Vintage Refashion

Hey guys :) 

Since Christmas I've been a bit slow on the sewing front, as on my return to uni I was thrown straight into exam season and then a new semester, which triggered a bit of a sewing block. However, I now finally have something new (well...old) to show you! 

A vintage refashion! 

I picked up this 80s skirt at the vintage store in Upper Bangor near where I live. On some people longer skirt lengths can look fabulous, but on me I always think they look dowdy. However, I knew that the large amount of fabric had great potention and I snapped it up for just £7. 

This is what it looks like now! To transform it, all I did was trim down the elasticated waistband, turned it over and stitched to stop fraying. The elasticated piece I'd trimmed off was then converted to two separate straps. Done! 

I'm so pleased with this dress - it only took half an hour to refashion and it's really reignited my love of sewing. My university's craft society is going on a group trip to Abakhan this weekend, so I really hope to pick up some inspirational dressmaking materials that I can put to good use now I seem to be out of my sewing block. I'm also definitely calling into the vintage shop to pick up another of these skirts! 

Thank you for reading and I hope that wherever you are you're having a lovely week and the weather is not too cold :)

Beth x

Plans

Inspired by all the lovely vintage inspiration I've been getting recently (see my last post for some truly gorgeous patterns) I have...been tempted by a beautiful fifties dress pattern from Butterick. 

I'm a fifties girl at heart, and though the patterns we picked up at Bangor's vintage shop reignited my love of vintage, the eighties don't quite do it for me. I'm hoping my new pattern arrives soon! 

The bottom fabric here is destined for this dress. The navy and white flowers have already been transformed into a Hollyburn Skirt from Sewaholic! 

I hope to begin sewing as soon as my pattern arrives - I am so excited! 

Hope you are all having a lovely week. 

Beth x

Vintage Pattern Finds!

Hey guys! 

Yesterday me and some of my uni friends from the Bangor Craft and Sewing Society visited a vintage shop in the city. Wow, was that place amazing. The clothes were so beautiful and there was also a sale on - 25% off everything - to celebrate the New Year. 

Look what we picked up! 

24 vintage sewing patterns for £10. Granted, there are a couple of children's patterns and a maternity one in there that aren't much use to us, but the rest are definitely worth having! We basically bought everything they had. 

Most of these are eighties - there are some amazing looking shoulder pads in there - but also a couple of seventies, particularly a gorgeous looking bow blouse which I can't wait to crack open. 

I am running a dressmaking class in about a month's time as part of our two weekly workshop series, so I'm hoping to run over how to read a sewing pattern using these as examples. It should be really exciting! We also picked up a couple of Singer sewing machines in Aldi today (that's a British supermarket for international readers) for £80 each! Such a bargain. They belong to the society and should be really great for teaching people to sew. 

These patterns should be really great at helping me to fulfil my vintage pledge. I can see myself making even more than my pledged three at this rate! Totally got my eye on the skirt pattern second from the right on the bottom row. 

Hope you guys are all having a creative week! 

Beth x

My Christmas Collection

Hey guys! 

I am finally back at uni after a looong Christmas holiday (four weeks!) and thought I would finally share with you a bit of what I've been sewing over the festive season in my breaks between essay writing and exam revision. 

First up is my absolute favourite...

A navy Cambie! Is there anything better? The Cambie from Sewaholic is my favourite dress pattern of all time (yes, even more than the BHL Anna!) and I loved making this version. I think I made it up a size too big as I had to take the side seams in lot, but it fits great now and I wore it on Christmas Day :) 

Second is another Cambie - once I'd finished the first I immediately cut out the second! 

The fabric for this dress is so cute! Tiny sprays of flowers all over, on navy! Yes... I do think I have an obsession with navy, but all my clothes match so I'm not complaining. I really love the way this dress looks on me, especially with one of my lovely woolley cardigans. 

Originally I was going to make the Cambie with some totally gorgeous Liberty Tana Lawn I picked up the last time I was in London. However, not wanting to cut straight into that, I thought it better to have a couple of practice runs first! I hate making toiles, so if I'm using a pattern I think could cause some complications I usually use cheaper, less valuable fabric that I pick up from Abakhan to have a go on before using anything more expensive. That way if it goes totally wrong it's not the end of the world, but if everything goes ok I have a new dress! 

Luckily these two came out great, so I'll have three gorgeous Cambies to wear through the rest of the winter months by the time I'm finished :) 

Last up is something completely different...

VELVET!!!

This was my first time using velvet and I decided to go for the Renfrew t shirt pattern from Sewaholic. I just shortened the bodice and added a slightly gathered skirt to make the babydoll dress, and aside from the neckband (which took three attempts)... this came together really easily! 

I haven't worn it out anywhere yet, not because I don't like it but because I am struggling to find a matching cardigan! I hardly ever wear my dresses without a cardigan on top in winter, so I think I'll have to wait until spring starts to arrive before this sees any wear. I loved working with a new fabric type though and am really glad I was brave enough to branch out from my comfort zone and experiment. 

Apologies for the awful lighting in these photos. My camera does not like being in such close proximity to a window! 

So there we have it...three gorgeous new dresses to add to my wardrobe! 

Have you done any sewing over the Christmas holidays? I'd love to see :) 

Beth x

Vintage Pattern Pledge 2015

Happy New Year everyone! 

This year I have signed up as a participant in The Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge 2015, which I am excited about as I've never taken part before! 

So, here goes...

I, Beth Holmes, pledge to sew three garments from vintage patterns in 2015. 

I have only ever sewn vintage once before, but I do love clothes from the fifties and hope that this year I will be able to stop just looking wistfully at flared dresses on Pinterest and actually make one! 

Are you taking part in the Vintage Pattern Pledge this year? 

Beth x

Looking Forward: 2015

Hey guys! 

I hope you have all had a very lovely and relaxing Christmas (or just a few lovely and relaxing days for those who don't celebrate). 

With just a couple more days of 2014 left to go, I want to set out a few sewing resolutions for the upcoming new year - it's been a year since I first learnt to sew and I feel I've improved so much. However, there is still a lot to learn and so I want to set myself a few targets so that I can keep on improving my sewing knowledge and ability in 2015. After all, if we all stayed in our comfort zone, we'd never get any better at the things we love, would we? 

So, without further ado...

My Five Sewing Resolutions for 2015

1) Create a garment from a type of fabric I have never used before. In my time as a sewer, I have embarassingly only used a very limited range of fabric - quilting cotton, knit, corduroy and velvet. So, in the new year I would like to set myself the challenge of sewing with something completely different - chiffon, wool, chambray...watch this space. 

2) Make two items of clothing which are not dresses. Readers, if you're in for the long haul I'm sure you will have noticed I almost always wear dresses. Jeans are just NOT my thing. However, if I had a handmade top to accompany my jeans I'm wondering if my feelings towards them may be a little more accomodating. So, because since beginning sewing I have only ever really made dresses and the odd skirt, I hereby challenge myself to sew two items of clothing in 2015 which are not dresses (for example, two tops, or a top and a cardigan). We'll see how it goes. 

3) Try at least three new sewing techniques. In the year I've been sewing, I'm pretty confident that I've managed to learn all the basic skills that are required to sew a garment. However, I've not pushed myself for a long time now to try anything new, simply perfecting the techniques I know already. Therefore, this year I would like to make some clothes which feature: buttonholes, tucks and princess seams. These are three things I would love to feature in my wardrobe but I've never attempted, so hopefully this upcoming year I can learn how to do them. 

4) Make at least three garments from vintage patterns. I've had very little experience with sewing vintage, having only made one dress from a 50s pattern which, I have to admit, I almost never wear. The lack of knowledge of sewing vintage meant it just didn't come out right, but I would love to be able to practice and create true vintage pieces that I can wear everyday. So, that's my fourth target for 2015 - three vintage garments. 

5) Sew with a pattern from an Indie Designer I have never used before. Just recently I've got stuck in a bit of a rut with my pattern choices. My signature style is coming on really well and I couldn't be more pleased with it, but having the exact form of sillohuette all the time as well as the same colour palette is getting a little dull. So, this year I want to branch out, look for Indie Pattern Designers I haven't bought from before and try something totally different. After all, what's the use of sewing our own clothes if we can't experiment? 

And that's it, my five sewing goals of 2015. Now, I also challenge YOU, my lovely readers, to set yourself some sewing goals for the new year. Comment what they are below, I'll keep a note of them and we can go through together at the end of the year and see what new things we've tried. It's good to try new things isn't it? 

For now, I wish you all a very happy, healthy and creative new year - I'll see you in 2015!

Beth x

2014: A Look Back

Merry Christmas everyone!

First up, I would like to start with a little announcement - I have been sewing for one whole year! My first self-sewn garment was made in the run up to Christmas 2013 and now, twelve months later, I have a whole handmade wardrobe. Learning to sew is one of the best things I've done with my life so far and so, with 2014 coming to an end, I just wanted to take a look back over my first full sewing year and all the things I've achieved. I hope that's ok :)

The Blog

I started Sewing Soothes the Soul on the 18th April this year, inspired by the likes of Tilly and the Buttons, Kitchen Table Sewing and So Zo. Back then I still had pretty much no clue what I was doing when it came to sewing and a lot of the clothes I made don't get worn anymore. However, I owe a lot to those first failures - they helped me get to the level I'm at today. My photography skills have also developed over the year! I started off with awful selfies taken in the mirror in my bedroom, but now I've mastered remote photography with my phone so thankfully my photos don't look too bad anymore.

Favourite Posts

Reasons for Sewing

Tilly's Book Launch Party @ Guthrie and Ghani

My Signature Style

Introducing...*drumroll please*...my new Etsy shop!

Favourite Makes

Stripy Sailor Dress (Sewaholic Renfrew) - my first knit project! Super stylish stripes, and soooo comfy.

By Hand London Anna - yes, all three! I love these all so much, I'm barely ever out of them. They all fit well and are totally me.

Lisette 1419 - I adore the Peter Pan collar on this and LOVE the fact it has sleeves. This is something I always feel really nice in.

Misses (because we can't get it right all the time, right?)

 

Christmas Anna Dress - a learning curve here, sparkles just aren't me, but at least I know for the future.

Most of these, to be honest...bar the floral pinafore which came in sooooo handy during summer. These were early projects and full of mistakes, but I am ok with this though, they helped me to learn and allowed me to become a better sewer.

Finally, I would like to take the time to thank you, my readers, for all the support you have given me this year. Nine months, 64 posts and 6,129 page views in, my little blog is still going, which I would never have expected when I first set it up! I'm so glad that a few people out there find what I have to say interesting - this blog helps inspire me and I hope that it helps to inspire you too.

Have a fantastic Christmas everyone, and a wonderful new year.

All the best for 2015,

Beth x