Fifi Pyjamas

Hey everyone! How are you all? 

I'm doing pretty good, I'm at home for the Easter break and finally have a completed sewing project to show you! 

Truth be told, I finished this project in January, but I've been putting off blogging it. Ahh well, I've got round to it eventually! 

This is the Fifi Pyjama set from Tilly and the Buttons, and a classy lady she is. I don't think I've ever felt so posh wearing pyjamas! 

The light in these photos is dreadful, you'll have to excuse me - proper daylight in January was a little hard to come by! 

From start to finish, excluding cutting everything out, this project took me about five hours. I stayed up rather late to get it finished, but I am super happy with the end result! 

I made the Size 1, which is usual for me and didn't make any adjustments. It fits pretty nicely straight out of the packet, but I do think I'll go back at some point and shorten the straps a tad. 

All the seams are French, which I've never bothered with on a whole garment before. They look sooo neat, I am seriously tempted to use this style of seam more often - the extra effort is definitely worth it. 

You can get a bit of a better look at the fabric here, which is an absolutely droolworthy, soft and buttery Liberty Tana Lawn. Yes, my love of all things Liberty is showing no sign of stopping - I visited the store with my mum last weekend when we were in London and to my surprise, realised that I can now name a lot of the fabrics! Definitely becoming a bit of an obsession...but look how pretty! 

A few close ups. This was my first time making an elasticated waistband, which definitely wasn't as tricky as I'd been imagining. I also added a little blue bow to the top, which I think looks cute! I was also really pleased with myself for how neatly I managed to get the bias binding, as that's another technique I haven't really had much experience with. Overall, these pyjamas were a real learning curve for me, but I had so much fun! 

Well, that's about it from me on the pyjama front. This is definitely the project that I feel most luxurious in whilst wearing and I'm really proud of it as a sewing achievement. 

In other news...ooh, I did recently manage to turn some 40" waist jeans into a 28". I know, that should be more or less impossible, but long story short my boyfriend wanted some jeans in the sale from River Island, and the only size they had left was 40". I ended up taking 4" out of each side seam (which ate into the front pockets a little, but they're still usable), then 4" out of the back. I also took in the legs a little all over, to balance things out. To my surprise, they actually look ok! I got my mum to check, and she assures me they look like regular jeans (though she's astounded I managed to take out a whole 12"). So, there we go! It's been a post for attempting the sewing extraordinary, at least where I'm concerned. 

How are your sewing projects going? I'd love to hear! 

Thank you, as always, for reading, 

Beth x

Nostalgia

Hey everyone! How are you all?

I've finally broken up for the Easter holidays, so I'm back at home missing my uni friends, but enjoying being able to see my family. I have a couple of essays to write whilst I'm here, but I also have a few nice plans to meet up with people which should be really fun.

In the absence of any completed sewing projects to show you (but I have brought my sewing machine home with me, I promise!), today I wanted to talk about the favourite things of my childhood. I recently found out about the website Invaluable, which has all kinds of auctions with nostalgic items. The site can help people reconnect with items they may have loved as children but have forgotten about as they've grown up. As an online auction site, Invaluable also has a lot of collectibles which means it's a good resource for hunting down old books, coins and memorabilia. Mostly though, I just thought writing about nostalgia would be a great way to try and remember the things that were so important to me as a child!

I'm pretty sure that most of you, like me, all loved Lego. I have so much of it stashed away - a police station, pirate ship, castle and even Harry Potter's Hogwarts, as well as a huge box just filled with random colour pieces. To be honest, I still enjoy playing with Lego; one of my mum's friends has a little girl who we get Lego out for her to play with when she comes to visit, and I'm sure me and my dad have more fun playing with the Lego than she does!

I was also a huge fan of My Little Pony, spending hours brushing and braiding their hair. As far as I'm concerned, they've absolutely ruined them, they're just not as good as they used to be. I had a collection of about twenty ponies, all with their own brushes, as well as a couple of videos and a computer game (which I would spend absolutely hours playing).

Here's my absolute favourite from when I was little... I'm fairly sure she was called Strawberry. I used to know the names of all of them, but alas, that information has been nudged out by other things:



And here's what they look like now...














*sigh...they are just not the same.

My last favourite would probably have to go to Sylvanian Families. Please all tell me you know what they are! I think I had little frogs and dalmations. One Christmas, I remember being brought an absolutely enormous house for them to all live in, and for my next birthday, a canal boat. One of my friends Eleanor, who absolutely adored them, was once bought a Sylvanian wedding set which I remember playing with and thinking was beautiful!


 

The canal boat was always secretly my favourite, mostly because I've always wanted to live on one, and it came with loads of cool little accessories I could get the frogs to play with, like a mop and a life ring.

So, there we have it, the favourite toys of my childhood! Also worthy of note would have to be Barbie...yes, I know, but I'm not going to deny I've always had a very girly streak, and probably Baby Annabelle as well, my toy baby. She was very cute and I had a pram for her and everything. My mum used to take me to Toys R Us to buy her clothes (when she wasn't dressed in my own baby clothes, including my christening outfit! What a well dressed doll she was.)

Ooh, I also loved Felicity Wishes!



I had books, toys, pencil cases, advent calendars at Christmas...all adorned with the beautiful Felicity Wishes the fairy and her friends. Gosh, there's so many favourites now I've got onto the topic! Of course, toys aren't the only aspect of my childhood I remember and think of slightly wistfully...

Jelly tots were completely delicious, particularly the bottom of the pack where you could lick your finger and dip it in all the sugar. Magic Stars, they were good too...I would never eat them without first seeing what facial expression was on each star. I do still occasionally eat both jelly tots and Magic Stars; both give me a sense of nostalgia, but I don't look at all the faces on the Magic Stars before I eat them anymore. Times change I suppose!

TV was also a good one for me, I remember the first time we got a digital box, coming home from school and being able to watch a channel totally dedicated to children's shows! I was always a CBBC child, CITV had too many adverts! Arthur, The Wild Thornberries, The Rugrats and Tracy Beaker are my top picks, but there were a lot of other good shows too. I'll be here all day if I list them all!

Finally, books. I've always been a huge reader, with people like Jacqueline Wilson, J. K. Rowling and Lemony Snicket shaping my childhood. Whilst I'm here, my thanks go out to those wonderful authors (and my father), who all helped inspire my love of words. I'm forever grateful.

Well, that's probably enough from me. Now, over to you! Tell me, what is your favourite memory of childhood - a toy, a game, a food they just don't make the same anymore? The choice is yours! I can't wait to hear all your answers.

Have a brilliant week everyone, and thank you for reading,

Beth x

Disclaimer: I was approached by Invaluable to write a blog post about the nostalgic items of my childhood as part of their community blogging project. I received no payment and agreed to write the post because I genuinely thought it would be nice to help my readers to remember and reconnect with the items they loved as children. All opinions stated here are my own.

Anti-Trident Rally with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Hey everyone! How are you all? 

A little bit off my usual sewing topic today, but I am so excited about my day I felt I should share it with you. I went down to London to take part in the Anti-Trident rally organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. 

Trident is essentially the British nuclear arms programme, which the government plans to replace at a cost of over £100 billion. This money could be used to pay 150,000 nurses working for the NHS, fund A&E departments for 40 years or build 1.5 million new, affordable houses, but instead it is being wasted on expensive weapons that we don't need. In a time of austerity, the leaders of our country should be focusing on creating jobs in the industries that matter, like the healthcare system, not using a fancy, updated version of Trident to boost our country's ego. 

As a History student, it honestly appalls me that there are still some people out there who seem to have learnt nothing from our past mistakes. The one and only time nuclear weapons have been used in war - Japan 1945 - hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were killed, and the effects of the radiation can still be seen to this day. The nuclear warheads carried on Trident submarines are eight times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Japan - the devastation firing such a weapon would cause is unimaginable. 

Today's rally began at Marble Arch, where 60,000 people met to march together to Trafalgar Square in protest of Trident's renewal. In addition to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, we were joined by the Socialist Workers Party, the Labour Party, the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, groups fighting against racism and sexism, refugees, religious organisations, student nurses and doctors whose university funding has just been cut, those fighting against austerity and many others. To see so many people of all different backgrounds coming together with one voice to fight for the same cause made me feel a part of something really important, something worth fighting for. It was such an uplifting, amazing experience. 

Nuclear weapons are immoral, they are weapons of mass destruction, they are illegal and they are dangerous. They are also not the norm - the vast majority of countries are nuclear weapon free, why should Britain be any different? Nuclear weapons can go wrong - thousands of lives are threatened by them. 

Join the fight. Let us stand together and oppose these weapons. Argue for peace, cutting war not welfare, books not bombs, NHS not Trident. We can only affect change if we work as one, all supporting the same cause - global disarmament. 

Speakers such as Nicola Sturgeon for the Scottish National Party, Leanne Wood for Plaid Cymru, Caroline Lucas for the Green Party and Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party all stood and opposed the renewal of Britain's nuclear weapons programme. I had an amazing day campaigning against these weapons and listening to such inspirational speeches, but our work will not be complete until the government agrees to scrap Trident. Make a stand, get out onto the streets, begin campaigning! It's everyone's fight, and the nuclear weapons of this country will not be renewed in our name. 

Say no to nuclear weapons, say no to Trident! 

Thank you for reading, and I hope you are all well and have a fabulous weekend. 

Beth x

Pyjama Top

Hello everyone! How are you?

I've been having a mixed couple of weeks, but mostly good. I've cut out the pieces to make a velvet By Hand London Kim dress, now I just need to find the time to sew it all together! I don't expect I'll be able to get anywhere with it until next week though, as I am going down to London for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's Anti-Trident rally this weekend, which I'm quite excited about! 

So, whilst I'm waiting to sew up a new project, I thought I'd show you one I completed a while back instead. 

This is the Sewaholic Renfrew pattern, which I used to make a pretty quick and easy pyjama top. The fabric I used (which came from Abakhan in Chester) is a really soft, cosy knit which is actually being saved for a Megan Nielsen Briar. However, until I can get round to printing and assembling my PDF copy, I wanted something really simple, so to the Renfrew I turned! I ended up squeezing this make out of something ridiculous like a quarter of a metre of fabric, just to ensure I have enough left over for the Briar! I shortened the hem by quite a few inches to save fabric, but it doesn't bother me at all - this is hands down the comfiest pyjama top I've ever worn. 

I made my usual Size 0, opted for short sleeves and used some scraps to make a teeny patch pocket, which I think is really cute. I can't claim credit for the shorts, which come from Fat Face (my guilty pleasure), but I do think they go together quite well. 

 

That's about it really! This was a really quick make, put together in about an hour and a half (including cutting out!) and I am really pleased with the final result. It makes a nice change from the Seaworld t-shirt I usually opt for, which I've had since I was ten! (I also recently watched the documentary Blackfish, which has on some levels ruined my childhood memories of Seaworld, but I do still love that t-shirt). 

As always, thank you for reading, and what's on your sewing table please? 

Have a great week everyone, 

Beth x

The Valentine's Day Dress (which didn't get worn on Valentine's Day...)

Hey everyone! 

In my last post I mentioned I was planning on sewing a dress for Valentine's Day. Truth be told, I'm not really a big fan of Valentine's Day, I find all the lovey-dovey celebration a little too much for my slightly socially awkward personality. However, this year my boyfriend talked me into going on a triple date with two of his best friends and their girlfriends, so I felt as though I should make a bit of an effort. 

Having said that, once the dress was finished, I did a complete U-turn on what I wanted to wear! Isn't that always the way? So this dress wasn't actually worn on my date tonight, but I'm still mentally referring to it as the Valentine's Day dress. 

This is the Babydoll Dress from Christine Haynes' book 'Skirts and Dresses for First Time Sewers'. I made it up in a floral patterned needlecord (yes, my current obsession with corduroy shows no sign of stopping yet...) and made the smallest size, as per usual. 

A word of warning: this dress runs large. I know the style is supposed to be somewhat oversized, but when I came to put it on I felt like I was wearing a tent! Luckily, a belt easily fixed the problem. I also shortened the full length sleeves, as I felt keeping them as drafted would be a little too much. 

I was a little unsure about the shoulders at first, they are very 'poofy', but after some consideration I decided I actually quite like them. They're a bit of a change from my usual style. I also asked a friend if he thought it looked nice, and he said 'I like the way the shoulders look' with no prompting from me, so I'll take that as a win. 

Overall, I'm really pleased with the way this dress turned out even if I didn't actually wear it for what it was planned for. It's also my first completed sewing project since early January, so a nice simple way to ease me back into making :) 

Thank you for reading, and I hope that wherever you are, whatever you're doing and whoever you're with, you have a lovely Valentine's Day, whether you're in a relationship or not. 

Beth x

Geneva Raglan

Hey everyone! How are you all?

I am completely snowed under with uni work at the minute. I've just worked my way through about five hours of seminar reading and I'm still nowhere near done. I've vowed I'll get a dress finished before Valentine's Day (I'm going out on my first ever Valentine's date - eep! I'm a little nervous!) but I'm not sure I'll get it made up in time. Fingers crossed! 

Still, I thought I'd take a bit of a break from reading up on early English castles and the Civil War to show you another completed project - the Geneva Raglan top from Named Patterns. 

Shamefully taking direct inspiration from Rachel of House of Pinheiro's beautiful version, I made this up in a triangle print ponte de roma from Girl Charlee and a charcoal grey ponte from Guthrie and Ghani. 

This top was a breeze to make, I didn't encounter any problems with sewing it up or fitting - hurrah for quick and easy sewing projects! I made up the smallest size (as is usual for me) and it fits really well. Next time, I think I'd use a fabric with a little more stretch for the sleeves, as the ponte I used is quite thick, but it's definitely wearable. 

I'm not usually one for wearing jeans, but this top is perfect for when I fancy a change from the dresses I'm usually wearing. It's seen quite a bit of wear since I finished it a couple of months ago so, overall, success! 

Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope all your sewing projects are going well :) I've been a little detached from the blogosphere recently - the unread posts on my reader are mounting up, but I catch up when I can. I love seeing everyone's finished projects! 

Have a great week everyone, hope you are all well. 

Beth x

Not one, but two...

Hello all! How is everyone? 

I'm settling back into university following a long break for Christmas and exams. It's great to be back living independently again and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into my modules this semester (for anyone interested, I'm doing the English Civil War, Henry I and the Age of the Castle). 

Today I wanted to share with you two projects that I finished a while back, but have become real wardrobe staples. 

Both of these skirts are made using the Elisalex pattern from By Hand London - minus the bodice and with the addition of a waistband. I also added pockets to both versions (who doesn't love a good pocket?). 

I made up my usual size 6 and just cut the waistband to match my measurements, plus another two inches for the seam allowances and ease. It seemed to work pretty well as both skirts fit nicely. 

The fabric for both skirts is needlecord - both the navy and the burgundy colourways were sourced from John Lewis on a trip to London. I'm going through a bit of an obsession with corduroy at the moment, having also picked some up in purple, floral and a stunning Liberty print. It's just such lovely fabric to sew with! 

These two skirts are such versatile pieces, they have easily made their way into my regular wardrobe rotation. It won't be long before you see a couple more! 

I hope your sewing is going well - do share below! 

As always, thank you for reading, 

Beth x