In today’s video I’m sharing everything I’m planning to sew for my autumn wardrobe complete with a bit of Pinterest and High Street inspiration as always 🙂
Grab a cuppa and enjoy and as always please do let me know what you’re planning to sew this fall! All sewing patterns mentioned are linked in the video description.
Thanks for watching!
Sally xx
Put out request on Instagram and on my YouTube community tab to ask what you would like to see coming up – content wise- this autumn time and a jacket pattern round up was highly requested.
So, in this week’s YouTube video, I’m sharing with you inspiration for TEN great jacket sewing patterns that you might like to sew up this autumn.
Some of these patterns I have already sewn and some I haven’t (yet) but as we go through I share the sewing level, fabric recommendations, how I HAVE sewn it up if I have made it in the past or how I WOULD sew it up if it’s a new pattern to me.
I hope you enjoy the video and find some jacket sewing inspiration for your own wardrobe this fall. Links for all patterns mentioned and suggested fabrics are linked in the video description too 🙂
Happy sewing!
Sally xx
Hello everyone,
I’m back (after a little break) sharing with you everything I sewed this summer with a little try on for good measure 😆
I’ll be sharing the sewing pattern, the fabric I used and how I’ve found the garment works in my wardrobe if I’ve had time to wear it.
I still think summer is my favourite season to sew for and this summer was no exception, despite the many heatwaves we had here in the UK! There was just so much inspiration around on the High Street and as always, I enjoyed using some of the patterns I already had in my stash to create something new and a little bit more ‘on trend’.
I hope you enjoy the video and let me know what your favourite piece was, I’d love to know!
What’s your favourite season to sew for?
Sally xx
I am absolutely loving all of the gingham dresses around on the High Street at the moment, but for some reason, I’ve always wondered if gingham was for me!
My new sew-with-me follows the whole process of sewing my dream gingham summer dress, doubts included: is this colour actually me, and does it need sleeves or not? I go back and forth more than once (you’ll see it happen in real time), before landing on the final reveal.
If you’ve ever doubted yourself halfway through a project, this one’s for you.
Grab a cuppa, thread up, and sew along — or just enjoy the chaos of me debating my own dress.
Happy sewing!
Sally
If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll know that the Ashton Top by Helen’s Closet is one of my absolute favourite sewing patterns. I featured it in my Top 10 Summer Sewing Patterns post just a few weeks ago — and for good reason. It’s a beautiful, versatile pattern that I come back to again and again.
But this time, I decided to switch things up a little. I’d been spotting so many gorgeous button-front tops on the high street lately — the kind that are cool and effortless — and it got me thinking about whether I could create something similar with a pattern I already own rather than buying something new.
So that’s exactly what I did! In my latest YouTube video, I’m sharing a full pattern hack of the Ashton Top, transforming it into a High Street inspired summer top with a button-down front and a lowered neckline — all sewn up in the most beautiful white slub linen.
If you’re new to pattern hacking, the idea is simply this: you take a pattern you already have and modify it to create something different. It sounds a bit scary, but it’s actually one of the most satisfying things you can do as a sewist. You already know the pattern fits, which means you can focus purely on the fun creative part!
Starting from the standard Ashton Top, here’s what I did to create this new version:
The original Ashton Top has a beautiful, clean faced or bound neckband. For this hack, I lowered the neckline slightly to create a more relaxed, summer-appropriate finish. In the video I show you exactly how to do this without losing the shape and structure of the original pattern.
This is the feature that really transforms the top into something that feels very different. I drafted a button band from scratch — and I promise it’s much more manageable than it sounds and I’ll take you through the whole process step by step.
Once the neckline was lowered, I finished it with bias binding rather than a facing. This gives a beautifully neat, minimal finish that works so well with the linen fabric. I also bias bound the armholes to match.
I love the faced hem of the original Ashton and I wanted to keep this for my new button up version and so I modified the original facing pattern piece to adapt to the new button band. A hem facing gives a really clean, professional result that sits beautifully and keeps the hem flat and the shape nice and boxy.
I used a gorgeous slub linen for this make — and it was perfect for this design. Linen is one of my favourite summer fabrics because it breathes so well, and the slub texture of this one adds a lovely natural character to it. It also presses beautifully, which is really helpful when you’re working with techniques like bias binding and button bands.
I’ve linked a similar slub linen in the video description if you want to track something down!
All of the steps above are explained in much more detail over on YouTube — this really is a project where seeing it done makes all the difference! Whether you want to follow along in real time or just get a feel for whether this hack is for you, head over to watch:
And if you love a good pattern hack, you might also enjoy my other pattern hack videos — I have a whole playlist of them over on YouTube called ‘Sew the Look‘ which you can find linked in the video description!
Have you ever hacked a pattern before? I’d love to know which one — drop it in the comments below! And if you give this hack a go, please do share a photo with me over on Instagram — I absolutely love seeing your makes!
Happy sewing!
Sally xx
