I asked Tom what he would like his waistcoat to look like. Cue usual answer, which is “I’m not sure, really!” So I suggested tweed because I had secretly wanted to make something with tweed for a while – see what I did there?! Anyway, after a search online we found In Tweed and sent off for some samples (which arrived really quickly). Tom chose this beautiful lightweight Teviot tweed. It took a while to find some satin for the back in just the right shade of grey to match, but after sending off for some samples from Platinum Bridal Fabrics, we decided that the Duchess satin in Majestic Gunmetal would be perfect to compliment the buttons and the tweed. The satin samples arrived so quickly too, so we were very impressed!

So today, I started making this tweed waistcoat – if you follow me on Instagram then you will have seen these work in progress photos already (sorry!) but I wanted to share them here for those of you who aren’t on Instagram. I used the same pattern that I used last time, which is Vogue Men V8048. It all came flooding back to me as I started to make it – as my friend said earlier, it’s just like riding a bike![/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”6339,6340,6341,6342,6343,6344,6345,6346,6347,6351″ img_size=”large” column_number=”2″ grayscale=”no”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1415565359563{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]I am particularly pleased with these buttonholes – those of you who have been reading my blog for a while will know that on my old machine I didn’t have the foot that I needed, so had to adjust the settings manually which was a nightmare! This was a breeze in comparison, and I feel a lot more confident about doing them on other things now.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6353″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=”” img_link_large=”yes”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1415565655897{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Making this waistcoat seemed to go really quick – I was obviously in the sewing zone today – and also not doing any embroidery on it helped! I’m looking forward to Saturday when Tom can wear it, and I’ll try to get some good photos if he’ll let me…I keep forgetting that it gets dark so early now, which is nice for cosy crafting but not good for photo-taking.

I hope you have all had a fab weekend! What have you been making?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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As you can see, the top has a band just under the chest with little buttons to fasten it. I decided to unpick just above the band, so that I could use it for a waistband on the skirt and leave the ties attached at the back. There is a piece of elastic sewn into the back too, and I wanted to leave it in so that I wouldn’t have to insert a zip.

I unpicked the fabric at the front and then cut away the back piece, just a little higher than the elastic. I was so pleased with how it looked – and it fit as well! After faffing about trying to work out how to neaten the top edges without losing most of the waistband, I had a rummage in my craft supplies and found some lovely ribbon that would cover it up and compliment the fabric really well. But – disaster! I was about an inch short of what I needed! It made me think of that bit in West Side Story in the dress shop: “How much can one little inch do?” A lot, when you’re an inch short! How frustrating!

So I had to put it to one side for the evening to be picked up another day… When I started work on it again after buying some more ribbon (I got a 5 metre roll, just to be sure!) I pinned one side of the ribbon to the front of the skirt. I had to get rid of the top button to be able to make sure that the front was level with the back, and then I stitched along the edge. It was really tough doing this around the back with the elastic (which explains why there are no photos of this bit!). I’ve never done it before so was making it up as I went along really, trying to keep it stretched out as I stitched. To finish the other side, I handstitched catching the skirt fabric but not the front side of the ribbon.

Ta-dah! My ill-fitting top has now become a skirt, perfect for these long summer days that we’re enjoying at the moment.

This is the back – I’m pleased that I kept the ties!

Having done this alteration I’ll definitely be more confident at doing another – it’s one of those things that I really didn’t want to ruin this top! But I didn’t, hooray! So if you’re like me and you’ve been putting off an alteration for ages, give it a go!

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These tops are versions of the simple summer cotton top that I made a couple of months ago – I really love this pattern! It isn’t too difficult to make, and it fits really well. I had my eye on these fabrics for so long and then managed to get them in the John Lewis sale, which was even better!

On the floral top I used one of my vintage buttons from our friend Madge, and I used a fabric covered button on the pink top.

I also made another A-line skirt out of this super hot air balloon fabric – I love this fabric!

This skirt has a lovely bright yellow lining, so it’s perfect for a sunny day!

I’ve got a pattern for a different top that I haven’t tried out yet, so really looking forward to giving it a go. This one has a zip in it, so I’ll be doing a trial run before I make one out of this amazing fabric!

I also started working on an alteration project tonight, turning this top into a skirt…it’s going well so far, so fingers crossed!

Look out for more sewing on here soon! What have you been making?

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The pattern I used for these trousers is Simplicity 1520 – it’s easy to follow and there are only 3 pieces (front leg, back leg and elastic), so easy to handle as a beginner. You also don’t need to worry about pattern matching for PJs – this means you can go bonkers with pattern without worrying! This pattern has sizes for all the family too, as well as different lengths.

The bow on the front is decorative – I chose this yellow ribbon to compliment the fabric, which I made whilst watching the Tour de France in my home county of Yorkshire on the telly! I’m really pleased with the fit of these trousers too – even though they look like MC Hammer trousers when they’re hung up, they are much less baggy

Ta-dah! I’ll be blogging about my other projects soon, so stay tuned!

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I can’t believe how much I’ve learnt about sewing by making these trousers. If you want to get to know your sewing machine a little better, then this is certainly the way to do it! I’ve used about four different feet to do things I didn’t know were possible, and numerous different stitches too. AND I put an actual zip in! This is so exciting!

The waistband and belt loops were pretty tricky, mainly because it took me so long to get my head around the instructions at that point! It really made my brain hurt…but not as much as the blind hemming. That was the most confusing part! I managed to work out that I own a foot for that bit, but even though I was reading the instructions in my manual, I just couldn’t work out how I needed to place the fabric. But thankfully, I found this super helpful video about blind hemming – phew! Really could not have done this without it!

One thing that I didn’t attempt here was a buttonhole – I cheated a bit and used a hook and bar instead. That’s actually what Tom said he would prefer, and it saved me having to learn something else for this! I’ll be having a play around with the buttonhole foot at some point soon though.

I’m so SO pleased that I’ve made these and that they actually look like trousers! There is just one problem…when measuring up and thinking about sizes, we decided to make the smallest size, but they are actually a size too small! I couldn’t believe it! Although I was a bit disappointed at first, Tom did remind me that this was meant to be a trial run anyway And I really have learnt such a lot from making them, so my next pair should be even better!

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I recently asked Tom if he would like me to make him something, as I haven’t made him anything since the wedding waistcoats and I seem to have lots of things for me planned! Anyway, he said that he’d quite like some trousers. Hmm, trousers. From what I knew about trousers, they’re quite tricky – but I like a challenge, so I said ok!

The pattern I’m using is from Burda Style No.7022, which is ‘average difficulty’ apparently! I’ve made quite a few notes to myself on the pattern so far, and it definitely seems like a pattern that would be easier the second time around. That’s assuming I make these again after I’ve finished! I am actually really pleased with them so far. I’ve had to learn quite a few skills quite quickly! This is the first time I’ve made pockets, as I avoided doing them for the waistcoats!

The back pocket took me ages – mainly because I was trying to work out what the pattern meant at this point! After a long, long time I finally got it put together, but it didn’t turn out quite as I thought it should…but it looks ok (I think!).

I think what I found most frustrating was that this is actually a fake pocket – all that effort for it to be sewn up!

The next job is to baste the legs and stitch them before I can start to put them together. Helen very kindly sent me a link to some amazing trousers on the tomofholland blog – if I can make mine to look half as good as his, I’ll be really pleased! Wish me luck!

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The pattern I used is New Look 6895, and this top is design A. I chose a Liberty-esque cotton print for this top, but I’m actually going to make it as a plain one too in the future! If you are using a patterned fabric, remember to make sure the pattern matches in the right places. I just made sure that the bottom of the front and back pieces were in line here. You will also need to make bias binding out of the same fabric – I’d never done this before, but it was much easier to do than I thought, so I’m pleased to have learnt a new skill! It was a bit tricky sewing the binding around the arm holes (and I did do some unpicking), but just keep stretching it as you pin and it should be fine. I also learnt how to gather as well, although I sort of made it up really, so I’m going to have to look into doing it more systematically next time!

One small change that I did make to the pattern was that I used some 3mm ribbon for the button loop instead of making one from the same fabric. I’m SO bad at making loops, and this was my lazy alternative! I probably should learn to do it but it’s so frustrating…if anyone has any tips, please leave a comment!

I wore my top for the first time today with a denim skirt and a white cardigan – this will be great for work but also for pottering out and about. I’d recommend this pattern if you’re a beginner or a more experienced sewer, as it is easy to follow and the top is one of those classic styles that will go with so many things. Happy sewing!

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I haven’t made any clothes or done any big sewing projects since making our wedding waistcoats, but I’ve been planning several things and collecting fabrics to make them! I really like A-line skirts as they’re not too tricky to make and are really versatile, so I decided to start with this project first. This was the first piece of clothing that I ever made when I was first getting in to sewing – then I had a bit of a lull for a while before really getting back into it. Here’s a photo of that skirt, which I made using Amy Butler fabric:

I was pleased with this skirt, but the zip could have been a bit tidier at the back. Not bad for my first attempt though! I still haven’t got around to getting the invisible zip foot for my Mum’s old machine so more hand stiching for now…The pattern I’m using is Amy Butler’s Barcelona Skirts, which includes 3 different ways of making the skirt, but I’m using the simplest one here.

The material I chose for this is a Liberty Tana Lawn in Wiltshire Berry print. I’ve teamed this up with a fuchsia pink lining, which is basic quilter’s cotton fabric.

The first few steps are fairly easy, but I had forgotten that putting the outer and lining together was a bit more complicated, so a bit of unpicking was required! After that, I just had to slipstitch around the outside of the zip to neaten it up.

I’m really pleased with how this skirt turned out – in fact, I’m planning on making another one soon!

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After months of planning and making, today I finally finished the waistcoats for our wedding! To be honest, there were many times when I didn’t think I’d get them done, and an equal number of times when I wondered why on earth I had decided to start in the first place…but today I’m so pleased that they have turned out better than I thought and that they all fit!

I must say a huge thank you to my Mum, Tom’s Mum and our lovely friend Hilary for all of their help – I really could not have done it without you! And also thank you to Tom, who has put up with me sewing at every spare minute since the start of the year, and also has been very supportive throughout (I’ve had many meltdowns over these waistcoats). He still wants to marry me, so that’s a good sign!

Super excited to see the men in them on the day! Less than 4 weeks to go now – yippee!

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Our wedding preparations are in full swing – only just over a month to go (which explains why I haven’t been able to blog as much recently!). I had set myself a deadline for finishing the six waistcoats by the end of June, which hasn’t quite happened but I suppose it is only the beginning of July! I have finished two of them though and I’m so happy with how they have turned out This one is Tom’s – he has an extra special one with snazzy buttons that I embroidered (I’ll do another post about the button-making when I’ve got a bit more time!). I’m really pleased with how they turned out, and the hearts, leaves and flower tie in nicely with the embroidery around the top.

I’ve also finished my Dad’s waistcoat – like the others, this has plain buttons made from the same fabric as the waistcoat fronts.

I’ve got one more waistcoat to put together and a few more bits to finish on the others, so I’m almost there! Yay!

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