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Merchant and Mills patterns are great.  This is now the second one that I have made.  I don't make many clothes (it's a time thing), but this Dress Shirt is the second Merchant and Mills pattern that I've gone for.  I think it is the wear-ability of the patterns.  They are casual and simple designs but equally elegant.  That casual style really appeals to me... I'm a jeans and trainers kinda girl! Continue reading →

Oh, now, I was quite excited this evening when watching the Great British Sewing Bee - Waistcoats! Yay!  Just before Christmas I made my two small boys matching waistcoats.  I wanted to use some of these lush lambskin fleece for the lining and gave them a choice of suitable outer fabrics from my personal stash (including some very tasteful plaid etc) and both boys chose the red canvas which gave their waistcoats a rather festive feel, but boy are they snuggly. Continue reading →

We've been stocking Pauline Alice sewing patterns for several months now, there is a clear favourite (I'm looking at you Cami dress!) but they have all been doing well.  So, we were really excited to hear of Pauline's new patterns.  There are two, and we have them in stock now. Continue reading →

Between Christmas and New Year when most of the country were groaning in lethargy, we were groaning about packing, plaster dust and paint.  When I opened Backstitch at Burwash Manor in March last year it felt like a very big step and I did everything I could take make that big step as easy as possible.  One of those things was not doing a full on refit of the premises.  I had a bit of a suck-it-and-see strategy when it came to bricks and mortar and the deal with myself was to open with as little initial outlay as possible. Continue reading →