I didn't think I was going to fall for the tuna / fruit / salad theme in fabric this summer but then I saw these gorgeous colours in a cotton jersey from Sew Me Sunshine.
The Fibre Mood Soraya was a good vehicle for the display and came together in an afternoon. I did buy the red tape rather than struggling to turn a self piece
Now, I'm off to make a salade Niçoise!

Some time ago in a conversation on social media, there was a discussion about collating a core collection of, maybe, twenty patterns. I said that I could do that but would have to try out about 1000 patterns in the process.
La Chemisette would be one of my keepers. It's a straight forward, casual shirt with short sleeves, no collar stand and an open neck. The long back is great for my scoliosis. I don't yet need to do the forward round back adjustment on this one.
Quick and easy and capable of many different looks. I made this one in a short length of batik fabric with a big border design, purchased off the end of a roll in a shop in Galle in Sri Lanka.

This Atlas shirt did go through several iterations to get it where I wanted it to be. I like the detail of the long pockets but with the openings towards the centre they are more of a decorative feature than particularly practical. I did think I wanted pockets I could get my hands into so I cut it longer and wider and added small pouches. It was a bit hard to get into and lost the charm of its shape so I then I cut it shorter and added cutaway pockets which skim the hem. It's still a bit longer than the original but has more of its intended appearance. I did sew the collar the wrong way out but I think that looks as if it were intended.
It's a well cut and easy to follow pattern; I'm amassing a collection of French Navy pieces.
The excellent fabric is a thick cotton twill bought spring 2026 from Ditto in Brighton.

I’ve made 2 dresses- one midi, one one length. I found I could size down 2 sizes. The first dress was VERY spacious but perfectly wearable. I plan to make more in more summer fabric

Really keen to have a go at a zero waste pattern. Easy to follow instructions and the dress came together very quickly given that it is 2 rectangles.
Not suited to my body shape so I hacked it into a top with a shirring elastic waist. I wear it a lot now

I have made several of these, such fun to make and use up scraps of fabric and batting.
Pattern was free via the Fold Line 12 Days of Christmas

Good instructions, no alterations needed re. sizing for me. Easy make.
I’m not sure such statement sleeves are for me but great pattern

In lightweight cotton/linen these sewed up quickly and easily. I didn’t add the bows as I’m planning to wear them under dresses or as pyjama bottoms.
Clear instructions and good diagrams

These are such well constructed culottes. The pattern has a real attention to detail and each step is photographed. I'm really happy with the outcome, they fit like a dream- no adjustments required.

This pattern fitted together beautifully and the video made the instructions particularly straightforward. I’ve made it twice in two sizes now and both turned out well. I think the top stitching option on my second version was particularly successful, so would recommend this option as opposed to understitching. .

I made mine in a merchant and Mills green/pink gingham. Absolutely love it. Idid find the video tutorial useful but also a bit time consuming with keep backwards and forwarding. There are written instructions but as a visual person they were not enough. I love the under arm split sleeve. I love that i can turn it around and wear as a round neck and tie the sides differently. I already have some more linen from Merchant & Mills to make another. All in all it was a breeze to make.

I used the Lisi pattern to make my wedding dress. I used a viscose satin material which was perfect for the amount of drape which suits the design of the dress, especially the flounce (although my material choice was quite slippery so it was a little hard to tie the waist ties securely). The dress turned out so well and I felt very happy in it on my wedding day!

I've also made the blouse version for everyday wear. Again, I love the flowy nature of the peplum and the loose, comfortable fit.

Chose size 10 for the waist and hips with a slight increase of a 1/4” on the waist only and everything below that size 8. I chose a rather lightweight Needlecord which I felt required a lining. By joining the front pieces of the pattern together I was able to draft a rough pattern for the lining. I then removed the yoke piece from my draft and drew a line to the waist. This eliminated the yoke section and allowed the lining to align with the fly.The back lining was made up of the same pieces of the back pattern.
I followed a sew along for the front sections and yoke of the main skirt but reversed the extension of the fly to be on the right hand side which I think is better.
I teamed it up with the Bennie Vest made up of a small piece of fabric I had left.
I think it is a great skirt and would look good in denim.

I made version B with the tuxedo style pintucks and the standard sleeve instead of the bishop style version.
I made 3 toiles before settling on size 8D for the main body and size 10 for the armscye and sleeve head plus reshaping the pattern below the waist to remove some of the flair as it stuck out too much for me. I lowered & reshaped the bust point, normal practise for me.
I used a very fine linen from the Minerva Core range in white. The amount I used in the end was 1.6 Mts instead of 2.3 stated on pattern. The pin tucks are the trickiest to get right. I basted the lines in contrasting thread and used the Clover roller to press the folds. The first line was marked using the centre fold as a starting point. The 1/4” stitching lines must be precise otherwise it will cause problems.
The dart was made AFTER the pintucks. I used the sewalong and the written instructions however the sewalong differed in places. The collar was confusing so I used my own method. I was really thrilled with the result and have received many compliments. It’s a lovely pattern.

Made this vest using leftover green Needlecord. Not enough to make the entire vest so I used green viscose satin to make the back section as well as the lining. I used silk organza to give body to the back section and used tailor tacks when frixion pen failed and tailor chalk left residue which was difficult to remove. After some consideration I decided to leave out the welt pockets. I purchased the video sewalong after reading reviews and together with the written instructions I followed the method however my one big gripe is the photographs which proved too grainy at times to see whether I was on the right or wrong side of the fabric. The instructions use a combination of couture and regular sewing methods which I like . Instead of tying the ribbon ties at the back I used a metal clasp which was more in keeping with this style.
It was an excellent fit with no alterations and looks fabulous with my Salida Skirt in the same fabric.