Sew Essential Blog

Any of you who watch our vlog will know I have some serious love for this white floral scuba fabric. I sourced it way back in February and was instantly dreaming of the perfect summer dress. I had a few other projects to finish before I could get stuck in.

Although I was dying to get started I'm glad I waited. Allowing myself time to think meant I found the perfect pattern pairing. So much so I am definitely making it again in this ponte jersey fabric we added to the website recently.

I try and keep you posted with new fabrics when they arrive so I thought it would be nice to talk to you about a couple of new sewing pattern ranges we have in stock. I also picked out my favourites from the new season McCalls, Simplicity, Vogue and New Look patterns. Of course there is some fabric to drool over too!

'It is all in the pressing' was the first piece of sewing advice Angela ever gave me. She explained you should spend almost as much time pressing as sewing if you want to achieve a truly professional finish on your handmade garments. Ignore this advice and an incredibly well made item of clothing could still look, well, very handmade. In this article we share Angela's top tips to press like a pro. Continue reading →

If you follow our blog you will know I need more casual day dresses in my life. Whatever the weather I'm bored of trousers and am working to redress my jeans overload. It is quite a mammoth task - I don't even have a simple T shirt dress. I mean, seriously, who doesn't have one of those?! When we sourced our awesome new range of summer fabrics I knew I could make some serious strides on my mission. This geometric jersey jumped out at me. Soft and cool with a pale mint green print it was perfect for summer. Continue reading →

This week I thought it would be nice to share my summer makes so far and the plans I have for my next few projects. There is a brand new dress, which I haven't blogged yet, a couple of previous makes and some thoughts on my favourite fitting book. This is a great opportunity to see how garments in our fabrics hang, hear my thoughts on some of the patterns I've used and get ideas for pattern and fabric combos. Links to all of the patterns and fabrics mentioned are detailed below. Enjoy!

Last year I met a lovely lady called Anne. Anne is a Technical Tutor on the Textiles: Innovation and Design degree course at Loughborough University and has been sewing for work and pleasure for most of her life. When she invited me to view the textiles exhibition in the University Arts Degree Show 2017 I couldn't resist. A morning ogling fabric created by the bright young things set to become the designers of the future? Yes please.

Right now embroidery is brightening up accessories and clothing everywhere you turn. Shoes, handbags, tops, dresses, jeans - I've even seen it on plant pots! Not only is it incredibly pretty, it is easy to master enough hand embroidery stitches to create your very own designs. It is also a calming and therapeutic pastime, which is always a plus point in my book. Here we share 7 easy hand embroidery stitches to get you started and demonstrate how you can start to put them together to create a feminine floral design. Warning this craft is seriously addictive!

As usual this flared skirt sewing project started with some serious fabric love. When we sourced our new cotton lawn range I could not wait to get them home. The designs are truly beautiful and the quality is second to none. I fell head over heels with this floral cotton lawn immediately. The digital print was bang on trend as was the grey backdrop. Continue reading →

Using the right interfacing, tapes and waistband stiffeners will give your dressmaking projects a truly professional finish. However, the vast range of products available today can be overwhelming. It is easy to find yourself sticking to the products you know when there could be a more suitable one for the task at hand. Our range of these products is by no means exhaustive, but caters for the most common dressmaking and tailoring requirements well. We've created a handy comparison table of our interfacing range for quick reference and explore how our interfacing, waistband stiffeners and tapes can help you to get great results every time.

Hand sewn button loops and rouleau loops are such a pretty way to fasten a garment, particularly when a feminine finish is required or when working with delicate fabrics. They are ideal for the pretty summer garments we are all working on right now and are relatively easy to master so I wanted to share the love! Here is a little step by step guide on how to create them.