Review: Fabric Godmother's Dream Wardrobe (With 10% Discount Code!)

Nestled in beautiful Hove is the headquarters for the UK Online fabric store "Fabric Godmother." Owned by the lovely Josie. From the studio she runs small classes and enable sewers everywhere with beautiful, quality fabric sold with copious love and great advice!

I was thrilled that Josie was so nearby and I'd just read up on her brilliant new service "Dream Wardrobe" I got in touch and Josie invited me to try the service from her lovely bright studio. 

The studio (converted from an old school classroom,) is a bright cheery space with fabric to catch your eye at any angle! 

I particularly loved looking at the sample garment rail. Also how cute is the Periodic Table of Sewing Elements? 

I need one of these!

The idea of Dream Wardrobe is that the customer does a short questionnaire online, enclosing a photo of their favourite outfit and perhaps a Pinterest link to their style board. From this Josie really is your personal fabric godmother, picking a pattern and fabric specifically tailored to you and then given to you at a greatly discounted price of £39. These can be bought as a monthly treat for up to a year. 

(A free month if you go for that annual option!) Some of her fabrics are in excess of £25pm and so you really can get a great deal even on her designer fabrics!

Josie is one of those people who I felt at ease with straight away. We sat with a cup of tea and went through the questions for Dream Wardrobe in person, but Josie assures me you get this same style of service through emails directly to her. Josie takes into account your job, lifestyle, Body shape and personal preferences within the questionnaire. This allows her a good rounded idea of your likes and dislikes, she also checks what patterns you've made recently as not to double up!

When we finished the questionnaire I waited as Jodie thoughtfully wandered from shelf to shelf pulling fabrics and patterns that she felt fit my personality and style.

She spent a lot of time considering these and if I was to do this through the website I would be safe in the knowledge that Josie really takes time and thought over what to pick for her clients. Josie picked 7 different options for me, she tells me she likes to give people options. 

I have to say I was delighted with her choices! Not all of them were garments I would've picked for myself but her pattern and colour combinations were inspired! She pulled out a varied range of pattern designers including Casmerette, Colette, Grainline and Sewaholic. The fabrics she chose were divine! I had a very hard time picking just one! She talked me through how this works as an ongoing subscription too. Saying she likes to work so that the packs she picks will work with each other. So as an example she picked a purple ponte Morris Blazer, with a viscose Scout tee and a berry crepe Hollyburn skirt as three potential packs for me. 

This is how I love to work and is reminiscent of the 3 and 6 pac options sewn by capsule wardrobe sewers.

I eventually decided on a Scout Tee as  my love for Grainline is well documented in a beautiful buttery viscose. This was inspired by Josie's beautiful version up on her blog. I can't wait to sew this!

i'm sure it will be up on the blog soon!

Josie showed me a sneak preview of the newly delivered fabrics, boy are you all in for a treat! She has kindly offered readers 10% off fabrics at Fabric Godmother with the code BEEBEE10


Overall this was a great experience, Josie told me that she has an open day now and then for people to come and see the studio. I'll definitely be going to the next one!


*Josie was very kind and offered me a discounted one month for this review

Completed: Grainline Tiny Pocket Tank, Sans Pocket...

Can you tell I'm desperate for Spring yet? This is a Grainline Tiny Pocket Tank sans pocket in a lovely light airy silk lawn. I used the same fabric for an Archer just in a different colourway. I bought masses of it years ago from Ditto in Brighton and I'm glad I did. I could live in this stuff! Soft and buttery with a lovely drape...

I'm finding myself picking more subdued, simpler shapes these days. I find a good fabric does the talking for itself and you can't get simpler than this top! I love Grainline patterns. The styles just speak to me and I always seem to make multiples of anything they release.

I know I'm slow on the uptake with this one but I can see plenty more in my future. I own a Boden top in a similar style and I wear it a lot for work. This is a little too sheer but it will be great for warm days.

I was always conscious loose airy tops weren't for me and you remember me saying I was concerned about that pale pink? Well it strikes again! I'm pushing myself out the comfort zone on both counts with this one. But the pattern allows the fabric to be the star and I like that. Not to mention the yardage is fairly minimal, (Just watch the bias tape though!) This came together in an evening and will be perfect for our honeymoon. I do feel more comfortable wearing it with a cropped cardigan. It just needs some waist definition. I may bring it in slightly at the waist but I don't want to mess with the silhouette too much.

As per usual Pixel wanted to be involved Its pretty impossible to take a photo without him popping in just at the right time!

Stats!

Fabric: 1.5m of Silk Lawn bought at Ditto 2010? Definitely stash

Notions: Stash

Wearability: 9/10 Its a fabulous top! So comfy, fits my aesthetic right now perfectly and I will be wearing it all summer! It has to have a really good press before wearing and that knocks it down a point.

Completed: New Look 6922

Stevie? Finished something?! Surely not!

Surely yes! I have actually got a backlog of projects for the first time in ages but the miserable British weather is not conducive to beautiful sunny photos right now. These will have to do. I just realised you haven't seen my new glasses. I'm still not 100% sure about them but hey. There is just a distinct hit of Deirdre Barlow.

So anyway, this top NL 6922 I made 100 years ago and loved it. I wore it to death. (Version  1 2 here) I also forgot that I hacked at the pattern in my more naïve days. Turns out pattern hacking was a bit too zealous that day. I dropped the shoulders and didn't adjust the neckline. I was also a few stone heavier back then and I didn't really account for that either.

With that said I do like how comfy this top is and it will do for lounging around the house. Its a lovely pale pink colour I used to avoid like the plague. I loved it I just felt it wasn't flattering.

I've now decided I don't care and I'm building my collection of pretty rose coloured tops!

As this is a wadder of sorts I only bothered to edit two photos. I liked the fabric but it was cheap from fabricland and its not thick enough the be flattering. I won't be using this pattern again unless I can re purchase it as I need to do an FBA and can't be arsed to figure out what the hell I did to the shoulders at the time. I still use the cardigan and pants pieces from this pattern so I'm sure it won't be the last time you see the number.

Stats Time!

Fabric: Fabricland special £2.99pm lets say 1.5 m

Notions: Stash

Wearability: 3/10 It will do for pyjamas.

Core Style: It ain't what it used to be...

Today I'm talking about Core Style. I've been reading through Colette Pattern's blogposts on Wardrobe Architect and one of the key excercises is working out your core style. This basically means the clothing that you like to wear most that you think fits in with your personal aesthetic and lifestyle. Think Cake vs Icing debate from a few years back? This is the cake.

Its amazing how different your style can be from one year to the next. One of the beauties of sewing your own clothes is that you can create a version of yourself apart from the rest of the world if you wish to. I felt that way when I started blogging all those years ago but now I see sewing as a tool to enhance fit, more so than as an alternative subcultural statement. Here is an old blog image of a skirt i'd made back in 2012. Back then it was about looking different. My lifestyle was that of a University student and I could wear pretty much whatever I wished.

Nowadays I would say this kind of outfit sums me up. Add a chunky cardigan and that is pretty much my day to day uniform. Just add jeans for the weekend and tights for Winter. With this in mind I came up with a few outfits on Polyvore that best suit my style.

With these core style set ups i've added patterns that I think could be used to replicate the look. This is something i've found infinitely helpful recently, its jumpstarted my sewing and spurred me on knowing that I will have useful and beautiful items in my wardrobe that suit me.

The first outfit is a weekend outfit. I tend to live in jeans, a nice top and an oversized cardigan. 

In this instance I've used Deer and Doe Plantain Top

Ginger Jeans and Seamwork Magazine's Oslo Cardigan

 I've noticed that I don't use accessories as much as I used to and I've decided to work on that in 2016. This outfit is likely to include leggings or tights underneath but the concept is the same. I've just sewn a replacement Mabel in the same shade as this one below. My unblogged version has been on weekly rotation since I made it. You can't beat a neutral skirt dont'cha know!
For this I thought Colette's Mabel and New Look 6922 made a nice pairing.

 This is a more modern departure for me, based on Sarai Mitnick's style. Again I can't fault an oversized cardigan. I'd create this look using Aurora and Oslo by Seamwork teamed with ginger jeans. If I could find a decent Kimono pattern I may swap Oslo out.

 Finally I went for a winter themed outfit. I live in dresses and tights in the cold. So much so that when I went to work in trousers one day a colleague was shocked and told me she had never seen me wearing trousers in the whole time I'd been working there. This is Colette's Moneta and you've guessed it, Oslo.

How would you define your core style?

Happy New Year: Seasonally Inappropriate Archer...

Happy New Year Lovelies! I'm back and hopefully here to stay. My resolution this year is to go back to doing things I love and making time for things that make me happy, (that involves mainly sewing and gardening!) I was a bit poorly towards the end of the year culminating in an unexpected hospital stay, so now i'm on the mend i'm focusing on the year ahead. 

With that in mind here is my last make of 2015. A sleeveless Archer.

This is a Chambray i've had in the stash forever and I did intend to make a long sleeved Archer with it. Indeed, I still have the sleeves cut out somewhere but I realised that practically I wear shirts  under cardigans for work and they generally fit better when the shirt is sleeveless. If I had thought that through beforehand I would've made the correct pattern adjustments to the armhole but ever indecisive, I ploughed on regardless. I will live with it how it is for now and work out if its too uncomfortable. But rest assured I will be making more of these! 

This is my third Archer and I love both my others! Its such a classic shirt and the back detail seen here is really pretty and feminine. I have a soft spot for Grainline patterns. I love Jen's laid back styling and minimal fuss. Its amazing how we evolve our style isn't it? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have said that when I started blogging! But practicality in my day to day wardrobe has taken over. Gone are the days of wearing cocktail dresses to do the food shop!

So here are my stats for my lovely new shirt!

Fabric: Chambray from stash i'm guessing it was around £8pm so say £16

Notions: Stash £0.00

Pattern: Third go at Grainline's Archer Shirt already in stash £0.00

Wearability: 7/10 I'm not 100% on how comfy the sleeves are going to be but as a wardrobe workhorse you can't beat a Chambray shirt!

I'm starting to find some TnT patterns that work well for my style and my wardrobe and although its boring from a blogging point of view its a real bonus for my wardrobe. I'm pretty proud of the finish on this shirt, I'm generally not that patient when it comes to sewing, due to my limited time these days but the slower I go the better the finish and I need to keep that in mind this year!

I'm hoping to participate in Artisan Square's SWAP 2016 as I did in 2014. I really enjoyed the process and I could do with enhancing my wardrobe with useful pieces this year.

I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas and I wish you a healthy and happy new year!

We've Decided on Forever...

Morning Lovelies!

Thought I'd drop in to tell you a little, but very exciting story... 

Turns out Piemaker is more romantic than I could ever have imagined!

On the 9th of May this year I turned 25. Piemaker treated me to a day out in London, Kew gardens no less! I had been desperate to visit, so I was already thrilled that it was my birthday treat. 

We walked for a while until we came upon the jewel in Kew's crown. The Palm House. We gazed at it and marvelled as it was better in real life than we had imagined. ( If you have never seen the palm house at Kew its the amazing building in the photo above.) I have always loved gardens and history and so Kew has always been significant for me. It links me to lovely family memories of gardens and my grandparents, as well as my degree in Fashion and Design History and of course my current obsession with my allotment.

This is where Piemaker stopped me and told me he had brought a birthday present for me to open here.

A little bemused, I opened it. It was a little wooden box Piemaker had decorated with photos of us, Pixel Pug and our little house. On the front of the box were our names and the date.

He asked me to open it...

When I opened the box inside was a little grey velvet box...

When I looked over at Piemaker. He is down on one knee in the middle of Kew Gardens, 

Reader, he asked me to marry him!

As you can tell after a few tears, I said yes!

After telling all our friends and family (Some of whom already knew, he sneakily asked my parents permission!) I had coincedentally booked us onto a little break in Paris two weeks later. This is where we decided to do our announcement photos!

We had a fabulous time! I've been to Paris lots over the years but it was amazing showing Piemaker sights and places that I love. We did the usual tourist thing, Eiffel Tower, Tuileries Palace, Louvre, but also Flower Markets and a particularly awesome bar called Dernier bar avant la fin du monde. 

Geekery Personified!

My ring is stunning! He looked on Etsy and had a lady design and handmake it. Its rose gold (my favourite!) with diamonds and a peach sapphire in the middle when we got home we took some photos to try and do it justice...

Those macaroons were from Monmartre and were delicious by the way!
I have now got 6 weeks of school holidays so here's hoping I can get some sewing done in amongst the gardening and wedding planning!

Completed: Coral Plantain...

Hi Friendlings, May the Fourth be with you! I hope you are enjoying your Monday, bank holiday for us Brits so we have spent it painting the kitchen almost exactly the same colour it started! 

(Well half of it was blue FYI.)

Anyhoo I'm pretty pleased with it and i'm pleased to say that the sewing drought appears to have broken!

Behold, yet another Deer and Doe Plantain!

I know I know, all the cake, never the icing! Well dear hobbitses, I really love cake and with my new job i'm finding this whole workwear thing particularly tricky to negotiate. This top could go under a cardigan and sneak its way in to work in disguise. I actually got a compliment on my green plantain at work the other day so I will keep these in wardrobe rotation until they fall apart. 

This i'm afraid, means I will indeed be sewing more of them.

This was all done on the overlocker and I have for now left the sleeves and hem with an overlocked edge. I love the shape of Plantain. Not too low, not too short, overall pretty awesome for my body shape which I would currently describe as "podgy".

This is a cheapo jersey from fabricland and  I love the textural aspect of it. It has tiny punctured waves which means it can be a little indecent without a vest top which I am of course wearing (scoundrels!) 

Stats time!

Fabric: Jersey from Fabricland £4 per metre so call it £6

Pattern: Plantain used before £0

Notions: £0

Total: £6

Wearability: 9/10 Simply because I have to bother with a vest top underneath.

Pixel wanted in on the action as per usual. He's been asleep on the painting dust sheet most of the day. But here he is doing his best impression of a sniffer dog.