These simply gorgeous Liberty Clothes for Little Ones have been made by Sue Shoesmith from the Lewes Sewing Bees. She has used Phoebe and Yellow Mitsi from my new Alice Caroline Exclusive range. They work together in such a pretty way. These are such lovely colours for the summer.
Sue has added some really sweet and vibrant buttons to the front of the dress which work really well with the reds in the Phoebe.
Sue tells me a little more about her sewing past and present. “I learnt to sew from my mother who made all of her own clothes as well as mine when I was young. I continued dressmaking occasionally until I discovered The Patchwork Dog and Basket in Lewes during my lunchtime strolls around the town which re-ignited my interest in all forms of textile crafts which has now developed into a passion.”
The sweet dress has lovely gathering at each side which will make it really comfortable for a little one to wear and, equally importantly, be easy to take on and off!
Sue also tells me “I’ve always had a passionate interest in social history, particularly textiles, (the stack of books beside my bed are testament to this) and take inspiration from these and the natural world around me in all of my sewing and knitting. I love the way that you can mix techniques, patterns, colour, textile type and weights to create something completely different and unique.”
“Since discovering patchwork and quilting I’ve also started dressmaking again. Making this dress for my grand daughter Evie was the first time I had used Liberty Tana Lawn for dressmaking and I was really surprised how easy it was to use. Despite being so fine and closely woven it does not stretch or move when sewing. But…. I had big problems choosing the colours. I could have used any combination from the Alice Caroline exclusive collection and I changed my mind several times. In the end I chose Phoebe X18 and Mitsi Yellow X18 as I they were happy summery colours. I made the dress using a New Look pattern, 6485 whose trims showed off the contrasting fabric. The only change I made to the pattern was to add a lining using a plain Tana Lawn to make it more versatile. I took the pattern for the matching hat from one that she has. I can’t wait to see her in it next summer.”
The Lewes Sewing Bees are making quite a name for themselves in the studio here. Sue says “The Lewes Sewing Bees are Anne Commin, Susanna Burton, Cristina Emslie, Veronica Greenslade, Gill Nichols and Sue Shoesmith and we met about 5 years ago at the much missed Patchwork Dog and Basket in Lewes where we were all taking patchwork and quilting courses with Mandy Shaw #dandeliondesigns. At the end of our courses we continued meeting up as a group, first at the Patchwork Dog and then after it closed at each other’s houses every Friday. We decided, when making our first joint SOS Quilt, that we needed a name and chose the ‘Lewes Quilting Bees’ as we all live within a radius of 15 miles of Lewes and that is where we met. Despite our name, we all have wide sewing and textile craft interests and skills which we happily share giving advice when asked. We are now a close knit group supporting each other through life’s usual challenges through our love of sewing, in particular patchwork and quilting.”
Thank you so much to Sue for making these gorgeous Liberty Clothes for Little Ones. I love them!
Happy summer sewing.
Alice x
