Girl Can Sew

Hello! Today I am very excited to bring you my latest make and it's a Christmas theme! It's the Republique du Chiffon Diego Trousers  which I have made in a Christmassy red tartan wool from Minerva Crafts . I am really looking forward to sporting these on Christmas Dy this year, they're a really fun addition to my wardrobe. In my (work in progress) sewing room teamed with Nina Lee Bloomsbury Blouse The first thing to note about this pattern is that no seam allowances are included in the pattern which means you must trace out the pattern first and add it in. They recommend 1cm but I stuck to my usual 1.5cm. During the tracing I found an error on one of the cuff pieces in that the colour coding of the sizes had gotten mixed up so if I had stuck to the colour it had told me then my cuff would have been too small.Essentially the colour coding had been swapped around on one of the pattern pieces for a couple of sizes but easily spotted and rectified.  I only made a...

Hello Sewers! It's been a little while since I've been able to post any news makes due to redecorating our home and having a manic time at the day job lately! It's Christmas time now though and that means plenty of time to sit at my machine and get making! So today I am bringing you a review of the Seamwork Dani Pinafore . I am a member of Seamwork so I got this with my credits but you can purchase it without being a member. I made this dress in a very chunky navy corduroy I bought on a visit to Goldhawk Road. I deliberately waited until autumn to make my trek there as I knew they would have a good choice of corduroy then and it's my favourite fabric. The pattern is fully lined and so I used a simple matching navy polyester for that. The pattern itself is a PDF which I am not 100% keen on as I find it difficult to get the pattern pieces to all match up perfectly but none the less I managed it. The instructions were relatively simple to follow, I did get  b...

Hello! Welcome to this weeks pattern review for StyleArc's Steve Jean Jacket . This is a classic oversized jean jacket pattern with all the bells and whistles you would expect including: welt pockets, sleeve vents, patch pockets and lots of topstitching! Inspired by some images I saw on Pinterest  I decided to make this jacket in pink corduroy which I bought from Fabric Land  and lined it with faux shearling from Hobby Craft  apart from the sleeves which I lined with a normal white cotton. I finished it off with bronze jean buttons from Minerva Crafts. I am really happy with how this make turned out, it is exactly as I imagined and I don't think I would do anything differently. I think I might make another version in camel coloured corduroy with silver buttons or just a normal denim version. The pattern it self is really well drafted and all the pieces fit together perfectly and create that signature oversized shape. However, the instructions were not very easy...

Hey Everyone! Another week, another make! Inspired by Rosabella from Sewn I decided to purchase the New Look, 6469 pattern and paired it with this luxurious stretch velvet from Minerva Crafts . Originally I intended to make it in a similar purple stretch velvet from Goldhawk Road but found when I got home that the fabric was faulty and large patches of the pile were going in the opposite direction resulting in large black areas when the light hit it. Not sure what caused it but that will teach me to pay better attention to the fabric I purchase there in future by unrolling it some and checking for faults. Pattern instructions were easy to follow and had clear illustrations. Originally I was a bit confused as to why you would need a zip in a knitted garment - surely you can just pull it over your head? I stuck with the pattern anyhow and I'm glad I did because the neckline is quite close fitting and so it would put too much strain on the neckband if you did not includ...

Hey Everyone! This week I bring you my latest vintage make, it's the Merchant & Mills Trapeze dress made from a vintage bed sheet I bought from Oxfam online . Zeus wanted to be involved with this one! The pattern instructions were relatively easy to understand with illustrations of each step. However, I have to say I disagree with the method chosen to construct the dress. The all in one facing which covers the arm holes and the neckline, was near impossible to attach. It requests that you fully attach the neckline to the facing and then attach the armholes, this is all after you have sewn the side seams and centre back seam. Honestly, I still do not understand how this is supposed to work and all videos I found on YouTube were using a completely different method. In the end I decided to overlock the facing so it was only around the neckline and then use bias binding to finish the armholes. This method worked very well and was much simpler. In future I would rec...

Hey Everyone! This week I bring you my latest make which probably anyone who sews has either made or is planning to make. It's the Tilly and the Buttons Cleo pinafore dres s. I used a super soft pink corduroy from Walthamstow Market. Practical things first - as with all of TATB patterns the instructions were super clear with plenty of photos showing each step. It also gives tips and explains why you do certain steps which has helped me when sewing other garments. I did not make any fitting alterations at all but I did make sure that I bought the hemline buckles as I have previously used the Prym ones and found the buckles tend to come undone too easily. I also bought Gutermann top-stitching thread as I wanted to make a statement with the top-stitching. I have seen many different versions of this dress so I knew exactly what to expect and it turned out precisely as I imagined it would. It is a simple design which makes it easy to layer with many different tops and jumpers ...

Hey Sewers! I'm really excited to share my latest make with you, it's the Tilly and the Buttons Francoise dress . What really inspired me to make this dress was the fabric, I recently found that you can purchase vintage textiles from Oxfam's website . So without a project in mind I bought a 1960's floral curtain, a wool bed sheet and a William Morris curtain. I had seen other people using vintage fabrics to make this dress so I thought this floral curtain would be the perfect match. As I've said before this pattern is exactly what you can expect from a TATB pattern, very simple instructions with plenty of photos. Slightly more advanced than the Cleo pattern as you need to fit an invisible zip, bias binding and darts.I did not make any fitting alterations other than rather than using the pattern piece for the bias binding I bought some normal bias binding as the fabric I was using would be too bulky and fraying to make a good binding. I was also quite lim...

This week I bring you the first of my autumn makes and the first of many pinafore dresses I'll be making this season. Originally I found out about this pattern from The Fold Line new pattern release video and I love the way they styled it layered over a black top with velvet platforms and wool tights – perfect for autumn! I always like a dress with pockets! The relaxed fit is great for lounging around indoors, curled up with a nice cup of tea after walking the dog. I’d seen a lot of summer dresses and tops made in beautiful double gauze this summer and so with this pattern I thought it was the perfect match. I chose to make it in this mustard shade to be in keeping with my autumn wardrobe. Pattern Company – Tessuti Fabrics Pattern Name – Felicia Pinafore Dress Size – XS Fabric – Mustard Cotton Double Gauze from Material Girl Laura – Gorgeous fabric absolutely recommend! Lovely texture, washes well and the colour was true to the website. Alterations Once I f...

Hi Everyone! Today I bring you my seasonal review! I started this blog mid-way through Spring/Summer and so not all my makes have been written up and so I thought it would be interesting to have them all in one place and see what they look like all together. I have recently been working through the Seamwork Build My Wardrobe tasks and designing my own look book for Autumn/Winter so I am concerned with creating an overall cohesive look to carry through for the whole season. Looking at my makes from this past season I can see some key themes coming through. This is most likely down to that fact that I am highly inspired by the highstreet and what is currently on trend. Key themes this season: Frills Dresses Button closures       My makes this season do not have very much cohesion which is the result of not planning my makes ahead of time and making whatever took my fancy in the moment. Now that I am working through the Seamwork Build My Wardrobe tasks I think ...

Hey Sewers! So here I bring you my final make of the summer, a lovely cotton, button down, melon print, skirt. Pattern name: Mirambell Skirt Pattern Company: Pauline Alice Fabric: Cotton from Hobby craft Buttons: Cherries from Hobby Craft (hemline) and Pineapples from Walthamstow Market Size and Version: I made version B in size 36  This is a beautiful pattern which I picked up from Minerva crafts  inspired by all of the button down skirts I have seen this summer. I suddenly had a light bulb moment when I paired this pattern with this fabric and thought it just had to have fruit buttons! Essentially this was the main reason I made this skirt - just to use fruit buttons!  The pattern is packaged beautifully in a cardboard envelope which opens out  at the back and it even comes with a clothing label which says 'Pauline Alice Patterns, Made By Me' on it, which is a lovely touch.  I thought that given this is a skirt pa...