Like little green shoots poking through the earth as the warmth of Spring approaches, I feel like my sewing productivity and creativity is just pushing through from all angles at the moment. I’m so proud that so many of you love my Steeplechase Leggings pattern as much as I do (and I’ve got loads more to share!) but I wanted to share a bunch of smaller things I’ve been getting on with…
Have you ever heard of Sock Stop? It’s a bit like puffy paint we used in the 90s, but it’s intended to paint onto the bottoms of socks and slippers to prevent slips and falls. I bought
some from Guthrie & Ghani recently to see if it helps keep activewear hems in place without requiring silicone elastic (which can be a bit fiddly to sew on). I’ve tried it out on the hems of my Steeplechase capris (which you’ll see soon) and I want to test them out on my next cycle ride…
I can’t believe my birthday’s nearly here again – it seems like I only just made my galaxy-print sheath dress! I celebrated early with my BFF Pip, and she very kindly bought me this Secrets of Sewing Lingerie book and a metre of gorgeous silk chiffon from Dalston Mills! I’m super impressed by the variety and styles of panties, bras, camisoles, garter belts, and accessories in the book, but I want to try out a few patterns before I post a review.
I made another batch of Armbands for Argentina over the weekend (using my free Running Armband Pocket pattern) since I nearly sold out of the first lot (and created a lot of new lycra scraps in the making of all my Steeplechase Leggings samples)! This new batch sold SO well at Run dem Crew last night that I’ve only got 3 or 4 left again!! I’ve just hit the £1,000 milestone on my fundraising page, too! I’ve got a Team GB training day this weekend so I’m hoping I’ll find out when I’ll get my official team kit, which is clearly what I’m most concerned about at this stage, ha.
You may have already seen on their site or newsletter, but my patterns are now available to buy through Pattern Review! So if you review one of my patterns on there, it will link through nicely and show you all the details, on top of being able to buy directly through the site. There’s also a great interview with me up on their blog, which is worth reading, too.
And now that my Steeplechase Leggings pattern is finally out, I can actually sew some non-activewear for once in my Fun Sewing queue. I really need a new pair of jeans and have some fantastic denim I’d bought from Ditto Fabrics, so I’ve been working on these in little snippets of time before work and in the evenings – it’ll be a modified version of the last Burda pair I made. I love that I can sew an entire pair of jeans without any instructions (including the fly front zipper) but I always stall at the back pocket design, argh! Anyone have any good sites for back pocket inspiration (that aren’t Pinterest?)?
The funny thing is that when I pulled my vintage hand crank Singer out, I was surprised to find it was threaded in pale blue. I scratched my head for a bit, then remembered the last thing I’d sewn with it was the men’s cargo shorts seen in the Great British Sewing Bee book!
I’m also itching to sew a Paprika Jasper sweatshirt in some fabulous technical jersey-bonded fleece I got gifted, so we’ll see if I can finish both the jeans and it before we leave for New York next week.
And speaking of New York – if anyone fancies joining me on a little Self-Sewn run around the Brooklyn bridge area on Sunday 29 March, please leave a comment so I can keep you in the loop. All abilities welcome – the only requirement is that you wear something you’ve made!
But if you’re closer to London, there’s also still time to learn to sew leggings or Breton tees with me this Sunday, 22 March at the Thriftystitcher studio in Stoke Newington. Or you can sign up to do both in one “Stretchacular” day, too!
Phew! See, I told you I was working on a lot!