About Me

Welcome to my little blog! If you've found your way to this page, you've probably got a few questions that I'll attempt to guess and answer at the same time!

How did it all start?

In 2009, my friend Hannah gave me a tour of her new house. In the spare room I noticed a dress form draped with a beautiful handmade dress, as well as a box overspilling with fabric and sewing patterns. With my interest well and truly piqued, I decided to tag along to the Sewing for Pleasure evening classes she was taking...and I've been hooked on stitching ever since! I signed up for a second semester and simultaneously discovered the wonderfully supportive and encouraging online sewing community, which I can honestly attribute most of my progress and passion to.

What now?

Although this blog started life as a way of documenting my progress, it's so much more than that now. I finally feel that I'm in a position to give a little back to the community and my readers! I try to do this by pattern testing for independent designers, providing detailed construction information, being honest about my experiences, as well as sharing some Handy Bits and tutorials along the way.

Where do I get inspiration from?

I'm hugely inspired by fashions from the past, especially the late 1930s to the early 1960s. I have a rather large collection of vintage sewing patterns and fabric to show for it and I'm now working on conquering my fear of cutting into and using them! To keep myself on track and to encourage others, I'm hosting the Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge (#vintagepledge) for the second year running. Over 200 people are taking part worldwide and have already shared hundreds of spectacular makes.

I'm also endlessly inspired by fellow bloggers and their beautiful creations - in fact, I blame them for my lack of focus and unachievable plans!

I've made it nice and easy for you to browse a selection of my favourite Sewn Makes.

What else?

To give crafty businesses and individuals the chance to raise their profile, I'm now offering affordable sponsorship opportunities, which will hopefully also introduce my readers to some cool new things. You can take a look at where my blog has been featured, to give you an idea of the sort of publicity it gets.

Want to get in touch?

Got any more burning questions, want to bounce some ideas off me or simply want to say 'hi'? I love hearing from you, so don't be shy...