We’re getting the hang of this!

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014

Sunday saw our third workshop in operation – this time it was ‘Make a Two Way Bag’ and me and instructor Debs had a great time. There was lots of laughing and chatting and the inevitable biscuits, and everyone managed to produce very professional looking bags. Even though all were following the same pattern, the choice of fabrics and notions were such that everyone ended up with something unique – and isn’t that what sewing is all about? We have only three workshops left now before Christmas (have a peek at our workshop page to see what they are) but we’ve got some very exciting things coming for 2015 – my little shop is going to be extremely busy.

Here are a selection of pictures from the day.

Mags was first to show off her wares. Here she is with instructor Debs.

Then here come the rest. From left to right: Debs (with Lorraine, Georgina’s mum peaking over her shoulder), Avril, Georgina, Sam and another mags. What a wonderful array of bags. Well done everyone.

A very Sassy drive-by

Sunday, November 23rd, 2014

Only in Lincolnshire. Yesterday Mr Sassy was coming back from the sandwich shop and as he approached Sassy Sewing a small Vauxhall pulled up at the edge of the market place and, before the car had even stopped, the passenger door opened and a forthright lady of a certain age (Mr Sass described her as a cross between Margaret Thatcher and Mrs Overall) skipped across the cobbles and into the shop. One pair of knitting needles and four of our lovely enormous buttons later and she was gone – in a flash…back into the waiting motor like a scene from the Sweeney of the Third Age.

Utterly enchanting to watch apparently. Putting the dash into drive-by haberdashery.

Anyone seen this woman – the fastest shopper in East Lindsay!

Woollen whack-proofing

Tuesday, November 18th, 2014

Last Saturday saw our strangest request yet. A friendly, hopeful-looking couple came into the shop asking if we had any thick brick-red fabric. ‘Yes, of course’, we’ve got pretty much everything and anything in some combination. Unfortunately the only thing we had that was both thick and red was some lovely boiled wool – our most expensive fabric at £15 per metre.

‘I don’t need much,’ he said. ‘Just enough to put on the wall of the garage to protect my car’s door when I open it.’ Err, o…k. Thankfully for him our policy of cutting lengths down to 10cm meant that he could take just half a metre. £7.50 well spent he said. Can’t wait for this weekend, wonder what we’ll sell then?

Just doing our bit

Thursday, November 13th, 2014

Help Sassy Sewing raise money for Children In Need

From Saturday the 15^th of November to Friday the 21^st of November Sassy Sewing will donate 10% of everything we sell in the shop to this fantastic charity. No child should ever suffer and we want to do our bit to help.

We will also be selling handmade felt Christmas garlands and they’ll be a donation bucket as well so please pop in and help us raise as much money as we can.

Thank you so much.

Julie

What’s Patricia wearing?

Wednesday, November 12th, 2014

Well Patricia finally agreed to change her clothes so today she’s sporting a nifty spotty number. This is a Coco dress designed by Tilly and the Buttons and is made from polka dot Interlock knit fabric. This pattern is designed for knitted fabrics but to hold the shape properly it needs to be something a little thicker than Jersey – Interlock or Ponte Roma are ideal. It has two pockets on the front which can be omitted if you like — they are pretty cute though.

We are running a ‘Learn to Sew with Knits’ workshop on the 14th of December and the Coco will be the pattern of choice for the day – you can make the dress or T-shirt version. Head over to the workshop page for more details.

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First workshop success

Sunday, November 9th, 2014

Say hello to Lincolnshire’s latest sewing Bee. Twenty two days after we opened our doors, three happy sewers, myself and Debs, the instructor, spent a happy couple of hours, chattering, drinking coffee and making a lovely pocket apron at our first Sassy Sewing workshop. Two of our little hive (Avril and Sam) were complete sewing novices, the other (Judi) has only been stitching for a few months. I was so busy helping out, taking pictures and cutting fabric that I didn’t even get to make my own (maybe next week).

The workshop was designed for novices but the finished product looks very accomplished and is truly something to be proud of. OK, we might have over-run by half an hour or so, but everyone was having so much fun we could have gone on for hours. And Sam already has plans to make two more aprons for family and friends (not only that but she’s booked herself onto three of our other workshops too). Here are some pics of the day.

Friday pattern pick

Friday, November 7th, 2014

This weeks pattern is really really simple but I love the styling. It’s Simplicity K1609 – I got this version when it was stuck on the front of Sew magazine so it cost me nothing – result.

This was the pattern used by Hairy Biker Dave Myers on the recent Children in Need Sewing Bee, and although he’d made a hash of the other stuff he made, he did a really good job with this. It’s a sixties style number and the best bit is that it only has two main pieces to it – gloriously quick and easy to put together. The three versions are pretty much the same apart from one having a cute collar, one a bow tie one ‘going naked’ shall we say. There is a long list of potential fabrics on the back of the pattern sleeve so I think it’s safe to say you could probably use just about anything. I fancy one in a lovely tartan fabric for winter and then a crazy sixties style fabric for spring. Personally I’d want to make it a little bit bigger than shown on the pattern – feels to me like it should hang a little looser to look proper sixties – but maybe that’s me just trying to hide my muffin top again! Loose or not I think this is a lovely dress and it’s great to find something that looks so good but takes little making. Definitely worth a go.

Sewing ringing in the ears

Thursday, November 6th, 2014

If you’ve never listened to a podcast before or don’t even know what one is then now is the time to ‘get with it’ as the kids say. I’ve listened to one or two in the past, mostly about knitting but never really felt hooked. But I do now that’s for sure after finding the glorious podcast site that is Modern Sewciety. Run by Stephanie who is chatty and humourous, the podcasts cover a multitude of sewing related topics and she interviews lots of interesting people too. So OK, sometimes they are a bit long for the amount of time I have available and often they are very USA focused, but they still offer something wonderful to listen to – especially useful for those sewing marathon sessions that I know we all have from time to time (OK – so all of the time!) Have a little listen – you’re in for a treat.

www.modernsewciety.com

Friday (Saturday) Pattern Pick

Saturday, November 1st, 2014

The good thing about Chardonnay is its influence on that Friday feeling. the bad thing is when one shared bottle somehow becomes, er, another. So apologies for this being 24 hours late. Apparently by 9.30pm, me and Titch-too were preparing ourselves for the following day’s exertions nicely (AKA sleeping on the sofa), meaning this week we have a once-in-a-lifetime exclusive…the Sassy Sewing Saturday pattern pick.

This week it’s the turn of a Colette pattern called Myrtle – especially designed for beginner sewers but of course don’t let that put you off if you’re more experienced as it’s such a nice design. This dress is made from medium or lightweight knits and is multi-sized from XS (33 – 34 inch bust) to 3X (52 -54 inch bust). It has a draped cowl neck with an elasticated waist, a flowing gathered skirt and seam pockets. Version 1 falls just below the knee and version 2 has adjustable button-on shoulder tabs and finishes just above the knee.

I just love the style of this dress and we all know that stretch fabrics hide a multitude of bumps and (on my part anyway) muffin tops so that’s a much appreciated bonus. It really does suit all shapes and sizes. You’ll need a ballpoint or stretch machine needle to make it up and it also calls for a twin needle although this isn’t strictly necessary so if you don’t have one to hand then don’t worry too much. Colette have published a great book called ‘The Colette Guide to Sewing Knits’ which is definitely worth looking out for as it makes sewing with stretchy material much less daunting – it’s full of loads of helpful tips and tricks of the trade. You can get it from Amazon.

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A very useful sewing site

Welcome to Sassy Sewing

Here it's not just about 'how to' but also 'why not?' We're not experts, more like curious enthusiasts and this is the place where we can all learn to be successful at sewing together. Helpful (hopefully), inspiring (ditto) and we promise not to take ourselves too seriously. Let's put some fun into fabric.