March at Village Haberdashery

As the weather has warmed up in the UK and the sun has actually shone, my sewing thoughts have gone straight to dressmaking so my visit to Village Haberdashery this month has that at the forefront of my mind.  Starting with this delicious Palos Verde voile collection from Cloud 9.

As part of the promo for these voiles, Cloud 9 had a Sew Mama Sew blouse series where you can see the fabrics made into a variety of tops by different sewing bloggers.  It is a great way of seeing the prints in action and also spotting some great top patterns.   They are light and floaty (dresses/skirts would need lining).  I already have a couple of metres of Lunada Bay.  These voiles are 44" wide rather than the 54" Anna Maria Horner voiles- just thought I'd mention that.  For me 2 metres is enough for a long sleeve shirt/blouse if the pattern is multi directional.   

Also ready for garments is this great collection of striped cotton interlock knits.  Interlock is a more stable form of knit/jersey fabric.  It is stretchy but lies flatter and is easier to control than very stretchy knits.

Isn't the colour range on those stripes fantastic!  I would be happy with any of these!  They are organic and 160cm wide so you get a lot of quality fabric for your £s.  They are also available in solid colours.

If you crave pattern on your jersey fabrics, there are a couple of great ranges, but beware- some prints have already gone in these Woodland knits.

And these  Raga knit jerseys have a lovely warm weather palette- these are 44" wide as are the woodland knits, so consult your knit pattern to check how much you need. 

If you want to make tops, consider for wovens The Aida and Myla Tank- new Sew Liberated patterns and both easy construction.

You can see more pics of these here on Annie's blog.  

For the knits, any of the Cake range of patterns would work well, the Cabarita looks perfect for stripes

I have mentioned double gauze in many of my monthly sponsor posts so you won't be surprised that I have picked these solid double gauze Japanese fabrics in a beautiful range of highly wearable shades.   Also good for children's clothes and simple blankets, scarves as well, of course, as dressmaking.

And there are patterns galore being released at the moment from the best indie designers. ' Flora' from By Hand London.  This has two bodice variations- tank bodice full front and a lower cross over/wrap effect. And there are two hem options, the hi lo with dipped back or a more standard length all the way round and a sew-along is coming on the By Hand London website.  I have read that this dress is best made from wide fabric (54") due to the way the skirt is cut- something to consider when you buy the fabric.

Also out is Gabriola by Tasia of Sewaholic.  I am just finishing one of these.  It does use a tonne of fabric.  The sew along has started and there is a very handy post if you are between sizes and want to grade sizes on your patterns.  You need to fit to your waist initially but I found my waist was size 6 and my hips were size 4. I consider myself pear shaped but the hip cut is very generous on this.  It is also very long.  I am 5' 5" and I cut the shortest length line and have removed 3.5" to get the hem on my ankle- didn't want it on the floor, I fall over going down stairs!

I hope you enjoyed that little trip.   It has left me wanting to make even more!