Hello all, we hope you’ve had a good week? Here at Sew Essential we’ve been beavering away adding new products to our website and promoting our new indie sewing pattern range - we hope you like it as much as we do?! We also couldn’t help but notice the news story on Mom’s wearing pyjamas on the school run. How is this relevant to a sewing blog you might ask, but I think any debate around fashion and clothing is relevant and interesting to those of us who like to sew their own clothes. In this article we briefly ponder how our attitudes to dress code have been revolutionised in recent decades and indulge in celebrating the glamour of yesteryear with our six most iconic vintage dress patterns. Continue reading →
Exposed zips have been ‘all the rage’ (as my Mom would say) for some time now. They are a great way to add an interesting little bit of detail to a top or dress and here we’ll show you how to go about it. Always use a good quality branded zip - the last thing you want is to have a faulty zip on your beautifully hand crafted garment you spent hours lovingly creating! Continue reading →
Once you’ve selected your sewing pattern and have cut it to size following our guidance in the ‘How to Achieve the Perfect Fit from your Sewing Pattern’ article it is time to choose, prepare and cut your fabric. Here is a step by step guide, perfect for beginners, on everything you need to know. It is worth considering (and accepting) for most sewing projects you will spend around 80% of your time preparing and 20% of your time sewing. Getting the preparation right is crucial to success - my Mom always said: ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail!’ and as always (annoyingly) she was right! Continue reading →
We’ve been writing the Sew Essential blog for a couple of months now and I hope you’ve enjoyed the mixture of ‘how to’ guides, interviews, reviews and general interest articles. As we’ve always said we want the blog to become a bank of sewing advice and tips that make it a go to resource for sewers everywhere. We also want to share my personal beginner’s sewing journey. I thought it was high time we shared a make on the blog so here it is! Continue reading →
Here are our top tips for sewing a lined top or bodice to achieve a truly professional finish. We're sure all the tips we share will be useful, but there is a particularly juicy, little known trick of the trade we're sharing with you! This little gem will will allow you to complete the task without any hand stitching. Sounds good right? Then let us enlighten you... Continue reading →
This is the first in a series of unique interviews with a select few super skilled sewists who also happen to be Sew Essential customers. These super sewers have turned their favourite pastime into a successful career and we’re sure you’ll enjoy having a peek into their world, hearing their stories and seeing their makes as much as we did! First up an incredible young lady called Cherilyn Leeson. Full of energy and an insatiable passion for sewing and dressmaking she is currently building and growing her bespoke dressmaking business ‘English Country Vintage’ using her experience and skills gained from a glittering career in the world of costume making. Continue reading →
There are plenty of reviews of the latest Kate Winslet film ‘The Dressmaker’ written by film critics who are really good at that sort of thing. We, on the other hand, probably are not! So rather than attempt a review of this film we thought we would talk about what our followers and customers are really interested in - the clothes, clothes, clothes and the sewing patterns and fabrics you can use to make them! Continue reading →
So you’ve heard the hype, you’ve watched the videos and seen the price tag - £7,499! Now you’re wondering if the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic is as good as everyone is making out. The simple answer: it SO is! We took part in our training at Husqvarna's head quarters on the 22nd October and collected our showroom model. Since then our sinks have been full of dirty crocks, we haven’t cooked a decent meal and we’ve barely left the house! Ok, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but you get it - we’re smitten! Below we’ve outlined our favourite features so far to give you an insight into this incredible piece of modern machinery. We think it makes sewing and embroidery easier and more enjoyable than ever before! We've also included a picture of our first project completed using the Epic so you can see the results for yourself. Continue reading →
There are thousands of sewing patterns available on our website, but the biggest mistake you can make when choosing your sewing pattern size is to assume it will be the same as the ready to wear size that fits you on the high street. Dress pattern sizing schemes have no connection or correlation with ready to wear sizing schemes and each sewing pattern company uses its own sizing scheme. Having the ability to adjust a sewing pattern for the perfect fit is a useful skill and isn't as difficult as it sounds. All of the sizing charts are available on both our website and the sewing pattern packets so you can have a good look before you buy. Continue reading →
