Simply Sewing issue 45

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EW S O ST T C E ROJ P NEW

PLUS SWEET GIFTS FOR BABIES

FRESH IDEAS WITH FABRIC

quiCRAFTck-sew ROOM STORAGE

ISSUE FORTY FIVE

EXCLUSIVE PATTERN

The Evelyn

TEA DRESS

IN SIZES 6-20

MAKE IT! ✓ Maxi dress

4 NEW LOOKS TO TRY TODAY!

✓ Boxy top ✓ Denim purse

ired p s n i s 0 4 19 pat tern! inside ISSUE 45 PRINTED IN THE UK • £6.99

Timeless designs for your me-made wardrobe

HOW TO: Sew with jersey Retro headband Foundation paper piecing Hopscotch set

WHALE OF A Everything TIME is so ▼

IDEAS

INSPIRATION

much cuter when it's made in miniature, ACCESSORIES WEBSITES EVENTS STUFF especially when it's one of the world's biggest creatures – and sewn up in the prettiest of Tilda fabrics, no less! This irresistible sewing kit includes the fabric and pattern to make two adorable tiny whales measuring just 14cm in length, with two prints from Tilda's Sunkiss fabric range. They'd make a lovely present, if you can bear to part with them! Kit £9.99 from www.sewing Although we love giving out handmade quarter.com gifts, we’ll admit to being selfish stitchers at heart – after all, our sewing time is short, and our list of ideas is long! So we’ll be treating ourselves to a little sewing surprise to kick-start future dressmaking projects with Craftine, a new subscription box of stitching goodies. Every two months, its lucky subscribers receive exclusive fabrics, matching trims and a pattern through their letterbox to get creative with. See more at www.craftinebox.co.uk

HAPPY MAIL

WORKING THE WEEKEND

Once a practical workwear staple, overalls are now a weekend style must-have – and we must have Closet Case Patterns’ chic new Jenny overalls for our own me-made wardrobes! Jenny is a new twist on classic vintage style with unique mix-and-match features, including slash front pockets and a double zip waistband – not to mention topstitched detailing aplenty. Printed pattern approx £14, PDF approx £11, store.closetcasepatterns.com Subscribe at www.simplysewingmag.com

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Pinboard Wrap stars

Get your summer sewing all wrapped up with these on-trend wrap styles to stitch.

SWEET DETAILS

Gathers, bows and buttons are sure to get us adding a pattern to our shopping basket, and CocoWawa Crafts has ticked off all three with her feminine Honeycomb Shirt & Dress design. This beginner-friendly pattern includes different sleeves and collars, and deserves a spot on your to-sew list all year round – just switch floaty cottons for cosy needlecord. From £11, www.cocowawacrafts.com

PLaneTs ALigned

Star prints were all over the high street last season, and we’re not ready to let go of the trend yet! Luckily for us, Nani Iro’s new fabrics are perfect for sewing a summery take on the look. Printed on breezy cotton double gauze, this subtle constellation design has us dreaming of lightweight button-up blouses and swishy midis for our warm-weather wardrobe and comes in two colours: inky indigo and sunny yellow. Find them at www.backstitch.co.uk

YALETOWN DRESS & BLOUSE Flutter sleeves, a faux-wrap front and two styles to sew make Yaletown a stash musthave. £13.43, www.sewaholicpatterns.com SIMPLICITY 6493 Play with your summer look with this cute wrap playsuit pattern, which includes a dress, too. £6.95, www.simplicity newlook.com

out & about

SKILLS, SHOWS & EVENTS 2 AUGUST How to Draw Like a Fashion Designer.

Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh. Learn tips and tricks for sketching your projects with Fashion & Textile Museum curator Dennis Nothdruft. www.dovecotstudios.com

LAKESIDE PJS Up your pyjama game with this pretty cross-over back cami that'll keep you cool on hot summer nights. £14, www.grainline studio.com CITY STROLL WRAP SKIRT Liesl + Co's chicand-simple City Stroll skirt is all the excuse we need to book a city break.

Approx £10, www. oliverands.com

2 AUGUST Sustained Ephemerality. Southampton Solent University. A free-to-attend fashion show featuring live music, film and dancers to raise awareness of sustainable fashion.

9-12 AUGUST The Festival of Quilts. NEC, Birmingham. See over 1000 quilts on display and stock up on supplies at Europe's leading quilting show. www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk

30 AUGUST-1 SEPTEMBER Summer swoon! We love these super-soft double gauzes from Nani Iro.

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West Country Quilt & Textile Show, Bristol.

Get inspired at this mixed-textile event with plenty of fabric-shopping opportunities. www.westcountryquiltshow.co.uk

APPLETON DRESS This slinky jersey wrap dress' clever neckband means no gaping at the bust – hurrah!

Approx £14, www. cashmerette.com

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Craft room

sewing retreat

Prettify your craft space with a set of tailor-made accessories stitched up in crush-worthy prints.

Designer: JESSICA ENTWISTLE Styling: LISA JONES Photography: DAVE CAUDERY

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CUSHION

Are you sitting comfortably? Probably not if you're anything like us, prioritising stitching over correct posture! We've spent many hours hunched over our sewing machines, in-progress projects and embroidery hoops, but now we're taking some time out to sew a beautiful cushion for ourselves (and our poor backs) for a cosier crafting experience. Its simple geo design is on-trend, so why not stitch a few for fellow crafters and friends' sofas, too?

MAGAZINE RACK

Wondering what to sew next? Inspiration will come sooner than you think if you have a display of your fave sewing mags, swatch cards and patterns catching your eye! This wall-mounted magazine holder will add a splash of colour and print to your walls, whilst keeping your latest issues of Simply Sewing neat and tidy until you find a bit of me-time.

PSST: fabric and

rleaf for piration, e v o n r u T ng ins i l y t r s e a r e yo u vintag h s o t e sur s tagged s and be e r D n Evely fnished lysewingmag #simp

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COVER STAR

the evelyn DRESS

Add a vintage style to your me-made wardrobe with The Evelyn Dress in UK sizes 6-20, with two collars, two lengths and a swishy ft-and-fare silhouette.

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print & stitch

Sew a staple boxy top for your everyday wardrobe (and even print the fabric, too!) with Jen Hewett's block-printed design.

NO PATTERN NEEDED!

✂

instant classic

USE YOUR PAPERTPA HETTBOERXN

Y TOP

EASY WEAR

Has a loos e silhouet te for a flat teri ng fit.

Made to ft like your favourite tee, Portia Lawrie's jersey maxi is all you'll want to wear this summer.

GrEaT BeGINNEr'S paTTErn

SKILLS BOOSTING

Lear n how to insert flat sleeves and add faci ngs.

EXCLUSIVE PATTERN

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FROM JEN HEWETT

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MY SEWING WORLD

By Rosie Martin

Rosie tries a new way of planning her sewing projects, taking inspiration from the seasons and the catwalks.

F

or the past couple of years I’ve done the #makenine challenge, which takes the start of a new year as an opportunity to plan projects for the next 12 months.

After reflecting on my year of sewing at the start of 2018, though, I realised that planning in this way left me a little adrift and directionless after the first few months of the year had passed. Many of my most-worn makes were born from sudden inspiration rather than long-term planning. Still, my brain loves to create sewing plans, I literally can’t stop it, so this year I’m experimenting with making new plans every three months, taking the equinox and solstices as cues. This has helped to keep my ideas more responsive, fresh and relevant, and I’m really enjoying taking my cues literally from planet earth.

Summer is my favourite season – if I could live in a part of the world where it was hot all year round, I would. As we know, summer in Britain doesn’t guarantee heat and sunshine, but it does give more of a sense of fashion freedom. We can embrace more unusual designs and radical colours, without feeling self-conscious.

"I’m really enjoying the 1990s sportswear/ high-fashion crossover."

CROPPED AND COLOURFUL Cropped, wide-legged trousers are high on my sewing agenda. I made a pair of True Bias Landers (shop.truebias. com) in black cotton twill earlier this year and they have become my go-to trousers since we waved goodbye to cold weather. I’m currently intent on reducing the amount of black in my wardrobe and so have just finished a mega hack of the Landers in racing green scuba with a stripe of pink and white up each side – my boyfriend calls these my ‘Neapolitans’ as they look a bit like ice cream. I’m really enjoying the 1990s sportswear/high-fashion crossover that is around at the moment, which directly influenced this make. I’ve also made Tessuti’s Robbie Pants (www. tessuti-shop.com) in baby blue satin plissé, which are a delight to wear, with a fully elasticated waist and a satisfyingly wide leg. Comfort is becoming more of a priority for me and I love the challenge of creating slouchy clothing that looks high-end. I’d like to try making something like Stella McCartney’s Halle Silk Trousers – tropical lounge pants that have a stripe of block colour up one side. Surely these are the ultimate secret pyjamas!

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See more of m diy-couture y finished makes at ww .co.uk and @ w rosie _diycou . ture

Pants + Style ie bb o R 's ti u ss Te t = comfy! ir h S e ir la B s c’ r A

that "I love midi dresses verge on maxis – they are comfortable and chic."

p patterns Long versions of to hack. are a simple summer

My swimsuit version of Closet Case Patterns' Nettie Bodysuit was inspired by all the awesome female surfers of Instagram.

GOING LONG Summer is not about exposing all of the flesh for me. People who live in hot countries often wear billowing garments that fully cover the body and are breathable, which seems very sensible! I love midi dresses that verge on maxis – they're comfortable, effortlessly chic and look great with flats, which is my kind of dress. I’ve been experimenting with ‘going long’ with my favourite top patterns, including the Ogden Cami (shop.truebias.com) and Archer Shirt (www.grainlinestudio.com) – I’ve done really simple hacks to turn them into long dresses. I altered the Archer a little bit more by adding width to the two front pieces, which I then gathered at the shoulder seams.

PICK A SHADE It’s fair to say I have been obsessing over outfits that embrace just one colour, including jumpsuits, trouser suits and matchy-matchy tops and bottoms. I made Simplicity's 8608 (www.simplicitynewlook.com) – a jumpsuit with full-length trousers, a fitted bodice and delicate spaghetti straps – and it has become a summer staple, great for adventures to unknown places on hot days. Dominique Major’s (www.dominiquemajor.com) two versions of it caught my attention recently. This pattern can be interpreted in lots of different ways – the design includes the option to add ruffles and has an ontrend nod to the 1970s. I’m thinking of making it in plain black linen to counteract some of the hyper girlyness of all that frill detail. I am also into the new McCall’s M7788 (www.sewdirect.com) – I love the full-length trousers with the wrap-over half skirt. I fancy sewing this in a low-key ikat for a Japanese fisherman vibe. You heard it here first!

Keeping me inspired...

Trying a different kind of D IY at Blackhorse Workshop.

Creating objects from scratch wll foever fascinate me, and I fnd materials – not just fabric – very inspiring. Architecture and furniture excite me as much as fashio, so I decided t open up my creative posibilities by attending a wodwok wokshop at Blackhose Wokshop in Walthamstow. I’m also loking foward t the Fstival of Stuff at the Institute of Making, which celebrates ‘fnishing’ techniques of all sots of materials. 3D costructio is keeping my creative juices alive!

I recently swapped my sewing machine for sanding at www. blackhorseworkshop.co.uk

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Fast fat quarter

QUICK PROJECT

USE 3 FAT QUARTERS

Pieced petals

Pick and mix pastel prints for Tina O'Rouke's trinket bowls, made from hexie, petal and trapezium shapes.

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top table

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Serve tea and cake with a side of colour, pattern and print with Louise Orth's half square triangle table quilt.

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FRESH IDEAS WITH FABRIC

workshop

FOUNDATION PAPER PIECING Every issue, our sewists present must-try projects and techniques.

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BUY THIS KIT!

See this demonstrated live on air on

4th August 2018 *

Live on Freeview 73 and Sky 687 * Visit page 15 for special offers and T&Cs

happy snapper See you later, alligator – we’re of to sew Jo Carter’s cuddly croc toy!

Snap to it and make one for your child’s collection with her how-to.

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my favourite thing

wedding belle Giving an heirloom dress a new look made pattern designer Amy Nicole's big day even more special.

"It may sound like a cliché, but my wedding dress has to be my most-loved project, and I didn’t even make it from scratch.

It was my mom's, who passed away two years before I got married. I had always toyed with the idea of wearing my mom's wedding dress, but before I got into sewing I thought that meant wearing it in all its 1980s gathered sleeved, petticoated glory. Later, though, I got into refashioning, and it was then that I began to see the greater possibilities of what the dress could become.

The dress was originally handmade by my grandmother. It was a bit of a last-minute project (two weeks before the wedding!), as my mom was so tiny the dress she ordered was huge when it arrived. When I first tried

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the dress on I couldn’t get the zipper up past my waist. Luckily, I love the exposed back look, and the cut-out allowed me some breathing room. I also loved the mesh and lace sleeve detail so didn’t want to completely remove the sleeves, but I did shorten them and take them in quite a bit. I also slimmed down the skirt as I would not be wearing a petticoat, and of course added pockets!

It was so meaningful to me to have a bit of my mom with me as I walked down the aisle on one of the happiest days of my life. I know she would have loved what I did with her dress, and I could just feel her smiling down on me the whole day."

Find Amy's collection of sewing patterns at www.amynicolestudio.com

S Boho dress Cami hack Bathroom makes Full circle skirt Hexie cushion Circle bag Teddy bear toy Pet bow tie And more...

2 new +patterns

exclusive to simply sewing!

Sew our boho dress and relaxed-fit blouse with on-trend tassels, in sizes 6-20.

ON SALE THURSDAY 9 AUGUST WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

* CONTENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. PAPER AND FABRIC GIFTS NOT AVAILABLE WITH DIGITAL EDITIONS.