It’s magic!
Saturday, December 5th, 2015
So, a man walks through the shop door. Very well dressed, manicured, we’re not quite sure whether he’s James Bond or a high-class sales rep.
‘Do you have any red silk?’ he asks. Funnily enough, we did have, but the last metre went last week to a lady lining a cape (what else?) for her husband’s Xmas party.
Now, the Sassy way is to always talk to our customers and Judi wasn’t going to let (sales) agent 008 leave without at least finding out what he was up to. And it turns out he was wanting to show his work colleagues a magic trick he’d learned which needed a square of fabric.
Thankfully, it turned out that we could offer him a suitable substitute so his ‘man-of-mystery, licenced-to-thrill’ demonstration could still go ahead.
And with that, he disappeared off into the winter mist. Who was he? We’ll never know.
My super seam guide
Monday, November 16th, 2015
We all have little gadgets in our sewing boxes that we take for granted. Things we use day in day out that make our sewing lives easier. My current best friend is the Prym Sew and Knit gauge. I’ve just finished a circle skirt for a friend and if you’ve ever done this you’ll remember how much hemming there is to do – acres of the stuff. Before I got my gauge I used a normal tape measure and what a faff that now seems. Now I just set the metal gauge to the measurement required (it has both inches and centimetre marks) and move it around the bottom of the hem bit by bit, turning up the fabric along the way. The gauge flattens the fabric as you go which makes it more much more accurate than uing a tape. It’s more exciting that it sounds I promise, and shaves loads off the time it takes me to tackle hems. If you haven’t tried one of these before I would highly recommend it.
These gauges cost around £2.60p and are available from most sewing shops, including Sassy Sewing.
My current favourite sewing book
Wednesday, November 4th, 2015
OK, I’ve had this book for a while now but have only just got round to having a really good look – and I love it. I am such a fan of all things vintage and this book, the second from Lisa Comfort has managed to fill me with inspiration to sew even more ‘old style’ stuff. Called ‘Sew Over It Vintage’ it’s packed full of great projects – dressmaking, accessories and beautiful things for the home. All are inspired by the fashion of the 1950s and 60s – two great decades.
There are no patterns with this book, it’s all done by drafting your own and Lisa starts the book by giving lots of instruction and advice on how to do this. Some projects are done from scratch and others are up-cycled. All levels of sewists are catered for and beginners are encouraged to move from one project to the next, gathering skills and experience as they go. The book has dozens of lovely photographs and easy to follow illustrations to accompany the instructions. All very fabulous.
I love every single project in this book and I can’t wait to get stuck in. I’m going to start with the 1950s capelet which is right up my street, then I’ll have a go at the 1920s kimono dressing gown – very Downton Abbey.
I would very much recommend this book – it’s £15 (although shop around for the best deal) and it’s available from good bookshops and Amazon of course.
Sewing Satisfaction
Tuesday, October 27th, 2015
Looking through some recent picture we took of Sassy Sewing workshops, it struck me that this is what sewing fulfilment looks like. A simple shot taken at the end of our last ‘learn to sew class’. Look carefully and you’ll see the bits of thread all over the tables and floor, sense the warm glow of satisfaction from the babbling and newly-enthused group of sewists and try not to count the exact number of biscuit wrappers on the table.
This is the second time we’ve run this six week course and the second time we’ve grown a bunch of passionate crafters who didn’t want to stop. So we are now planning some kind of ‘next-stage’ intermediate sewing course to run in our next series of workshops early next year. Keep an eye on the website for news – it’s all very exciting!
Sewing with satin fabric
Friday, October 23rd, 2015
The party season is upon us (or so I’m told) and we’ve had a few folk in the shop recently asking for advice on sewing with satin. They were planning on making some fab dress or other for a special do. Mostly the questions are about how to sew a seam in satin without it puckering. Well we have some advice for this. Here it is:
- Set the machine tension low because if it’s too tight it will pucker straight away
- Choose a shorter stitch length than normal
- Choose a small, fine needle – a size 70 or 75 as this will help avoid needle holes appearing in the fabric
- A straight-stitch foot will help as it has a smaller hole than a standard foot and so the fabric is much less inclined to get pulled down into the machine
- Hold the fabric taught as you sew
- A strip of tissue paper underneath the fabric as you sew will help support it. It can easily be torn away after stitching
- Finally enjoy it – satin is a lovely fabric and, with just a bit of care, shouldn’t cause you any problems
Come party with us!
Thursday, October 15th, 2015
This coming weekend (18th of October to be exact) marks one whole year since Sassy Sewing opened it’s doors to the sewists of Horncastle and, as it turns out, much further afield.
We’re so proud of what our little shop has achieved. We’ve sold hundreds of metres of beautiful fabric to avid sewists, taught dozens of new sewists to sew, including children, inspired those more experienced to try something new and given confidence to those dithering on the edge to step inside and discover the joy of sewing. Our buzzing shop has become a little oasis for local sewists and tourists alike. And that’s just want we wanted to achieve.
So we’re having a party to celebrate and everyone, yes everyone is invited. And that means you. This Saturday we’ll be offering 10% off everything and free cookies too, And as it’s a double celebration – it’s also Sew Saturday where the nation celebrates the importance of local sewing shops, we’re running a fabric swap. This is a simple concept. We’ll put some pieces fabric out in the morning and all you need to do is bring along any fabric you’re no longer completely in love with and swap it for something you do love. As the day goes on we should see some interesting fabrics swapping hands. I’m really excited. Although open normal hours (9.30am until 4pm) the celebrations will run 11am – 3pm. Can’t wait to see you there.
If you’re new to Sassy Sewing you can find us at 8 Market Place, Horncastle. LN9 5HB. We are just under the archway between Age Concern and the cobblers and just in front of The Stables Bistro.
Sassy’s brimming over!
Sunday, October 4th, 2015
That’s it, I think Sassy Sewing might be full. The last few weeks have seen some enthusiastic stocking with dozens of new fabrics and a whole heap of new haberdashery. Maybe we’ve been a little too excited because our lovely little shop has every available nook and cranny full of stuff we like.
I’ve been into loads of fabric shops over the years, crammed to the rafters with inaccessible fabrics that look they have been there for years. In one place recently, I even spotted some novelty poly-cotton with fireworks, champagne and the words ‘welcome-to-2000’ printed on it.
We never wanted Sassy Sewing to be like that. The idea was always to make it an enjoyable experience and to rotate a good stock of fabrics regularly, rather than just pile more and more on top the rest.
We want our customers to look forward to seeing our new stock and so I’ve set Mr Sassy the task of making more space to get even more new stuff in. Cue much head-scratching and I thought I saw a pencil behind an ear the other day, which is definitely worrying.
With another 11 fabrics still to fit in before the end of this month it’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with.
Six thing to consider when hemming
Tuesday, September 15th, 2015
Hemming is a vital technique in dressmaking – no one likes a dodgy looking bottom! So here are our top tips for getting it right every time.
- Casual everyday garments often have simple machine-stitched hem finishes, while fancier garments might use blind hems, rolled hems, or hand-stitched hems to get a more subtle and sophisticated look.
- If you’re sewing a skirt, the fuller it is the narrower you will want your hem to be.
- If you are using a sheer fabric, you should account for the visibility of the hem through the fabric. You might be better choosing a narrow rolled or baby hem.
- Some hems require certain types of fabric. For example, it is difficult to execute a tiny rolled hem with thick or stiff fabric.
- Stitching hems by hand is time consuming but can look fab and, when finished is such a satisfaction. If you’ve spent weeks on a pair of tailored trousers, it’s surely worth it to get a perfect hand-stitched hem, even if it adds a couple hours. But take a look at your garment before deciding if hand stitching is appropriate – it’s not always worth it for everyday garments.
- The look you are trying to achieve will be important when choosing what hem to use, however what fabric you’re using is just as important. The instructions that come with your sewing pattern will help you choose but if you’re going for a different look or if you’re using fabric that needs special consideration, then have the confidence to mix it up.
59 weeks later….
Monday, August 31st, 2015
On July 20th 2014 Sassy Sewing made our first post (see the re-post below). At the end of it was a musing on what will this blog look like in a year’s time. Well, the answer is something I never thought would happen. 59 weeks later Sassy Sewing has grown from a blog, to a plan to run workshops to a proper bricks-and-mortar shop and a team of friends and it’s fast approaching its own first anniversary.
We’ve met hundreds of new mates, some wonderful personalities, a whole load of suppliers, big and small and at least two dozen assorted animals accompanying their owners into the shop. We’ve had almost 500 people attend our workshops and created a whole legion of ‘born-again’ sewists (still can’t use the word sewer without thinking about drains). We’ve watched our little website go up and down on Google (mostly up) and at one point Sassy Sewing was the top of the list if you searched for ‘sewing workshops UK’. I can’t tell you how proud that made me feel.
But most importantly we (and that growing band of sewists) have made hundreds, maybe even thousands of garments, bags, quilts, pinafores, curtains, upholstery, baby clothes and wall protectors for their classic cars. And it seems that every single one of us (and you) have enjoyed pretty much every single one.
So, thank you for reading, thank you for coming along to the workshops and thank you for sharing your sewing tales and lovely comments on Sassy Sewing. It’s been one hell of a year. Wonder if I dare ask it again? Oh, why not…I wonder where we’ll be in 12 months time?
July 2014:
September 28 2013. 1.25pm. We’re due at a friend’s wedding in 91 minutes. The church is about an hour away from here and I’m still about half an hour from finishing my outfit. Maybe leaving just a week from start to finish was a little ambitious. Maybe I should have stayed up an extra hour last night?
But somehow, in amongst the panic, this is fun. Perhaps this is a new extreme sport. Freestyle sewing against the clock. Like triathlon, but with needles. One day it’ll be sponsored by Red Bull. Swearing never helps and passing the blame certainly doesn’t but right now, every other person, dog, cat or bluebottle passing through our dining room is partly responsible…obviously.
And then, somehow, everything comes together. …the machine finally gives in and ‘allows’ me to make that last button hole ( I’m very grateful thank you!) Then that’s it – the last stitch passes through the last hole and my creation (sounds like Frankenstein) is ready. Two hours later (ahem) we screech to a halt at the church, like a scene from Four Weddings and take our place, just in time. And nine hours after that, of sitting, standing, mingling, dancing, staggering and maybe even the odd drunken headbang (who doesn’t love a bit of Guns and Roses?) my new outfit ends the night intact, unscathed and ready for more of the same. And no one has worn anything like it. No one has seen anything like it. And it fits. And it’s mine. And I could wear some of it to work on Monday (providing the guacamole stains come out, of course).
And that, I suppose is why we all do this. To bypass the stores, skip past the rails of ill-fitting, over-priced, here-today outfits and make something that says… ‘Hello world, this is me’ in a not-quite-camp-but-still-slightly-diva-ish kind of way.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying ‘Hello and welcome to Sassy Sewing’ A blog for those of us continually surprised at our ability to make something we like that doesn’t unravel around our ankles at the first gust of wind.
This is a place for those of us still learning. Still discovering new techniques and wondering what that whizz-bang-widget is for and why-the-hell-should-we-buy-one. Thank you for joining in. I wonder where we’ll be this time next year?
Sassy goes to Kenya
Monday, August 24th, 2015
So, a woman comes into the shop today clutching a very worn out blouse. ‘I need some lightweight cotton please’ she says. As I show her what’s available we get chatting and it turns out the blouse is an old favourite, finally come to the end of its days. The lady’s daughter lives and works in Kenya doing very good things for charity and there are women in her village who have been taught to sew in order to earn money. One amazing woman can apparently see a garment and pretty much replicate it without a pattern, Pino Grigio or any kind of swearing at all. Her daughter is over here right now and so the fabric is heading back on a plane to be made into a new blouse by this very talented lady. Wine coloured linen-look cotton was chosen for the job, along with a bit of tartan for a panel to go all the way round the bottom of said blouse.We had checked the original garment and had calculated the amount needed but I couldn’t face the idea that her daughter might get all the way to Kenya and find that she didn’t have enough. Rudimentary maths said 1.5 metres, but I gave her the rest of the bolt (about 2.3 metres in total) for nothing just to be sure.
Can’t wait to see the photos when it’s done – or even better, to see it in the flesh. Sassy going global – who’d have thought it!.
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