This month, lovely Carrie decided to try a home sewing project instead of her dressmaking, and fresher up her sewing room. Discover her spring sewing project below...

Diary of a DIY Dressmaker: March 2019

Its March, buds are appearing on cherry blossom trees and daffodils are about making me smile. I wanted to do something different this month and take a step back from garments and treat my sewing space to a makeover with some handmade décor.

I wanted fresh colours to reflect how I feel about this time of year, so I put together a collection of lemon and lavender blenders with the adorable hedgehog fabric and all its greenery. Simplicity have a wonderful pattern it’s pattern number 8532.  There is plenty of fabric in this kit to mix and match and get creative. I wanted to make the sewing machine cover/mat the heart pin cushion and the embroidery hoop organiser. I had plenty of fabric left over to play with making more projects. 

My sewing machine is on the larger size so wasn’t covered completely but that didn’t bother me as wanted it mainly for the mat and to look pretty. This pattern is so nice to put together and it was refreshing to do something crafty rather than making clothes.

My sewing method was

• I didn’t prewash the fabric I used it straight from the kit
• Pressed on a cotton setting with steam
• I made the sewing machine cover, heart pin cushion and embroidery hoop display organiser
• Cut the fabric using a mix of scissors, pins, and a rotary blade.
• I used decorative stitches built in on my machine
• Throughout I used wonder clips to hold the pieces together whilst sewing
• I omitted the ties on the side of the sewing machine cover as I preferred them without. I also had to shorten the mat pattern piece by 2cm to make it fit across the hedgehog because of the width of the hedgehog fabric.  An alternative to doing this would be to use the blenders as patchwork to make it wider and would be a pretty contrast. 
• There are opportunities for quilting on this project if you fancied it.

I love my new sewing space. It now feels inviting and fresh. This pattern has some great gift ideas, so I am likely to make more. 

Hope you find my sewing creations this month inspiring. Until next month...

Happy sewing

Love Carrie @carrie_can_make_it

(I was provided the kit in exchange for my honest blog review on the pattern and fabric in my own words.)