So here we are again, another May of Me Mades's. Head on over to Zoe's blog to find out more. Honestly this year I've started out without a pledge or plan, just chucking on my me mades as usual, but today I think I have decided on my focus for this #mmmay17

Yes that is a giant pile of clean laundry on my sofa! #mmm17  day 3 and I have been feeling guilty for not giving myself an actual challenge this year. I wear me mades most days, but I have gained a lot of weight recently....gotta love the peri menopause and a knackered thyroid 🙄 Trying hard to focus on body positivity instead of diets which make me sad....anyway this all means that lots of my clothes just don't fit well anymore, so this month I am weeding those out and starting afresh! Today I am wearing a #maudeskirt  Which co incidentally I am talking about on my You Tube Channel; this week it is part 2, just search Lazy Seamstress on You Tube to find me 😊

A post shared by Jeanette Archer (@lazyseamstress) on May 3, 2017 at 12:22am PDT

This post on Instagram pretty much sums it up. I'm going to spend May weeding out the clothes that don't fit or feel comfortable and add clothes that do.

So.......

'I, Jeanette of Lazy Seamstress and @lazyseamstress, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '17. I endeavour to wear at least one me made item each day for the duration of May 2017'

I have been casually searching since sometime last year for the perfect pair of dungarees and the perfect pinafore. The dungarees are for another day, this week I have been concentrating on Pinafores!
I was planning to draft my own pinafore, something vaguely 70's inspired and fitted at the waist, since that might suit my rather ample curves. Then I spotted the Freya dress pattern that came free with a copy of Simply Sewing, and it seemed to fit the brief well, yay! No need to draft my own pattern!
I firstly made it up in some faux suede. I made the largest size, but sadly was a bit snug, though wearable.

Look at that face! That is my " just bloody take the photo" face. Freya dress pattern, was going to draft my own pinafore pattern but this seemed pretty damn perfect.  Made with faux suede. Mostly happy with it . When I make another I will widen the bib to cover more side boo instead of gaping, and I will use a smaller seam allowance on the skirt...this is a teeny bit on the tight side...I could eat less.... #sewingblogger #sewingtutor

A post shared by Jeanette Archer (@lazyseamstress) on Mar 4, 2017 at 6:14am PST

I made the next version (first photo above.) in a lovely 40's inspired print. This time I altered the bib to fit better over my bust and I skimped on the seam allowances, but I can't get it on! The faux suede has som stretch in it, which is why I can get that on, the floral one though...not a chance!

I abandoned that pattern, and decided I needed a quick make to cheer me up. I decided to copy a simple little dungaree dress I had bought in Primark last year for the princely sum of £5.
And so, if you have been following me on Instagram ( @lazyseamstress ) you will have seen that so far this week I have made 3 pinafores from my copy of the original denim dress. I also am planning one more........

I've been a little bit (unintentionally) quite on here recently. I do hate when blog posts start with an apology, but I'm going to apologise anyway, to myself if no one else!
Life around here has been very busy with work, so I can't complain about that, at least I love my work!
I have still managed to fit in a few sewing projects for myself though, and if you follow me on Instagram you will have seen those, already.
There have been a couple of circle skirts :







A fit and flare dress :

Hmmmm, wasn't really feeling it today, but finished this dress anyway. I want/need a dress for saying goodbye to someone special, I think she might have liked this, she loved colour. 💗

A post shared by Jeanette Archer (@lazyseamstress) on Feb 21, 2017 at 7:55am PST

And a couple of Pinafores:

Look at that face! That is my " just bloody take the photo" face. Freya dress pattern, was going to draft my own pinafore pattern but this seemed pretty damn perfect.  Made with faux suede. Mostly happy with it . When I make another I will widen the bib to cover more side boo instead of gaping, and I will use a smaller seam allowance on the skirt...this is a teeny bit on the tight side...I could eat less.... #sewingblogger #sewingtutor

A post shared by Jeanette Archer (@lazyseamstress) on Mar 4, 2017 at 6:14am PST

But! Here comes the big news! I have started a You Tube Channel ! My lovely friend, Mary (regular readers will know her as my "fabric dealer" !), has been encouraging me to branch out on You Tube, so I have...Thank you Mary, love you!
Here is my first video. I hope you like it and are not too put off by my over enthusiastic "Hello".

Yeah, I know it's already 12th January! My children didn't finish school and college until 23rd December, which means they only went back to school and college on Monday...is it really only four days ago? Why am I so tired?
Poor Eden had to go back to college on her birthday! She was less than impressed to say the least. I now have two adult children, since Eden turned 18 on Monday! It's a strange feeling.
Christmas was quiet (well as quiet as it gets around here!), and I did a lot of cosying up on the sofa, a bit of crocheting, but not a lot of anything else, which felt good. In fact so good I'm finding it rather hard to get back into the normal routine. Grey January skies certainly don't help.


I've been working on updating my wardrobe with clothes that feel good lately. I designed this dress to wear to our WI Christmas party. The bodice is princess line, and the skirt is full circle with extra panels and box pleats at the hips. The fabric is a waxed cotton. The dress uses a full 6 metres of fabric, most of which is in the skirt! I am also wearing a full petticoat in these photos and a store bought bow belt.
This feels fab on, really swishy and feminine. I love it! Of course as usual I want to tweak certain things.( but that's for another post)



I used the same pattern to make this dress. This time the bodice is lace underlined with black jersey for the main bodice, sleeves just lace and the skirt is made with some gorgeous vintage pinstripe suiting.
Again worn over a petticoat and with a belt.



I put in an exposed zip this time to juzz it up a bit. I think this is the least successful of the two dresses, but it will be a good addition to my work wardrobe.

I'm trying very hard right now to stay body positive while writing this. The reason I need to update my wardrobe is quite simply that nothing much in my existing wardrobe fits me anymore. I could easily (too easily) sit here and write an entire blog post about every flaw I can see when looking at these photos, but I wont.






Happy New Year lovely readers. Don't forget to follow me on instagram

This time of year calls for cosy , and cosy for me is anything that feels like pyjamas, but looks enough like clothes to wear during the day! This dress is soooo comfy, it really feels like a nightdress, can be layered with various jumpers and cardigans, worn over jeans or leggings, or tights.


I used my Nell pattern again, but probably could've gone down a size, it is a little big.


Probably not the most flattering dress, but certainly the most cosy, and there are definately days when cosy wins over flattery.

One day last week I decided I hated most of my clothes. I was sick of trying to fit my ever expanding waistline (sad face) into dresses and skirts that refused to co operate. So over half of my wardrobe went in a charity collection bag...well, more than one actually! I have only kept clothes that I really love, and my new sewing resolution is to sew things I really want to wear, and to satisfy my urge to sew random clothes I will sew with someone in mind and spread the joy.

With that in mind, I cut out this dress last week, using my Nora, Nell and Nancy designs, this is Nell...although I sometimes forget that and call her Nora! She is made with vintage wool suiting...a lucky charity shop find . Navy blue pin stripe which you can't really see in the photos. The yoke is cut on the bias and the neckline is bound with self cut binding.

I absolutely love it! Feels great on, isn't too formal, but not too casual either. I really do need to ressurect this pattern and get it published, I know I've been saying that for about 18 months now, but I feel like it just needs a bit more tinkering before it's really ready.

I sew every day, I sew for work, I sew for myself, I sew for college and I sometimes sew for gifts. July is a busy month here, three birthday's, end of school year...this year it's even more hectic with Sid about to leave Primary school, so lots of events and visits and special days and parties and assemblies. Sid has ASD so all of this has to be handled carefully.
Florence's birthday takes a lot out of me emotionally, grief even after 7 years is exhausting, it demands your full attention, and if you don't give it you soon know...
Work is easy, I get my deadlines and my projects and I get on with it happily.
College is finished now, but my coursework needs handing in by the end of August...guess who is very behind with the course work? So, a normal person might spend their time catching up with that rather than starting three million other projects right? Seems I am not a normal person...this past week instead of course work, I have sewn a pair of dungarees, two teacher gifts, pyjama bottoms, a summer kimono robe, and this dress!
I can't actually decide if it is procrastination or therapy sewing, maybe both?


This dress is a very simple skater style. I used my princess seamed bodice block and a circle skirt. the fabric was found by my fab friend and fabric dealer Mary, it's a stretch, so no need for fastenings on this dress.
I used the princess seamed block because I hate the way a t shirt style bodice in a patterned knit fabric distorts over my bust. The princess seams are flattering, fitting nicely over a large bust and into the waist. I am plus sized, but my waist is 10" smaller than my bust, so this style of dress can usually either be too clingy over the bust or too loose on the waist. I think the princess seams work well as an alternative.
In fact this dress felt so nice to wear I'm going to raid my knit fabric stash later to play with the pattern a little more....but of course not until I've done some college work.....









Want to make a simple kimono like the ones above?  click here.

Gosh I've been slow with this one! The Nora dress and her sisters Nell and Nancy made their debut on my blog last summer, and I kept meaning to release them as a pattern, but then kept putting it off, with one excuse after another, then Sam Sterken the editor of Sewing Made Simple magazine expressed an interest in Nora and asked me to let the magazine release her, which gave me the boot up the bum I needed to get things going again with this design.
I'm really pleased how the chambray version turned out, it looks great on the model. Nora is such an easy dress to wear. I have several of the first drafts that I wear in rotation over leggings or jeans at least once a week.
The pattern can be downloaded from the Love Sewing website here the instructions are in the magazine, which also comes with two free paper patterns.



And for those of you wondering about Nora's sisters Nell and Nancy, they are not forgotten, I promise I will release those one way or another this summer!

Maybe Nora isn't your cup of tea, then check out Love Sewing Magazine on 14th July when my Maude Skirt will be featured as a free download.

I rarely buy sewing patterns these days, unless they are vintage finds. I prefer to draft my own designs. Last week though I aquired two new sewing patterns for me! I was smitten by Marilla Walker's Bennett Dress as soon as I saw it, and knowing Marilla's style, plus the need to stitch up something lovely in a hurry I thought I'd give it a go. I wasn't dissapointed, in fact I was really pleased with the result, and wore the resulting dress twice in one week!
I used a lightweight poly cotton blend I'd bought in Abakhan.
As always Marilla's pattern and instructions were faultless. I chose the printed pattern this time, and I love the cute hand printed envelope it came in . Trust me, packaging is hard to figure out when you are a small independant designer with an equally if not smaller budget for such things, and I'm quite envious that I didn't think of doing something as cute with my paper patterns! (Which are still on pause...best not talk about that right now! )

The second pattern I bought was the Dottie Angel Frock by Simplicity. I've always admired Dottie Angel's blog and her granny chic style, but honestly until I saw the pattern in my local Hobbycraft while buying other supplies, I hadn't had a burning desire to order it online and make it. You could say it was an impulse buy.

#mmmay16 #dottieangelfrock not bad for a morning in the shed.

A photo posted by Jeanette Archer (@lazyseamstress) on May 27, 2016 at 4:08am PDT

I ran one up quickly to see what I would think. I used a vintage sheet and random bits of bias hanging around in my shed. Once finished, I was pretty pleased with the dress, on the hanger at least...but oh dear, trying it on was a whole other matter! The tucks and ties were in the wrong place for my bust, and I just hated it on me. I'm still a bit sick about it really, it's super cute, just not on me, so I'm sending it to someone else who it will no doubt look so much better on...and hoping she doesn't look too closely at my hasty stitching!
Not to be defeated however, I set to making myself another. This time I used some left over lightweight cotton blend left over from a project I'd completed a few weeks ago for Sewing Made Simple magazine.
I intended to put the tucks and ties in at the end once I could work out where I wanted them to be, but while trying it on to determine that, I decided actually I liked it without.


So, there you are, three dresses in a week, when really I should have been working on my final collection for college....oops!

So, I had a birthday, I'm now the grand old age of 47, and feel every second of it recently! Angus often jokes with me that I have outlived my biological usefulness now that I am no longer having babies or feeding them, lately I have felt, all too keenly the truth in that joke!
India turned 20 on Saturday, and spent her first birthday away from home. I can't quite believe I am the mother of a 20 year old! She has grown into a lovely young woman, but she will always be my first baby. 


Raising babies for the past 20 years has been the most amazing and wonderful time, even the sad bits, even the heartwrenchingly sad bits, and now as my family grows I'm spreading my wings a little and taking on more freelance work. I regularly contribute to Sewing Made Simple magazine and have had some of my work published in Love Sewing magazine.  
I teach most weekends at Ministry of Craft   and I'm putting together my final collection for my Level 3 City and Guilds in Fashion. Life is busy!
I've so much to be grateful for, and so yeah, I'm 47,my thyroid doesn't work properly, and my bones creak. I have wrinkles and am beyond my "biological usefulness", but the sun is shining, and I am grateful. x

I'm still working on perfecting the fit of my new bodice block. I've been working on this dress on and off for a few weeks now, finally finishing it last week only to put it on and realise despite all my tinkering it still doesn't quite fit right!
I re drafted the front into a princess seam, which I think works well on a larger bust, but kept the back bodice darted, which hasn't worked well at all!
My upper back is rounded and wider than might be expected, while my rib cage is actually very narrow, so fitting my back is often more of a challenge than fitting my bust....the problem with learning about fit is the more you know, the more you find there is to learn....actually that's how it is with sewing anyway, and why I love it so much!


You can see here how I tried to fix my gaping shoulders with small darts that were intended to fit over my rounded upper back, and they do (my dress form doesn't have the same shape there. ), but there is too much looseness around my back rib cage, while the darts fit nicely into my waist.
I was going to abandon this dress, chuck it in a charity bag, especially with spring on it's way. The dress is a medium weight wool blend and fully lined! Today though it snowed, and so I might have a chance to wear it soon, if I fix it. I intend, as a quick fix to take in a seam from the tip of the waist dart to the tip of the shoulder dart, trim away the excess fabric, resulting in a faux princess seam.....it might work! I hope it does!


I will keep you posted! Oh and I did press it, this fabric is stubborn, and holds too many creases!

One day last week while feeling rather sorry for myself I nipped in to the local furnishing fabric shop. They have a room full of remnants that I like to browse just in case they have anything interesting.
Before I even made it to the remnants however, I noticed the shop was now stocking some rather lovely printed canvas fabrics, including this Paris scene with little black cats. I couldn't resist and buying just 3 metres cheered me up no end.


The pre wash faded the colours quite a bit more than I expected, but it's still a cute fabric, and I kind of like the faded denim style of the blues and greens. Perfect fabric for another try with my new bodice block. And after a little play with the waist darts I'm much happier than I was in my last post. (Don't worry, that dress has not been thrown out, I'm working on it!)


I'm reluctant to make myself clothes at the moment. I've gained a lot of weight recently, and have finally after several years of various symptoms been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Some of my joint pain has already begun to subside after starting drug treatment, and I'm hopeful that once my ideal dose of thyroxine has been worked out, I will start feeling healthy again, and maybe, fingers crossed find it easier to lose weight.


What do you think of my whimsical necklace that I bought in Shoreditch a few weeks ago? I love it with this dress, looks like she is going for a walk through some Parisien streets.

I don't always blog everything I make, but I do usually share most things on Instagram
With February almost here...how did that happen? I thought I'd just do a quick and dirty blog post of my January makes, the good, the bad and the downright disastrous!
Firstly the Doris Sweater above. I love this version so much. The fabric is a super soft loosley woven wool blend, and it is so cosy. I feel the cold even in this mild winter we are having, so any excuse to cosy up is most welcome.
It's been a bit of a Doris'y month actually because I also ran up this quick Doris Dress from some vintage fabric I found in a charity shop while visiting my Mum who lives in Somerset.



And this Doris Dress sample for Ministry of Craft.



I also ran myself up a lovely wool blend A line skirt. Fully lined in some pretty ditsy print cotton.


And finally this disastrous dress.


I have rather sadly gained too much weight for my bodice block, and have had to re work it, this is the first dress I have attempted with my new bodice block, and it just doesn't work. My own fault really, I was in a hurry and didn't toile the dress, and now I have something that needs completely reworking or chucking in the charity bag...I haven't yet decided which it will be......

The children all went back to school and college today, India is still home from University, but she was out today and I made the very most of the peace, and most importantly lack of demands to be fed, (children do need feeding so often! ) and spent a very happy morning in my shed running up this Weekend Doris Dress with a twist...or two!


It is a basic Weekend Doris, made with a retro style wool blend. (I sized up to accomodate the woven fabric.) I added in seam pockets*, a wider neck band to form a 60's style "cowl" neck, and hem band. The dress and sleeves are lined.
I'm really quite pleased with it, the lining has made it a substantial winter dress, so I'm ready for the coldest most miserable winter months of January and February, even if it is so mild at the moment that the daffodils are popping up at the park!


A close up of the fabric, and the little inseam label at the hem. I'm always so ridiculously pleased with myself when I remember to add these little touches!
And below, the lining:


You can see it is caught in place at the neck, cuffs and hem.

I must apologise for the not very focused photos, a combination of dark dreary days and having to use the self timer I'm afraid.

* Don't forget my inseam pocket tutorial if you want to add in seam pockets to a Doris dress, or any other skirt or dress.

Happy New Year!