Hi there Sunshines! As a guest on the Sew Me Sunshine Blog, I shall start by introducing myself. My name is Stacie and I am busy mum of two girls and an accountant by day!
I began sewing a couple of years ago to find a way to pass the time in the evenings, and very quickly became addicted. Addicted to sewing of course, but more than that addicted to the beautiful fabrics I have discovered. I never really thought about the fabric my shop bought clothes were made from but sewing has opened up a whole new world of textile beauty!
Very soon after starting to sew I discovered Harriet at Sew Me Sunshine, and I can unequivocally say that every fabric I have purchased from Harriet has been of the highest quality. I was of course thrilled then when Harriet asked me if I would like to write a guest blog for her. I was able to browse the entire Sew Me Sunshine collection and choose something to sew. I am a huge fan of lovely deep colours, particularly orange/rust/copper/coral etc… which is what drew me to the Tencel Twill in the first instance.
TENCEL™ is a brand name of lyocell, a form of rayon that contains fibers made from wood pulp. The twill refers to the diagonal parallel ribs in the weave. I could go on to pretend I am an expert in fabric composition, I’m not, but Harriet is, and the Sew Me Sunshine website is filled with a wealth of information about the fabrics which make it really easy to decide what fabric is suitable for your pattern. So do make sure you check out the descriptions next time you’re browsing. The fabrics also come with a really handy guide to caring for your fabric too!
When I asked Harriet for the fabric I knew I wanted to make a blouse or shirt dress, and had initially planned to make a Kalle Shirt Dress, but I somehow made an error and didn’t ask for quite enough fabric to make the version I wanted. I still really want to make up this pattern and I certainly will do soon, most probably in a different colour option of the Tencel Twill as it would be perfect for it. Possibly the Berry if it hasn’t sold out already! Fortunately, I knew from past experience that The Avid Seamstress blouse can be made from just over a meter of fabric if it’s wide enough, which at 145cm wide, this one was!
The fabric behaved really nicely on the cutting table. I’m a pins and scissors girl when it comes to cutting out, and this worked well here. The pins did not leave marks on the fabric, and the fabric did not slip around when cutting two layers.
I did follow the instructions to overlock all of the pattern pieces before starting to sew, which is not something I always do, but I am glad I did. It made it much easier to keep everything straight and lined up as I clipped everything together for sewing, and oh my, I just loved how soft the Tencel felt under my hands as it glided through the overlocker (My Pfaff overlocker was gifted as I am an ambassador for Pfaff)!
Sewing ‘The Blouse’ is really enjoyable, this is the third one I’ve made, and I just love the precision involved in sewing the button stand and the collar. When I initially cut out the pattern, I couldn’t decide what length sleeves to cut, so I cut them super long, to decide later on! After all but finishing the sew, I tried the long sleeved shirt on and decided to lop of the sleeves quite dramatically! The fabric is actually quite weighty, and therefore I felt like a long sleeved shirt would be too formal.
I’d already decided to use these super cute Whim Wham buttons that I had in my stash, so I wanted the shirt to be fun and versatile, so short sleeves were the way to go! I also had a bit of a play with the button placement, to make the shirt more relaxed. All that was left to do was to sew them on, which I decided to do by hand given that they are so delicate!
Today I am wearing my new Blouse with blue jeans for a casual weekend vibe, but I will definitely wear this in the office too!
Thanks for reading! If you want to see more of my makes, you can find me on Instagram as https://www.instagram.com/notions_of_a_dressmaker or check out my website www.notionsofadressmaker.com
Stacie
Stacie was gifted the fabric in exchange for her blog post. She chose the fabric and what she wished to make with it. All thoughts and opinions are her own. Stacie is also an ambassador for Pfaff and her machines she used to make this blouse was with her gifted Pfaff machines.