We now have 200 sewing bloggers as part of The Fold Line community and to celebrate this we wanted to start sharing their amazing makes with you. Sometimes it can be difficult to find new blogs to inspire your sewing projects so as this year continues we’ll be sharing them with you. To start us off let’s meet Laura from Sew For Victory, Rachel from Rach Against The Sewing Machine and Nina from Thumble Nina.
Tell us what you write about on your blog?
Sew for Victory is basically a chronicle of my attempts to get to grips with sewing. I started the blog as a complete amateur, guided only by a love of all things vintage. My posts are a combination of insights into my ongoing sewing projects and my devotion to all things 1940s/50s-inspired.
Why and when did you start blogging?
I started blogging in summer last year. Unlike many sewers, I didn’t come to sewing through family relations or secondary school classes. Instead, I just wanted more control over my own wardrobe. I wear vintage-inspired designs most days – sewing has allowed me to really explore and develop my own style. Blogging about this as an amateur sewer I hope provides readers with an insight into both the successes and failures associated with learning to sew – basically the reality of learning any new skill.
What do you like about it? How often do you blog?
I blog 2-3 times a week. If I’m not making a lot of progress on a project, I fill in the gaps by posting about style inspirations or new 1940s magazines that I’ve picked up in charity shops. There’s always something going on! I’m totally in love with my blog because it’s a space where I get to be ‘Laura the vintage-loving creative’ rather than what I am by day (‘Laura the human rights PhD student’),
What is your best pattern make/project you are most proud of?
I am completely enamored with the Belle Curve dress by Decades of Style. I made it up with a green poly-blend that I bought on a trip to Walthamstow Market (with other 20-something sewers that I met through The Fold Line!). It has a beautiful set of darts on either side of the waist, giving it a perfect fit and gorgeous ‘sunburst’ look.
5. What are your favourite other blogs to read? Who inspires you?
I totally rely on other sewing blogs to help when I get stuck in a rut – either losing my mojo or in need of help with a tricky pattern. I have to say, my absolute favourite blog is Gretchen’s ‘Blog for Better Sewing’. What a perfect combination of vintage-love and sewing finesse! In terms of inspiration though, you’ve got to reach back a few decades. I spend a lot of my sewing time researching stars of the screen – Gene Tierney and Hedy Lamarr are perhaps my most direct inspirations!
6. Where do you sew?
I live in a tiny terraced house. But one IKEA table later and I’ve made up a little sewing area in the dining room. Surrounded by all of my favourite things!
7. What are you making now/next project?
I’m currently working on Sew Over It’s Joan dress. And I have been for a while. A trip to the US for Christmas took me away from my sewing machine. But now I’m back and ready to throw myself into it once again. Watch this space!!
You can follow Laura on The Fold Line @sewforvictory, Twitter @sewforvictoryUK and Instagram @sewforvictoryuk. Read more from Laura’s blog here: www.sewforvictory.co.uk
Tell us a bit about what you write about on your blog?
Rach Against the Sewing Machine: I write about the things I make; whether that be knitting, crocheting or sewing. It’s mostly sewing as that’s the quickest thing to churn out.
Why and when did you start blogging?
I started writing the blog about two years ago as a way to keep myself on track with making things. That sounds silly because you’d think I enjoy it enough to spur myself on, but I’m so whimsical with my hobbies I decided it would be good for me to have more of a purpose and an outlet to share my makes with people who have similar interests. Now it’s a couple of years since I started the blog and I do it because I love connected with other people who sew. I also love to talk; that seems to have extended to typing too!
What do you like about it? How often do you blog?
I try to blog once a week, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out like that. I blog as I make; I’ve never got a backlog of things to rely on if I can’t summon the energy to make anything after work if I’ve got a busy weekend. I like blogging because my friends in real life aren’t into the same things as me. Sometimes, I just want to talk seam allowances and fabric! I can’t get enough of reading other people’s blogs either. Before I make something I trawl through everything I can find out about the pattern before I get started to make sure I’m mentally prepared!
What is your best pattern make/project you are most proud of?
This is a tricky one… I would say that my favourite make and most worn make is my red & black archer shirt. The fabric I used was only £1 a metre from the rag market so I don’t think it’s going to last very long, but it’s a good excuse to make another! I’m proud of it because of all the effort I went to with the pattern matching. It’s something that people are always surprised that I’ve made.
What are your favourite other blogs to read? Who inspires you?
One of my favourite blogs is Fiona’s over at Diary of a Chain Stitcher @diaryofachainstitcher. The thing that resonates with me most about her blog is her honesty; she doesn’t shy away from writing about what went wrong. It’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one who favours a seam ripper! I also love Andrea’s work over at Four Square Walls. It’s her fault I started knitting my jumper; she made the same one in 6 weeks and I was convinced I could do that too… two years later I know that that was VERY wishful thinking!
Where do you sew?
I mostly sew in my bedroom as I’m still at home with my parents. That being said, I’ve (think I’ve got) a great little set up. I’ve got a table in my room that fits my Janome DKS100 on there, and my trusty overlocker. I’ve got a small ironing board that fits nicely in a gap between my bed & my window, and a fantastic LED spot light from Ikea. I don’t know how I ever sewed anything in the evening before I got that light! Sometimes if my dad is out, I’ll go downstairs and sew, but I’ve scratched the dining room table, so it’s not an option any more! Oops!
What are youmaking now/next project?
My next major project is a coat. I’ve bought McCall’s v1479 and I’ve gathered my fabric samples. I’ve chosen what I want to use, just got to get round to ordering it! I’m going to get some calico and knock up a toile too. However as it’s not too fitted I’m keeping my fingers crossed there won’t be too many tweaks needed. I’ve also been making a quilt over the last couple of months. I’ve not got much more to go on it now. I can’t wait to finish it so I can curl up underneath it while I’m knitting!
You can follow Rach on The Fold Line @rachwain, Twitter @rachel_wain and Instagram @rach_wain. Read more from Rach’s blog here: www.rachagainstthesewingmachine.co.uk
1. Tell us a bit about what you write about on your blog?
Thumble Nina: Mostly my latest sewing or craft projects along with the mini adventures they entail. I recently quit a full-time job to pursue some creative projects so other material might start making its way onto the blog, but be assured it’ll all be of the same essence: craft, creativity and clothes!
2. Why and when did you start blogging?
I started blogging last summer, after months spent discovering and devouring everyone else’s sewing blogs. I couldn’t resist joining in!
3. What do you like about it? How often do you blog?
Sewing can feel quite solitary; it sounds clichéd but the best thing about blogging for me is the sense of reaching out and being part of a community. Plus taking photos of a completed item and then writing about it makes it feel that bit more special, too, and reminds me that I’ve
achieved something, no matter how small. I blog about once or twice a week currently, but am hoping to up that slightly because I’ve now got a huge backlog of completed projects to photograph and write up…
4. What is your best pattern make/project you are most proud of?
Oh, this is a hard one! My best pattern is undoubtedly Vogue 8184 – I bought it when I was 20 years old and planning a month-long trip to
language school in Florence. I made six cotton dresses for my ‘Florence’ wardrobe, and loved the pattern so much I’ve gone on to use it time and time again. It’s been used for at least 20 summer dresses by both me and my sister, then also adapted for a winter wool version, three bridesmaids’ dresses for a friend’s wedding, one full-length ballgown, several playsuits and countless party dresses. I still wear one of the Florence dresses, and the last time I used the pattern was the Halloween just gone! But the make I’m most proud of might be the gown I made to wear to a ball at Buckingham Palace – I designed it and my mum and I worked on it together. It was a full-length, backless affair, made of silk satin in a vintage gold shade overlaid with gathered gold-flecked silk tulle, with a coral-coloured waistband. The ball was the most exciting night of my life, and I felt so proud to have made an outfit to go with it!
5. What are your favourite other blogs to read? Who inspires you?
The blog that first hooked me in to the online sewing community was The Little Tailoress; I’m drawn to her personal style and sometimes go back through her old projects for inspiration. I also like to pretend I’m brushing up on my French by reading Make My Lemonade. In fact I love looking at a lot of foreign blogs even when I’ve no idea what they’re saying! Instagram is my main source of inspiration though; I’m completely addicted.
6. Where do you sew?
At my dining table. I live in London, so the idea of a dedicated sewing space is still a distant pipedream (and the main reason I buy a lottery ticket each week!). I’m lucky however to have a long-suffering boyfriend who doesn’t mind my scattering fabric scraps and other haberdashery far and wide across the flat, although he recently expressed alarm at some of the places he’s been finding stray pins.
7. What are you making now/next project?
I’m a fast starter, but a slow finisher, so on my table right now are a heap of UFOs! These include a knitted cardigan that simply needs its
buttons (how lazy is that?!), a silk ballgown that was rushed before Christmas and now needs proper finishing, some more Carolyn pyjamas, a gilet in Liberty lawn, a Capital Chic Martini for a friend… Oh, the list goes on and on! In the long run though, my mum has just suggested I tackle a big chest of fabric she has in her home – batiks given to her on her wedding, dismantled old clothes, years of remnants that ‘just had to be bought. It’s going to be very exciting finally putting some of them to use and of course I can’t wait to get started.
You can follow Nina on The Fold Line @thumblenina and on Twitter @thumblenina, Instagram @thumbleninja and Pinterest @ninaechang. You can read more from her blog here: www.thumblenina.wordpress.com
The post Discovering new sewing bloggers appeared first on The Fold Line.