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Helga W.

@salixsews

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sewist🧵, knitter 🧶, writer ✒ admirer of creativity 🌸, 🇩🇪, sharing my sewing journey.
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I have really extended the season for shorts with these french terry versions of the @hisydgraham #avenueshorts 💙 This latest pair for @hazzle.frazzle with the contrast white side stripes looks so cool. Fabric from @pattern_paper_scissors is a gorgeously soft organic cotton and Lycra fleece backed jersey so perfect for lounging! I finished off the back waistband with a cute @heysewsister.co.uk lucky label and you may not be able to tell but these short have side pockets too! Another entry for blue blooded #sagamoctopusoctober hosted by @suestoney @sewing_in_spain & @carmen.cose 🐙 Since it’s taken me a couple of months to get around to this pair, I’m also risking a #2fromstashamonth entry. Thanks Helga & Nic. An entry for #outstandingoctober #mymakesoct26
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Thursday Oct 9: Knit + Stitch show @knitandstitchshows Mission: seek the latest patterns and fabrics Aim: Find online sewing friends and provide hugs Why: after publishing 500 episodes on Sew Organised Style podcast @seworganisedstyle , I wanted to thank those friends in real life. Mission accomplished⭐️🤭 First stop: Mimiquins @mimiquins and meet the lovely Jaire and Mia. I provide the Australian body scans for them and we met in real life so hugs all around. Second stop: found Elke @sewthreadbear and Melanie @melaniekeane @sewover50 social media editors. Then I found out Susan Young @susanyoungsewing was working on the Tilly and the Buttons @tillybuttons stand. New information found - Susan sews up their samples. Love her purple jacket sample💜 Repeat: Found Susan Bradfield @sewcaulfield who was there with her sister. They live in Victoria, Australia and we’ve usually met in Katoomba @bluemountainsfrocktails and this time we met in London. Found: Heidi @byheidigrymyr of Norway. She knows how to shop🛍️ Lunch line: found Lou @loulou_sewsnz from New Zealand. I had seen her earlier and was so happy we could grab lunch and chat. The A team with @jacqui3678ashman @i_still_have_nothing_to_wear where in their element. Surprised hugs: Long time podcast and sewing friend Zoe Edwards @sozoblog @checkyourthread She was working on the Fabric Godmother @fabricgodmother stand so of course, we caught up while she was on her lunch break. Zo has just published our chat on Check Your Threads Podcast Fellow fabric friends: Nicole @septemberfaden , Helga @salixsews and Pat @mylifeinfabric We spent the afternoon looking for fabric and labels. We found 1 stand with Kylie and the Machine @kylieandthemachine labels. We did some stealth fabric shopping The Merchant and Mills blue check print I bought was from @theclothfox Thanks for bringing this to the show for me. It was my sole @merchantandmills purchase New to me sewing friends: @offshesews of the @londonfrocktails team @sewnearperfect took the first selfie. I put my feet up that night to prep for the Friday. 15,400 steps that day on my @garminau #sewingcommunity #sewingfriendsarethebestfriends
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My entry into #SagamOctopusOctober started off with the idea of a sewing the @sewoverit Haxby skirt with its 8 godets to represent the 🐙's 8 legs, then I had a thought pop into my head and I decided to take the theme literally and add eight 🐙's emerging out of the dots. I drew them on paper, resized them using my printer to have different sizes, cut them out and placed them on my skirt (before I closed it up with the back seam, zip and last godet), then traced around them with a frixion pen. Once happy I began filling them in with my fabric markers by doing lots of dots, they were going to be all black so they were more camouflaged but decided to add some blue as apparently they have blue blood, then I thought they needed a warm colour because I liked the red of the frixion pen in areas, so added a little orange, the dots worked well as this is a Viscose challis so the colour bleeds when it hits the fabric, doing tiny dots helped to control this. Once the frixion pen was pressed away I was left with my 8 legged dotty friends, except one went rogue and gained a leg 🤣 we can play a game of spot the odd one out when we get bored 🤭 This is why I enjoy the #Sagam monthly challenge, it inspires me with their monthly themes, I mean, who would have thought that I needed a skirt adorned with octopuses 🤔 and I finally got around to sewing this lovely skirt and fabric from my stash. Thank you @carmen.cose @Suestoney & @Sewing_in_Spain for another inspiring theme 😘 #2fromstashamonth @salixsews @septemberfaden #MyMakesOct26 @sewmuchtodesign #soihaxbyskirt
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I couldn’t resist buying a little fleece animal print remnant last year to make a waistcoat. I made my own pattern cutting 2 symmetrical pieces with a single back seam… more details in photos Although I didn’t make my other clothes I think I deserve extra credit for thrift! The skirt is older than my eldest daughter (she turns 33 next month) and the jumper is over 25 years old 🤣 luckily these items are stretchy as most things from way back no longer fit !! Thank you to Lou, Helga and Nic for monthly challenges 🍂 #sewover50 #mymakesoct26 #2fromstashamonth Back shaping achieved with fishtail darts Buttonhole disaster when my machine gave up half way jnto first one- I decided to finish it and make remainder using a tiny zigzag stitch and hand finish to the ends All edges bound with bamboo/wool mix jersey strips cut to 5cm width (no need to cut on the bias) although I bought this specially it worked out much cheaper than bias binding and I have plenty of fabric left to make some trousers! Flat felled back and shoulder seams create neat finish and a rather nice chunky seam! Shoulder darts to create front shaping Buttons harvested from worn out clothing Inner buttons (also harvested) prevent outer buttons pulling holes in fabric Pleased with my warm waistcoat and I’ve a pattern ready for the next one 🍁🍂
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Over the last few weeks I’ve finally got round to making something @hazzle.frazzle requested back in April! She liked the idea of a pouffe made from worn out jeans, so I found the put your feet up pattern on Etsy and collected some old pairs of jeans the last time I visited Amsterdam in May! Summer holidays and sewing slowed any progress until October but after a couple of weekends work the pouffe (and a hidden lining pouffe) are complete. They will have to be taken flat to the Netherlands and stuffed in situ, but these were made by upcycling worn out jeans, using remnants and even the zips were from my stash. A subtle decoration was the contrast running stitch on the quadrants of the top, echoed by similar stitching on the lapped zip on the bottom. I did pop the part assembled cover over a different pouffe to give Hazel an idea of how the work was progressing, scroll across to find that and the lapped zip (that I hope will protect the parquet floor of their new home). I hope this upcycle qualifies for #2fromstashamonth hosted by @salixsews & @septemberfaden 🧵
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@mylifeinfabric Pat is today’s guest editor. You would have seen her at @londonfrocktails This was her first London visit. Thanks for chatting to me and agreeing to be today’s SewOver50 guest editor. VS🎙️ It's privilege to be a guest editor today. Finding this community about six years ago was instrumental in encouraging me to broaden my skills as a sewist and has brought friendships from around the world. Though my mom was a seamstress, I came to sewing in my mid-thirties and am pretty much self taught. For years I stayed away from sewing garments because fitting was so frustrating. Then I met Tricia from @creative.costume.academy and that changed my world. Now garment sewing is my favorite thing to do and at age 74, I'm even drafting my own patterns. Every day I'm inspired by the women in the #sewover50 community. It's where I learned about the importance of sustainable sewing. I discovered Shibori dyeing, eco-printing, ice dyeing and Sashiko. Sewing provides so many opportunities to cover almost any interest you could have, and it's brought satisfaction and friendships to my life in ways I'd never thought possible. 1: Self drafted denim shorts with PE Lyrical Shirt, 
2: self drafted Simplicity 8258 meeting Kenneth King @kennethdking 3 & 4 is my upcycled denim jacket with sashiko and origami heart, 5: ice-dyed knit dress, 6: self drafted tie front blouse, 
7: my modified mother of the groom dress for another wedding (I added the straps and organza ruffle. 
8: Helga @salixsews and I on our last day together spring 2024 in my self drafted iced dyed dress. (this is the sewing camp where Julie came down and taught us how to ice dye) #sewingcommunity #sewingfitting #selfdrafted
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Luxury shopping malls, fashion magazines, or simply the street: the world is full of (fashion) inspiration. Since I know how to sew, I take photos or make drawings of garments I like. There might come a time to recreate them or make something similar. My dress for @londonfrocktails was inspired by a patchwork collection from a famous fashion brand. What I liked about it was the use of denim, a fabric for workwear, alongside precious brocade fabrics. My stash holds both, so the time had come to release those fabrics from boxes and shelves. The original garment consists of a skirt and a top. First, I found a pattern for a bustier and started piecing it together. But when I tried it on, it looked as if it were made for anyone but me: too tight at the back, too big at the front, and I had also forgotten to match the dividing lines, so front and back came together in an awkward way. I was so disappointed that I started from the beginning, this time using a dress pattern I had found in an older @burda_style magazine. The only thing I had to alter was dividing the skirt and bodice into segments to get the patchwork done, this time taking care to match the pieces at the sides. The original featured brocade with floral patterns, which I didn’t have in my stash – at least not enough. But I didn’t want to buy any new fabric, so I used what I had, though still preferring the more glamorous remnants. I’m quite happy with how the dress turned out, though I might alter it and separate the top from the skirt, as the latter is so heavy that I always fear it might damage the bodice to a point where I definitely don’t want it to. Still, I’ve created a unique designer piece, and I want to encourage you to let your creativity flow. Collect inspiration, get to the sewing machine, and give creativity a go. It’s worth the effort. 🧵 #slowfashionmovement #sewrecreatethelook #memadefashion #2fromstashamonth #londonfrocktails
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Back at home and going through the pictures. What a fabulous evening it was. Met so many cool talented people. And Instagram friends IRL. Thank you @londonfrocktails again. And also big thank you to @danieljames.photographic for the wonderful pictures. #londonfrocktails2026 #sewover50
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So one cannot go to a Frocktails event and not buy fabric. Especially when one travels all the way to London. My first trek was to Liberty Fabrics where I bought this beautiful Tana Lawn in what looked like a very English print. It will be perfect for my second #lyricalshirt from @patternemporium_kate Thursday afternoon @salixsews , @septemberfaden and I headed to the @knitandstitchshows . There I purchased a bright and bold lightweight cotton print that I have no idea yet what I'll make from it. It looks 3D but it's not. The three of us also decided to pick one print that we would all purchase to make a garment of our choosing. We chose this almost watercolor looking denim. It'll be fun to see what each of us comes up with. @melaniekeane found labels for us and I couldn't resist these two packs. My husband and I also always purchase a Christmas ornament that represents where we are so we picked up with little cabbie. I won't be cutting into any of these fabrics soon. I have a couple of projects ahead of them and as any sewist will tell you, sometimes you have to sit with fabrics for a while before they tell you what they want to be. #fabricstash #sewyourstash #tanalawn #denim #Christmasornament #London #libertyoflondon
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#LondonFrocktails Part 1 The fabulous night one week ago starts with Susie @susietaylor313 and Jo in a cab on our way to Premier Inn London Southwark Tate Modern for Prosecco Reception. I shared table with Susie and Jo at @welshfrocktailscymru last year, and it was lovely to see them both again. @londonfrocktails #LondonFrocktails26 #LondonFrocktails2026 The first I had a chat with at the Processo Reseption was Glendora @chase.glendora. Since we are behind in Norway with The Great Britain Sewing Bee, she was new to me. She gave me tip of a visit to Walthamstow Market. If I understood her correct some of the textiles for her outfit was bought there. And then I met Nic @septemberfaden. I had read about her lovely outfit, and it was unique, and the hem freshly sewed. Where Nic @septemberfaden is, Helga @salixsew often are also. Last time I met then irl was at @welshfrocktailcumry. Sue @suestoney - the one all was happy to see - so nice to meet her 🥰 Nice to meet Helen @sosewshaw, Tricia @morrissews and Whendy @whendy7 🥰 I was so happy to meet and chat with Maria @velosews at @knitandstitchshows at Thursday, but forgot to take a selfie. So happy to see her again 🥰 Maria @velosews - always with nice comments on my posts. Behind us: Suzy @sewing_in_spain I had a long chat with these lovely girls, and they took pictures with me outside the venue before we went in. I must look for their names and IG profiles. Lovely to see Kate @stitchmeayear again 🥰 Premier Inn Tate Modern was so kind hosting the Prosecco reception with Prosecco and lovely finger food. We walked to The Swan - and I was breathtaken of the view by the Thames. My new sewing friends took pictures of me in my freshly sewed dress with a beautiful view behind. I have draftet pattern with inspiration from a rtw dress bought at Santorini, and sewed in Turkish brocade from @saabtekstil. The dress is sewed in a lovely Turkish brocade bought from @saabtekstil A lovely bench for #FashionOnTheSofaFriday The Swan - our venue was at the Balcony level The Swan behind me. All was going inside when we took our pictures outside. In the stairs - in the way up to our venue The party started in the line
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Thank you @londonfrocktails for all the hard work you’ve done. It was so much fun! Here are the snippets of what I have on my phone. Unfortunately the majority of the pictures are blurry.
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Here are the selfies I took at @londonfrocktails 2026 - I’m sorry I didn’t get more! 🙈 I’ll also have to wait for the official photos and take some of my own in the back garden of my outfit but here are said selfies for your delectation and delight! Sue and I were obvs in room 101 for our stay! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Thank you so much to the fabulous organisers of the event! It was a lot of fun. Until next time lovely ones 💕💕💕
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