Christmas Advent Calendar

I have finally completed the Advent Calendar, albeit a little later than anticipated. It’s made up of 23 little houses each forming a little pocket which can be filled with a small treat. I couldn’t decide what sort of house to sew for Day 24, my husband suggested a church, and so a church it became, complete with spire and a real bell, and most importantly, a bigger pocket for an extra big treat!

Much to my youngest child’s disappointment the Advent Calendar is not staying with us but is to be raffled off in aid of the charity Kids for Kids which exists to help children living in remote villages of Darfur, Sudan who live lives of inexcusable and unimaginable hardship. The charity adopts whole villages, lifting them out of abject poverty through long term, self-sustainable grass roots projects identified and run by the villagers themselves.  

You can find out more information about the raffle on our Facebook page. We're encourging people to share our Facebook post, as even if you are not local enough to participage in the raffle it would be great to get the word out about Kids for Kids and the tremendous work they do.

Another new collection which has just arrived. This one is called Juicy, also from Makower Fabrics.

Lime Twist from Makower Fabrics

Just arrived in the shop is this super zingy collection called Lime Twist from Makower Fabrics. 

Beloved Fabrics moves into Gorgeous Gerties

Over the last few weeks Beloved Fabrics has been very busy moving into the new Haberdashery Department at Gorgeous Gerties in West Street, Dorking. We officially opened our doors on Monday. You will find us upstairs, at the rear of the store. If you are local to Dorking, or happen to be passing by please do pop in and have a look at our beautiful range of fabrics and haberdashery. All of our fabrics are now available to purchase by the metre. We will be stocking lots of new lines over the coming months - in particular many more dress fabrics. We will of course keep you posted via Facebook and the Beloved Fabrics blog. For those of you that can’t make it down to Gorgeous Gerties all of our fabrics will still be available to purchase from our online shop.

Oh and before I forget, for those of you who have never been to Gorgeous Gerties, there is a fabulous vintage tearoom on the ground floor serving a heavenly selection of cakes. This could be the perfect place to leave your other half when fabric shopping!

 

Great British Sewing Bee Draped Top

I have to say I'm really pleased with how my Draped Top turned out. 

This is my first make from the second book from the Great British Sewing Bee 'Sew Your Own Wardrobe'. In the accompanying pattern instructions it says 'one size fits most'. I was a bit apprehensive about what the finished garment would look like. I've made a few of these 'one-size' halterneck tops in the past and always found them to be rather on the large size and a bit shapeless. However, the Draped Top surprised me. I made no alterations to the pattern and it's almost a perfect fit. I'm a size 8 so would treat with caution the 'one size fits most' advice. Saying that, it is a very simple pattern and would be easy enough to size up. 

I definitely will be making another although next time I will add a couple inches to the length, as even though I am only 5'2 I still ended up having to make the tiniest of seams in order for it to just cover my waist! I would also make the neck tie a little longer so that it drapes nicely down the back. All in all though it's a lovely summer top. If you have a spare couple of hours and a metre of fabric, go for it!

Oh, I almost forgot the best bit about this top is that the back is high enough that you can wear a strapless bra beneath without it showing ;)

Cherry Blossom Festival Sakura Doll

This very sweet Kokeshi Doll is from the Cherry Blossom Festival collection by Benartex. The pattern together with the sewing instructions are pre-printed on the panel. Just cut around the dotted line and sew! She even comes with a sweet bow to attach to her back.

Scandi Inspired Christmas Fabric Collection

We have just taken delivery of this gorgeous collection of Scandinavian / Nordic inspired Christmas fabrics. Priced at just £1.75 per Fat Quarter or £7.00 per metre.

Adventure Time Pillows

My kids are HUGE Adventure Time fans. For those of you who have never heard of Adventure Time it’s an America TV series which follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy and his best friend Jake, a dog with magical powers.

For their birthdays this year I made them each a pillow from these Finn and Jake fabric panels I found on Etsy. They are designed and printed by 'This Shop Really Rocks'. I think their style and offering is pretty unique, from Game of Thrones to Doctor Who and Alice in Wonderland. Check them out at: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ThisShopReallyRocks

A little treat to celebrate the start of the Summer hols. We're offering 10% off all orders until midnight 31st July 2014. Just enter the code SUMMER at checkout. Offer excludes postage costs. Enjoy!

Quirky Handmade Bow Ties

We are now selling handmade Bow Ties. They are pre-tied and come with a fully adjustable neck strap. This one is called Prosperity Hens. Priced at £12.95 they will be available from today at Gorgeous Gerties in West Street, Dorking. They can also be made to order in any of our fabrics so you can be as quirky as you like. You can view our full range of fabrics here. If you are not local however, please feel free to contact us if you would like one made for you. 

By Hand London: Design and print your own fabric!

Several weeks ago I was at the Knit & Stitch show at Olympia and stumbled across the By Hand London stand. By Hand London is an independent pattern sewing label who design the most fabulous sewing patterns. If you are looking for something unique and stylish I would recommend you drop by their website and take a look at wonderfully classic collection of sewing patterns for women. Whilst at Knit & Stitch I bought their Georgia Dress pattern to go with some dark stretch denim that I picked up a while back. I will post a picture here when it's finished (although it may some time coming!).

In the meantime if you'd like a peek at some finished By Hand London creations hop over to Dolly Clackett's very entertaining blog. She makes the most adorable vintage style dresses, and her choice of fabric prints are exceptional. I always seem to veer towards neutrals, plains and ditsy floral prints for my makes but when I see Dolly Clackett's creations it really makes me want to break out and be a little wilder in my selection of fabrics!

Back to By Hand London. I know it's a bit late in the day to blog about now but back in March they launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding project to allow you to design and print your own fabric on demand. I was delighted to hear that they have reached their target of £35,000 with 54 hours still to go! You can find out more about their project here.

Flo's Gardern from Makower

An assortment of ditsy florals, birds, butterflies and toadstools. This sweet collection of fabrics is called Flo's Garden, part of the Henley Studion Collection from Makower. See the full collection here.  

There's also a free quilt pattern to accompany the collection, which can be downloaded from the Makower website.

Big Retro Polka Dot Prints

Everyone loves big retro polka dots! Made from premium quality cotton it comes in four colourways: Dove Grey, Olive Green, Signal Red and Petrol Blue (not pictured). Priced at £2.30 per FQ.

Japanese Inspired Fabrics

Lots of new fabrics have arrived in the shop over the last few weeks. One of my favourites are these quirky Japanese inspired prints are from the Cherry Blossom Festival collection by Benartex. Priced at £3.50 per FQ.

Liberty Print Mirrors

We are now stocking these beautiful Liberty Print pocket mirrors They come in two sizes. The smaller one measures approximately 58mm in diameter, and the larger one 77mm priced at £4.95 and £6.50, respectively. They come with a small felt case. Available to buy via Gorgeous Gerties.

Almost Good Enough to Eat!

If you are looking for a healthier alternative to chocolate eggs this year these beautiful Liberty Print Egg Cup Pincushions make an ideal gift. They're so sweet they're almost good enough to eat! We're also stocking co-ordinating rulers and needle tidies. All available from our little corner in Gorgeous Gerties.

Meet Owlivia

Meet Owlivia! This very cute owl cushion comes as a pre-printed sewing panel. The panel contains all the fabric pieces and instructions you need to make your own Owlivia.  It would make a great beginners sewing project. You just need to add stuffing and buttons.  The finished cushion measures approximately 43cm high by 30cm wide. Available online or instore from Gorgeous Gerties.

We also have two gorgeous co-ordinating fabrics in stock from the Owlivia collection. 

Boiled Wool Hearts

Is it still too early to mention Christmas decorations? Our handmade boiled wool hearts available from Gorgeous Gerties.

Homemaker Magazine Feature

Several of our fabrics were selected for a feature on furoshiki in this month's issue of Homemaker Magazine. Furoshiki is the traditional Japanese method of wrapping gifts and other goods in cloth. 

Pretty Nostalgic Magazine Feature

A selection of our fabrics were used for a patchwork feature in this month's issue of Pretty Nostalgic Magazine. Pretty Nostalgic is a beautiful home and lifestyle magazine celebrating vintage, traditional and sustainable ways of living.