Another year – where did the last one go

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Oh dear, another year gone! and I also started this post sometime in December and hoping to finish it today. Today was to be the day of my tax return but it turns out I forgot my passwords for the online return so that is now a job for another day.

Actually 2023 been a rather strange year for me – there was a fair bit of change and some bereavements, got 2 new cats, and I took on a post grad course!!. Changes included me changing my sewing room (as I now am working from home) so its half office half sew (and my etching print press in the corner). I reduced the number of sewing machines to 6 – Featherweight, Elna Lotus, Singer201, Bernina Sport, Singer Excelle and Husqvarna Embroidery.

I hadn’t really sewn much in the year…. until I saw a Liberty Velveteen curtain fabric off cut at 5euro a metre – it was from an end roll from a upholstery warehouse and I really could not take my eyes off it, so spent all of 25euro and thought ‘COATS’. It was well worth buying as I hadn’t been enthusiastic about sewing for a while so really enjoyed the planning – and the sew of the coat. I decided to try the Pauline Trigere evening coat again and should have enough for a day coat (ie longer sleeves).

The cut was fine, except I decided to match the fronts. I really should not have bothered as I hadn’t noticed how bright the yellow flower was and hated the look of the fronts when they were opened… really screamed curtains and the balance of the flowers, ie yellow being centre, wall all wrong. The disappointment shows on my face in the photo……

only including this photo to show how awful the coat looked open with the ‘pattern matching’…..

So I recut one front and happier with it. There was no way there was going to be a bound buttonhole as the fabric was too thick, so I used the singer buttonholer. The backing colour is sand so there were sand threads sticking out after I cut the buttonhole which I coloured with a black sharpie! (and it worked fine). The button wouldn’t cover, so for this I originally had a gold 80s button, but have since changed to a taffeta covered button hole in a green gold shade which I prefer. After a few wears, I also added 2 covered ‘snaps’ (fasteners) as the single button is fine for car to bar, but not when you walk! I am really happy with the coat. It looks fine with a black polo neck and trousers in the day also. I got a few wears out of it throughout Christmas. (note first photo below is coat not finished – as sleeve lining not fixed, and buttons etc missing)

The other big sew was for a christmas party. Menopause weight meant my go-to evening trousers are no-way fitting now which was rather depressing for me. I did have a black wool maxi (thrifted about 10 years ago and rarely worn) that still fitted, so worked on making a top to go with that. The lovely green silk I made some years ago would need altering so that was a back up. I decided to remake the lilac silk top from a while ago in a better shade (the lilac looked dead with the black).

I had a thrifted royal blue dress in the workroom – loved the colour and the fabric looked good despite it being polyester and primark. the fabric/dress was well worn and the fabric was a bit ‘distressed’ in part if VERY closely inspected but it was still fine. And critically….. there was just enough fabric to cut the top from the skirt part. The hem band was used to make a side sash – and the scraps I used for facings and lining! Apologies for lousy photos, I tend to forget to take photos when I am out, so taking these in bad light in sew room

And best bit of all, the two weeks of intense sewing was just what I needed to kick start some making again! The second coat is still in planning stage, but of course I have since made a velvet top (more in next post), planning a velvet remake, and there is a black shirt dress waiting to be cut!

Summer Makes – dresses, coat and sweater

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I started this post on 28th May and today is 13th November. Things have been busy, but not that busy. I still blame Covid for twisting time! Of course, there is also the fact that Bloglovin only works here and there and that used be my main blog reader so now as I am not reading blogs, I am not updating this one either.


I had been thinking of retiring the blog as I am not sure where my pet project is going to at all….. I still sew but not as much as my wardrobe only needs tweaks, but I am still picking up stuff in charity shops with the intentions of remaking so now I am nearer a hoarder than a maker! My original intention on starting the blog was to

  • See if the remade could be well made
  • If these remades could be part of my own wardrobe rather than buying new
  • Share my makes and any patterns I drafted so others could make – and maybe skill share locally
  • donate extra makes to a charity shop for the shop to sell – to show remakes and highlight the limitations of fast fashion (I did this twice with Cope Charity Shop for fashion revolution week) – I wish I had the time or wherewithal to make this into something, but on contacting other charity shops there seemed little interest

Last month however, I did get some WordPress emails last months that some new followers (Hello & Welcome!) have joined which made me think I should put up a post seeing as I had done some makes over the summer – Dresses, Coat and Sweater (&hats)

The Wide Strap Sundress
This is a winner. I made 2! but only as I had so many linen trousers stashed in sewing room. The first was a patchwork of navy, blue and white linen. the second I just dyed 3 pairs of white linen pants a cargo green. The pattern is from Peppermint – has pockets (yipee) and wide straps (so no need for strapless bra). The seams/ joins on the ‘patchwork dress’ are the same on the green dress.


The Everyday Dress
This one was made with a dyed stash of 2 beige linen pants. The pattern is a collaboration between peppermint and ‘into the folds’. It was perfect for our heatwave this summer and again POCKETS! it drapes nicely, and I wear it without the tie – in part due it was referred to as a ‘looks like an apostle’ when I wore the belt with it… and also that it is more comfortable without belt

the before dye picture shows the joins and different colour linens


The Chloe Dress Hack
This is a hack of the Chloe Top from Fibremood. I made it as I had the fabric in my press. I had picked up some lenghts of fabric during Covid as there were shop closures (which I still berate myself about). Anyway, this fabric is a viscose mix jersey and a pain to sew, so it was handy to make a dress with few seams. The photo is from a first fit – used up all the fabric (1.5m) and ended up making the dress longer with a navy trim, and the bow longer by backing it in a strip of navy. The dress still has to be worn (as the one fancy occasion was cancelled this summer…. so no other photos


Blending in – the Curtain Coat
I really wanted to get a chintz sofa to sit on so I could blend in…but no joy. I got this pair of Sanderson linen sample curtains in the charity shop – I figured they were a sample as they were only a width wide each and a drop of 1.8m and in fantastic condition. the fabric was so lovely I wouldn’t put them down – and I convinced myself they would be a coat. I tried to be economical with the fabric and used up just over one curtain. I adapted Vogue couturier Pattern 1483 by Laroche and omitted side seams so no pattern matching. The sleeve had a small insertion to match pattern.


The made bigger sweater
On the same day as curtains, this sweater was in the same shop. I love this fennel colour and figured the sweater was merino – and I knew by looking it was most likely too small but got it anyway. Originally, I was going to crochet a panel to side but could not find right shade or weight of yarn. I did find a tee shirt and sewed inside and arm panels. I was so very pleased with this and know it’s a hack I would do again

And finally a hat

Actually I made 2. Since my rosecea has gotten worse I try and wear a sun hat during the summer if its anyway sunny (I wear sunscreen also). I have straw hats which I tend to wear in the garden but find them tricky to bring ‘out’ as if it rains they dont pack away so easily. I got this pattern for the serpentine wide brim hat from etsy. I made 2, one in canvas and one in linen (in everyday dress photo). the brim can flop down but I found wearing with a crease it stays up well

Paddington Top – Scarf Upcycle

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Whenever I see random gloves on the street, I tend to pick them up and put on a nearby ledge in case the owner comes back…. I don’t know if they do, but at this stage its now a habit. Some weeks ago, I was walking home from work and I saw a scarf on the street which looked like it just fell from someones bag…. So I tied it to the nearby railing. At the time, I thought ‘what a pity’ ‘this scarf looks new’…… The next day when I was passing again, the scarf was still there…. And this time I just put it in my bag and brought it home. When I got home the cat sniffed it so much, (ick) so straight into washing machine.

I had thought it could be useful to try Peppermint Paddington Top, but when I went to cut it, the scarf was far tatty-ier, full of pulled threads and also piling. It was also very sheer.

I lined it with some left over muslin fabric, and cut out. The front had to have a front seam which did not look right when sewn up, so I did a panel strip to break up obvious symmetry and think it functions better.

 The pattern is straight forward and instructions thorough so it was an easy quick sew. I think in all it took a few hours including the cut out time for both fabrics.

The elastic used for the sleeves is taken from old bra straps (ultimate upcycle). I had put buttons (from button tin) in the back as per pattern, but they are not at all necessary. The neck finish is white bias ribbon and the hem was finished with a bias strip of left over scarf…. And in the end all that was left of the scarf were tiny scraps.

Summer’s over

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I so love my morning read of other peoples blogs, it really sets me up for the day, and I also find the connectivity to other makers so rewarding – and inspiring. I set up this blog to both record my little project and to be part of an on-line sewing community (as I see it). And yet…. I am rather slow at updating my own!

My summer wardrobe is mainly made up of older makes, and I do enjoy unpacking them each easter as all my me-made, and me-altered clothes are so comfortable and -‘so-me’- and the same goes for my winter wear .Hence my must-make list is rather short, as I prefer to keep a limited amount of clothes in my wardrobe so everything gets worn.

I did find this summer, that I was short on summer dresses for hot days. We had 2 heatwaves here this summer, and while temperatures of 27C plus (up to mid 30s) were lovely at times, prolonged temperatures like this are not at all usual for the west of Ireland, and another indicator of climate change which is always an alarming prospect. How-and-ever…… I was sweltering in work ….. so I thought to make another crochet trimmed dress. The dress was one of those ‘cold shoulder’ designs, and rather short, but its cotton and the fabric is gathered so not clingy.

I did a basic trim at the hem with some 4 ply cotton, from left over bits from the fashion revolution project some years ago. I was actually glad to use the plum and purple shades as they didnt seem ever to fit anywhere else! For the neckline, I cut of the lace and straps on the dress, gathered the dress at front and back to bring it in, and then crochet trimmed with a few decreases here and there. The dress is unbelievably comfortable so I was well happy!

Other makes of the summer were this aysymetric skirt. I had been toying with a pattern here but wasnt happy with the fall of it. I spotted this one on Etsy, and liked the fact it was an all-in-one or could be divided, and while not exactly like what I had been working on, it was sufficinetly similar. I had some long left over panels of suiting fabric (sadly a polyester fabric not wool), so used this to try out the pattern. It was a quick make, and I didnt line it (which I may do later). I may make a small top (vest) to wear with it for this winter as there are tiny scraps left. I am also thinking of adapting the pattern with the pattern I drafted to make the style that was originally in my mind.

So now we are nearly October, and I will have to spend an afternoon or two in the garden. I tend not to do too much gardening and only weed/tidy about 3 times a year, but the passion flower climber will be moved to a different as it pretty much took over this year (as in background photos above – there is a small apple tree under that!)….. The frog pond I dug last year (as the site beside us where they had been living was built on so no frog home left) – the pond became the new home to a lot of tadpoles, which are now tiny froglets. I do have to figure a short term autumn cover for it this year as there are two large beech trees over head which will shed shortly! I tried a wire mesh cover last year which did not really work, and this year thinking of a tent type structure for the months of Oct and Nov….. so if anyone has done anything similar, do please share…. dreging out the leaves is a tricky business I have found!

My other big plan this year is – very slow sewing as I have started back doing embroidery…. so hope to have some makes to show by Christmas!

Happy making!

Singer table – before and after

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I was a bit embarassed asking my brother in law to collect this table (and hand over 45euro) until I could come and collect it (and pay back the money) – as it was really in a sorry state. I had seen the table on ‘Adverts.ie’, and thought it would be perfect for my 201 machine, as well as being useful having a machine table combo. While it was not as interesting looking as the bigger singer tables with side drawers, I liked the modest lines, and smaller ‘footprint’ of this table.

Tidy and all as the table is, my workroom space was getting rather crowded lately as it now has to double up as my home office and last weekend was the weekend to reorganise (bank holiday).

The weather has been rather good (dry) lately so it was a good time to bring the table to the yard, and apply some stripper. I stripped the varnish/finish off, and then sanded it. I wasn’t sure of the finish underneath and for a moment I thought the wood was potentially the same – as the colour of the table was uniform. Once striped, the table looked so different – I think the legs are pine or some composite and the veneer was much darker, so if I revarnished/sealed it would look like a patch work.

I decided to paint the table with a waterbased satin wood (cheapest in diy store) – and oil the table top. I dithered for a while on paint colour and chose black as it seemed the simplest choice. The sanding and stripping took a few hours, and the painting and oiling took about an hour each time – so in the end it was a rather quick job.

So very happy with the table. Ironically the first sew I did was to put the bernina on it and get some jeans darning done (the bernina has the ‘free arm’). I did use the 201 after to do a zip fix!

yea for crochet – 2 new tanks

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Crochet is the perfect go to for me right now, especially sitting in the evenings as tv gets very tired very quickly! I have always found it very calming, all you ever have to think about is one stitch at a time.

After making the pillar to post shawl/poncho last september, I had my eureka moment and decided to make a tank. I had found it tricky to dress for work in the hospital (in winter) as its a warmer office environment than I had been used to in previous jobs. My wool sweaters were too warm and cardigans were fine, but I needed something to keep my neck warm!

It really wasnt much of a eureka as the pillar to post stitch I used in the poncho, originally came from a tank pattern. The eureka moment was probably making a detatchable cowl collar. The first collar I did was just a basic rib, and the second style was one with a bit of a hem so it would sit better tucked in (I now think I should have made the hem longer an as I have red yarn left, I will get to it.

I was doubly pleased as the sirdar harrap yarn (although a synthetic mix) I picked up locally was a perfect match for my favourite ever pair of trousers (gorgeous wool, picked up at a charity shop some years back and only needed mimimum alteration).

Of course why make one, when you can make 2 so I made a 2nd in navy, using a beautiful tweed wool (and 2 different collars). in all the tanks and collars used about 750 metres of dk yarn and I used a 4 and 5 hook.

For me – the proof will always be in how quickly any new piece integrates with my wardrobe and both of these were worn straight away and lots since. Even though I am working from home since January, they are still worn plenty, as they work well with a cardigans.

Hope everyone is keeping well and staying safe!

burda hi-viz purple coat

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There were three reasons to make this coat –

  1. its a coat – I love coats
  2. the sleeve / elbow detail is unusual, and I liked the casual cut as well as it being sufficiently different from my other coats
  3. I had this purple hand-woven tweed, probably from the 80s for a long time. It’s a fairly full on shade, and I never knew quite what to do with it .

The pattern is from Burda September 2020. both the coat and the trousers made last Christmas caught my eye. I really liked the styling on the white one, as it had a sporty outdoorsy quality and perfect for my pretend outdoorsy aspirations of balancing on a boat somewhere on a river. One of the reasons I like to look though Burda patterns is they are nice simple cuts with not too many pieces. Tracing the patterns can be a bit inconvenient but still, its easier to me than sticking a4 pages together on a downloaded pattern.

Cutting –I had done a rough calculation, and was sure there would be just enough fabric….. However, there is always something I forget when laying out a pattern, and in this instance it was the facings and when it came to the cut, I did not have enough fabric. I ended up doing them in two pieces which I don’t really like doing, but ‘needs must’ and it did thankfully work out. I thought I had far more photos of the make but it turns out I only have this one of the joined front facing

Interlining – in the sewing press, I also had some knit interlining. I have it for years as I had a thought to try some outer wear (ie a sweater) with it, only to change my mind as it’s so flimsy. I decided to add interlining to the front and back only to give the coat some extra warmth.

Sewing – the sew was fairly straightforward. The sleeve is the main detail, and as I was sewing wool, sewing the curve was easy enough as wool is such an agreeable fabric. The closures are poppers so I covered the black poppers I had with the lining fabric. The sleeve is supposed to have a faced hem. I found the sleeve was longer than I anticipated, so I just turned it up. The faced hem would have been an option, but I can be a woeful lazy se-wer if I can ‘get away with it’. Having looked at the photographs, I can see that the sleeve hems still need to be steamed and rested.

Verdict – The overall cut of the coat is rather big, I cut a 14 but this did come out larger than expected – on the other hand I can wear large winter sweaters with it. If I was to make it again, I would probably make it a fraction smaller on the shoulders to bring up the curved seam detail higher towards the elbow, although I have been told (by friends) it’s fine, and it’s an 80s style cut. (I am still not fully convinced) I do find the coat very comfortable to wear, and don’t think it’s as ‘big’ as when I first wore it. Although now that I look at the photos, I still think it could be bigger than I want…. (the colour of this is hard to describe – the indoor photo with orange sweater is probably nearest the true colour)

That being said, I find the coat so comfortable to wear and just the right weight, so am happy to leave it as is for the moment. I am also glad I waited for the right pattern for the fabric. The funny part is I have received random compliments on the street which I now find amusing – the ‘norm’ now when strolling around the town, can be to have random casual short conversations./passing comments (ie lovely day etc) with strangers and its totally okay and rather a comfort in these isolating times…. and some of recent ones have been random compliments in passing ‘that coat is a gorgeous colour’ ‘I just love your coat’ etc which I am obviously chuffed with. I have taken to calling it my ‘hi viz’ coat, as it really is bright, and a nice colour for this time of year.

I was also glad to get the coat made – as this whole lockdown turned quite a lot on its head, including my making and buying habits, it was good to just make something in a whole new style and colour and use up fabric I already had. I had slowed down making in the past few years, as I like what I make and wear it, so subsequently my wardrobe is pretty much fine (except for perimenopause effect on dress size – where I have been altering or tweaking).

These lockdowns, and especially recently working from home have shown a few home truths. It turns out I am not as resilient as I thought and I am a bigger hoarder than I admitted. I had gotten into the habit of just picking stuff up from charity shops justifying I could redonate, whereas all I was doing was shopping, redonating and hoarding. I was rather surprised on how the time has passed these last 11 months…or should I say drifted. I thought I would use my time differently (only got to lesson 4 on beginners French). I still have not recovered the sofa (the project that is now going on 10 years) but do have it half covered since August. so who knows, maybe 2021 could be the year of the covered sofa – it really better be – especially as I have picked up a second-hand armchair online (which cannot be collected until April as it’s 100 miles away) which appears to also need a new cover.

Other than that – the last finished sew was pants…. I tried the jersey shorts from the ‘Secrets of Sewing Lingerie’ book from old tee shirts that were to go to the textile recycle (they were pretty raggy) – I used some colour elastic I had here as I didnt have stretch lace

christmas sewing

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I gave up on sewing ‘for christmas’ some time ago…. when I got sense!! I used try and make some pressents and also a ‘christmas outfit’, and while most got done it was always with compromises (omitted details, and dodgy hems) – I pretty much stopped doing a lot of it in the last 15 years, and just doing a christmas card drawing as my christmas effort.

Most of my sewing plans for the year remained undone. To be honest, I have been doing less sewing as realistically my wardrobe has enough clothes, and I like and wear them all (except for the ones that mysteriously have become too small) so it all seems complete. The re-sews now are a bit more contemplated and much slower – and also this year was fairly distracting with everyday seeming the same with a consistant wary-ness – I even think the reason I started wearing scent the last few months was to have something different….. I have also started wearing earings again (I think I am trying to distract myself with shiny things), and I changed roles in work, to a 5 day week in the hospital (I miss my 4 day week but there is a new roof to be put on our house, and again, I think there may have been an underlying desire for change) .

I was strangly relieved/glad when the shops opened again here after the last lockdown even though I am not an avid shopper – again, I think is the distraction, seeing as cinemas are closed or when open very little is showing, and travelling to other towns to galleries if open is off the cards. At least I can still meet a friend for walks and chats weather permitting – and as of tomorrow we are in a level 5 again (ie lockdown).

The day before the October lockdown, I had popped by a charity shop and saw a nice large womens herringbone tweed suit. I only had so much change in my purse and was 2 euro short of the price tag so I figured I could get it when the shop opened again – and sure enough I called to the shop about 3 days after the reopening in December, and it was not there! But I did find a man’s wool trousers marked 5 euro in the womens section.

The waist size meant I would have enough fabric for my hips, and the wool was a lovely quality. I am always surprised by how big the pockets are in mens trousers. I place a pattern on top to check if there would be enough fabric, and there was for slim cut ‘ankle grazer’ – Burda trousers from the September issue.

The cut was fairly straigh forward, I decided to go for a side zip, and kept the back pockets as well as the small ‘watch pocket’ to the front as my ‘dumb phone’ fits nicely in it. I reused the front lining in the same way as well as the zip and the hook closure. I have photos below of the cut.

I was unsure what to do for the waist, but decided to keep with the original pattern and have a waistband. I rarely use waistband, preferring a faced waist but as I could not introduce additional darts at the back, due to the back pockets already being in place. I ended up easing the trousers into the waistband and then using the steam iron to flatten the ease into place, and shrink in the wool – below photos are before steaming…… wool is the most agreeable fabric to work with!

so it all sewed up fairly quickly. I was even happier when I picked up a perfect blouse in the charity shop a week before christmas, so all set. Its a nice simple cut – and interesting fabric of black chiffon like discs sewn on to similar fabric. Its probably to be worn with less underneath as only the front has a layer of lining, but works very well with a black base layer (and sensible warm) as well as the super new-used boots.

By the time christmas morning came, I was in two minds on whether I should just spend it in pyjamas seeing as christmas visits would not be happening this year, but I parked that idea – and happily spent christmas morning listening to some old tunes, and new tunes (Brian Eno LP for Christmas), and started into a new book – while the dinner roasted away in the oven.

Wishing everyone the very best for 2021 and a brighter new year.

Plaid remade – finally

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I had to look at my old blog to find the photo of this skirt ‘before’ – I got it about 2014, and had been trying to figure what to make on and off since. My denim Anna Sui dress may now be too small (I live in hope) so I figured I could make a new one, and should I suddenly shrink (unlikely) I could take it in (dream on).

I started making the dress at the end of summer and finally getting to blog about it just coming on to Christmas ….. its a funny thing Covid, time seems to stretch out and then its gone in a flash.

I had to size up – and am feeling pretty cheated. I hadn’t realised there would be such a body change with perimenopause (which can only make me wonder whats next…but best not to over think it!). Figured in the end that something that fits is better than a dress that rides up when walking!

I put the strongest plaid lines to the centre front and worked out from there. I cut the yoke on the bias, and only when I saw it cut figured it would look better with a ‘mirror’ cut so had to so a small scrap sew to get the full cut. I miscalculated the back forgetting about the button overlap, but figured it would be concealed in part with buttons so perhaps it would not be so bad – then again, the shoulder seams match so well it. As the fabric is a loose-ish weave with different sized strands (by comparisson to a tweed for instance), I cuut the lining and basted to each piece (rather than making each separate). I omitted pockets as the jeet pockets seemed like a waste if the fabric was to be reused in the future, and the patch pockets felt fussy.

There is a comfortable amount of ease, and in all I am very happy with the dress. Its a well designed pattern – and its great to wear. I am glad I interlined it, and also glad I maanged to pick up a pair of square toe leather boots in the charity shop a few wees ago which work well with it!

The next project was a 3 way shawl (pillar to post pattern in the pattern links). It works well with the dress and for work (as the hospital can be rather warm, but I still need a cardigan to layer with my coat when I go outside).

My other charity shop find was this 2euro black coat. It was rather tired and the lining was badly ripped. I think it was longer once as the hem looked altered and there was a strange collar on it which was roughly done. The buttons were frayed, and also hanging off. The plus was, it had a great generous cut and wonderful weight (v warm) as well as a true vintage look. As it was impossible to fully revive it without recutting a lining, and try to recover the buttons etc, I figured I should just repair as best I could, and wear as the vintage piece it is. I trimmed the frays on the buttons and reattached – patched the interlining, and patched over the large tear on the inside. I took off the collar and steamed it in the steam cabinet about three times to fully revive the fabric. It looks so much fresher now.

Sewing was going rather slow for most of this year, and yet I seemed to spend a huge amount of time doing ficticious online shopping! or pinning new recipes on pinterest. I can only figure it was from shops being closed and my routine browsing of charity shops was being missed. We are now out of our ‘level 5’ lockdown and I have a few charity shop pieces picked up, and some christmas time off and a renewed sewing plan……

Hoping you are all keeping well and keeping safe – Wishing everyone a very happy christmas and a tonne of real hugs in the new year (sketch below of this years christmas card)

x

a machine for miss martha (and the frances blouse)

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Hopfully everyone is keeping well and staying safe……..I hadnt realised the last post I did here was the 29th March…… and now in July. In my head I am still in April, or it could be September, and only for there are still strawberries in the garden do I know it is still summer. I am enjoying seeing all the making that is going on in lockdowns…. one such inspiration is my friends daughter Martha aged 10, who lives in the opposite side of the country.

Martha has been sewing a lot more lately (mainly for her teddies and dolls), and her mom was sending me pics of various projects, and I was sending on any tips or diy patterns I thought may be of interest. One tip I sent was to old odd socks for doll clothes as they had a tube stretchy construction, and wouldnt fray. So Martha acted immediately (seemingly before breakfast) and by the afternoon the collection was complete, and photographed.

Martha uses a hand crank machine, but I was thinking if I came across a small electric, she would have a bit more freedom as she could use both hands (My own sewing started on a hand crank). I also knew of one which was unused in the resource centre where I had been teaching sewing, which I arranged a trade with them for it.

The machine is an 1980s Singer Featherweigh 324 and it is seen as a childs machine, which was why it was probably not used in the centre. The featherweight 324 gets mixed reviews. It is nothing like the classic Feather weight 221, but it is a handy little machine all the same. It comes in a useful carry basket and is super light and small. it has 2 speeds, fast or slow so useful for r juniobeginners! The other quirks are the threading is different to other singers and the foot is very light and this does give it a dinky feel, however, it can do zig zag and a few other decorative stitches as well as having a free arm. I was happy with how it worked on testing it and figured better sew a full project on it to make sure it was worthy of such a talented and busy maker as Martha.

The project I used to do a full sew on the small singer, was the Frances Blouse (its free), and it is exactly what I needed in my wardrobe, ie a white casual top. I had some white linen ends from lord-knows-when and scrap elastic so off I sewed! The construction is so straight forward and I think I cut it out and had it sewn in 2-3 hours. I have since made another from a silk dress (bought in charity shop for €3.50. I am always surprised that so many party dresses end up in charity shops and often with very few wears. I made the neckline smaller on the silk Frances. I have worn both tops a few times already, and anticipate wearing both a lot more. Its a very versitile top and super quick make.

Other sews of the summer include, updating a short sleeve pink knit tee (favourite Mean Girls quote), embroidering sleeves on a navy dress, trying out a hat pattern (elsewhen Joan), and plenty of masks…. the first ones I did were practical plain navys and blacks and I have since broadened the range to include off cuts of silk and chintz (masks now mandatory here, so may as well make them interesting). I have also started back sewing classes in the community sew room and we are doing masks – its turned out to be a very useful way of teaching sewing to beginners, as well as making something useful and as we are using old fabrics for the masks it really feels like sustainable sewing at its best!

stay safe, and happy sewing