Sew Essential Blog

As always there has been a lot happening at Sew Essential the last few weeks and I now have a growing list of sewing patterns that have turned into garments waiting to be blogged about!

First up is the Rae skirt by Sewaholic patterns, which I made in three and a half hours (not including cutting out). I must admit this wasn't one of the patterns that jumped out at me when we first starting stocking the range a few months ago, but when I saw it made up on the Sewaholic website I immediately wanted one! It looked super stylish with a vest top tucked in and a pretty pendant necklace and I could just imagine myself wearing it strolling down the road in a pair of summer sandals to pick Toby up from school. Just imagining the sunshine at the end of a bleak February was enough to get me motivated!

Bias binding is an alternative way to give a hem, sleeves or neckline a lovely neat finish and also introduce a contrasting colour or design to your garment for that added wow factor. Here we'll tell you how to create your own enabling you to choose exactly the colour or design you would like if you are unable to find something suitable from the ready made bias binding options available. Here's how to do it in a few simple steps:

We’ve got a juicy post for you this week on the Sew Essential blog – Neela Mistry-Bradshaw, a former contestant of the Great British Sewing Bee, has written our first guest blog post and it’s a corker! Neela used one of our basic block patterns to design and make herself a beautiful dress using fabric and haberdashery also from Sew Essential (full shopping list at the end of the article).

So sit back, relax and let Neela take you step by step through her sewing adventure, then why not have a go yourself?! Over to Neela...

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Here at Sew Essential we are proud to be supporting the McCalls Pattern Company Big Vintage Sewalong. We have put together this special blog post to help you find your vintage va va voom and join in the fun! Twenty vintage sewing patterns have been selected for the sewalong and a different sewing blogger will be making their favourite design each week so why not join them?

You can share your creation with others taking part via social media using #bvsewalong. There will even be a vintage tea party taking place at the Knitting & Stitching Shows at the Alexandra Palace and Harrogate in the autumn for participants to attend wearing their very own vintage creation.

Not only will it be a whole lot of fun taking part in the sewalong it is for a great cause too. Money from the sale of each of the featured 20 patterns listed below will be donated to the Eve Appeal - a charity working to achieve better prevention and detection of women's cancers.

Finally the sun is shining (albeit a bit nippy!) and we are getting more and more excited about the sewing patterns and dressmaking fabrics that will build our spring/summer handmade wardrobe.

The Butterick half price pattern starts today and New Look and Kwik Sew half price sewing pattern sales end at midnight on Sunday making it the perfect time for some spring/summer sewing inspiration.

We’ve selected some of the key trends for the new season and the patterns and fabrics you can use to get the look below, but remember this is just a sneaky peak of our full range so have a good rummage and see what other gems you can find!

Not only do we have hundreds of sewing patterns on offer, with prices starting at just £2.95, we also have some gorgeous new and existing fabrics in stock, plus all the haberdashery and supplies you need to whip up a new wardrobe for the new season in no time!

It has been busy, busy, busy here at Sew Essential HQ and between arranging our bloggers meet up (see previous post if you're interested - all welcome, booking essential) sourcing new products at the Stitches show (watch this space - coming soon!) life in general and the kids my sewing hasn't been churning out as quickly as I would like! I did manage to finish my first garment from a Tilly and the Buttons sewing pattern though - I made an Orla blouse which I love. Garment number three done and dusted! I thoroughly enjoyed making it and am really pleased with the end result. It certainly isn't perfect, but within my realistic expectations of myself as a complete beginner I'm very happy and I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of it (as long as it doesn't fall apart in the wash thanks to my amateur sewing skills!)

We've thoroughly enjoyed our foray into the world of blogging so far! From the Sew Brum meet up to working with some of our favourite sewing bloggers on sponsored projects and giveaways we're having a ball! Not to mention writing about our makes and sharing our top tips...so we thought it was time to host a sewing blogger meet up and combine our two great loves - sewing and cake!

We've joined forces with Krafty Kat and Samantha of Crafternoon Tea Hostess to reach out to the blogging community and will be hosting a meet at Sew Essential HQ in South Derbyshire near Ashby de la Zouch on Sunday 10th April.

This week we're pleased to bring you the second post in our 'Essential Patchwork and Quilting Toolkit' series written by our lovely resident patchwork and quilting guru Joan! Joan gives us hints and tips for choosing the right tools for the job - perfect for those new to patchwork and quilting, but also a good opportunity to review all the options for a more experienced hobbyist. Last week Joan covered pins, needles, thread, fabric markers and thimbles and this week it's all about cutting equipment, cutting boards, rulers and templates. Over to you Joan!

Following on from our six most iconic vintage dress patterns post we’ve got a fabulous make for you to feast your eyes on. Angela has certainly channelled her inner Jackie Kennedy with this one and has created the most beautiful hot pink Chanel style jacket using the Vogue 9095 sewing pattern (view A). The pink is bang on trend for spring summer 2016, but the silhouette is timeless and classic. Here she shares her tips and tricks for successful tailoring, a professional finish and those all important finishing touches that will make your efforts look haute couture for sure daaaaahling! Now over to Angela:

Ever fancied having a go at quilting, but not sure what you need to get started? Already a quilter, but sometimes wonder whether you’re using the right tools and equipment? You’re in luck - our resident patchwork and quilting guru Joan is here to help you! Joan has written a series of informative posts where she goes right back to basics and explains the reasons why certain tools are preferable to others, what they are useful for and how you will use them. Even those of you who are experienced quilters and patchwork fans may benefit from a read since it easy to fall into a habit of using certain methods without ever considering an alternative. As with all sewing and crafts using the right tools can take the experience from stressful, difficult and frustrating to easy, fun and enjoyable! You never know we might just share something that could make your life a whole lot easier!