Holly Hobbie Quilt

Hello. Brace yourselves, there's an actual finished item on the blog today!

The patchwork top for this quilt was finished back in June, but as it's quite a whopper (224 squares), it's taken me this long to summon up the energy to quilt it. The majority of squares are Liberty remnants left over from previous makes, plus a few fat quarters picked up along the way from Sewbox. The light coloured 'neutral' squares are cut from another Liberty print (Cathy), which is also used as the backing fabric. 

It's very busy and flowery but that's exactly what I love about Liberty prints. Plus the busyness of the fabric hides a multitude of quilting sins...

Because it's made almost entirely from Liberty lawn (I think there's one non-Liberty imposter in there) the feel of this quilt is different to others I've made. Liberty lawn has a slight sheen and silkiness that you don't get with regular quilting cotton, giving it a really luxurious feel.

The intended home for this quilt is on the guest bed in the loft. Everything is very plain and neutral up there and it adds a nice pop of colour.

However... I was testing it out on the sofa last night and it actually looks great in the front room, so I'm a bit torn. It has magical properties too, I was asleep within about ten minutes of wrapping it round me... Maybe I'll alternate between the two?

As for the name, I've called this my Holly Hobbie quilt as it reminds me of a doll I had in the seventies.

It was probably around the same time Little House on the Prairie was on TV, when spriggy florals and patchwork dresses were flavour of the month for little girls! Anybody else remember Holly Hobbie? Have a good Tuesday. x

More sleeveless shell tops

My Sleeveless Shell Top has been such a hit this summer I promptly made myself two more. Taking on board my own advice from my first version, I made a couple of tiny adjustments to the pattern: I lengthened the front curve to match the back and eliminated the centre back seam. I also used this method to attach the all-in-one facings by machine and it worked like a dream. Now that I know what I'm doing (it only took me five years to work it out...) it actually takes me less time to attach an all-in-one facing than it takes to attach bias tape and you get a lovely clean finish. I'm a complete convert!

First up is a Liberty lawn version in my all time favourite print - Carline (only available in pink at the moment). I had just one metre of fabric, which was lucky as that's all you need for this pattern! I made it during a sewing afternoon over at Tilly's and am amazed I managed to sew it without any mistakes as I was more than a little distracted by the sewing chat. It's such a lovely, colourful top and looks great with all kinds of solid coloured garments: jeans, skinny trousers, red skirts, the lot! 

The second version is made from Swiss Dot cotton*, this time in turquoise.

I used the same kind of fabric for my Malia top and it's a really nice weight for a sleeveless top - it has a lovely drape. I only had a 60cm remnant, (snapped up for £2 from Fabric Godmother last year) and it was just enough to cut out the front and back pieces. I love it when I get to use up smaller pieces from my stash like this! I cut the facing pieces from white silk cotton.

This top will probably get even more wear than the Carline one as it's a solid colour so can be paired up with virtually anything.

Three is probably my limit for this pattern this summer - I dread to think how many I'm going to make next year though! I love this pattern. x


*Every single time I type this fabric name I think of Dot Cotton from Eastenders...

Liberty quilt question

Just a quick post today to announce that I've finally finished the top for my Liberty quilt. My god it was gruelling, it seemed to take forever! 

The quilt won't actually be needed until the autumn, which gives me time to do a spot of research and brace myself for the next stage. All but one of the fabrics I used in the quilt top are Liberty Tana Lawn, which is noticeably lighter and finer than quilting cotton. My question is, do I need to add an additional layer of light cotton fabric (cotton muslin for instance) to the quilt top to provide extra strength and support? Or will it be OK once everything is quilted together? I've spent so long piecing it all together, I want to make sure the quilt has a good, long life! 

I know there are some experienced quilters who read my blog - I'm just hoping they're reading this post! If any of you have quilted with Liberty lawn (or indeed any thin cotton lawn), I'd appreciate your advice. Thank you!

Now all I have to do is quilt the bloody thing...  

New Look Fireworks Dress

I've had a picture of this dress in my head for ages, ever since seeing Rosa's beautiful floral dress last summer. I really liked the wrap front bodice and the way the dress looked so casually chic. The wrap bodice was from New Look 6123 which is now out of print, but I was lucky enough to track a copy down on eBay. I also had the perfect fabric in mind - a firework print Liberty Tana lawn.

The pattern has two different skirt options, both of which were a bit too formal for the kind of easy, summer dress I had in mind, so I substituted the skirt from another New Look pattern (6557) instead. The skirt is a half circle which I slimmed down by reducing the curve by 8cms and chopping 14cms off the midi length. The result is more of a quarter circle, not too full but still with a decent amount of swish. New Look patterns are generally a pretty good match for my body shape, but I still needed to make a few changes to get the fit I wanted.

My dress is View A with a quarter circle skirt

This particular pattern is cut quite generously at the bust (possibly because of the wrap style) but has very little ease at the waist. I ended up cutting a 12 at the bust and shoulders, grading to a 14 at the waist and lengthened the bodice by 1.5cm. I also took a 2cm triangular shaped wedge from the centre back pieces as the back neckline noticeably gaped on my muslin. Next time I'll raise the height of the front neckline as it's currently a bit plunging!

Construction wise, this was a reasonably straight forward pattern to sew up, though not necessarily a quick one. The bodice has really pretty pleats and gathers on one side, which took me a couple of goes and quite a bit of unpicking to get exactly how I wanted. The skirt waistline also ended up a little larger than the bodice waistline so I added two tiny tucks, which are barely noticeable amidst all the fireworks. The cap sleeves are self faced, the same as the sleeves on my Etta dress, in this case they're finished with an overlocker rather than bias binding. Not as neat looking on the inside, but sooo much quicker!

I contacted Rosa before starting work on the dress as I was worried about the bias cut front edges stretching out of shape. Her advice was to staystitch as per the instructions and use a strong interfacing. I used Washable Supersoft from English Couture - a medium weight interfacing with a soft finish - and it didn't do too bad a job. It doesn't sit as flat as I'd like, so I think it must still have stretched a tiny bit during construction. I also reinforced the centre back edges with strips of interfacing to prevent the fabric puckering when I inserted the invisible zip. With hindsight, I wish I'd lined the skirt section as it's a bit transparent by itself, easily sorted by wearing a slip though.

The Liberty lawn I used is very lightweight and floaty, but I still think it's a good match for this pattern. The colours in the print are a really lovely combination and I like the fact that it doesn't look like a typical Liberty design. The fireworks look like some kind of exotic flowers, reminiscent of 1930s and possibly 1970s prints. This will be such a nice dress for summer - casual enough to wear at home with flip flops and easily glammed up when required. I'm so pleased with it.

As I mentioned earlier, New Look 6123 is now out of print, but if you like the look of a wrap front dress, I've managed to find a few other patterns for wovens that look promising. These are: Sew Over It Eve dress, Vogue 9251, Vogue 8784, McCall's 6959 and Butterick 5898. Or if you have any other pattern recommendations, please share them in the comments. x

Liberty fabric suppliers

Last summer I talked about making a new quilt using some Liberty remnants I've been hoarding for the past few years. But when I went through my stash, I realised there were only three I actually wanted to use and that I'd need to buy a few more Liberty fabrics (such a hardship!) My first port of call was the Liberty shop itself as there's currently 50% off online on selected prints, but annoyingly there was nothing in the sale that was quite right. Full price Liberty fabric is pricey (£22.50 a metre for Tana lawn), so I decided to do a bit of online research to see if I could find cheaper options....  

I spent an entire afternoon overdosing on Liberty prints and could quite easily have been at it for days on end if I didn't had children to look after. I did however, manage to find quite a few cheaper alternatives, so if you love Liberty prints but don't love their usual hefty price tags, read on! I've included a mixture of bricks and mortar shops and online stores, but obviously it's nowhere near a comprehensive list. I should also point out that I've used some, but not all of these suppliers, so can't vouch for them all personally. Hopefully one of them may lead you to a bargain though!

Sewbox

This friendly online store offers a mix of classic and contemporary prints at reduced prices, often in unusual colourways. The majority of fabrics are Tana lawn and Lifestyle cottons, with some jersey and cord prints also stocked.

Shaukat

THE place to go for discounted Liberty fabrics if you're in London. They stock absolutely everything, with a far broader range than the Liberty store itself, including all the classic floral prints and lots of seasonal collections. If you're desperate to track down a discontinued or limited edition print, give them a try, they probably have it in stock. The firework print fabric I got for Christmas was found at  Shaukat after it had sold out at Liberty. 

Visit the shop in South Kensington or buy online here.  

Goldhawk Road, London W12

Classic Textiles stocks some lovely Tana lawns and silks. Last time I was there I think Tana lawn was about £17 a metre and silk amazingly was about £12 a metre. I used Liberty silk from this shop to line my boiled wool coat.

Misan West on Goldhawk Road is a relatively new fabric shop and also stocks Liberty fabrics. Definitely worth paying a visit if you're in the area.

Fabrics Galore

Fabrics Galore has been around for 25 years and offers a good selection of classic and seasonal Tana lawns at very good prices (around £15.00 a metre). 

They have a shop in Battersea, you can buy online here or they regularly exhibit at sewing shows throughout the year.

Abakhan

As well as stocking classic Tana lawns at full price, Abakhan also has a separate clearance sections where you can snap up past collections of Tana lawn for £12.95 a metre and Lifestyle cottons for £9.95 a metre).

Clothkits

Clothkits are more commonly known for their ready made clothing kits, but did you know they also have a small but perfectly formed Liberty section on their website?! Check out their Tana lawn clearance section where you can find an interesting selection for £16.00 a metre. They also sell Liberty bias binding and fabric covered buttons!

Kat's Fabrics

I found this eBay seller via What Kate Sews a couple of years ago when she listed her favourite eBay fabric shops. In Katie's words, "A good source for Liberty Tana Lawns in largeish pre-cut lots. At roughly £30 for a 3 metre cut it's a good deal."  I''d agree with that! You can also get good deals on smaller pieces - I snapped up a metre of hard-to-find Carline print for £15 last year.

If you have a favourite place for sourcing discounting Liberty fabric, please let me know in the comments. And whilst I'm at it, what's your favourite Liberty print? My favourite is Carline, which I've just noticed seems to be in stock again at Liberty. Sadly not in the sale though. Have a good week! x

Christmas gift roundup

I know it's still only November, but it's never too early to compile a Christmas list. I've had my beady eye on this lot for a while now - if Father Christmas doesn't take the hint then I'll be buying them all for myself!  

It's no secret that my first port of call for beautiful sewing goodies is Beyond Measure. This year I'm pining for a pair of Ernest Wright embroidery scissors with baby blue handles (to match my dressmaking shears).

Plus a beautiful leather case to keep them in, hand stitched in Lancashire. I can't quite decide on the colour though, either red or light blue I think.

A set of these lovely marking pencils would make a great stocking filler too!

I'm sure pieces of Tatty Devine sewing themed jewellery will be popping up on many a sewist's Christmas list. My favourite is the traditional Sewing Machine Necklace.

I'm a big fan of stationery and by far the loveliest I've seen recently is the personalised range from A Thing Created. Choose from a selection of chic fashion illustrations, then customise with your own name, hair colour and skin tone. It's a really nice treat for yourself or a very special gift for a friend.

I actually ordered a set for myself in the summer from the illustration below - the one on the far right sporting a classic white shirt and red skirt combo. I've been sending them out to everybody left, right and centre, so may have to order more!  

The company is based in the US, so if you're ordering from the UK make sure you do so before Friday 2nd December to ensure a pre-Christmas delivery.  

If you're a book lover or have a book lover in your life then you'll LOVE Persephone Books. The company publishes little known or re-discovered tiles by (mostly) women writers. Each book has a beautiful 'fabric' endpaper and matching bookmark and an elegant grey jacket. 

They're an absolute pleasure to read and I've loved every single one I've read. Next on my list is The Homemaker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. 

Whilst we're on the subject of books, how about a shameless plug for my own book?! If you're looking for a sewing-themed children's gift then I can heartily recommend Get Into: Sewing by Jane Marland! 

Packed full of simple, colourful hand sewing projects, it's a fun introduction to sewing for 8-11 year olds.

And finally, no Christmas list would be complete without some Liberty fabric to drool over. This Floral Firework design is a contemporary interpretation of traditional Chinese emblems. I think it's stunning - it reminds me of a 1930's print!

That's just about everything from me - what's on your Christmas list this year?!

One Week, One Pattern 2016

The past week has seen me wearing different variations of New Look 6217 each day as part of OWOP (One Week, One Pattern) 2016. The challenge was run this year by Hannah at Cinderellis Sews and I had a lot of fun mixing and matching garments made from my current favourite pattern.

I cheated slightly as I've made both tops and skirts from the pattern, so it wasn't actually much of a stretch. But considering the pattern also includes trousers and a kimono jacket I think I was actually quite restrained! What I like about the top and skirt patterns is the fit: they have a fair amount of wearing ease but still skim the body to show off your curves. I already had three versions of the top and two of the skirt, but just managed to squeeze out another last minute top to give myself a bit more choice. Here's what I wore:

Day 1 - Red Swiss Dot NL6217 top and Gap jeans. I was visiting the Undressed exhibition at the V & A museum with Scruffy Badger. 

Day 2 - Denim NL6217 skirt and 1960's Shoulder Tie top (without shoulder ties!) I was at the allotment pretending to help, so this combo was actually really comfortable, although a white top probably wasn't the wisest choice for picking raspberries...

Day 3 - Liberty print NL6217 top and denim Arielle skirt. I hadn't tried this combo before now and was surprised how much I liked it.

Day 4 - Denim NL6217 skirt and Gingham Granville shirt. The Ginghamalong went live today so I wore my new gingham shirt with my New Look denim skirt. It's a bit of a polka dot/gingham clash but I think they look good together! This photo was taken outside my local boozer, complete with splendid old tiles.

Day 5 - Ivory Crepe NL6217 top and Liberty Carline Delphine skirt. This is a new, unblogged version of the top made from a 80cm remnant of prestige crepe from the Fabric Godmother sale. The drape is perfect for this pattern and I loved wearing it on its first outing. Being off white, it's also useful for pairing with garments that are difficult to match things to (like this skirt!) 

Day 6 - Black crepe NL6217 top and Bamboo skirt. Suitably smart attire for visiting the Buckingham Palace state rooms with my mother-in-law!

Day 7 - Black Crepe NL6217 top and Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers. Here I am meeting the lovely Mark from Girl Charlee UK at the Handmade Fair in Hampton Court (more on my visit in the next blog post).

A few reflections on the challenge:

• I'm sooooo pleased I chose this pattern, everything I've made from it feels like such a natural part of my everyday wardrobe. 
• The top is a simple shape and easy to make, but I think fabric choice and colour are key to wearing them often. The fact that I had three solid, neutral colours tops meant they could be paired with anything. Plus the lovely quality of the fabrics made them feel just a bit more special than a T shirt or cotton top in the same colours.
• I love the slim silhouette of the skirt and the quirky little side split - I'll definitely be making more of them.
• I'm still not very adventurous with accessories!

Thank you to Hannah for hosting the challenge and I'm looking forward to seeing what everybody else has been wearing for the past week! Have a great weekend. x

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Vintage Pledge Shoulder Tie Top

July is all about vintage at the moment as stitchers across the land get well and truly involved with the Vintage Pledge July Extravaganza. This has been organised by Vintage Pledge hosts, Marie and Kerry and includes daily guest bloggers, a month long #vpjuly daily photo prompt on Instagram and LOTS of prizes. You can read more about what they have in store throughout the month here.

I was delighted to be one of the guest bloggers and the summer top I made from a vintage pattern was featured on A Stitching Odyssey last week. I'm posting pictures and details on my blog again today, just in case you missed it!

The pattern I chose was Woman's Own 5003 - a mail order pattern from 1961. The pattern is for two different summer tops: a wrap top that can be made with or without sleeves or a boxy top with shoulder ties. By happy coincidence I bought the pattern from Vintage Pattern Pledge's Kerry when she was having a destash earlier this year!

Isn't the envelope illustration adorable?! It's one of the main reasons I bought the pattern. Both tops are quite timeless designs and I could easily see the two styles slotting seamlessly into my wardrobe. 

It took me an age to decide which of the two versions to sew as I was drawn to both, but in the end the decision was dictated by the fabric. I knew I wanted to use this beautiful Liberty lawn Lilac print that I picked up on a day out with Ashley earlier this year.

I absolutely love the colours, especially the contrast between the background red and the green leaves.  It was available in lots of different colours when I bought it, but only seems to be listed in grey/lilac now unfortunately. Actually I think Charlotte used the same fabric (in a different colourway) to make her dressing gown on the Great British Sewing Bee.

As we all know, Liberty lawn is ridiculously expensive, so I only bought a metre. It was only when I was inspecting the pattern that I realised a metre was never going to be enough to make the wrap/tie version, however skilfully I laid out those pieces. So the decision was made for me - the shoulder tie top it was.

This is a very straight forward top to sew: a simple sleeveless tank with bust darts, slightly shaped side seams and a cute, notched bottom edge. The blouse also has separate shoulder ties/bows.

The pattern was for a size 36 bust and the overall fit was pretty good. The only small changes I made were to lower the bust darts by an inch and add 1½" to the overall length. The instructions were brief, but perfectly clear and the whole top sewed together quickly. The necklines and armholes were given a lovely clean finish with an all-in-one facing - very satisfying! 

The shoulder ties are supposed to be threaded through buttonholes made in the shoulder facings. Sadly, my buttonholes foot isn't working at the moment, so I just knotted the bows around each shoulder instead - they seem to be working fine so far!

The blouse has more of a boxy shape than I'm used to, but I still really like it. My favourite part is the shoulder ties - they give an otherwise plain pattern a lovely vintage twist. I'd love to try the sleeveless wrap version too at some point. Overall it's a perfect little blouse for summer and is a great match with my sailor shorts!  

This blouse counts as the second part of my Vintage Pledge for 2016. My pledge was to sew two items from vintage patterns - one suitable for winter and one suitable for summer. The winter part was taken care of when I made my Topper coat, so this here blouse is the summer part!

Joining in with the #vpjuly daily photo prompts on Instagram has been enormous fun. The vintage themed photos posted so far have been truly inspirational and I've discovered some great new bloggers to follow. If you want to check out what I've been posting you can find me on Instagram here (@janemarland).

Have a wonderful week! x