Sewing Tips, Tutorials, Projects and Events

We can hardly believe it, but this month we celebrate 15 years of Sew Essential! From a kitchen table start up by our very own Mother Son partnership, Angela and Ed, we have certainly come a long way. As a thank you to our valued customers we're running a prize draw where you can win a whopping £730 worth of sewing goodies, including an M50 QDC Janome sewing machine. Read on to find out how you can be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize.

If you're going to the trouble of making a garment it's worth taking the time to achieve a good fit from your sewing pattern. One of the key areas of focus is the bust and by learning a few simple sewing pattern adjustments it is easier than you might think. In this week's video I show you how to raise or lower a bust dart and explain why you might want to do this.

I honestly think this Seren sundress by Tilly and the Buttons in our cotton lawn fabric is my all time favourite summer dress. Multiple views, a definite retro vibe and a fit that feels elegant yet totally wearable it is a wardrobe winner.

It's time to get excited about fabrics this week - I have some real beauties to show you in this month's fabric haul. In fact I love them so much I've sewn two of them up into gorgeous dresses already with a third washed and ready to cut out.

It has taken a while, but I've had some more wardrobe rut realisations. Sewing this cheetah print skirt and simple Lark Tshirt were part of an ongoing campaign to snap out of it! Both nice, simple sews and very comfortable and easy to wear, in fact this was probably my most worn outfit during #MeMadeMay.

This week on the vlog I show you how to make a small bust adjustment to your sewing patterns. The basic principles are the same for a full bust adjustment so it is useful for anyone with those issues too.

Up until I sewed Simplicity 8606 last year I'd never owned a wrap dress. Crazy I know. It has become a firm favourite in my wardrobe so I decided to sew another one, this time I opted for Simplicity 8735. I was intrigued to work with a sewing pattern with cup sizes and thought the princess seams were a nice touch on a wrap dress too. This project was a little piece of heaven.

This week on the vlog we hosted a Q&A session with our wonderful followers and customers. It was your chance to tell us what you'd really like to know - here's a round up of the questions and answers. Thanks for taking part everyone and if you'd like to take part in a future session just leave your questions in the comments of the YouTube video this time. Continue reading →

This week on the vlog I'm sharing some of my favourite woven summer fabrics. Beautiful viscose prints and crepe plus ideas for patterns you can pair them with. We also have a stack of new fabrics ready to go on the site too and I'll be sharing the love with those in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

I honestly don't think I've ever owned a circle skirt. Seriously I cannot remember ever having one, even as a child. Whilst in my 'I'm so busy with very little time for sewing phase' I thought it was the perfect time to try one out. I'm pleased to report I love it. I mean seriously why did this take me so long?