17 March 2013

Sneaky Peek of My New Pattern!


Hey guess what? I'm working on another sewing pattern to share with you!

Before I tell you a little bit about that, I just wanted to say a huge thank you for your support with the Mathilde Blouse sewing pattern. Producing the downloadable version and putting it out into the world for stitchers' scrutiny was - I admit - totally nerve racking. What if my testers and I had all missed a glaringly obvious mistake? What if, after all those months of work, no one wanted the pattern? My stomach full of butterflies, I very nearly chickened out pressing "publish" at the last minute. But I took a deep breath and did it. Two minutes later, when the orders started coming in, I was jumping round my flat doing a little dance of joy. Okay, so what I really mean is, I was doing a MASSIVE SHAMELESS DAD DANCE with tears of joy streaming down my face! So yeah, that's a bit embarrassing, but the point is that those of you buying the pattern are making me a very happy lady indeed :)


And now I'm putting myself through it all again to make a second one! This time round is soooo much easier, but still a heck of a lot of work. But it will be worth it - I'd been dreaming about this design for about two years and can't WAIT to share it with you! Not only is the new pattern super cute, but I've designed it to be super easy for beginners. I can't stop wearing the versions I've made for myself, I love it so. The pattern is with the testers right now (who all have different styles and different levels of sewing experience) and, fingers crossed, if there are no major issues, I'm hoping to share it with you in about 3 weeks' time. If you want to be the first to hear when it's released, sign up for my super special email alerts.

In the meantime, I'm preparing some more Mathilde Blouse Pattern Hack tutorials to share with you, a couple of variations which make the blouse easier to sew and one which makes it ready for Summer. Have you checked out the Maker Gallery lately? Some seriously gorgeous blouses being made across the globe! If you're making one, please do share your photos, I'd LOVE to see!

And in other news, I've got some new dates for teaching workshops at Ray Stitch:
Make Your Own Pattern & Skirt - Saturday 20th April (only 2 places left so book soon)
- Mathilde Blouse - Saturday 25th to Sunday 26th May
- Make Your Own Pattern & Skirt - Saturday 1st June

Exciting! Now then - any suggestions for names for the new pattern? I want it to sound like a cross-between a 1960s French movie star and a Victorian music hall performer. I've got a favourite in mind, but I'd love to hear your ideas...

[Soundtrack: 'Hospital' by Jesca Hoop]