Finally! We're both really excited to start our very first series  - Beyond the Basics.  Our aim is to show you how, with a few basic shapes, you can create a multiplicity of garments.  You can make exactly what you want!

What do all of the gorgeous girls tops below have in common?  The all start with a  basic pattern.  Look at all of the things that you can do once you have a bodice pattern!

It's hard to believe that all of these tops are based on one shape, isn't it?

So, to start at the very beginning, what does a bodice pattern look like?

Just like this! (Apologies for the weird colouring... it's the result of a green cutting board and trying to take a pre-dawn photo...)

Where can you get one?

There are lots of tutorials to show you how you can draft your own using a pre-made garment.
Jess at Craftiness is not optional has one here and here is another one from icandyhandmade. You also find that many patterns that you've purchased (you know  - the stash in the back of your cupboard!) will be based on a bodice too.  You just need to have a look for the pattern shapes above.

This week  we're going to show you two amazing things that you can do with a bodice patterns  so make sure that you've got your pattern ready to go. 

Phew... this post is way longer than I intended.  If you've read this far, you definitely deserve a giveaway!

If you'd like your very own copy of 'Getting the Most From Your Sewing Machine' and a yard each of Miss Mod by Chelsea Anderson and Tea Garden by Dena Designs, then leave us a comment.  You've got until midnight on Sunday February 26th to enter and we're happy to send internationally.

Good luck and see you all later this week for a tutorial!

We are very excited to be participating in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. We love giving things away and having new visitors to our blog. But if I am really honest, I  need your help...

Someone needs to benefit from my total lack of organisation and you may be the lucky one!

Every year I make my girls Christmas dresses. This year I decided to pretend that I was a carefully planning, highly organised person and bought this lovely collection to make Pippa her dress in October:

1. The O and S Family Reunion Dress Pattern in size 5-12
2. 1.4 m ( a little over 1.5 yards) of this sweet fabric called Sevenberry
3. A contrasting piece of shot cotton (sorry, I am not sure of  the colour name or manufacturer)
   

I brought my little package home very excited and promptly lost it. I spent the next 6 weeks trying to find it - I pulled out the cupboard under the stairs several times, checked under my bed, checked in the kid's cupboards, in the toy boxes and the shoebox. I have to admit when I need to do a quick tidy up, these are all common places where I shove things. I even thought to look in my sewing room, but no matter how hard I searched, I could not find it anywhere.

I tried to convince myself that maybe I had lost it before I even got home, but deep down inside I knew - it was somewhere in the chaotic black hole I call my home.

I finally gave up, re-bought the pattern and fabric and made dresses for both Pippa and Madeleine.

Pippa's Dress

Madeleine's Dress

I think you know the rest of the story...

Once the dresses were complete, I found the original pattern and fabric tucked into my... hat box.

So, one lucky Sew Mama Sew reader will reap the benefits of my disorganised life. The winner of our giveaway will receive the pattern and fabric. There is enough fabric to make a size 5 (or possibly a size 6 dress) or the shirt version in any size. I love O and S patterns. Every time I use one I learn a new skill. The Family Reunion pattern is no different. I will use the techniques I learned making these dresses to put on all my facings in the future - such a great way to give a lovely finish.

So to participate in this giveaway, you need to help me out.

I must get my life more organised and I have decided that 2012 will be the year to do it.

Please leave a comment with some advice about how you keep your life organised so I can benefit from your wisdom. It could be a tip about cleaning, diaries, weekly planners, storage ideas or even a link to a tutorial - anything that you think will help me get my act together.

The giveaway will be open until December 16 at 5 p.m. PST. A comment will be chosen at random and that lucky person will be the winner. We are happy to post internationally. Please make sure you leave an email address so we can contact you.

Thanks so much for all your help and good luck!

This giveaway is now closed. We will be backlater today to announce the winner!

What's your crafting vice?  Mine is  Japanese pattern books.  I can't stop buying them.  Literally.  It's got to the stage that I'm too scared to count how many I own - but oh... how I love their aesthetic.  If I could, I would dress Lizzy and Mart like Japanese pattern book kids all the time.  The simple shapes, the gorgeous floral print and  natural linen fabric are my 'look' when it comes to kids' clothes.

I've had some success using these patterns recently, and I have certainly learned a lot along the way...

• It is possible to use a pattern when it is written in a foreign language.  I know no Japanese.  None, zip, zilch...nada.  Each book (and each pattern) is like a giant cryptic crossword.  I like crosswords, but I'm usually a quick kind of girl.
• Success comes from accessing  the left side of my brain   - a part I don't use very often.
• On the other hand, the patterns are  good for encouraging a bit of poetic license when it comes to sewing too.  Last night I couldn't work out the facing piece for a shirt I was making so I ended up drafting my own. The resulting success made me very, very happy!
• When it comes to making kids clothes, bias tape is your best friend
• There is something very satisfying about deciphering a patten when you are operating  way outside of your comfort zone. 
• As always in the crafting blog world, people are very generous with their knowledge.  Label free have an amazing 6 post series on Japanese crafting - the glossaries are a godsend!

Have you tried Japanese patterns?  I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Several months ago, Jessica from Me Sew Crazy asked us to be involved in her Pattern Remix. We were honoured to be asked by one of the most productive bloggers/sewists we know. This is one of the ideas I came up with. I'm not sure you could call it a remix - I didn't change it all that much. I think of it more as a tweak of the Sis Boom Sophie Tunic. You could really use any tunic pattern that has the ability to have a decorative facing on the outside of it.
Here is a tunic I made from this pattern for Pippa a while back.

And here is my tweak:

Before we go any further, let's pause to take a look at Madeleine's gorgeous smile. She lost her other front tooth this week and when she smiles, I smile.

I haven't done a tutorial. I seem to be a lot better at sewing at the moment than taking photos but let me talk you through it. A lot of this pattern rework is about embellishing the facing, so let's look at that first.

4.    A pleated cuff to finish the sleeve. I like inverted pleats and so I added some to the bottom of the sleeves. I          cut the sleeve piece of the pattern so it sat just below Madeleine's elbow. I wanted the finished cuff to be about         8cm wide and on the double, so I cut it at a width of 20cm. Then it was time for some maths to work out the                 length I needed to cut. Let me explain. Measure the bottom width of the arm pattern piece, subtracted 1/4 inch         (the seam allowance), double it (because the pattern piece is cut on a fold and you want to work with the full                 width of the sleeve), add 1/2 inch (your seam allowance) and then multiply by 3 (so you can make your pleats).
If you divide this number by 10 this is the width of your pleats it you want to make 5 pairs of pleats which is                 what I did. Phew! I have to admit I still cut it wrong the first time, but it was quite late at night. I sewed the                 short ends of this piece of fabric together so I had a large circle and ironed it all in half so the raw edges were             together. Using the magic number I calculated above, I created 10 pleats with lots of pins and then basted them         in place. And believe it or not this piece (eventually!) fitted perfectly on to the bottom the sleeve piece.

5.    A little more ric rac trim. I don't have a good picture of this but I added some ric rac to the bottom of the tunic  too. I cut the tunic 10cm shorter than I wanted the finished length, added the ric rac and then (again on the                 double) added a piece to the bottom. I used similar maths to step 4 to work out the length I needed to cut it. I             didn't  add the side vents to the tunic. It has a loose enough fit that I don't think you need them.

So there you have it - a little tunic tweak. As long as you don't do the maths in the middle of the night it really is quite simple!

We visited the lovely Jessica at Me Sew Crazy today to introduce our Ruffled Peasant Top as part of her Pattern Remix Series.

Hmmmm... there was supposed to be a tutorial here today so that you can make your very own, but we haven't quite got it together.  If you check back later in the week it'll be here, promise!

The generosity of people in the blogosphere constantly amazes me.  Want  a pattern to make a skirt or a top or want to know how to sew oilcloth?  Simply Google it and nine times out of ten someone will want to share their ideas with you. 

I don't know Jess from Craftiness is not Optional and she certainly doesn't know me.   Every month she does a sew-a -long where she shares her knowledge and experience and takes her readers step by step through constructing one of her beautiful pieces.  This month, it was the gorgeous Anna dress - a little bit retro and a whole lot comfortable.

I love the idea of sewing along with people around the world (hey, we're called Sew Together for a reason!) so I decided to participate.  The result?  A polka-dot Anna dress...

It makes me smile when I think about  lots of little girls around the world running around in their custom-made Anna dresses!
Thanks Jess - I really enjoyed completing this project and I can't wait for your next sew-a-long.

PS  - our Girly giveaway finished last night.  Congratulations to our winner.... Peta N

Let us know where we can send your prize!
 

When it comes down to it, sewing  is all about  aesthetics.  Sure, you want your creations to be functional but really you want them to be beautiful, too.  There is a smorgasbord of food for the sewing soul out there in blog land (and real life, too) - beautiful books and patterns, lovely fabrics , ribbons and braids that elevate my heartbeat just a little. 

In a world of Japanese pattern books, Oliver and S patterns, beautiful books by Amy Butler and Jennifer Paganelli it's sometimes easy to overlook the ugly duckling in the pattern book. 

It's starting to get a little chilly around here and I searched everywhere for a pattern for a simple hooded jacket for Mart.  Now there's a lot of gorgeous patterns out there, but all I wanted was a buttoned, lined jacket for a little boy who is just learning to dress himself. I have to admit that I did overlook Kwik Sew 2994 a number of times.  But then, I stopped and looked and I looked again.  Take away the ugly drawings and applique and it was exactly what I wanted...

Made up in a pinwale  navy cord with a gorgeous Parisian print lining, the end result was one I was pretty pleased with.

I can't speak highly enough of this pattern.  It sewed up like a dream - perfect sizing and  clear instructions made it a quick and easy project - it's definitely going to become a staple in my sewing repertoire.  And to think ... I nearly missed it!

How about you - do you have  any ugly duckling patterns you've discovered and would like to share?

PS - if you would like to be the owner of the beautiful Girls' World by Jennifer Paganelli, don't forget to enter our giveaway here.

What do you get when you take five beginner sewists, give them four hours of help and the versatile Sis Boom Sophie Tunic pattern?  Five beautiful, totally unique tunics and a lovely morning of sewing and chat.

Check these out!

It's amazing what people can produce with some time, patience, a little bit of help and a whole lot of encouragement  from their sewing companions.

We don't often write about our sewing classes, but they are something that we both love and are passionate about. Obviously, introducing people to the world of patterns and fabric, sewing machines and notions is our major focus.  But what we've discovered incidentally is how much of a pleasure it is to sew as part of a group.  

There is something lovely about having someone to chat with as you work your way through a pattern, someone to share your excitement as you conquer a top stitched facing,  someone to laugh with you as you unpick yet  another wonky seam... and for us, this sense of community is what sewing (and we're) all about.
 
To Lyndall, Elise, Mary, Martina and Kylie - you all did a great job this morning and we really enjoyed sewing together with you!

I love, love , love Sis Boom patterns.  They make up just beautifully and I always come away with loads of hints and tips - it's always so good to learn something new.
My latest rendezvous with Sis Boom is the Sophie Tunic.  I've admired this pattern for a while and have always thought of it as a summery beach cover up.   I decided to make it up in Alexander Henry's gorgeous 'Delicious' in pink and voila - a perfect top for Autumn emerged...

Now we just need the weather to cool down!