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Showing posts from August, 2019

So long, Blogspot. Hello, Wordpress!

I've been wanting to move my blog away from Blogspot for a while but could never be bothered to actually do it. This week was the tipping point though, and I've now fully migrated over to  https://patsypoomakes.wordpress.com/ . The blogspot address will remain here but all new posts will only appear at  https://patsypoomakes.wordpress.com/ .  There are lots of reasons for the move but my biggest one is how hard Blogger has made it for people to subscribe to receive new posts via email. It's such a basic requirement but apparently, they think it's too much to offer.  I'm basing this purely on how I myself prefer to consume this stuff. I can't be arsed with feed readers anymore and emails are easy and convenient. When I receive one, if I fancy reading it, I will click through to it and, if not, I'll just delete it. Another reason is the spat between Google (owners of Blogger) and Instagram/Facebook/Meta. I don't even know if this is still the case anymore ...

{True Bias} Shelby playsuit

When the True Bias  Shelby  launched a few months ago, I bought the pattern on the day. I absolutely loved everything about it and couldn't wait to get it made. Having been a teenager in the 90s, I have great memories of that time period and my playlists are largely populated by the hits of that decade. The Shelby is a huge throw back to that and I love it for it.  The pattern has short and maxi lengths, jumpsuit or dress options and also 2 types of sleeves: regular or cap. I made the playsuit/romper version with cap sleeves. My bust measurement (33.5in/85cm) put me in between sizes 2 and 4 so I went with 4. My waist and hips would have comfortably fitted into the 2 but I didn't want to risk the sleeves being tight. I was a rebel and went straight in without making a toile first, so I wanted all the insurance I could get. Minus the toile. I know. 🙄😆 I made the playsuit out of 2m of fabric - pattern calls for 2.3m. I had nothing left but didn't have to struggle ...

{Sew Liberated} Estuary skirt

A couple of months ago I was contacted by Jen from  Sew by the Sea  in Margate. She asked if I was interested in working with one of her fabrics and then sharing a post about my experience. Not being one to say no to gorgeous fabric I agreed and off I went to their website to pick something. I hadn't decided what I wanted to make yet and they have a great choice of fabrics, so it took me a while. When I saw this  Pink Floral Ravishing Rayon  by Dashwood Studio, I thought I would probably come back to it in the end. And I did. I'm a huge lover of coral. Unlike most people, I really like grey. And yellow is another favourite of mine. How could I not? I went backwards and forwards on my pattern choice for a long time. This post is actually more delayed than I would've liked, due to summer holiday disruptions. However, that turned out to be a blessing because the pattern I ultimately went with was released while we were away. I chose the newly-released  ...

{Closet Case Patterns} Mini linen Kalle

I've already told you about my first Kalle dress here  but this version is different enough that I thought it warranted its own blog post. It took me ages to make one Kalle; now I've made 2 and I can see that this may well become a trusty old favourite. My inspiration came from  this post  by  Jaclyn  on Instagram. I have wanted a candy-striped shirt for EVER and I loved Jaclyn's take on it. Quite by chance, I had only just bought  this linen on the Lamazi fabrics website and a lightbulb went off. I bought a 1.3m remnant but they have restocked it now. Man, how I love sewing linen! Ugh, it's like a very polite and well behaved child: it does EXACTLY what you tell it to! What's not to love? And wearing it is even better. This whole outfit is linen and I want to wear it everyday, for the rest of my life. Please and thank you. I know I've already made the dress version but this is quite different in a lot of ways so I will go into more detail than I n...

{True Bias} Southport maxi dress

I fell in love with and bought this fabric about a year ago. I couldn't figure out what to make with it for ages. The scale of the print is fairly large and I didn't want to break it up too much. I thought about a lot of patterns but none of them seemed right. Then, I stumbled on the Southport  by True Bias. Perfectly summery, maxi length option but way more fabric needed than what I actually had: 2m and a directional print! I know, I know. One day I will learn to just buy more but I love a good game of fabric Tetris. I couldn't make it fit as it was. But, by losing 1 inch off the skirt, I managed to get it all cut out.  It's a cotton lawn from Lady McElroy that I bought from  Sew Me Sunshine  ages ago. She no longer has it in stock unfortunately, but I'm sure it's still around. This is my second Southport. I made a straight size 4 and there are no alterations other than the shorter length of the skirt. The drawstring waist makes it easy to fit and st...

{Chalk & Notch} Fringe dress

If you've been coming here for a while you will know I'm always behind when it comes to popular patterns. What can I say? I ain't no sheep. 🐑  However, I started noticing the  Chalk & Notch Fringe Dress  when  Harriet posted this dress on Instagram a couple of weeks ago. She followed it with  another one , just as cute. Then I realised that this beauty  from  Vicky  was also the same pattern and I had to take notice. Not only that, I managed to make a flying visit to  Like Sew Amazing  last week, on our way back from Cornwall, and Sarah was talking about how lovely the pattern is and suggested it for a fabric I bought from her. That was it. I had to make it. I had spotted the fabric on the Lamazi Fabrics page  roughly at the same time as my friend Mel . I loved the pink and chartreuse splodges on the olive green background. Such a striking fabric. She bought it straight away and I didn't. Then she made her dress and I ...