LIBERTY in Fashion

If you love vintage and retro fashion you will
thoroughly enjoy this exhibition
Liberty in Fashion at the Fashion and Textile Museum
on until the 28th of February 2016

Liberty has been around for 140 years and the exhibition
covers from 1875 to present day

I especially loved these tea dresses from the 1930's to the 1940's.
the attention to detail was exquisite. The shape of these dresses is
very flattering to most body shapes. I have made some simple
versions of the tea dress using this pattern. Vogue also have a good
selection of 1940 patterns.

 Liberty's strong relationship with designers since 1875 is also

 Catalogued in the exhibition.

 Collaborations with Mary Quant 1960's, Jean Muir,  Cacharel

 Nike  ( don't you just love the trainers ) and Vivienne Westwood, bring the exhibition to present day.

Defiantly one to pop in and see ! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :-)

Christmas Gifts

If you know anyone who loves sewing I can't recommend this book enough.

Its been out for a while, but this book, is fantastic, 

it includes 30 full size patterns to make the different projects, 

with the instructions printed in the hard back book.

You will have to use spot and cross paper to trace of your project and size.

The instructions range from very simple i.e. the sleeveless shell top

( good for a beginner) to more challenging, i.e. 

the tweed and faux leather jacket.

How ever there is plenty for the beginner.

Many of the projects I have made again in different fabric,

as I have been so pleased with the shape.

I have often found when I have bought a book that I will only

make a few of the projects inside !

But...... with this book I have or some in the sewing class has made all but 5 of
the projects !

 If you love sewing a need a little treat, this is it, enjoy.

Sunday cake

This week for the Sewing classes I tried this recipe for

Cherry, choc and coconut tray bake, which I found here,
WOW not only was it super simple, it definitely hit the
spot. The perfect accompaniment to a lovely sewing
class.

Half term Happiness - even if you are not on half term

On a recent trip to Lewes, East Sussex,
I found these little gems at abigailsdrapery,
they reminded me of
the Cloth Kits of the seventies.
Instant sewing success for all ages.
You very simply cut around the
dash line and hand sew or machine together,
clip, turn in side out, stuff, and you have the sweetest
Tiger or Orangutan.

Patchwork Quilts

Making a patchwork quilt is the perfect way to use up
all you precious bits of vintage fabric, that are not
big enough for any thing else. Grouping colours together
as Natalie did, stops the quilt looking too busy.
I have found that the most important buy is the
wadding or batting as its called in America.
Bamboo or cotton wadding makes the sewing SO much
easier. Well worth the few extra pounds that it costs.
A packet of safety pins holds the quilt together nicely
as you assemble it.  The Beginners Guide to Quilting
is full of handy tips to get started, creating your own
heir loom.

Simplicity Patterns - half price ...... but hurry

Simplicity has a great range of Retro
 and Vintage dress makers patterns

Until the 6th of October 2014 they are on offer at half price.

I have ordered these three, to make some winter tops !

I thought they would look good with A line skirts.

Summer Shifts !

Summer 2014 is the Summer of the shift at Sew Retro,

These patterns from New Look and the vintage patterns,

are being whipped up

into fantastic dresses for  the summer. If you are new to sewing the
shift is a good starting point, most of the styles have a bust dart,
and a back zip, it presents bit more of a challenge than a simple
a line skirt, but if you have mastered that, this would be a step forward.

Love Retro and Vintage Fabric ?

Do you, like me, love Retro and Vintage Fabric ?
But find it hard to buy, and some times the original pieces are very small,
more suitable for craft projects than dress making .

Look no further John Lewis has developed an amazing
range to celebrate their 150 year anniversary.

They have collaborated with designers and searched archives

to produce a fabulous range of retro and vintage dressmaking 

and furnishing fabrics. Sadly they do not seem to be available on line !

(expect for some furnishing fabrics ) 

But at the Bluewater branch and the Oxford Street store,

you will be spoilt for choice. The fabric is around

the £16.00 per meter mark, but taking into consideration

how hard it is to find decent quantities of original

fabric, plus postage etc, Yes ! I feel a fabric shopping trip coming on.

Hope you are having a good Easter, I used a Mary Berry
recipe for these easter cup cakes, but found some great
cup cake recipes here too !

Makery - book review.

 I popped into my local T K Max and found this book by Kate Smith.

It's got a good selection of craft projects including decoupage and
machine embroidery, hand stitched items, knitting and crochet projects.

 Maja, made this purse from the book and I think it looks fantastic.

 Maja got her clasp from Ebay, but you can buy them from Kleins too!
The size of purse Maja made is more of a bag and Maja is going to add a strap.

As a purse or make up bag or bag with a strap this is the perfect gift,
thats if you can bear to part with it, I am not sure I could !

Half price patterns !

I find dress makers paper patterns expensive, so I jumped at the chance to stock up with New Looks offer of all patterns reduced to 2.95, but hurry the offer ends this saturday.

Choosing patterns I find can be very "off putting" as the manufacture's choice of
fabric would not be mine. On the back of the pattern there is always a line
drawing which I find really useful when making my choice. On line some
of the sites also offer  enlarged or black and white line drawings

. (It normally says
"click here for out line diagram" )

The Great British Sewing Bee

The makers of The Great British Sewing Bee,
got in touch with  Sew Retro, to ask if
any of my wonderful sewers were interested
in taking part in the third series !
So far, no takers, but if there are I will
keep you posted.

The professional touch - Labels

It does not take long at a Sew Retro sewing class to go from being a beginner
to a competent seamstress making wonderful outfits and gorgeous gift.
A label gives the gift or outfit a lovely profession finish. Vicky was given
these labels for christmas they are from Easy2name. You can choose the
font, size, colour, etc............. I was very impressed with the quality.

Merry Christmas Every One

May all your christmas dreams come true.

The Great British Sewing Bee Christmas Special and Kath Kidson "Sew"

I am looking forward to watching the Great
British Sewing Bee Christmas special tonight
on BBC 2 at 7.40pm
Lets hope it's a good one !

Using the Cath Kidson "Sew" book I have made
these Christmas present. All of the items shown
in the book  "Sew"are made in using Kath
Kidson fabric.

But it shows how versatile the patterns
can be when you use different fabric.
The Kath Kidson pattern's are great
shapes, you have to trace them off !
This was easy to do. The instructions
are (I think ) quite hard to follow, but
each project is marked, easy not much experience,
more experience, etc. Pop this on your christmas
list if you like making gifts and lovely items
for the house.

Brighton Open Houses

Looking for some unusual gifts ? I would recommend
Brighton and Hove Open Houses.

Weekends from the 30th November to 15th December.

Visiting the Christmas Artists Open Houses is a great way

to discover the creative talent that exists in the Brighton and Hove.

You’ll find homewares,  photography, jewellery, ceramics,

crafts, toys and textiles as well as handcrafted Christmas cards, 

wreaths, tree decorations and foodie gifts.

I have found lots of fab Christmas gifts 

around the £15 to £20 price mark. There is also an added bonus

you get to view the interiors of some amazing houses in the city.

You can download the brochure from the link ! Happy

snooping  shopping.