megan nielsen design diary

Sewing my raw silk open weave top

03.31.2020 by Meg // 6 Comments

Sewing a raw silk open weave River top! Megan Nielsen Design Diary

Like basically everyone else, I’ve been social distancing for a few weeks now, and with all that extra time at home I’ve found myself sewing more. A little bit here and a little bit there. I’ve decided to use this strangely quiet period of life to finish off all those projects that I’ve had planned for ages, or only gotten halfway through. And this special top is the first make as a result of my staying home and sewing efforts!

This fabric is so cool and I’ve had it for quite some time just waiting for the courage to cut into it. It’s a raw silk open weave, and the texture is unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it before! It’s soft and spongey and delicate and I am more in love with it than a person probably should be with fabric hehe.

I took my time with this make and thought really carefully about pattern choice and all the finishes as I knew it would be a challenging sew. I decided on a River top as I knew a loose fit garment with mostly straight seams would be a good fit for this fabric. Every step in construction has included it’s own unique challenges and I’ve really enjoyed figuring out how to tackle them all.

I thought i would share all about the process of making this top incase you ever want to use a fabric like this and are wondering how best to handle it!

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Sewing community project: Meet Alice!

03.28.2020 by Meg // 2 Comments

Celebrate the sewing community! Read our community spotlight on Alice! Megan Nielsen Design Diary

I’m so excited to share our first sewing community feature!! I met Alice at the first Perth Frocktails hosted by Nat of Sew For Life. She is such a warm person and an amazing knitter and sewer! It’s hard to talk about Alice without also talking about Deepti – their friendship is one of those beautiful ones that is infectious and full of sunshine. They call themselves the sewl sisters (get it?) and which just adds to the delightfulness! I love these two ladies and how they do community together and I can’t wait for you to hear all about Alice and her sewing journey in her own words below!

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let’s celebrate the sewing community!

03.26.2020 by Meg // 7 Comments

Megan Nielsen Patterns // Celebrate community! Connect! Encourage!

Community

A few weeks ago we held a two day photoshoot focused on a dream I’ve had for over a year – to celebrate the sewing community and encourage involvement in person and online.

Since then so much has changed. Like in many countries we are becoming more physically isolated as we try and slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect those at risk, and probably will be for many months. But though we may be physically distant this is not the time to pull away from our communities. More than ever we need to be connected and involved in our communities. We need to be showing care and consideration for each other.

I love the sewing community. This special corner of the world is so full of love and encouragement and mutual respect. The sewing community changed the course of my life, and has personally brought me so much joy and fulfilment and introduced me to so many dear friends. Where would I be without all of you?

So today, though we may not gather in the ways that we used to, I give you my celebration of community and my call to engage more than ever with each other online, through social media, video chats, messages, packages dropped at doors and random deliveries – any way we can.

Let’s build each other up! Let’s shout encouragement and love from our rooftops! I’ve seen so many hashtags on social media shared to encourage sewing community connection on Instagram – jump on board and do it! Reach out and make new friends! Let’s make awesome things and show each other!

Over the coming weeks I’ll be sharing more images from our special community project, as well as sharing some profiles on these amazing ladies from my local sewing community.

This project has a very special place in our hearts and I hope you enjoy this community series as much as we have enjoyed creating it!!

Meg xo

Megan Nielsen Patterns // Celebrate community! Connect! Encourage!

I want to say a huge thank you to our muses for this project: Alice (@alicemakes), April (@aprilmade__) , Bree ( @bree_bree_obree ), Deepti ( @deeptisewsforsanity), Eleanor ( @shesewsalot), Hilda (@sew.h_factor), Julia (@Julia_sewing), Sophie (@sophie.sews), Roz (@lastsewnsurvivor) and Sue (@suestoney).

Also to our wonderful photographer Bronnie Joel and our makeup artist Courtney of TxC Collective and the amazing local businesses that opened their doors to us and are featured in these images Debra Hayes floral, Stomp Coffee, Subiaco Books and Angove st Collective.

River now in extending sizing!

03.07.2020 by Meg // Leave a Comment

The River sewing pattern is now available in extended sizing 0-30! Megan Nielsen Patterns

After many months of work i’m so excited to let you know that the River dress and top pattern is now available in sizes 0-20 and in Curve sizes 14-30!

River is a reversible raglan dress or top that can be made in woven or knit fabrics. Pattern features loose fit, optional pockets and waist tie, as well as top and dress options. It can be worn with the V neck or the round neck side at the front.

View A is a reversible knit dress. View B is a reversible woven dress with pockets and fabric belt. View C is a reversible knit top in modern crop length. View D is a reversible woven blouse in modern crop length.

I hope you enjoy the updated sizing! This is going to be a busy year as I roll out more sizes for our catalog patterns – it’s so exciting and I can’t wait!

Meg xo

Lets talk about wardrobe staples

03.02.2020 by Meg // 2 Comments

Jarrah sweater View B curved hemline with split sleeve // Megan Nielsen Design Diary

All this talk of Mini Jarrah’s has got me thinking about all the Jarrah’s in my wardrobe that I love!

I made this Jarrah for myself a few years ago when we were developing the Jarrah pattern, and haven’t blogged about it yet as I didn’t have much to say. Isn’t that silly?! It’s one of those wardrobe basics that I wear a lot, but in all honesty, isn’t super exciting to talk about! But I think it’s worth talking about basics for a couple of reasons.

For one thing we can’t live on statement pieces alone. Wardrobes need neutral basics! They fill in the gaps and are the glue that hold an outfit together. This is the sweater I reach for every time I walk my kids to school in the rain. It’s the perfect thickness to fit under my rain jacket without adding too much bulk, and the fleece fabric and oversized sleeve length makes it super warm. I couldn’t deal with an early morning rainy walk without it!

But I think equally as importantly, not talking about wardrobe basics, and only blogging about flashy makes gives the impression that those once in a while unusual makes are somehow more important in the heirachy of making than every day pieces. And I honestly don’t believe that. It’s honestly so tempting to talk only about super interesting makes, and leave out all the wardrobe staples, but one of the things i love about sewing is that I can make my own staples that fit into my wardrobe, personal style and ethics. A plain white tee to add to your collection, or flesh toned undies are just as worth making as a cocktail dress. I’d argue they’re MORE important because you can enjoy them more often!

I guess what I’m trying to say is: lets celebrate our basics, our wardrobe fillers and our staples as much as we do our show stoppers! If you’re holding back sharing those less than exciting makes – don’t! Every single thing you make and enjoy is worth celebrating.

Jarrah sweater View B curved hemline with split sleeve // Megan Nielsen Design Diary

ps. just incase you’re looking for some great sweater fleece, I made this Jarrah using grey fuzzbuster fleece from KnitWit in Perth, and one of the things I love about KnitWit is that they have all the matching ribbing colours for their fleece range, which makes life so easy!

Sewing my raw silk open weave top

Sewing community project: Meet Alice!

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let’s celebrate the sewing community!

Community

River now in extending sizing!

Lets talk about wardrobe staples

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