Floral Colette Macaron

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The Colette Macaron is a dress I’ve made a thousand times now. It’s one of my all time favourite sewing patterns. You can see my Pink and Navy versions and more in my sewing archive. This dress (and photos) are from 2015 and was made from a beautiful white floral cotton sateen.

Description: Macaron is a fun-to-sew, flattering, and curvy dress. It includes a bodice fitted with darts, along with a contrasting top yoke, sleeves, and a narrow midriff band.
Pattern: Colette Macaron Pattern
Fabric: Cotton Sateen and cotton lining

This dress works with and without the centre band. You can use it to colour block the different fabric on top and bottom, keep the dress one colour (like this version) or have only the top part different like my Navy and Pink version. There is so many options with this dress which is why I love it so much.

I also think this is one of the most comfortable fit dresses. I have reused the skirt part on many other dresses I’ve made. It comes with pockets and sleeves which is my absolute favourite, especially if I want to wear them to work. I really can’t fault this dress pattern and highly recommend to others. Check out the tag #colettemacaron to see how many beautiful version of this dress have been made on Instagram.

Happy Sewing!

Erin

BurdaStyle Tulip Sequin Dress

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I made this dress back in 2015 wanting to use sequin fabric for the first time to create an outfit to wear out in Las Vegas. However, even after a bit of alterations the top didn’t quite fit me the way I wanted it to. The sleeves were too far down on my shoulders and didn’t pull in the front or back enough, so it ended up a bit too gapey.

Description: A sweetheart neckline gives a feminine look to this structured dress. The tulip skirt is pleated for structure, so you get a sophisticated look.
Pattern: BurdaStyle Tulip Dress
Fabric: Sequin Bodice & Rayon Skirt

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Vogue 1300 Dress

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If you’re looking for a pretty simple dress this Vogue 1300 is perfect. Again, this is one from my archives so this patterns will be from around 2014 if you happen to have it in your stash.

Apart from making this dress a few sizes too big for myself at the time it was a basic, flattering shift style dress. I made this from a polyester material but I think something more like rayon or linen would be a much nicer fit.

Description: Misses Dress and Slip: Loose-fitting, pullover dress has back neck slit, button/self loops, binding, side pockets, stitched hems, flounce and cap sleeves.
Pattern: Vogue 1300 Dress
Material: Polyester but linen or rayon would suit for just the dress but if you wanted to make the slip you could do lighter fabrics.

I am super excited to be showcasing some dresses from my archives. This one was about 6 years ago when I was creating a new outfit for myself almost every week. I was also still learning about fabric types and getting used to how they would sit. It’s amazing how much you learn along the way and still learning!

Happy Sewing!

Erin xx

Vogue 1270 Dress

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I have been running through my sewing archive and found a dress I made in 2013, which turned out so amazing. This is the Vogue 1270 dress made with cotton sateen fabric and cotton lining.

I adored this dress but it was a tricky one to make. There was slight error in the instructions at step 14. However, I checked Pattern Review and a few others had commented on the same thing, which made it a little easier to understand how to complete it. I also had to add some front pleats to the neckline because it gaped too wide.

Once we can actually get back to the workplace I would love to make this one again with a few alterations, such as changing the top and back neckline to fit better and adding full sleeves.

Overall it was a very flattering style if you happen to have this pattern in your stash! I am going to be posting a few oldies to my blog, that I haven’t yet posted since starting my blog again.

Happy sewing!

Erin

Women’s Headbands

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My latest sewing project is a women’s knot style headband made with knit fabric. I tried a few other sewing patterns but I didn’t like how they were finished, some leaving a large unfinished seam at the back. This pattern by ‘I’ll show you mine’ creates the headband and leaves the sewn seam inside and underneath the knot, so it’s easy to hide.

Description: Women’s knot style headband
Pattern: Women’s Headband from I’ll show you mine
Fabric: Knit or Jersey

These can be created with knit or cotton jersey. These are great for me because I have a fringe and it makes it easier to style my hair up. I’m also heading on a camping trip so I made myself one in each colour.

I loved the pattern so much I also created a number of them to sell on my Honey Love Handmade Etsy store. I am looking forward to trialling some bow wrap style headbands next.

Happy Sewing

Erin xx

Reusable Face Masks

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If you’re in the sewing world it’s highly likely you have been creating face masks to help protect yourself and family against COVID-19. I’ve made a few different types of masks but these have been my favourite pattern so far. I’ve even started selling them on my Honey Love Handmade Etsy Store.

The best fabric I found is the Duck Cloth Cotton, Drill, Denim or Linen, which is quite thick and soft on your face. As you can see I’ve made a huge range for adults and children’s sizing.

Description: Pleated Masks with a split in the back to include extra filters.
Sewing Pattern: Sarah Maker – Pleated Face Mask
Fabric Used: Cotton Duck Cloth, Drill and Linen

However, if you’ve been to Spotlight or any local fabric store you might have found the 3-6mm elastic is completely sold out everywhere. The best way to get your hands on elastic is to go direct to suppliers, such as Homecraft Textiles (for Australian readers). I purchased a 100m roll and they shipped it out that day via express post.

If you’re interested in buying any of these masks they are still available on my Honey Love Handmade Etsy store. Otherwise this is the perfect beginner sewing pattern to get started in your sewing journey!!

Hope you’re all staying safe during this tough time!!
Erin xx

BurdaStyle Wool Boucle Jacket

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I stuck to my sewing goal and created a second jacket from my Top 5 Jackets to make this winter. This was another BurdaStyle jacket made with some beautiful brown checked wool fabric for the outside and a plain light brown wool for the lining, both from Spotlight. This is also the fabric combination I used to create my long Wool Parka Jacket.

Description: Oversized and rounded collar flatters the decolleté and shoulders, while patch pockets and a double row of silver buttons are refined finishing details.
Pattern: BurdaStyle Boucle Jacket 114 02/19
Fabric: Wool from Spotlight

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BurdaStyle Wool Parker Jacket

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This is the first time I’ve purchased wool and made a large warm, winter jacket! This wool jacket by BurdaStyle is the perfect Parka Jacket and it’s soooo warm. Almost too warm to wear for our Brisbane winters but hey, it might be great for travelling!

Description: This variegated wool jacket can function as a cozy cardigan or as a jacket for days that aren’t so cold.
Pattern: Wool Jacket101 |Burda Style 01/20
Fabric: Wool fabric and lining from Spotlight

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10 Tips on health and well-being at home

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This year has been a really strange one for us all. In the first few weeks I thought I hit the jackpot working from home and being able to pump out a number of cute sewn outfits. Plus, my relationship is still within the first year, so staying in wasn’t a big deal for us. However, because I was home so often I started snacking, not even realising that I was starting to put on weight.

The third month in I completely stopped sewing, had to deal with my current rental selling (due to the owners unfortunately losing their jobs) and looking for a new place to live. This was a good kick up the butt for me because I’ve been wanting to purchase my own property for a few years now. I started to look around and within a month made an offer on a townhouse. Then like clockwork, my house mate moved out and my boyfriend moved in. He didn’t even bother unpacking though because I settle on the new place in another weeks’ time. However, the stress levels went from 0 – 10 really fast and I started to notice that I was becoming more irritable and upset at the smallest things. I really had to take a step back and find ways to readjust and focus. And I’m thankful I did because I’m much happier now!

The one thing I’ve realised is how important it is to have routine in our daily lives. My work is also saying that we could be working from home for the remainder of the year! So here are my tips to stay sane during covid and improve on your health and well-being while being stuck at home.

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Top 5 BurdaStyle jackets to make this winter

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As the weather starts to cool down and we’re still in lock down I’ve started looking at a number of jacket patterns to make this winter. There are so many beautiful designs to choose from but here are my top five BurdaStyle patterns that I am hoping to create this winter.

I’ve picked BurdaStyle because I know the patterns fit me really well and they’re so easy to download, print out at home and (most of the time) create.

#1 BurdaStyle Boucle Jacket 114 02/19

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