Innehållsförteckning för Issue 8 från Simply Sewing

I’ve made my fair share of hand-stitched felties and embroidered hoops, but the art of dressmaking is a relatively new adventure for me. So, it seems only fitting that we start a brand new sew along with one of the designers that’s inspired me from the very start - Kirsty Hartley. This month we’ve included a bonus pattern sheet which includes all the pieces you’ll need to make not one, but four garments. First up, we’re mastering jersey. Let’s do this! PS: Join me! Share your makes using #simplysewingmag…

SEW MANY DRESSES, SEW LITTLE TIME Tanya Whelan (Potter Craft, £21.99) This fun book includes basic dressmaking and altering tips, but it doesn’t stop there. With six skirt patterns and eight bodices, plus four sleeve styles and necklines, you can mix and match your way to an amazing 219 different styles. SEW SCANDINAVIAN Kajsa Kinsella (CICO Books, £12.99) Bring some Scandi style into your home with this lovely book from Swedish designer Kajsa Kinsella. You could bake something sweet for fika in the braided apron, try your hand at Nordic wall art, or make some cute matchbook pets for little ones. UPCYCLE Rebecca Proctor (Laurence King, £18.95) Sustainable is the only style worth having, and we love the projects in this gorgeous DIY book. Make your own cushions from scraps,…

SEASIDE KEYRINGS YOU WILL NEED Cotton fabrics: plains or small prints in blue, green and yellow Felt: blue, green and yellow, approx 12x12cm (4½x4½in). Beads and tiny buttons for eyes Cotton grosgrain ribbon: blue, green and yellow, each 13cm (5in) long. Bondaweb Soft toy stuffing 3 metal keyrings TEMPLATES You will find the templates needed to make these keyrings on page 95. Samantha says: “Here’s a jolly, easy-to-sew fishy trio to make up in an afternoon. Practical and sweet, this little trio of fabric keyrings will make good use of some of your sewing box stash and are a great gift idea, too. Get creative with colours and fabrics, the world is your oyster (another great sea-themed shape to sew).” MAKING THE TURTLE KEYRING Step one Trace around the turtle…

Find the whole alphabet on the pull-out pattern sheet included with this issue. Trace the floral motif from the template on page 95 onto your fabric to stitch over. Draw your initial onto the fabric then chain stitch over it, adding the flowers and leaves as decoration. 1 Secure your thread on the back of your work then bring your needle up through the fabric. Push the needle back through a couple of millimetres to the right of where the thread first emerged to create a loop on the surface. Don’t pull the needle all the way through just yet. 2 Hold the loop flat on the surface then bring the needle up just below the top centre of the looped thread to the length you want your finished chain…

DENIM UPCYCLE YOU WILL NEED Denim, to fit the templates (we used half a leg of a pair of jeans) Cotton fabric, 1 fat quarter Sewing thread, bright pink Sewing thread, turquoise Iron-on interfacing, medium 50cm (20in) Small pieces of felt 25mm (1in) grosgrain ribbon, pink and turquoise, 1m (40in) each Narrow pink ribbon, 24cm (9in) Button Stranded cotton (to match your backing fabric and button) Yarn in different shades, for the pom poms Pom pom maker, 45mm (2in) Air or water erasable pen Card or paper for the templates TEMPLATES You will find all of the templates needed to make the crown and tiara on the pull-out pattern sheet provided with this issue. Designer Jessica says: “These denim crowns are great for dressing up or as partywear for the…

CHAIN STITCH HOOP PAGE 65 HOOP CHART ACTUAL SIZE CAMERA STRAP PAGE 41 ACTUAL SIZE Thank you for making these projects from Simply Sewing. The copyright for these templates belongs to the designer of the project. They work hard to create projects for you to enjoy, so please don’t re-sell or distribute their work without permission. Please do not make any part of the templates or instructions available to others through your website or a third party website, or copy it multiple times without our permission. Copyright law protects creative work and unauthorised copying is illegal. We appreciate your help.…

AMY BUTLER Amy is a renowned designer known for her vibrant, unique fabrics. She finds inspiration in travel, gardening, art, music and connecting with people. Discover more about her creative process and exciting new video venture on page 68. KIRSTY HARTLEY Childrenswear designer Kirsty has created a four-in-one women’s dress pattern exclusively for Simply Sewing. Join the first sew along and learn how to make a simple jersey dress on page 36, and see Kirsty’s favourite sewing project and find out why it’s so special to her on page 98. ERIN PEREZ HAGSTROM Erin is a life and style blogger (and a new mom!) with a love for all things vintage, based in sunny California. She’s one of the amazing bloggers taking part in The Refashioners 2015; see how she…

FAST FAT QUARTER YOU WILL NEED 2 fat quarters Leather or faux leather (light to medium weight) 10x12cm (4x4¾in) 2oz wadding 70x8cm (28x3in) Webbing tape: 1.5cmx1m (5/8x40in) 2 trigger or lobster clasps Leather machine needle Basic sewing kit NOTE • Use a 1cm (3/8in) seam allowance. FABRICS USED The canvas fabrics in Ripple Grey and Swell Gold are from Anna Graham’s Rain Walk collection for Cloud 9. To find your nearest stockist visit www.hantex.co.uk/cloud9 Jennie says: “This month’s project is an exercise in topstitching. By using some very simple techniques, you can create a stylish and durable reversible camera strap. As each camera is different, I took mine along to my local haberdashery to test a few clasps to get the right ones to fit.” Step one Cut two strips…

PSST: for cooler autumn days,make the sleeves longer or layer it up with a long-sleened tee WRAP TOP YOU WILL NEED Men’s shirt Basic sewing kit Iron A stellar line-up of sewing bloggers and stitchers from around the world has been getting involved in Portia Lawrie’s The Refashioners, and now you can, too! Erin Perez Hagstrom, of www.calivintage.com, is one of the talented bloggers who took up the challenge. In her signature vintage-inspired, California-cool style, she worked her magic on an oversized vintage linen shirt to create this loose-fit wrap top. Here’s how she did it... Step one I started with a vintage men’s shirt in a textured cotton linen blend, and removed the front pocket and inner tags. Don’t worry about the seam across the back, as this will…

PSST: Find this teepee pattern in issue 6. Buy a back issue from craft.buysubscriptions.com PLAY TENT YOU WILL NEED Lightweight cotton fabric, 9 metres (9¾ yds) for the tent Embroidery hoop or hula hoop (we used a quilting hoop with a 46cm (18 in) diameter) Ribbon, 150cm (60in) Matching thread White thread Cotton fabric, 1 metre (40in) for the bunting Velcro hook and loop tape, 150cm (60in) Ceiling hook Basic sewing kit String Pencil MAKING THE TENT TOP Step one Fold the fabric in half selvedge to selvedge, right sides (RS) together. Add a 1.5cm (5/8in) seam allowance to the diameter of the hoop then draw a line this length from the folded edge towards the selvedges. Draw a second line the same length along the folded edge from one…

Homemade presents are the best kind, right? This sweet floral drawstring bag, with a contrasting pocket chain-stitched with an initial, would make a lovely personalised back-to-school gift. (They’ll never lose a book bag again!) Of course, as it’s such a simple project, there’s nothing to stop you making one for yourself, too. Once you’ve mastered this versatile technique, you can use it to embellish other items with your initial, or give more complicated designs a go. Get started with our chain stitch workshop on page 65.…

TRANSFORM A TEE YOU WILL NEED 1 XL T-shirt Favourite T-shirt, to use as a template 2 vintage buttons Fabric scraps Sewing machine (overlocker optional) Basic sewing kit Jennie says: “You can wear this as a dress or as a tunic teamed with leggings or cutoffs and flip-flops. It’s really simple to alter to suit your style and shape – I’ve kept mine baggy and slouchy, but you could easily bring it in for a more figure-hugging fit. My T-shirt cost just £2.50, so I recommend getting a couple and trying out a few different styles. I’ve used an overlocker; if you don’t have one, use a zigzag stitch and reduce the tension on your machine, and make sure you use plenty of pins.” Step one Get one of your…

KANTHA CUSHION YOU WILL NEED Fabric, for the cushion front (we used two main panels and lots of scraps for the patches) Fabric, for the cushion back Matching and contrasting threads Cushion stuffing NOTES The finished cushion measures approximately 50cm (19›in) square; make your cushion any size, to suit whatever fabric scraps you have. Designer Beci Orpin says: “I’ve been to India for work and it’s a breathtaking place. During these travels, my love affair with textiles reached new heights. India is colour and pattern heaven, and I fell in love with kantha quilts, which are made from patched and stitched layers of brightly coloured saris. This creates a beautiful texture to the quilt; no two are the same. I was inspired to patch together some scraps of fabric to…

“I LOVE WORKING WITH COLOUR and with photographic images, and this memory quilt combines the two perfectly. It is particularly special to me, as I made it as a gift for my youngest daughter Lila for her fourth birthday. I worked on it with her sister and brother, who chose all the photographs and fabrics and helped me to lay it all out, and arrange it. We decided to use vibrant, sunny bubblegum shades to match her character. It is a rare occasion for me to make something outside of my children’s clothing brand, Wild Things, and when I do it really is a labour of love. Lila carries the quilt everywhere; it has been used to wrap dolls, make dens and snuggle on the sofa. I used favourite scraps,…

MAKE IT UP The perfect handbag-sized sketchbook for crafty ideas on the go. From £6. www.typescale.co.uk BUNTING BEAUTY Tell the world what you love with this stylish notebook made from recycled paper. A snip at just £3.95. www.carry  stuff.co.uk PRETTY PLEASE What are you waiting for? Make each day prettier with a bold floral journal, or three! From £6 each. www.DIYwedding  babe.etsy.com MAKE A WISH Start today – get your creative juices flowing with this handy spiral-bound book. From £4. www.journaland  company.etsy.com GOING FOR GOLD Be the best you can be with these funny (but totes straight-talking) gold foil notebooks. £6. www.livingin  lalaland.co.uk…

Superstar sewing bloggers Merrick (www.merricksart.com) and Leanne (www.elleapparelblog.com) have been sharing tutorials and projects online for years, and have teamed up to present a new, modern way to learn to sew. Their just-launched two-part video series, The Modern Girl’s Guide to Sewing, covers everything from the dressmaking basics to more advanced techniques. The best bit? As it’s all online, you can learn how to sew while wearing your PJs! Sounds good to us. Find out more at www.moderngirlsewing.com…

The My Make and Do Emporium is all about creating beautiful things, and the winner of this super competition will be able to do just that with £250 worth of designer fabrics, all in metre-long cut lengths. This little bit of heaven for fabric lovers is opposite Bristol’s only specialist sewing machine shop on Sandy Park Road in Brislington, known for its independent shops. The My Make and Do Emporium has a range of carefully selected cotton print fabrics by designers such as Riley Blake, Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry among others, alongside a fabulous range of ribbons, buttons, sketchbooks and other crafty goodies. It’s also the perfect place to learn to make cushions, bunting, lampshades and other lovely things as part of a Make and Do workshop. Find out…

You’ll find the pattern pieces for this dress on the pull-out sheet included with this issue. SHIRT DRESS YOU WILL NEED Bodice dress fabric, 114cm (45in) width: sizes 1 to 12, 1.4m (1½yds); 152cm (60in) width: sizes 1 to 9, 70cm (¾yd), sizes 10 to 12, 1.4m (1½yds) Skirt fabric, see instructions for sizing Bodice facing fabric 45cm (18in) Interfacing 51cm (20in) Buttons, ten NOTES • The seam allowances for the band, collar and bodice neckline are 1cm (3/8in). All other seam allowances are 1.5cm (5/8in). If you’ve ever wanted to design and make your own dress, then Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time by Tanya Whelan is sure to inspire you. This clever book features interchangeable bodice and skirt patterns that can be used to make hundreds of different…

Sewists will probably know Amy Butler from her amazing fabric ranges, the workshops she runs, the quilts she makes, or the books and digital magazines that she creates. In fact, Ohio-born-and-bred Amy has her fingers in so many pies, it’s almost surprising that when the sewing bug hit during home economics lessons at the age of 12, she didn’t get the baking and cooking bug, too. After all, it seems that Amy conquers everything she has a go at. For Amy, however, it isn’t about conquering – rather, it’s about exploring. “The first thing I made, in that home economics class, was a pair of corduroy pants (British readers, fear not, as Amy means trousers, not knickers!) which were just horrible! Then I began making up my own stuff, which…

With all their fiddly looking fixings and mechanisms, you'd be forgiven for thinking roller blinds are tricky to make, but we are on a mission to prove otherwise! We're determined to use our crafty skills wherever we can, and that includes whipping up our own window dressings (it gives us a good excuse to go fabric shopping, after all!). We love roller blinds for their practicality and style, and there are handy kits available that contain everything you need to create your own – all you'll need to do is pick out your perfect fabric. Our comprehensive two-page guide has every step explained, from sizing up your window to hanging your finished blind.…

SEAM RIPPER You’ll find this odd-looking tool invaluable for cutting through seams and removing stitches. The hook slips under the stitches while the sharp blade at the back cuts the thread. Replace it if it’s getting blunt – they’re cheap. MARKING TOOLS Tailor’s chalk and water- or air-erasable pens and pencils make pinning and tacking much easier as you can see where you’re meant to be sewing. They come in different colours to contrast with your fabric. ROTARY CUTTER If you want to get into patchwork or dressmaking, these make short work of cutting out a lot of fabric and pattern pieces. Always cut away from yourself as they are very sharp. You’ll need a cutting mat and special ruler to use these. PINS AND NEEDLES Indispensable stainless steel pins…