I have been reading lots of sewing blogs lately in a bid to find advice and inspiration to dip my toe back into the world of sewing. I set my mind to making my sons some PJ bottoms inspired by the Great British Sewing Bee book but I soon discovered from the sewing virtual world that there was some sort of issue with the pattern aside from the fact that you had to download it and stick 30 pages together – not the best start for a nervous sewer.
Anyway, coincidentally I discovered on one of my favorite sewing blogs Did You Make That that there was a new PJ bottom pattern coming out and lots of sewing bloggers were going to join in making PJ bottoms and blogging about them. That does sound rather dull when you write it down but I was quite excited about it. Of course the pattern is for ladies PJ bottoms so the boys’ PJ bottoms have been put on hold. I bought the pattern from The Village Haberdashery and then spent ages trawling on-line fabric stores for some nice material. Dithering doesn’t begin to describe my behavior. There are two significant problems for me when it comes to buying material. Firstly there is no dressmaking fabric store near me. Lauren from Great British Sewing Bee has just opened a store in Birmingham which I might check out when I am feeling more confident but it is a good hours drive each way. The second problem is that the focus of many online stores is patchwork. They sell the material in quarters as in a quarter of a meter and this can make it quite expensive if you want to buy a couple of metres. However, there is a great list of fabric stores on Very Berry Handmade and through this I found Croft Mill who had an extensive selection at reasonable prices. I think I have a real issue with the price of material – I certainly would never pay the price I have paid for this material for a pair of PJ bottoms in a store but then I suppose you have to remember they will be handmade and a one off. I really liked Croft Mill as if you order thread from them they will match it to your fabric which I think is a great service.
I have got as far as cutting out the pattern and now I am trying to pluck up the courage to pin it to the fabric and cut it out. I dread that first cut just in case I have pinned it out wrong. I have decided not to add the piping down the side of the trousers as this may be a step too far for me at the moment.
In the meantime, I have spotted some other patterns that I like the look of and I am completely fascinated with Three Dresses Project swimalong where she is blogging about sewing swimming costumes – how adventurous.
Meanwhile, I have nearly finished my Tea Party Cardigan which I am knitting with wool from a project that went disastrously wrong last year and left me vowing never to knit again. This cardi is knitting up well so far. I have found Ravelry really helpful in finding an alternative pattern for the wool and lots of other advice.
