Actually made Olene shorts as a wearable toile but no option for Olene available here.
Struggled with joining inner to outer front panels. Sewed both upside down & flat felled, but was able to cut out panel and replace with a new cut panel without losing any width.
My measurements put me bang centre of a size 7, but as photos show the shorts came up very small even though I only used 1cm seams. Used calculator to add length adjustments for my 5'8" height. Will try again with a size 8 although did find waist very high which might not suit my very short body. Did reduce frill at top to 1cm.

Happy Release Day OLENE Pants in a fine cord paired with a Finch Top in a medium linen.

The FINCH is beautifully versatile! I have broadcast this 21 configuration lovely design to everyone I know, particularly to Catherine's Sewing Room, the sewing group I recently joined, with great response and feedback from all sides. As you can see with my first sample make, I have all these fabrics mostly in heavier cotton lined up to make all the varieties, patterns from mushrooms, rabbits, and lovely rainbow scales, nautical! I plan to expand to linen soon! Thanks to the lovely creative maker of CDT, also for the wonderful Darwin concept, making it even better with plant dyed linen, as well. I am in awe!

I got the Gypsy Moth Ultimate sewing kit and was super grateful that it came with everything I needed to make this beautiful dress. It gave me confidence as a beginner to be able to start and finish a project, and on the plus side my wife looks amazing in it and loves it.

The saltwater shirt was a fun and easy pattern to fallow. I used a medium weight line fabric. My wife loves the the sleaves and fit. I would recommend this to any beginner.

My version of the Finch pattern. I sewed the size 4 which ended up being way too big so then I went through a process of trying to alter it to fit my body. I i’m fairly new at sewing so of course I messed it up when I tried to alter it. I thought I could just make it smaller by sewing up the side seam and under arm seems but nope, that’s not the way to do it. I had to kind of wing it to get it straightened out and finished up, but I think it turned out pretty good in the end. It’s sewn in 100% cotton fabric. First time sewing a collar, and I also added the ruffles to the collar. I love this pattern. Next time I will definitely size down.

Made my first Finch recently. Straight off the pattern, no changes. Ruffle on collar, short sleeves. Best pdf pattern assembly system ever! Really like the outcome - just not on me. Next time I’ll go down one size and also make it a bit longer - then I think it will be a better fit for my tall and straight frame. Sewn from cotton remnant, thrifted buttons.

Finch Success!

This is my toile, made with African wax print. For the fabric, the purple is near the selvage on both sides, and the magenta is in the middle. It feels heavier than quilting or kona cotton, but lighter than canvas. My bust measurement was 39" so I went with size 6, but I will go down a size next time. I felt a little excess fabric under the arm. I'm not sure if it was due to the width of the final garment or the depth of the sleeves.

When sewing the top front and back bodice pieces together along the shoulder seam, I attempted a felled seam. It looks okay, but I clearly didn't know what I was doing. I did the top stitch along that shoulder seam which resulted in three lines of stitching on the inside of the garment and two on the outside. How? Nobody knows.

I decided to skip the top stitching along the gathered edges. I just didn't trust myself to do it neatly, plus the purple thread I chose was unforgiving.

For the sleeve and bottom helm, I did about 1/2", turned over twice instead of 1/4" because I'm not confident/steady enough yet for such small hems.

I have to admit that my band collar is a little bit wonky-donk, (yes, that's an official sewing term) but I wasn't up for unpicking it. I think somehow the curved part of mine, closest to the front, lost some of its curve. Maybe I didn't turn it out fully. My top stitching went awry as well. I'm contemplating how I might be able to sew that curved part by hand next time around.

For the most part, I only used the video tutorial and only glanced at the written instructions a few times. In the video, it looked like Leah had interfacing added to the part of the collar stand where the button holes would go, but I couldn't remember that it was called interfacing for the life of me, so I just added a strip of Swedish tracing paper. Newbie sewing adventures.

I'd never sewn a placket or button holes before. Apparently my machine can do it, but I was too afraid to try, so I sewed them by hand thanks to a Youtube tutorial from Carly B and I LOVED the process. They're not beautiful button holes, but that gives them their charm.

Thanks for such a great pattern! I look forward to sewing this up in linen :)

This is the Finch top with 3/4 sleeves and band collar with sevedge edges on the collar stand, bodice and button band. It was lengthened 3 inches at the bodice front and back. Made with Charlie Darwin hand dyed linen.

This is just my practice finch using quilting cotton. Used a slightly different piece for the upper bodice and kinda love that. Also didn’t add buttons to it yet, but may keep it that way. Getting ready to make my “real” version with a lighter weight cotton! Amazing pattern with so many options!

I love my Finch! I love it so much that I have another one cut! The pattern is easy to follow and the see is super satisfying. 10/10 highly recommended

I used some white linen that I had leftover from another project. This was the very first time that I have ever sewn a blouse. The first time for any kind of collar, button placket, button holes, too!

I didn't make any adjustments other than not putting a button on the stand collar.

Next time I make this I will add a ruffle on the front where the upper and lower bodice meet, change to the peter pan collar and make it long sleeved. Autumn is coming, right? I will likely make one size up because I have giant shoulders and lengthen it slightly.

I love how much information is in the pattern. Since I am a novice sewist I need all the instruction I can get. Maybe three times over.

The front of my short Sanctuary

I LOVE this pattern so much! This is my short version-I know I'll be wearing it a lot this summer. Matter of fact I already fabric for my next one! Thank you for creating such a lovely pattern with such straight forward instructions

I had so much fun making my test Sanctuary outfit. I loved that the instructions were so clear. I’m a beginner. The only thing I struggled with was adjusting the pattern too much my height. I used the calculator, however I think I took too much off the leg panels on the top :( I’m super excited to make the real deal though!! Thank you so much Charlie Darwin for sharing your talent!

I’m a new to sewing garments and have loads to learn. Sanctuary is my first non-circle skirt garment. I loved the video tutorial. I highly recommend it for other newbies. This actually my mockup, but it came out so cute I’m going to wear it! I can’t wait to get started on my linen version.

I'm a curvy girl and the Sanctuary looks good even on me! I made mine in purple/grey linen. I extended the back center by 1 1/2" on each side to give myself a wider overlap for the single button closure so the back did not show my bra. That worked like a charm. I made mine with even larger pockets....I really love huge pockets :) So comfortable and striking. Love it!

I loved making this jumpsuit!I've been sewing for a long time but this pattern was somewhat challenging and stretched my skills just the right amount. I made it in the light indigo in the full length version. I used some Indian block print from my stash for the pockets and the neck binding and button loop.I found a vintage button with a low shank that I used rather than the shell button I ordered. I I also hacked the placement of the elastic a bit - by making the bodice a little shorter and the legs a little longer so the elastic casing was actually made from the legs rather than the bodice.I don't like anything around my waist-the result made me look like I have long legs-for the first time in my life. I also cut the iron on tag in half so the washing instructions are on the inside but I loved the evolution part of the design and ironed it on to one of the front leg panels so it could be seen. I may go back later and add some embroidery around it. I think I'll try the short version next. The directions and fabric were perfection! The little girl in one of the photos is my granddaughter and I made her dress too! Thank you for creating this beautiful comfortable and flattering pattern.

(hi friends! It's Leah from Charlie Darwin-- I'm testing out this new photo gallery feature!) For my jumpsuit, I used 100% linen, in undyed white. I definitely had to make a few samples before I got to this final design that was ready for everyone to wear! I show behind-the-scenes of my iterations in this youtube video, if you're interested!: https://youtu.be/hK7wvP3NhSU
Next time I make this, I want to try doing some color blocking on the pants and bodice, and/or add some tassles to the seams of the pant legs for some extra drama!

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