Author: sewmanju

By day I work in the exciting world of pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, registering medicines (!), but by night I turn in to a sewing diva, making all manner of clothes in my beautiful sewing space (which you can tour using the link at the top of this blog). I love how sewing and sewing clothes that fit my curvy body continually challenges me. I enjoy working with all different types of fabric, and whilst I don't like to put restrictions on myself and say I won't buy RTW, the truth is that I probably rarely do buy it, preferring the fit of my own me-made clothes. I love to use natural fibres where ever possible and colourful coats are an obsession of mine! Sewing is both my addiction and my therapy. You can contact me at sewmanju@yahoo.co.uk

A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing: Winner of the Giveaway

December 9, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Thanks to everyone that entered the giveaway. Sorry, but I had to exclude the last two entries because they came in after the 8 am GMT cut off. Nonetheless, and without further ado, the winner (as selected using a random number generator) is: Floating Light Makes. Congratulations! Please get in touch via the contact email […]

Book Review and Giveaway: A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing

December 8, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Hi Readers, Sarah Gunn (from Goodbye Valentino fame) and Julie Starr have authored a second, sewing related book. The first was, of course, The Tunic Bible (see here for details) and I was completely honoured when they asked if they could use some of my images of items I have sewn in their new book, […]

McCalls 6885 and Simplicity 8295: DIY Kameez Tops and Churidar Legging Bottoms

November 29, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

Hi Everyone, Way back in August we visited India for a short holiday. In terms of clothing for women in India, things have changed a lot in the years that I have been visiting (over the last 40 years). Whilst women – especially women over a certain age – are still expected to dress in […]

Sewing Machine Review: Pfaff Quilt Ambition 630 and How I Went About Selecting/ Upgrading My Sewing Machine

November 22, 2019.Reading time 15 minutes.

Hey Everyone, There is so much that I want to say in this blog post…it’s going to be a long read and perhaps with some controversy thrown in! But here is a completely unbiased review of the Pfaff Quilt Ambition 630 with some comparisons between it and my previous machine, the Janome Memory Craft 4900 […]

McCalls 7948: DIY Snake Print Tiered Dress

November 18, 2019.Reading time 8 minutes.

Hi Everyone! Today I am sharing a dress which I think will split opinion. This is McCalls 7984, made in a snake print viscose. Before we go any further let me say that I know my waist is my narrowest point, and I do like to wear things which emphasize my waist, or draw attention […]

Megan Nielsen Patterns Dawn Jeans: DIY High Waisted Straight Legged Button Fly Jeans

October 28, 2019.Reading time 10 minutes.

Hi Readers, Today I am sharing my review of the Megan Nielsen Dawn Jeans. This is an awesome pattern, if for no other reason than you get multiple options in the same envelope. If you want a high waisted jean designed to be sewn in non-stretch denim, then these are the jeans for you, with […]

Named Clothing Reeta Shirt: DIY Sandwashed Tencel Blouse

October 22, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Hi Everyone, Autumn dressing: in this part of the world it means coping with wind, rain, sun, fog and fluctuating temperatures. And that is just in one day, lol. Moving from indoors to outside, and the vagaries of central heating means, for me, dressing in light layers that keep me comfortable, and preferably natural fibres. […]

OOP McCalls 6172: DIY Animal Print Crombie Style Coat

October 14, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

Hi Everyone! Excited to bring you one of my latest makes: an animal print coat in a style that is as close to my dream coat pattern as I have managed to get until now. Let me back up… Last year I made Simplicity 8451, and in that post I talk about what my dream […]

Vogue 1638: DIY Satin Skirt with Flounce and Asymmetric Hem

October 9, 2019.Reading time 10 minutes.

Hey Everyone! When the fall Vogue patterns were released a few months back I instantaneously thought “wow, what a great collection!” So much so that I ended up ordering this skirt pattern, V1638, together with V1649 and V1650, to be shipped to me from the States. At the time I had been seeing lots of […]

OOP McCalls 6991: DIY Sage Green Wrap Tie Blouse

September 22, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Hey Everyone, Can you believe that this is the fourth time I have made this (now out of print) pattern? I have made two versions using view B (see original posts here and here): And the very first version made using the view that I made again for this post, view C (see original post […]