Sew Essential Blog

Put simply choosing the right dressmaking fabric can make or break your sewing project. A number of customers have told us they struggle with this aspect of dressmaking so we've written this guide to help you along the way. Fabric shopping should be nothing but a purely joyful experience after all! Plus we want you to reap the rewards of the time and money you invest in every project.

I recently shared my #makenine list over on the vlog featuring this vintage pencil skirt pattern and a Simplicity cami top. Sadly this pattern how now been discontinued, but the Odgen cami by True Bias makes a lovely alternative. I had some John Kaldor Ohio stretch cotton fabric in my stash perfect for the skirt and decided to make the cami top in our Mystique satin backed crepe. Worn together they make the perfect outfit for summer evenings out.

It's time for the next Sew Essential vlog instalment and I thought it would be nice to share a video of me sewing one of my recent makes and one of my #makenine - a lovely simple 90s Simplicty 1366 cami top. Sadly this has now been discontinued, but the True Bias Ogden cami is a great alternative.

In this blog post we'll show you how to get super professional results when piping seams and customising a garment with machine embroidery. Piping is a beautiful way to finish the seams of a garment adding an interesting extra bit of detail to really give it the wow factor. Combine piped seams with embroidery you've chosen to customise that garment perfectly and you have a truly original design in exactly the right colours to match your accessories. This is how the idea for this unique dress made by our very own Angela (co founder of Sew Essential) came to life. You see Angela has a bit of a shoe obsession and just couldn't resist these gorgeous green LK Bennett shoes, but had nothing to wear with them so she did what any respectable seamstress would do and made something.

Here are our top tips for sewing a super neat waistband with an invisible zip. After the troubles I had with my denim skirt waistband I decided it was time for a crash course with Angela to really nail the key techniques - how to get sharp corners and a neat finish, plus how to insert an invisible zip that crosses a waistband seam. I was working on a lovely Simplicity vintage inspired pattern (2154) with our gorgeous Ohio fabric and this was the perfect opportunity to practise these techniques. I will, of course, blog about the skirt itself very soon.

Following on from my first year in sewing here are some of my sewing plans for 2017 where I'll be joining in with the #makenine on Instagram to keep me on track, I hope you enjoy it.

As those of you who follow us on Instagram will know I'm currently loving retro and vintage fashion reflected in my most recent sewing project - a 60s pinafore dress pattern in our lovely tartan fabric, which was also the perfect opportunity for me to practice pattern matching fabric. I've always loved this Simplicity pattern having spotted it many times making it's way to one of our lovely customers and thought it would be perfect for one of the biggest trends this season - tartan.

Hi and welcome to the second installment of the Sew Essential vlog and thank you so much to everyone who tuned in to our first video and for your likes and comments. It's always good to know someone is listening - not a feeling I get at home very often with three boys in the house!

As many of you know I am a beginner sewist being patiently taught to sew by Angela, my MIL and co founder of Sew Essential, who has been sewing for over 60 years and blows my mind with her sewing knowledge on a regular basis! I was always in awe of Angela's sewing creations and last year I finally bit the bullet and had a go myself. Having completed my first year in dressmaking I wanted to look back at what I made and what I learned so I can plan a successful year of sewing in 2017.

In previous posts I mentioned I lined up some nice, quick, easy sews to bounce back from my denim skirt saga and this Kwik Sew 4069 pattern was always going to make it into the pile! Elena of the 'Randomly Happy' and Edina of 'The German Edge' both picked this pattern when we collaborated with them for a blog post and I thought both of their versions were lovely. They also chose the same great fabric and I followed suit - our Isabella wool jersey. I have been waxing lyrical about this stuff all over Instagram and there are a lot of people who seem to agree it is just beautiful and perfect for those warm winter makes to keep you cosy and snug whatever the weather.

Today we have a different post for you and would like to introduce you to our new Sew Essential vlog. For anyone who doesn't know 'vlogging' is essentially producing video content to communicate with your followers and I'm very excited to be bringing you our first vlog just in time for Christmas. Fear not we will still have our regular blog posts running alongside the vlog too, this just gives you an additional way to keep up to date with what is going on at Sew Essential.