Simply Sewing issue 56

+ NUSLATES

SEW AN ALPACA

BOY TEMP

ISSUE FIFTY SIX

ISSUE 56

TO

PRINTED IN THE UK • £8.99

FRESH IDEAS AS S WITH WITHF F FABRIC A

*T&Cs apply

NEW PATTERN!

+ THE FLORA TOP FROM I AM

MAKE IT!

✓ Child's sun dress ✓ Retro wrap top ✓ Laptop case

Easy sew

SHIRT DRESS

IN SIZES 6-20 Made to top + dmeasure ress!

diversity in craft

Championing inclusivity in the sewing industry

6 new looks to sew for your me-made capsule wardrobe HOW TO: Use a rotary cutter Beginner quilting Needle-felting Patch pockets

IDEAS

INSPIRATION

ACCESSORIES

WEBSITES

EVENTS

STUFF

SLEEK ASYMMETRY

French pattern brand Deer & Doe mix masculine and feminine influences for a new pattern collection full of modern lines, asymmetric details and graceful curves. There are three chic designs to add to your summer sewing list: the Agave reversible wrap skirt, sophisticated Sirocco jumpsuit and lingerie-inspired Pensée dress. Visit www.deer-and-doe.com

Subscribe at www.simplysewingmag.com

WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM 9

WORKING IT Our favourite ▼

mantra is 'sewing forever, housework whenever,’ so we can't wait to get to work on Ready to Sew’s Julien chore jacket pattern! Far from a chore to make, this boxy workwearinspired jacket will be a pleasure to sew and wear with our other me-mades; every seam is topstitched in place for a satisfying make and a longlasting garment you’ll keep for years. Visit www.readytosew.fr

SELFLESS SEWINg

Alice Caroline’s Quilt SOS project has seen beautiful quilts donated to those in need for the last three years (that’s 197 quilts!) and is now back for its fourth year. Aiming to give every child in a selected SOS Children’s Village a handmade bedspread, for 2019 Alice hopes to deliver 60 quilts to this year's chosen village of Islice in Latvia – and that’s where you come in! You can get involved with this worthy project by making a cosy quilt for Alice and her team to personally deliver to Latvia. Find out more at www.alicecaroline.com

3 of the best FRINGE BENEFITS Flapper-girl fringing has been given a modern update, on everything from lamps to necklaces.

1. With fringing, pastels and beads, that's three of this summer's trends sorted thanks to these pretty earrings, hand-crafted by skilled women artisans in northern Kenya. £32, www.bohemiadesign.com 2. What's more luxurious than velvet? A statement velvet lamp trimmed with silky fringing in an opulent mustard hue, that's what! Our side table just got an upgrade. £120, www.abodeliving.co.uk 3. You won't find a more summery necklace than this ombre fringed beauty, hand-dyed and made

by Love Astrid, inspired by the beach and sunset. £39.69 from www.loveastrid.etsy.com

12 WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

SLOUCHY CHIC

Cropped, tapered and oh-so-comfy, In The Folds’ Darlow trousers are our new summer go-tos! Designed to offer a cool new twist on classic tailored trousers, they’re fitted at the waist and hip and more voluminous through the leg for a modern silhouette, and include unusual panelling details that create a unique shape. Make them in breezy linen or cotton for a relaxed pair for daytime wear, or even in luxurious silk for a slinky evening look. Go to www.inthefolds.com

desk makeover

girl boss

She believed she could, so she did – with a little help from these practical desk makes in on-trend prints.

Designers: JESSICA ENTWISTLE Styling: LISA JONES Photography: PHILIP SOWELS

18 WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

STORAGE BANNER

This patchwork banner isn't just for prettying up a plain wall (and motivating us to "go get 'em"!); with its useful pockets for storage, it's a practical addition to your workspace, too. Made in simple half and quarter-square triangles, this modern design won't be too tricky to piece together for patchwork newbies.

PEN TOPPERS AND COASTER

Diamonds are a girl's best friend – so of course we'll be making a set of these pen toppers for our besties. Just add appliquÊ and embroidery to personalise them. Our other best friend? Coffee!

Good thing we can use the same easy technique to stitch this matching diamond-motif coaster for our caffeine fix, too.

THE shirt DRESS PSSTo:r fabric and

leaf f ion, and be r e v o Turn spirat r finished n i g n styli share you tagged s o sure t ress with u ag D ingm w e Shirt s y l #simp

32 WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

COVER STAR

THE shirt dress

Sew the effortlessly stylish staple Shirt Dress for everyday with a button fastening, collar, sleeve tabs and optional waist belt.

MY SEWING WORLD

By The Fold Line

Sew this season's trends, from boxy tops to chic jumpsuits, with these pattern picks from Kate and Rachel.

W

ith bright blue skies and signs of summer all around us, it’s time for us to look forward to a new season of pattern releases and trends for spring-summer 2019. There have been lots of amazing new sewing pattern releases so far this year from independent designers and many of these are ideal transition pieces to take us through spring to the warmer months ahead. With this in mind, we headed to Oxford Street in London to get inspired by this season’s fashion trends and how we might be able to recreate these looks for our own handmade wardrobes. The overall styles on the high street have a late 1980s and early 90s feel, with plain fabrics rather than prints in camel, rust, green and beige colours. Here we've curated some of the key trends and paired a few of our favourite patterns to go with them to inspire you.

SHIRT DRESSES These are reimagined this season in two main styles – a classic 1950s style shirt dress with gathered skirt, or a loose-fit, utilitarian shirt dress (think this issue's Shirt Dress pattern, p32!). A great pattern choice for this style is the Olya Shirt Dress from Paper Theory (www.papertheory.com). This one has an interesting detail across the bodice and sleeves.

Another on-trend option is the Lempi Button Down Dress by Named (www.namedclothing.com), with its high collar and oversized buttons.

Browse the p atter latest posts a n shop and read our t www.thefold line.com

"The styles on the high street have a late 1980s and early 90s feel."

CAMI TOPS This staple is all over the high street in lots of different variations. Most of the cami tops had a V-neckline, often styled with T-shirts underneath. To recreate this trend, try the popular Ogden Cami (right) by True Bias (shop.truebias.com). Another option is the Gaïa Top from I AM Patterns (www. iampatterns.fr), and there's also the Jily Top from Ready to Sew (www.ready tosew.fr), which can be made with a tie front or in block colours (above right).

TOPS These are very relaxed this year, with oversized T-shirts, boxy cropped

36 WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

irt dress trend sh ty li ti u e th ew S pi pattern. em L 's ed am N h it w

with "Go for a relaxed fit classic tailoring, and linen and crepe fabrics." tops and floaty sleeves. To create these looks, why not try the cropped, loose-fit Lyra Top by Afternoon Patterns (www. afternoon.co.za) or the oversized, slouchy Jenny Top from Workshop (www.helloworkshop.co.uk).

Try a twist on the classic cami with the I AM Patterns Gaïa Top's strap detail, or sew a chic-and-simple top with Afternoon Pattern's cropped Lyra Top (right).

WORKWEAR JACKETS Also seen on The Great British Sewing Bee this year, there are lots of workwear jackets with a boxy shape and large buttons on the high street. To replicate this look try the Ottoline Jacket from Merchant and Mills (www.merchantandmills.com).

BLAZERS Go for a relaxed fit with classic tailoring details, and linen and crepe fabrics in plain and tonal colours. Challenge your sewing skills and try the Richmond Blazer by Nina Lee (www.ninalee.co.uk), which features welt pockets and a single-button closure.

JUMPSUITS We spotted three different styles on the high street: the classic wrap jumpsuit with wide-legged trousers; a V-neck, wide-strap jumpsuit with a waist belt; and a boiler suit in drapey fabrics. Try the Zadie from Paper Theory Patterns, or the boilersuit-style Jean-Paul Overall from Ready to Sew. SKIRTS The skirts on the high street this season are structured with a midi-length wrap style. Two great options for this are the Sarah Wraparound Skirt from Workshop (left), or the Perrine Skirt from I AM Patterns.

Keeping us inspired...

Nina Lee's Ric h gives tailoring mond Blazer a feminine loo k.

We’ve been getting so much inspiration from the outfits you would like to recreate from garments you’ve seen on T V and in movies and magazines.

It can be tricky to find a pattern that matches, so we’ve created the #findmypattern hashtag. Share a photo of a garment you would like to make on Instagram and we will try to find a sewing pattern for you! You can watch a round-up vlog of other maker’s pattern requests on our YouTube channel.

Can't find that perfect pattern?

Share a snap tagged #findmypattern and we'll try to find it for you!

WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM 37

THE flora top

PSSTfo:r fabric and

d f verlea iration, an op o n r Tu insp ora T l g F n i d l e y st finish wingmag r u o y share s #simplyse with u

42 WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

THE flora top

With its geometric contrast yoke detail and stylishly simple shape, I AM Patterns' Flora Top is a modern staple to dress up or down.

light and breezy

Three rectangles of breezy cotton is all you need for Debbie Maxwell's retro-look wrap top with a double bow fastening.

NO PATTERN NEEDED!

✂

Subscribe at www.simplysewingmag.com

WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM 47

toy alpaca

party animal

There’s no party like a plushie party!

Sew an alpaca pal to join in the fun with this pom pom-adorned design

by Lucy Ward.

74 WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

Subscribe at www.simplysewingmag.com

WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM 75

my favourite thing

made for me Atia Azmi, aka The Bright Blooms, took her sewing skills to the next level with this floaty midi dress pattern hack.

"I have been sewing for several years now and I really enjoy being able to combine pattern, colour and fabric to produce a garment which is tailored to fit me and my style.

As a petite Muslim woman, I found the choices available to me were limited, and I have also become more interested in sustainability and ethical fashion recently.

Sewing my own clothes gives me so many options as I am in control of every part of the garment production chain! As I become more experienced I have started to venture into modifying or ‘hacking’ patterns to suit me.

For this project, I started with Deer and Doe's Myosotis pattern (shop.deer-and-doe. fr). I initially didn’t feel very inspired by this pattern but I love floaty midi dresses and

98 WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

realised the pattern could be modified to this style. The crepe fabric I used is a beautiful lightweight small-scale print which has a lot of interest due to the different colours.

I simply increased the length of the skirt and sleeves for a completely different look from the original pattern. This dress has now become a ‘go-to’ piece in my wardrobe, as it can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. Hacking patterns can create so many different looks and allows me to reuse patterns in new and exciting ways. This also helps me to develop my sewing skills, too.

I love being able to add my own twist to create unique and beautiful clothes."

Follow Atia on Instagram @thebrightblooms and at www.thebrightblooms.com

S RELAXED SUN DR FIT TWO LEESS WITH NGTHS!

Ruffle hem dress Laminate shopper Easy-sew kimono Lightweight wrap skirt Patchwork placemats Elephant plushie Bench cushion Fabric pinwheels and more...

+ TOP W E S Y EAS ZES 6-20 IN SI

PLUS BEGINNER VEST TOP PATTERN

✄

ON SALE THURSDAY 13 JUNE WWW.SIMPLYSEWINGMAG.COM

* CONTENTS AND A GIFTS GIFT MAY M VARY. PAPER AND FABRIC GIFTS NOT AVAILABLE WITH DIGITAL EDITIONS.