Is this the perfect dress? Sewing for Paris #2, (plus 'last call' for the big giveaway!)

So I think I've made the perfect dress!

I have 'smart-ish' clothes for work, and comfortable things for cleaning the house and looking after the children, but not much in between. 
And it was the much-talked about Paris Sew Social weekend that spurred me on to expand my wardrobe.

I've already blogged about one dress sewn for Paris, the Merchant and Mills linen 'petite robe' .

This is the 'wearable muslin' for that dress - and has turned out to be my favourite...

It's Vanessa Pouzet's La Petite Robe pattern again - made in cheap denim from my local shop, before cutting into the expensive Merchant and Mills linen.

Sometimes when I can't sleep I try to count how many dresses I own. And I actually don't want to reach the final total, because it will shock me. But it's A LOT.

I live in dresses. They allow me to dress without thinking. Somehow I just get confused when I try to think how to put a blouse and skirt together.  But I also wear jeans a lot - they allow me to feel a little anonymous, and ready for anything.

So a denim dress?! Mais oui! C'est parfait.

Halfway between 'dressed up' and 'dressed down'. Perfect for anywhere. And perfect for sight-seeing and shopping in Paris.

And one of the absolute joys in Paris was that I persuaded fellow blogger and dear friend Sophie, from C'est la Vie to take a few pictures of this dress 'in situ' in the beautiful Place du Vosges in Le Marais district of Paris.

Ah Sophie, Merci, merci! I felt a little silly, but it was a zillion times better than trying to get Mr As-it-seams to photograph me, or fiddling with the self-timer in my poorly lit house. How I wish I could do a 'fashion shoot' every week in the Place du Vosges with lovely Sophie...

Here we are checking out the pics, see I am actually a bit scruffy (trainers and tights - not a great look). And another of the Place du Vosge, enjoying a picnic with Sophie and Marta of Do Guincho, the day before, and I'm wearing my OTHER version of this dress. The Place du Vosges became a bit of a meeting point for us all on our Paris Sew Social weekend. It's near some of the best fabric shops, and is an elegant oasis of green in the city

Back to that dress. I stuck to the pattern except for two slight alterations.

I added in-seam pockets. Because I cannot have a dress without pockets. I think they spoil the line of the skirt a little, and they gape a bit, so I'm sure it would be more elegant without them.  

But still, I'd rather have a dress with pockets. 

And I actually made this dress a couple of months ago and wore it with tights and boots a lot. Then when the weather warmed up and I wore it for the first time with bare legs, it felt too short.

 I just don't want to bear that extra inch or two of leg. So I lengthened it with an extra panel of denim around the hem, and topstitched it and encased the seam allowance. I think it 'works' because it's denim, but you can probably see that the two sections are slightly different shades of blue - because the dress has been through the washing machine half a dozen times more than the panel! But that will even out.

This is my new favourite dress - and one of the best things I've sewn myself.

Random strangers comment, 'nice dress' and I know it's the kind of thing that would cost £50 or more in a shop and cost me a quarter that to make. Smug sewing is the best kind of sewing - right?

And the pattern is still my fave - I have actually made a third version in some gorgeous fabric, but another showing of this could be boring, and it's a winter dress, so I may wait a few months....

If you're quick there's still time to enter our big Paris Sew Social giveaway - there are three prizes on offer, and the chance to join us in out June Paris blog tour. We'd love you to take part too....!

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Paris Sew Social - and a three-prize Giveaway!

A weekend in Paris? Child free? Shopping for fabric and meeting some of my best sewing friends?
It’s no wonder that by the Saturday night of our #Parissewsocial weekend I could barely sleIep, honestly I was like a little kid at Christmas.

Picnics in Paris' Place du Vosge

It all started with an email from Anneka at Naeh Connection and Jo of Dotta Sews. Did I want to join them for a weekend in Paris, along with some of my favourite European bloggers?

Mais Oui!

The whirlwind of messages that followed over the next few months was hilarious. Honestly our excitement almost lept off the screen. 

And the generosity of our sponsors was incredible. We've been supported by some of the best European fabric designers and pattern makers. Just look at these goodies. Spot the Liberty? Petit Pan? Art Gallery? Like I said, I am still a kid at Christmas. And we've got some fabulous prizes to give away too.

So what was it like stepping out from behind the computer screen, and meet sewing friends 'for real?'
Well, slightly nerve-wracking, but also joyful. 

I arrived early, on Thursday and met the other early arrivals Annika of Nah Connection, Marta of Do Guincho and Sophie of C'est La Vie. Suddenly these lovely women, who were familiar photos were chatting and laughing before my eyes. Indeed practically the first thing that Sophie, Annika and I did was unpack the amazing sponsors parcels of fabric while giggling in our hostel room.

St Christopher’s Inns patiently assisted with our complicated booking and carefully took care of parcels of fabric. And the Office du Tourisme, Parisinfo.com, helped out with maps and guides and info which made everything so much easier

And the accommodation itself was perfect. Located right next to Gare du Nord,  we were able to zip on and off the metro  to  fabric shops across the city. 

Petit Pan 7 Rue du Prague, was our first stop, naturally, and with such an overload of colour it was the first of many difficult decisions...Can I buy the whole shop please?

Throughout the day, the rest of our party, 14 in all, arrived. We became a slightly disorganised, chaotic group, but also all very happy. Trying to keep us together in a busy city wasn't easy. There were endless 'What'sapp' messages along the lines of; "I'm at this metro - where are you?"

Yet despite our chaos we cracked the fabric stores of Paris and we stumbled on the sweetest vintage haberdashery store. I love this pic of An of StraightGrain peaking out behind this treasure trove of all kinds of paraphernalia, sewing and more.

• Nina from Fliegfederfrei (Switzerland) stocking up on vintage treats

Friday also saw a visit to La Droguerie, at Les Halles, not only home to stunning fabric, but also beads and buttons, beautiful bias and lace and more. 

Laura, of Behind the Hedgerow, faced with impossible choices in La Droguerie

Next stop was Anna Ka Bazaar, home of Atelier Brunette, where we spent our sponsorship from Bernina on the wonderful French designed fabric. Can you imagine 14 fabric-crazy women trying to choose? It was hilarious. I (eventually) chose this plum coloured lawn, and hope to make a blouse.  Look out for some beautiful creations across the blogosphere in the next few weeks.

It might have been decades since I last stayed in a hostel dorm, but it was so much fun. We were giggling like teenagers on Saturday night, mainly about the antics of our French waiter at the meal earlier that evening.

It’s funny, I had been nervous about stepping out from behind the computer screen to meet these women in real life.  But I needn’t have been. I was thrilled that online friendships do materialise into real friendships too.

I loved hearing more about Marte (DoGuincho)’s life in Portugal, and about Annika’s (Naeh Connection) unique home in Germany, and Laura’s (Behind the Hedgerow) move from Belgium to England…and…. and…

It was also a joy to be a with a group of women who all spoke the same language. And I don't mean English.  Many of us were wearing handmade, and there’s nothing better than being with a group of women who say ; “oooh Nani Iro!?”, or “tell me where you got that pattern”, or “wow, great pattern matching.”

And it was an opportunity for us to try on each other’s creations and talk sizing, muslins, invisible hems and more. I loved that Marte was able to actually try on my "petite robe" , blogged here, and I could try Sophie's Marte blouse.. and.. and

Fabric Happy #1 Jo from Dotta Sews

Fabric Happy #2 Marte from Compagnie M

It wasn’t just about fabric shopping. Sophie (C’est la Vie) and I gave up looking at ‘coupons’ remnants of two or three metres of wool, cotton, linen and more which could be snapped up for just a few Euros in the area east of Montmartre.  

Instead we climbed up to the Sacre Coeur and took a peaceful, special moment inside to absorb its beauty, before enjoying a stop in a café in the heart of Montmartre. From there we zipped down to the banks of the Seine, where Paris’ creativity was on show in the form of a free-for-all ,  riverside blackboard.
If you pop over to instagram and look for our #parissewsocial, there's lots more fun pix (Yes! I'm on instagram now!)

Honestly we never stopped talking.

 Not just about sewing (although there was a lot of that) but also about our lives, our families and what motivates us. Stepping out from behind our blogs, meeting the unedited, un-photoshopped versions of ourselves turned out to be joyful.

 I miss my sewing friends, these fantastic women who made something very special happen. Thanks Annika and Jo for starting this whole thing!

Take a look around the blogs this week, for more on #parissewsocial, Do Guincho is sharing her travelogue today, and Annika at Naeh Connection and look out for the rest of our crazy group.

And now for that giveaway - we want to share our goodies, and there are three great packages to be won. And of course, we'll post anywhere in the world. International mail of course...In addition to this the winners can choose to participate in a blog tour in June/July for which we all plan to sew something using the wonderful fabrics and patterns from our sponsors. The giveaway runs until Monday May 11th 2015, 12am CET. To win just enter the rafflecopter below. The more of our social media channels you follow, the higher your chance to win one of the three prizes. 

1st Prize

The first prize includes jerseys from Lillestoff (the rose print sponsored by Lillestoff, the ABC print sponsored by joy fits), a Andrea Lauren bag filled with goodies from Alles für Selbermacher, an Ottobre magazin, a 15$ voucher for Imagine Gnats Shop and a sewing magazine from Stoffe.de.

2nd prize:

The second prize includes a jersey with roses from lillestoff, a fun dinosaur fabric sponsored by mon depot, some pink ribbing from Nosh, a lace zipper from Snaply, nice spools from Aurifil, a paper pattern by Compagnie M. and a sewing magazine from Stoffe.de.

3rd prize:

The third prize includes a flowery popeline from Lillestoff, white jersey from Nosh, blue stretch fabric with Cupcakes from mon depot, a paper pattern from Compagnie M., spools from Aurifil and a sewing magazine from stoffe.de. 

Entry is simply, just click on the rafflecopter below. And the giveaway runs until May 10. 

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Paris Sew Social and this giveaway were made possible by our amazing sponsors, so thank you Bernina, Lillestoff, Cousette, Nosh, FabFab, Telaria, Alles für Selbermacher, Supercut, Imagine Gnats, Nutta, Mon Depot, Tuttle, Aurifil, Snaply, Joyfits, Ottobre, Compagnie M., Do Guincho, <arel="nofollow" href="http://www.titchythreads.com/" target="_blank">Titchy Threads, Made It, Kid Approved, Schneidermeistern , Delia Creates, Willow&Co, Mouse House Creations, Sofilantjes, Sewpony, LBG Studio, Loubee Clothing, Straightgrain, Elegance&Elephants, Hey June, Paisley Roots, St. Christopher's Inns & Paris Office du Tourisme

Paris Sew Social 2015

Gioia from dotta (Italy),

Sophie from C'est la vie (France), 

Nina from Fliegfederfrei (Switzerland), 

Maria from La Inglesita (Spain), 

Marta from Do Guincho (Portugal), 

Marte from Compagnie M. (Belgium), 

An from Straight Grain (Belgium), 

Nienke from Pienkel (Netherlands), 

Maartje from Huisje Boompje Boefjes (Netherlands), 

Laura from Craftstorming (UK), 

Laura from Behind the Hedgerow (UK), 

 Olu from Needle and Ted (UK) 

Annika from Näh-Connection.  

Sewing for Paris! #1 La Petite Robe

Reality and fantasy are converging - and they're meeting in Paris!

Can you tell I'm excited?! And this is my new dress to celebrate!

It all began when an invite popped into my inbox  from Annika at Nah Connection saying, "What about a 'real meet-up in Paris?" 
My heart said '"oui", then my head said...'how?'
But when you want something you make it happen.

And then you sew a new dress.... 

So the theme of this post is 'Fantasy and Reality'. And my fantasy was to have an incredibly stylish City Break Wardrobe, and to ditch my usual child-friendly jeans for a weekend of Parisian Chic...
This pattern, Vanessa Pouzet's La Petite Robe, seemed the kind of understated simplicity I was after. And it's French!

This is actually the third time I've sewn this pattern (fourth if you include the muslin) But I'm blogging them the wrong way round - you'll have to come back for  the next versions, which are so different. 

The pattern is just Parisian perfection. 
It's so simple yet  beautifully constructed, with a lovely yoke and lining so there is not a single exposed seam anywhere. 

I only modified it by adding 'in seam' pockets - which perhaps affect the stylish line of the skirt , but I NEED pockets in a dress.

The fabric is grey linen from Merchant and Mills, bought from my local shop Herringbone (and it is simply heavenly). The colour has a kind of softness, an uneven weave that means it's going to look better and better every time I wash it.

And now the fantasy is about to become reality. And of course, I don't  have a 'Weekend City Break' Wardrobe ready to go. It looks like it's going to be rainy and cool, and the vision I had of being that stylish woman on the Champs Elysees in spring sunshine, is a fantasy.  But that's fine by me.

Because the reality is even more amazing. A dozen women have made something incredible happen. 

There have been endless online messages and excited comments, but now we're finally about to stroll the boulevards, and shop for French fabric.
What could be more fun!?
Especially when you look who's going to be there!


We will be 14 women from nine different European countries: 

• Gioia from dotta (Italy), 
• Sophie from C'est la vie (France), 
• Nina from Fliegfederfrei (Switzerland), 
• Maria from La Inglesita (Spain), 
• Marta from Do Guincho (Portugal), 
• Marte from Compagnie M. (Belgium), 
• An from Straight Grain (Belgium), 
• Nienke from Pienkel (Netherlands), 
• Maartje from Huisje Boompje Boefjes (Netherlands), 
• Laura from Craftstorming (UK), 
• Laura from Behind the Hedgerow (UK), 
•  Olu from Needle and Ted (UK) 
• Annika from Näh-Connection.  

And we've been a great team! Between us we've bagged some fantastic prizes to giveaway. Honestly the fabric, the patterns! There are some serious goodies up for grabs very soon. Do make sure you pop back in a week or two. And there's plenty of Paris excitement . Pop over to Anneka here for her pre-Paris creation.

I am so honoured to be included, but I'm also slightly nervous. 

This whole adventure has made me think about our online world, where reality and fantasy blend seamlessly. 
Blogging is about sharing creativity but I often wonder, just how 'real' is it all? 
This little blog has been a gateway to making online sewing buddies, but meeting up in real life is going to be so exciting and different. For a start they will actually see the crooked zip on the back of this dress!

So before we meet, I have some confessions, because our blogs present the 'edited versions' of ourselves.

Firstly, this is not my sofa. I don't live in a spotless, tidy house, in fact the opposite. It's cramped and cluttered, I sew on my kitchen table,  and there isn't much spare cash, my fabric stash is a real indulgence.

Secondly, I am not chic and stylish. This is me, rather self-consciously pretending to be a model.

And I am actually delighted to be meeting these friends in reality. It's going to be such a thrill to actually  talk sewing, and fabric.... 

Oh and stroll down the banks of the Seine and gaze at the Parisian skyline and drink coffee and eat proper croissants.
...
The full update will be on its way! 
(As well as a little more Sewing for Paris!)

A waistcoat, Japanese sewing and nostaglia

'Quality not quantity' has been my mantra for sewing in 2015. I've been trying, mostly, to be less 'slapdash' and to develop my sewing skills. And I'm so proud of this little waistcoat.

My first ever welt pockets! Not quite Saville Row tailoring but good enough for a five-year-old. This waistcoat is another pattern from my new favourite book; Linen, Wool, Cotton Kids by Akiko Mano. The first was this skirt - which was easy. I'm slowly working my way through these patterns and love them all. Look out for more to come. 

The pattern is fairly simple, although those welt pockets took a little bit of figuring out. But once I'd worked it out and everything clicked into place, it was so satisfying. Sizing seems a little odd in this book, I sewed age six skirt for Missy (age five) and it was way too big in the waist, so made age five in the waistcoat. And while the chest is plenty big enough, it looks a little short to me, although lots of friends have said they like that look. Perhaps it's meant to be short.

The fabric is Robert Kaufman cotton herringbone in sage, bought on a whim as a remnant from my treasure trove local shop, Herringbone in Nailsworth. It's just gorgeous fabric. It's cotton and washable, but looks almost as if it might be expensive wool tweed. The waistcoat  and pockets are lined in orange shot cotton, which looks fabulous with that soft green.

It's perfect for this spring weather, where the sunshine is starting to warm us up, but there can still be a chill wind. And I just love the nostalgic look, and the unisex style. In a world of leggings sewn in sweatshop and pink and sequins, this seems the perfect antidote. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era, I long for quality, authenticity and clothes that lasted generations.

I've made an attempt at photography indoors, and it was a challenge to my photography skills - and Missy's patience...

So, taking some pics on an early spring walk a few weeks ago seemed a better option. I like to imagine that Missy looks like a little farm girl who could have been living in these valleys a century ago.

She ran through the valley, past fields and ponds with her best friend, who of course wore wellies and a fairy skirt for the occasion.... Oh to be five-years-old. 

Now, what's next in this Japanese sewing? Come back to find out!