Make it: Fabric Weights

Ever since seeing Matt use Fabric weights in the Great British Sewing Bee last year, I have been meaning to make some for an upcoming project using silk.  I don't want to pin the pattern on you see, as I am worried that I will get holes in it and so I thought what better time to actually make these weights!  This version uses the very humble washer as a starting point.

You will need:  Washers with a hole in them (I got mine from Robert Dyas, but Homebase and B&Q etc also have them), fabric scissors, Strong Glue (I used Gutterman HT2), Fabric.

I found choosing my fabric the hardest part to this project!  So many different fabrics, so little time as they say.  I went with something with a small print that I could rip, as I quite like the effect it has on the weights.

Firstly you need to rip strips up of your fabric, I made mine roughly about the length of a fat quarter which I thought I needed to wrap the whole thing in one go and it worked!  But you can always add extra lengths if it doesn't quite go all the way around.

Then pop some glue on one of the washers and press the end of your strip down.  I chose to put 2 washers together for these weights so that it gives them a bit more substance to hold down my pattern.

Now, its a case of wrapping the fabric through the hole and around the edge of the washers, going all the way around as to cover the washer.  I added a blob of glue every now and again so that it doesn't unravel on me.

Once you have wrapped all the way around your washer, just glue down the last bit and cut off any excess, so that it sits neatly on the flat edge of the washer.

Now you are ready to use your weights to keep your pattern on top of your fabric, so that you don't have to use pins all the time.

I love these weights, they will come in very handy for pattern cutting and also currently keep all my paperwork down on my desk for the windows all open in this nice weather!

H

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Makers Month: Learn to Sew with Lauren

If you remember back to the first season of The Sewing Bee you will have fond memories of runner-up and our favourite finalist Lauren. As well as running her gorgeous shop Guthri & Ghani in Birmingham she has gone and joined the world of crafting gurus and written a book. So you can imagine when we were asked to review 'Learn to Sew with Lauren' we jumped at the chance.

Sammy: The images are lovely, I thought it was a shame we didn't see more of Lauren as the book goes on but the photographs are beautifully styled. I also loved the illustrations in the tutorials as it takes you through the steps of each project. 

H: I love the full sized patterns, nothing more frustrating than having to go and get patterns scaled up at the copy shop before you start a project. The basic tutorials at the front of the book help you to learn how to use them and has some great tips for using regular dress patterns too.

Sammy: The amount of books that don't give detailed instructions of what you will need to create their projects always surprises me, so I was happy to see that Lauren's gave great details of how much fabric to buy as well as all the notions needed for each project and tips for which techniques would be best to practice before hand. Genius!

H: There is a nice mix of household and clothes projects, so gives a good variety of things to make for yourself or to give as gifts.

Sammy: I enjoyed the 'Other Variation Ideas' at the end of each project giving you inspiration to make the projects over and over.

H: There are some good techniques at the front of the book, then onto some lovely projects.  It is nice that it gives you a great starting point with simpler projects and then moving onto ones that get more challenging as the book goes on.

H: I also loved the 'tips for practising' that Sammy mentioned, I thought it was a great way to encourage people to try out the techniques you need to perfect before diving straight into the main project. I often think that that is where people who are new to sewing fall down and get frustrated because they try to attempt projects before practising the techniques needed.

Sammy: I loved that the projects, even the simple ones, used techniques that are practical and could be used to further your sewing education. The shapes and styles are classic so will stand the test of time.

Over all we really enjoyed Lauren's take on learning to sew, her projects are classic but with the lovely 'Lauren' twist that we got a glimpse of on the Sewing Bee. We both found the book quite wordy. It is a sit down and plan book, rather than a flick though and pick a project book. That is what we both liked about it though. A lot of sewing books skip past the technique and never refer back to them, Lauren encourages you to practice the basic steps you will need before diving right in.  The styling and layout of the book is attractive, the patterns are great quality and stored neatly in plastic folders in the front and back of the book.

Over all if you are looking to pick up something for a Sewing Bee fan or are a sewing newbie yourself, Lauren's book is a perfect choice.

You can get a real incite into what it was like for Lauren writing the book on her blog over at the Guthrie and Ghani site. And if you are in the area on Saturday and fancy picking up a signed copy head over to Lauren's site to find out more about her launch party at her shop Guthrie and Ghani.

Have you bought Lauren's book? What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments below.

H and Sammy xxx

 Live, Love, Make, Like, Share, Follow, Tweet, Pin, Add, Enjoy. 

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Love it: Sew Crafty Window Display Special

Last week I was invited by the Manager of the Nicholson's Shopping Centre in Maidenhead, to discuss a proposal she had for me. Intrigued, I went along to the meeting where she offered me the chance to use one of the empty shop units for a Great British Sewing Bee inspired display, to help advertise my shop. You may remember when we first took over Sew Crafty (Orxiom fabrics as it was then) we were residents of the centre. Lots of people to this day still ask if we are the shop that used to be there. Anyway, of course I jumped at the chance, Mostly because I love window dressing, I'm sure I get this from my Dad, as he used to fit window displays in Harrod's when he was a teenager. Also because as much as I love our window at work, it has its limitations, it was so fun to be let loose in a new, empty space.

I spent the week collecting together props and making examples to use in the display to best show off our products and on Friday my Dad and I spent the whole afternoon in Unit 27 setting up our display.

Here is what the unit looked like before, displaying some of Teresa Mills lovely mosaics. You can see that the window is spilt into four sections separated by a door.

We used the two smaller sections to display costume ideas as we sell a lot of fabrics and accessories for making costumes. When the schools have Book week our shop is a busy place, we love helping parents out with costumes for their kids to play dress up! We have put a poster in a fabric covered frame to tell people where to come to get all their sewing goodies.

 The other two windows we dedicated to more traditional sewing fayre. We used the top window as a dream sewing table of sorts, with a mood board, a sewing machine and supplies, books, trimmings and yarns. The bottom window we used as more of a display space showing off some pieces we made from the show and some customising ideas.

We tried to use a mix of our products with some from mine and my mums collections, like you would have at home.

A glass dish with new and vintage buttons in front of a collection of Cloth magazines. The Sewing Bee book is on display surrounded by ribbons, fabrics and My Tilda bunny.

I set up a little design station too with a sketch book and samples in front of our mood board, which is brimming with cuttings and ideas from Company and  Cloth magazine.

I was really pleased with the end result, it looks like a work space any respectful sewer would be proud of. Hopefully it will inspire a few people to take the short walk down to our end of the High Street and pay us a visit.

This is the pretty little sheared dress my Mum made, the same as the one they made on episode 3 of the Sewing Bee. The Sewing machine is on loan from the lovely Anna (aka Thumbelina design) and the mug is mine that I use at work that was a gift from my friend Claire for my birthday, I'm missing it already!

Hope you enjoyed that little peek at our display, if you want to come down and take a look for yourself it's in Unit 27, opposite Iceland in the Nicholson's Shopping Centre, Maidenhead until the 29th of June. Whilst you here, you can pop down and see us at Sew Crafty (3 High Street, Maidenhead) at the same time!

Sammy xxx

Book Review: The Great British Sewing Bee

Are you ready for the new BBC show that will have you glued to your TV??

From the people that brought you The Great British Bake Off, tonight the debut of The Great British Sewing Bee will be at 8pm on BBC2 here in the UK.

The first of the four episodes shows the Contestants make an A-line dress, alter a top and create a made-to-measure dress.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of the book from a friend of mine and have been looking over it for a couple of weeks.  It is available now from most book shops (We have a few copies at Sew Crafty) and on Amazon.

This book is Gorgeous! Underneath the dust-cover it has a hard cover reminiscent of some of the vintage sewing guides that my mum has in her collection. It is filled with beautiful photographs and jam packed with great sewing tips and tricks.

There are 28 projects to have a go at with varying degrees of difficulty. Each one is well described and illustrated. 18 dressmaking projects and 10 homeware projects give the book a nice balance. The projects are well executed and as I said, beautifully photographed.

Aside from projects, it has a few historical insights including the origin of the term 'Sewing Bee', there's a great section on tools and stocking your sewing box too.

There is also a great section on choosing the right fabrics for your projects, I always find these sections a little difficult to read, as a person who sells fabric for a living, but for the first time in a long time, I agreed with their advice and it seemed a pretty comprehensive list. I also really liked their section on understanding a pattern, again they covered all the basics that we try and help our 'new to patterns' customers with at Sew Crafty.

The basic tutorials for techniques like invisible zips and making bias binding are clear, well photographed and easy to follow.

As an experienced sewer I found myself itching to get my sewing machine out! It was inspiring and well presented, with a lot of really useful information, quite a rarity in the craft book market. The projects are achievable and the fabrics they have chosen to use for the photographs for each project are all really pretty, the apricot polka dot (crepe de chine?) fabric they have used for the Tea dress is just yummy!

You can tell that Tessa Evelegh (the Author) loves her subject matter, she writes in such a way that engages a new sewer, without patronising an experienced sewer like myself. It is straight forward without being too simple, not missing any detail out. This book is as good for those starting out as it is for those wanting to improve their craft. It's been a while since I have picked up a craft book that made me mark pages in priority order of which project to do first!

I am really looking forward to seeing which of the projects they have to tackle in the show. 

We have been aware of this show since the call for contestants went out last Summer and been waiting eagerly in anticipation since then to see what the show was going to be like. When Claudia Winkleman was announced as the host I was jumping up and down (massive girl crush). It made me wish I had had the courage to go up for the show myself! (season 2...maybe?)

A show like this for me and the industry that I work in and love is untold as yet, but as far as I am concerned it can only be a good thing. To heighten the image of Sewing and to let people into the secret joy that sewing, dressmaking in particular can be is just wonderful.  I am glad that the BBC saw the potential in a 'sewing version' of the Bake Off and let the formula that worked so well for that show influence this one. I can only hope that what people saw in that show they see in this, that sewing is not just about making things cheaper than in the shops, but that making something with your own two hands that is unique to you is special.

When reading this article about the show on the Daily Mail Website I found this quote from one of the shows judges, the yummy Patrick Grant:

‘There are certain things in life that are inalienable facts: we need to eat and society dictates that we have to wear clothes every day,’ says Patrick. ‘Most people can manage some kind of cooking, but the fact that nobody knows how to make clothes is very sad.

‘Human beings naturally enjoy the process of making things. There’s a creative gene in all of us, whether it’s for baking or sewing or something else. When we’re children we make things all the time, but when we become adults we spend most of our time on a computer.

‘It would be nice to think people could get back into the skill of sewing; it’s not just about making new things, but also reinventing old ones. All you need is a bit of enthusiasm and someone to show you how to do it.’ 

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Sammy xxx