My OWOP Week

Hoorah for OWOP - what a fab week it was! I hope you all survived wearing multiple versions of the same pattern each day. Here's my week wearing vintage blouse pattern Simplicity 4238 - via the wonderful medium of photography...

Day 1 - gingham Hillbilly blouse and Kelly skirt with a Vivien of Holloway belt and cherry brooch. I added the belt as the top two buttons on this skirt are a real pain. The belt keeps them in check and I love how it looks.

Day 2 - 1950's polka dot blouse with Gertie Capri pants, Clarks clogs (from years ago) and Kate Spade bag during a family walk around Richmond Park.

Day 3 - Betty Draper blouse with red denim Delphine skirt. Everything had been very blue and denim up until this point, hence the injection of red!

Day 4 - 1950's white blouse with wide-legged trousers and Vivien of Holloway belt. This was a nice outfit but I felt a bit waitressy with the white and grey combo. The belt helps to break it up a little.

Day 5 - 1950's polka dot blouse and Miette skirt. I have to confess, I misjudged the weather on this day and had to perform a costume change mid-afternoon. As lovely as my Miette skirt is, it's floaty and linen and not very warm, so for the second half of the day I wore my Gertie capri pants…. and a cardi!

Day 6 - Betty Draper blouse and Orla Kiely cardigan. This blouse is made from Liberty Tana lawn, so it's highly appropriate that this (slightly bonkers looking) selfie, with my lovely friend Joe, was taken outside Liberty. We couldn't believe the extortionate prices on that flower stall!!

Day Seven - 1950's white blouse with green John Smedley cardigan, Anthropologie necklace and Gap jeans. I fancied a bit of unexpected colour for the last day of OWOP!

Woohoo, we did it! I'm absolutely staggered by the number of people who participated this year - over 250 at the last count!!! That's over twice the number of participants than when I compiled my ground breaking charts, so I may have to redo them (gulp!) I'm curious to know if the same pattern companies continue to crop up.  Anyway, enough about graphs, I want to share my reflections of the week with you:

• By choosing a blouse pattern, I felt that I had a lot more styling options. I could choose skirts or trousers each day - what a luxury! Fabric choice definitely plays a big part in the success of the garment. The two versions made with top quality fabrics (the 1950's polka dot blouse and the Betty Draper blouse) still look virtually brand new. Sadly the same can't be said for the gingham Hillbilly blouse, which may have to be retired soon as the shoddy fabric is struggling to look good. I love having a gingham version though, so I'll just have to make another one!

• My 1950's white blouse is not made from a practical fabric. It's almost impossible to get the creases out  so it was a bit of a pain to wear to be honest. Plain white blouses are infinitely practical however, so I'm quite tempted to make a second white one in a more everyday fabric.

• I'm never going to be that adventurous with accessories, but I did discover a really useful belt in my wardrobe this week and got to try out a new colour combination. This was the green/turquoise combo on the last day, slightly inspired by this picture on Pinterest.

• And finally…. I still like the pattern! As we all know, you can sometimes have too much of a good thing, which is what I was afraid might happen over the week. Luckily it didn't, I still love all the vintage details on this pattern and it's very flattering. I've already got plans for a few more versions of it.

But how did you get on? I'd love to read about your own reflections on OWOP, so if you've blogged about your week or have a photo set, please leave a link in the comments section of this post. If you leave a link to your photos or blog, I'll assume this means you consent to me borrowing a photo or two for the round-up post - or if you'd rather I didn't, just say so in the comments.

Thank you to everybody who participated in this challenge, I've had a blast! And don't be shy now - leave me your links so I can read ALL about it!! x

And now for something completely different….

…yes, this post has NOTHING whatsoever to do with One Week, One Pattern! And lots to do with my new sewing table. Ooooh!

As I've written about before, I'm lucky enough to have a separate room in which to sew. It's our loft room so it also has to double up as a guest bedroom and, more recently, it's had to triple up as a home office. Previously I  used the large computer desk for my sewing and had my sewing machine living by the side of it. I hauled it onto the desk when I needed it and it went back to its spot at the end of the day. I had to go through the same rigmarole with my overlocker too. A tidy solution, but a bit tiresome. Recently my husband has been doing more work at home and needed to colonise the desk more frequently - the time had come for me to sort out my own dedicated sewing table.

The shelves above the main desk were staying exactly the same i.e. filled with all my sewing crap fabric/patterns/notions, so all I needed was a new table. I trawled my way through local junk shops looking for something to announce itself to me, but nothing did. Until I spotted this gem on eBay. 

An original 1950's melamine table with a gingham top! I loved it on first sight - it's like a table version of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I can now have my sewing machine AND my overlocker out on display at the same time, which saves a massive amount of time. Even though I still have the shelves above the main desk, I did need something to put all my day to day stuff and ongoing projects in, so I went for the sewing bloggers' favourite - the Raskog trolley from Ikea.

My new sewing area is in a nook under the roof and doesn't get as much light as my previous desk. An angle poise lamp, trained straight onto my sewing machine was a good solution. I now also have a real life pin board for the first time in my sewing life. This won't stop my Pinterest addiction, but it is handy for pinning inspiration and ideas and having them right in front of my eyes. 

Unlikely pin-up: Mr Philip Larkin

My favourite piece of art by David Hockney

The pin board is a cheap one from Argos that I covered in blue gingham to match the table. Actually, that's a lie, I didn't do anything. I just stood around like a lemon while my husband stretched the fabric over the pin board like a canvas and nailed it into submission. Thanks Jon! 

I love my new sewing space, it's so perfectly me. And after a long summer off with the kids, I can finally get some sewing done! x

OWOP Giveaway Day Five: Sew Over It

Today is the fifth and final day of One Week, One Pattern giveaway week and I have a real belter for you! 

London sewing class cafe and purveyor of fine dressmaking patterns, Sew Over It, is offering one extremely lucky winner a complete set of its five paper patterns. The set comprises the Ultimate Wrap Dress, Betty Dress, Ultimate Trousers, 1940's Tea Dress and Ultimate Shift Dress as well as a digital copy of the new PDF pattern, the Silk Cami! All I can say is WOW! I can't vouch for all the patterns but I have made the Betty dress here, which was a roaring success and I'm currently at the cutting out stage of making a pair of Ultimate Trousers. So far, so good!  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.  

Don't forget, you can also enter the other OWOP giveaways being held this week:
Day One giveaway from Dragonfly Fabrics here  
Day Two giveaway from The Village Haberdashery here
Day Three giveaway from Sewbox here
Day Four giveaway from Fabric Godmother here

I hope you've all enjoyed this bumper week of OWOP giveaways and I'd like to say an ENORMOUS thank you to my sponsors: Dragonfly Fabrics, The Village Haberdashery, Sewbox, Fabric Godmother and Sew Over It for being ssooo generous with the prizes.

So, are you ready for the start of One Week, One Pattern tomorrow?! I know I am, I can't wait! Enjoy your week of wearing your very favourite patterns - I'm so looking forward to hearing about how you all got on. I'll be reporting back in a week's time. Happy OWOPing! x

OWOP Giveaway Day Four: Fabric Godmother

Today's One Week, One Pattern giveaway prize has been generously donated by Fabric Godmother. If you've ever wanted your pattern and fabric wishes to come true (geddit?!) then today might just be your lucky day.  Fabric Godmother is offering one lucky winner the pattern of their choice plus £20 to spend on fabric. What a wonderful prize!

There are some fab patterns to choose from and the selection caters for all dressmaking tastes - from everyday basics and children's wear to vintage-inspired and high fashion. The full range can be found here. The fabric department is equally impressive, with a gorgeous range of stretch cottons, organic jerseys, wax print cottons and designer fabrics. 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! x

Don't forget, you can also enter the other OWOP giveaways being held this week:
Day One giveaway from Dragonfly Fabrics here  
Day Two giveaway from The Village Haberdashery here
Day Three giveaway from Sewbox here
Day Five giveaway from Sew Over It here

OWOP Giveaway Day Three: Sewbox

Good morning! It's day three of One Week, One Pattern giveaway week and today we have a super generous prize from Sewbox.

Well known for their great selection of Liberty print fabrics, Sewbox also has an impressive array of patterns to choose from.  They stock a great range of indie sewing designers, plus a good selection from Hot Patterns and a massive selection of Kwik Sew patterns. Phew! And guess what? One lucky winner gets to win three patterns of their choice! The full range can be found here. To be in with a chance of winning, simply leave a comment on this post.

Hot Patterns

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! x

Don't forget, you can also enter the other OWOP giveaways being held this week:
Day One giveaway from Dragonfly Fabrics here  
Day Two giveaway from The Village Haberdashery here
Day Four giveaway from Fabric Godmother here
Day Five giveaway from Sew Over It here

OWOP Giveaway Day Two: Village Haberdashery

This week I'll be posting a daily giveaway in celebration of One Week, One Pattern. Today's giveaway is kindly donated by The Village Haberdashery.  

The pattern section at The Village Haberdashery is super impressive with a lovely range of contemporary and vintage-inspired dressmaking patterns from indie designers. They also stock a good selection of patterns for baby and children's wear, as well as quilting patterns. Owner Annie is very generously offering one lucky winner the chance to select three patterns of their choice! Whoop whoop! Hop on over and have a look at the full selection, which 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 One giveaway from Dragonfly Fabrics here  
Day Three giveaway from Sewbox here
Day Four giveaway from Fabric Godmother here
Day Five giveaway from Sew Over It here
  

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