Nasreen’s Cambria Duster in Rose Pink Plaid

BLOG - Nasreen’s Cambria duster in Rose pink plaid 1

 

Hi! I’m Nasreen from @sewcraftynaz and super excited to be contributing another blog for the amazing team at Sew Me Sunshine.  

If you’re familiar with my style, you’ll know that I love my layers and as the great British weather definitely inspires, I have been enjoying some warmer makes which I can still wear through Spring.  

 

NASREEN cambria duster - blog - rose plaid fabric

 

Having sewn for a couple of years now, I aim to challenge my sewing skills but have long avoided checks -  that pattern matching does scare me! However, once I saw the Rose Pink Plaid wool suiting fabric on the website, I was sold and decided to brave it.  

This fabric is available in tan as well and both are gorgeous! My delivery arrived very quickly, beautifully packaged as always and it was as I had imagined - super soft, reversible and I particularly loved the way the checks were created through fine lines against the pink background (rather than bold checks). 

Pattern stash raided - I knew I had to make the Cambria Duster by the Friday Pattern Company. I have had my eyes on this relaxed, chic layering piece for a while and the fabric was just the right fit – perfect weight with a good drape. The duster can also be made from knit fabric and linens. 

 

nasreen-cambia duster - rose pink plaid

I was sent 3.5m of fabric to allow for pattern matching and have a small remnant which I look forward to incorporating into another project. I am a UK bust size 8-10 and decided to cut out the small size for the top piece and graded to a medium for the skirt piece as I do not always fit standard sizes. Once the pattern matching and pieces were cut, it was a fairly straight forward make.  

The pattern instructions were very easy to follow with tips and diagrams which made it a joy to sew. The fabric held well whilst sewing but I found the layers could skew a little so a walking foot was rather useful as well as lots of pinning (especially when trying to pattern match). 

nasreen - cambria duster - rose pink plaid

I decided to top stitch a few areas as I felt it sat better. I used bias binding for the edge of the pocket and the seams for a neater finish and made the waist tie 4 inches longer as I love a nice bow (which I’m still practicing!).  

I am very pleased with how it turned out and the duster works well over thin layers –  ideal for Autumn and Spring.  I found that over a sweater, it’s a bit snug so for chillier weather, I would choose to size up to allow for thicker layers. The pockets were deep enough for my huge phone which is a definite plus and the slits are perfectly placed so that the length of garment doesn’t feel cumbersome at all. I would cut the sleeves an inch longer as I like my sleeves comfortably at the wrist/tad over and maybe add a fastening/lovely button detail to the pockets. 

nasreen - cambria duster - rose pink plaid fabric

I can definitely see myself making another one or two – it’s a great one to experiment with different fabrics – maybe linen or a thick jersey?  Or even a patchwork/scrap make? 

Overall, this was a very easy & fashionable make which makes me feel very chic indeed – enjoyed a few twirls and compliments already! 

 

Shop our coating fabrics here
*Nasreen was provided the fabric of her choice free of charge for her blog post & also provided with a £50 voucher *

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published