There's no doubting the fact that skirts have been having a moment in recent months and this has continued into 2024. 

The A-Line Midi Skirt Sewing Pattern by The Assembly Line is a great sewing  pattern if you're new to sewing as it's easy to make plus there are four different options to choose from which are shown illustrated below.

As the name suggests, it has an A-line fit and key details include an elasticated waistband and side slant pockets. The pattern comes with several versions to choose from - the regular waistband, the paper bag waistband with belt loops and a belt, the regular straight hemline, the rounded hemline and the elasticated hemline. 

Inspired by a quilted ready to wear skirt that I saw last season I made the regular waistband option of the A-Line Midi Skirt in the Thelma Quilted fabric in Black by Mind the MAKER. 

I chose to make the version with the regular waistband. And because the fabric has vertical quilted stitch-lines and is lightly padded I and made a couple of modifications to accommodate my chosen fabric:

1. The centre-front and centre-back seams were omitted and the pattern pieces were pivoted slightly to cut them on the fold. (If you decide to make this amendment remember take off the 1cm seam allowance) This modification would also work well for striped fabrics.
2. Instead of side slant pockets I adjusted the pattern slightly and replaced these with in-seam pockets using the  Thelma Thermal Solid fabric in Black to reduce the bulk of the skirt at this point.

Other than that I followed the pattern, the instructions were really clear and my skirt came together really quickly. I added an additional stitch-line through the centre of the elasticated waistband as shown in the photo below. This not only creates a lovely detail but it also prevents the elastic from twisting within the waistband casing.

This is a lovely style both to make and wear. It's a great skirt for beginners and experienced sewists alike. It's definitely a pattern that I'll be making again. In fact I'm planning my next make, this time in denim without the modifications.

I'm wearing the skirt with the Elastic Tie Sweater, also by The Assembly Line, made in Sevenberry Rustic Indigo fabric Spaced Lines.

The top version of the Wilder Gown was the first style that I made by Friday Pattern Company. I've seen so many gorgeous versions of this style over on Instagram that I simply had to make one for myself.

I decided on the top for my first make of this lovely style and chose to use a Nani Iro tencel fabric with this lovely painterly border detail.

It might not look like it but this style really is very easy to make. The instructions are really clear and very easy to follow, with helpful step by step illustrations.

The raglan sleeves don't need to be set in so are very simple, and the channel for the bow comes together really nicely.

I didn't make any modifications to my top and in terms of sizing I'm a UK size 8 and I made the XS size which fits me perfectly.

This style works really well in plain fabrics but would work equally well in a pattern, florals in both small and large scale, stripes, ginghams and spots all look great.

I'll definitely be making this again, I'd like to make a long sleeved version of the top, for this I'm thinking the Eglantine et Zoe Zebra print in Khaki. I'll also be making a short sleeve dress for summer, it looks great in plain linen I'm going to use one of the Merchant and Mills Laundered Linens, most likely the Scuttle Black however other colours would look equally good.

Most of all, what I really love about the top is that it really does elevate an outfit and I always feel really good when I wear it, and as I mentioned just now I'll definitely be making more...

As you can see, it really wasn't long before I made another top. It really is such an easy style to make and is a joy to wear, next for me will be the dress. 

I first came across The Assembly Line over on Instagram, and as soon I saw their fabulous collection I knew I had to contact them to see if they would consider working with me on a wholesale basis... and I'm so pleased that they were open to the idea!

The ethos behind the brand is to design contemporary, functional and, at the same time, gorgeous items of clothing for us all to make and cherish. One of the styles that I was particularly drawn to initially was the Cuff Top, shown above, which, at that time, was one of their newest designs. 

For my first make I chose our Draper Denim by Robert Kaufman, this lightweight denim has a lovely sheen to it which gives it an elevated look.

The instructions are really clear and easy to follow even though they've been translated from Swedish. I really like that they give you technical tips along with different options for sewing a seam for example.

It's classed as suitable for beginners and I'd say that it is, with no bust darts and grown on sleeves, it sews up really quickly.

When you sew the elastic to the sleeve it's really important to make sure that the elastic is evenly distributed.

To do this I recommend that you divide both into four equal sections and use a pin as a marker, as shown in the photo above.

Next, match these pins first and pin in position, again as shown above, and then stretch the elastic and pin between these points.

I was so pleased with my first make that I very quickly made a second one, this time in one of our Nani Iro double gauze fabrics.

And then went on to make more, it's still one of my favourite makes.

As you can see this style works equally well in both printed and plain fabrics....

This style has proved so popular that The Assembly Line have since brought a dress version, the Cuff Dress, which I've since made too, another great pattern.

Click here to see the full range of patterns by The Assembly Line.

We've just road tested the Colette By Walden Negroni Shirt Pattern, and even if we say so ourselves we're pretty pleased with the end result!

For our make, we chose the short sleeved version, but the pattern comes with a long sleeved version too, finished with a placket and cuff. We decided to made ours in our Organic Cotton Gingham in Navy.

This is the first Colette sewing pattern that we've used and we have to say that we were really impressed. The instructions for the pattern are in a spiral-bound booklet, making it really easy to use, and it has a pocket at the back to store the pattern pieces once you've used them.

We love that the pattern instructions include lots of ideas for customising your sewing project to make it your own. Plus they also refer you to their website for free downloadable variations, such as the pockets for this shirt.

The instructions are really comprehensive, taking you through each step in the process of making a well crafted shirt. The instructions also include handy tips, such as how to make perfectly formed patch pockets by cutting a template out of cardboard to help with pressing, simply make it the same size as your pocket piece, minus the folds and seam allowances as we've done below.

We customised our shirt by cutting the pockets on the bias, as shown below, and we used the Small Check Gingham, again in Navy, for the underside of the collar and the inner back yoke. Even small details like these can take your make to a new level; and give you the chance to get creative!

This was the first time we'd tackled a garment with an inner back yoke, however our concerns were soon put to rest, as the step by step instructions and illustrations are really clear and before we knew it the need was done!!

The other sewing process that we tried before was "felled seams" these give a long-lasting durable finish and they also give a look very professional to your garment. Again, there are really good instructions for these, seperated out in the sidebar, so that they can easily be referred to, so nothing to fear!

These seams are used for both the sleeve and side seams. Once that's done it's pretty straightforward assuming you've made buttonholes before. It's simply a question of hemming the sleeves and body of the shirt, stitching the buttonholes and attaching the buttons.

We've just finished making The Top 64 by Merchant and Mills and we've thoroughly enjoyed making it. 

This style is best described as a work-wear garment, an artists smock or a smart jumper. It features in-seam pockets at the front, along with central seams both front and back and raglan sleeves. It's a feminine take on the style and function of a fisherman's top and we love it!

For this style you need a fabric that will hold its shape, so with that in mind we chose to make ours in Robert Kaufman's Yarn Dyed Essex Linen in Black, shown above, it's the perfect weight for this style but has a lovely hand-feel as well.

As we've come to expect from the Merchant and Mills sewing patterns, the instructions are clearly laid out and illustrated. And this make was surprisingly easy to sew! It's much easier to make than it looks. The raglan sleeves, for example, are much easier than a set in sleeve, and although there are a lot of pattern pieces, they're all easy to sew together. Plus, you can choose whether or not to top-stitch.

Whereas some of the Merchant and Mills patterns have tended to come up a little on the big size, we're really pleased with the fit on this style, the only adjustment made was to shorten the sleeves slightly.

This style lends itself nicely to being top-stitched. We chose to top stitch the central seams, front and back, and the cuff and main hems.You may decide to take it further and top-stitch the bottom panels and the central sleeve seams, or you may prefer not to top-stitch at all.

To get a lovely straight line for our top-stitching we followed Jane, from Jane Makes, advise, and used a low-tack masking tape to mark the stitch-line, which worked a treat!

We love how this top has turned out, and it's definitely a style that we'd make again.

Other fabrics that The Top #64 would work well in, as well as any of the other Essex Linens, including the new metallics! This style would also look good in the 8oz Washed Indigo Denim, and you could top-stitch in a traditional gold colour associated with jeans, and the striped Navy & Cream Railroad Denim would also look good too.

This style would also lend itself well to being adapted, the raglan sleeves are really flattering  and would work well as a short sleeved summer weight top, you might choose to remove the in-seam pockets for this and also possibly the horizontal seam that they're built into.

By co-incidence, Merchant and Mills have been working on a pattern hack of this style and have made it into a short sleeved dress, which we think looks fantastic, the hack for this will be available on their website very soon.

We hope we've inspired you to try The Top #64 for yourselves! And don't forget we love to see your sewing projects, so please do email us via the contact page with your photos!