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The Refashioners 2017 - #SuitsYou

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I've not really joined in with many sewing community challenges. I think I tend to assume that my skills are a bit of a joke compared to the incredible talents of others that participate. But I'm working really hard at making time to sew, and part of that is finding as many reasons as possible to MAKE myself sew! The Refashioners is a blog series and community challenge that has been running for a few years now. There is a different theme each year, and participants need to refashion a garment into something new. The #Jeanius challenge last year pretty much blew my mind, and #GettingShirty the year before was fun too. This year was all about suits. The hashtag? #SuitsYou My participation keen-ness has varied throughout the month, from absolutely determined, falling asleep making plans, to feeling completely sorry for myself that I was probably never going to make it to the charity shop at a time when a)I have time to browse and b)they have anything decent. So I was incred...
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Tshirt to Tshirt refashion

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I love getting a good bargain. I regularly trawl the local charity shops for hidden gems and try to keep an open mind for things I could refashion, refit or use for fabric.  I've found that charity shops are a brilliant place to find baby clothes in good nick, but I often find that the adult clothes are rather worn and past their prime. So when I found this tshirt, I was delighted! It isn't my style at all, but I liked the cute bobble trim and it was in excellent condition. Checking the label, it is Next, so I know it's good quality. I immediately saw the potential for a cute baby tshirt... Start point! I know it's hard to see from that rubbish picture, but there's a lovely white bobble trim around the neck and arms. I wanted to simply make a smaller version of this for Flower. Unfortunately as soon as I started to pull it apart, I realised that (being a Next tshirt) it was far too well made. Extracting the bobble trim would involve significant amounts of ...
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Brindille and Twig Harem Coverall

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Since Flower was born, time to sew has been extremely limited. I'm drawn to quick projects that I can finish off in a couple of naps. I have discovered that baby clothes are quick and easy, use small amounts of fabric and are really fun and cute! Brindille and Twig is a small US company, specialising in gorgeous kids clothes patterns (although there are a couple of women's options there too). There is a clear aesthetic that I completely buy in to - it isn't flowery or floaty, just practical, sensible, cute clothes. #dresskids_likekids  I've made quite a few of the Brindille and Twig patterns, but this is one that Flower fits into NOW, so I snapped some pics this morning. It is the harem romper, which I picked because it has lots of butt space (we're using cloth nappies, which are fabulous, but require more booty room). It has three sleeve options - long, short or sleeveless. You can also use cuffs for the legs or simply hem them. I seem to get a more profe...
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Deer and Doe - Plantain Tee

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I haven't posted anything here for a very, very long while. Initially it was because work took over my life, and since then I have grown a whole new person! Since she's been around I've realised the importance of doing things for myself and I'm making a really conscious effort to get myself into my sewing cave and get things made. When I was pregnant I made lots of button down shirts in preparation for breastfeeding. My Mum laughed at me and said that it wouldn't be very practical or discreet, but I was having too much fun to listen. And now those beautiful shirts are hanging in the wardrobe as I've discovered that yanking a top UP for access is easier, quicker and more discreet than unbuttoning (and having to rebutton afterwards). Mum was so right. So I found myself wearing the same ancient stretchy tank tops under cardigans day after day. Something had to change. I had limited funds (maternity pay), limited time (naps are shorter than expected) and limit...
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More from France

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I have a couple of makes from the Summer to share with you... Flowery culottes! I totally love these!! I used the trousers from the Holly (ByHandLondon) and just shortened them. They're quite flattering, but that's partly because they are a bit too tight, so I have to hold my tummy in the whole time. Yep, no secrets here! The blouse above is a refash from a charity shop. I downsized and unpicked the sleeves. I wear this all the time - for work and casual. *poser alert* And here is a blouse that I made from simplicity 1538. I've made a shirt from this pattern before and I've since donated it as I hate it. Bad colour, bad shape... But without the sleeves and with a soft, drapey viscose, I like this a lot more. It's a cute green, white and orange flowery print. I wear it for work approximately weekly. Being on holiday with my family, they were pretty keen on getting involved in the photography... Dad - directing the photo shoot. Mum - demonstrating how to pose using a ...
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Baggy jeans waist - fixed!!

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I've been absent a while - work totally took over. But I finally did some sewing yesterday! It is minor, but it needed to happen. Let me explain. I have a big bottom. And a fairly small waist. Which means that I almost always get a huge gape at the small of my back, where my trousers are too big. But u can't go down a size or my bum won't fit! Yesterday Mr M. and I popped down to Kent to see my baby sis who has just started Uni. And about 10 minutes before leaving, I decided I couldn't deal with the gaping any longer!! It is cold, uncomfortable and unflattering. So I did this: Decided roughly how much elastic I would need to get the waist to fit better. Use seam ripper to rip a hole on the inside. I decided to cut it under the belt loops as the stitching will be visible, but this did make stitching much trickier later on! Tuck elastic in and pin it firmly. The first time I did this, the elastic pinged away, so then I pinned it all along the length. Use a safety pin to p...
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Showing off the shoulders in France!

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I made this quite a while ago, but there are limited opportunities for shoulder flashing while moving house. So my first chance to really enjoy wearing it out is now, at this beautiful French farmhouse in the Dordogne.  It has princess seams, which I think really work for me, despite my love of darts. Someone recently told me that it's easier to get a good fit with princess seams than with darts, so I think that's an area for me to investigate.  Looking into the sun... The pattern is from burdastyle, and the fabric was a naughty purchase just before moving. Check out the cute print: So fun! My little brother was appointed photographer for these pics and he took it pretty seriously. Oonaballoona (www.oonaballoona.com) had a blog post a while ago about how she gets such awesome pictures of her creations. She said that one tactic was to get looow. Here's our attempt: Think I need more evidence to be convinced that this angle works for my lower half. We're having a heavenly...
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