Sewing patterns can sometimes afflict people with sewing-pattern fear. I've seen it and it's not pretty.
In an attempt to lure some of you would be sewing folk out from behind the dressmaker's dummy I have found you a pattern that requires no fiddly cutting out whatsoever. Praise the square!
This simple but effective Museum Tunic pattern, from Anna Maria Horner, is made entirely from humble squares of fabric. The whole thing is utterly square until you get your sewing mitts on it. Its shaping is all down to how you stitch it.
You'll have your seamstress badge squared away in no time (sorry).
When it comes down to it if you can craft with it you can probably find a way of wearing it. A point proven astoundingly well by the fashion folk at one of Fifth Avenue's trendiest New York stores.
These fabulous crafty fashion creations were found by our style reporters from OSOYOU and Catwalk Queen in the fashion fabulous heart of New York. They have been sent to hunt down style for the launch of the new Sex and the City 2 film thanks to the kind folks at HP.
The dresses feature in the Henri Bendel store and are all made out of everyday objects - cup cake wrappers, hair curlers, sugar crystal sticks, playing cards, marshmallows, sweetie papers and feathers.
Clearly fashion is hinting that if the apocalypse ever comes we're never going to run out of items to help us look crafty and chic.
I've pretty much given up on finding jeans that suit me. I'll have my mother's hand-me-downs (because she wears the same styles as me and knows what to look for in the cut) but wouldn't have the first clue where to start looking - either in which stores or on what shelves once I arrived there. Jeans all look the same to me.
If you suffer from this sort of 'denim blindness' on shopping trips, then making your own could be the answer. Not only do you get to pick the exact shade of fabric you want, you can also stitch in your own personalised embroidery. It's fun - and much cheaper than buying a designer pair. Melissa Fehr's found the perfect starting point in a KnipMode pattern, and you can see how she got on with it here.
Related: Denim jeans handbag for any casual outfit | How to: re-use your old denim jeans
I'm always impressed by DIY-ers who choose less obvious fabrics to make up their patterns (remember the shower curtain dress?) so I was instantly drawn to this delightful dress that Chic Steals made up from a Vogue pattern using Ikea's Patricia fabric. Ikea's a good place to find bold, clean and eyecatching fabrics, which work just fine in dressmaking, even when they're intended for upholstery.
The pattern used here is Vogue v1068: the little sheath dress pictured top left, made here with a more tweedy fabric that's also a great choice for autumn.
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