As the new year began I started a fantastic dressmaking course which finished just last week. It was great. It taught me so many different things that you don't really consider if you have never done any type of sewing projects before or if you are a beginner. The key thing within dressmaking, with whatever garment you decide to make is which Dressmaking Fabric to choose - which, lets face it doesn't seem like a hard decision but really, really is! Most patterns have a small section on the back of the packet which give some suggestions on some fabrics that will make up the item of clothing well, however you are then faced with choosing the one you want and actually finding either the right colour or pattern in that chosen Dressmaking Fabric.
Throughout the 3 months I spent on my dressmaking course I picked, probably, The hardest thing a beginner could make. A tartan coat. Yes, a tartan coat is the garment I chose to make for a first attempt. Some may say I am mad, I like to think I am ambitious! When I was browsing in Calico Laines fabulous pattern bar there were so many choices but I felt I had to make something I would like and that I would love to wear by the time my class came to an end, so when I saw my vogue coat in the catalogue and it was classed as 'very easy' I knew it was meant to be! I'd like to think other sewers are the same and that when they find 'the one' they just have to pick the fabric there and then because their clothing has to be ready to make asap. In the section on the back where it suggests ideal Dressmaking Fabrics it said wool mixers and meltons - well I already have a lovely coat at home that is camel coloured melton so that made that decision a lot easier than it could have been!
Once the decision to use a wool mix was confirmed I had a look through the tartans we stock and found the perfect one - bottle green, black with a deep red line going through it. As the coat I choose to make is lined i though about whether I should use a colour that matched the coat perfectly, either the same shade green in the tartan or the black, but instead I decided that I would make a bold choice and match my lining fabric to the deep red lines running throughout the Dressmaking Fabric and hope that it would look both classy and stylish!
Although I still need to finish the hems on my gorgeous coat, I'm extremely pleased with the outcome and how amazing my choice of Dressmaking Fabrics turned out!
If you have made anything you are proud of, why not post it to our Facebook page?! We'd love to see.
Once the decision to use a wool mix was confirmed I had a look through the tartans we stock and found the perfect one - bottle green, black with a deep red line going through it. As the coat I choose to make is lined i though about whether I should use a colour that matched the coat perfectly, either the same shade green in the tartan or the black, but instead I decided that I would make a bold choice and match my lining fabric to the deep red lines running throughout the Dressmaking Fabric and hope that it would look both classy and stylish!
Although I still need to finish the hems on my gorgeous coat, I'm extremely pleased with the outcome and how amazing my choice of Dressmaking Fabrics turned out!
If you have made anything you are proud of, why not post it to our Facebook page?! We'd love to see.