The Sewcialists on Twitter began chatting about life, love and the pursuit of happiness, as you do, when out of that, came an idea to sew colours. October then became Sew Red October, and here is the uber-fabulous badge that Gillian made:
Free Pattern – By Hand London Polly Top
I also discovered that the lovely ladies from By Hand London created a pattern called the Polly Top. It’s terrific, a great stash buster, and I will be sewing it again in other colours, for sure. And, it’s FREE! You can find the link to download it here. They’ve also included a how-to video so it’s perfect for beginners or anybody wanting to follow along with visual aid.
The smallest size was a bit too large, so when printing it out in Adobe, instead of selecting ‘actual size’, I reduced it to 94%. I did not want to lose the length, however, so measured how long the smallest size would be, and added that amount to the reduced pattern pieces.
Printing at 94% & Adding Length
The great thing about this top is that you can showcase a colour / pattern or fabric that you may never wear because you don’t like it on you personally, since the piece in front is small and doesn’t touch your neck/face. You can use either contrasting or matching bias binding for the neck and armholes and I opted to make my own bias tape (my first time) out of the striped fabric. I used a bias tape maker for this and it was very simple.
Making Your Own Bias Tape Using a Bias Tape Maker Tool
I have always liked the practicality and the swishy factor of culottes, so wanted to make a pair. I used a vintage pattern from the 1970s, Vogue 8136, which has a yoke, back zip and are high waisted, something I don’t normally wear, but I like the look with the yoke and wide leg. I believe it is likely we will be seeing more culottes in fashion. There are dozens of vintage patterns out there, or if you are interested in something more modern, Megan Neilson has recently developed the Tania Culottes.
Sewing Machine Needle Tip: The fabric I used for the culottes was a tightly woven sueded polyester/microfibre and I kept getting many skipped stitches. I was using a small size (75/11) Universal needle. But, for this type of fabric you NEED to use a Sharp or Microtex. The Universal needle has a slight ballpoint and it was not piercing and catching the fabric so the stitches were not taking. As soon as I changed to a larger sized (90/14) Sharp, I had no more skipped stitches. 
I used the striped fabric from the Polly top to line the yoke and the pockets of the culottes. So they do match the top, but since it’s all on the inside, only you and I will know it. Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone. 
These culottes have quite the leg girth, so if you stand certain ways, It is difficult to tell if it is a skirt or trousers. I plan on making them again but reducing the size of the leg pieces to emphasize the ‘culotte factor‘ and make it more obvious.
Is It A Skirt?? Nope!! It Is Culottes.
–Do these trousers remind you of anyone?–
That’s The One!! David Bowie in his infamous trousers designed by Yamamoto Kansai in 1973.
Today’s blogpost has been brought to you by: The Colour Red! While doing this Sewalong, I realized that I have absolutely nothing in my wardrobe that is red, except for one winter coat. What about you?
Red, a primary colour that is the hottest of the warm colours, 
is the highest arc of the rainbow and is also the longest wavelength of light. It is the colour of fire and is associated with heat and warmth. 
Red is the color of blood, and as such has strong symbolism as life and vitality. It is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.
Red is one of the first colours to be used by humans as art such as prehistoric cave drawings or body painting.
Cave Drawing Altamira, Spain
In an archaeological site in South Africa, Pinnacle Point, ochre coloured iron oxide tools were discovered dating back to 170,000 years ago. Before synthetic dyes were created, the colour red was produced by drying and crushing tiny insects called Kermes Vermilio (hence, vermillion red).
Being the color of physical movement, the color red awakens our physical life force. It is the color of sexuality and lust while love is expressed with pink. Red is a very emotionally intense color. Red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action.
It signifies a pioneering spirit and leadership qualities, promoting ambition and determination. Red is the colour most associated with courage and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power.
It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. The color red can stimulate the appetite, often being used in restaurants for this purpose. It also increases craving for food and other stimuli.
It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stop lights, and fire equipment are usually red. It is the universal colour for danger. 
Red brings text and images to the foreground.
source: Damir Sagolj Reuters
In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a colour found in many national flags (77% of all flags include red) and is commonly associated with socialism and communism.
Being surrounded by too much of the colour red can cause us to become irritated, agitated and ultimately angry. Too little and we become cautious, manipulative and fearful.
In Eastern cultures such as China, red is the colour for good luck, prosperity and joy and is traditionally the colour for weddings. In Indian culture it symbolizes purity and is often used in wedding gowns. In South Africa, red is the color of mourning, representing death. In Central Africa, Ndembu warriors rub themselves with red paint during celebrations. 
Since their culture sees the color as a symbol of life and health, sick people are also painted with it. In Russia, the word for “red” means beautiful. In the Middle East the colour carries symbolism of Danger and Evil. According to Greek mythology, the red rose originated from the blood of the slain Adonis, Aphrodite’s lover. Red became both the universal symbol of lovers, as well as nature’s cycle of life and death.
source: catholicpressphoto.com
In the Catholic religion, cardinals wear read and its one of the most iconic colours of the clergy.
The colour red can provide:
Energy: it boosts our physical energy levels, increases our heart rate and blood pressure and prompts the release of adrenalin. Action: it is fast moving and promotes a need for action and movement. Desire: it relates to physical desire in all its forms- sexual, appetite, cravings. Passion: it means a passionate belief in an issue or undertaking, including passionate love or passionate hate or anger.
Red is the color associated with the Root Chakra, which is the first chakra, located at the base of the spine and groin area. This chakra deals with life at the level of practicality and allows us to be grounded and connected to universal energies. It is responsible for maintaining the body’s heat and has a relationship with the circulatory system.
Red-Green Colour Blindness Test. Can you read this?
Many kinds of mammals, such as dogs and cattle, have dichromacy, which means they can see blues and yellows, but cannot distinguish red and green (both are seen as gray). Some humans also have what is called red-green colour blindness.
Katherine Hepburn was a Ginger
Red is the rarest hair colour and between 1% and 2%, or 70 to 140 million people around the world, have red hair. It is caused by a recessive gene and both parents must pass it on.
Put some red in your life when you want:
- increased enthusiasm and interest
- more energy
- action and confidence to go after your dreams
- protection from fears and anxieties
Kitty has made no appearance in the photoshoot!!!!! Fear not. I have compiled collages of him as a baby kitten in a SuperKitty costume with a bright red cape! Because that’s the kind of Kitty he is.
Kitty. Super Sewing Hero.
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This month’s challenge for The Monthly Stitch was to sew something from a sewing book. I have SO many sewing books, where to start? Actually, I began with Gertie’s New Book For Better Sewing, and am at work on a project from it as well as a review. Next, I also have the sewing book, Twinkle Sews and began work on a project from there, in addition to a review of the book.
I opted not to add the inner drawstring channel and cord, since I thought it looked crisper and more tailored without it.
Sewing on the bias tape then resulted in many failed attempts as the threads pulled from the edges of the fabric, taking the bias tape with them.
This way, when you go to enlarge the pieces and need to tape the multiple pages together, you can easily match the corresponding numbers on the top and sides of the grid. You can also opt to copy the pieces either bigger or smaller than the intended size. I photocopied mine so that each square was 6/8″ instead of the intended 1″ square, in order to shrink the overall size of the pattern.
Are free magazine sewing patterns recommended? It depends on what you are attempting to make. Simple items, where little can go wrong are likely better than something with more complicated pieces. Also, I don’t think the same amount of editing, thought and care goes into the instructions and pattern drafting for the free magazine patterns as there would be for independent or larger pattern company patterns, and therefore errors can definitely result. For this jacket, one of the diagrams was wrong, causing me to insert the zipper backwards. (I had to re-do the whole thing and it’s a 32″ zip!) I also made my cape out of a free magazine pattern and found that the instructions to enlarge it were wrong. I would recommend that you not be a complete beginner and have some sewing experience before you use one of the free magazine patterns. That way, you can tell beforehand if/when there is an error and correct it.
Gjeometry 