Winter woollies required?.......Let's get sewing!

As I tidy away my summer cotton sewing projects ready for next year, my fingers are twitching for some fabrics to carry me through the following seasons. 

In the shop, Lizzy has this expertly covered through a colourful range of wool blends which have just arrived in the shop.

 navy

   charcoal grey

   fawn brown

 moss green

 cerise

Wow, where to start?

A wool blend works like wool but tends to be more durable and may wrinkle less. Wool is commonly used to sew outerwear, suits, skirts and trousers. It comes in various weights, from lightweight to heavyweight, and is frequently blended with other fibres.Wool is a great fabric to work with because the cut edges are clean and don't fray in the way other fabrics do and it also holds its shape.

Wool can be a bulky fabric which should be kept in mind when choosing a pattern. Think through areas where different layers of fabric meet such as collars, Always use a good quality thread and choose an appropriate size of machine needle. I would advise a 90/14 for our wool blends but you may need to use a 100/16 when tackling several layers.

Be careful when pressing wool and I would recommend using a cloth laid over your fabric, especially when pressing the front of the material.

We have several in the shop which would look fantastic.

Firstly, Colette pattern, "Juniper" is a classic pair of wide-leg trousers which are fitted through the hips and fall gently to a moderately wide hem. This is for advanced beginners,

For the intermediate sewer, this high waisted skirt from Colette, "Beignet", can be sewn in wool and the instructions include how to make and insert a lining.

Another high waisted skirt is the Arielle from Tilly and the Buttons. Here, you also have the option to add a lovely luxury lining!

A pattern which will be coming into the shop at a later date is Colette "Anise". I would like to make this in one of the wool fabrics.

Funnily enough when I was researching this blog, I came across a photograph of the Duchess of Cambridge wearing a wool coat by Burberry in ....cerise pink wool! This one costs £1500. At £16/metre one sewn in the new fabric will come in slightly less!

A blogger who I always enjoy reading is Tasia St Germaine who is the founder of Sewaholic patterns. We have a few of her patterns in the shop. Tasia often blogs about garments designed by other companies. Here she is wearing a Colette "Beignet" skirt (see above) which she made in wool. 

We hope that you will come in and check out these wool blend fabrics then let me know what you make please.

Happy making,

Sheila