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The Great British Sewing Bee Live!

We will be at The Great British Sewing Bee Live!

 

We will be on stand C44, and we are launching …PAPER PATTERNS! Yes, actual printed physical paper patterns.

We love our PDF patterns, they are so convenient. But there is something so delightful about a paper product!

So come and see us and say ‘Hi!’. It’ll be a great show with lot’s to see and do!

It is jam-packed full of amazing workshops and your favourite Sewing Bee contestants! You can see their work from the show in The Best of the Bees Gallery.

There is a catwalk show, we have 3 dresses showing!

An exhibition from The Fashion and Textile Museum to celebrate 140 years of Liberty’s. It’s a specially curated collection of pieces from the Liberty archive. I’m very excited to see this one!

And there is also a Dressmaking Drop-in Clinic, where you can ask an expert!

When is this amazing sewing extravaganza I hear you ask?

It is 21st – 24th September at Excel London, doors open at 10am, so there is still time to book your tickets!

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The Frill Sleeve Pattern Hack

Sleeves and frills are apparently the ‘thing’ this season.FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

source images: gingham / pink / black / navy / stripe / ivory

As you can see from the mood board, frill sleeves are all the rage and anything goes! All you need to do is look for inspiration and decide the length and fullness you want. Take a close look at them…what will it be? The ivory one has a shorter sleeve length and longer frill compared to the black top which has a long frill and full length sleeves. Or the contrast stripe direction with a Breton feel. Maybe a double layer of frilly-ness is your thing. Personally, I love the gingham and the seam stitched to create a ruffled top edge. If you look carefully you can see a peplum at the waist done in the same style. If you want to create this yourself it is the same principle as the method below – a rectangle gathered up and just stitched on. This is a very simple pattern hack that will give you extra mileage out of  The French Dart Shift pattern (or indeed any pattern). And here’s the real joy…when you are fed up with frills at your elbows, just chop them off and you are left with a classic top that you will be able to continue to wear for years. No wasteful transient fashions for us!

MAKE A FRILL SLEEVE – METHOD

S/A: seam allowance | RST: right sides together

FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

Trace the sleeve pattern. Decide the length you want the sleeve to finish without the frill. I wanted my frill to sit just above my elbow so I made my pattern 24cm nett (without seam allowance) in length and then added a 1cm hem allowance to attach the frill with. Check you like the hem circumference width, if you need to adjust it, now is the time but remember you need to be able to bend your arm.  I made the size 10 pattern with a 36cm finished hem circumference. (I’m 5’2″ so you may need a longer sleeve than me :/ Just measure your overarm or a garment you like.FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

Next, decide how much fullness you want in your frill. I worked on a 2:1 ratio so there is twice the length of fabric for the frill compared to the NETT hem circumference of the sleeve. You can add more if you want, it depends a little on your fabric. A finer fabric might want a bit more gathering than my linen. I did a test to check what it would look like before I cut out my garment.

The one on the left is 2:1 ratio (20cm length gathered onto a 10cm piece of fabric) and on the right 2½:1 (25cm length gathered onto a 10cm piece of fabric)

To make your frill pattern:

It’s not complicated, it’s a rectangle and you’ll need to cut 1 pair.FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

To calculate the width of the frill pattern:  take the NETT sleeve hem measurement (without seam allowances) and multiply by the ratio amount of frill.

The depth of the pattern is how deep do you want your frill to finish – I made mine to finish 10cm.

EXAMPLE:

In my case with a 2:1 ratio –  PATTERN WIDTH is 36cm (nett hem width) x 2 = 72cm and depth is 10cm.

or  for more fullness with a 2½:1 ratio –  PATTERN WIDTH is 36cm x 2½ = 90cm and depth is 10cm.

Then add 1cm seam allowance all the way around the pattern piece. The grainline runs in the same direction as the sleeve, so along the shortest side of your pattern. You can change the grainline to run along the width if that works better for your fabric. If you are cutting stripes, they would look very nice running around, rather than down, the sleeve.

FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

MAKE:

Make your garment up following your usual instructions. We will make the sleeves completely before setting them in.

SLEEVE: With RST, stitch the underarm seam, overlock and press open.

FRILL: With RST stitch the fold the frill in half so the shortest seams are together. Stitch with a 1cm S/A, overlock and press open.

Run 2 rows of gathering along one edge and pull up evenly to the sleeve hem measurement. FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

Divide sleeve hem and frill into quarters, by folding in half and then half again and mark these points. With RST pin frill to sleeve hem, line up the at seams and the marks you just made to keep your gathering spread evenly. Attach the frill to sleeve hem with 1cm S/A. Check its all even and lovely before overlocking the seam and pressing upwards towards sleeve.

FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

Overlock frill hem. Turn and press overlocking to the wrong side and edgestitch hem.

FRILL HEM PATTERN HACK_MAVEN PATTERNS

Give a press and then carry on and set in your sleeves and finish your garment.

And don’t forget when this frill sleeve trend has passed, don’t hide your French Dart Shift in the back of the wardrobe – chop off the frills and give it a new life!

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The Rochester – a new pattern!

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS FEATURED IMAGE

We have a new pattern release to share with all of you lovely sewing ladies… MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS

I’m so pleased to put this style out, I’ve loved working on this new pattern so much!

The Rochester has been designed with simple, understated styling in mind. She’s an easy to wear style with a relaxed fit and a slight A-line shape, but fitted at the shoulders for a flattering look. She has a deep centre back pleat, curved hem and side splits with stitched facing and elbow length sleeves.

You have the option to make a top (approx. mid hip length) and a knee length dress. The neckline is elasticated and gathered, so NO ZIP needed – you’re welcome! The top has a small frilled edge on the neckline and the dress has a clean edge but as the pattern is exactly the same and the difference is in the construction they are totally interchangeable – even as you are making them!

We’ve set the sewing skill level as intermediate, the tricky bit is stitching the hem (see the tutorial here) but if you have a little experience and like a challenge, do join in the fun!

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS 05

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS

 

DESIGN FEATURES:

  • SEWING SKILL LEVEL: intermediate
  • Version A: The Top (mid hip length approx)
  • Version B: The Dress with tie belt  (knee length approx)
  • Elasticated and gathered front neckline
  • Elbow length sleeves
  • Curved hem and side split with feature topstitching
  • Centre back pleat
  • In-seam side pockets (dress only)
  • NO ZIP!
  • Easy to shorten or lengthen, with guides on your pattern
  • Unlined

PATTERN FEATURES:

  • LAYERS FEATURE: select and only print the size(s) you want
  • MULTI SIZE PATTERN: UK SIZES 8-18
  • SEE PHOTOS FOR SIZE CHART & FABRIC REQUIREMENTS
  • Illustrated guide (ENGLISH ONLY) to printing your pattern and sewing your tunic
  • Fully supported with PHOTO TUTORIALS
  • Includes seam allowances.
  • Can be printed on either A4 or US letter paper, using ADOBE ACROBAT READER
  • A0 copyshop file (2 sheets)

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS

This lightweight linen has worked really well for the top, choose a woven fabric that will be happy to accommodate that gathered neckline…linens, chambrays, lawn or viscose. The dress is made in the most wonderful crepe but it wasn’t happy with the frill – hence the 2nd neck option.

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS

This hem detail is one of my most favourite things – there is a template included in the pattern to give you a topstitch guide line to make life easier! I’ve also added ‘length/shorten your pattern here’ guidelines on the pattern for The Rochester so you don’t have to worry about the curves and the facing if you need to make any length adjustments. The dress is approximately knee length (Eve is 5’4″ as a guide).MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS

Oh and pockets…always need pockets in a dress. Looks good without the tie belt too!

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER_DRESS

I hope you all love our new pattern, The Rochester, as much as we do xxx

You can get 20% off the usual price until midnight (GMT) on Sunday (21/5/17)

no code needed, just head straight to Etsy!

MAVEN PATTERNS_THE ROCHESTER

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MAVEN MAKERS | Kitty in the snow

MAVENMAKERS | KITTY IN THE SNOW

 

 

Sew Mariefleur Kitty Dress peter pan collar

#MAVEN MAKERS | Kitty in the snow

I’m so pleased to be able to share with you Marie-Fleurine’s Kitty dress. As soon as I saw these pictures of Fleurine, wearing her Kitty dress with that contrasting peter pan collar in the snow, I was totally smitten!

She has used a beautiful handwoven cotton from Karlotta Pink, a company with strong ethical views that works closely with weavers in India (and across the world).

These handwoven fabrics are two toned, having used a different colour thread for the warp and weft threads. Fleurine has made the most of these gorgeous fabrics by selecting a blue/mustard for the body of her Kitty dress and a contrasting gold/brown for the peter pan collar and covered button. I have just purchased 3 metres of the green/black colourway, to use for my next pattern. You have no idea how long I have been looking for the perfect green cloth! (only about 2 years….)

I don’t really need to say anything else…I’m going to let Fleurine’s beautiful pictures and the magical Norwegian light do the talking.

Sew Mariefleur Kitty Dress Karlotta Pink

Sew Mariefleur Kitty Dress peter pan collar

MARIE-FLEURINE KITTY DRESS MAVEN PATTERNS

Sew Mariefleur Kitty Dress Karlotta Pink

A huge thank you to Fleurine for allowing me to share her pictures. You can read Fleurine’s thoughts on The Kitty Dress and sewing her handmade wardrobe on her blog Sew MarieFleur. Impressively she only started sewing in 2015!

I urge you to go and take a peek at Karlotta Pink. Their fabrics are beautiful. Their beliefs are firmly rooted in sustainability, fair trade and empowering women.

And you can buy your own Kitty Dress pattern here!

BUY THE MAVEN PATTERN