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.