Tilly's Embroidered Puff Sleeve Indigo Dress

Do you ever have ideas for DIY dresses come to you in your dreams?

That was the origin of this dress, and it’s lovely to see it now it’s come to life!

I’m not the most skilled embroiderer in the world, but I do enjoy the process of drawing with thread, as well as the beautiful results. It was nice to have a slow, meditative project to work on over a few summer evenings sitting in the garden once the kids were in bed, enjoying some peace as the sun began to set.

This is, of course, the Indigo dress sewing pattern, with the midi tier from the add-on pattern. The sleeves started life as the puff sleeve pattern, also included in the Indigo add on, but I hacked them to create extra volume. 

To be more specific, I “slashed and spread” the pattern – which basically means slicing it up vertically and widening it at various intervals, patching up the spaces with more paper – and added some extra height to the sleeve head.

Ten Tips for Cutting Fabric Accurately (with video!)

Ready to start your next sewing project? Sure you are! Before you dive into the sewing part, you first need to cut out your fabric. 

This is an important step to ensure the pieces go together perfectly and the shape and fit of your final project turn out fabulously.

So what's the best way to cut your fabric? Here are ten tips to keep in mind so you can make sure you're cutting out your next project as accurately as possible...

1) Prepare your fabric

Pre-washing your fabric is an important step that you shouldn't skip. If you're itching to get sewing, you may be tempted to start cutting out as soon as you have your fabric in your hands, but the risk is that your gorgeous finished garment will shrink the first time you wash it. So get any shrinkage out of the way first by laundering it on the settings you're planning to use for the finished garment.

Once it's dry, give it a good press (if the fabric can take it) to smooth out any creases. Ironing your fabric to get it nice and smooth will result in more accurately shapes.

Handmade Holiday Wardrobe

As we're amid a UK heatwave, us Brits won't need to save our most summery makes for our holiday, but can rock them in our own back gardens instead! With our hot-weather sewing plans in full swing, here's some me-made summer sewing inspiration. We'll leave the actual making and the packing to you...

One of the many things we love about sewing is the versatility of patterns. Take a sewing pattern and instead of looking at the ready-made garment sample images (however gorge they may be!), have a look at the simple line technical drawings instead. This can get the old sewing-brain cogs turning and what you thought was just a pair of stay-at-home PJ bottoms could become a lovely pair of linen trousers! It's all in your fabric and styling choices. So here's some handmade holiday sewing inspiration, from the beach to the bar...

Don't leave for your summer hols without a Coralie swimsuit or two. Sew your swimwear in coordinating prints and colours to make the most out of your holiday wardrobe. You can mix and match your bikini sets and pair them with one sarong all week long! 

Our beginner-friendly Dominique skirt would double up as a fab sarong-style beach skirt - sew in a lightweight fabric like chiffon or voile for a dreamy beach-ready look. 

Sewing patterns: Coralie, Dominique
Fabric: swimwear fabric from our shop, turquoise chiffon
Style with: cat eye sunglasses, beach bag

Tilly's Makes SS22

It's been a while since I showed you what I've been sewing for myself... So let's go!

The start of the year was a bit slooooowwww on the sewing-for-fun front, as I was really busy with work, and exhausted from childcare and sleep deprivation, so any sewing I did do was pretty much just related to pattern development. Which is still fulfilling to do, but not the same as sitting down at the machine just for the pleasure of making something.

I think what reignited my sew-jo was falling in love with a piece of fabric - Hidden Signs rayon by Cloud9 to be precise - and setting out to make a Lyra shirt dress. Let me tell you, it took aaaages - like, weeks and weeks - to finish! Not because it's a particularly long or tricky make (it isn't), but because I was stitching it together in little pockets of time - 10-20 minute bursts in the evening before crashing into bed, or a few minutes here and there with my 4yo son sat on my lap (don't worry, he's very careful) while the baby napped.

I'm in love with the result, and finishing the dress gave me a burst of sewing energy. The lighter summer evenings have probably helped too. I've been on a bit of a sewing-for-fun frenzy ever since.

Here's a video of some of the things I made in spring and early summer 2022. You can find details of the patterns and fabrics used below...