Stitch Sessions

October 16, 2021January 25, 2023

All Wrapped Up with McCall’s 8035

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a chair in front of a white wall. They are wearing a black, wrap-front dress that has balloon sleeves, an elastic waist, and very bright floral pattern. They are holding the edges of the chair.

Hello friends! These latest makes are something a little bit different for me because I didn’t begin with the pattern and take inspiration from there. Instead I sought out a pattern to make a version of a dress I saw someone else wearing and which I couldn’t stop thinking about. A dress which, in turn, had quite strong 1970’s design aspects to it! This is quite an unusual decade for me as I don’t tend to like a lot of the common design elements that pop up in sewing patterns from the time. However, the shape of the original dress, the bell sleeves and the higher waistline of the wrap-front bodice all struck me as going together so very well that I couldn’t get it out of my mind. After much scouring of the internet I was able to secure a copy of McCall’s 8035 on Etsy, and I knew this would be the perfect leaping off point.

October 1, 2021January 25, 2023

Rompers, Dresses and Shorts – Oh My! With McCalls 7626

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands in front of a concrete wall. They are wearing a black corduroy romper with a long-sleeve brown and white shirt. They have one hand on their hip.

Hello friends. Since I took a big sewing break some months back, it occurred to me that I was happier whenever I got quite thorough use out of each pattern rather than making a single item and moving on. Part of that constant desire to move on was that I would get bored, doing the same thing repeatedly, but it was also certainly driven by a desire to consume the same way I saw others doing, churning out garments like there was no tomorrow. So as a result, I have put into practice a new method for securing second-hand patterns, where I don’t make a purchase unless that particular pattern haunts me and won’t leave my thoughts. I’d also like to use patterns that have different options on how I can construct them, and what I can do with them. This pattern for McCalls 7626 was the first to tick all those boxes, and although it was a little outside what I’m comfortable paying for a pattern cost-wise, I did end up getting quite a lot of value out of it.

August 3, 2021January 25, 2023

The Adrienne Blouse

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands against a concrete wall. They are wearing a light brown shirt with puffy sleeves, and a triangular print. They are also wearing blue jeans and have their hands in their pockets.

Hello friends! After a tumultuous couple of months where I have been more focused on work and things outside the creative sphere, I ended up deciding to take a several week break from sewing to get a complete refresh. I had also been through some sewing disasters that made me feel like I was turning something fun into a chore that I was required to do to uphold a schedule, and that was something I wanted to change. I went through all the sewing patterns I owned, sorted what little fabric I had, and got a friend to help me take new measurements from the waist down. With that in mind, after the break I decided to come back to a particular pattern that I knew I had the fabric and supplies for, and which I had been quite keen to make even before I got into stretch fabric: The Adrienne Blouse by the Friday Pattern Company.

May 29, 2021January 25, 2023

Making a dress with Simplicity 3301

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a wooden bench in front of a concrete wall. They are wearing a blue and white striped dress with a white puritan collar, a white belt, and big white ricrac on the pockets. They are holding the edge of the bench.

Hello friends! I have become enamored with the idea of challenging myself to create more professional, neater looking garments in recent times. I want to be able to look at these pieces and feel pride in the care I have shown at each step. And while this does significantly increase the time that I spend on each garment I think it has been well worth it, as this version of Simplicity 3301 shows. I thrill each time I look at the neatness of the buttons and buttonholes, and I am so delighted that all the tweaks I made to the fit – and all the unpicking that went into that, have come together to make something so delightful to wear. Even if I finished it somewhat too late to thoroughly enjoy it before it turned too cold.

May 1, 2021January 25, 2023

Getting Cosy with the Enid Sweater

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a wooden bench in front of a concrete wall. They are holding the edge of the bench. They are wearing a blue V-neck sweatshirt, patterned with forest animals, and blue sweatpants.

Hello friends! It’s well into Autumn here now. The leaves are changing into glorious shades of red, gold and brown, and the dark is coming on a lot sooner. With that comes the kind of cold that makes me long for casseroles, soup, doonas and cosy sweaters and socks. So it also seemed like a fitting time to work on a new genre of patterns, using fabric that I’m not all that familiar with – like The Enid Sweater, by Jennifer Lauren Handmade. I purchased the PDF pattern on Etsy as I was intrigued by the promise of a simple construction method, and a vintage look with the V-neck collar. I had some secondhand fleece on hand, and some matching ribbing also purchased secondhand, so it seemed serendipitous.

April 3, 2021January 26, 2023

Overalls and Culottes with Simplicity 3866

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands in front of a wooden bench and concrete wall. They are on a slight angle to the camera, with legs crossed, and one hand in their pocket. They are wearing a brown shirt, and white culottes with floral patterning.

Hello!

Although I’m excited about all the things I sew, this pattern of the month is something of a special piece. Not because of the base pattern itself – although Simplicity 3866 circa 1961 is wonderful, but rather because of the fabric I had planned to use. This fun and comfortable summer piece came about because I had stumbled over a single curtain at the Op Shops which came from IKEA, and which happened to match two cushions I have in the house! The thought of matching the furniture had me in stitches, and I knew that if I was careful with the unpicking I could get quite a lot of fabric out of this.

March 2, 2021January 26, 2023

Making 1950’s Playsuits with McCalls 3616!

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands in front of a wooden bench and concrete wall. They are wearing a cactus print playsuit over a white, collared blouse with short sleeves. They have one hand on their hip.

Hello friends! It’s true that I am excited about each pattern of the month and can’t wait to share what I’ve learned while making them, but this particular pattern holds special meaning for me. I have a love of all things overall, romper, jumpsuit and playsuit – which I think comes as no surprise, and it’s been on my sewing bucket list for quite a long time now that I wanted to make some vintage playsuits which would be tailored to me. No cramped crotch, no awkward tightness about the thighs, and I would make them in fabric which doesn’t bother the skin! But patterns of even roughly my size range were either thin on the ground, or would cost so much it honestly wasn’t within my budget to buy them. This was where the miraculous find of McCall’s 3616, a circa 1956 bathing suit pattern, in PDF format by The Vintage Sewing Pattern Company came to my rescue! I purchased it on their Etsy website, after first checking there was some kind of scale marker to help me keep printing accurate.

February 1, 2021January 26, 2023

Wardrobe Basics with the Anything but Basic Tee

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a wooden bench in front of a concrete wall. They are wearing a high-neck T-shirt in brown fabric with a triangular print. They are also wearing green, highwaisted corduroy shorts.

Hello friends! The New Year is a time for change and fresh opportunities. From what I’ve seen a lot of other sewists are using this time to set new sewing goals, or pick their patterns for the months to come. I’m doing something similar by continuing the theme of pattern of the month, but adding in a seasonal flavour whereby I’ll be picking holes in my wardrobe each season and sewing for those! And since it’s now so hot and I’m disinclined to pull on a button-up blouse, I knew I had to make some basic T-shirts. I managed to find some stretch fabric on sale and once again sat down to learn more about this kind of sewing, using the the Anything but Basic Tee pattern.

January 1, 2021January 26, 2023

Classic Peasant Blouses with Style 1524

Nell, a Caucasian person, sits on a wooden bench in front of a concrete wall. They are wearing a white peasant blouse with a blue space-themed print, and a blue denim skirt. Their hands are folded on their lap.

Hello friends, and welcome to the New Year!

I had originally intended for my pattern of the month to be another exploration of bottoms, with a view to making some overalls for summer. In particular I was very keen on giving the Jenny Overalls, by Closest Core Patterns, another go. I had first tried the pattern quite awhile ago before I truly understood how to grade and tweak and fit trousers, and at the time attempted a record number of muslins before giving up. I tried the pattern once again, and – after so many alterations it was no longer particularly recognisable compared to the original, I still couldn’t quite get the fit I wanted. I decided that rather than settle for something not quite as good as my previous makes, I would finally allow this pattern to be removed from my stash and attempt something else.

November 28, 2020January 26, 2023

Jumpsuits and Pattern Hacking – Simplicity 6926 + The Tania Culottes and Vogue 7583

Nell, a Caucasian person, stands in front of a wooden bench and concrete wall. They are wearing a blue floral jumpsuit, and have pulled the legs apart to show the split.

Hello friends! I am so excited about this month’s blog post as it signals a change in the way that I am approaching sewing and sharing my makes on Ye Olde Internete. I recently made the decision to move to a monthly posting format on both Instagram and my blog, as I realised that this would suit me so much better and give me more space to thoroughly test each pattern. So each month I will be focusing on one particular pattern and testing a few different variations of it, depending on what I’m inspired to make with the fabric I have in my stash. However, this change was largely inspired by the fitting adventures I embarked on with the bodice of Simplicity 6926 – a vintage dress pattern circa 1975, which I picked up second-hand. It was a thoroughly enjoyable challenge and I learned so much from the process that it inspired this series, as well as my first ever video tutorial which you will find below!