Serious Sewing Bug

Scientific Seamstress, Sis Boom, Carolina Mae from Etsy.  Blue fabric was a charity shop find, yellow was bought for Miss Belle a couple of years ago but I stole it, hence only 2m and a bit too short!

Half a Merchant and Mills Dress Shirt, always check you have enough fabric before you start!

Feeling a bit 'Home Ec'!

Lovely Liberty birdies.

Merchant & Mills Dress Shirt

Dress Shirt toile made from a vintage curtain, about 70 years old

 and a pure Irish linen tablecloth probably 60 years old.

I made it a bit shorter, did an inverted pleat after reading other makers blog posts

 and I changed the cuffs - like Japanese Stylish Dress Book V - because the fabric was so soft.

I can cut into my new fabric now although I think I'll be wearing this anyway, 

it feels so comfy and soft because of the years of laundering and wear.

I may have to do something with the blank space baby!

Stylish Dress Book and Merchant & Mills

Time off for good behaviour and I came up with this from the Stylish Dress Book, dress V.
Think more uber-cool Japanese style and less maternity.

Liberty needlecord with 50 year old linen and some vintage buttons that I've been dying to use.

The only mods are that I shortened it.

Good Friday is do what you like day in our house so I've started on Merchant & Mills Dress Shirt.

I'm just using an old curtain for the test run.

Found in my button box, the accumulation of many other people's button tins from charity shops etc, St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes.

I had just shrunk my favourite hand knit sweater!

Jan's Back!

Jan had to go in for a service and I had to call in the reserves - Bernina,

 she was alright but I was glad to have Jan back and zipping through a load of up-cycled sofa leather. Leather is very easy to work with you just need a leather needle and a long stitch,  

like felt it's easy to cut and no fraying.

This batch has already gone out to a little place I sell through.

I also had some brown sofa leather that made great zipped pouches.

  They used to be couch potatoes but they've changed!

Up-cycled suede from skirts so very soft and supple with three tone zips.

One of my greatest achievements in life is mastering zips - really - I like to play around with mixing up the colours, because I can, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!

Up-cyled tweed jackets, sofas, handbags and skirts.