My sewing in 2015

Helloo! I hope you've all had a wonderful few days and that Father Christmas aced it with the presents this year. I'm still in recovery from the annual turkey overdose, so decided to take the opportunity to look back at the past year on the blog before the next onslaught of pies….

On the dressmaking front, my boiled wool coat was probably my most successful garment of 2015. 

There are a few things I'd do differently if I was given my time again, but overall it's been a huge success and has had a LOT of wears. Other garments that have been worn to death this year include my Barkcloth Skirt, 

Granville Shirt, 

Walkley Top (a surprise hit). 

and my Little Black Dress

In fact everything I've made this year has been worn, proving that I'm finally getting better at diagnosing which wardrobe gaps actually need to be filled!

I had the pleasure of seeing two of my favourite gents guest starring on my blog this year. My pal Joe and his beautiful Liberty print ties proved to be a big hit (here and here). 

He's still optimistic about sewing his own seven-fold-tie, so look out for a re-appearance next year. My son Louis also popped up, proving he's a chip off the old block by sewing his own waistcoat. He's a genius I tell you!

On the blog front, I was very, VERY proud and delighted that my blog was nominated for Best Sewing Blog in the Sew Magazine British Sewing Awards 2015. I still can't quite believe that one, thank you again to everybody who took the time to vote for me! I also wrote two new tutorials which were published in Love Sewing Magazine - one for a Chequerboard Baby Blanket 

and one for a Tooth Fairy Cushion

The project that took the longest time and energy this year was without doubt making a memory quilt for my Aunty. I was a bit wrung out after it was finished to be honest, but I'm so glad I did it as I know it brings her a lot of comfort.

2015 was also the year I joined the 21st century and opened an Instagram account - I'm @janemarland if you're interested! I surprised myself by how quickly I got used to it (much quicker than Twitter, which I still struggle with to be honest). 

Apparently these were my nine most popular Instagram pictures this year

Instagram won't replace blogging for me because I still love reading sewing blogs and writing my own, but it's a satisfying quick fix in the meantime. I've also discovered lots of new sewing bloggers to follow which can only be a good thing.

All in all it's been a fab year, probably my best dressmaking year to date. So thank you to everybody who has followed along, commented on the blog and offered advice and feedback, it's all very much appreciated. Here's to another happy sewing year in 2016! x

Chequerboard Baby Blanket Tutorial

The idea for a chequerboard blanket came to me when I was pondering what to make for my brand new baby nephew. Initially I planned to make him a quilt, but wanted to retain the lovely fleecy backing you get on a traditional baby blanket. So I used my standard baby blanket tutorial, and adapted it to include a patchwork top. I also bound the edges with bias binding. 

I knew there had to be a simpler method of achieving a chequerboard top than cutting each single square individually, so I set to work experimenting with strips of paper. Not being blessed with a mathematical brain, this working out stage took ages, but I'm pleased to say it works and should save you a bit of time. I even sent the instructions to my novice quilter friend Berni, to see if they made sense to a beginner. This was a wise move as she picked up on a couple of things that needed clarifying, so thanks Berni!

This tutorial was first published in Issue 13 of Love Sewing magazine in April but annoyingly, a couple of the step-by-step photographs were printed in the wrong order. So I'm pleased to post the full tutorial here on the blog, with everything hopefully in the right place. I've tried to be as clear and thorough as I possibly can with the instructions, but as always, if there's anything that doesn't make sense, please do let me know. Have a lovely weekend. x

CHEQUERBOARD BABY BLANKET TUTORIAL

You will need:

1 metre plain cotton fabric

1 metre patterned cotton fabric*

1 metre fleece fabric

5 metres double fold bias binding (25mm/1inch wide)

*The adorable elephant fabric I used was from here

Seam allowance is ¼” throughout unless otherwise specified.

1. Cut your fabric into strips:

Six strips of patterned fabric each measuring 10cm x 100cm wide

Six strips of solid fabric each measuring 10cm x 100cm wide

2. Right sides facing, sew six strips together along the long edges, starting with a patterned strip at the top and alternating with the solid strips e.g.pattern/solid/pattern/solid/pattern/solid. If you’re using a directional print, make sure it’s all facing in the same direction!

3. Do exactly the same with the remaining six strips, except this time you need to start with a SOLID strip at the top.

Press seams to one side towards the patterned strips.

4. Mark across the top and bottom of each panel at 10cm intervals. The width of each panel is 100cms so it should be evenly divided into 10. Use a cutting mat or a long ruler to line up the marks to get a straight line.

Cut each panel vertically as marked. Repeat for the second panel.

You should end up with 20 vertical strips of fabric, each comprising six squares. 10 vertical strips should start with a patterned square at the top and 10 should start with a solid square at the top.  

5. Sew two vertical strips of the same sort together at the bottom i.e. attach a strip starting with a patterned square to the bottom of another strip that starts with a patterned square. The rubbish diagrams below illustrate what the two strips should look like when sewn together.

Then do the same with the strips starting with solid squares. Here's what they should look like when sewn together.

6. Press seams as above. You now have 10 vertical strips of 12 alternating squares and you’re ready to start sewing them together!  TIP: lay all the strips out next to each other before you begin sewing, just to make sure they’re in the correct order. Take a photo! 

7. With right sides facing, sew each column of squares together, matching seams as you go. Don’t worry if some of your seams don’t match up perfectly, I personally think it adds to the rustic charm of the blanket!

8. Once you’ve sewn the columns, press seam allowances together all in the same direction. Trim any squares that overlap the edges. You now have a patchwork top for your blanket: 10 squares wide x 12 squares long.

9. Cut your fleece fabric to the same size as your patchwork top, it should be roughly 90cm wide x 110cm long. With WRONG sides together, pin both layers together with safety pins, smoothing out the fabric widthways as you go. Use as many pins as you need to – it’s worth spending a bit more time pinning at this stage to ensure the two layers don’t shift around too much. If you have a walking foot, use it now!

Stay stitch around all four edges with a ¼” seam allowance.

Now we just need to bind it. I used 25mm double fold bias binding tape.

10. Open out the binding and pin the raw edge to the edge of the fabric side of the blanket, right sides together. Start about halfway along one of the short edges and pin all the way round, leaving a gap of about 5 inches from where you began pinning.

Sew in place using the fold of the bias binding as your stitching guide.

Here’s what to do for corners:

11. Stop stitching when you’re ¼” from the corner and backstitch (see above).  Fold the binding upwards at a 90 degree angle, then fold back down on top of itself.

12. Make sure the edge of the binding is lined up with the edge of the blanket.

Start sewing right from the top edge of the blanket. Repeat for the other corners.

13. To sew up the gap in the binding, fold the two edges of binding towards each other so they’re edge to edge.

Mark the point where they meet and sew it closed.

14. Press open and trim the binding edges. You can now sew the gap closed as you did for the rest of the binding.

15. Trim the edges of the blanket down and turn the binding round to the reverse side (the fleece side). Pin into place, making sure the binding covers your first set of stitches. 

16. The corners should have a nice mitred edge to them. Sew the binding in place all the way around, as close to the edge as you can. If you prefer you can do this bit by hand using an invisible catch stitch.

Give everything a good press and you’re finished!

Reasons to be cheerful

Today there are three reasons to be cheerful. First, I've started re-reading Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - I'd forgotten what an absolute delight it is. 

Best of all, I've rediscovered Mrs Smiling, one of my favourite ever characters in a book:

"Mrs Smiling's second interest was her collection of brassieres, and her search for a perfect one. She was reputed to have the largest and finest collection of these garments in the world. It was hoped that on her death it would be left to the nation."

Which seems particularly apt in light of my last post!

Second, this month's issue of Love Sewing is out, complete with a baby blanket project written by yours truly!! Look! My name in print!! Yippee!

Third, it's St George's Day here in the UK which means get the bunting out, it's my birthday! Triple hoorah!

I'll be back with a finished dress to crow about as soon as the excitement has died down.  In the meantime, have a wonderful day everyone. x