Typically Me - A Navy Sewaholic Cambie

Hey guys! How are you?

I am fiiiiinally back at uni and it is awesome to be here. Lectures don't start for another two weeks, so I'm just enjoying spending time with my friends, working on a book review for my dissertation and watching Stranger Things on Netflix (which is seriously good, though creepy - would definitely recommend).

At the moment though, it is super warm and sunny outside, so I'm inside staying out of the heat with a bunch of double chocolate chip cookies to get through, so I thought I'd share another one of my recently finished makes with you!

Yes, it is yet another Sewaholic Cambie. To be honest, this being my eighth (!!!) version of this dress, I haven't got a lot of new stuff to say, but I like it and it fits my style perfectly, so I figured I'd blog about it anyway.

As per usual, I made up View B with the gathered skirt in a Size 0 with no fitting issues, and used a gorgeous cotton fabric that I found in my local market. It's navy with tiny white daisies, so from afar it looks very similar to another one of my Cambies - the first dress in this post, if you're interested. That wasn't an accident though, as I love that version of the Cambie so much (it gets worn alllllll the time) I've been planning on making another one for ages, so this one fits the bill perfectly.

Here's a close up of the bodice, you can see the print a little better. I can envision myself wearing this dress all the time come winter, with cosy cardigans, tights and boots.... is anyone else dreaming of colder weather at the moment?

So, that's pretty much all from me for now - the Cambie may be my favourite sewing pattern, but I think even I'll run out of stuff to say about it eventually! Still, I doubt this will be the last time you see it, I can definitely see more Cambies on the horizon!

I hope you're all having a brilliant week and, as always, thank you for reading,

Beth x

Outfit-Along 2016: My Completed Outfit

Hey guys!

I am exceptionally late blogging my completed garments for the Outfit-Along, but I only just got around to photographing them. Whilst I did finish both pieces before the deadline, unfortunately I never uploaded a picture on time for it to count in the competition! However, for me the real prize is that it inspired me to create an entirely new outfit, including a knitted jumper! For someone as slow at knitting as I am, I feel really proud of this accomplishment.

For the first part of my outfit, I (rather unsurprisingly) chose to make a dress. I had an absolutely beautiful length of Liberty Tana Lawn in my fabric stash which I'd been delaying using for fear of something going wrong! I decided the competition was the push I needed to create something from it though, and chose my favourite tried and tested pattern, the Sewaholic Cambie.

I made up the Size 0, which is standard for me, and didn't come across any fitting issues sewing it up. The whole of the dress is fully lined as well, including the fully gathered skirt.

I absolutely adore this pattern, which can be seen through the amount of times I've sewn it up! I have seven Cambies in my handmade wardrobe, the most times I've used the same pattern. 

Here's a close up of the bodice so you can have a better look at the beautiful fabric! I know that Liberty isn't for everyone, but I've been somewhat of a super-fan since the moment I stepped inside the store in London. Even the building itself is gorgeous, fitting to house such exquisitely designed fabrics. I have been known to spend more than an hour on the fabric floor, doing nothing but walk round and feel the buttery softness of the Tana Lawn. Whilst expensive, I do love the fact that I'm not able to sew with it for every project; the rare times I'm able to get my hands on some Liberty, my project feels that little bit more special.

Now moving on from my ramblings about my love of Liberty, let me show you my finished jumper! Whilst not perfect, I am really pleased with the fact that I managed to finish it at all, as I am definitely more of a machine sewer than a slow hand knitted project kind of girl. But I am glad I persevered!

For this garment, I used a pattern I found on Ravelry - the Coronis Jumper by Emily Ringelman. It's knitted in the round from the top down, which for a beginner knitter like me seemed perfect. My only regret is that I didn't follow the yarn weight instructions, using a thick aran instead of the recommended double knitting, so it's come out quite bulky. But, it's all a learning curve! And the finished jumper is still perfectly wearable.

I do love the yarn I used though, despite the fact it's a little weighty. It's a deep navy colour with little white specks, perfect to match all my dresses! I'm sure it'll see some wear come winter, as it is really warm and cosy.

Aaaaand here's the completed outfit! A Sewaholic Cambie dress and a Coronis jumper. I'm so pleased with both garments and happy that although I didn't get everything uploaded on time for the deadline, I've furthered my knitting skills and come away with two new items of clothing to wear.

Did you take part in the Outfit-Along? If so, I'd love to see what you made!

I hope you all have a fabulous week and, as always, thank you so much for reading,

Beth x

Backless Emery Dress

Hey guys!

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally got round to photographing some of my more recently finished makes! I've got so much to share with you, so I thought I'd start with my absolute favourite, a hacked version of the Emery Dress by Christine Haynes.

From the front, the dress looks like the Emery Dress as drafted. I cut the smallest size, using View A for the bodice but omitting the bow at the waistline. As is typical for me, I used a simple gathered skirt, which I lined. It's the back of the dress which is a little more interesting!

I bought a ready-to-wear backless dress from New Look this summer and fell in love with the style of it, so I wanted to experiment and see if I could replicate it. Using the back piece of the Emery bodice as a starting point, I simply got a pencil and drew a line down from the neckline, curving in towards the centre back as I reached the waistline.

I didn't bother to line the bodice, simply gave every visible raw edge a narrow hem, which worked out fine. I then added a little strap at the back just for some security and inserted the zip like normal. I'm so pleased with the finished result!

For the fabric, I used a lovely length of something I picked up in Abakhan in Chester, only I don't know what it is! It feels like a soft version of cotton canvas, or something similar? It's quite a heavy weight, but with a beautiful feel to it. I love the print as well! Navy floral? Yes please! It was a dream to work with, as it pressed really well and didn't fray.

Here's a close up shot of the back. It is quite dramatic! As I was making alterations to the paper pattern, I was just winging it really - I've never hacked anything in this way before. I just drew my new shape directly onto the pattern and cut it out, as it's a PDF file so I can just print off another copy if I ever decide to make another non-backless version. I do want to continue my experiments with backless though, perhaps a slightly less full version next time - have the scoop finish higher up my back and bring the sides round into my shoulder blades a little more. I do love it the way it is though, it's a real statement and I've worn it loads this summer.

So, that's my new Emery! I have loads more to show you though, so keep your eye out for more posts from me which should be up quite soon.

I hope you all have a fabulous week and thank you as always for reading,

Beth x

P.S. For the very observant amongst you, you may have noticed I've had a new haircut! I got bored of my curls and full fringe, so I've had a side parting and side fringe cut in instead, and have been experimenting with straightening! I'm still a bit undecided as to how to wear it full-time, but for the meantime I like it like this.

Floral Megan

Hey guys!

I have finally got around to photographing some finished makes, with the help of my wonderful new phone. I can't express how pleased I am to have the ability to take photographs back! I love capturing images and surround myself in the ones I take; both my room at university and my room at home have the wall space covered in photos I've taken and printed off. That's not to say I'm a good photographer! I'm certainly not, but I do love the memories that photographs hold.

So, with my regained ability to photograph my handmade garments, today I thought I would share with you my most recently finished make - the Megan Dress from Tilly and the Buttons' book Love at First Stitch.

This is my second Megan (you can see the first here), which I sewed up in a gorgeous floral cotton from Abakhan in Chester. It's quite a weighty fabric, almost like a softer version of a canvas, which made it a dream to sew with. I fell in love with the print as soon as I saw it and knew immediately it had to become a Megan dress. As you've probably realised by now, floral prints on navy backgrounds are definitely my signature style, even for my purse and phone case!

I already had the smallest size of the pattern traced off from the first time I'd made it, but I did encounter an odd fitting issue this time around. The finished dress was really gaping around the neckline, but after some thought I just pinched out a dart on either side of the zip, which solved the problem perfectly and got rid of the excess fabric.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the finished garment and have already given it it's first outing, to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. I had a lovely day and saw the Staffordshire Hoard (the biggest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold to be discovered in Britain, which was found by a metal detectorist), which I have been wanting to see for years! I also saw a lot of Roman, Greek and Egyptian artefacts, including a ring which belonged to Queen Nefertiti. If you're ever in the area I would definitely recommend a visit!

At last, a finished garment blogged. It feels good to be able to share my makes with you again; I've got a couple more posts planned which should be up soon, so keep your eye out for those!

I hope you all have a lovely week and, as always, thank you so much for reading,

Beth x

Checking In

Hey guys!

Can you believe it's July already? This year is just flying past. I'm having a lovely time so far this summer and, with all the free time I have on my hands, I've already completed my Outfit-Along jumper! I'm usually a fantastically slow knitter, but I was really motivated to finish this project and finished weaving in the ends today. Now I just have to sew up the Sewaholic Cambie in some gorgeous Liberty Tana Lawn I have and my outfit will be complete.

My phone is being a huge pain at the moment and isn't letting me take photographs, but a new phone is on the way! It's due for delivery on Tuesday so fingers crossed I'll finally be able to photograph and blog some long-finished makes. I know I haven't blogged about any actual sewing for a while, but that doesn't mean I've been completely idle, I promise! I've got two dresses to share with you - and at the end of July I'll be sharing my Outfit-Along with you, so watch this space for those.

Apart from that, there's not much news from around here; I mostly spend my days watching Netflix in my pyjamas. Last week was lovely though, my boyfriend came to stay for a few days and it was great to spend time with him, especially since I'd not seen him since leaving university for summer nearly a month ago. I've also got a trip to Norway coming up in a couple of weeks, so that should be a fantastic experience and allows me to tick off another place on the list of countries I've visited.

Have you got any plans for summer? I'd love to hear about them!

As always, thank you for reading,

Beth x

Outfit-Along 2016

Hey guys! How are you all?

I'm back at home, spending my days lounging around in my pyjamas and binge-watching 90210 on Netflix. Three months of freedom is starting to look like rather a long time... if anyone has any suggestions for cheap things to do in my summer holiday, please do comment below! I was planning to spend my time sewing, but a severe lack of fabric funds means I can't spend as much time crafting as I'd like.

Still, I do have a length of gorgeous Liberty Tana Lawn waiting to be sewn up, so I thought I'd drop by to let you know I'm taking part in this year's Outfit-Along (OAL 2016), which is hosted by the lovely Lauren over at Lladybird and Andi at Untangling Knots. The aim of the competition is to sew an item of clothing (for example, a dress) and knit another garment (such as a cardigan) between 1st June and 31st July. At the end you should end up with a whole me-made outfit! Though on it's third year running, this is my first time entering the OAL and I'm really excited to be a part of it. I've never worked to make a whole outfit before using both sewing and knitting skills, so I can't wait to see how it goes!

For my sewing pattern, I've chosen the Sewaholic Cambie, an old favourite of mine I've made many times before. For the knitting pattern, I've gone with the Coronis Jumper by Emily Ringelman, which I stumbled across on Ravelry. Hopefully the two garments will go well together! I've not chosen the yarn for my cardigan yet, but I'm heading down to my local market tomorrow to try and find one I like.





Finishing my dress on time for the deadline on July 31st shouldn't be a problem, I just hope I can finish my jumper! I'm not the world's fastest knitter. I've also promised my boyfriend I'll knit him a jumper too, so we'll have to see how that goes!

Are you taking part in the Outfit-Along this year? If so, what are you planning on making?

Have a lovely week everyone and, as always, thank you so much for reading.

Beth x

Summer At Last!

Hey guys!

Gosh, it's been over a month since I last posted. Time flies! Thankfully, I have at last got all of my assignments handed in, exams are over and I have officially completed my second year of university - now to enjoy the summer! 

I've already got started on enjoying the freedom of the holidays with a trip to London last weekend with my boyfriend and three of our friends, which was really lovely. I even managed to pick some absolutely gorgeous Liberty Tana Lawn! (Yes, my love of Liberty still knows no bounds...) 

I'm still deciding what to make with my Liberty fabric, but my sewing output in general has increased dramatically since finishing my exams last Thursday, with two dresses and a blouse completed! I'm slowly getting round to photographing everything so watch this space for their posts soon. 

You might also have noticed that I've added a new page to my blog's header - My Wardrobe! Photographs of all my handmade garments can be found there with the link to their original post, just to make it a bit easier to find past makes and to see the progression of my sewing (and photography!) skills over the years. In general it has to be said I'm not a fan of people who apologise on blogs, but I really think you're owed one here - my early blog photos (selfie in the mirror) are fairly horrific! Thankfully I've figured out how to self-photograph without the need for a mirror now. 

That's pretty much everything that's been going on with me recently. Just seeing people, sewing and binge watching TV series on Netflix! I'll leave you with a train selfie I took today on a trip to Chester. Hasn't the weather been lovely?! 

As always, thank you for reading - I'll be back soon with some completed project posts, but in the meantime, have a fabulous week! 

Beth x