In the New Year I began a beginner’s dress making course because I want to make good use of my amazing sewing machine and make some nice clothes. The main thing I’ve learnt so far is that sewing isn’t as daunting as I thought it was, and following a pattern is much easier than it looks. The difficulty is the tailoring to a body and doing curves and working with funny fabrics. But basic non-fitted clothes are really easy to make! I managed to make a pair of pyjama bottoms without any assistance in just a few hours by following this pattern, which explains all the steps in a lot of detail.

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If like me you live in a house/flat with old wooden windows and doors, you will know that they let out a lot of heat and can be draughty. I made a few of my own draught excluders for hardly any money which look really arty. They are very easy to make if you have a sewing machine. You will also need: one large piece of fabric the length of the door or window sill you will be placing it on (cotton or calico), scrap fabrics and 2.5kg of lentils/split peas/other dried food/cheap stuffing.

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