Brother Sewing UK

Hello Brother fans! I’ve been up to my old sewing tricks again, and really wanted to share this latest make with you. I have been  playing with the Coverstitch machine (model used is CV3550) again! On a complete whim (before lockdown), I decided to swing by my local haberdashery, Backstitch , after I’d met with some local sewing buddies. One of the patterns one of my friends mentioned to me was the Friday Pattern Company Adrienne Top. Once we’d been chatting about it, I knew I just had to make one! So I picked up the pattern at Backstitch , and as luck would have it, they had this super gorgeous jersey in their remnants – and it was the exact amount required for the pattern! Lucky me! I had to be very careful cutting this fabric out though, as the pattern is made up of tiny stripes. So I had to ensure it was nice and level. The cutting out did take a fair amount of time and patience. After this though, I was surprised at what a quick make it turned out to b...

Hello Brother fans! I’m excited to be back to show you this make - it's one of my favourites! This has been quite an exciting one, because it’s been my first proper go with the coverstitch machine (the model I am using is a CV3550). I wanted to keep everything as simple as possible for my first efforts at coverstitching. So, I decided to make a simple jersey top which would mean I could use the hemming attachment to get a beautiful, professional looking hem. The pattern I chose was a Tilly and the Buttons Nora top. I have made one of these before, which was great as I had familiarity with it already. It’s a lovely oversized, easy-to-wear top – and I chose to make a short-sleeved version. The fabric I’d had in my stash for a while, and it’s been one that I’ve been excited to use. It’s a lovely jersey from The New Craft House . And it has these tiny little naked ladies printed all over it! Quite a statement fabric, which I adore! I used my Brother...

There are many ways you can make your own fabric on the Brother XV/Dream Machine and this is just one of them – using the Needlefelting attachment to embellish and even create your own fabric. Before I get into the detail of how you use this attachment, let me just put two common fears to rest! 1. Will it clog up my lovely machine with dust and lint? Absolutely not! As you can hopefully see in these pictures, all lint and dust produced during needlefelting is caught in the little box attached to the needlefelting plate, sitting snugly in the bobbin race (the bobbin case having been removed). The second picture shows the bobbin area after a couple of projects. Not a scrap of dust or lint to be seen! In fact, I would venture to suggest there is even LESS debris and dust than after a good session or two of machine embroidery. All you need to do is to clean out the bobbin area in the usual way – just as you would if you were doing machine embroidery. 2. Those needles look...

Hello again! I’m notoriously terrible at leaving seasonal makes to the last minute so I thought that arranging to write a blog post about this advent calendar would help me finish it on time. Full disclosure: I still need to do a little hand-stitching, but it will definitely be ready to fill with tasty treats come December… I had admired these advent calendar panels last Christmas, but I wasn’t sure that my sewing skills were up to the task. This year, with another 12 months of sewing experience and a fancy new machine under my belt, I fancied tackling something new! I’d love to have a go at quilting, and I thought that this would be a great introduction to some quilting techniques. I couldn’t resist this thoroughly charming panel by Makower, which I got from Escape and Create . This project is quite preparation-heavy. I started by cutting out the pockets with a rotary cutter, ruler and self-healing mat. The instructions didn’t say to finish the edges of the pockets, but ...

I was incredibly excited about the Mayfair Dress  when it was released by Nina Lee  over a year ago and I snapped up a paper copy soon after release. For years I had this favourite style of French Connection dress that saw me through many summers; flattering, comfortable and seemingly suited for any occasion.   I owned versions in various prints, colours and lengths but may favourite by far was a maxi length version. The previous summer I'd been wearing it with too many holes to repair, hoping that the little purple, black and dusky pink print disguised them. It had been on its last legs for a while and sadly French Connection stopped making them a while before. I couldn't bear to throw it out so I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted the Mayfair and realised it was almost an exact match – I could make my own replacement! Why, you may ask, has it taken me so long to make one? I had a really hard time finding fabric that was going to live up to my expectations...

Hello! I’m so excited to join the Brother blogging team and thought I’d start with an introductory post. My name’s Joy and I live in Cambridgeshire with my boyfriend and cat. I design and sell sewing-themed gifts and accessories through my online business, Pink Coat Club , and work part-time in a fabric shop. I spend most of my spare time sewing, but I also love country walks, visiting National Trust properties and afternoon tea. I guess you could say I’m old before my time!  I got my first sewing machine – a Brother XL2620 - for Christmas in 2010 as my mum was fed up of me sending her my clothes to fix. She’s a fantastic seamstress so I assumed that sewing would come naturally to me and I’d be making my own swishy 50s style dresses in no time! As you can imagine, that didn’t happen and I mostly used it for alterations and fancy-dress costumes for a few years. It was only in 2016, when I discovered Tilly and the Buttons’ patterns and the online sewing community t...

Sew Creative, located in the market town of Petersfield, offers a wide range of fabrics, machines and a supportive shopping experience. Fabrics, machines and sewing support in Petersfield In 2012, life threw some pretty unpleasant things my way. My husband was diagnosed with cancer, my mother passed away, and the death of my best friend followed soon after. My husband, who has now had the all clear, suggested I start a project to surround myself with what I love the most; the joy of creativity! Sew Creative was born to bring light back to my life, and in return, aims to give customers the joy of making something that is creative and individual. We pride ourselves on being very much part of the community in Petersfield and offer not just a great range of fabrics, haberdashery, workshops and sewing machines, but lots of advice and friendship too! Our high levels of service have been recognised as we have been shortlisted for Retailer of the Year in the Petersfield Awards every y...

Black Lace Watson Bra The garment I've got to share with you today has been a long time coming! Bra sewing has been on every one of my project lists for years now as well as goal-setting challenges like #makenine on Instagram . Sadly, other garments seemed to continually jump ahead in the queue, pushing back any plans to make Lingerie. I think my delay was partly due to the fact that this is a project out of my comfort zone, and when sewing time is limited and I'm tired, it always seems easier to sew something that feels familiar and that I can complete satisfactorily without too much thought. As well as this, I was initially really put off by the thought of gathering all the different supplies I needed for this project. The list seemed mammoth in size, and with numerous elastics, fabric, lining, hooks, eyes, straps and sliders on the list, I never felt like I had quite all the right matching bits and pieces for a bra. However, in the end I decided my first bra wa...