Simply Stitchy

    Hi all, If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I have a varied interest in all things sewing. I'm not a follower of one particular type of sewing... what do you call a type of sewing? Genre? Element? Discipline? Forte? If you know, let me know in the comments. That one's going to bug me till I find out! Anyway, because I sew anything and everything, my sewing machines have to be able to keep up and perform a multitude of tasks. Now, not all of them have everything I need, so I do tend to pick and choose which sewing machine I use by what project I'm sewing. I've even changed my sewing plans to match the sewing machine that's easiest to set up! But what are the features and functions that you need on a sewing machine? What sewing machine should you go for if you're a beginner? If you don't know what to sew, how do you know what you need?  My latest video, What Features do You Really Need on Your Sewing Machine shows you which ones yo

  Hi all As with everything in life, there's usually a right way and a wrong way to do something. This week's video is about unthreading a sewing machine. Find out how to do so safely by clicking on my video link above.  Thanks for watching! Bye for now Olly   For more sewing tips and adventures, follow me: Twitter Facebook Instagram   YouTube

Hi all, This project has been keeping me busy for a while now.  It all started earlier this year when, tuning into Netflix, I saw The Queen's Gambit come up as a recommendation.  Now, I'd heard about the show last year. Friends and family said how brilliant it was. But I didn't get around to watching it until, I think it was mid-February this year.  Well, as soon as Youngest saw the check dress Beth wears, you know the one that swooshes when she walks, she was like, I need that dress! Me being me, "no problem, I can make one of those..." Little did I realize what I was letting myself in for! The thing is, I've searched high and low for a pattern for the dress. It's proved to be a fruitless search. A pattern for this dress just doesn't exist. I've found some close possibilities but nothing has been spot on. I have spent an age on eBay and more than a few pennies trying to get a usable pattern. Here are some of the ones I've looked at: First up V