After a month of May that can only be described as an absolute wash out, June is already looking a whole lot more promising for those of us in the UK and Europe. Sun's out, temperatures are on the up and our summer dresses can finally strut their stuff!

Needless to say, we have a whole catalogue of sewing patterns to take you through the summer season - whether you're sweating it out in the city, dancing on the beach or attending a different wedding every weekend - but we also have loads of absolutely FREE sewing projects that you can draft to your own measurements and whip up in an afternoon.

Here's a round up of some of our favourite tutorials we've put together over the years...

 

The shirred nap dress

When I put this tutorial together last summer, I really wasn't expecting such an incredible response! Hardly a day goes by without seeing your #bhlShirredDress pop up in our Instagram feed, which makes me so happy! It's a super simple dress to make using just a few rectangles of fabric, but you'll get to practice and master the art of shirring along the way! A great project to level up your sewing skills, as well as your wardrobe.

You can find the tutorial saved in our Instagram highlights under "Shirred dress".

The off the shoulder ruffled sundress

A super versatile dress that looks great dressed up or down, but most importantly - so comfortable to wear! The cute thing about this style is that you can wear the neckline off or on the shoulder, belted at the waist or loose, so depending on whether you're avoiding tan lines, hiding your bra straps, cinching your waist or leaving space for lunch, this dress will adapt to you.

Find the tutorial here.

The kaftan-style beach cover up

When it's so hot that all you want is to be naked, this is the next best thing! Essentially it's just a length of fabric folded in half with a hole cut out for the head (!!), but with a few neat little tricks to make sure the end result is polished enough even for the likes of iconic Kaftan wearers such as Elizabeth Taylor!

Find the tutorial here.

The panelled circle skirt

Circle skirts are always a great draft-it-yourself project, but what about the 90% of times that your circle won't fit on your fabric?? Frustrating to say the least, and sometimes downright infuriating! Fret no more, because we have a tutorial that shows you how to cut a circle skirt from multiple panels, meaning that you get the most out of your fabric, no matter how narrow it is, or how long or full you want your circle skirt to be! You can even go nuts (like I did!) and make your panelled circle skirt from contrasting fabrics.

Find the tutorial here.

The men's shirt refashion

A round up of our best free draft-it-yourself sewing projects wouldn't be complete without a refashion, and you can't go wrong with an oversized man's shirt! There are of course many hundreds of shirt refashion tutorials out there, and ours is as good a place as any to start :) 

Find the tutorial here.

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And there you have it! A nice little dose of inspiration to get you shopping your stash and getting excited for summer sewing! No patterns needed, and best of all - everything is made to measure!