New Colette Patterns: Violet and Ginger

I've been awaiting these eagerly.  The new patterns from Colette arrived in the shop last week.  Both suitable for beginners and both seriously delicious.

The Ginger Skirt is a simple and pretty a-line skirt with high waistband. There are three waist band versions, a pointed centre waist, a shaped curved band, and a straight waistband.  The skirt can be cut on the bias if you are using stripes which makes for that clever chevron effect.

The Violet Blouse, another beginner pattern, is a button-fronted blouse with either short gathered sleeves or mid-length sleeves that gather at the hem with elastic. The blouse has a peter pan collar, bust darts, and back yoke with center gathering, and has a gentle loose fit.

Both these pattern are set to become classics, and both great for that summer wardrobe!

Oliver + S spring-summer patterns now in: Family Reunion Dress, Seashore Sundress, Class Picnic Blouse and Shorts

Hoorah! We now have the new season Oliver + S patterns in stock.  There are three new patterns, each in two sizes, the Family Reunion Dress (6m-4, 5-12), the Seashore Sundress (6m-4, 5-12), and the Class Picnic Blouse and Shorts (6m-4, 5-12).

And, do I have a favourite?  Oh yes... have you seen these shorts?  Irresistible.

Oh, Fransson!: Fifty Cent Weights

Check out this great tutorial from Oh, Fransson! for Fifty Cent Weights. A fun little project for fabric weights to use for keeping paper patterns weighed down whilst cutting out, or to stop pattern pieces wafting away in the wind! I am finding mine very useful for stopping fabric slipping off onto the floor when using my rotary cutter.

I used Woodcut - Passion from Anna Maria Horners Innocent Crush range for the top fabric, and Klona Cardinal for the bottom pieces. The only change I made to the pattern was to use 40 penny pieces instead of the recommended 50. I think British pennies are slightly bigger that US cents.

A highly recommended tutorial... I went a little crazy and made six... how many will you make?!

Related Products:
Woodcut - Passion
Klona Cardinal

Part II of our interview with Sewaholic Tasia Pona

Part two of our Tasia Pona interview has gone into the articles section on our website... go take a read.  Tasia talks about her design process, her sewing space and her favourite cocktail!

And, there is (just!) still time to order your Crescent Skirt pattern in time for the sew-along which starts on Monday. 

An interview with Tasia Pona of Sewaholic Patterns - Part I

Here at Backstitch we love Sewaholic Patterns.  The Pendrell Blouse has been a real hit, and the Crescent Skirt is going to be a summer staple... the Sewaholic Crescent Sew-Along starts on the 18th April, so still time to get your pattern and invaluabley be guided through every step by the designer herself.

Tasia, the brains behind the label is an inspiration and her enthusiasm for dressmaking seems to just burst out of her.  I was lucky enough to interview Tasia and we have part one of the interview on the site now.

Thanks for reading, enjoy this sun, and Part II of the interview will be posted next week, so watch out!

The Crescent Skirt from Sewaholic

After the great success of the Pendrell Blouse, the first pattern from Sewaholic, we are now really excited to have in stock the second pattern, the new Crescent Skirt.

The Crescent skirt is a great gathered skirt with a fitted yoke. Your choice of a slightly gathered skirt, a fuller gathered skirt or a longer, knee-length skirt. Optional trim or contrast topstitching highlights the fitted waistband. Or, keep it simple with the seamline details only. A great addition to your wardrobe.

Apart from the fact that this skirt is awesome, do you know the most exciting thing?  Tasia is running a sew-along on her blog for the Crescent skirt to help you through the pattern.

Guidance topics to expect from Tasia in this Sew-Along:

• Recommended Fabrics
• Links to Pre-washing, Cutting, and Measuring
• Fitting Tips
• Sewing Steps
• Zipper Insertion
• Slip Tutorial
• Sharing your Finished Skirts
• And most valuably, help and instruction from Tasia herself.

Oh, and it has pockets... yes, pockets... perfect.

Stop Press! Lisette Patterns in stock!

Very exciting news... we have recieved a one-time-only delivery of Lisette Patterns.  These are the Simplicity patterns designed by the clever folks at Oliver+S.  We have limited availabilty of these patterns, and once they are gone, they're gone!

A competition! Win patterns from the shop!

We're running a competition along with The Sewing Directory.  We are providing two winners with a pattern of their choice from the shop.  All you have to do is choose a pattern, go to The Sewing Directory, fill out the form, and cross your fingers!

Good luck!

Patterns by Figgy's - New Sizes and working with knits

We recently received some new stock from the lovely Patterns by Figgy's.  They have expanded their range by adding the larger 8-14 year sizes to their Tee for Two and Little Woo patterns.  Both of these require working with knits. (perfect with our Cafe Dot interlock knits from Oliver & S)  And, don't be afraid of working with knits... they assure us that if we follow a few rules it's actually a very forgiving fabric to work with!  They have a great blog post here about working with knits, and another showing us yet more tips and tricks.

If you want more inspiration, then take a look at their Flickr pool.

The Hurricane - new and improved.

Not too long ago we added the 'Hurricane' to our selection of bundles.  This was nineteen fat quarters of each of the Klona Cottons that we had in stock.  Since then, we have expanded our range of Klona colours to twenty-nine and so a change of tactic was necessary with the Hurricane. 

Those of you who are not familiar with the Klona (not to be confused with Kona) Cotton.  This is a medium weight, wider width cotton which has a lovely quality of colour and weave.  We sell the Klona Cotton at £5.50 a metre.

Anyhow, we decided to split the Hurricane into 'Strong' and 'Soft' palettes.  The 'Strong' consists of fifteen fat quarters, and the 'Soft' of fourteen.  The bundles do not overlap in any way, so to order both gives you twenty-nine fat quarters - one of each colour in our plains range.

And, whilst we are on the subject of our Klonas, we have added a swatch card to the shop.  So now you can colour match before you buy.