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Musings on Fast Fashion and the Meaning of Making

As a home sewer, I’m constantly in search of a better, more professional looking finish for my garments. Until recently, in my mind, professional meant unswervingly neat; pristine seams, imperceptibly tiny stitches, and perfectly concealed raw edges. It was this Dior bodice I saw in the V&A that really got me thinking. Beautifully laid open…
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Exploring the Flat Fell Seam

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How to cross stitch

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Sewing stretch fabric

Sewing stretch fabric can be a somewhat daunting prospect, but it need not be difficult! I took on my first experiment with sewing stretch fabric recently when I made a basic knit T-shirt for a friend. Overlocker or regular sewing machine? The great thing about most stretch fabrics is that the edges do not usually…
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Pleated picnic skirt

Sewing Pattern Review of Burda 02/2013 #133 For my latest creation, I tackled this Burda sewing pattern that I dug up out of the magazines I had. Although it’s quite a full skirt when completed, and has the appearance of complexity with the pleats and buttoned belt, it’s actually all rather simple in its construction.…
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Things to make out of old t-shirts

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Dress-making without an official pattern

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A foray into French seams

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Les Sylphides: make a Romantic tutu

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Fabric shopping in Cape Town

There’s little I enjoy more than spending a morning exploring fabric shops, breathing in the fresh crisp smell of cotton, running my fingers along the bolts, and indulging my love for pattern. Last week, I was on a mission to find some fabric shops in Cape Town that stocked beautiful quilters cotton. I was looking…
