Girl Can Sew

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...

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...