#getsetsew July

#getsetsewjuly - The Ankara Challenge

The Sewing Bee has finished for another year and that means one thing.... the Stitch Sewical #getsetsew challenge is back!!
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For July's challenge we couldn't resit revisiting a previous challenge, simply for the wonderful  colourful  joy this fabric brings.  Drum roll please 🥁........It's the Ankara fabric challenge.  Traditionally Ankara fabric is made from 100% cotton and is synonymous with the countries and dress of West Africa. The pattern is printed using wax, to create wonderful designs in vibrant colours.   The fabric is very stable and a dream to sew with.   You can make anything for this challenge, garments, bags, cushion covers zip pouches, all work really well, and maybe this is an opportunity to try out some new sewing skills too and make something different from what you might normally chose. 
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The 11th - 17th July  is also Ankara Appreciation Week, a celebration of all things Ankara fabric, set up by Juliet Uzor and Lena King as an Instagram challenge, sewing different garments thoughout the week.  If you are on Instagram take a look at their accounts and the hashtags #sewankarafabric22  #ankaraappreciationweek22 for more inspiration.  
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Jumpsuits are a popular choice for Ankara fabric and one of my favourties is the  Paper Theory Zadie Jumpsuit.  The Pauline Alice Pattern Mila Jumpsuit & Dress would also work well.
The stability of the fabric makes it good for jackets such as the Friday Pattern Co Ilford Jacket. and the Helen's Closet Pona Jacket.  Ankara is also a good fabric for  shift and cocoon style dresses and would work well with the Helen's Closet York Pinafore, Closet Core Cielo Dress and Top, and the Simple Sew Cocoon or Zoe dress and top.  I have written a blog about the cocoon dress which you might find helpful for this.  Peppermint Magazine has lots of free downloadable patterns that would work well with Ankara, such at the Skye Shorts,  Peplum Top, and Boxy Top.  They actually have lots of free patterns that are well worth taking a browse though.
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I've written a short guide about Ankara fabrics, including some suppliers and things to watch out for when using the fabric.  This is in the Stitch Sewcial Facebook group under the files tab, or can be accessed here.  And please give Start to Stitch UK a follow on Pinterest and find even more more Ankara inspiration on our Sewing Patterns for Ankara fabrics

This really is a joyous #getsetsew challenge and we are super excited to see your makes start appearing in Stitch Sewcial ​this month. Don't forget to post them using the hashtag #getsetsewjuly to make sure we don't miss any.  Happy #getsetsew sewing!