5 Sewing Products I Couldn't Live Without!

Extra Long Pins

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I;m not sure why I love long pins so much but they just seem to make everything so much easier. Especially when pinning pattern so quilting they just really help to stop things from shifting around!

Magnetic Pin cushion

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Nothing makes me feel more like a Jedi knight than throwing some pins at this bad boy and them magically finding their way to the dish. It has changed my life! And its definitely changed the speed of my sewing, although word of warning don't accidentally decide to use another pin cushion after you've had one for a while because you will just throw pins across your table and you will have to pick them up......

Wrist Pin cushion

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Yes I know, I've just said I love one pincushion and now I'm saying I love another! But its true, you see this one comes with me. This one comes with me to my sewing machine in the dining room, or to my ironing board in the kitchen, or to the sofa where I do all of my hand sewing. Yet another word of warning though don't forget to take it off and wear it to Tesco you just end up looking a bit weird. 

Small Embroidery Scissors

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I keep mine of a piece of ribbon around my neck so they are always handy. They are very useful for snipping into seam allowances and getting rid of threads.

Tailors chalk

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Up until recently I thought tailors chalk was the work of the devil BUT as it turns out its actually pretty awesome not only does it draw on pretty much everything but it also comes off and its lasts ages. I've had mine for about a year and it honestly hasn't worn down much at all.

And that's it!

Those are my favourite products at the moment.

What sewing products are you loving

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

Plum Wool Skirt

There is nothing I love more than when one of my friends walks through the door with a big of bundle of fabric they've found for me! So far we are on the third time in a row that our friend Steve has walked through the door with fabric for me! So far I've had some childhood curtains from his loft, his Mum sent some curtains from the market and the fabric for this skirt came from a bundle of stuff from his Nans.

When I saw this piece of fabric I did a full on swoon, its the most beautiful plum coloured wool, which I checked by doing a burn test in our kitchen. Might have set the smoke alarm off, might have terrified the neighbours with my shrieking as I tried to get the smoke out of the door. 

Sadly it wasn't a huge piece but It was just enough for a gathered skirt with a pieced waistband.

By the way I'm definitely wouldn't wear this skirt with this top but I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered to change my top half for taking photos. 

Now due to the fabric limitations I had to do a pieced waistband and as the piecing was in the centre front I thought it might be fun to do a little V detail. I basically did this by cutting a diagonal on the two pieces but if anyone is really interested I can do a quick tutorial? 

I actually think the V in the front makes it look really interesting and less like a basic winter skirt? The extra seaming did mean its quite bulking in the middle though with is why I'm glad I lined the waistband with cotton instead of using the wool [I'm not sure I'd have had enough wool anyway, but lets pretend it was me being a smarty pants okay?]

I also decided to add a cute bow at the top instead of a button or a hook and eye because I thought it just seemed a bit more fun! Sadly I'd forgotten how dammed pedantic I am about having an even bow and its really tricky to tie a bow when you can't actually see it. I mean naturally I could ask Rikki to do it but he SUCKS at tying bows and he doesn't seem to want to take an hour long class from me on how to tie the perfect bow either......Bizarre right? FYI below the bow is a zip, but that's pretty boring so there's no details on that!  

I top stitched the top of the waistband to keep everything lying flat as I know wool can get a bit squiffy in the wash. Speaking of which one of my favourite skirts [this one] has died a death in the washer this week and I am GUTTED. I really bloody loved that skirt and I feel like a barely wore it! [I mean I wore it to death last winter but I think because its been summer I just felt like I hadn't done with it yet]

Length wise I think I've struggled again, looking at it I'm wondering if I can take an extra inch off the hem? You know to make it cuter? and a bit younger looking? I dunno I might wear it a few times and them see.

Other than that I LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!

In other news:

I'm still felling a bit "low" this week after everything that has happened recently but here's a few things that have made me smile.........

1. Eating carvery [I love roast dinner but I HATE cooking it!]

2. Fabric gifts from my friend

3. Chocolate Digestives 

4. Another parcel of fabric and some patterns from another friend

5. Lil man and Rikki playing their new video game and having a proper giggle fest as Lil man realised that he could make Rikkis Character jump straight up in the air and spin. 

So yeah! Whats made you smile this week?

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Thomas the Tank Engine Pyjamas

I'm not quite sure how to start this post so I'll just launch straight in..... 

I made Thomas the Tank Engine Pjs

Me the 25 year old woman made Thomas the Tank Engine pjs...................

And I basically think they are the coolest thing in the whole wide world! Because well Thomas duh!

So this all started when my friend was having a clear out and found a load of his old childhood curtains. Including a pair of Thomas the tank engine ones. Now to begin with I did think "dress" I mean after all I made a He-man dress and I love that. But I don't actually like Thomas as much as I like He-man. 

I have a theory that having lil Man ruined Thomas the Tank engine for me because lets face it when you watch something on repeat it does kind of take the shine of it. Also Runied : Fireman Sam, Noddy and The Simpsons

Thus why Lil man will never be watching He-man or Thundercats......

Anyway then I stumbled upon the idea of making some Pjs. Mainly because Sew now mag was offering a free pj pattern at the time that I really liked.

Would you believe I couldn't pick up a copy of the magazine anywhere! We tried 5 supermarkets, our local newspaper shop and whsmiths but I couldn't find it anywhere. So I looked online trying to find something similar and then I had an epiphany. 

Why not just pattern hack some pjs? 

So if you own Love at first stitch by Tilly Walnes then our can make these jammies [you will have to find your own Thomas the Tank engine curtains though.] The bottoms are straight up the Margot pyjama bottoms but I changed the drawstring waistband for an elastic one. 

And the top is just the Mimi Blouse but I lengthened the sleeves and omitted all of the iron on interfacing for comfort. I did keep the regular facings though because they leave a nice finish on the collar. And I swapped the gathers on the front and back for pleats because they look a bit less twee.

As it turns out the combination of the two patterns ended up making a pretty cute pyjama set and as an added bonus I didn't have to spend any money. 

I was a bit worried the Mimi blouse might not work but as it goes I quite like the loose fit and the lower neckline as it means I can pull it over the top of my head without faffing with any buttons. In fact if I make another set I might just sew the buttons directly on and leave the front closed. 

Lets all just take a moment to appreciate that Edward is bang on my crotch area! I swapped the draw string for elastic because I tend to find that the drawstring likes to become really blooming difficult to undo just as I'm desperate for a wee! Elastic however just means I can whip them down!

Sadly I didn't have quite enough of the Thomas fabric so the back is cut with the trains going down and the sleeves, yoke and collar are cut using a different fabric, also from my friend.

Changes wise next time I think I might add an inch to the sleeves and make the top a fraction longer. Its not necessarily too short now but I do like the idea of having a bit more length. I'm also thinking that a pocket on the chest might be nice for keeping biscuits in and stuff. Because well biscuits.....

All in all I'm pretty darn pleased with them! Rikki thinks they are possible the most sexless thing I own and hes right but they are comfy and I love the style. So much so that I've already got plans to make another pair in some silky Pyjama fabric! But before you think I'm making a grown up set please bear in might that said silky fabric has MONKEYS on it!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

Sew Saturday! My Day!

Yo
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready..............

Wait no that's Eminem during a rap battle not Frankie gearing up to do her first ever sewing demo at Abakhans Hanley!

Although I was definitely nervous. As in awake at 4am, re packed my sewing box four times and sent up a few prayers to god nervous. 

I eventually got up at 7.30am mainly because staying in bed until my alarm went off seemed like torture. I started to get read, threw lil man into bed with Rikki, made a brew and then I was off to Hanley.

 When I got to the store they were already open and serving customers, I got their at 9.30 so I'd have half an hour to set up [and hopefully calm the blooming heck down] before my demo. As soon as I walked in I was met by the lovely Glenis who manages the store and is possibly the NICEST PERSON EVER! She made me a brew and we had a good gossip about all things fabricy and then I started. 

And I didn't stop!

First of all I showed a Young girl how to thread up a sewing machine as she'd got her first one and wasn't sure, then I made a regular daisy dachshund 

Then I made a small felt daisy one by hand!

Then I showed everyone how to do some really quick half square triangles!

and then I made a BIG dog using the enlarged pattern Rikki had sorted out for me [Our printer hates me and wouldn't do it but apparently if Rikki asks it to print something enlarged by 200% it will!] That dog turned out super cute and even had a little felt bow on its head ! I was rather taken with her and was going to take her home until she caught the eye of a small girl and well what can I say I'm soft as muck! 

And before I knew it I'd gone over my time slot and it was time to go home! 

And I couldn't even remember what I'd been nervous about! In fact I'd go as far as to say I had a brilliant time! I loved taking to people about sewing the the staff at abakhans were really friendly.

But what I liked the most was seeing how many young people were interested in sewing although it did upset me a bit that both of the young girls I spoke to said that their schools either didn't have textiles lessons at all or that they only had the opportunity to do it for a short time. 

By now I'd have expected schools to have realised that students have all kinds of different skills and to try and encourage them all! 

But it was nice to see them taking an interest and buying all sorts of crafty things afterwards! 

Here's me trying to turn through a lil tiny doggy tail, it wasn't going well mainly because I'd forgotten to trim off the excess fabric! I felt like a right Muppet! 

This picture was taken by my sister who turned up enforce with my mum and Aunty Debbie! And then later a lady I used to belly dance with came too! Although I didn't really get chance to speak to them I did really appreciate having some friendly faces around! 

  So yeah it was really really fun!

And a huge thanks to all the staff at Abakhans Hanley who were so nice and welcoming! And to Lisa for organising for me to do it!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

90's Style Dress

Today turned out to be such a bust, I was going to be all productive and stuff. Ya know take blog photos, sew some stuff, finish my bladdy winter jumper which seems to be taking FOREVER!

Instead I drank copious amounts of tea, snuggled under the piece of fabric I was suppose to be cutting out and watched teen mom two [FYI don't judge me its well better than Eastenders] 

And then I watched Bridget Jones' Baby, which was just as hilarious as the first two BUT [SPOILER ALERT!] You don't actually learn who the father of Bridget's baby is? I mean there's a moment when your like okay so its definitely the other guy, and then Mark Darcy is all like "I'll love it anyway", and then they do the test, and then its a year on and you DEFINITELY think its the other guys and THEN! Mark Darcy says something and your like wait? Is it actually yours? 

Anyway I found it very frustrating. I've sat through all three of the Bridget Jones movies now and I feel emotionally invested in her relationship with Darcy and I think I deserve to know for sure, who the baby daddy is. I mean for gods sake is a DNA too much to ask for? Or a birth certificate? JUST GIVE ME SOMETHING CONCRETE!

But anyway I did actually do some sewing a while ago not just stare at the telly and rant about movies!

This dress is based off this Tie dye dress which I love to bits!  In fact the only thing I dislike about that dress is the length as a its a tad short for day to day use which pretty much just leaves it as a going out dress and LOLZ as you may have gathered from my Bridget Jones rant I DO NOT get out much!

The pattern is a bit of a Frankenstein, although I have copied it all out nicely and it has its own lil envelope now so I guess it counts as an actual pattern. The bodice is the GBSB Cami top but with about 10cm taken off the bottom and the skirt is just a gathered rectangle. Its a very simple dress but I love the style Especially when its worn with a belt.

Oddly enough I'm going to re hem this one because I think its a bit long, I swear getting the length right on handmade things is my nemesis. I'm starting to wonder how RTW shops judge the length? Everyone's legs are different lengths? How on earth do they decide?

I didn't have a lot of fabric because this was one of the pieces from the lady at the carboot but I had just enough for the bodice and for a slightly gathered skirt. Ideally I think more gathers would look better, but I worked with what I had and I don';t think it looks too bad.

Its not lined its just faced so I did the majority of the construction on my overlocker apart from the top stitching which I did on my regular machine and I was so lazy I didn't even change the thread I just used what was in there. Luckily its an okay match.

All in all I think its okay. I mean its a cute summery dress but I don't love it half as much as my tie dye version. The prints okay, I thought it might be a bit twee but its not too bad from a distance and I;m sure as soon as I've had chance to take up the hem a little I'll like it a lot more.

In other news!

Rikki is settling into his new job nicely.

Lil man is tired from school and cannot wait for half term. In fact I'd say we both need a good rest!

I;m looking forward to doing my demo at Abakhans Hanley on Sew Saturday, but I am absolutely bricking it! Which Rikki thinks is hilarious considering he went out for an hour and came home to about 5 of the dogs I'm demoing made up "How on earth are you nervous if you can sew them that fast?".....Haha Maybe he has a point! 

Much Love

Frankie

And if your in the area this Saturday pop over and say helloooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Top Tips For Sewing For Others

I don't typically sew for other people. Mainly because I'm selfish, I don't get the same amount of joy making something for someone else as I do making it for myself. 

Which is a bit awkward really especially when people are like 

"Oh I like your dress!!!"

"Why thank you I made it myself!"

"Oh that's great! Will you make me one?"

"No"

"I'll pay you? I'll buy the fabric?"

"No"

In fact the only person I sew from scratch for is my mum and I've only ever done it twice [I'm not counting the various knitting and embroidery things I've done this is strictly clothes sewing!]. As I said I don't really like doing it but she has this whole carrying me for 9 months and being cut open thing over me.....Plus I used one as a gift when I had no other ideas! 

So here's some top tips if your entering the black hole of sewing for others!

1 - Be Clear!

Explain your own personal limitations, let them know how long you've been sewing, if your not confident with buttonholes let them know! That way no one is disappointed!

2 - Talk about the Design!

Then talk about it some more, then draw a picture, then talk about it some more! Iron out every detail of the design from where the zips going to how the inside will be finished! Make detailed notes and discuss every future change!

3 - Measure Accurately!

I find it helps to talk to someone as you measure them, you can't breathe in it your chatting. Make sure you take all the measurements, Do the under bust and the full bust, measure the circumference of the tops of their arms and how long their waist is, AND don't forget to measure how long a skirt needs to be on them! They might be a lot taller than you!! It also helps if you can measure them whilst they have on underwear they are planning on wearing, remember a decent bra can add an extra inch to a bust [two if its one of those wonder ones!!!] and a pair of spanx can help you loose an inch!   

4 - Make a Toile and Fit It!

Possible the most boring part of any dressmaking process but sadly a necessary one! A toile can give you a rough idea of how a garment will look and help you change any big fit or detail issues! For example when making the goodwood dress it became apparent during the toile stage that gathers under the bust were a lot more flattering than darts on my mum!

And if your in any doubt make a second toile! 

5- Approve all Fabric and Trims!

In fact better yet go shopping with them to buy them! [and pick yourself up a lil summin summin!] Bear in mind they might not know sewing like you do so to them a "cotton" might mean the stuff their husbands work shirts are made of rather than some of the beautiful cotton lawns that are around!

6 - Discuss your time frame and what payment is being received!

Okay so you might not be receiving actual money, but it's always nice if someone says thank you or appreciates what you do! I'm very lucky my mum actually paid me to make  her the check shirt and the dress was a gift, but mainly I just like it when someone wears and appreciates the thing I slaved over! Also let them know how long its actually going to take you!

7 - Be neat!

Remember its not just you whose going to be seeing the inside so make sure you finish your seams nicely and cut every stray thread! 

8 - Give it a Final Press!

Remember a good press can hide a multitude of sins, but a bad one can highlight a lot more! 

So do you make clothes for other people?

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

1 Year Wedding Anniversary

Me and Rikki have been married for a whole year. ONE WHOLE YEAR! Where in hecks name did that go?

We've kept it pretty low key celebrations wise, we had a nice lie in this morning then we exchanged presents , I got Rikki some vintage video games and he got me a VIDEO CAMERA! Which you'll be pleased to know means I'll be getting myself back on youtube and doing some new videos!

On the downside I did manage to wake up with a pretty awful headache this morning so I;m having a lie down and watching bake off whilst the boys watch the football! 

But it did occur to me that whilst I did do a post wedding blog post  I never actually showed you some of our photos from our photographer the lovely Kim Shaw! 

So here's me applying my perfume after I'd been informed you should spray it "everywhere you want to be kissed", I sprayed it a few other places too!!!!!!

And here's me and Kal my gorgeous maid of honour doing patter cake moments before we left the house she did a fantastic job of keeping me calm through the whole day!

My gorgeous boys!!

Me and Kal trying to be seriousness but not quite managing.

After we tied the knot! I was shaking so much during the service! Never been so nervous in my life! 

Oh the fun things photographers make you do!!!! I nearly fell over, apparently walking is harder than I though!

Anything boys can do!

Girls can do better! Yeah we lifted him, its because we're awesome and stuff!

Me and squish! By this point we were both feeling pretty tired and getting chilly. Even though it didn't rain and we had sunshine we still had to deal with the cold!

I can't believe I only got to wear this dress once! How unfair is that?

Me getting excited over cake!

And being embarrassed by the best men!

All in all it was a wonderful day! And I'm having a great anniversary! Headaches aside! 

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Vogue 1790 - Calvin Klein Check Skirt

Well I think we can quite safely say that winter has arrived. I'm rocking a woolly hat on the school run and every day is an argument about whats a reasonable number to have the heating on [FYI its 22 at least!!! Not the poxy 18 Rikki keeps putting it on!]

Anyways I was given the fabric and the pattern for this skirt at the start of summer [By the awesome lady who also gave me the vogue coat stuff] I loved the pattern and the fabric but held off making it for ages because I knew that making a wool skirt in summer wouldn't be practical and that I'd be gutted if I loved it and couldn't wear it right away. Plus its always nice to save yourself a lil something to stitch up at the start of winter isn't it?

The pattern is Vogue 1790 which is a Calvin Klein pattern [you can find it here]. I love that the big designers released patterns via vogue back in the day. I think its a bit less common now and if there is a designer pattern it tends to be a bit more of an obscure shape! 

Anyway I opted for view A which is a classic shaped pencil skirt but with front pockets instead of darts. I'm not sure what its called but its the type of pocket you might find in your jeans at the front? I've never done this type before so I was a bit daunted! 

Eurgh my hair is terrible at the moment, it definitely needs a good cut! 

 I cut a size 12 from the pattern and the fit is pretty bang on. In fact the only adjustment I made was to shorten the whole thing by about a foot! No seriously I took 12 inches off. I do not have the body/legs/height for midi length. And after taking these picture I lobbed another inch off and re hemmed it again. 

Taking a foot off did mean that I lost the back vent. I'm not a huge fan of back vents to be honest because I'm always terrified that they weaken the back seam and that I'll end up splitting the skirt and showing the world my knickers! I can see the practicality in them though because walking in this is a small stride affair only! Much to Rikki's disgust that I can't keep up with his big man steps! It also means I walk like Marilyn Monroe with a wiggly bum but I;m not 100% that's a downside?! 

Pattern matching wise everything lines up pretty well apart from the back seam of the skirt, but the zips a mess anyway so chances are I'll redo that at some point anyway. The fabric is wool, I worked this out via a burn test and by how darn scratchy it is! The pattern actually calls for a lining but I have a few slips that I use instead of lining so I skipped it!

I did opt to overlock all the edges of my skirt pieces before sewing though just to make sure that the fabric wouldn't fray. Its not a particularly loose weave but I don't like to take any risks where my dignities concerned! 

How awesome are the shoes by the way? They were one of my £1 charity shop pairs and they are actually pretty comfy!

The pockets turned out better than I thought to say it was my first time doing this sort, I've got to say pressing worked wonders on getting them to look halfway decent. I had some trouble with the clipping and turning bit, so one of them is stitched closed until about half way across to keep it flat. But to be honest you can't really put anything in them anyway, 1. they are too shallow and 2. My stomach is not somewhere I like to add extra bulk! Even if its just my mobile phone! 

The waistband ended up being a bit bulky [I think that's what led to my zip issues] The waistband is cut on one piece that you fold over, as is the interfacing. So technically you get a double layer of interfacing and a double layer of wool. Which I didn't realise until I'd fused my thick interfacing to the waistband. Next time I'd hack the waistband so there was a waistband and a waistband lining and I'd just do one layer of interfacing. Plus that way I could use a cotton to line the waistband which would be a bit less scratchy on the old tum tum. 

All in all I really love it and I'm always pleased to have another wool skirt in the old wardrobe! I think my favourite detail is the front pockets and they also provide the shaping for the front of the skirt so no darts in the front just in the back!

In other news!

The winter boots are out!

I'm looking forward to my demo at Hanley Abakhans on sew Saturday! So if your in stoke on the 21st October pop down and say hello! I'll be there until about dinner time! 

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxxx