I’m so excited!  I’ve just discovered a fab Swedish-based web store selling all sorts of beautiful fabrics and everything else you need to make a Bra.

http://www.bwear.se/1.html

They have lots of colour co-ordinated laces, trims and elastics.  Usually it’s quite difficult to find the bra fasteners, rings & sliders and all the extra bits and pieces that you need, in the same colour.  But here they have everything!

Come along to one of my 2-day courses and make a gorgeous Bra to fit you.  I have a  wide variety of fabrics, laces and trims that are all included in the course cost.  After you have made a Bra with me you can go home with your pattern and make lots more!  All different colours!!

Lovely Bra made on my course.

I spent a lovely day with Pat Clements when she came along yesterday for a one-to-one session on the mystery of fitting.  Pat had had problems trying to get the correct fit from a dress that she had made using a commercial pattern.  We unravelled the puzzle and re-drafted to dress bodice to give Pat the perfect fit.

Re-drafting a badly fitting commercial pattern.

If you’re having problems de-mystifying a pattern, I can help.  Contact me or visit my website and have a look at all the other exciting things you can learn.

I worked Amanda and Nicola really hard when they came along to do my Pattern Drafting Intermediate course.

They both made Bodice Blocks to fit themselves, and then constructed a Calico Toile so that we could tweak the fit.

Drafting Bodice Block

Pattern Drafting – Bodice Block

Bodice Toile.

Toile of Bodice Block.

After that ……the fun began!  They learned how to design their own garments and create their patterns, working in 1/5^th scale miniature.

Working with 1/5th scale miniature blocks to create own designs.

What a fantastic way to spend a couple of days!

Course dates are on my website.

Come along and join the fun!

Had a brilliant beginners’ Pattern Drafting session on Friday, where Pat learned how to draft a Skirt Block using her own measurements.  She then made a Calico Toile to check the fit. I also taught her how to adapt her block so that she could create her own skirt designs.  It was great fun!  Well done Pat!

Pattern Drafting.

Skirt Toile.

Skirt Toile – back.

Designing skirts using 1/5th scale blocks.

If you would like to learn how to design your own garments and draft patterns, come along to one of my courses.  I also run an intermediate course where you will learn how to draft your own Bodice Block, including techniques to create your own designs.

I look forward to hearing from you.

My Corset Making course went really well.  I took some great photos of the students in action – inserting the Front-Opening Busk, and hammering in the Grommets that run down the back of the corset.  Look at these fab Corsets that were made on the course.  They’re really beautiful.  Well done ladies!

Inserting Front-opening Busk into Corset.

Inserting Grommets into back panel of Corset.

Beautiful Silk Corset.

Back Lacing of Silk Corset.

Lovely Taffeta Corset.

Back Lacing of Taffeta Corset.

I’ve been thinking about running a weekend workshop to draft your own pattern for a cupped corset.  I’d love some feedback on this please.  Maybe you could reply to this post, or email me on: info@seweasybristol.com    It would be great to get your views.

Thank you.  See you soon!

My recent Knickers workshop was a great success. Two of my previous Bra Making ladies came along to make knickers to match their bras. 
They looked fab! 
I have a good selection of fabrics to choose from if you would like to come along to one of my Knicker making days. From slinky shiny satin to lacy – the choice is yours! I also have lots of different styles that you can make, from French Knickers to Thongs or even my 1950s vintage style knickers. Take a look.

Knicker making workshop.

Lovely lacy knickers.

Knicker Making

Detail on Knickers.

Looking forward to my Corset Making course this weekend. I’ll keep you posted!

Hello again!

We all had a great time at my Bra Making weekend workshop at Sew Easy Bristol.  Everyone worked hard and some fantastic bras were produced.  Have a look at these photos of my lovely ladies and their bras.

Bra Making Course

Bra Making

Bra Making

Bra Making

Beautiful bra made on the course.

Lovely bra made on the course.

If you would like to make a gorgeous bra to fit yourself, I will be running another workshop on Saturday 9^th & Sunday 10^th May.  Places are limited so please book early.

All the materials to make your bra are included in the course cost.  I have some beautiful laces and embroidered tulle for you to choose from.

Come and have a go – you will surprise yourself!

Hello again everyone.

Here’s a pic of the promised Vintage Tea Dress.

Vintage Style Tea Dress

As you can see, I went for the option of the Sweetheart neckline and the gathered Dirndl skirt.  Really pleased with it!

Not sure I’ve got the right shaped figure to do it justice, but it looks great on the mannequin!

If you would like to make one, don’t forget, all the details of the 2-day workshop are on my website www.seweasybristol.com

Congratulations to Matt on winning this year’s Sewing Bee!  I hope this encourages more men to pick up a needle and get sewing!

Hello All,

I can’t believe we’re almost at the end of this year’s series of the Great British Sewing Bee.  I’ve been watching it religiously every week, and still think that Neil should win.  It’s the final this Thursday so we’ll see!  It would be great to have a male winner for a change.

If there are any budding male seamsters out there, let me know.  You are very welcome to come along to any of my workshops/courses.  Also, any suggestions for male orientated sewing courses will be much appreciated.

On the ‘Sewing Bee’ theme, I was interested to see the Corsets that were made a couple of weeks ago.  Quite impressive as the contestants only had 4 hours to complete them. If you would like to make a Corset, I have a 2-day workshop where you will make a beautiful Corset which is a lot more detailed than the Sewing Bee version.

Corset Making Course

For one thing, I concentrate on the fitting, which includes the posture, so that your Corset will fit perfectly.  Also, my Corset includes a Front Opening Busk and a Lining. Not to mention properly inserted Grommets (Eyelets) down the back.  These are applied by hand, not machine, so they will NOT come out as there are no holes punched into the fabric.

Front Opening Busk

Inserting Grommets.

So why not come along and make one for yourself?  You’ll love it! Everything you need to make your Corset is included in the course cost.  All you need to bring is the fabric outer-layer.

I have almost finished my Vintage Style Tea Dress, so, as promised, I will post the pic very soon.

And don’t forget to watch the Sewing Bee final!

Hi again everyone.

On the few occasions when the sun has peeped out from behind the clouds I’ve been thinking about nice things to wear for the Spring and Summer.  Really, they are only just around the corner!

I’m quite keen to make something with a ‘vintage’ feel and so I have just designed a Tea Dress which has a lovely 1950s look to it.

I have drafted the pattern which includes 2 versions of the skirt: one is a very full, Dirndl skirt which is gathered at the waist, and the other skims the hips and flares out widely at the hemline.  Either can be made to your preferred length.  I think the dress would look great which ever length you chose.

The dress bodice also has 2 variations:  the first having darts to shape the body, and the second has a softly ruched centre front seam.  Both versions are very flattering.

There are 2 different necklines to choose from:  one has a lovely sweetheart neck whilst the other has a scoop neck.  Both necklines end in a gentle curve at the back.

There is also the option to make a matching bow to trim your dress.  This could be added to the front neckline or waistline, or even stitched to the back!

Vintage Style Tea Dress

Green Polka Dot Fabric

Come along to my fab ‘Vintage Style Tea Dress’ 2-day workshop, and select your own combination of skirt, bodice and neckline.  It will look amazing!

I have bought some beautiful cotton fabric to make mine.  It’s a lovely shade of green with tiny pale green polka dots on it (photo doesn’t do it justice!)  I’ll post pics when it’s made.

It would also look great in a large floral print.  Alternatively, if you want to stick to truly vintage, you could make it from Granny’s old flowered curtains!

I hope you like my design.

For details of the course please visit my website.

I look forward to seeing you.

Hi Everyone,

Good to see the Great British Sewing Bee back on our screens.  Did you watch the first episode last night?  Fantastic to see all the male candidates this year – I was very impressed with Neil.  His dress with the cut-outs was amazing!  Can’t wait to see what they all get up to next week!

Does it make you feel inspired to start sewing, or to improve your sewing skills?  Don’t forget  – I have a great range of workshops for you to try.  Or learn with me on your own terms, with individual tuition.  Come on – get started!  You won’t regret it!

You don’t have to pay a lot for fabrics these days, so if you’re a beginner and you just want to experiment try some of the less expensive fabric shops such as ‘The Nylon Shop’ in Kingswood, Bristol.  They have some beautiful fabrics at very reasonable prices, including some remnant boxes to rummage through, and get yourself a bargain.

If you’re lucky enough to live in a place that has a market, have a look at their fabric stalls. You’ll be surprised at what you can find!  I recently visited my mother-land, Leicester.  They have a fantastic market there, so I always have to go and see what lovely fabrics I can find when I’m up there.   Haberdashery too – and much cheaper than the shops!

Fabric Stall on Leicester Market

Haberdashery Stall on Leicester Market

There’s always the re-cycling route to go down as well, by using your old clothes and turning them into something fab!  But we’ll re-visit that another time…..

Meanwhile ….. Happy fabric shopping!

Hi All,

I have managed to get the first of my Tube Dresses finished.  No time to make the other two yet though.

I’m really pleased with the result:

Stretch Tube Dress

It’s made from a heavyweight Jersey fabric (Cotton/ Viscose mix) so is really quite cosy to wear.  The other 2 pieces of jersey are a lighter weight, so there’s no rush in making them as they will do for when the weather gets a bit warmer.

I love the bold print.  Wasn’t too sure when I bought it but now it’s made up it looks fab!

The dress went together really well.  I had the option of 2 methods of stitching it together:

1. Using a domestic sewing machine with a stretch needle (to prevent skipped stiches) and a stretch stitch which will stretch with the fabric.
2. Using my industrial 5-thread overlock machine.

I chose the overlock as it sews the seams faster while giving a very neat finish.

As you can see, the overlock looks a bit scary but it’s actually a bit of a pussy-cat  really!  Nice and smooth to use as long as you keep your fingers away from the knife!!

Industrial Overlock machine

I am just in the process of putting the new Tube Dress one-day workshop onto my website, so look out for it over the next couple of days.  You’re welcome to try the overlock too.

I actually completed my dress on the domestic machine, using an attractive stretch stitch around the hem, sleeves and neckline.  I also stabilised the neck edge with a fantastic product called ‘Lite Steam-a-Seam’.  If you’ve never used it, give it a try on stretchy fabrics – it tames curly edges.

I look forward to seeing you on my new course.