasion.

But it's actually the more sombre version made from wool that appeals to me. I love the collar and the deep V back view. 

It looks like the perfect pattern to re-create one of my favourite movie-inspired dresses from Two Faces of January.

If you like the look of them, Dragonfly Fabrics and Sewbox both currently stock eight patterns in the range. If anybody has any experience of working with their patterns, please do leave a comment, I'd love to know how you found them. I'll be back soon with a full review! x

Moody Blues Giveaway Winners

Thank you very much to everybody who entered the Moody Blues fabric giveaway. It seems I'm not the only one who likes blue, so I'm thrilled that the giveaway was so popular!

After a quick session with Random.org to select numbers I've just spent ages counting through the comments… then losing my thread and starting again….then losing count again…and again…Anyway, I finally found the two winners and they are…Suzanna Forsythe from Sea Salt and Stitches who wins two metres of Moody Blues fabric of her choice, hoorah, hoorah! 

Runner up is Fiona from Staring at the Sea who wins a FQ bundle comprising eight designs from the collection, wahay!  I've just noticed that both blogs have the word sea in the title - cool!  Please drop me an email ladies and I'll sort out delivery details for your prizes.

Thank you once again to Dragonfly Fabrics for hosting such a generous giveaway. And don't forget, there are still a few days left to use the 10% discount code on all purchases from Dragonfly Fabrics. Just enter the code HANDMADE10 when checking out of the site. The discount code is valid until 24th May 2015. Happy Monday! x

Moody Blues Giveaway

When it come to fabric choice, you may have noticed that I'm rather fond of the colour blue! It's not my most favourite colour (that would be red), but it's a very close second and I love its differing shades and how fab it looks paired up with white. Which makes today's giveaway especially pertinent, because it's all about BLUE!

Sashiko Bird Navy

Perched Birds

Pomegranate Bird Navy

The new Moody Blues collection by Cloud Nine Fabrics has recently been released and the fabrics look absolutely perfect for either quilting or summer dressmaking. Aren't they just exquisite? They're designed by Geninne, an artist and illustrator living in Sante Fe, New Mexico. 

Blooms White

Cacti White

Dots Navy

"Blue in all its shades has been my favourite color since I was a child and is always prominent in my work. When I dream, I dream in indigos and aqua and rolling hills covered in shibori dyed textiles which are my inspiration for this collection." Geninne, for Cloud 9 Fabrics

Sashiko Tree

Mosaic

All of the fabrics shown above are available as quilting cottons, with the two designs below available as a lighter cotton voile along with Sashiko Bird Navy.

Floral White: voile

Butterflies: voile

If you like the look of this beautiful, new collection then this may just be your lucky day! Dragonfly Fabrics are very generously offering one winner two metres of their choice of fabric from the Moody Blues collection. In addition, they're offering a FQ bundle comprising eight designs from the collection as a runner-up prize.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me which is your favourite design from the Moody Blues Collection. The full collection can be found here. My favourite is definitely Sashiko Bird Navy in voile!  The giveaway is open worldwide and closes at midnight GMT on 17th May. The winners will be chosen at random. Please make sure you leave your email address if it's not linked to your Blogger profile so I can contact you if you're a winner.

But wait, there's more….! Readers of my blog can also claim a10% discount on all purchases from Dragonfly Fabrics. Just enter the code HANDMADE10 when checking out of the site. The 10% discount is valid until 24th May 2015.

A massive thank you to Dragonfly Fabrics for such an awesome giveaway. I really hope these beautiful fabrics have whetted your appetite for summer dressmaking.

Good luck everybody! x

Finished: Boiled wool coat

As of today, I'm the proud owner of a boiled wool collarless coat! I took my time making it, and apart from a couple of niggles, it's more or less exactly as I imagined it would be. It's an open coat i.e. not designed to have fastenings, so it's pretty casual, almost like a long cardigan when worn with jeans. The classic lines means it can also be worn with a skirt and heels and still look good (no photos of it styled this way I'm afraid, but trust me, it looks nice!). 

Annoyingly, the collar's twisted on this shot, but you get the general idea

The pattern I used (a Burda PDF which I talk about in this post), was well drafted and I really like the fit of the coat. The instructions, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. Burda aren't exactly well known for the clarity of their instructions and the lining paragraph made no sense whatsoever! It was pretty easy to work out what to do though, and at a bargainous £3.99, I still think the pattern is good value for money.

In terms of fit, I sized down to a 38 everywhere except the bust area (which remained a size 40) as I wanted a slimmer fit, I shortened the arms by 1.5 inches and the overall length by four inches. I also shaved ½ an inch off the shoulder height. This resulted in the sleeve head being a bit too full and puffy for my liking. I knew this would annoy me, so I reduced the amount of ease in the sleeve and redrafted it using this method. A pain to do admittedly, but worth the effort in the end.

So what was the boiled wool like to work with? Well, I had high hopes of working with it and it didn't disappoint. As per the advice of my readers and my own list of tips, I used a ballpoint needle, a longer stitch length and a walking foot. The walking foot proved to be an absolute life saver - layers of boiled wool can quickly resemble a shag pile carpet and it really did help chomp through all the layers with ease. It also helped stop the layers shifting about - essential once the silk lining was in place. Because boiled wool is quite a bulky fabric, I top stitched either side of the main seams and trimmed the seam allowances back. I really should have used a pair of duck-billed appliqué scissors for this job (read a great explanation of their use in this post of Kerry's), as I was in serious danger of snipping through the main fabric. In fact I'm amazed I didn't! Stitches do tend to sink into the fabric though, which makes unpicking them a long and tedious process, so it pays to go slowly for an accurate finish.  Top stitching everything down also uses a LOT of thread - I went through three spools altogether. 

You can see one of the top stitched seams in this shot

I picked up the lining fabric from Classic Textiles in the Goldhawk Road. It was sold to me as Liberty silk, but unlike the other Liberty silks I could see, there was no Liberty of London mark on the selvedge. My immediate thought was, "Liberty silk, my arse", but I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and look up the design. Imagine my delight when I found it actually was a Liberty Silk! The design is called Kilburn Rose and it's part of a 2013 range designed by actress Tamsin Grieg! Whoops, soz for doubting you Classic Textiles, I take it all back! 

Liberty Kilburn Rose silk lining

I love the colours in the lining - they complement the blue of the boiled wool perfectly - and the vintage style of the roses are so me. I should have guessed it was a Liberty fabric as it was such a pleasure to work with, it doesn't fray much and has a beautiful, silky drape to it. At £12 a metre, it's more than I would normally pay for a lining fabric, but for Liberty silk, it's a bargain. I only needed 1.5 metres so I think the investment was worth it. To make the sleeves easier to slide on and off, I lined them with plain green lining fabric, which, in comparison, was a complete nightmare, forever fraying and sliding around! 

Aside from the main fabrics, I used a washable supersoft interfacing from The English Couture Co on the facings, and stay tape on the neckline, shoulders and armholes to prevent them stretching. I also added a couple of sew-on press studs to the front of the coat - I'm not sure if I'll need them but at least they're there if it gets windy! I barely used the iron whilst making this coat as I was scared of stretching the wool, I found that finger pressing the seams into position before top stitching was all it took.

It's an almost perfect make: one of the sleeves drags up at the back slightly where I've attached the lining, and the top and bottom of the facings misbehave a bit. No amount of restitching seems to make any difference, so I'm just going to forget about them. I still have a gorgeous, warm, classic coat that's going to get a LOT of wear.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Coat fabric was given to me free of charge for review. All views my own.

Boiled Wool Coat Plans

Let's talk about boiled wool shall we?! I've been interested in this fabric for a while, primarily because sewing with it allows many shortcuts for the lazy amongst us (of which I am queen!) For those of you who aren't familiar with boiled wool, it's a wool fabric that's pre-shrunk by boiling at high temperatures (the clue's in the name!) This process causes the fibres to compress and interlock, resulting in a soft, springy felt-like fabric. Because of the tightly woven fibres, boiled wool is impressively resistant to wind and rain, making it perfect for outdoor garments such as coats, jackets and hats. From a sewing point of view, it has two major advantages:

- Because of the tightly woven fibres, it doesn't fray when cut, so no need to finish seams. Hoorah!

- If you're after a winter coat, you don't need to add underlining or interlining for extra warmth. In fact, if you're after a very simple coat or jacket, you don't even need to line it at all if you don't want to (more on this in a minute).

With this in mind, I thought boiled wool would be a perfect choice for my next project: a casual coat/cardigan. Design-wise I had a very simple shape in my head: above the knee and slim fitting with no collar. I was initially thinking of drafting my own, but I've come to the conclusion that I need to practice my drafting skills on a few simple garments first before unleashing them on a coat! I'm getting there though, I've almost finished drafting my first dress so look out for that soon. 

As far as inspiration goes, I was rather taken with the Named Patterns Andy Coat. When I met up with Scruffy Badger recently, I was able to inspect her beautiful version at close quarters and was mightily impressed with the tailoring details: bound buttonholes, welt pockets, fully lined, two piece sleeves etc. I was sorely tempted, but to be honest the pattern involved a bit more work than I was willing to put in (I told you I was lazy!) But then I came across this Collarless Open Coat pattern from Burda (03/2012 #110).

It's a very simple design with princess seams, two-piece sleeves, centre back seam and no collar. It's also an edge-to-edge style, which means no buttons. I'm not sure how I feel about this - on the one hand it's a casual coat for spring time, so it probably won't need buttoning up, but then again, it might drive me mad not having any. It's a tricky one… it's not totally edge-to-edge, there is a slight overlap, so I may sew on a few covered snaps as contingency. I'll have a think about it and let you know what I decide. Any thoughts?

I actually made a muslin of the coat (gasp) - I cut a Burda size 40 which looks just a tad too big all over (obviously the sleeves will need about half a foot chopping off). So I think I'm going to size down all over, take a tiny bit more off the shoulders and shape it in very slightly at the waist. I'll also need to shorten the whole thing by about six inches to get the length I want. Nothing too dramatic, and after that I'll be ready to start working with my boiled wool, eek!

The boiled wool I'll be using is from Dragonfly Fabrics who stock a wonderful selection of colours (see first picture) The choice is almost overwhelming so I requested lots of samples to play with beforehand, eventually settling for Light Grey Blue. 

This photo isn't really a true representation of the fabric colour - it's much more saturated in real life, a lovely airforce blue. Dragonfly Fabrics are very kindly giving me two metres of boiled wool for my coat, so I hope I can do it justice. I haven't worked with boiled wool before, so asked Dorte at Dragonfly Fabrics for advice on pre-washing. She advised against pre-washing for a coat (I'll probably get it dry cleaned in the future if it needs it) but if I was making a dress or skirt from boiled wool then it can be pre-washed. It should be washed on a wool cycle and dried flat, but be prepared for around 10% shrinkage. 

Although I could probably get away with not adding a lining, I've decided to add one to give the coat more of a professional finish. Having done a bit of detective work in the shops, all the boiled wool coats I saw had lovely, shiny contrast linings, so that's what I'm planning. 

So there you have my boiled wool plans to date. If you've worked with boiled wool before and have any other tips or advice to share, please jump in. My fabric should arrive next week and then the fun begins! Have a good day. x

OWOP giveaway winners!!!

And now, from London, only a day later than promised, I give you the OWOP giveaway winners! Whoop, whoop! 

Winners of the Day One Dragonfly Fabrics giveaway are Sew in a Frenzy and Ginny from Alice and Ginny who each win a pattern of their choice.

Winner of the Day Two Village Haberdashery giveaway is Zoe from Hello Zoe B, who wins three patterns of her choice.

Winner of the Day Three Sewbox giveaway is Clarinda Kaleidoscope, who wins three patterns of her choice.

Winner of the Day Four Fabric Godmother giveaway is Jennifer from Jennifer's Sewing Space who wins a pattern of her choice and £20 worth of fabric.

Winner of the Day Five Sew Over It giveaway is Sharyn from Just So... who wins a complete set of Sew Over It patterns. 

Congratulations!! - I'll be in touch shortly ladies to get your details. In the meantime, a big thank you to everybody who entered the giveaways. And an extra special thank you to my lovely sponsors, Dragonfly Fabrics, The Village Haberdashery, Sewbox, Fabric Godmother and Sew Over It for the eye-wateringly generous prizes! x

OWOP Giveaway Day One: Dragonfly Fabrics

First off, a big thank you to everybody who left suggestions and information about my mystery fabric roll. I was on holiday when the post went out and didn't expect much interest, so it was very gratifying to read so many useful and interesting comments - thank you again!

In other news, excitement mounts as sewing bloggers all over the world gear up for One Week, One Pattern! We're now just days away from the start and at the last count, nearly 200 of you had signed up for the challenge! 200!!!!! I think it's only fair that we celebrate such dedication to your much-loved patterns with PRIZES!

Each day, from now until the start of OWOP on Saturday 6th September, I'll be posting a daily giveaway, wahay! Giveaways are for One Week, One Pattern participants only, so if you haven't officially signed up yet, you can hot foot it over to this post and sign up now (I'll be checking!)

Today's giveaway is courtesy of Dragonfly Fabrics who are very kindly offering two lucky winners one pattern each of their choice. Dragonfly stock a great range of patterns from both established and up-and-coming indie designers and their full selection can be found here. To be in with a chance of winning, simply leave a comment on this post.

The giveaway is open internationally and closes at midnight GMT on Thursday 18th September. The winners will be announced on this blog on Friday 19th September. Please make sure you leave your email address if it's not linked to your Blogger profile so I can contact you if you're a winner.  Good luck everybody!

Don't forget, you can also enter the other OWOP giveaways being held this week: 

Day Two giveaway from The Village Haberdashery here
Day Three giveaway from Sewbox here
Day Four giveaway from Fabric Godmother here
Day Five giveaway from Sew Over It here

Dragonfly Fabrics giveaway and discount code

I've been thinking a lot about summer dressmaking recently. There's something very satisfying about wearing beautiful, lightweight fabrics when the weather's warm (you may have to suspend your disbelief for that bit if you live in the UK!) With that in mind, I've teamed up with one of my sponsors - Dragonfly Fabrics - to talk you through their summer fabrics and offer suggestions on which patterns to pair them with. There's also a giveaway and discount code on offer - wahay! - so read on….

Dragonfly offer a very carefully curated selection, with an interesting range of colours and patterns. It's obvious that a great deal of thought goes into selecting the fabrics, but what really appeals to me is the fact that there are so many different types of dressmaking fabric available. How on earth do they decide which ones to stock?! My nosiness got the better of me, so I decided to ask Dorte (the fabric buying half of the Dragonfly Fabrics team) a few questions on the subject.

I love the fact that your fabric collection is so carefully chosen for dressmakers. How did you develop such a discerning eye?

I started dressmaking when I was 10 years old. Over the years I have developed a love and feel for quality fabrics. This was enhanced by my time studying in Hamburg, where my studies included Fashion Design and Textile Technology, and by working with several Couture designers. With these designers I worked with quality fabrics where garments were finished to a very high standard. 

What's your criteria for deciding which specific fabrics to stock? Do you follow fashion trends or is it just personal taste?

I am interested in colour, textiles and natural fibres, so yes I do start with personal taste. I then widen the range of colours and types of fabric we stock, I have developed a feel for what people like as I also teach sewing classes. The fabric producers we use, especially in Germany, are in touch with fashion trends, so these trends influence my choices, but I don't choose anything too extreme as I keep what my customers like in mind. 

    

Do you have any personal fabric and pattern recommendations for summer dressmaking?

I think the Brussels Washer range, the Summer Cottons and the Rayon range are all particularly suitable for summer dressmaking. 

Brussels Washer in Mist

Amy Butler rayon: Honeysuckle Bloom in Sky

In terms of patterns, any of the rayon fabrics would work well with the Sew Liberated Brynna Dress pattern. My favourite fabric and pattern choice would have to be the Christine Haynes Emery Dress using one of the fabrics from Leah Duncan's lovely collection.

Tule - Quietude

Great recommendations, thanks Dorte! 

I'm also a fan of the Brussels Washer range - I used some myself last year for my Anna dress and the combination of linen and rayon is awesome. A couple of other fabric and pattern pairings that spring to mind are this lightweight cotton for the Sewaholic Belcarra blouse  

and this gorgeous Japanese blossom poplin for the By Hand London Flora dress. 

To kick off summer dressmaking, Dragonfly Fabrics are offering one lucky winner a £30 voucher to use in their online shop. To enter, just take a look at their website and leave a comment on this post letting me know what you'd spend the voucher on if you won (I told you I was nosy!) The giveaway is open internationally and closes at midnight GMT on Monday 9th June. Please make sure you leave your email address if it's not linked to your Blogger profile so I can contact you if you're the winner.  

And there's more…. readers of my blog can also claim a 15% discount on all purchases from Dragonfly Fabrics.  Just enter the code handmadejane when checking out of the site. The 15% discount is valid until the end of June.

I hope this sparks off some ideas for summer dressmaking. Thank you to Dorte and Simon from Dragonfly Fabrics for offering this awesome giveaway, and good luck everybody! x