Sew your warm weather wardrobe with The Sewing Shed sent

Hello! When the May newsletter landed last week we were in the grips of a heatwave. A few days on and the temperature has dropped and we’ve had thunder, lightening and rain! 

We promised you holiday me mades this month though and if, after the heatwave, you’ve spotted some gaps in your warm weather wardrobe, you’re in the right place. We have some fabulous outfits to share with you, all modelled by their fantastic makers.

Fabric Sale: Saturday 18^th July 2026 10am – 12pm

Before we get carried away with pretty embroidered shirts and playful playsuits though, pop Saturday 18^th July in your diary. We’re holding an End of Season Fabric Sale, so come along to The Sewing Studio and a grab a bargain. Everyone’s welcome!

Summer End of Season Fabric Sale

Saturday 18th July 2026
10am – 12pm
The Sewing Shed
The North Chapel
Ashlands Road
Ilkley, LS29 8JT

Inspiration for staying cool and stylish in the sun

We had a lot of fun gathering this month’s me mades, there’s a brilliant mix whether you’re going away on holiday or running errands at home.

We have Pam with a cute spaghetti strap floral jumpsuit, and Lisa in a vibrant red dress and mustard linen trousers. Julie’s gorgeous red and pink full skirt and classic black jumpsuit, Anthea’s short sleeve t-shirt and Fiona’s printed top. Heather’s fabulous co-ord and Alison in her Spilt Milk blouse (more on Alison’s blouse later).

Top Row (left to right): Lisa’s red dress is Maison Fauve Transat Dress while her linen trousers are  Sew Lala while Julie’s skirt is Coralie Bijasson 

Middle Row (left to right): Julie’s jumpsuit is Assembly Line Pam’s play suit is Newlook 6373 and Heather’s co-ord is Simplicity waistcoat and Style Arc Clare trousers.

Bottom Row (left to right): Anthea’s tee is Tilly & The Buttons and Fiona’s top is Simply Sewing Jada blouse and you can read about Alison’s special blouse below.

A special mention for Alison’s Spilt Milk blouse (seen bottom right) made with her Nanna’s tablecloth that she had embroidered. You can see the stunning detail on the front and back in this photo. Just gorgeous.

“I just wanted to thank you so much for your help and expertise with my tablecloth shirt. I am beyond over the moon, and I walked tall through Ilkley today feeling like I was wearing a VERY expensive designer shirt. I can’t get over how beautiful it is and so precious because of the connections with my Nana who was my dad’s mum and spoiled me rotten. Have a wonderful break and I look forward to next half term. xxx” Alison

Make twice and see your confidence and skills bloom

Julie (pictured in her black jumpsuit) has made more than one jumpsuit using this pattern, telling us, “I loved making the jumpsuit and learning how to do the shirring. It was a totally new skill, and it took some practice but once I had mastered it, I decided to try and use different materials and repeated the pattern.”

Repeating a pattern is something you might hear us talk about in the studio. We understand that you might be eager to move onto a making a new garment using a brand pattern once you’re happily wearing the one you’ve just made, but making the same garment twice, sometimes three times is truly the best way to learn.

Following the pattern and instructions and repeating the steps a second (or third) time helps you to embed these newly learned sewing skills.

Trust us, your confidence will bloom just like your sewing skills.

Tips from the cutting table

Before we leave you, here’s one simple tip we want to share. The next time you’re cutting out a pattern, label each piece with the name of the piece and place them on the right side of the fabric, and state that it’s on the right side – in the case of the photo below – RS.

It can be confusing trying to make sense of the pieces once you’ve cut out a pattern, and simply labelling each piece at this stage will speed up the assembly process, reduce confusion and the number of times you have to reach for the unpicker!

Thank you for sewing with us!

Next month we’ll be sharing what our creative Patchwork and Quilting students have been creating with tutor CarolAnn – they’ve made some incredible patchwork quilts we can’t wait to show you. 

There’ll also be the usual mix of tips and news from the studio so keep an eye out for the June newsletter landing in your inboxes at the end of the month. If you’re not signed up to our newsletter, message Léonie and we’ll add you to the list. It’s the best way to keep up with class news, sewing tips and see what others are making!

In the meantime, happy sewing!

Léonie