47 pairs of warm Pyjamas!

Sung to the tune of 47 Ginger Headed Sailors! Which is a very silly song Bertie Wooster sings in the famous TV series. Video clip below.

ANYWAY, local charity Foster Hope put a call out for winter pyjamas for children being placed in foster care. Any excuse for some selfless sewing, the Wellington Sewing Bloggers Network members jump to it!
Laura and I staged a flannel raid at the local Voldemart, which was the cheapest option for good quality flannel, and bought as much as we could on our budget of donated coupons and cash. I reckoned we were going to get 25 pairs out which seemed pretty impressive!

These are all but one of the fabrics we bought. It was tricky as we wanted to get gender neutral options, but they were few and far between, whereas some of the girlier ones were on super special, so we probably ended up with more pretty ones than plain. Oh well. (the plain flannel was rubbish quality compared with the prints - what is that all about?) We (Made Marion Craft) contributed the only two flannels I had in stock - the grey with pink butterflies and the second from right top row.
On Thursday I put three loads of flannel through the wash, and dried it and pressed them dry over the next couple of nights. All 40+m of it.
I actually thought I had killed my iron at one point, and bought a new one, but it was the plug. BUT I love my new Tefal iron so all good!
ANYWAY, on Sunday a group of us gathered together to cut out, eat scones and laugh.

Left to right, Laura, Kirsten and Me. Gemma was taking the pic. Aly had been and gone with a stack to sew. I swear I did more than just eat scones ;-)

And I guess I've given the game away - we managed to get 47 pairs of pyjama bottoms out of our haul! Now we have to solve the tops problem. Knit tops, warm enough for winter with good coverage. Sourcing enough knit fabric of the right type and weight is going to be interesting!

Happy Days!

Sew Grateful winners!

Hi all, I originally intended to send all five patterns to one person but in the end, I have assigned them separately, based on the ones you all said you liked best. I used a random number generator and the first number that came up got their first choice, and so on until I had assigned them all. If the next number to come up wanted one already assigned, I redrew. I hope you all don't mind, but it seemed that this was fairer, given how different the patterns all are!
So, the winners in order of the draw are:
Scruffy Badger - Simplicity 5546
Tina - Maudella wedding dress
Emily - Maudella Maternity
Leslie - Maudella child's dress
T - Weigels button up dress.
Thank you all so much for supporting this giveaway! It's been lovely to meet new people, follow you back to your own blogs if you have them, and I've added a few to my daily scan as a result :)

Vintage pattern giveaway for Sew Grateful week

I collect stuff to do with sewing, that I don't always get to use. Included in this is a stash of delightful vintage patterns. Sew Grateful week has got me thinking about how much better it is for patterns to be out there being used and enjoyed, not stuck in a crate in my sewing room never to be made up.

So, win the giveaway and these are yours. From top left in clockwise direction:

Maudella 1376, girl's pattern size 11-12 years. Still in cellophane. It looks like it would size up for a smaller person without too much trouble and it is super 60's cute!

Weigels 2702 - size 32 bust. Princess seamed dress with button through front. Super useful and versatile.

Maudella 5143 bust 38. Maternity smock and skirt. I really like the styling of the middle view, I reckon it would look good on anyone, expecting or not.

Maudella 5328 bust 38 wedding dress, probably late 60's. The instruction sheet is missing but it is a fairly self explanatory pattern and there is plenty of information online I am sure about doing lace overlays if you wanted to go with that look. (I found this pattern listed on ebay for 18 euros!) Funnily enough I think it is the only example I've ever seen of a vintage pattern where the cover art isn't as flattering as the dress would be on a real person!

Simplicity 5546 - size 14 (bust 34) Full skirted dress with detachable collar. A great early 60's pattern

So there you go - something for every age and stage!

How to enter -

1. Become a follower if you aren't already.
2. Leave a comment saying which one you like best, how you would make one up, any further information about Maudella or Weigels - anything you like really. :)
3. Let me know how to get hold of you if your email isn't on your profile.

And that's it! I'm happy to send them anywhere in the world. I am sew happy to think that they may actually get used and made into things by a vintage loving sewist out there!

Update: Forgot to say that I'll leave this open until midnight 12 Feb GMT. :)

Sew Grateful for Burda patterns!

Today I want to share my delight and gratitude to Burda, for making pattern 7396. I have had this EXACT garment in my head for years now, but it was just a bit more thinking than I was willing to put into a make for myself. So when I was passing time while on holiday idly flicking through the Burda pattern book in a shop and found this one, I was ecstatic. And it was half price!

I love the combo of the high waist, scoop neck and lapels. And it went up to a 28, which is kind of where I am at!

My make of it. I had to lengthen the bodice, and cut more flare into the skirts to get the effect I wanted, but it came together super fast. The 100% cotton has woven stripes made up of white and grey dots, bought to ages ago for about $2m. So no big loss if it didn't work out. The stripes are a mess - I meticulously cut this top out to match the stripes, ahem, without checking to see if the bottom layer of the fabric lined up with the top. Sooo, not my best work. But I still love it. I am already making another one - no stripes this time.
It has a hint of the 1910's era about it, fun for the year of the Titanic Centenary and the popularity of Downton Abbey!

Sew Grateful for...

This coming week has been declared Sew Grateful week. The declarer is the inspiring Debi from My Happy Sewing Place. I absolutely love the idea and am thinking of ways to best participate.
But before that, I wanted to ponder a bit on the question of what there is to be sew grateful for.
Friends: Sewing is about friends. Sewing together, helping each other out - the friendly and easy camaraderie of working together on the same or different projects, keeping our hands busy and our minds free, is such a satisfying source of contentment. Sewing for friends is also a pleasure, as I have way more ideas in my head of things I want to make than I have wardrobe space or figure shape to satisfy. :)
Self-expression: Sewing is a practical skill but it is also highly creative. A famous jeweller was saying on the radio today how jewellery was the first art form that allowed people to express their wealth, status and style. Got news for him - before the jewellery came the clothes onto which it is fastened! Within the limitations of skill. available materials and tools, we can make anything we want, express ourselves and our sense of style any way we like - unfettered by what the High St stores have on offer.
Also in our homes - my home is a tribute to MrC's and my love of cosy opulence, and mostly because I can make 30m of fabric into enormous drapes at a fraction of the cost of having them made, likewise giant cushions, tablecloths, lampshades - all those lovely patterned soft surfaces that make a home so homely. :)
Creative outlet: Because I quilt and also love to make things like tea cosies, I am forever having to find homes for them! And that means taking an interest in what other people like, as well as what I like. If I were left to my own devices, everything would be red, red, red, with maybe a touch of gold. But the desire to strew my output across the landscape means I also get to make blue things, green things, black and cream things - moments of stepping out of my red and gold box and enjoying putting other colours and patterns together. It is very liberating!

So yes, I am incredibly grateful for the skills that I have built up over 40 years of sewing, without them I wouldn't be me! :)
What are you sew grateful for?