March Makes from the g&g team pattern club

The team here at g&g love to sew and make things as much as me so every few months at our team meetings everyone chooses to make one of the indie patterns we stock along with one of our lovely fabrics to test the pattern out.

It's a great way for us all to know how different fabrics and patterns sew up so we can give all you lovely customers even better advice and guidance with your own projects.

This month Jo made a lovely version of the Deer and Doe Hoya blouse, which is a straight blouse with a mock wrap and lapels and used some of our dove grey tiled gauze.

She loves the fabric but thinks it might have been a bit too spongy and thick for this make as the overlap at the front means there is quite a lot of layers all at the one point.

She thinks our sorona linens would also work really well for this make, or for a really floaty summery version, the linen viscose mix fabric - see below!

Her top tip is to make sure you do the basting stitches as suggested to prevent the front pieces from moving around and make sure you mark the front wrap accurately.

She made a size 42 but felt she could have gone down a size as she took it in 2cm from each side and about 5cm off the length.

Abi used the Fancy Tiger Crafts Wanderlust Tee pattern to make this breezy boxy t-shirt using our loopback jersey.

It's more fitted over the shoulders and then falls into a lovely a-line shape in the bodice with a high low hem. The fabric's Abi has picked have a little more structure to them, helping that a-line shape to hold, but you could also go for something lighter-weight with more drape.

Abi found the fit came up true to her measurements but she did add about 5cm of length to the front and back bodice so the longer hem length at the back was maintained. For next time she'd make the pocked a bit bigger and sew it on a bit lower on the bodice

We are all out of the navy yarn dyed loopback at the moment, but you can check out Abi's other top fabric picks below.

Ben used the Liesl + Co all day shirt pattern to make this lovely version using our stone brushed cotton. The pattern has two views - A is more formal with collar stays and a single pocket and view B is more casual with two pockets and a button down collar with sewn on placket.

He decided go size up for a slouchy, cosy shirt, but compared to the other shirts he has made in the past, he felt the fit was quite generous as there is no shaping in the back and the box pleats are quite deep.

He's made a great job of the pockets and I love the attention to detail with the collar buttons too!

The fabric Ben used has sold out now but we do have a dark and light denim brushed cotton and he has chosen his top fav fabrics as alternatives - see below.

Lesley made the Closet Case Patterns Sasha trousers, which can be dressed up or kept casual making them a staple for all wardrobes. The cigarette style fitting on the legs can be cropped or full length. She used our navy sateen cotton, which has a stretch in it as the pattern comes with some negative ease built-in. They are a great fit and look lovely paired down with some trainers and a top.

She found the instructions, especially the ones relating to the fly and welt pockets, really easy to follow and recommends just trusting them and following along.

Lesley found the fit true to her measurements. She graded between sizes at the hips and waist and made her usual centre back seam adjustment that she made on the Morgan and Ginger jeans and is delighted with how they have turned out - quite right!

Meg has added to her collection of Deer and Doe Melilot Blouses and her collection fo garments made from Atelier Brunette fabrics! She used some of our forest green stardust cotton double gauze and kept it simple with no pockets.

The fabric is so pretty with the little embroidered gold circles on it and it sits beautifully into the relaxed fit of the shirt.

And finally, Elizabeth has made a beautiful version of the Liesl + Co recital blouse with this amazing ruffle collar. She really enjoyed making it and felt the instructions were excellent, really simple to understand and guided you through the 'proper' way to do things in a through way.

She used some of our lovely cotton lawn which works perfectly with this type of garment as its really light weight but still easy to work with.

It presses well and looks crisp and sharp for those classic shirt features like the collar, cuff and placket.