Contact

Hello! If you’d like to email me for a chat about sewing:

janelle@sewhopeful.com.au

Or you can come over and say hi on my Instagram page @sewhopeful

sewhopeful

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It's a new old dress, still need to sew the motifs on but I'm so stubborn I kept going with this dress long after I should have just binned it and moved on. It started as a rather austere tea length dress which I wore once, hated, and then chopped into a skirt which I also never wore - the fabric is a heavyweight cotton/linen that just felt too heavy to wear on a hot day - so.much.fabric. in a full skirt.

So I took off the sleeves, chopped up the skirt to make it much less full (and lighter) and added a ruffle, lining and invisible zip.

Maybe I'll wear it more this way on a hot day, who knows, but it's been fun learning more about fabric choice and style and what works and what doesn't.

I would go so far to say a whopping percentage of a successful sewing project is just fabric choice, then another big chunk for cutting accurately and on grain, definitely proper pressing technique and then right down the bottom of the list is the actual sewing.

#sewonmotifs #sewsustainable #slowsewing #refashioneddress

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Gift for a friend who loves dogs. A shopping tote in a really cool dog print cotton drill from @spotlightstores lined in a slate grey muslin and with its own little pouch so it can be folded up neatly. I love how this turned out so much may need to make one for myself. Swipe to see how it folds up into a neat little package.
#shoppingbag #reusablebags #shoppingtote #dogprintfabric #giftfordoglovers

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Third project for 2020. A crochet bag using a lace motif as the base. Made it up as I went along. Will use as a beach bag or most often it's my #shoppingbag for when I walk down to the shops. It's surprisingly roomy. First photo shows the colour the best plus bonus sleeping kitten. 😻

#crochet #crochetbag #crochetandkittens #crochetstringbag

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Pencil case for my youngest. With the arrival of a new kitten it's all about cats here and this gorgeous kitten quilting cotton from @spotlightstores is perfect for the task. I used my own pattern that includes an extra side zipper and it's lined with aqua blue polka dots from the Spots and Stripes range. I also used the Legacy L-987 low loft fusible fleece as interfacing and it worked so well, just the right amount of padding for a professional finish.

#kittenfabric
#pencilcase
#schoolsewing

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My first sewing project of 2020 is a sweet little girl dress using @spotlightstores #cottonsateen lined with bemberg rayon and with pockets.

This is a mock wrap dress modified from #simplicity1211, which is a really great basic bodice with sleeve options. Don't be put off by the incredibly frumpy examples on the pattern envelope, the bones of this pattern are excellent and the sleeve options make it so versatile for summer and winter.

The pattern has a nice box pleated skirt but it's so easy to swap out for any other skirt. For this dress I just cut a front and back panel using the full width of the fabric, adjusted for a centre back zip (just cut the back panel in half and then trim 3 cm off the width of the front panel to allow for centre back seam allowance) and gathered. I also added pockets which aren't in the pattern but so easy to add to any dress I just do it automatically now.

I used the size 10, sizing is excellent. I've made the sleeveless version 3 times now and will probably make a few versions for winter too.

#littlegirldress #ithaspockets #twirlfactor #slowsewing #madetolast #s1211

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My #top9of2019. I did alot more sewing in 2019, I really got my sewing mojo back and made some things I'm really happy with. I had a few mishaps too but nothing is ever truly a waste as it's all valuable experience and nothing teaches you better than mistakes.

Top Row, L - R
Own pattern maxi, a mishmash of #pippawrapdress sleeve, #colettepatternspeony bodice and a #quartercircleskirt maxi.

#christinehaynesemerydress with modified neckline and #halfcircleskirt. Don't actually love this one, I need to fix the neckline but I always get complements when I wear it.

#christinehaynesemerydress with half circle skirt, and fabric belt. Love this dress, probably my favourite for the year.

Middle Row L - R
A shell pocket detail from a skirt I made a while back. It's the pocket from #cakepatternspavlova from years ago. I still wear everything I made from those patterns. Anyone else remember Cake Patterns?

My wool jacket. Modified #vogue8346, and worn heaps all winter. Goes really well with full skirts and opaque tights.

Wrap top, modified #mccalls6959 I think with sleeves again from the #pippawrapdress. I've worn this alot.

Bottom Row L - R
Wrap top, again modified #mccalls6959. Hardly worn this.

A really full maxi skirt for a #costume party.

A mock wrap dress in llama fabric for my 9 year old. Modified from #s1211 I think. I really won some brownie points with this one. I made heaps of stuff for my youngest daughter including a tailored coat which was heaps of fun. Now she won't wear anything that doesn't have pockets. I've trained her well. 😂

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A Note from 2019

Although I’m not actively blogging any more, I still often refer to my notes on this website, it’s a great reference for me on my fitting issues, pattern reviews and a record of my sewing journey. In 2019 I made many older posts private, so you may get 404 page not found errors if you come here from an old link. I’ve also cleaned up bad formatting, corrected spelling and grammar and in some cases edited the text on older posts. I have made my old Flickr account private, so some posts that used Flickr may have missing images.