PatsyPoo Makes

I have something different to share today and I'm very excited about it: my first proper embroidery project. I did a bit of cross stitching when I was young and I have attempted hand embroidery in the past. But I've never finished anything other than a few cross stitch accents on tea towels - which I never use because I don't want to ruin them! 😂 I've always found embroidery beautiful but, for some reason, it just never grabbed me, even though I've tried to get into it numerous times. Last year I even bought a couple of kits from  Oh Sew Bootiful . I started their beginner sampler earlier this year but it remained unfinished. Until this week! A few weeks ago, my best friend - who could never be arsed with any craft  has never been crafty, despite her mum being an amazing crocheter and the one who taught me how to crochet - has really gotten into hand embroidery. She's sent me photos of her projects, posted stuff online and I decided I wanted to have a g...

I think I've just made myself the cosiest thing ever! It's a  Nora top  by Tilly and the Buttons and I want to live in it. I made the long sleeve, high neck, stepped hem version and it's quite possibly the quickest thing I've ever made. It came together in just a couple of hours one morning - and that's accounting for one or two stupid mistakes... Perfect beginner pattern. As usual, I made the size 3 without any alterations. For next time, I might try to narrow the sleeves a little towards the wrists. Mostly due to the incredibly boring reason that I've struggled to keep the sleeves dry while washing up if I'm wearing this. 😂 I know, the adrenaline is off the charts. I might also turn the deep cuff hem into cuff bands instead but this is just because I prefer the way that looks. The fabric I used is this  tubular organic interlock  from Fabworks. As the name suggests, it does come as a tube. Very hand for cutting stuff on the fold on both sides....

I first tried the  Blackwood Cardigan  at the end of last year. I made 2 back to back and I wear them ALL. THE TIME. I love them. They're smart but super comfortable and I need one in every colour. However, my sewing hiatus happened and plans to make more were postponed.  Cut to the hottest summer I've ever had in this country and long sleeved, cosy cardigans were the furthest thing from my mind. Until last week.

Here's one I made earlier. A lot earlier.  I took a long and unintentional break from sewing at the end of 2017. From just before Christmas until the beginning of April I sewed precisely nothing. Then, I decided to help this gorgeous piece of cotton lawn in fulfilling its destiny.

After I made my first  Stevie , I knew I'd want a few more in my life. I wanted to use one of the fabrics I brought with me from our summer holiday but I didn't have enough of it; so I moved on to something else until I settled on a different fabric.  On one of my recent trips to  Fabricate , I came across this gorgeous  Dashwood Studio  cotton and I knew straight away that I would turn it into a Stevie. The problem was, instead of trusting my previous version and the pattern itself, for some unfathomable reason I thought I would go down a size. Sure enough, it was preeeeeetty tight around the bust/underarm area and a bit restrictive. I was so miffed. Luckily, it fit my daughter perfectly so on it went into her wardrobe. All is well and good and far as wasted time and effort go, but my wardrobe is still short one gorgeous Stevie of dreams, ins't it? So what's a girl to do? Why, trek all the way up to Fabricate again, buy the fabric again, print the PD...

I'm not one to follow trends. I don't pay attention to them and I am blissfully unaware of what is being sold in the shops from one season to the next. I have nothing against them, it's just not something I care about. I've always opted for classic shapes and styles that I know I'll be able to wear over and over.  Certain trends are hard to ignore though. Like dungarees, for example. When the Cleo  came out last year, it seemed to open the dungarees/pinafore floodgates. Suddenly, everyone was releasing patterns for them. I was convinced they were absolutely not for me. I'm almost 40 years old, for crying out loud! I can't pull that off. Can I? 🙊 However, while I was at the  Handmade Fair  in September, I saw  Louise  wearing the most beautiful Cleo! I don't know if it was the fabric she chose or the way she'd styled it, but something clicked in my brain and I knew I had to make one for myself as soon as I could. And so I did.

I love a wide leg trouser. For quite a few months now I've been looking for the perfect pattern to bring to life the perfect trousers I dreamed up. I've bought a few and tried the Landers  and Butterick 6183, not once but twice . Although I like those, they're not exactly what I had in mind. I wanted similar pleats to those on the  Sew Over It Carrie Trousers  but floatier and wider on the legs. Enter Simplicity 8092, the loose trousers of my dreams!