Tilly and the buttons checked Indigo Dress

Taking pictures is difficult at the minute!! Normally I use my mums living room , or go outside but LOL LOCKDOWN! So can’t visit mum and well honey its cold outside!

So instead I spent half a day lugging my tripod round the house desperately trying to find somewhere suitable to take a picture.

And as I live with a small child this was not easy, most backgrounds seemed to be filled with rubbish or toys or pants.............

Anyway this is my Tilly and the buttons indigo dress. Typically I don’t buy the individual Tilly and the buttons patterns because I’m a cheapskate. But a few months ago my phone pinged and I was forced to self isolate. 

And thus started a week where I had no lil man {I elected to send him to his dads so he could continue to go to school] no work and no boyfriend. I was lonely and pretty miserable. 

And on one of the MANY FaceTimes I made to my mum and sister one of them suggested that I treat myself to a new pattern and some fabric and well they didn’t have to suggest it twice!!!! [I also brought a second guitar but that’s another story]

I ordered the indigo dress from Tilly and the buttons because it has zero fastenings and looked like a nice easy make. Then I ordered two fabrics from Minerva.com and a whole heap of fabrics from pound fabrics. 

A word on pound fabrics, So far everything Ive ordered has been of excellent quality, however there is a minimum amount you can order and they do really sting you on the postage. I don’t even think they have a free postage option for if you spend an extortionate amount. 

I cut the dress out during isolation and sewed maybe two seemed then got sucked into watching “outlander” on prime and decided to focus on knitting my socks. 

And since then the pieces have been laying unloved and unfinished, until last week where I decided I needed and easy and uplifting sew, pulled my finger out and finished it off. And I LOVE it.

So it’s basically a bit of a tent but its so comfy and easy to pop on with leggings and tights. Plus it looks really cool with my doc martens boots. , Plus the fabric is part polyester so it doesn’t really need ironing! Which is a complete winner in my eyes. 

I’ve already made a second one and plan on wearing them lots. I’m trying to step away from wearing my pjs all day this lockdown as I don’t think it helps with my mental health.

And yeah that’s it really pattern by TATB and fabric from Minerva. Very easy and took barely any time, I did most of the construction on my overlocker which made things super speedy. 

IN OTHER NEWS!!! 

- homeschooling still sucks but we are managing

- I’m still not sleeping properly, probably because I’m not really doing anything apart from stay at home. 

- Ive been slowly adding rows to the crochet blanket I’m making for john. Currently I’ve reached the point where it doesn’t feel like its getting any bigger. It looks cute though I’m just hoping that I will actually finish it one day and it won’t end up withering under a pile of other things I want to make. 

And well that’s it really, its hard to have an other news when you can’t go out and make news? 

Oh wait actually one thing I have an iPad! John had one that he hardly used so he wiped it for me and I brought a keyboard so I can still blog whilst little dude is using my laptop for home schooling. It’s pretty cool and I think I’m in danger of becoming one of “those” apple people. 

I also brought these for the cats. Having three cats means that they can go through a bowl of biscuits in half an hour and then whinge for more. 

 Also I can’t wait to see all the cats gathered around it and imagine that they’ve just come out of a meeting that could have been an email. 

Much Love 

Frankie 

Xxxx

 

Japanese Fabric Dress Pattern Hack

God that titles a bit ropey isn't it? But to explain, the dress is a heavily hacked Tilly and the Buttons Lilou bodice, and by heavily hacked I mean heavily!

As you can see I took the bodice and tried to wrangle it into being a tie front. Its not a bad job but I did have visions of me looking a bit more buxom in it. Boobs squished together that sort of thing. 

But I think for maximum boob squish The knot would have to be a bit lower. 

Ideally I would have made a toile but what can I say I'm not that kind of girl so instead it judge that the knot would need to be in the *ahem* nipple region to preserve my modesty best. So I put the knot in line with the bust dart because that points the the *ahem* nipple region anyway. 

Naturally because of the knot I do have to go bra less. Which is a bit of a nightmare. I did buy some of those sticky boob things but they are a bit of a pain to get on and for some reason I always end up with wonky boobs. 

* for those who haven't heard of sticky boob things, it a thing shaped a bit like a rabbit and you stick The bottom bit to your boob and then hoist it up and stick the top bit to your chest. The theory is you can wear strapless and backless and still have perky bosoms BUT I think they are designed for a slightly smaller bust and I wouldn't recoomend them for anyone over a B cup. Plus peeling sticky stuff off your boobs is the next level of hell as far as I'm concerned*

The fabric was a gift from my friend and ex work colleague Lewis. OMG that boy was an absolute babe! He used to really brighten my shifts at work and we always had a good chat. To the point where we ended up having to work on separate ends of the shop. And then he left.........traitor. 

Anyway he went to Japan on holiday and was kind enough to bring this back for me. He thought I'd like the colours and the print and I thought he'd like the bow front because its a bit saucy.

The skirt is a lovely full gathered one and makes me feel a bit like a princess. Its really wrinkled in the picture above because aside from Lil dude school stuff I've sort of given up on ironing. 

All in all I do really like it. And it will be nice for the warmer weather we are having. Even if no one else is going to see it. 

So in other news!

- We are still on lockdown....... So yeah. Again I've been trying to keep busy. Its nice spending so much time with lil dude but he's gone to his Dads for a week now and I'm worried that I'll fall into a pit of despair. God that's a bit dramatic isn't it? But in all seriousness having him here has been keeping me sane and giving me something to focus on.

- But John [my lovely boyfriend] and my Mum have been brain storming ideas on how to keep me busy and I have a pile of sewing projects to be getting on with. Its nice to have people who really care about you. My sister and her husband have also suggested we have a video chat Harry Potter quiz at some point so I'm looking forward to that.

- I'm getting on nicely with my knitted blanket and I've started the decreases.

- Dinnerladies is on netflix and I'm chuffed to bits because I love Victoria Wood. 

So yeah that's about it really. I hope your all keeping safe and I hope my blog posts are giving you a bit of light relief from the news. Even if 80% of this one was me talking about boobs. 

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx

Purple Cord Tilly and the Buttons Cleo Dress

I was extremely organised this Christmas. As in most of my shopping and wrapping was done by the first of December. 

And not for practical reasons I started shopping in late October for three reasons:

1. I didn't want to empty my bank account at the start of December.

2. I loves a bargain!!!!!!!

3. Lil dudes birthday and boyfriends birthday are both in January which realistically means I need to have the shopping done for those by the end of December too! Or at least I need enough money in my bank account to do it! 

Anyway I spent a LOT of time shopping the black Friday deals and making sure I got the most bang for my buck. And whilst shopping these black Friday sales I happened to see that Tilly and the buttons was having a little sale of her own! 

And well a Cleo kit fell into my shopping basket and I brought it a little "to me , love me" type present.

Now at £37.50 for a sewing pattern some fabric, some thread, a set of clips and a PE bag I know its expensive. Realistically I could have sourced all of the components separately for a LOT cheaper!

BUT

I was in one hell of a sewing funk.... I hadn't touch my machine in months I was exhausted and to be honest I just needed an easy fix and this did it. 

Anyway It arrived and I was so pleased and for the first time in months I actually felt like sewing again! 

So i made it almost immediately and wore it to my works christmas party. 

Luckily its a very easy make, no darts and I didn't need to do any fitting.

I opted to use both the front pocket and the bum pockets! 

But I lined all of the pockets with a quilting cotton rather than folding the edges over. Its a silly thing but I always do it with my pockets because I'm not a fan of folding and ironing and I think it makes the pockets stronger!

The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the dungaree clips, I find I have to take them off to wash it or dig them out of the filter later and I am not the type of girl to remember to take them off before I wash so on my next versions [and oh yes there will be more] I think i'll just keep it easy and use buttons.

Its a shame the colour doesn't photograph better but its a really lovely plum coloured needle cord. 

I've worn it a few times , but I did have a month or so where I didn't wear it because I actually lost one of the clips in the the washer filter incident I mentioned before. 

In other news! 

-My dad took these photos. We had a couple of hours whilst my mum was at the hairdressers and he was a really good sport about everything. Especially seen as I took about 15 makes! 

- My mums turned 60! and in proper momma bear style shes having meals out and two parties. One was an adults only party for friends last weekend and this weekend we are having a big shindig with family and a HOUSE FULL of kids!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

Coco Funnel Neck Top

I finally took some pictures! Not that the weathers been helping, it tried really hard to give us some proper snow on Sunday, but all we ended up with was a teeny weeny bit that settled. Not even enough for a day off school!

The good weather does mean I've been trying to expand my jumper collection though. This one was made with some left over fabric from a "top secret" Minerva Crafts Project. Its a lovely stretch fabric with a bobble and sequin texture, you can find it here. I was particularly drawn to it because black fits into my wardrobe really well and because the sequins just make it a bit more fun really don't they?

The pattern is the Coco Dress by Tilly and the Buttons. But this is the jumper version with the cuffs and the collar. Its the perfect jumper for lounging around in!

I really like the funnel neck it gives the jumper a sort of french vibe. Or at least I think it does. I definitely needed some more tops in my wardrobe and I'll need a whole set more when summer rolls around!

All in all I love this make. It only took me a little while to run up but it was worth every second. I wear it all the time and I'm hoping that it will be light enough to wear in the spring as well. 

In other news! 

I've taken pictures of two other makes today and I have a whole night of sewing ahead of me tonight. 

I baked cookies today. Because I wanted a cookie. Which seems a bit excessive now I think about it but I do really like cookies! 

I'm working my way up to my next big knit. I have the wool and I've chosen a pattern I just need to find the motivation to start it! 

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx

Monkey PJ Bottoms

Is there sch a thing as too many pairs of pyjama bottoms? I don't think so.

Going to bed, put on some pjs

fresh out the shower, wear your pjs

feeling rough, pjs

PJS PJS PJS 

I would literally wear mine the whole time if I could.

The fabric for these is some sort of poly silk stuff that I got from the car boot. The Fabric is printed with monkeys and the monkeys are on the phone and they say "hanging around"

Needless to say I love it! And luckily I have loads of it!

The pattern is for the Margot Pj Bottoms by tilly and the buttons and I was going to make a mimi top but for some reason all of the pieces I cut out ended p all jacked up and I couldn't get them to fit together so I just ended up ditching them and sticking with the bottoms. 

For these pictures I'm wearing them with my polar bear top that my Mum and Dad got me from Canada, it says Polar bear in a snow storm and its pretty darn cute. 

Construction wise I used my regular machine and pinked the seams, In hindsight I should have over locked them because these lasted 2 wears and one go through the wash before the seams started to fray! I knew at the time I need to over lock them but I couldn't be bothered to swap the thread in my over locker.

At least I've got enough of this fabric left to make another pair if I want! 

In other news!

I'm exhausted, I had a pretty terrible nights sleep last night and ended up awake at 4am having some sort of panic attack situation. I managed to calm down and get back to sleep but it sucked not having Rikki there because he was on nights. He wouldn't have been very helpful but I'd have felt better if he was there. 

I have a new phone! HOWEVER! Said phone currently isn't working because apparently Tesco need to send through some sort of code to make it work with my sim card and its going to take them up to TWENTY days to send the code. I'm not sure why it's going to take that long seen as everything is digital now days but apparently it will. Luckily Its doing the Internet, and I have my tablet so I'm not too disconnected from the outside world!

And there's a cheeky lil picture of me and my doggy pincushion in the latest issue of Sew magazine on their sew Saturday roundup page! 

Much Love 

Frankie 

x

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

Red Gingham Lilou Dress

As soon as I made my first gingham lilou dress I knew I'd make another. In fact sometimes I find it difficult to not just sew the same dress over and over again if I love it. Which is why this dress originally started out as something else. I decided to challenge myself and sew a different bodice. That particular bodice was by Prima Magazine and made me look like a starter for the England rugby team. It was boxy and awful so it got scratched and I went back to my beloved Lilou pattern. What can I say if it ain't broke don't fix it.

This dress I like very much! Its not a carbon copy of my first version. This time I used a smaller check and opted to bind the edges of the placket to make it stand out a bit more. I also didn't cut the placket on the bias. Whereas it worked on my first version because it was a larger check it felt like it would be a bit wasted on this version.

That said the construction is still roughly the same, my lilou bodice with all of the usual changes [deeper back darts, and an inch off the shoulder seams] and a gathered skirt. I am debating if I need to do a bit more with the straps? My sister once mentioned that I have no shoulders so I think I may need to take a bit more off them? My other problem is the *ahem* under arm fat issue. Now I have no idea why this fat has decided to deposit itself there, I mean if your going to sit there you might as well hop across to my boob and make yourself useful. But its there and I have zero idea how to get rid of it? I looked at some pictures in a magazine [I know a stupid idea] and none of the celebrities seem to have it? Although I;m pretty sure I've read that they just lipo it out? So I guess my question is..... Can I get rid of it and do you have it? 

Other than that its a winner! The fabric was from abakhans, they have a great selection of gingham's and I sort of want a dress in every colour? I debated the pink but would that be a bit too "barbie"

By the way the buttons are from my stash and I had the hardest time finding some that would work! 

Its go a lapped zip, which is pretty neat by my standards. I didn't bother pattern matching because its a such a small check and well Life = Short. I also considered cutting the skirt as a circle skirt but by so they peeve me off when the wind blows! One small gust and its "OH HEY EVERYONE LOOK AT MY KNICKERS!" that's a lie... I don't wear knickers [No I do wear knickers, I definitely wear knickers!] 

The fit on the back seems pretty good to me there's no pull lines so I guess that means its a good fit? For some reason I'm obsessed with fit at the moment! I've even found myself look at rtw clothes on people and mentally adjusting the fit! 

This dress actually got its first outing in April to have dinner at Lil mans godfathers house with his mum and dad and fiance. We are lucky to have a great relationship with their whole family and well they do these roast potatoes and OMG. I literally have no idea how they make them taste so good! Also they have a dog which is me sold!  Anyway I felt very comfy in this dress for my roast dinner plus cake! [plus extra potatoes, and then more potatoes] I had enough room for food and the skirt is long enough for me to sit on the floor and pet the dog, and then complain when the dog left me to be petted by another human........ Dogs are so fickle!

Excuse the creases in the dress, we'll all just pretend it hasn't been sat on the bedroom floor waiting to be photographed..........

I also wore it to school a few weeks ago and one of the girls in Lil mans class asked me where I got my summer dress from....... Which basically means I dress like a child. But she liked it and after I told her that I sewed it myself she promptly told her mum to make her one....... The mother looked like she might cry and mumbled something about not owning a sewing machine!!!! [I'm so deep down the sewing rabbit hole now that the idea of not owning a sewing machine baffles me!]

In other news:

I brought a new handbag today, my old one had given up the ghost so I treated myself. Which was weird because I haven't brought something from a shop in ages! And also because I chose a relatively small one. Typically I carry a huge handbag because my anxiety tell mes I need to carry EVERYTHING. But this time I got a small one in a effort to test myself and only carry the essentials, which is far more than most women carry anyway! Three different lipsticks isn't over kill is it?

Pattern - Lilou dress from Love at first stitch by Tilly walnes

Fabric - red gingham 2m [which I used all of because of my stupid experimental bodice!!!] Abakhans 

Much love

Frankie 

CHSIstitches 2017

Stick a fork in me I am done! I spent Monday at the CHSI stitches show in Birmingham and boy was it a fun day ! A long one but a fun one! 

CHSI stitches is a trade show that held every year, a few months ago I signed up for some information and low and behold I had a ticket in my inbox the next day it was one of those pinch me please moments. Naturally as its a trade show you can't buy anything unless you have a shop but it was a great opportunity to talk to some traders about what new products they had and some of them were even kind enough to give me samples to try!

Which is why I caught a train at 6.50am to get there! #sleepyfrankie 

I also got to meet the lovely Jo from three stories high and have a cup of tea in the press room! Oh yeah I had a PRESS PASS guys! I actually did a little squeal when the lady printed it out for me so she clearly thinks I'm nuts!

Anyway there were some really great stands so here's a few pictures of some of my favourite inspirations from the show [I'm going to do separate posts on some of the samples I received!] I warn you this post is pretty picture heavy but its all so pretty!

These large scale building blocks from the west yorkshire spinners are just about the cutest things I've ever seen and they felt so soft!

This is a kit from Knitty Critters that you knit up and then put in your washer to felt! Its such a cool idea and gives a real heirloom feel to the bear! 

I got to see some real life samples on the vogue/Butterick/mcalls stand and boy are they well made! They also had catalogues off all of their patterns and I don't think I'd ever really thought about how extensive their range actually is! And the two ladies I spoke to just oozed class! Kind of reminded me of my Grandma!   

Toft Uk had these HUGE crochet project at their stand and now I'm starting to think I might actually need a six foot flamingo in me house! I darn't touch but I definitely spotted more than one person giving them a cuddle! 

The quilts guys! I saw so many beautiful quilts but this one might be my favourite, the colours were so vivid and the work was really intricate!

I loved the display on the Korbond stand and I had a really nice chat with Jenni Bob Taylor, and she was kind enough to show me a pre copy of her book! Its available to pre order now and looks like its going to be a good mesh of up cycling projects and sewing projects. Also shes just as nice as she appeared on the telly! 

These little felt monkeys stole my heat they are by Corinne Lappierre and can be brought here. Everything you need comes in the kit so I think they'd make a great gift for crafty kids!

I had a great chat with Elspeth Jackson of Ragged Life at her rag rugging stand. We also found that we were both taught crafts by our mums! And she had her mum with her! Shes also got a book out but the main thing that struck me was how great these would be for recycling fabric scraps! Oh and keeping cosy of course! 

This unicorn was made using quilling and they had hands down some of the coolest stuff I've ever seen done with quilling papers! All the designs were by Beca Russell and its a whole new take on quilling! 

I found this cheeky gnome on the Cygnet Yarns stand I have been reliably informed that he'll be a free pattern on the website soon too! 

I also spent a good amount of time hanging out at the Craft cotton company stand and It was so nice to put faces to the people I've been emailing over the past year! Plus they let me sit down and after so long on my feet I definitely needed that! 

This is a new product from EQS and its basically quilt by numbers its hands down the easiest way I have ever seen of quilting! I can't do it justice but you basically work all three layers of your quilt at the same time, whilst piecing and then you join them together. Its genius!  

I also got to meet the queen of sewing Tilly and the buttons and she was kind enough to try and answer some of my questions [She was being very cryptic!] But basically they have 4 more patterns coming out this year and shes also working of a BIG project! Which she couldn't say anymore about. She also said that whilst there's no plans for a TATB coat pattern at the moment she does have the idea for one in her head so if you want to see that harass her with tweets! 

She also called me the queen of Lilous which was pretty cool and made me really glad I chose to put on a lilou dress that morning! 

I also got to meet two of the directors from Abakhans with was really cool and I got to tell them about how awesome the staff is in Hanley! 

These Mannequins at the Caron cake stand made me want to make woollen wigs to match my knitted garments and they gave me an actual cake! They were promoting their Caron cakes which is going to be new to the uk. You can find it here on amazon but I'm not sure what the shipping fees will be like but guys believe me when I say the wool's were softer than a babies bottom. Its like a cross between a babies bum, a peach skin and a horses nose all wrapped up in a ball of self striping goodness!  

This stand is from Clara, A company that operates out of Cornwall and has some really cute craft kits from ages 8+. Its a mixture of 100% cotton fabrics and a wool mix fabric which is 100 times softer than any felt I have ever handled. Plus theirs some really cute designs and the lady who runs it was super nice! They also do party packs which contain four projects and are perfect from kids to do at parties, And ya know me when its my next birthday!

These Scissors from fiskars have flowers on and so do the rotary cutters so I'll just leave this cuteness right here! 

This stand was from Hoooked and they have a range of yarns and crochet kits! I especially liked these speech bubble which were made by crocheting over a plywood frame [Definitely giving these a go!] And I loved how passionately the man spoke about how being a sustainable company was important to them. They have a huge focus on recycling which is cool even down to the stuffing that's included in their kits! 

 And thats it guys! These are just a few of the things I saw and hopefully I'll be able to write up some more of it later.

As lovely as my day was It couldn't pass without some form of disaster! first of all I've got a mark on my shoulder from where was bag was rubbing me all day and secondly my train journey home was a nightmare!

My train was delayed, Its was packed and I ended up stood by the doors with 8 men. Then I missed my connection because of the train delay. Then I got on another train and low and behold its didn't stop where the man at the desk said it would. Their is nothing me soul destroying than being exhausted, having a sore shoulder, aching feet and watching your hometown flit past you. Luckily my mother in law was able to pick me up when to train finally stopped but I was still pretty miffed!

Anyway Much Love!!!

Frankie

xxx