Believe it or not, I didn’t actually set out to post this on the same day that shooting finally (finally!!) begins on season 3 of Interview with the Vampire, but it just turned out to be a happy accident!
I sewed these at around the same time as the Dead Inside tank, but I separated that one out since I had a bit more to say. These three are all repeats of patterns I’ve happily sewn before though, so I’m grouping them together!
As I mentioned in my last post, I really needed a lot more sleeveless tops, as I only had one or two that still fit. I really loved the shape of the FibreMood Elza ever since I saw it in their magazine last spring, but I hadn’t quite gotten around to sewing it. I’d traced in size L then, though, so I had to re-trace it again in XL now – not a huge deal since it’s only four pattern pieces.
I had 1m of Ivory Ribbed Jersey in my stash that I apparently bought from Textile Express for £5 this time last year (it’s £3/m now?!). It’s soft and drapey with decent recovery and I like the uneven rib. But it was just sold as “multiple fibres” (polyester & viscose I’d guess?), it picks up lint like a magnet, and is definitely translucent. So it was a good fabric to test this pattern, especially as I’m not sure I’d like the narrow front tank style.
After I sewed The Kiss dress, I had a fair bit of fabric leftover, but it was in odd shapes due to the asymmetric cutting layout. It looked like I should be able to fit a teeshirt or a vest top (tank top) out of the remnants… and since I’ve got a lot of teeshirts that fit, but hardly anything sleeveless, I opted for the latter.
Jalie 3245 (View C) is an “oldie but a goodie”! I first made this pattern back in 2018 as part of my “Serging Activewear” Craftsy course (still going strong!). I’m still wearing those bamboo OGs, but they’re getting a little tight and they always felt a tad too long.
I actually made this jumper back in January, just after I sewed The Kiss dress! Despite wearing it several times each week through the colder weather, I just could not muster the enthusiasm to do a photoshoot. Rather than not post about it at all, I’ve taken photos on my dressform Susan instead.
I made this because I really needed more long sleeve jumpers that fit, and I wear my grey LB Pullover a lot over teeshirts through the colder months. That one was size 16, and since it still fits nicely, I’ve just done the same here rather than bother to print it off again.
After my last few pairs of socks, I wanted to slow myself down a bit so I deliberately chose a complicated colourwork pattern! 😵💫
I actually sewed this jacket before the broderie anglaise dress, but I’m already wearing it a lot in the cooler summer evenings. It felt at the time like I’d been sewing this jacket for forever, but it surprised me to see that it had actually only been a month (7 April – 9 May). With Long Covid I really have zero concept of time anymore…
And this jacket was single handedly responsible for the return of my sewing mojo! I saw it promoted as part of a recent FibreMood magazine and I just had to buy it as a standalone pdf right away because I LOVED it!
I’m posting a bit out of order here, but I wanted to make sure I posted about this Cashmerette Irving Dress because it’s the May 2025 Cashmerette Club members pattern, and I want to give you all a chance to grab it before May is over. This one is a breezy, casual dress for knits, and as soon as I got the email about it, I knew I wanted to make it!
I’m still very much sick with Long Covid, and I didn’t want to waste precious “standing energy” piecing the skirt pattern pdf pages since it’s mostly just a gathered rectangle. So instead I only printed the bodice and pocket pattern pieces, and chalked the skirt pieces onto my fabric itself (shortening the skirt from 75cm to 65cm so it’s just below my knee).
I had only just ordered 2m of this black Broderie Anglaise Jersey from Veratex Fabrics (95% poly 5% elastane) for £6/m during a big sale when the pattern launched, so it was clearly Meant To Be. (As an aside, I’m not sure I’ll be ordering from them again as they took 10 days to give my order to the courier, and gave zero response when I enquired about the shipping to their official customer service email address…)
I’m still here! Still sick, still suffering, still trying to work out what’s wrong with the body I’m trapped in (and finding out some things, but not others, and still nowhere closer to a treatment).
As a side effect of all of the above, my sewing mojo deserted me entirely for January, February, and March. I did sew a quick pullover in Jan and pyjama bottoms in Feb/March but I just have no energy or will to take photos or sit up and write blog posts and socials (I will eventually). I didn’t make anything for birthday this year, either – I just didn’t have the will to come up with something and didn’t want to force it.
Sewing’s loss is loom knitting’s gain, however, and because I can loom knit lying down, it’s been a great way to still scratch the itch of making and creating things. So here’s a bit of a loom knitting roundup from the first three months of 2025…
I’m pretty sure I cut this out back in December (oh god, no – my notes say October?!), but to be honest, I was so sick from opportunistic infections in November and December it’s all a bit of a blur. I sewed this up over a few weeks in January, but then it took another few weeks to take some photos (lacklustre as they are) and then I lost all enthusiasm whatsoever to spend my precious “sitting upright” time to write this blog post. Tbh, sewing has lost all appeal right now – I never really leave home, I never see anyone, clothes bring me zero joy, and I hate how this sick body feels and looks so I try to avoid looking into mirrors or looking at photos of myself, which isn’t really helpful for sewing or fitting.
But having this post hanging around was nagging at the back of my brain and I want to document it before I move on. Thankfully I’d written notes in my phone as I went along, otherwise it’d be a very sparse blog post indeed!
Sorry for the radio silence, but I’ve been suffering with an awful ear infection on top of my usual Long Covid for the past two months(!!), despite three trips to hospital and four prescriptions that did absolutely nothing… I’m finally starting to feel like my ear infection is dissipating, putting me back at my standard, awful Long Covid baseline fatigue again (so, err, please don’t offer congratulations, okay?).
So I’ve got a few makes to show you before the end of the year…
