Sewing and Running

After publishing this post at the beginning of the year, it was interesting to discover that there are so many of you who sew and run. This post is a bit of an update on both. Sewing has been pretty much a constant in my life since I first learnt as an adult eight years ago (I was also taught at school, but never encouraged). The timing was perfect as it gave me the focus I needed to stop me dwelling too much on having a disabled child. Sewing is what has kept me sane and happy ever since. 

That all went out of the window a couple of months ago unfortunately, when the challenges at home just became overwhelming. I tried to take my mind off things by sewing but I couldn't concentrate. The more mistakes I made, the more stressed I felt, it was dreadful. When I did eventually have something finished to blog about, I had no energy to write about it and certainly couldn't bring myself to plaster a smile on my face and photograph it. So I made the decision to take a short break from sewing and blogging.

In the meantime I went running. Three times a week without fail I was out there, pounding the pavements and parks of Ealing, sometimes on my own, sometimes with my lovely running group. Being outdoors and doing physical exercise really helped - exercise endorphins do work wonders. I know lots of people run with headphones, but I never have, it was just me and my whirring thoughts. I found the repetition of running quite meditative - a bit like the sound of a sewing machine - I'm sure there's a parallel there somewhere! After each run I felt so much better, my head was clearer and things were more in perspective. 

My second pair of trainers, still box fresh!

Within a few weeks I was sewing and blogging again, perhaps not quite as prolific as before, but definitely back on the horse. Still sewing. And still running. Running will never replace sewing in my life, but it can certainly complement it, and I like how the two can now go hand in hand. And the good news is that all that practice improved my running - I'm now able to run 10K!!! I still find this amazing, considering I couldn't run 10 metres six months ago. My next challenge will be on 17th June - I'll be running my first 10K race to support Charlie's special needs school. It's a wonderful school and they've been so supportive to us, I'd love to raise some money to help Charlie and the other amazing children who attend. If you're feeling generous and have a pound or two to spare, you can donate here. Any sponsorship will be very gratefully received.

With some members of my fab running group 

I have to admit, I'm nervous about this race, which is daft as I know I can run the distance. The thing is, I haven't taken part in any organised sporting event since leaving school, which was over 30 years ago... so let's just say I'm a bit out of practice! My darling sister-in-law recently ran her first 10K race in Australia and said whenever she felt like giving up, she thought of Charlie and carried on. I'm going to use the same tactics. Wish me luck! x

Boy genius sews a waistcoat

Disclaimer: This blog post is 100% biased.

Every parent thinks their children are uncommonly wonderful and talented, but when your child does something awesome AND sewing related, then there's no choice but to splash it all over the blog!  This year, in his Textiles class, my son Louis made a waistcoat from scratch. Now, before I start waxing lyrical about his sewing super powers, let's just marvel at the fact that a boy studying textiles is a normal part of the syllabus in an ordinary London High School. When I was at school (thousands of years ago, admittedly), Textiles was known as Needlework and was exclusively for girls, it didn't cross anybody's mind to teach the boys. How refreshing that things are different these days. Anyway, back to the child genius….

A bit loose fitting, but he's a skinny lad.

Getting accurate sewing details from a 13 year old boy is a bit like getting blood from a stone, but from what I can gather, they took measurements in class and worked from a pattern that the teacher provided. The outer fabric of the waistcoat is a navy wool mix and it's fully lined with burgundy lining fabric. 

And if that's not impressive enough, it has three buttonholes and a welt pocket! A WELT POCKET at age 13!!! 

Must remind him to use matching thread on his next attempt!

The young are so fearless, apparently they had a choice of making a welt or patch pocket and he went for the welt option because it was more difficult. To this day I still haven't made a welt pocket, so he's overtaken me already in his sewing bravery!

Yes, there are a few tiny flaws…. there's a singe mark on the inside lining where he'd been let loose with an iron, and the three buttons fell off the minute I buttoned them up! Apart from that it's perfect and he's a genius.

To say I'm proud is a slight understatement - I whip out the waistcoat for unsuspecting visitors to admire at every opportunity. And to any Savile Row tailors who might be interested in my boy's sewing skills, please form an orderly queue! x

Tie by Joe

Today I have another gent-in-a-tie combo on the blog and it's not even Christmas! Let me introduce you to my friend Joe Alessi - actor, bon viveur, devoted uncle and snappy dresser. I've known him since I was 16, which will be 30 YEARS AGO this year. god that makes me feel old! Anyway, here we are in about 1987, when oversized baggy T shirts were flavour of the month…. 

…and here we are during OWOP last year outside Liberty. Thankfully we've both scrubbed up a bit in the intervening years. 

When I posted about my tie making adventures at Christmas, Joe was super keen on the idea of making a tie himself, so last week he came over for a fabulous day of sewing. And cake eating. And visiting the allotment. And looking at old maps with Jon (what is it with men and maps?!) Amidst all this high octane excitement, we did eventually find some time for tie making and let me tell you, he's a natural!  I should point out that his dad was a tailor so it's in the blood, but still, he was fab.

Pinning the pattern to the fabric - note the sophisticated pattern weights

For fabric he chose a Liberty-esque floral lawn from Classic Textiles on the Goldhawk Road. The fabric is a lovely weight, with a bit of a silky hand to it, so perfect for a tie. In fact it's much better suited than the quilting cotton I used for Jon's tie, which looked bulky by comparison. For the pattern, we used Sew Over It's Tie Making Kit, with the following small changes:

Increased the length of the back tie piece and the back lining piece by 10cms. This matched the length of a RTW tie Joe had brought along for comparison. 

Decreased the width of the back neck section by about 5mm on either side, as it overlapped his shirt collar. Well, we drew the changes onto the pattern, but were too busy chatting to actually cut along the lines. Whoops! It's a change he can implement on his next tie in any case!

First seam!

Here it is later, all pressed and gorgeous

We'd ran out of domette, which is the special tie lining that comes with the kit, so improvised and used a double layer of cotton flannel instead. Personally, I think the flannel is an improvement as it's not quite as springy as the domette. Pressing the tie into shape around the lining is the only slightly tricky part of the whole proceedings. You've got to line it up perfectly in order to get that central line down the back of the tie. Look at that furrowed brow concentrating! If he was a toddler he'd have his tongue sticking out.

By the time Joe left, all he had to do at home was invisibly catchstitch the central back seam, which he did beautifully.

Look! A 'Tie by Joe' label.  I'm not going to lie, when he sent me the final photos of his tie, all perfectly stitched and labelled, I totally blubbed (it doesn't take much!) Just look at it though - it wouldn't look out of place in Liberty or Paul Smith, I'm so bloody proud of him! He's got fabric to make more ties and when he posted these photos on Twitter his friends were lining up to place orders! I'm not surprised, I think this is the start of a wonderful tie empire. Remember, you saw it here first!  x

Mr Dapper

Musings on exercise gear

I used to have a terrible habit of jumping straight onto the sewing band wagon. Whatever people happened to post on their blogs I immediately wanted one the same, even if I'd had no intention of making it previously. Shiny new patterns piled up in my shopping basket at an alarming rate. Over time I've learnt to temper this mad "gimme, gimme, gimme" attitude, but there are definite traces still lurking. A recent sewing category I was almost lured in by was sewing my own exercise gear.

Mr Bolt, even faster than the Bionic Man

As you probably know, Winnie from Scruffy Badger Time is a fine, accomplished runner. Running is a passion for her and a huge part of her life, so, quite rightly, she makes her own running kit. In true Badger style, her creations are brightly coloured and stylish, mostly using patterns from Fehr Trade (I think). After seeing her VNA Top in the summer I had the pattern in my shopping basket faster than the speed of light, finger hovering over the "Purchase" button. But for once, I hesitated, did I really want to devote my precious sewing time to making exercise gear? To answer that, I need to explain the role exercise plays in my life.

Until recently, it played no role whatsoever. Apart from a bit of sporadic hoola hooping, and going on walks with the family, I did no formal exercise at all. Why? Because I'm lazy of course, there's no point beating about the bush, I simply Couldn't. Be. Arsed. I'm also in the lucky position of being happy with the size I am - a slim(ish), medium-sized UK 12. The problem is, I'm also a middle aged woman (45 years of age and counting) and the sorry fact is that the older you get, the harder it is to stuff your face with pies and still remain the same size. Plus a close family member recently had a fatal heart attack, and the shock and heartbreak that followed his death was like nothing I've ever known. I needed to do some exercise, if nothing else, just to stay fit and healthy.

So for the past few months, I've been running twice, sometimes thrice, a week. Now there are two things you should know about me and running:

1. I'm rubbish at it, and although it is getting a bit easier, I'll never be able to run further than 5K.

2. I hate running. HATE. IT. I do it because it's fast, easy(ish) and free. I have the time and I have a park at the end of my road - that's all. 

In case you're wondering, that smile is forced.

But I started to think that because I run (ha!), I should also make my own gear. Currently I wear basic, black exercise gear from Marks and Spencer that fulfils its purpose masterfully. It's sort of flattering (as much as skin tight lycra can ever be), it's relatively cheap, it's black and it's anonymous. I know lots of people are driven to making their own running gear purely because they're fed up of only having boring black to choose from, but for me that's exactly what I want. I want to be anonymous and I certainly DON'T want to draw attention to myself. Plus, there's quite a skill involved in sewing your own stretch gear. There's a lot of negative ease to contend with and I just don't have those skills, I can't even make a decent pair of knickers for goodness sake. If I was making exercise gear I'd want it to look like this…

But I'm reasonably certain that any exercise gear I ever made would turn out like Mrs Overall's:

Sometimes you just have to accept when an area of sewing is not for you. And sewing exercise gear, swimsuits, knickers or anything of that ilk is just not for me.  The very rambling moral of my story is, just sew what makes you happy. Running doesn't really make me happy, it's a necessary evil, so I don't want to invest time and effort into sewing running gear. Sewing dresses makes me happy, sewing multiple versions of favourite patterns makes me happy and sewing quick, easy, flattering knits makes me happy. I'll carry on wearing my boring, black kit and leave the sewing of beautiful, stylish exercise gear to the true experts! 

So tell me, which sewing categories do you like or dislike sewing? I'm all ears! x

2014: the Year of More Dresses

Every year I seem to get more and more enamoured with dresses. For my New Year post last year, I had just one main resolution - to sew more dresses. I think I only actually managed to sew one more dress than the previous year, but the quantity doesn't interest me. The important thing is that I loved making them and loved wearing them throughout the year. So much so that I'm going to keep exactly the same resolution for 2014.  Is that boring? Yes. Do I care? No! I already have no fewer than four new dress patterns to tantalise me for the time being, one for every occasion...

The girly dress

After the success of my last Peony dress I'm hoping the Emery dress by Christine Haynes will produce a similar shape.  Ooh look, a bow! And a collar!!

The knit dress

The Penny Pinafore is a fab looking princess seamed knit dress and the second pattern release from Kitschy Coo. I've been living in knit dresses over Christmas so this will be a perfect new addition, maybe in a brightly coloured double knit?

The slinky party dress

There's hardly any occasion (actually change that to no occasion) where I would be required to wear a slinky party dress, but how can I not make the Georgia dress from By Hand London?!

The denim dress

I have a cunning plan to make a dress version of a pair of jeans, which for me would be a denim shirt dress. I can't believe I haven't made one already actually as I love shirt dresses and I love denim skirts. The combination of the two almost has me passing out with glee! McCall's 6696 is my pattern of choice.

So they're my first four dresses of the year, with many more to come I'm sure. As far as improving my dressmaking skills go, I have just the one thing on my list - master the full bust adjustment. Or to be more accurate, actually do a FBA, the only reason I haven't done one before now is pure laziness so there's no excuse really!

Sewing my own clothes really does keep me sane, so as long as I continue to sew clothes, enjoy making them and actually wear them, I'll be happy. If I manage to get to a few meet-ups with fellow stitchers in 2014, I'll be even happier!  Here's to a happy, healthy and successful sewing year to you all, wherever you are. Happy New Year! xx

Stretch denim Capri pants

Good afternoon. First off, the winner of the book giveaway is Clipped Curves - hoorah! Congratulations Clipped Curves, please email me your address and I'll get the book sent out to you. Thank you to everybody who entered and for all your summer reading suggestions.

Right, on with the sewing… When the latest Butterick patterns by Gertie were released, I pounced on this one (B5895) within seconds. A kimono sleeved, tie fronted blouse and sassy stretch Capri pants. Swoon.

Even the cover artwork looked good - I could quite happily have made all the variations on the front cover. I started with the trousers first though, as they looked like the easier make of the two. I used a lovely stretch indigo denim which I bought on a recent fabric buying trip to the Goldhawk Road with Tilly. Sometimes a fabric shopping buddy can really come in useful. I'd told Tilly what I had in mind whilst we were eating cakes and planning our strategy beforehand, she then firmly steered me away from a murky looking denim I was wavering over, straight to this one. It's perfect, just the right amount of stretch and a bargain too at £5 a metre. As it's wide, I only needed 1.5m, so £7.50 for these beauties. Not bad eh?!

I'd read in reviews that there's a lot of ease in the trousers, so I cut a size 12, even though the size 14 is probably nearer the truth. The reviewers were right - I still had to make quite a few adjustments to get the fit right and next time, I'll cut a size 10. As is my lazy way, I didn't make a muslin, but I was able to make all the adjustments on the go which was lucky. I took in quite a bit off the hips (they looked like jodphurs when I first tried them on), a bit from the inner thigh and reduced the front crotch curve all the way down. 

I left the back crotch curve exactly as it was and look at the result. This pattern was made for my backside!

The zip looks a bit lumpy - I promise it looks better in real life

Despite being figure hugging, they're surprisingly comfortable to wear (although not in the current heat), which must all be down to using stretch fabric. I love the retro feel of them too, it makes me feel like I should be hanging out at a soda fountain or playing a ukelele…. 

It's my son's - I can't play a note!

Next up I'm planning a turquoise gingham version of the blouse. Good job a bolt of turquoise gingham has recently landed on my door step then! I've actually made a tiny dent in my gingham mountain already. Look, gingham pockets! 

Beatrice from Butterflies and Hurricanes has just had exactly the same idea, even down to the pockets! And there was I thinking I was being original! I love her version though and I can't wait to get started on the matching blouse.

Right, off to jump in the back of a red Cadillac with some bad boys (as if!)  

Have a great weekend everybody and don't forget the sun cream. x

Handmade spring clean winners and a new sewing recruit

Thank you so much for your enthusiastic response to my last post, I was thrilled to see how many readers were interested in my handmade clothes. It's also really satisfying to know that all of my beloved items will be going to good homes, and won't have to end their days in a charity shop just yet.

So, without further ado, here are the winners….

The Sencha blouse goes to Stacey from a state of flux 

The Pendrell blouse goes to Rachel Holt

The Banksia top goes to Amy from Second Fiddle

The Socialite dress goes to Fiona Law 

The Sorbetto top goes to Rosie at Old Magnolia Tree 

Hoorah, please email me your addresses ladies and I'll get them out to you in the next few days.

In other news, I had the pleasure of helping my friend Diane on her road to sewing greatness this morning. She bought a sewing machine a year ago in a fit of enthusiasm, but has been too scared to use it. Spurred on by The Great British Sewing Bee and the desperate need to hem a pair of trousers, she brought her lovely, sparkly new machine round to my pad.  

Look - a straight line of sewing!

Together, we managed to thread the machine and she then practised sewing in straight lines. After a few minutes, she was sewing like the wind, an absolute natural, all she'd needed was somebody to explain the basics. 

I love this pic - sheer joy at the sight of her own stitches!

I know it's only baby steps at the moment, but I was over the moon to be able to help and I really hope this is the start of a whole new sewing chapter for her. She only lives a few doors away so she has a ready-made helper on tap (me) if she gets stuck.  Yay for sewing! x

A new coat for Raggy

WARNING: This post contains photos of rancid rags that some readers may find upsetting…

As you may, or may not know, my younger son - Charlie - is autistic. Bringing up a disabled child is challenging at the best of times, but especially when your child is upset and can't communicate to you what's wrong. Thanks to his amazing school, this has been getting easier and easier for Charlie as he gets older and acquires more language. But sometimes he just wants comfort and reassurance, and that's where Raggy comes in. Raggy is his comforter that he's had since he was born. My older son had one exactly the same and Charlie's Raggy was the 'spare' that his brother rejected. Raggy is like a wonder drug - he sleeps well at night with him beside him (a massive bonus for any parent, whether your child is autistic or not) and he just seems to calm him down and keep him happy, which for me, is the number one priority.

However, eight years of non-stop stroking against the face have taken their toll and Raggy has been in need of some serious repair work.

A few weeks ago, his face actually fell off (!) so he now sports a piece of cotton wrapped round his face with eyes drawn on. A bit like the disguise poor old John Merrick had to put on whenever he went out in public.  As you can imagine, washes are few and far between, so it got to the point where Raggy was actually becoming a health hazard. Measures had to be taken.

When he's fallen apart before, I've always sewn a flannel (face cloth) over the existing square, but these were gradually disintegrating. I need to actually remove the head and fit Raggy out with a complete new coat. I bought some lovely soft cotton flannel from the Goldhawk Road and used the edges of a face cloth to make the all important twiddly bits on the corners. I then temporarily wrapped the whole thing in the old rags, hoping that some of the old aroma would be picked up. Charlie is very sensitive to smell so this was an important point. We'd prepared Charlie by telling him Raggy was getting a new coat that day so we just had to keep our fingers crossed as to his reaction.

Behold! Raggy's new coat

He came home from school, went straight to the stairs where Raggy 'sleeps' during the day, picked him up and sniffed him suspiciously. Whilst Jon and I were oohing and ahhing about how fabulous and smart the new coat was, Charlie took himself off to a corner of the room. A few minutes later we observed him laying Raggy out carefully and whispering to him, "Hello Raggy, hello Raggy." He'd accepted him, THANK GOD! I didn't get any photos that day as Jon and I were too busy cracking open the champagne and giving each other high fives. But here he is today, with the King looking down on him from above.  Sometimes, I'm really grateful I can sew! x

Kid's Wash Bag Tutorial

Afternoon all.  Today I thought I'd share my tutorial for kid's wash bags with you. 

  

I've been selling these wash bags at craft fairs for the past six months and they've proved very popular, I think because they're small and cute!  Once you've cut the fabric out, they probably take no more than an hour to make, so they're relatively easy too.  Here goes...

You will need:

2 x outer fabric (quilting weight is good) each piece measuring 32cm long by 27cm wide

2 x waterproof fabric* each piece measuring the same size as above

1 x length of piping cord or similar, minimum 60cm long

*I get my waterproof fabric from here and it's always been good quality and good value.  I use white as it goes with everything but there are lots of other colours available.

1) Pin together one of the outer fabric pieces and one of the waterproof pieces, wrong sides together.  If you're not sure about the waterproof fabric, the right side is shiny and slippery and the wrong side is very slightly tacky.  Do the same with the remaining two pieces.

2) I make my wash bags using French seams so they're enclosed.  To do this, pin the two double sided pieces wrong sides together so you have the two waterproof layers facing each other and the two pieces of printed fabric on the outside.  Make two marks on one long side, one about 5cm from the top and one 1.5 cm from the top.

3) Using a narrow seam allowance (about the width of your presser foot is fine), start at one top corner and sew down that long edge, along the bottom edge and up the other side, stopping at the first mark.  Backstitch a few times. Continue from the 1.5cm mark to the top of the fabric, backstitching again. 

You should have a small gap of about 3.5cm at the top of one long side

4) Cut all threads and trim seam allowances right down.  Cut corners on a  diagonal.Turn the bag inside out and poke the bottom edges with a paintbrush or similar, so they're nice and pointy. Press (the waterproof fabric is fine to press on a low heat setting but if you're worried, use a cloth).

5) Now we're going to do exactly the same on the inside of the bag. 

Using a large enough seam allowance to encase the first seam, sew along the folded edges of the fabric, starting and finishing at the same places.  That's your French seam!

Look, no unfinished seams wafting about

6) Now the next bit looks a bit unorthodox, but it will really help when you come to thread the cord through.  Trim the two top edge seams down to where the line of sewing starts again.

7) Press under 1.5cm of the top raw edge all the way around. 

Top edge (about 1.5cm) folded over and pressed

8) Then press under the remaining 3.5cm.

Top edge hem

You should now have a nifty little hole for your cord.

9) If you want to add your own label, now is a good time so that the stitching doesn't show through on the outside.  Unfold the top hem and sew on your label about midway across.

10) Fold under again and sew all the way around the top edge, starting and finishing at the hole you've created.  Backstitch a few times by the entry hole for extra strength.  Press.

Now for the fun part.... 

11) Piping cord tends to unravel at the ends so I wrap a small bit of sellotape to each end to stop this.  Secure a safety pin to one end of the cord and feed through the hole until it emerges at the other end. 

Ensure both ends are of equal length then tie a knot near the cord ends.  And that's it!  You have yourself a very professional looking waterproof wash bag. 

Obviously play with size if you want it to hold more or want to make one for adults.  Or you could substitute the waterproof fabric for cotton to make a handy little drawstring bag (endlessly useful). The size in this tutorial is roomy enough for a child's toothbrush, toothpaste and flannel. 

If you're making one with a baby in mind then it's also the right size to hold a couple of nappies and a pack of wipes.

I hope this tutorial is useful, if anything doesn't make sense, please shout.  And if anybody makes one, I'd love it if you sent me a link.  x