Tasha Sews

Pattern Review: Dimensions Crafts Oriental Butterfly Counted Cross Stitch Kit  My sewing blog has been pretty quiet recently as I have been travelling a lot with work and my sewing mojo is at an all time low. However I am delighted that I have (finally) finished my recent cross stitch project.  I purchased this Dimensions  cross stitch pattern  for just under £11 in October 2014 and have been working on it on and off for the past year.  My first cross stitch project  was very much a beginner project and I can tell that I am more confident and used to following patterns. I am really pleased with the finished product and for the price it is excellent!  I have to admit I go through a love/hate relationship with cross stitch. I like having a project always on hand to take to my craft group and I like that I can do this no matter how stressed or poorly I am feeling (unlike sewing). However, at times I really struggle with how long it...

Pattern Review: Vogue 8667 Mashup Despite it being Monday and being in the midst of a headcold, the plus side of today was that I wore my new dress for the first time. For this dress I used the bodice of Vogue 8667 and added my amended skirt from Butterick 4443 . I have made Vogue 8667 twice before ( here and here ) and I absolutely adore the cute collar on this pattern. It really adds a bit of interest to what is quite a simple dress. For this iteration I knew I wanted to have a fuller skirt but wanted something more casual than the pleated version that comes with the original pattern. Butterick 4443 fitted the bill perfectly.  The fabric is a printed ponte knit picked up from Le Coupon in Paris from my holiday last summer. The fabric cost €10 for three metres which is such a bargain. It's lovely and soft and especially today (not feeling 100%) it was great to feel as though I was sat in work wearing pajamas. I have a suspicion it might pill pretty soon...

Pattern Review: Prima Magazine Cover Up Continuing along the instant gratification theme I whipped up this simple open cardigan during my week off.  This is the pattern from the January 2010 issue I stole from my mum a while ago. Here is a picture of the pattern. As it suggests it really is a quick and easy project - I sewed this up in one evening and would be a great beginner project.  For this pattern I cut a size 14 and I did end up having to make some amendments. I graded out some of the steepness of the bottom front pieces as a styling preference. I also found that the sleeves sat way too low on my shoulders, so I removed around an inch from the top of the sleavehead and shoulders. I always wear my cardigan sleeves rolled up so it's not an issue, but the sleeves are much shorter on me than in the pattern photo. Next time I will definitely add some additional length to the sleeves.  The fabric is a lightweight cardigan knit fabric purchase...

Pattern Review: Kwik Sew 3844 I mentioned in my last post that I have had some bad luck with my recent sewing projects. So what better way to solve my blues than to whip up a (fourth!!!) version of  Kwik Sew 3844 . To be honest I was pretty horrified with myself when I realised I had made so many versions but none of them were a simple black tank. I think most people would say that they are a wardrobe staple. I purchased this fabric from one of the shops on Goldhawk Road for £4.99 per metre.  As per usual I cut a medium  and sewed this straight out of the envelope. I don't bother with the boob pocket. For me it disturbs the simplicity of the overall garment.  I really don't have too much to say about this version that I haven't covered before. Except that I like it so much I am thinking about making a shorter version (similar to this iteration  here ) out of the same fabric. This is so that I can wear it tucked in with skirts which would...

Pattern Review: Vogue 9015 So making sleepwear is a first for me!  I am pretty surprised that I have never made any pajama bottoms or anything similar before. For my first sleepwear garment I decided on a simple nightie as this is the type of sleepwear I actually sleep in. I chose Vogue 9015  - due to the see-through nature of the fabric I thought that photos on my dummy might be more appropriate.  I purchased this fabric at a shopping trip with my sewing group. It was around £3 per metre from one of the shops on Goldhawk road (I can't remember which one). To be honest the quality of the fabric is not great. It seems to pick up the tiniest mark and it does have a very man made feel to it.  I chose to sew view C but without the lace overlay. The pattern is easy, but does eat up a fair bit of fabric as it is cut on the bias. For some reason I had trouble attaching the bias facings. I would like to say it is because of the fabric, but really I...

Pattern Review: Simplicity 1872 My mum had a retirement party this weekend and of course I had to make a dress to celebrate. I had been wanting to try out the dress from Simplicity 1872 for years and finally decided to take the plunge. I have made this pattern as a peplum top  before, but it was so old that it went to the charity shop earlier this year, so it's nice to have another iteration of the pattern in my wardrobe. Ok,so let's talk fabric. I picked this up at the textile district around the Sacre Couer on my holiday to Paris with my mum last September. It cost €10 for 3 metres which is a bargain. I am pretty sure that it is some kind of polyester chiffon. I underlined the dress with stretch lining from Simply Fabrics in Brixton priced at £1 per metre.  I know that a couple of people have mentioned that there is a huge amount of ease in this pattern. It is true and I took out approximately 2" in the bodice and cut a larger armhole to compensate. T...

Pattern Review: Simplicity 3956 I am still trying to build in some tops that I can wear on a night out ( see here ) and decided to try Simplicity 3956 . This is another item that I finished back before my trip to Canada and have only just gotten around to photographing it.  I have made this before years and years ago, but didn't return to the pattern as the fit needed some tweaking. However, I had been thinking that a TNT strap top was missing from my pattern stash so I decided to give this one another go. I cut view D but without the overskirt. I omitted the tie belt as I  felt it was unnecessary and was treating this as a wearable muslin.  Previously when I made this, the bodice was too big and ended up gaping under the arms. To remedy this I cut a size 14 for most areas, but used a size 12 for the bodice back. I added 1" to the height of the front bodice for extra boob coverage.  I used a printed floral chiffon from purchase...