May Day traditions??

Do you do anything to celebrate May Day? I wrote an article for Fiskars that you can find here, about several different traditions and a couple of crafting ideas. I personally can't believe we are coming up to May 1 already.  I know they say that time flies when you're having fun, but this is ridiculous! I feel like it was only just New Year and I'm still hoovering up pin needles from the Christmas tree.

Picking your pattern : where to begin

Picking the right pattern is important when you are a beginner. Although I'm not saying you shouldn't take risks and think bold, often if you chose to make something beyond your skill level and fail, it can make you sad and sewing is something you are choosing to do because you want to have fun, right?

Here is a list of patterns I think are great for beginners. If you are reading this and think I have omitted something, I encourage you to please share your suggestions in the comments section. Two heads are better than one, after all.

I personally really like using patterns created by independent designers. Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons.  First, with the $$ I spend going directly to the person that did the hard work rather than to bolstering the profits of a large corporation, it fits in with my general philosophy of how I prefer to spend my money. Secondly, the independent pattern designers are very accessible. They often have websites or blogs, conduct sewalongs for many of their patterns and are ready, willing and happy to answer questions or queries you may have. Third, they also often have Flickr groups where customers can share what they have made and you get to see the finished item in hundreds of different ways. Finally, and this is just my opinion, the independent designers produce patterns that are amazing and very well thought out. The sewing directions are clearer and often better illustrated than commercially produced ones AND many designers offer one or two downloadable, print-at-home patterns which suits my impatient nature.

Here is my best beginner's sewing patterns list.

Sewaholic Tasia is based in Vancouver Canada and although her range of patterns is small (but growing!) she has an excellent website with a wealth of information and very helpful sew tips. She is clearly an excellent seamstress who is very generous in sharing her knowledge and advice. She has hosted sew-alongs for most of her patterns, which are an invaluable resource for a beginner. Sewing one of her patterns will really improve your sewing skills. You can see my version of her Crescent Skirt by clicking here.

 

Colette Patterns - Beautiful clothing patterns with a large range of designs and a fantastic website FULL of many useful resources, sewing tips and techniques. As well as producing gorgeous patterns (seriously, you need to see these things...) their instructions are extremely clear and very well written. You can see my Jasmine blouse by clicking here and my Sorbetto (which is a free download!) here and here.

Jamie Christina Designs - A nice range of patterns including several aprons and accessories for those interested in making non-clothing items. She also has quite a few tutorials and freebies. You can see my Miz Mozelle dress here and here.

How to sew

My sewing journey would not have been as easy, as fun or as inspiring without the help of many amazing bloggers who have been so willing to share their expertise, spend hours compiling tutorials and how-tos and generously sharing their ideas that have inspired me. I'm not joking when I say that for the fist 6 months of using my first basic sewing machine, I sat with the machine's manual open on my lap laboriously learning the basics of sewing and when things got too much for me (there many have been tears....just sayin') I would always turn to my computer and do a quick google search, and would find that someone, somewhere had the answer or technique I was looking for. And not only that, but they had photos of each step along the way! If only all of life's problems could be so easily solved.

So in order to give back to a community that has always helped me, I thought I'd start a basic sewing skills series ~ and when I say basic, I mean right at the very beginning. I'm going to try and answer the questions I had when I first started sewing. From choosing a beginner's sewing pattern to actually making a finished item.

Before I had children I was a teacher so I guess you could say that I really like to help others learn. Either that, or I like the sound of my own voice....

Picking your pattern : where to begin

Tool of the trade : the essentials and the extras

Hoodie

Last weekend a friend ask me to recommend a sweater pattern for her little girl and I immediately thought of the Urban Hoodie by Heidi&Finn that I bought a long time ago. I made it just one time last August for my daughter and it was very sweet. Luckily it was just what my friend had been looking for, so she went and bought the pattern from the Heidi&Finn etsy store.

Reminded that I owned this pattern, I pulled it out and realized that it only goes up to 5T and with my daughter (my youngest) turning 6 this summer, I don't have many more months of sewing this up for my own kids left. So, of course I just had to make it right there and then.

I had some sweatshirt fleece (leftovers from a project that may or may not be my May new year's resolution project - you'll have to wait and see...)

Everything I used I had on hand (I LOVE using up stuff) and although the hoodie is a bit jigsaw-y (the hood lining is a different color to the rest of the lining and the blue band along the bottom on the outside is there because I didn't have enough grey to finish it off) I think it all came together really well in the end. I used some tiny scraps for the bunting detail (a trend I'm still loving) and although I didn't have 3 turquoise buttons, 2 turquoise and 1 greenish blue one works, right?

I haven't yet managed to persuade the 5yr old to allow me to photograph her in it, but that's ok. I just like holding it up and looking at it and admiring my work. Do you do that? I have also been comparing it to the first one I made and I can tell that my sewing skills have really  improved in a short space of time. I wonder what I'll be making this time next year?!?!

April skirt

I only posted about my March new year's resolution project last week because I had to wait for the post to go live on the Fiskars website, and today I'm bringing you my April project! You can read all about it by clicking here. 

I used a pattern designed by a lovely girl called Tasia who is the brains (and no doubt, blood, sweat and tears) behind Sewaholic. I was not only drawn to her amazing patterns but she also lives in Vancouver where I had the pleasure of going last November and I loved everything about the city. I used the Crescent Skirt pattern which comes in 3 variations. Tasia is obviously an incredible and experienced sewer and I learnt so much by making this pattern and also by reading the sewalong she wrote to go with it. I picked up several cool little sewing tricks of the trade.

I'd really like to make her Minoru Jacket someday, when I have the time and the appropriate weather. Look how nice it is. I'm torn between the hoodie version and the high collar one. Perhaps I'd have to make both.

Anyway, as you can see I used the Echino London print for this skirt. Being English, I'm pretty happy that my country is hosting the Olympics Games this year, but living in California, I feel I'm missing out on some of the fun in the lead up to the start of the games by not being there and I'm not even a sports fan really. My new skirt is cheering me up though. Are you even giving the Olympics a second thought?

Happy April! And btw, did you see my fool video? That was fun to make.

{Video tutorial}

I've seen so many great craft tutorials on youtube in recent months, so I thought I'd make one of my own in case you're feeling crafty.