Sew Relative

This week I got to pattern test for the latest roll out from Murphy - 🥳🥳

I love it. Infact I love it so much I whipped it out after work last night and immediately wore it today for wedding errands.

It’s a total grab and go number; a wrap dress with inside ties to hold the front securely and two ties on the opposite side to hold the wrap in place. It’s short with a high neckline so you can give ‘suns out, gams out’ without compromising on modesty too much.
Saying that- I did film the making of it but Spielberg himself couldn’t edit out the amount of nudity from sewing in the heat, so maybe judging modesty isn’t my forte.
(All that was left was a snippet of bobbin winding.)

Fabric: Fabric Godmother “Blake stripe denim-butter yellow”

Look. I don’t know what was happening to my left, but clearly it deserved my full attention.

Perhaps it was my INSANELY BRILLIANT PATTERN MATCHING!?

Some slightly grainy pictures of my current sewing obsession: a hacked Patterns & Online Sewing Courses Sati skirt made with a bit of imagination and the absolute bare minimum of pattern drafting knowledge.

I’ve had a few people ask for a tutorial already, which is both flattering and slightly alarming. But if people would genuinely find it useful, I can absolutely recreate it properly.

Fabric is stash chiffon originally from Goldhawk Road and Woolcrest Trading Ltd.

Also a small moment of appreciation for my beloved machines, which handled all these slippery fabrics and rolled hems without a single complaint.

I don’t love making clothes for other people; makes me anxious. However, making something for Ted is essentially making something for me anyway.
I had a bunch of this vegetable light canvas from and there was enough left over for a jiffy dress for me.

Dress by
Shirt by for

Now we can go out matching like a pair of t***s and honestly, that was honestly my dream. I feel sorry for any future children.

It’s coming to the end of the month which means once again the only currency I have left, is time- and I decided to spend mine making a feminist blouse.

Anything I planned to make this weekend was going to have to be a proper stash job. The feminist Toile de Jouy I’ve had since last year, too afraid to cut into because I love it so much, and the .marye pattern I also had uncut for a rainy (or extremely sunny) day.

(Ijust went back on the website and the fabric now comes in pink, green AND a heavy cotton twill! the woman you are!)

QQ- Should I add a narrow blue ribbon border to the collar so you can see the curves??

Me Made May Day 20 is less about a finished garment and more fabric, references and planning.

I’ve had these gorgeous silks sitting in my stash for years alongside some black silk I bought impulsively on Goldhawk Road, and with a wedding coming up I suddenly decided it might be time to attempt an idea I’ve been toying with for a few months.

Using the Ailyn dress as a base, plus a bit of pattern hacking/drafting, I’ve got two possible directions inspired by some late 90s catwalk dresses I love. I’m leaning towards the red and blue version.

Anyway, these are the references, sketch ideas and fabrics. Final slide is me in my linen Ailyn for context.

Also curious whether people enjoy seeing more of the planning, references and thought process behind projects before they get made? We’re still experimenting a bit with the account and I’m such a mega nerd that I have mood boards and sketches of loads of possible projects!

Me Made May day 19 and I have finally decided to properly learn pattern drafting.

I can sew. I can hack patterns. I can stare at vintage garments for 45 minutes like an anthropologist. But drafting has always felt like this slightly mysterious skill that I’ve mostly approached through instinct, trial and error, and occasionally pure delusion.

Over the years collars have been reshaped, sleeves have disappeared, silhouettes have been adjusted and details from completely different garments have somehow ended up merged together. At this point I’m basically in negotiations with every pattern I buy and a reluctantly tubular roll of brown paper.

So this June and July I’ve decided to do the pattern drafting course with because I’d really like to understand how clothes are actually engineered from the ground up, rather than continuing to freestyle my way through increasingly ambitious ideas.

These are some of the things I’ve made either completely self drafted or by extreme pattern hacking already, which does make me wonder what might happen once I actually know what I’m doing.

Anyway, if anyone else has been wanting to learn too, apparently there are still a few spaces left on the course, so you can come spiral with me!

I moment I saw this natural bell pepper cotton canvas fabric from at I had to have it. I had no plans for it whatsoever but knew I would work it out.

When a fabric is that fun and kitschy, I worry about making something that’s looks a bit… crafty? If you know what I mean?

Cue my ongoing love affair with and their dress pattern. The pattern comes with two collar options, large back box pleat and flat or gathered front view. The fabric is so busy that I wanted a really clean design which this pattern offers; but you can absolutely add trims to the collar/sleeves/plackets if you wanted.

Tbh I haven’t decided on buttons, I’m not sure I even need them, what do think?