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My TOP FIVE online sewing and craft retailers…
There’s no getting away from the fact that online fabric shopping can sometimes be tricky. It’s always lovely to be able to go into a shop and feel the fabric and know exactly what you’re getting before investing your hard earned cash. Unfortunately, particularly with the Covid lockdown situation and more and more retailers moving to online trading, this isn’t always possible so I’ve put together this little list of my top five online sewing and fabric stores in the hope that it might be helpful if you don’t know where to start! All of these shops I’ve used and would highly recommend based on my experience of product quality…
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Vlog | Sew a Logan Shacket with me sew-along video…
Hi everyone Today I’m sewing up the Logan Shacket pattern by Style Arc which is a lovely oversized shirt pattern that can be used for indoor or outer wear. I hope you’ll enjoy the sew-along! Sally
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What I’ve been sewing and knitting in April 2021
Hi everyone – welcome back to another Sew and Tell blog and vlog. This blog accompanies my YouTube makes video and includes links to everything I talk about within the video. You can watch my April ‘Makes’ YouTube video by clicking below. Girls Loungewear Set I made this loungewear set for my daughter as my most recent Minerva Brand Ambassador make using this very cosy sausage dog print, fleece backed sweatshirt fabric which you can find here. The patterns I used were the Ikatee Jasmin Sweatshirt for the top here, and the Made by Me patterns kids jogger pattern which you can find here. If you would like to read…
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How to hack patterns, sharing my hints and tips…
Hi everyone – this blog accompanies my YouTube video on pattern hacking tips. You can watch the video by clicking below, all of the patterns I talk about have been linked below (where possible) simply click on the pattern link and it’ll take you straight there. Tip No. 1 – Take inspiration from the high street, designer wear, Pinterest etc. I love to take inspiration from all around me and keep a Pinterest board of clothes and outfits I’ve seen that I like to use as inspiration for making new garments. I used a combination of the Megan Nielson Sudley Dress and Fibre Mood Mira Dress patterns to make the…
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My Make Nine Plans for 2021
If you aren’t already familiar with the ‘Make Nine’ challenge, it’s described as a ‘gentle self-guided challenge for makers’ and the idea behind it is that, at the beginning of the new year (or any time really), you set yourself nine things you would like to make over the coming year and post them on Instagram using the hashtag #makenine so that other makers can follow along with your journey and progress. It’s also great inspiration to see what other makers are planning for the year and a great way to find new pattern/fabric pairings and ideas. Although I have loved seeing other makers take part in this challenge in…
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Thoughts on 2020 and what I’ve learned in my crafting journey this past year…
Well, 2020 was quite a year wasn’t it! For us (like many others) it meant a new home schooling routine and working and staying at home for pretty much most of the year. Luckily I’m quite a happy home bird anyway so the staying at home wasn’t too hard but of course we missed seeing all of our family and friends so much. Again, like a lot of us I’m sure, the pandemic caused me a lot of anxiety and when anxious my mind is always calmed by crafting, and thoughts of crafting and planning more crafting so it’s fair to say that a LOT of sewing and making happened…
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The Fred Cardigan from Lovecrafts.com – a knitting pattern review…
One sunny afternoon in September I found myself in that lovely position of just having completed a knitting project and therefore being able to justify to myself looking for another one. Love Crafts is my go to place for knitting patterns at the moment and I find they have some excellent free patterns for all levels of knitters. After scrolling through for a little while the Fred Cardigan pattern, pictured below, caught my eye. I usually stick to pretty basic patterns where knitting is concerned because I like to be able to knit in front of the TV in the evening and not be doing anything that requires too much…
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VLOG – What I’ve been making during October and November…
Hi everyone – I hope you enjoy this video all about everything I’ve been sewing and knitting during October and November. Apologies that there were some issues with the camera focussing in some parts of the video. Everything I think might be useful is linked in the description of the video but of course if you have any questions do feel free to ask. Thanks so much for watching! Sally x
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An Ogden Cami Hack and a Fabric Review
I loved the look of this beautiful John Kaldor Floral Print Slinky Satin Dress Fabric as soon as I saw it, mainly because I loved the yellow and black print, but when it arrived, I have to admit, it was a little more silky and sheer than I had imagined so for a little while it sat in my stash until inspiration for the right project arrived. If you’re on Instagram, I’m sure it didn’t escape your notice that August was Ogden Cami month and as more beautiful versions of this pattern appeared in my feed along with some lovely dress hacks it suddenly hit me that maybe this beautifully…
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Lulu Gathered Mini Dress by The Aware Collection – A pattern review in collaboration with Makerist
For this blog post I’ve teamed up with Makerist.com who kindly invited me to review two of their patterns and are offering my lovely followers the chance to win one of three free patterns in a GIVEAWAY over on my Instagram account @secret_life_of_a_seamstress. I’d love you to pop over and enter if you can 🙂 Makerist are also kindly offering 20% off of all full price patterns so if you’d like to treat yourself to a lovely sewing pattern as well as enter the giveaway simply enter the code SECRETLIFE20 at checkout. *Please be aware that the giveaway ends on Monday 21 September and discount code ends on Monday 19 October, so…
