The Josie pattern tester group covered every size in the pattern range using all sorts of different fabrics and now we’ve put these all into a gallery!
Take a look for lots of inspiration!
Click here to check out the gallery of blouses made by the Team Josie testing team!
Pattern: Casey Sweater by Experimental Space
Fabric: Sloths in Lilac French terry from Lilly and Mimi Fabric Shop
Little Bits: 200m Gutermann sew all thread, 3x 19mm Prym cover buttons
Size: Cara (35)
Mods: None
I forgot to share my Sloth Casey with you! These adorable little guys made for a very sweet and snuggly Casey and I’m totally in love with the buttons. The sloth material is a medium French Terry and the contrasting fabric is a t-shirting material. I made the buttons using cover buttons and decided to use their cute little faces for the buttons and I love how it turned out!
It makes me so happy to wear this one. Now I can sit around being slothy on the weekends in my slothy sweater.
French seams are my favourite way to enclose seams on lightweight woven fabrics. It only takes a few extra steps and the finish on the seams is well worth the effort.
I’ve created a video demonstrating French Seams and I’ve also written it out into four easy steps just beneath the video if you prefer. Apologies it is in portrait mode, I originally created it for demonstrating on Instagram but thought it could also be of use here! The pattern mentioned in the video is the Evelyn Blouse.
The first seam you make will be visible on the outside of the garment, but don’t worry, the final steps hide this away.
Open up the piece and press the seam to one side. It doesn’t matter which side at this point. Then turn the piece RS together and press, making sure the seam is right on the edge of the fabric.
Now the seam will only be visible from the wrong side of the fabric. Press the finished french seam to the back.
Note: You can end up with a slightly smaller finished French seam by sewing a 3/8″ seam during step 2, trimming this to 1/4″ and then sewing a 1/4″ seam for step 4. I don’t do it this way around because I find sewing the second seam at 1/4″ often means stray threads from the fraying fabric edge are more likely to peek through to the right side of the fabric.
Pattern: Ultimate Pencil Skirt by Sew Over It
Fabric: Grey Melange Suiting Fabric (Polyester / Viscose) from Guthrie & Ghani
Little Bits: 100m Gutermann sew all thread
Size: 10
Version: N/A
Mods: Apart from shortening them hem (4 inches), absolutely nothing!
(Wearing with the Evelyn Blouse)
Lots of other people had made this and I’d loved their makes but still thought it wouldn’t suit me. Eventually, I convinced myself to take a leap and bought the paper version (which comes in a sweet little booklet/envelope style wrapper). It’s a very well written pattern and was very easy to follow.
I picked this fabric up when I was lucky enough to visit the Guthrie & Ghani shop in person. I had been to a wedding the day before and that had halved the distance I am normally from the shop. They have lovely pictures on their website which do an excellent job of accurately representing the fabrics but no matter what it is always nicer to see and feel them in person.
A perfectly fitting, incredibly flattering skirt. I would love to make another but in a nice deep navy blue. And maybe a mustard one.
Pattern: Ginger Jeans by Closet Case
Fabric: Classic Blue 11oz Stretch Denim Fabric (1.8m) from Guthrie & Ghani
Little Bits: 200m Gutermann sew all thread (#309 Dark Denim), 200m Topstitching thread (Gold), Jeans Zip – Blue – 7″, Jeans Buttons Antique Copper Non-Sew Pack of 8 – 17mm, Jeans Rivets (Non-Sew) Copper 9mm: Pack of 24 – 9mm
Size: 8
Version: View A
Mods: None!
The pattern was pretty much perfect. I mean, I ended up with an extremely well-fitting pair of jeans. That in itself is impressive considering I had never made a pair of trousers before. I didn’t (gasp) even make a muslin first. Nope, jumped right in with my actual denim.
I did get a bit confused at the pockets section. I had to re-read the instructions several times. Then proceeded to rip out my stitches twice before I got it ‘good enough’. The final issue was that one of the pockets has the RS fabric facing into the pocket instead of facing out, however, it is on the jeans facing side and you can’t even see it when you are putting them on. I decided it was a mistake worth leaving 🙂
They do have a sew along feature on their website and that was a huge help in understanding some of the steps. You can only fit so much content into a printed pattern before it becomes overwhelming anyways so it was really helpful to have the sew-along posts available in addition to the pattern notes.
Every single step was exciting. It was all new to me and each bit of making jeans is so different from sewing a top or a dress. I got excited when I sewed the crotch area together and they looked more like trousers. I got excited when I attached the fly front and zipper. The topstitching was a bit nerve-wracking as it was going to be so standout-ish on the jeans but even that was enjoyable.
One of the most rewarding bits, even after all of that, was putting in the rivets and jeans button. Seriously, make a whole pair of jeans and then intentionally stick holes in them. That felt insane. I was certain at some point my bunched up denim in my punchers was going to put a hole in more than the intended area but all went surprisingly fine. I did use an old pair of punchers that were originally my husband’s grandmothers. While they worked ok I definitely have to buy some new ones. They were so old the rubber around the pincher bits was hardened and deteriorating. They also left little indentations in the rivets. I didn’t mind the indentations this time, they actually make them look like they have sweet little moons embossed into them, but I don’t want to have all my future rivets like that.
All in all, I would definitely make another of these.
This denim was perfect for my first pair of jeans. It handled very well and they are comfortable to wear. The only thing I’d say is I’d like if they became a bit softer after some wear/few washings as they are a tad on the stiff side. There is plenty of stretch in them, and I would consider buying the same fabric in a different colour, I think they might just be a bit thicker than the skinny jeans I’m used to wearing. It does feel like good quality denim though, I’m not concerned with it sagging over time. Which is nice after all the time invested in making them!
