Tuesday 28 February 2012

Vogue- THE fashion bible

Check it out, I have been doing a few classes at Bambers in Eccles recently and one of the teachers recommended the vogue sewing book first published in 1975....surely things have moved on from then I hear you say- but I have to say this book is a legend if ever I saw one. The book includes a detailed guide to a host of different finishings such as French seams, ruffles, pockets etc and guides you through the work of iconic fashion designers of the era. It
Is beautifully vintage and takes you back to the Mad Men era with the pictures. If anyone else has the book I would love to hear your thoughts...I got mine from amazon marketplace but I am sure you could also find a copy in the odd charity shop. Well worth the search people. Over and out.

Friday 24 February 2012

Dreaming of dresses!

Hello fellow seamstresses...just wanted to highly recommend the blog for better sewing by Gretchen Hirsch. She is a seamstress...(or "sewist" as they say over there) in New York and she posts great pictures of her projects many of which are vintage inspire vogue patterns. Mad Men eat your heart out! I was particularly impressed with the very easy vogue 8640 pattern she did recently which was a red suit with very sexy pencil skirt. Check it out at www.blogforbettersewing.com. Let me know what you think. Gretchen creates video courses for craftsy.com and I am currently part way through the perfect bombshell dress course...am struggling to put together my Muslin at the moment (or etoile for us Brits) but will try and post pictures of my efforts for you so you have a feel for my recent project...

Monday 6 February 2012

First ever post!

Hi there....well if you have stumbled upon my blog it is probably because you share my passion for all things crafty....especially dressmaking and sewing in general. Welcome to my space. I am completely new at blogging so excuse the appearance whilst I get the hang of it!


A bit about me...
My name is Emma and I have been into sewing ever since I had the pleasure of trying out my nana's old Singer sewing machine on old hankerchiefs when I was around 11 years old (am now 26)....ahh those were the good old days- when all that could go wrong was turning the corner of the hankerchief and accidentally sewing off the edge....! Nowadays I worry about all kinds of strange things like notches....seam allowances....and the grain of fabric (sounding familiar???) and half the time I still end up going around in circles.

Luckily, I progressed from the hankerchiefs (sigh of relief!) onto attending some dressmaking courses in the Northern Quarter of Manchester which, by the way, is particularly good for sewing supplies (Abakhans) and vintage shops (The Junk Shop, Dale Street). Here I learnt to make a basic shift dress and put into practise various skills like inserting zips, using facings etc....

I am now going to as many courses as possible and am trying to absorb all of the knowledge like a sponge (wishful thinking...) Hopefully you can follow my journey and I will share what I can....from one seamstress to another! I aim to post pictures of projects...the good, the bad...and oh yes- the ugly in all their glory. Maybe you guys can help to point me in the right direction or visa versa.

Keep your eyes peeled!

Bye for now...

My Fair Hands x