Anyone for coffee?
Sunday, March 8th, 2015
We have a new measure of busy-ness at the shop. DGC or Drinks Gone Cold. With an award-winning bistro and coffee shop next door, Sassy Sewing gets through a lot of hot drinks, but, as our little business gets busier we are staring at more and more un-drunk paper cups.
A typical day will score 2-3 on the ‘Cappacin-not’ scale, which means roughly 50% of drinks go unloved. But since February the shop has been getting busier and busier and we’ve seen it soar off the scale. Yesterday started off slowly, looking like it might only be a ‘1’ . but then, from about mid-morning onwards things got a bit manic and it turned into a record-breaking ‘6’. That’s a lot of wasted beans and unconsumed caffeine, but funnily enough a Julie who is still buzzing, which probably demonstrates some kind of interesting scientific principle about positivity and hortmones. Unfortunately, we’re all too shattered to work it out.
The Walkaway Dress
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015
So my Walkaway Dress as featured on The Great British Sewing Bee is finished – and what a beauty. I chose a cotton print with a vintage design which I thought fitted the style just right. All in all it took me about five and a half hours, but not all in one go. It’s a hungry dress as far as fabric is concerned – 4.6 metres plus 5 metres of bias binding – but I think it’s worth it. There are only three pattern pieces and, even though it looks more complicated, it is in fact very easy to make. The most time consuming parts were hemming the circle skirt – I may cheat and just turn up once rather than twice next time, and applying the bias, which goes on all the edges. If you make this, be careful on the neck edge as sewing the bias in place can make it stretch out of shape a little. Using a stay stitch will help.
The sizing of the dress is not very generous – I made mine thinking I’d have plenty of room but to be honest it’s too tight to wear right now – so check carefully before you cut. I’ve got a few more Hip Hop Abs workouts to do before I can squeeze into mine, but for now Patricia the mannequin is enjoying it for me. I still have to do the fastenings on the front (so not quite finished in reality!) I’m going for loops and buttons rather than the popper fastenings the pattern asks for as I think they’ll look nicer.
I’d highly recommend everyone to make this dress as it really is a lovely thing and so vintage darling. Just my thing.
Sewing Bee Inspiration
Friday, February 20th, 2015
So how many of you watched The Sewing Bee last night? I loved it. All that vintage loveliness – just my kind of thing. I was particularly impressed with the Walkaway Dress and was busy imagining me twirling and whirling around (like you do) in my very own version. And then I started thinking that I’d seen something like this before. One quick Google search later (how many of you were also doing this) and a Butterick pattern was adorning my screen and guess what? I’ve got it! It’s pattern number B4790 and is part of their Retro range. It’s been sitting in my pattern stash for nearly two years now awaiting it’s turn to be taken out and used. How lucky am I? I was drawn to it as I love those fifties style dresses but as I hadn’t yet looked at the instructions I had no idea how it went together – what an ingenious idea though. And starting it at breakfast and finishing for lunch – that’s my kind of make (but I bet it doesn’t quite work out like that when I give it a go).
So of course I’m now all inspired and the dress is next on my ‘to do’ list. I’m going to cut it out tomorrow and see if I can finish it on Sunday. There are only three pattern pieces, and it says it’s ‘fast and easy’ so I live in hope. You need a lot of material though – my size is going to need anything between nearly four and nearly five metres depending on the width. You also need a lot of bias binding as that’s how all the edges are finished. It says to use broadcloth or linen or taffeta fabric but I’ll just have a browse and see what takes my fancy – probably one of the lovely printed cottons I have in the shop.
I’ll let you know how I get on – hopefully by Monday I’ll have a beautiful fifties style dress to swish about it – check back and find out!
The Sewaholic Granville Shirt pattern – it’s fab!
Saturday, February 14th, 2015
This pattern had just hit the shop and is flying off the rack already. The Granville is a fitted button-front shirt with optional front pockets, and long sleeves with tailored plackets and cuffs. Front darts add subtle shaping, and the back princess seams are designed to fit the curve of your lower back in an extremely flattering way. The yoke is self-lined, and the two-piece collar will look great under a jacket or sweater. It’s particularly good for those with a small bust and waist but larger hips.
This shirt would look fab in a whole variety of fabrics, and I think my first attempt will be in a light cotton lawn for spring – I can’t wait to get going with it. Although I also think it would look great in a retro affair like the beautiful print below designed by Beth Studley for Makower Fabrics. Maybe I’ll go for that first – just so much choice!
These patterns are selling out fast, so if you want to get your hands on one, you’ll need to get a rush on! Enjoy.
It’s time to….make lingerie
Thursday, February 5th, 2015
I love making clothes – dresses, jackets, skirts, trousers, shirts – I’ve had a go at most things (best not to ask about the shirt!) The one thing I’ve never tackled though is lingerie – it’s never really crossed my mind before that this is something I could or would do. But of course my 2015 challenge is well underway now and because I’m not allowed to buy any clothes this year, I thought I’d better get on and find out how to make some underwear before all mine drops to pieces from overuse.
I came across the book Secrets of Sewing Lingerie on another blog and thought two things – this could be really useful and also how beautiful it looked. So off I went and ordered a copy.
I was right, it is a very beautiful (almost whimsical) book but don’t be fooled by this as it is packed full of useful advice and inspiration. They leave nothing to chance – fabric choices, how to sew with elastic, fitting, all about gussets, how to care for your lingerie etc. – it’s all in here. The instructions are clear and the colour illustrations really do help.
They advise you start with their Pretty as PicNic Cotton Mini’s which are a lovely pair of knickers – and given that I haven’t got a clue how to make lingerie I think I’ll do as I’m told and make these first. I’ll probably go for a nice cotton lawn for these – Liberty perhaps? All the patterns needed to make the garments come with the book so it’s pretty good value at £15.99.
My favourite project from my first look through this book is the Sugar Darlin’ Sweetheart set – a silk and lace flimsy bra and pants (they call them Brazilians!) so I’m looking forward to progressing my skills so I can have a go at these.
Now, if you’re the sort of person who likes a little more support in the bra department you will be disappointed as the offerings in this book are all non-padded, non-wired, teeny tiny things. However don’t let that put you off buying it as there are so many other lovely projects to try – including suspenders! And also the techniques they teach will come in useful for other, non-lingerie related projects too. So all in all a good find – I can’t wait to get started. I’ll let you have a look at my makes but don’t worry, I’ll put them on the mannequin rather than modelling them in person – don’t want to put you off!
My first challenge makes
Wednesday, January 21st, 2015
So I’ve finally got the first makes of my 2015 ‘not allowed to buy any clothes’ challenge under my belt and I’m quite pleased with them both. The skirt is a Vogue wraparound affair made in lovely purple buttersoft corduroy. You may not be able to tell so well from the pictures but it has a lovely fishtail to one side, which is why I chose to make it to be honest – I just loved the detail. It’s a very easy make suitable for all level of sewer and because it’s a wraparound, there’s no reason to worry too much about fitting and there are no zips or buttonholes to trip you up either – it’s fastened by hook and eye. Easy peasy. The only tiny niggle was that the pieces are all cut out as singles (so you don’t fold the fabric) which means you need quite a bit of space to manage it – but I wouldn’t let that put you off making it as it’s so nice.
The fabric is really fab, but as with all cord types it can creep, resulting in uneven seams, so if you’re using anything like this, remember to put loads of pins in to hold it as you sew (or baste it, which I was too lazy to do!) and to make it really easy, try using a walking foot – although this is not essential by any means. My only whoopsie was the waistband. Even though I cut everything to size carefully and sewed the correct seam allowance, when it came to attaching the waistband it was too small so I had to cut again. By this point I didn’t have enough fabric to cut the piece along the grainline, which meant my new band was cut across the grain and so was a bit stretchy for my liking. So to firm it up a bit, I sewed a piece of green grosgrain ribbon the whole length of it, which worked a treat. I also, as you can see, trimmed the bottom with giant, green ricrac. This was because I thought the purple needed breaking up a bit as it’s such a large amount of fabric – the green just draws your eyes in a little. Overall I think the skirt turned out well.
The blouse is a Sewaholic Belcarra made in a Liberty print (get me!) – the second one I’ve made in lovely Liberty. It’s another easy make that can be made even easier by using bias around the neck and armholes rather than the facings. It’s a pull on garment so no fiddling with fastenings – I made version A which is the simplest of all the options. Once you’ve got the pieces cut out this blouse goes together quickly so great for those impatient types. My only slight issue is the neckline – I find this pattern is a bit wide on me so I just adjust accordingly. I also made it just a tad longer – I have a long body so I often need to do this when making things for my top half. It’s really easy to wear – I highly recommend it.
So onto my next make – a Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde blouse made out of cotton print from Dashwood’s Retro Autumn collection. So far I’m really enjoying this challenge.
The 2015 challenge becomes reality
Tuesday, January 13th, 2015
My friend Judi is out of the blocks with our 2015 challenge – to make all our own clothes for 2015 and not buy anything. She’s made this lovely pinafore dress – the pattern is from Kwik Sew and is number K3955. She used a gorgeous soft, needlecord fabric with autumnal design and this is what she had to say about it.
“The fabric was lovely to work with and very forgiving. It’s an easy sew, so great for beginners and can be completed in an afternoon if you put your mind to it – although I did make the mistake of putting the facings on the wrong way up which held me up a little! It’s got enormous pockets which are fab and really aren’t difficult to do (me and pockets have got history!) and I think the whole thing looks great with thick tights and stockings. It does require quite a bit of understitching and topstitching of seams but as most are straight, this wasn’t an issue. I would definitely make this again – I think it’s going to become quite a wardrobe staple.”
As for me – I’ve finished a Vogue wraparound skirt (well I will have when I’ve sewn on the fastenings) and I’m halfway through a Tilly and the Buttons Mathilda blouse. I’ll be blogging about them later in the week once they’re ready for modelling – check back to take a peek at how they turn out.
Fab book alert
Saturday, January 10th, 2015
Well would you look at this! My brother (who doesn’t know a sewing needle from a frog) bought me such an insightful present for Christmas that I’m a bit flabbergasted to be honest. It’s a little black book called Famous Frocks, The Little Black Dress and it’s by Dolin Bliss O’Shea. There are 10 different dresses to make and each one has variations to choose from, giving 20 garments in all – and patterns are included for each one. Each dress is inspired by a fashion icon – Coco Chanel, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Princess Diana being amongst them. It’s a lovely looking, very chic book and I’d say it’s aimed at the intermediate level sewer. There’s not one single dress that I wouldn’t make, but to start with I’m going to try the Mary Quant number that’s modeled on the cover . The book is available on Amazon – if you like little black dresses, get your hands on this beauty. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
11 things we’ve learned since opening a sewing shop
Wednesday, December 31st, 2014
It’s been just about 75 days since we opened the doors of Sassy Sewing and as 2015 fast approaches, we take a look at what we’ve learnt in that time. And it’s a lot!
1 It’s all about the people (who help you get open in the first place)
As soon as we started telling people what we were planning, friends rallied round to help us. Times like this are when you come to love your network of friends, relations and even the people you only just met. These are the folks who find the solutions, who turn up when you need them to paint, plaster, hammer, screw or simply to wait all afternoon in an empty shop for a delivery that doesn’t turn up till 5.29pm.
These are the people who pep up your spirits when things are going badly, who turn up with a four pack of cider and a smile and who happily work till gone midnight on the night before you open to get everything just so (and then turn up nine hours later for opening day celebrations)
2 You’ll work twice as hard as you planned to
Making a business plan is simple. Making a comprehensive and realistic business plan is terrifying and the realisation that you are about to become the HR, accounts and marketing department as well as the directors and the workforce is actually (if you’re an optimist) simply a good excuse to drink more coffee and finally cut your ties with the sofa and rubbish reality TV.
And the truth is that the business plan actually turned out to be quite accurate (so far), but what we never realised was just how much of our evenings and weekends would be spent tweaking, thinking, strategizing and making sure everything is just so. Hard work? Yes. Fun? Definitely. We’ve never slept so soundly.
3 But it will all be worth it
Absolutely. We’ve never enjoyed life so much or felt so alive…
…Because…
4…It’s all about the people
In the last eight weeks since Sassy sewing opened its doors we have met so many lovely people, heard so many inspiring stories and had such fun. Maybe it’s a sewing thing, but our customers are just brilliant. Some are full of it – chatty, friendly, and inquisitive. Others come in and look around, stay quiet for a while, but then open up when we ask them a few questions and in so many cases this leads to a long and lovely chat about what they make, how they’ve done it and what they will do next. If you have one of those jobs where you look at the clock and can’t believe it is only half past ten, then you need to come and work here – the days just fly by.
5 Sewing is a (very) social pastime
Running workshops was always a big part of the Sassy Sewing plan, but neither me nor Mr Sassy had any idea how much fun they would be. So far every single one has sold out and every single one has been terrific. Again, it’s all about the people. We’ve been very lucky to find Debs and Christina – our dynamic duo of instructors. Both have the knack of getting everyone through it and just about managing the endless chatter and laughter to get finished on time. We have other instructors in the pipeline too – all lovely people.
6 Everything is a learning experience
Dealing with suppliers, learning to do accounts, keeping on top of so many things and switching and swapping the shop around to make it as appealing as it can possibly be – it’s all in a day’s work.
Once more, it’s all about the people and the relationships. Looking your suppliers in the eye, making the effort to do the right thing and learning to say no when it matters. Scary stuff if you’ve always had a big company behind you, but thrilling when it all comes together.
7 Making money is almost irrelevant
Obviously we aren’t just doing Sassy Sewing’s shop for fun. But the reasons we did it were always a lot more about creating a sewing hub and a thriving little community in our town before they were about business. Sometimes there are more important things than making huge amounts of money.
8 Community matters
We live and work in a small town which has some wonderful and very individual shops. And we’ve been thrilled by the support we’ve had from the folk that run them. Customers come in having been recommended by other business owners. Everyone mucks in and helps spread the word. Thank you.
9 Accountants are interesting (and spreadsheets too)
Keeping a track on how the business is working is simpler than we imagined and the experts we’ve had to help us have made it very straightforward to get to grips with.
Obviously we started off writing things down on bits of paper and it took about three weeks before we realised just how many bits of paper we were going to end up with. Mr Sassy always said he would rather learn the violin than Microsoft Excel, but thankfully I managed to persuade him otherwise and we now have a simple record of what’s what, which he seems slightly too proud of.
10 Horncastle has a phantom balloon popper
Every day we put out our A board with some lovely, cheery balloons attached – everyone likes balloons, right? Wrong. Every day someone walks by and ceremoniously pops them – and I’m sure they’re full of glee when they do it. Glad we’re making someone happy!
11 It is all about the people
Shopping should be fun. You can go visit the biggest, brightest, best stocked shop and still not enjoy it if the people behind the counter don’t make you feel welcome. When we started this we were determined that a trip to Sassy Sewing should be different to other sewing shops. Friendly, helpful and hopefully, inspirational. We’ve been lucky to find Debs who runs the shop in the week and instructs at the weekends. She is all of the above and more. Thanks Debs.
Sassy’s New Year Challenge!
Sunday, December 28th, 2014
New year, new challenge. Or should that be…daft challenge. Cooked up by my lovely friend Judi, we’ve decided that for 2015 we are both going to ditch shopping and make all our own clothes instead. Yes I did just say ‘ditch shopping.’ What are we thinking?
So this is the deal. We’ve both decided on a few things we won’t be able to make ourselves (bras and socks for Judi and work suits for me) but everything else we wear in 2015 has to be made by our own fair hands. I’ve already enrolled on an underwear making workshop in a bit of a panic! Knitting is also OK as is up-cycling old or second hand clothes.
I do make a lot of my own stuff, but nothing on this scale. Twelve months of boundary pushing should be a great way to progress – just think how much better dressmakers we’ll be by the end of it (hopefully!) Alternately we’ll just spend all year wearing the same eight old garments!
Judi has a challenge within a challenge here. Currently living in Turkey means access to dressmaking fabric is limited so she’s facing the joy of creating most of her clothes with knits, which is mostly all that is available where she is. Although of course I will send her fabrics from the shop if she needs me to.
So we’ve got just under a week to be ready. I’m cutting out a dress today which I hope to work on over the rest of the Christmas period – thought I’d get a head start. I’m making the new Tilly and the Buttons dress – a pattern called Francoise. It’s a sixties inspired mini dress and I’m doing the sleeveless version – might need a vest underneath it for the next few months!
I’ll be blogging every week about the challenge, so please pop back – we’ll need all the encouragement we can get!
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