Book Review: Stitched Sewing Organizers by Aneela Hoey

Today I thought I'd share a little review of the book Stitched Sewing Organizers: Pretty Cases, Boxes, Pouches, Pincushions & More by Aneela Hoey. I bought the book a while ago, but I didn't want to write a review until I'd made at least one or two of the projects. I've now crossed three of them off my sewing list, so I think I'm qualified to give my opinions!

As the name would suggest, the book contains 15 projects which are all designed to help you organise your sewing supplies. While there are a few projects that are fairly sewing-specific (a cute needle book, covered tape measure and pincushion), many of the projects could be used for a whole range of purposes. I'm not actually using any of the three projects that I've made so far for sewing at all. I do have plans to make some more of them for crafty storage though.

Two-in-one case - three guesses what I'm using this for?!

Like many sewing books, this one starts with an introductory section with details of materials and supplies, tools and instructions, and some basic techniques used in the projects (such as installing zips, inserting magnetic snaps, attaching binding). I haven't read this section in detail, but the bits I have looked at seem clear and helpful.

Two-in-one case - inside

The main body of the book is, of course, the projects. They are split into 'Small things', 'Cases and folios', 'Pouches' and 'Boxes and totes'. If you want to get an idea of the kind of thing you can expect, both in terms of the details and the styling, take a look at the author's pattern shop. I would stress that the individual patterns aren't exactly the same as the projects in the book, but I think they have a similar feel.

The book patterns are designed to be able to be used together, meaning that smaller projects have been intentionally sized to fit nicely inside some of the bigger items.

Handy fold-up pouch (large and small)

So far, I've made the Handy fold-up pouch (both sizes), Two-in-one case, and the Triple pouch. I've found the instructions to be very thorough and clear. There are diagrams for some, but not all, of the steps - but I don't think the instructions are in any way lacking for not being fully illustrated. Some of the individual steps are fairly simple, so diagrams really aren't necessary.

Triple pouch. Again, the fabric will tell you what I'm using this for - my make-up bag

I tend to read through instructions before I start a  project to get an idea of what I'll be doing. When I did this for the Triple pouch in particular they did sound a bit confusing, but when I was actually working through the steps everything made complete sense.

Some of the projects look fairly simple (such as the needle book, drawstring pouch and big zip pouch), but there are others that are more complicated. I'd definitely have had no idea where to start trying to put together all of the pieces of the Triple pouch without the instructions!

Top/inside of the Triple pouch

Overall, if you're interested in making a few pouches and bags to organise your sewing supplies, or any other supplies for that matter, I'd really recommend this book. The instructions are thorough, the projects are useful and, compared to the prices of individual patterns, the book is pretty good value. Now I just need to find time to make a couple more of the projects!

Sew Over It Clara Blouse

Last weekend my plans were changed at the last minute because of the snow which covered the country, so I decided to try to help spring to win the battle that currently seems to be going on between the seasons by cutting into some pretty floral fabric to make a Sew Over It Clara blouse.

The Clara blouse was Sew Over It's February PDF release. It looked a bit different from other patterns in my stash, and seemed to be a good combination of being very wearable but also with the potential to look quite smart, so I was fairly quick to buy it when it was released.

The blouse features, in Sew Over It's own words, 'a pretty pleated round neckline, keyhole opening at the centre back, a stepped hem, and long sleeves with deep cuffs and continuous bound placket cuff closures'.

The Clara blouse was an enjoyable pattern to sew. The bodice section came together fairly quickly, and then I needed a bit more time to sew the sleeves because those cuffs involve a couple of more fiddly steps. Nothing too taxing, but the kind of thing that it's worth taking your time over to make sure you do a good job.

The instructions were all very clear and easy to follow. I did spot a typo in the instructions about making the rouleaux loops for the neckline and cuff buttons, but I emailed Sew Over It to point it out and they got back to me really quickly to say that the instructions have now been corrected (if you downloaded the pattern before this week, the seam allowance when sewing the rouleau loop strip should be 1.5cm instead of 2cm).

In terms of sizing, my bust measurement is between the 12 and 14 for this pattern, and my waist/hip measurements put me right in the size 14. The Clara blouse has a relaxed fit though, and based on the finished measurements I was fairly sure that I'd be fine with a straight size 12. Thankfully, it turns out I was right! There's still plenty of ease as far as I'm concerned, and I think if I'd made the 14 it might have turned out a bit too roomy for my tastes.

I was slightly unsure about how I'd feel about the cuffs - not in terms of how they look, but in terms of whether they'd annoy me when I was wearing the blouse because they're quite large. I'm pleased to report that I've worn the blouse for a whole day now and wasn't bothered by the cuffs once.

If I make another Clara blouse, I'd possibly omit the stepped hem and just use a regular straight hem. While the stepped hem looks nice, I'm only going to wear the blouse tucked into full skirts so nobody will ever see it.

The fabric I used is a freesia print viscose that I bought last spring/summer (I think from WeaverDee, but I know a few online shops stocked it at the time) with the intention of making a dress, but I then went off the idea of the fabric/pattern combination I had in my head. I love the fabric though, so I'd been keeping an eye out for the right project to use it and when the Clara pattern was released it seemed like I'd found what I was looking for. And as bonus, as I'd bought enough for a full-skirted dress, I'm pretty sure I've got enough fabric left for a short sleeved summery top too!

Overall, I'm really happy with my Clara blouse. I enjoyed sewing it, I'm pleased with how it looks and it's good to get this fabric out of my stash. I'm going to wait and see how much I wear the blouse but, based on first impressions, I could definitely see myself making more in the future. Have you had success with any new patterns recently?