I designed this pattern a few years ago when my daughter was small and I was time poor. I am always drawn to interesting prints and pattens in home textiles and at this time of the year high street stores and supermarkets often have bundles of pretty printed tea towels in their January sales. Its […]
With just 24 hours left to go before New Years Eve – a quick fix to your party wardrobe really can be turned around in a day! Sequins have appeared everywhere for the party wardrobe this winter with three of the Ilkley womenswear stores this month showcasing short sequinned skirts in their window displays. This teamed up with […]
This week I have welcomed new students to The Sewing Shed who have been inspired by The Great British Sewing Bee to embark on dressmaking for the first time. I thought it would be helpful to list some top tips to help demystify dressmaking, and to reinforce what new sewers have been taught in their first […]
Its that time of year again when students ask if I can recommend a sewing machine for them to add to their Christmas lists! I have also been known to work in cahoots with nearest and dearest, answering covert emails and the odd panic phone call. “I am in the sewing machine shop now! which […]
Much excitement in The Sewing Shed over the last few weeks with the opening of the new John Lewis store in Leeds. The destination store at the head of the new retail development Victoria Gate next to the market in Leeds has been long awaited. On my ‘birthday treat’ visit on Monday I happened across a […]
In the last ten days two students have asked if I can recommend a beginners project for their first encounter into patchwork. Clever beginners patchwork should start with shapes that are easy to sew together and with the use of clever cutting and re-piecing (or sewing together) they can give a dramatic and complicated finished result. A strip quilt as […]
Could embroidery be the secret to stress relief and bonding with your colleagues? was an attention grabbing headline I found in my monthly ladies fashion magazine! The November edition of RED magazine highlights the creative threads (please excuse the pun) that companies are going to in order to find an on trend but different approach […]
Crazy patchwork is a very easy and satisfying patchwork technique, which can use up oddments and scraps left over from previous projects. It has readily become known as a traditional technique used in quilts particularly in North American. On mentioning Crazy Patchwork it conjures up some quite hideous images of ‘home spun’ eclectic mixture of […]
Many students ask me to recommend a good reference sewing book for them and this is one I consider to be my sewing bible: Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. Produced for the home sewer it is still as relevant today as when it was first published in 1978. It’s still in print and you […]
Trending this week on Pinterest a pin that caught my eye ‘9 Websites to find affordable yet chic décor’ shows two sofas adorned with complimentary scatter cushions. This fits in beautifully with the start of a new term at The Sewing Shed, with many new students completing cushions within their first class, who have been delighted […]
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