Great British Sewing Bee Inspired African Dress

I watched the Sewing Bee last week and loved International Week... my latest favourite.
The dressmaking challenge was to use Batik Cottons which are made in the Netherlands.  I thought these fabrics were made in Africa but it turns ourt they're made in the Netherlands. The Dutch copied the original designs from Java in the 19th century and were going to sell them in Indenisia but stopped of in West Africa on the way and ended up selling them there instead. The designs then were influenced by Africans more and more over years.
The weight of the fabric it lends itself to creating great sculptural shapes. The peplum is a popular shape that is used at the waist to enhance the hips or from the knee to create a fish tail. Traditional west African women make the most wonderful sculptural headresses with it.

Peplum.

Vibrant colours!

Drawing inspiration from The Sewing Bee and then pictures of African dresses I decided to make a dress from two differnet patterns, the top half of the Colette Eclair pattern and the skirt of the New Look 6124. I used a navy and white print cotton with an orange viscose for the lining and sach/tie. I decided to add in straps which I made so they can be worn straight over the shoulder or crossed at the back.

The front..

The back...

Pattern used for the top.

Pattern used for the skirt.

Flo-Jo Tote bag kit

We get asked about kits for beginners and projects for a rainy afternoon quite often in the shop. Would you like to learn how to sew an applique and how to sew a bag? The Flo-Jo Tote Bag kit is great start!

The tote bag kit comes in three different motifs. Which one is your favourite pick?

Pineapple, Raincloud or Cherries?

With the kit you get all of the pieces to make one bag including denim for the bag, straps, your chosen applique and an inside pocket as well as instructions and a cutting pattern.

The kits are available in the shop or online for £18!

Cut back on plastic bags and learn the skills to make a stylish bag!

The pineapple bag is my favourite!

Sewing Bee inspired Q & A

When the Great British Sewing Bee is in full swing we all get inspired to try something new.
The lovely people from Sew magazine choose us to ask about sewing lingerie after week 3 ...'Lingerie week'
We were happy to share some tips from our years of making.

Follow the link below to see what was said.

http://www.sewmag.co.uk/blog/tips-for-sewing-lingerie-by-flo-jo-boutique

Shift Dress- Beginners Dressmaking Class

On Tuesday the 7th of June, at 6.30-8.30pm we start another Beginners Dressmaking Class at Flo-Jo Boutique, making Colette Patterns Laurel dress as it has proved to be a favourite amongst our makers!

With the Laurel dress pattern you will learn how to follow a sewing pattern, sew sleeves, bias binding, a facing around a neckline as well as inserting a concealed zip. Below are some pictures from the latest class finished dresses!

Ollie made a dress for his girlfriend in this lovely blue cherries cotton print from our shop with shortened sleeves and a neckline with facing.

This is Kate's first ever garment and she finished it beautifully with a red and white polkadot binding and matching pocket!

Kelly's retro inspired shift dress was also finished off with binding as well as done with two pockets and an altered neckline.

If you want to learn how to make your own shift dress you can sign on to the next class online here! Or pop in to the shop or give us a ring 0117 9041498!

Yeehaw!

Well it's been a long time coming but at last I put time aside to make my very own cowboy shirt, adapted into a very wearable dress, made out of some gorgeously soft light weight denim.

I bought this pattern over two years ago on Ebay and it has 5 great variations including one which has a button bib to protect the shirt from a 'steers horns'! I decided I didn't need this and chose Version E, though next time I think I will also add decorative plackets.

The instructions that came with the pattern were surprisingly good for a vintage pattern with fantastically clear diagrams. Having recently mastered welt pockets I thought it would be fun to challenge myself with these curved piped ones, but it was definitely worth doing a couple of practice runs before moving onto the real thing.

It was really important to follow the pattern's top tip and start with the bottom piping first, keeping the fabric as flat as possible as you sew the piping along the curved slash line to avoid gathering. If it is the first time you are doing a welt pocket you are very brave! I recommend watching a Youtube tutorial and practicing a conventional version first, before moving on.

I went a bit piping crazy, adding piping to the cuff and contrast stitching for extra detailing.
Pearly stud buttons were essential and I love the finished look they give.

The pattern came with a fantastic 'Cowboy Lore and Special Techniques' section, which amongst other things showed how to embroider arrowhead pocket reinforcements. I decided not to do this and give the shirt a more contemporary feel by just doing a bar tack either end. Also my embroidery skills need serious improving! I do have ideas of doing a Mexican tin art inspired embroidered design on the back of my next one but I guess we'll have to wait for another couple of years for that one...

How to sew welt pockets - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MOuOLkLqQM
Manuel's piped pockets - http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3834/video-manuels-piped-pockets

Flo-Jo Boutique - Skirt in a Day Class

Today we had the "Sew a Skirt in a Day Class" in the Flo-Jo work shop. We had two lovely makers booked in, despite the very tempting sunshine!

Ready to make their very first garment, they both chose a cotton print each to work with. If you are looking for spring summed up in a skirt they'll look something like this!

Two very concentrated sewers. They both chose to make a pleated skirt with a 5 cm wide waistband and concealed zip down the centre back seam.

 

Look at the work on this concealed zip, it's perfectly sewn. For a first zip ever, that is very impressive!

Waistband in place, time for a button and buttonhole.

After a couple of fittings, adjustments and a hem; Two beautiful handmade skirts, in one day!

How to Make Knickers!

Here's a little film we made to promote our new book KNICKERS!
It was lots of fun to make and we hope you enjoy...
The perfect visual guide to making up our cotton knicker kits.