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Turquoise Audrey cigarette trousers

Even though we’ve been friends for years and I’ve followed her progress ever since she won that Threads magazine contest WAY back in the day, up until this point I’d never actually sewn one of Gertie’s patterns before, even though I own her vintage casual book. I mean, how is that even possible?!! It’s probably because I’m not really into wearing 1950s-era vintage styles, but I absolutely love her current 1960s beatnik speakeasy theme for her Patreon patterns! So I joined her Patreon to get this pattern and her Joan wiggle dress (also a knit and in my aesthetic), though it was a nice surprise to find out that you get access to all the previous patterns when you join, so even though you missed these, if you join now you can grab them.

When these slim-legged ponte trousers were released I immediately went and bought some kingfisher blue ponte from Like Sew Amazing specifically for them. I love sewing with ponte but I didn’t really have any in my stash, and I figured this shade of blue would coordinate nicely with lots of tops in my wardrobe.

Inspiration

Sewing the Cos “Made By You” Men’s Shirt

As I mentioned in my earlier post showing off this shirt as well as the women’s shirt, this post is to outline how to construct the Cos “Made By You” men’s shirt so that others in the future can construct it in spite of the very sparse video instructions provided with the pattern. A lot of this information may be a repeat of the women’s shirt post since the kits are very similar in structure, right down to the fabric and packaging provided.

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My Cos “Made By You” Men’s Shirt

My goal for January was to sew both of the Cos “Made By You” shirt kits, and even though it’s February now, I am pleased to report that I did indeed finish both in January. I’ve already told you all about the Women’s Shirt, so today I want to show off the Men’s Shirt.

Now, they’re labelled “women’s” and “men’s” but to my eyes they’re really fairly gender-neutral, so I bought both kits intending them for myself (hence why I bought a larger size in the women’s, assuming the men’s was drafted a bit bigger). I’ll go all in on the construction and the kit itself in a separate post later this week (like I did with the women’s), but for now, let’s just have a look at the finished shirt!

Inspiration

Sewing the Cos “Made By You” Women’s Shirt

Earlier this week I showed you my finished version of the Cos “Made By You” women’s shirt kit with the promise of giving far, far more details on the kit itself and some construction instructions so strap on in! This is a HEFTY brain dump intended to help others who’ve bought this thinking they were getting a full sewing pattern, or who bought it and no longer have Cos’s video online to help. Or frankly, if you’re just intrigued about what a high street shop thinks a home sewing product should be!

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My Cos “Made By You” Women’s Shirt

Back in November I caught wind that the high-end high street shop Cos were selling sewing kits for two of their classic white shirt designs. Coincidentally, it was right after Black Friday so I managed to buy both with a hefty discount, purchasing size M/L for the women’s and size S/M for the men’s (the RRP for each kit is £29/€35 but I think I paid less than £20 each). Now, Cos label these as “women’s” and “men’s” but to my eyes they’re really both unisex designs, so I’m sewing up both for myself! I decided to dedicate my January sewing to tackling these kits, starting with the women’s one (as voted by my Instagram followers), so this post is to show off the finished shirt!

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A snake-print Tessellate Hoodie

What better way to kickstart January than with activewear, amirite?? Especially if it’s a pattern you’ve sewn a thousand times before, in a fabric you love, and made entirely with stash fabrics. Bonus points if it’s also essentially a clone of a garment you already own so you’re pretty much guaranteed of success!

In the years since launching our Tessellate Tee pattern, I found myself wearing the turquoise, yellow, and claret hoodie sample (featured on the pattern cover) for nearly all of my coldest runs – I can’t even tell you how many early morning run commutes this came along on! The key here was that I made it in Funkifabrics’ “thermo” fabric which is essentially fleece-lined lycra. It’s stretchy with great recovery, and has a smooth exterior, but the interior is fluffy and fleecy like the inside of a sweatshirt, which makes it really warm. I often paired this hoodie with a pair of Steeplechase Leggings I’d also made in black thermo, and the combo is one I’d wear on my coldest and wettest runs or cycle commutes.

Inspiration

Happy 2022! (Year in review)

Happy 2022! As is traditional, I like to take the chance on the first day of a brand-spanking new year to have a look back at the year before, step back, and reflect on the good (and not-so-good) things that happened. 2021 was always going to be a strange struggle of a transition year, but I kinda feel like we had a bit of practice going into it, so my outlook was a little better than in 2020. But as this is a sewing blog, let’s first take a look at this year’s output…

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A holiday lingerie set

This year we have decided to go ALL IN on Christmas – not just the lights and decorations, but also holiday music and films, and cook all the fabulous festive foods, too in order to cheer ourselves up to the maximum. And I think this festive spirit must’ve also crept into my sewing plans, because I found myself clicking the Buy button on this fabulous holiday-themed critter cotton jersey from Like Sew Amazing (now sold out). I mean – they had me at the festive swan!!

I only bought a half metre but that was plenty to cut out another Sophie Hines Axis Tank, plus a pair of thong panties (from our Threshold Shorts pattern), a small gift I can’t mention yet, and frankly, there’s still enough leftover for a second pair of panties too if I get my act together before the 25th!

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Black ramie Pietra trousers

You know a pattern is a good’un when you not only find yourself making it multiple times, but feel a deep need in your wardrobe to make even more. This is my 5th time making the Closet Core Patterns “Pietra Pants” pattern – twice before as trousers and twice also as shorts.

My very first time sewing this pattern was a pair of trousers in black linen, almost exactly two years ago, which since then I’ve worn so much that the inner thighs literally disintegrated (even after patching). Thankfully my second pair, in grey wool, are still going strong (probably by virtue of only being worn in winter rather than all year round like the linen ones).