Category: Pattern Reviews

You may have noticed a few new pattern faces in our ‘new in‘ section on the website and we wanted to share them in a little more detail. Picking a new pattern can be exciting, but you also want to make sure you get it right. Which is why here at Sewisfaction, we’ve done all the hard work for you, pairing fabrics, inspiration and sharing top tips from making it ourselves.

Scroll on and prepare to start your new project stat!

At a glance

Pattern: Friday Pattern Company ‘Wilder Gown‘

Sewing Level: Beginner

Techniques: Gathering

Size range: XS – 4X

Fabric requirements: 3.5-4 metres depending on size and fabric width for dress view or 1.5-2.5 metres depending on size and fabric width for blouse view

Overview: The Wilder Gown is ‘THE’ sewists dress of the moment right now, we’ve seen so many swishy versions all over instagram and we just had to have a go. It’s a super simple sew, perfect for beginners and it’s ‘modular’ views mean that it can be really easily customised or ‘hacked’ to suit your style. The most difficult part of this make is the gathering, so if you’ve nailed that technique, you’ll really find this make simple.

The verdict: We totally get the hype, this simple yet effective gown is not only easy to make, but as you grow on your sewing journey the options for this modular make are endless! A must-make.

Inspiration

A very ‘of the moment’ style, this dress has been seen in a few forms on some of our favourite, bloggers and celebs in a few variations. So far ours (the dress version with midi sleeves) has been paired with tights and heeled ankle boots but we can’t wait to see lots of them paired with strappy heels or gladiators when the sun comes back out (eventually).

Fabric picks

And now onto the important part, the fabric! Designed for woven fabrics, this dress is the perfect excuse to go through your stash and make a through variations, but also what would a sewing project be without a bit of fabric shopping? We’ve pulled together our favourite fabrics below.

Autumn Breeze Viscose Print

This print forever will remind us of Juliet from Sewing Bee, with hints of African Wax print, this viscose is in fact beautifully soft and drapey and would make a beautiful blouse view – perhaps with a statement sleeve that can be worn with jeans and heels.

Luxury Triple Crepe – Black

A classic, we really don’t think you could go wrong making a Wilder Gown in this Luxury Triple Crepe – we’re all about wearable garments and having one in black will not only fill a gap in your wardrobe but will forever be the dress you dress up and dress down for every occasion.

Lovely Lobelia Cotton Twill

Thinking forward to summer, a cotton twill version of this pattern is a must. We can see this as both the dress view and the blouse, but the blouse really has a special place in our wardrobes. We’d pair it with a denim skirt and trainers for ‘cool girl off-duty’ style.

Starry Night Double Gauze – Black

This beautiful double gauze had a special place in our hearts the minute it was delivered and we’re hoping it’ll have a very special place ‘Wilder’ shaped place in our wardrobe very soon. We’ve already planned this as a short version of the dress to wear on holiday with sandals and a basket bag in the evening.

Top tips

Now you’ve got your inspiration and fabric picked, we wanted to share just a few little tips we picked up from making the dress:

-Gathering, this is one we’ve been asked about already as they kept snapping the thread. Make sure you have a good quality thread like Gutterman as these wont snap as easy as cheaper versions. Also be sure to do TWO rows of gathering stitch as this really doesn’t make it easier to control your gathers.

-The neck tie is a gorgeous feature of this dress, but if you’re running low on fabric, we found that adding a piece of ribbon in a contrast print or pattern or even fabric from your stash does the job just fine.

And that’s everything you need to make the perfect Wilder gown – be sure to tag your makes with #mysewisfaction so we can see them and comment on this post if you have any questions about this make, we’ll do our best to answer them. 

Every time it’s time to blog for Sewisfaction I get really excited which is almost immediately followed by paralysis of choice. Every. Single. Time. I found this time round particularly challenging as it was just as the season was changing. We’d had a lovely warm September weekend followed by a cold snap. My head was still in the lovely summer dress mood but my body was craving some warmer makes.

Eventually after setting myself an internal deadline for browsing the website (sorry if your stats were up that week Sheona – twas entirely me dithering) I chose this Royal Passion French terry. French terry is like a lighter weight fabric for sweatshirts. So a great autumn weight fabric. This fabric from Sewisfaction has a nice brushed back to it which is lovely and cosy but also means the fabric doesn’t fray at all.

I chose an old pattern that is so well tested it works every time the Toaster sweater from Sew House Seven. There are 2 views to this pattern both of which I’ve made a few times. I went for view 1 with the lovely funnel neck and raglan shape sleeves. It can come up a bit short so I lengthened the bodice by 6cm. I also shortened the sleeves by 3cm though could have shortened them more as they are showing below my jacket sleeves. From my measurements I cut an XXL but slimmed it down once I started sewing to the point where I think an L would have been a better fit. I also ditched the bottom band. I had the piece cut out but once I started assembling the jumper I didn’t think it would benefit from the band. It’s quite springy fabric and I thought the bottom band might look a bit lumpy.

I was going to put a smug bit here about how if you don’t have an overlocker you could easily use a stretch stitch on your normal machine. Except I managed 1 inch of a seam on my overlocker before it chewed my fabric and made a horrible ominous sound. Turns out I’ve done something awful to my overlocker and it’s going to need a service. So instead this served as a useful lesson on sewing stretch fabrics on a normal sewing machine. Its slightly less professional looking on the inside but looks great on the outside. So much so that my mum asked if I’d bought my new jumper in Joules. Result!

First thing is you need is to select a stretch stitch which looks like a lightening bolt (a straight stitch is liable to break over time in stretchy fabric). You can also use a zig zag though it can leave bigger gaps between stitches and may look a bit loose on the outside. I also top stitched most seams with a zig zag to keep it neat though it’s not necessary for this jumper pattern.

All in all I’m very happy with my new jumper. So much so that I wore it 4 times in the first week. It’s a lovely yet practical layer for the changing seasons. Also as I had just enough fabric left for some contrasts I actually made a 2nd jumper. This is white french terry and sadly didn’t come from Sewisfaction. That’s very clear when you see it close up as it’s far inferior quality and will fray and bobble quite quickly I think. But it shows that 2m of French terry will make 1.5 toaster jumpers!

Thank you to Sheona for the fabric and thanks for reading.

See you some time in the future!

Lesley (@sew_sleep_deprived)

Hi there,

Its Amanda (@amanda_isewalot) and here I am back on the Sewisfaction Blog with a new post for you.

Once again when asked to do a post I was completely undecided on which fabric to choose as Sheona has so many amazing options at the moment.  I have found recently that I have been struggling with solid colour options to go with the prints in my wardrobe so I steered more towards the plains when making my choice.

Now if you have been following me for a while or seen some of my previous Sewisfaction blog posts you will know that I love to sew shirts and shirt dresses.  I have made a couple in the past for my blog posts namely the Sew Over It Libby and also the Papercut Patterns Meissa Blouse.

I know some people find shirts a little daunting but I love sewing them.  I find the process of working through the steps quite therapeutic. Also once you have made a couple and mastered the burrito method and attaching a collar the construction in generally the same and it is just perfecting your method to get it as neat as possible.

This time I have made the Closet Case Patterns Kalle shirt.  I have had this pattern for at least a year maybe even longer and I’m not sure what it was that stopped me making it before because I am so glad I did.

I have used a 4oz soft washed denim in the indigo colourway.  I have used Sheona’s soft washed denim before in a lighter colour and knew that it would be the perfect weight for this shirt.  I love sewing with denim as it is so stable, does exactly what you want it to and presses really well.

I went for the cropped version of the pattern which, as you can see, has a lower hemline at the back and is very cropped at the front.  I have to admit I was a little unsure as to whether I would like this style but now its finished I am glad I didn’t level the hems as I had intended as I think it definitely adds interest.

I also went for the standard collar and the hidden button placket.  I haven’t sewn a hidden placket before so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity and I have to admit I really love this feature.  I sized down and made a size 0 as the finished measurements showed the shirt was very oversized my measurements are B33”, W25” and H26.5”. I think the fit is just right.

I had a couple of issues whilst sewing this shirt.  Firstly the instructions for the hidden placket were a little sparse and I am still not sure that I have sewn it correctly.  I now realise there is a sewalong on the Closet Case website for this placket and I would strongly advise you use this if you haven’t sewn one before.  The other area which was a little tricky was the hem where the front and back facings meet. This was not difficult but just a little tricky to get the finish right.

All in all I really enjoyed sewing this shirt and I was right the fabric was perfect and the indigo colorway is definitely a great option for the cooler months.  I think this shirt is also great as a layering piece as you can wear it over vest tops and polo necks as the weather gets cooler.

Anyway, that’s enough from me.

Happy sewing and until next time.

Amanda xx

The thing I love about the sewing community is that it’s full of inventive makers who are more than happy to share their inspiration. So when I saw ‘THAT’ hack of The ‘True Bias Ogden Cami‘ from a few of the amazing sewists I follow, I knew I needed one of my own.

In case you’re new to sewing, the Ogden cami is a nice simple sew from True Bias that features some of the basic skills you need to learn if you’re going to make your own wardrobe. If you’re a more experienced sewer, it’s a really satisfying sew that you can probably tackle in a few hours.

2.5 hours in fact..

Last weekend, I was heading to London for the day and had that ‘I have nothing to wear’ panic a few hours before leaving. In a twist of fate, I’d actually spent my Friday night pre-washing the fabrics (rock ‘n’ roll right!?) I purchased from the Sewisfaction Pop up in Bath and this ‘Abstract Feline Viscose‘ called out to me.

Something you should know about me, is:

1. I plan all of my makes around being able to wear them with trainers.

2. I like, where possible be able to wear my me mades all year round.  So slip dress it was.

Normally, when I sew, I spend some time drawing out my design and doing a bit of planning, but with 2.5 hours on the clock, this wasn’t the time to be sketching – but I did go back and do a little doodle after the fact. So as you can see, the hack is a simple lengthening of the hem-line to create a simple cami dress, perfect for layering over t-shirt, tights, roll-necks and any other outfit you might like to add it too.

Just a few things to note when creating this simple version:

-Probably don’t make the hack the first time you create this pattern – although I was able to fix the fit issues on mine, I would have figured them out before hand if it wasn’t my first time making it. It’s a lovely pattern anyway, so a toile of the original or even just a cute, simple version in a different fabric will help minimise the risk of this going wrong.

-Check your measurements. I lengthened the line from the hem of the vest, but you’ll need to make sure that these measurements add up – we all have bums and thighs so make sure your dress can accommodate them based on the measurements in the booklet to make sure it isn’t too tight or in my case, way too loose when you follow the line – hence the tip above.

And that’s it – I’d really love to say that it was a complicated make and I’m super talented, but why overcomplicate things eh? Now that I’ve fallen in love with this shape, I can see a few more variations of this on my list – I’m thinking tie straps, a frilled hem or even a maxi version with a split for party season.

I’ve actually made a Pinterest board for more inspiration and if you want to see all of these versions I’ve got planned when I’ve made them, feel free to follow me over on Instagram too – @nerrisapratt.

Oh and just in case you’re wondering, I finished it with 15 minutes to spare – sewing success!

Happy hacking!

Nerrisa x

Hi all, its Lesley here again or @sew_sleep_deprived as I’m known on Instagram.

For this blog I was torn with indecision for quite a while what to do. Sheona as always has utterly gorgeous fabric which kept turning my head towards all sorts of lovely summer garments. Added to the mix when I signed up I was part way through Me Made May which if you haven’t heard of it is a challenge by blogger Zoe (So Zo What Do You Know) to encourage people who make their own clothes to develop a better relationship with their handmade wardrobe. In essence you are encouraged set yourself a target of wearing say one me made item of clothing a week, a day, etc and to encourage you to wear your me-mades and reflect on your skills, creativity and learn some lessons about yourself.

I thoroughly enjoy #memademay as it’s an opportunity to reflect on your wardrobe, what gets worn most, what rarely gets worn, what combos work well, and whether there are any gaps. Initially I ordered fabric after seeing the gorgeous Emily Hallman wear a pair of McCall’s M7661 (my crush level on Emily is not yet at the point of needing a restraining order but I am rather in love with her and her sewing). However, after a few more weeks of ‘Me Made May’ it became clear I do not need any more trousers for quite some time. Also, as lovely as a pair of big floral wide leg trousers would be, I don’t really have the lifestyle currently to wear them. Right now my life requires practical clothing but my soul craves some luxury. Which thankfully is something Sewisfaction stocks by the metre.

I chose this viscose twill fabric. The colour is something lovely for summer but I also have visions of this being an autumn and winter staple. The texture is just unreal. It is so soft and bouncy and drapes beautifully. It also frays like a bugger so beware. I overlocked the raw ends before washing this but even the selvage came apart a little after washing so perhaps next time I might overlock the whole piece. If you don’t have an overlocker I would highly recommend you folding this in half and use a zigzag stitch to stitch the two ends together.

In terms of pattern choice I went for the Kalle shirt dress by Closet Case patterns. I’d toyed with the Heron dress by The Sewing Revival but I’m on a bit of a binge of Closet Case patterns at the moment. They’re incredibly well drafted and often come with a brilliant online tutorial. I went for the popover full dress version this time with no hacks or edits to the pattern. I’ve sized down one from my measurements but could afford to size down further if you want a sleeker look.

This fabric is very soft and a bit slippery. My tip is to use lots of pins as the fabric can move as you sew. A walking foot in your machine can also be a good bet when it comes to slippery fabric. Also test out your stitches on a scrap piece of fabric to ensure your tension is correct for the fabric. I’d also check you have a new needle in your machine as a blunt needle can result in pulled threads which would be such a shame. But don’t let this put you off – its standard practice when you sew with anything but cutting corners with lovely drapey fabric like this can result in regrets later on.

And here is the finished result. I’m truly and utterly in love with this dress. Its lovely and soft for summer with bare legs (varicose veins be damned!) but will also be fab in winter with black boots and tights. Personally I prefer the Kalle with a belt but that’s a personal choice. And one of the best things is its totally and utterly practical. I can chuck it on and walk the dog or go down the pub for a nice night with friends.

Thanks for having me again team Sewisfaction!

Hi Everyone,

Its Amanda here back on the blog and this time with something a little different.  I have made the newest pattern from Tilly & The Buttons the Eden Coat from this fabulous Fleece Backed Soft Shell fabric.

The pattern includes two different styles one being a duffle coat which is longer in length and the other a shorter fisherman style raincoat. Given we are now in May I thought a new raincoat would be perfect given this is prime time in the UK for showers.

I toyed with the idea of taping the seams to make it super waterproof but I do already own a raincoat which withstands even the heaviest of downpours and so a showerproof jacket was what I was going for.

When I saw this fabric I immediately knew the yellow colourway would be perfect as I had some navy padded lining in my stash which would compliment it perfectly.  As you can see the jacket fastens with snaps and also an open ended zip, however, the zip is in fact optional and you don’t need to add it if you don’t want to. I have only inserted a couple of open ended zips before so I thought I needed the practice and also felt it would add to the warmth of the jacket.

When the fabric arrived it was incredibly soft but a lot thicker than I expected and as I had a padded lining in mind I was slightly concerned everything would be too bulky.  The colour of the fabric was just what I had in mind and the right side has a neoprene type feel. As you can see from the images the jacket turned out to be more of a winter style coat and due to the Soft Shell having a fleece back it is super warm.

I had intended to add pockets and really liked the pleated version.  However, when I attached the first pocket it was clear that, firstly the pockets were way too high for me, and  secondly that the fabric, when lined, was too bulky. I therefore chose to leave the pockets off and may go back in and add some inseam pockets or the patch pockets but leave them unlined.

As I was leaving off the pockets I wanted a bit of interest and therefore chose to add the storm flaps on both the front and the back.  I really like this feature and think it definitely makes the jacket stand out.

Everything sewed up really well on my machine, which is a bit of a beast, but I had to understitch and topstitch everywhere I could in order to make everything sit correctly.  Due to the thickness of the fabric I used a jeans needle and changed it frequently to ensure it stayed sharp and didn’t skip stitches. As you can probably see I actually attached the storm flaps on the front of the jacket to the front bodice pieces to stop them from poking out when worn.  I have also run a line of topstitching around the hood to keep the lining flush and also an extra line of stitching around the bottom of the jacket to keep the hem facing in place.

Whilst it’s not strictly what I had in mind I am pleased with how the jacket has turned out and it is perfect for the cooler weather.  My husband has taken a shine to it and tried it on whilst asking “so is it a unisex pattern then?” He also asked me what other colourways Sheona had to see if he could put in an order for one!!!

If I were to make this jacket again a less bulky lining would definitely be preferable and I note the pattern suggests a single jersey lining but I was worried this would be a pain to slip on and off.

I used some 15mm Prym Anorak Snaps for the front and hood and I really love these snaps they are perfect for outerwear and also for use with denim. I used just plain silver for this make but they come in a range of finishes.

Anyway that’s all from me. Until next time!

Amanda xx

Hello! It’s Rosa here with my first ever blog post for Sewisfaction – how exciting!

I’m not sure I’m alone in this, but recently I have found myself eagerly anticipating the first glimpse of spring, and this project was very much inspired by my desire to bring a little sunshine into my wardrobe.

I spent far too long browsing the pretty pages of the Sewisfaction website before stumbling across this beautiful White Petal Harvest Rayon. I’ve been wanting to sew a vintage inspired 60’s style mini dress with lots of fun, swishy movement and decided this would fit the bill perfectly.

I usually start a project with putting together a mood board to pull together my thoughts into one cohesive idea, as my problem tends to be that I have so many ideas that I just don’t know where to start! Here is what I came up with:

Although I do have a good collection of vintage patterns I decided to go for the Tilly and the Buttons Francoise dress to achieve the look I was after. The pattern has lovely and very flattering darts with a sweet flared skirt. I would say that this is a great pattern for a confident beginner. I have a sew-along video on my YouTube Channel ‘Sewn’ if you’re interested in having a go. I have made a sleeveless version before, but this was my first attempt at the version with sleeves. I cut my usual size 3, which is about a UK size 10.

The fitting was a little tricky for me as when I finished the dress my hips were too wide and this threw off the fit at the back, resulting in a lot of excess fabric in the small of my back. This is common for me as I am pear shaped and always have to make a ‘sway back adjustment’ when making trousers, but I was surprised as I didn’t have trouble the last time I made this pattern. I think this is probably because the type of fabric I chose was very different as my first version was made from a firm, vintage fabric and of course the lovely rayon has more movement.

I persevered and played around with it and in the end I achieved a fit I liked by:

-Removing the centre back zip as it would not lie flat

-Removing the back darts so I could get into the dress having removed the zip!

-Inserting a wide tuck at the waistline to raise the hip line.

The rayon fabric held up perfectly while I made these little adjustments and it is honestly the nicest quality viscose fabric I have ever used. Now the dress is finished, I actually really like the little waist tuck as a design detail. I also chose to finish the hem with bias tape as I love to finish my garments nicely on the inside. This also helps to emphasise the a-line shape of the skirt.

I am very pleased with my little shift dress and I hope you like it too.  Here you can see I have styled my Francoise with wooly tights and a beret, along with matching red shoes  and lipstick (because why not!) which is more appropriate for cooler spring days, but I can’t wait to wear this with bare legs, white trainers  and my favourite basket bag in the,  hopefully, not too distant  future. Also does anyone else spot  the little white flowers on  the bush behind me matching the little white flowers on my dress?

Thanks so much to Sewisfaction for having me, and to  everyone for taking the time to read my blog post. If you’d like to follow along on my sewing adventures you can follow me on Instagram or check out my blog: sewnbyrosa.blogspot.com

Hi all, it’s Kathy here again.

My Sewisfaction make this time is Spring inspired. I don’t know about you, but I am so ready to move on from Winter clothes and this fabric and pattern were the perfect project with this in mind.

A few weeks ago, I popped along to Sewisfaction to enjoy a little sewing day with Sheona and some of the Sewisfaction blogging team.  As always, it was a lovely day filled with sewing, laughter, tea and biscuits! Whilst I was there, I took the opportunity to have a little browse through all the fantastic fabrics and choose which one I wanted to use to make up my next blogger garment with. Not a quick decision, as you can imagine.

I finally settled upon this stunning rayon from Dashwood. Outstanding quality as you might expect from Dashwood, it has a dark grey background with mustard, white and pink floral details.

There are so many pretty rayon fabrics available at Sewisfaction at the moment, so if you are a big fan of this fabric type I would recommend that you head on over to the website to take a look. Don’t forget to keep your eye on the ‘New In’   section on the website so that you don’t miss out on any exciting new fabrics when they arrive – rayon or otherwise.

The pattern that I wanted to sew was the Jasmine Top from Colette Patterns. I have had this in my pattern stash for ages and I decided that it would look pretty made in this floral fabric. The design is  a pretty blouse which slips over the head (no buttons or other closures), with a choice of collar/bow lengths and sleeve choices.

This is where I must hold my hand up and admit the silly rookie mistake that I made right from the start. I made the size according to the ‘body measurements’ chart on the pattern. I ALWAYS check the ‘finished garment’ measurements against this on the pattern too,  and pretty much always adjust the size that I make based on these measurements, but for some reason this time I just waded straight in and made what I thought (in my head) were the finished garment measurements. There’s a lesson to slow down right there! So unfortunately the finished top is a little on the large size, but nothing that some small adjustments can’t correct. Never mind.

It’s an interesting pattern, and when myself and Sheona were cutting the fabric we were surprised to find that it calls for 2.5 metres of fabric, which is quite a lot for a blouse. The cutting layout soon explained the reason for this, and it is that the main blouse pieces are all cut on the bias (therefore taking up much more fabric than you would normally need) to give a flattering drape to the finished blouse. I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the need for this, especially as there is a vertical seam running down the centre front and centre back of the blouse, but it is certainly different to any other blouse I have ever made.

There are 2 versions of the blouse, and I chose to sew version 2 which has a shorter tie and less gathered sleeves with a notched cuff. I seriously love the shorter length bow that this version has and really like that it threads through a small loop rather than knotting it yourself. The loop is tiny and quite fiddly to sew – in fact there was no way I found I could sew it using the tiny little pattern piece – so I cut out my loop piece a little larger to make it easier to make. I notice that the option is given on the pattern to sew the neck tie in a contrasting fabric, which is a great idea as I admit that my bow does disappear into the background fabric a little.

The sleeves are cute and I particularly like the notched detail on the elbow. I had to take these in a little due to my silly mistake in cutting out the wrong size, but we won’t talk about that will we!

So all in all, after a few little adjustments, I have a lovely blouse. I am so in love with the grey and mustard tones in this rayon and can’t wait to wear it this Spring with my favourite mustard cardigan and gold coloured accessories.

Other blouse pattern suggestions that would work with this fabric might be the Sew Over It Pussy Bow Blouse, or the Grainline Studios Scout Tee. For dress suggestions, what about the Tilly and the Buttons  Seren Dress, or the Nina Lee Kew Dress?

Happy Spring sewing everyone, and I’ll be back again soon,

Take care,

Kathy  Sew Dainty