VOGUE V9341 Jacket Pattern designed by Julio Cesar

 Vogue patterns 9341 - Spring and Autumn 

  

This is a lovely sewing pattern as it is but when I saw it I could think of many different ways I could personalise it just  for me and to make it work for different seasons 

SPRING

For the first version I used a dark grey wool British Coating and trimmed the front of the jacket with a pale pink Tweed.  I made a matching Tote bag too 

AUTUMN

In the second version I used this rather gorgeous reversible Melton wool fabric, and for the front section  I simply used the opposite side of the fabric. The bag was made last year and it suits the coat fabric beautifully 

This jacket is incredibly easy to sew and if you use a boiled wool for example you  could consider not finishing the seams.

You could make the jacket reversible by a number of methods incorporating flat fell seams, or binding the seams with Bias binding.  These are called Hong-Kong seams. It is easy to make your own Bias binding 

Bias Binding maker

Or you can purchase it ready made  

Bias Binding

The jacket works out roomy so I chose a smaller size than normal. The short sleeves are not practical for where I live and so I lengthenced them. For the fastenings I used magnetic press studs, other choices include   buttons and buttonholes,  sew in poppers bag clasps and more 

I took a fair amount of time thinking about the placement of the contrast fabric on the right front and what other trimmings I could add.  

The pattern may be purchased from Jaycotts.co.uk 

 Vogue 9341

Fasteners can also be purchased from Jaycotts.co.uk 

There is a huge selection so enjoy browsing 

Various fastenings

 Enjoy designing your own special jacket

Angela 

Sewangelicthreads 

Brother Embroidery Machine NV880E

 My review of The Brother Embroidery Machine NV880E

I have also upgraded my embroidery machine. I love machine embroidery and the previous one was slowly wearing out with use. 

This marvelous machine is available from Jaycott.co.uk on the following link 

Brother NV880E

The machine has many functions and is a real pleasure to use 

4.9” colour touchscreen

260 x 160 mm embroidery area

258 built-in patterns and 13 fonts

Advanced needle threader

Auto jump stitch trimmer

Colour sorting

LED pointer

Wireless connection

The wireless connection means that downloaded embroidery designs can be transferred directly to the machine from your computer without the need for a USB.

It comes with the following accessories 

Accessories Included with 880e

Embroidery foot with LED pointer

Seam ripper

Bobbin (4) (One bobbin is on machine.)

Needle set

Cleaning brush

Spool cap (large, medium, small)

Thread spool insert (mini king thread spool)

Spool net

Scissors

Set of screwdrivers

Bobbin case (no color on the screw) (on machine)

Embroidery hoop and sheet 260 x 160mm

Embroidery hoop and sheet 150 x 150mm

Embroidery hoop and sheet 100 x 100mm

Embroidery bobbin thread

Dust cover

Power supply cord

Accessory bag

Operation Manual

Quick Reference Guide

Embroidery Design Guide

I like the new designs which are built in ready for use and have used some already, but  it is also very easy to use a USB  to download your own designs 

If you need to break off sewing for a while, don't worry as when the machine is switched back on again you will be asked if you want to continue where you left off. 

Another feature I like is that the thread is automatically cut when moving on to another area so that you do not end up with a spiders  web of threads to unravel and cut.

This is an amazing machine and even if you are new to machine embroidery you will soon be producing high quality embellishments on your clothing, linen etc 

There is a good choice of accessories available from Jaycott.co.uk 

Embroidery machine accessories

You will need threads and stabilisers ,so if you are not sure exactly what you need,  and  for any other enquiries then do not hesitate to contact  Jaycott.co.uk  on 

Contact Jaycotts

Angela 

Sewangelicthreads 

#embroiderymachine

#brother

Brother Innov-is F560 Sewing Machine

 My review of the Brother Innov-is F560 Sewing machine 

I have just upgraded my sewing machine to this beauty. It is available from Jaycott.co.uk- just  click on this link for more information 

Brother Innov-is F560 

 The Innov-is F560 so simple to use even if you are new to sewing .

All the settings are displayed on an LCD colour touchscreen which I find to be an absolute dream - on my previous machine I was forever referring to the manual and I found that some functions just did not get used very often. Now I have no excuse. 

These are the basic stitches on the machine

From the touchscreen you can access all the stitches - 241 of them - and make all the adjustments you need. It is so simple. There is capacity to make a design using a combination of lettering and patterns and save them to a USB stick.

 

There is a very useful function on this machine, it has a square Feed Drive System which produces a very high quality stitch on all fabrics .

 It also allows the machine to sew all the way around a patch or pocket without having to move the fabric.  It is quite something watching your machine sewing a perfect square.

 

The handy storage tray holds additional feet and spare Bobbins 

The following accessories are included 

Zigzag foot “J” (on machine)

Monogramming foot “N”

Overcasting foot “G” 

Zipper foot “I” 

Blind stitch foot “R” 

Button fitting foot “M” 

Buttonhole foot “A” 

Needle set

Twin needle

Bobbin x 4 

Seam ripper

Cleaning brush

Eyelet punch

Screwdriver (large)

Disc-shaped screwdriver 

Horizontal spool pin

Spool cap (large) 

Spool cap (medium) x 2 

Spool cap (small)

Thread spool insert (for mini king threads) 

Spool net 

Knee lifter

Standard bobbin case

Foot controller

Accessory bag

Hard case

Grid sheet set

Operation Manual 

Quick Reference Guide

I am very impressed with the machine and how easy it is to use. I love the fact that everything is displayed on a screen , which again is easy to operate. The photograph above shows which folder contains the type of stitch you want to use ,simply tap on the icon and the folder opens to display everything inside it 

There are  five  fonts to choose from and ten  buttonholes 

Brother is the brand I always use and I highly recommend their products.

I also highly recommend Jaycotts.co.uk

 

The customer service is professional and friendly. If you are unsure of what exactly you are looking for then just contact them and help will be there.

They sell other machines from different manufacturers and at various prices so do visit the Web site and take a look 

HAPPY SEWING 

Angela

Sewangelicthreads 

#BrotherF560

#sewingmachine

#sewing 

Vogue 1787 Asymmetrical Wrap Skirt

 Vogue 1787Asymmetrical Misses skirt 

This misses wrap skirt has shaped bands, asymmetric front button closure with hidden snap, stitched hems. Sits below the waist.It is suitable for Advanced beginners 

This skirt is fabulous and makes a wonderful autumn outfit .
The pattern is  Vogue 1787 and is from Jaycotts.co.uk,  as is the fabric. 

All about Trousers

 This is a post for Jaycotts.co.uk 

New Look 6544 trousers in Organic Cotton with Lycra 

If there is one garment worthwhile sewing it is trousers. If like me you struggle to purchase the perfect fit in ready to wear then this post is for you. I started sewing my own pants years ago and quite honestly will never buy them again.
My Handmade Jeans in particular are the most perfect fit and I love them. The fabrics I use are high quality like the fabric in this post, but because they fit so well and they wash well the cost per wear is minimal 

The fabric is Organic Cotton with lycra ( stretch Denim)

Simplicity Shirtdress in Organic Cotton Denim from Jaycotts.co.uk

 Simplicity 8014 Shirtdress in Organic Denim Fabric. A Jaycotts post 

To read this blog on Jaycotts web site go to Jaycotts Blog

A Shirtdress is timeless and classic, and I love mine, I wear them in lots of different ways throughout the year.

I wear it as a summer dress or with a pullover underneath and thick tights or leggings  when it's cold.  But my favourite way to wear one,, especially when made in Denim, is to wear it as a coat over trousers and a simple Breton . A Shirtdress is so adaptable.. 

I chose to make view D which is the shorter version with the curved hem. I also made a pair of trousers using the pattern next to it,  but I feel that trouser making merits a separate post, so that is what I will do, look out for the post in a week or two.The fabric is from Jaycotts, and it is a wonderful indigo organic cotton with just the right amount of lycra. This fabric also comes in beige which is fabulous for summer , and in red. These do not contain lycra .

When I was pinning my pattern pieces to the fabric it became clear that I would have plenty left over. With some frugal cutting and omitting the pockets and self fabric belt I was amazed to find that I could make a pair of trousers too, I was absolutely delighted at this.

Butterick B6655 in 100% Organic Cotton from Jaycotts.co.uk

 Butterick B6655 in Organic cotton From Jaycotts.co.uk 

When you think of Jaycotts what instantly springs to mind? Most people answer sewing machines, patterns or thread. Well yes, that is perfectly  correct , But when did you last look at their website, because they are now major suppliers of exceptionally high quality organic cotton fabric. 

  

The fabric I used to make my dress  is a wonderful organic cotton. You can view the range available on Organic Cotton from Jaycotts  
The photo above shows just a very small selection available , there are more on the link and even more instore

The OLISO-TG1600-SMART-IRON from Jaycotts.co.uk, Reinvented for Sewing and Quilting

 A review of the OLISO-TG1600-SMART-IRON 

From Jaycotts.co.uk 

Choosing your iron is as important as choosing your sewing machine. A good sewist will set the ironing board up every time she sits  down at to sew. 

Why is this important?  Put simply if you press every seam and every dart as you sew them you will end up with a far superior garment to one you did not bother to press as you went along. It is the different between Handmade and Homemade . Handmade is special, it is bespoke, and it looks and feels great to wear. A garment which is not put together with care will never look professional. 
It stands to reason that your iron must fulfill all the functions needed to produce a high quality garment, this one hits the spot totally - and more
You will have taken a great deal of time and effort choosing your sewing machine and as your iron is equally as important it makes perfect sense to choose a high quality iron too, 
Your iron is used just as much as your sewing machine so why skimp on quality? 

Beach Huts Summer Dress in Organic Cotton

Beach Huts Summer Dress 

This post is also on Jaycotts.co.uk  blog Summer Beach Huts Dress

The fabric is not photographing very well sadly, it is very bright in every room. The fabric is actually more vibrant than it seems, the stock photo is below.

1940's Vintage Blouse in 100% Premium Organic Cotton Fabric from Jaycotts

 I am so excited to be back blogging, and a little nervous too, but doesn't it feel great to be moving forwards at last

The Simplicity 8593 vintage blouse collection.

 A Jaycotts post 

The Fabric is an Organic Cotton fabric by Cloud9

Everything used in this post is from Jaycotts Jaycotts web site and I will give links as I write the post. For any queries or to place an order do not hesitate to contact them direct.

Troubleshooting your Sewing Machine with Jaycotts.co.uk

A Jaycotts Blog post  with Alex Jaycott and myself 

I asked Jaycotts about troubleshooting Sewing machines as we all have problems from time to time and we don't always know where to start to sort it out.

This is their advice:

Alex,

The biggest issue we encounter is mis-threading of the sewing machine 

Having sold and serviced sewing machines for over 30 years I can honestly say that the biggest headaches for customers are actually caused by mis- threading the sewing machine!

everyone does it from time to time whether beginner or expert, novice or sewing teacher 

What do you mean by that Alex, what should we be doing?  Angela

Alex

Well , it is important to thread the machine  exactly as shown in your manual.For example  if someone miss-threads the take up lever, they usually don’t notice it and when the machine jams it looks as if the problem is the bobbin area  - when in fact it isn’t

So I guess my point should be that if you have an issue, the first thing to try is: re do your upper thread, taking care that the thread goes right into the take up lever. Incorrect threading can cause the machine to jam almost immediately.

If you  still have problems after that then go on to checking the bobbin area.

A Classic Skirt in Derbyshire Tartan

My very special Derbyshire Tartan Skirt

I would like to show you how to work with difficult fabrics. In this case a Tweed which needs careful pattern matching.The thickness of the fabric also requires a lovely finish to the waistband - a faced waistband, which is a couture technique. The waistband also has an  abutted closure at the back. All this makes for a beautiful elegant skirt.

Sewing stretch Fabrics the easy way

Sewing for Beginners

An easy to sew dress in fabulous Stretch Velour

I have had such a lot of good feedback from my previous post for Jaycotts about sewing stretch fabrics that I decided to show you a very easy to make and extremely easy to wear stretch dress.

If you think that stretch fabrics are not for you then think again

ain. A figure hugging garment in the correct size looks great on most figures.

This is how to wear a stretch dress

• Don't make it too clingy or it will show up the lumps and bumps we all have.
• Choose a thicker fabric with just a small amount of stretch 
• Choose a darker colour and possibly a print
• Wear the correct underwear - there is a lot of very good shapewear and it will help you to feel confident
• Don't be frightened of accentuating your waist with a wide belt

The pattern I chose is McCall's 6886 it can be ordered from Jaycotts on this link.

It is a pattern which uses a medium weight, moderate stretch jersey knit fabric, so it is perfect for what we want.

Get the fit right! The denim pencil skirt with exposed zipper

Why go to the trouble of making a beautiful garment if it does not fit you perfectly?

Labels

Exposed zipper

Fitting

Top stitching 

I don't know about you but I read a lot of blogs and I see a lot of people showing themselves wearing lovely hand made clothes which quite frankly just do not fit.

What's the point? Why go to all that trouble and expense only to end up with a garment which is either too big, or worse far too small?

I bought some stretch denim Stretch Denim from MinervaCrafts as I wanted to make a skirt. Some stretch fabrics - as this one does, just stretch across the width, some stretch in all directions. You need to ensure that with a two way stretch fabric the stretch goes across the garment.

Sewing for total beginners - a Simple jacket, top and pants

This is a Jaycotts.co.uk blog post.

Kwik Sew 4250 Jacket, top and pants. A blog post for total beginners or those returning to sewing after a break.

This is the three piece loungewear outfit and isn't it fabulous!

I thought long and hard over this blog post.
The first thing I considered was how much detailed instructions to give, and how much opportunity should I allow for you to follow the actual pattern instructions. It is vital that we are able to read a pattern but I appreciate that they don't always make sense. I hope that I achieved a balance which is right for you.

The pattern I used is this one Kwik Sew pattern K4250
I love Kwik Sew patterns - view the range here Kwik Sew Patterns at Jaycotts
They are good for all levels, have a good design range and are printed on better quality tissue paper than most.

This is the range of fabrics which I used to make each garment featured in the pattern. These fabrics are a very good quality quilting weight cotton from - believe it or not - Jaycotts! They are only available in store at the moment. You cannot buy them online.

You will however easily find good quality pure cotton in most fabric shops. Do choose a medium weight or quilting weight cotton as it will make sewing your garments so much easier.

Mix and match colours however you like, sewing is all about making something which you enjoy wearing.

By the way these particular fabrics are quite narrow, Dress fabrics tend to be wider.

If I could make another suggestion as to fabric comfortable for lounge wear, I would choose a Cotton Lawn it is easy to work with and comes in at all sorts of prices .do take a look.

Fashion is very personal. I showed the pattern we will be using to some friends and asked them where they would wear it, some said lounge wear, some said beach, some said everyday wear, all depending on the fabric chosen.

I have worn my garments in different ways and matched them with other garments and I wanted to leave it to you to decide where and when you are going to wear your lovely new garments without influencing you.

 We are going to start by making the jacket. The pants and top will follow in another blog post. I didn't want to put you off by doing too much all in one go!
In the next post I will show you how I styled all of my garments and there will be photographs.
These are the fabrics I chose to use for  the jacket. We are always told never to mix prints but never be afraid to bend the rules , these two prints actually sit very well together.

My review of Prym Pressing tools from Jaycotts.co.uk

A Jaycotts.co.uk blog post all about pressing 

What is your most important sewing tool? You might be surprised!

In this post I am going to demonstrate some of the pressing equipment by Prym which you can obtain from Jaycotts and I will show you why they are as necessary as your sewing machine when undertaking any sewing project.

What do you imagine the number one rule of sewing to be? Would you be surprised to learn that THE top rule for any sewing project is to press as you go. That's every seam, every time.
You would be amazed at the difference it makes to your finished garment, it makes all your garments look Handmade (Bespoke) not the dreaded " homemade"
And what is the number one rule in pressing? Its simple, don't rush.
Notice too that I used the word pressing not ironing.When you are ironing your iron is moving back and forth over the fabric constantly, with pressing the iron is set down and then lifted up before moving to the next spot.
Every time you sit down to sew get your pressing equipment set up before you start sewing so that it is easily available.  If you leave pressing until after you have finished sewing you will not produce a quality look to your garment.

So, let's discuss which products you need, and I do mean need. The basics are

• A good quality heavy steam iron
• An ironing board with a padded cover. Avoid the teflon coated covers as they reflect heat into the back of fabrics and can cause shine and problems with interfacings
• A pressing cloth 
• A Tailors ham and/or sleeve roll
• A sleeve board

My collection of pressing tools 

Let's talk some more about Machine Embroidery

Talking about machine embroidery 

Labels

Machine Emboidery, embroidery stabiliser, ,Hong Kong seams, Bias binding foot, pressing, 

Machine embroidery is such a massive subject that I will be coming back to it frequently.
In this post I wanted to talk more about it because I know that some of you are still undecided if an embroidery machine is something you will use.
I will be honest and say that Embroidery machines are only as complicated as you want them to be. They come with designs built into them so you are ready to go as soon as you take it out of the box. Furthermore if you are reading this then you have enough computer knowledge to download and use designs off the internet too. You may then want to further your new passion and create your own designs using specialised software - more about that later.

In this post I am making a dress and simple unlined jacket in black cotton, but you will excuse me for not going into detail about the construction of these garments as there are plenty of instructions elsewhere on my blog and the instructions inside the pattern are excellent too. If you do want more detailed information then please let me know.

A review of the Horn Nova Sewing Machine Cabinet from Jaycotts.co.uk

THE HORN NOVA SEWING MACHINE CABINET

I used to long for my own sewing room,and when my son left home there was my opportunity. Of course he still comes home as much as he possibly can but he is a busy man and that does not happen as much as I would like.
As I now have his room for most of the year I decided to purchase a Horn sewing cabinet so that I am able to tidy everything away neatly when I have finished sewing.

My sewing table was a rickety, very old small square table and the legs kept having to be fixed back on. I also had to keep swapping my chair from one side to the other whenever I wanted to change from overlocker to machine and back again.
It was he who suggested the  table had to go and be replaced with something "proper"

Well, there was not much thought went into ordering this beauty.Yes they are not cheap but just look how elegant and beautiful it looks.Of course I needed the chair as well!