Sew Chinelo: How to transform your wardrobe with sustainable style

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for sleeves follow my tutorial on sleeves, the link is: http://chinelobally.com/2014/02/04/busy-bee-how-to-cut-a-sleeve-without-a-pattern/

Tilly has been one of the big success stories from the show. Several years after her appearance she now has her own sewing studio in London where she runs regular workshops, a successful range of sewing patterns plus she has written two sewing books.Being in a room full of people who shared my passion for sewing was amazing and something I had never experienced before. All the contestants were fantastic; a really good bunch and I loved every minute of it. The show’s youngest ever contestant keeps up her sewing by presenting at Great British Sewing Bee workshops across the country. She is also a columnist for Love Sewing magazine.

Lol my earrings seem to be quite famous, I actually offered my large plate pair as a gong for time on the show. I don’t even know how many earrings I have, I buy them from all over the place mainly markets and whenever my friends and family travel abroad I always ask for a big pair of earrings, I wear my hair low so I balance it with the big earrings lol Although the idea of freehand garment construction intrigues many in the West, this method has been used traditionally and is still used in many of the less developed parts of the world. Fashion varies greatly around the globe and there is a vast array of traditional dress codes. In Africa and Asia many garments are created, if not entirely freehand, with at least some reference to this approach. What made you apply for The Sewing Bee? Could you pass on any advice to anyone else who is considering it? I think it’s a mixture of the 2, when you learn freehand, there are the basic cuts and dimensions which are standard, it’s all about marking measurements, positioning darts and shaping out the garment; these are all terms that are used in freehand cutting. There is also the process of mentally deconstructing a garment and translating what you have done mentally onto the fabric; I often see garments in magazines, shops, films, etc. and set myself the challenge of recreating them, sometimes I make mistakes which are actually discoveries. From practicing I know how to sculpt clothes around the female body without using the draping method; when I first started learning I would ask my aunties and friends if I could make clothes for them, I really wanted to learn how to make great fitting clothes for women of all shapes and sizes.

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As always I would really love to see your attempt at this. Please send me any questions you may have and I will endeavour to reply as soon as I can The machine sat idle for a few months after failed attempts at cutting a top and a skirt (freehand). I finally decided to go to my aunty who is a dressmaker and I sat watching her work for 3 months, taking notes and doodling what she was doing; I still refer to my little sketches sometimes. You can make any type of garment using the freehand cutting technique. But sometimes if you’re using very delicate fabric or doing a very complicated style you may need to make a template in poly-cotton. A good example of this is the mermaid style evening gown in my book. Cut this out and use the pieces as templates for cutting the matching fusible interfacing. Fuse the interfacing to the facing, snip along the bottom edge with pinging sheers, turn up a single 3/8″ hem and sew. place the top corner point of the 0″ mark of your tape on the top corner of your piece of paper, measure down to the length of the mark you made (this is now your reference length), now pivot your tape (keeping the top corner in the same position) and mark the reference length in intervals:

Customising existing garments, or upcycling, is how I started my sewing journey. Before I learnt how to sew, I upcycled everything. My advice is, if you don’t know how to sew, see the garment as a blank canvas, and use your thread, needle and embellishments to bring it to life. However, if you already have some sewing experience, then look at the garment as a piece of fabric and really go for it. This was what I did with the Alteration Challenge whilst I was on the Sewing Bee. I think Heather had been saving all her creative juices for this task! Sunray pleats in the bodice. Lashings of fabric to boot, along with a top hat, chainsand a whip! I say!!! Go for it Heather! Step 5; At the top of the straight line draw a straight line 2″ in towards the centre, then from the furthest marking from the centre, along the top edge, draw a deep curve the joins the 2″ line you just made. It should now resemble the second picture. Freehand cutting is all about marking your measurements directly onto fabric, using simple tools, and developing an understanding of how clothes come together and sit on the contours of the body. It allows you to tailor clothes precisely to your own shape and size – no more fiddling around, adjusting commercial patterns to fit! Episodes [ edit ] Sewer eliminated Best Garment Winner Sewer withdrew from the Sewing bee Episode 1 [ edit ] SewerUnfold the piece and use your iron to invert the right side facing crease. these are your dart lines (the centre of your darts), use your tape to measure a dart that is 1″ deep and 5.5″ long, draw this with chalk: Follow the darting steps in my Shirt Challenge Post ( http://chinelobally.com/2014/02/26/the-shirt-challenge-my-giant-bow-boob-tube-tutorial/) Step 16: working directly on the fabric, repeat the pivot action, only this time make it the skirt length measurement. them place your template in the top corner and cut around the 2 quarter circles Measuring is really important, if you get them wrong, the clothes will not fit you correctly. I learnt how to take my own measurements myself and I always encourage people to do the same. Try doing this in front of a mirror, that way you’ll know if you’re distorting your body. It can get a bit awkward and there are some measurements that you won’t be able to do by yourself, so get someone to help you with those. My book, Freehand Fashion, covers body measuring and is clearly illustrated so you’ll know exactly where your tape should be.

I really hope give it a go, and please send me pictures of your completed garments, I get sew excited (sorry, I couldn’t help that) when I see what other people have done. As ever if you have any questions just send them over and I will try my best to answer. To be honest I did really think your mum would be a finalist also. I felt really proud of myself for having made it to the finals with such accomplished sewist. Obviously I wanted to win; I’m sure we all did, but Heather was a great sewist and she really deserved her win. Step 14: Minus the length of the bodice from the shoulder to hem measurement then add the length of the reference to this, (this is now your skirt length)

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As we all settled down to watch the final of The Great British Sewing Bee, a little melancholy came over me. Tuesday nights have become quite a ritual in our and so many other households. Chinelo, Heather and Tamara looked so nervous on this episode. More than I had ever seen them beforeI thought. I think the reality of the final began to ring loud and clearin their heads. Everything they/wehad worked so hardfor over the last seven weeks comesdown to this episode. No pressure then! :) Take the fabric you put aside, fold it in half again so that you have four layers of fabric. You will now use your centre front panel as a template to cut out your 4 side panels. Lay your centre on the folded fabric and cut around the cut edges only. Once I had given everyone a plan, they were off! It was wonderful to see all the items coming together throughout the day. It was also nice toobserve the ladies taking an interest in the other projects and encouraging each other. They had mentioned that they really liked being able to see how other things were being made, even though they were making something else. That way, they were able to take the ideas away and try it at home later. along the bottom draw a curve that is lower at the folded edge, and slopes upwards to meet the bottom outer edge of the template. It should resemble this: