Category: Sewing

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Beginner Dressmakers at the ready!!

Three Days, New Clothes! with Linda Radley on Saturday 10th February, 10th March and 14th April

Make 3 different clothing items on three different days with Linda helping you create a complete outfit and bringing some freshness to your wardrobe.

You will make:

  • A skirt on 10th February
  • A top for Summer on 10th March
  • A jacket to finish the outfit on 14th April

Linda will guide you to achieve the best fit and look for you, along with lots of helpful tips throughout the three days.

You can chose from a selection of patterns – which can be purchased from Tudor Rose Patchwork in advance of the course and at a 20% discount!

 

The patterns recommended by Linda are:

M6654 – a classic

skirt in stretch fabric

M6927 – Simple top

M7059, M6970 and M7368 – a selection of skirts, tops, and easy-to-wear jackets.

 

There is a wide range of fabric suitable for the McCalls patterns available at Tudor Rose Patchwork, however the type of fabric you can use may be impacted by it’s suitability for the chosen pattern.

At the end of the three days you will have a completed, new outfit, have met lots of new people and really enjoyed your time with Linda.

Each day will run from 10am to 4pm. Book a place here.

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Shop Update
To everyone who visited the shop and made Sew Saturday such a successful day on 21st October.
Congratulations to Angela Scutchings
who was delighted to win a metre of fabric in our raffle and was one of our first 5 lucky customers to receive a Goody Bag
Newon our website!!

We’ve got some lovely little bargains over on the website. Every little helps in the run up to Christmas!
20% OFF
NEW!!! from Lewis & Irene 
Themed with a selection of fabulous diggers, trains, planes and more …. ‘Small Things on the Move’NOW £10.36 per metre
Offer ends 7.11.17

18% OFF
Anne Smith Designs
Fun little doll patterns with painted faces allow you to experiment with new techniques while creating a toy to be given as a gift or kept for you to admire.
The dolls are no taller that 17″ when finished so they are great for using up scrap fabric. You can try out all sorts of colour ways to put your spin on your doll! 

 NOW £9.00 
Offer ends 7.11.17

Also reductions on the lovely squishy Wendy Supreme Cotton Chunky – pop over and have a look and treat yourself to a bargain.
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February Progress

Nothing much has changed, the weather is still dismal and grey.  Sad to say but I still haven’t finished my lovely big crocheted throw.  Nearly there, 180 rows done, just the edging to do.  Getting quite excited now the end is in sight.  It has been quite nice spending a little time each evening on the sofa in front of the TV with my ever-growing blanket keeping me warm.  Spent the day out with my son and 10 other 14 year olds over the weekend paint balling.  Well they were paintballing, I sat in the car and crocheted, jumped out into the rain, fed them, sent them off again, jumped back in the car, crochet and repeat.  They all had a brilliant time and were exhausted by 4 o’clock.  I had a marvellous time being able to crochet without feeling guilty that I wasn’t doing housework/ironing/vacuuming etc etc.

 

I have however also been working on a couple of my many UFOs.  Just a few…

 

Having finished this lovely little piece, I have rediscovered my love of handwork, I started this stumpwork piece in a class with Kathy Laurel Sage about 18 months ago and I completed it last week. Just waiting for a frame now.  And of course, I’ll have to find a home for it.  It has reminded me how much I enjoy cross stitch and embroidery.   And goldwork… and tapestry… and jewellery making in its various guises.

I’ve joined a monthly group starting next month here at Tudor Rose Patchwork with our new tutor Sue Stallard and I’m very excited about the projects we’ll be doing in class.  The samples for each class are lovely and I’ve had a wonderful day ordering in the beads and crystals we’ll need.

The shipment of Czech delicas arrived on Thursday.  Huge amount of work involved getting them ready for you all but actually thrilled about new projects that are ahead of us.  Not to mention a couple of UFOs too… along with a bracelet and a necklace that need attention.

Help!  There’s just too much to do and not enough time.  Maybe if I didn’t sleep, eat, work or have to do anything with the children.  And I keep finding more to do.  I belong to a couple of Facebook groups and every day there’s a new pattern I’d like to make or new products I’d like to try.  A good job I don’t belong to any other social media.  It’s just madness.  How do you decide which project, piece you’re going to work on next?  Do you try and finish something a section a week whilst working on several others at the same time or just wing it, work on what you feel like that day?

 

 

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Gold Work by Hand or Gold Work by Machine

 

Which one works for you?

By Kathleen Laurel Sage

Hi everyone,

We are now well into the New Year and many of us have already signed up for classes that inspire us to learn a new technique and make that stunning project. The weather is cold and dismal so it’s an ideal time to keep busy during the day with your machine projects whilst keeping cosy and comfy in the evenings with some hand stitching.

One of my favourite winter evening pastimes is my Gold Work embroidery as I can sit in my comfy armchair and stitch it when watching the television and being with the family. I can even manage it at a push with my dog on my lap.

Traditional Gold Work can seem so very intricate and people can be put off by what is actually a very easy to achieve technique when you are shown how. The simple stylised designs are accentuated by a couched cord sewn around them, then infilled with seed beads, leather and a whole host of lovely shiny gold work wires and cords that are available from the shop.

If you’re not a hand stitch kinda girl don’t fret because I like to push the boundaries to try and emulate the look of traditional stitching using my sewing machine. I have spent several happy days in my studio working out just how to do this and bring this stunning gold look to those of you who prefer to use your sewing machines.

What’s the difference?

First of all the embroidery hoop went and a stabiliser fabric was introduced to support my design. A quick gathering of all things gold such as cords, machine thread, ribbons and beads and I was ready for the challenge. Now all that I had to do was experiment with how to emulate my lovely gold work using only my trusty old sewing machine! With a little practice and a good look at what my basic machine had to offer I soon realised that it was no big deal, just use the machine stitch to accentuate the design and to couch the cord. Simple really… What about the leather though? Well the machine didn’t like going through such small pieces so back to the drawing board, but not for long. Tudor Rose Patchwork has a new and sensational product called Fusible Glitter Film and wow it does a grand job of replacing the padded leather of the traditional method. So away I went again. With the use of a few utility patterns and a dab of gold paint, I had soon created my new machine version of traditional gold work and wow I was pleased with it. Plus it took me much less time to complete and finish than the hand stitched version. A real plus when time is short.

I love the fact that it can be done both ways and I invite you to come along to my machine embroidered, ‘All that Glitters is Gold’ workshop on the 18th February and have a go for yourself.  Whether you’re a hand stitch girl or a machine stitch girl, you can both do gold work.

And for those of you who love your hand stitched version don’t forget to book a place on the Gold Work sunflower on Monday 26th June.  We have also opened up another date for the popular Gold Work Bumblebees on the 22nd November. So hurry and book your place as they are going fast!

Hand embroidered Gold Work

Machine embroidered Gold Work

 

You can book a place on Kathy’s upcoming courses, and find out about our other courses HERE

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December Fabric Focus

It may be cold outside but Spring will soon be on its way and the Daisy Garden collection is perfect for any project at this time of year. It’s bold floral print compliments the soft blues, yellows and greens, giving the fabrics a country cottage theme. The daisies sit alongside butterflies but have subtle hints of geometric patterns both in the panel and the rest of the fabrics.

There is so much you can do with a collection like this; at the moment Jon is working on a table runner using the panel. Sticking with the dining theme, you could cut out the individual squares and rectangles for place mats and coasters, perfect for dressing up the garden table for outdoor lunches in the warmer months.

If you are fairly new to patchwork and quilting, panels are a great place to start; cutting out individual pieces of the panel allows you to try out your new skills on a small and simple projects. Want to try something a bit bigger? You could keep the panel in one piece and turn it into a small quilt by adding borders. But if you are feeling really ambitious you could cut out and rearrange the individual pieces of the panel to make a much larger quilt or a table runner just like Jon!

Patchwork with panels is easy; if you are still unsure then why not join one of our beginners classes. If you want to follow the theme of Daisy Garden and create something homely you could join Geraldine for her sewing for beginner’s day in February where she can help you out with any small home furnishing project.

Interested in a classes but don’t know which ones to do? Come along to our exhibition on Saturday 10th January, 10am-4.30pm. Students from all our 2014 classes will be displaying their work; you can talk to the students about their experience and staff and will be on hand to discuss all the courses we have to offer this year. Light refreshments will be being served at the event thanks to O for Coffee. Of course you are welcome to stay for the whole day and enjoy lunch in O for Coffee and grab a bargain in our winter sale!

To see the full Daisy Garden collection click here.

Browse our full list of courses by clicking here.