Sewing Tips, Tutorials, Projects and Events

This week I'm pleased to bring you my latest make - a crepe de chine blouse. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the fabric and adapting the pattern to my liking not to mention adding another leopard print garment to my wardrobe. I mean a girl can never have enough leopard print, can she?!

Depending on who you are and how busy your social calendar is, party season is either already upon you or fast approaching. So what are you making? Probably something shiny, glitzy or all of the above. Slippery fabrics like crepe de chine, silk and satin make dreamy party attire, but they can be a nightmare to sew. Not if you follow our top tips for sewing with slippery fabrics. They'll make all your party dress dreams can come true.

Christmas is such a lovely time for many of us. Cherished time spent with family and friends, exchanging gifts and making memories. For me, remembering those who are less fortunate is also an incredibly important part of Christmas. Each year I make personal donations to children's charities in the hope I can make a child's Christmas that little bit better. This year I wanted to do more.

Looking for some inspo for sewing projects to brighten up your Autumn Winter wardrobe? Want to make garments you'll wear time and time again? Here I share my favourite Autumn Winter makes, which I'm reaching for week after week. Tried and tested and very much loved. I hope you like them too!

Christmas is the perfect opportunity to get your hands on those special little sewing treats. Whether you’re looking for a friend or want to give someone some helpful hints we’ve hand picked our favourite Christmas sewing gifts to suit every budget.

As soon as this delicious mustard (ok saffron, but I keep calling it mustard) John Kaldor peaseblossom fabric landed at Sew Essential HQ I knew I had to make something with it.

There is just something about mustard in the Autumn that I find comforting. Weird? Probably. In fact I never really wear yellow at any other time of year, but in the Autumn I'm all about my mustard jumper or my mustard striped T, both of which were worn whilst sewing the mustard coloured dress.

Besides the glorious colour I knew the quality of this lightweight crepe would be second to none. I mean you just can't go wrong with John Kaldor.

Bias binding is a quick, easy and neat way to finish raw edges in areas such as necklines, armholes or sleeves. In this article we share five (yes five) ways you can finish a raw edge with a binding depending on your preference.

Velvet has had a serious comeback in recent years and is the perfect fabric for your autumn winter wardrobe. It is soft and warm against the skin making it perfect for everyday wear, but also packs some serious punch in the glamour stakes - hello knock out evening dress!

In this article we'll give you our top tips for sewing with velvet, share our sexy new velvet fabrics and give you some serious inspo and and ideas for projects using this delicious fabric.

If you've ever wondered about an embroidery machine - how do you use one? How expensive are they? What would I make? Which is the best embroidery machine for me? Then this video is for you. Together with Caroline from Husqvarna Viking we give you a quick overview to show you how much fun you could be having with an embroidery machine. We also cover all of these points in detail in the written article below.

It was my birthday on Monday and as a rare treat I spent the whole day shopping with Mom excitedly perusing the new autumn winter trends. I walked amongst the rails of my favourite high street stores mentally picking out patterns and fabrics I could use to recreate the looks my way. Sewing is such fun isn't it?!

Here's a round up of the key trends I spotted and the patterns and fabrics you can use to bring your handmade wardrobe bang up to date.