Tutorial: Santa Sacks

The October theme for the Stashbusting sewalong was sewing for Christmas. I didn't quite manage to get anything Christmas related done during October, but I made up for it in November, by making my children some Santa Sacks. I also made one of my nieces one at the same time. I didn't take many pictures along the way, as I hadn't made up my mind until I was near the end that I would actually post a tutorial on how I did them. Don't worry though, it's pretty easy to do!

A-Line Skirt, and making my skirt blocks fit!

So I decided to enter a contest. I joined the Pattern Review website last year, but have yet to even set up my profile properly (still no photo!) I did decide however, to enter my first competition with them. I made a skirt to go in round one of the Pattern Review Sewing Bee - based on the British Sewing Bee.

Original Front

Black and White Striped Top

Continuing on from my list of priority sewing, this was actually the first thing that I finished of the four items I mentioned. Here is my new favourite top, made with the remnants from my striped long sleeve dress.

UFO: Stripy Summer Dress

In my blog hop post,I mentioned four projects that I wanted to focus on finishing. Here is the first of them.

My husband started making this dress for me about 7 years ago. Yes, you heard right, my husband was making this for me.

Let's back up a bit. When I was studying fashion design (whilst pregnant with our first child - there's nothing like being a mature age student who's pregnant!), my husband decided that he would try his hand at a bit of sewing. He refused all my offers of help, saying that he wanted to work it all out for himself. He made me a few maternity tops (which was quite helpful, as I was up to my elbows in morning sickness and studying). He's also made himself a few pairs of pants and a shirt. In some ways it backfired on him though, as I frequently turn him away when he requests that I mend something for him. I know he's perfectly capable of doing it himself!

Back to this dress though. He decided that he wanted to make me a dress, and, using a block that we had made together to my measurements, he drafted his own pattern for this dress, to his own design.

He was doing OK til it came to finishing off a V shaped waist panel, and there it has stayed for the last 6 or 7 years. Until now!