About

Hi. My name is Manju: welcome to my blog.

By day I work in the exciting world of pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, registering medicines (!), but by night I turn in to a sewing diva, making all manner of clothes in my beautiful sewing space (which you can tour using the link at the top of this blog). I love how sewing and sewing clothes that fit my curvy body continually challenges me. I enjoy working with all different types of fabric, and whilst I don’t like to put restrictions on myself and say I won’t buy Ready To Wear, the truth is that I probably rarely do buy it, preferring the fit of my own me-made clothes. I love to use natural fibres where ever possible and colourful coats are an obsession of mine!

Sewing is both my addiction and my therapy.

All the creations that you can see on my blog up until Mid 2019 or so were created using a Janome sewing machine and overlocker. After that, and at the time of writing, I switched to a Pfaff Quilt Ambition 630 sewing machine (review here), and a Babylock Enspire Overlocker (absolutely recommend). Whilst I do occassionally make things for my husband and daughter (who pop up on this blog from time to time), please note that I do not sew things for other people at this time. Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog. I hope you enjoy it!

You can contact me at sewmanju@yahoo.co.uk

You can find me on Instagram, here.

24 thoughts on “About”

  1. Hi, I think I discovered your blog through patternreview.com. I love your sense of style and the garments you choose to make. I just started looking around your page, and I am already getting inspired and finding patterns I would like to try. I love your plaid dress! That pattern is definitely on my must-try list. Thanks for sharing your achievements with us.

    Reply

    • Thank you Margherita, it is very nice of you to say such things! I am so glad looking at my blog has inspired to you sew somethings of your own…after all, what are blogs for 😉

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  2. I have nominated you for a { LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD }. You can check out the details here {http://blacklabelblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/liebster-blog-award/} but please dont feel any pressure to pay it forward! It really is just me saying hi & letting you know how much I enjoy your blog & inspiration. Take care, Angelique Manju –

    Reply

  3. Hi Angelique, thank you so much for this. I confess, I have been mega lazy and this is my third time for being nominated for this award….I really need to put up a post about it and thank people officially!? Have a great easter!

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    • Hi Sewmyway. Thanks. No I don’t have a tutorial (as yet) for these things, but I do really want to have a go at sewing them. Check back or follow me and you can have a look when I get round to it!

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  5. Hey, am inspired by what you do. Your blog has made me to believe i can achieve so much more i put my heart into sewing. I do sew but without patterns sometimes i just get discouraged that something didnt turn out the way i pictured it in my mind. From reading your blog i believe you have less than two years sewing but your creations are adorable. I amazed, thanx again. Looking forward to more sewing.

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  7. I bumped into your blog because I was looking for some information regarding a pattern I am currently working on. I noticed you sewed that dress…simplicity 1787 (a project runway pattern). I am having trouble with the collar band fitting the dress…both the front and the back collar bands are too short for the neck area of the dress. I have triple checked sizes cut and I am at a loss as to what to do. Did you have any problems fitting the collar band to the dress? I agree with you that the mock piping is not wide enough for it to show if you sew it like simplicity instructs you. Mine was very uneven. I had to undo the seams and remove it. I settled on no mock piping rather than it looking all uneven. I would appreciate any help you can provide. I love sewing for my grandchildren. I am a nurse and sew only for a few hours on my day off.

    Reply

    • Hi Gloria, sorry it’s taken a while to respond. Off the top of my head I don’t recall any issues with the collar being too short. Have you checked the seam allowances for the collar? Are they 3/8ths rather than 5/8ths?

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  14. I’m so inspired to see your positive blog. I have gone from a size 10 to a 16 in a year due to caring for my daughter with anorexia and I’m so please to see you putting yourself out there in such a positive way. I have a sway back which didn’t used to be a problem when dressmaking, but now is. Do you have any tips for adjusting things to fit? Thanks

    Reply

    • Hi Alex, so pleased you find my blog interesting. If you haven’t already got a copy, I would really recommend picking up a copy of Fit for Real People (I think it’s by Martha Palmer and Patti Pletsch?)…it’s great for talking you through pattern alterations in an easy to understand way. Have you visited the Curvy Collective website? Again, it’s a great resource for plus size sewists. I think it’s a case of getting to know your body and learning what the key alterations are that you need to make and applying them.

      Reply

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  17. So nice to come across other sewing enthusiasts’ websites / blogs / instagrams, especially people who are way more advanced than I am! (I am a newbie.) I love seeing pattern reviews, what people are whipping up. You are very talented and have a lot of knowledge to share. Thanks so much for posting and sharing with the world your lovely creations and advice.

    Reply

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