LEATHER PATCHED BRIAR

August 5, 2015

Written by Meg

A little while ago I was really excited to discover a fantastic leather supplier in Perth. I get a little giddy when i find a local supplier of anything sewing related. As awesome as Perth is, it’s also quite isolated compared to most cities, and sometimes it can be a tad frustrating trying to find “just the right thing”. Perth girls, you know what i mean right?!

Anyway, i possibly went a little overboard buying hides on my first trip, and wound up with some gorgeous black, baby pink, gold and copper hides. Of course i’m finding my way to use it all – like on this jumper!

I really messed up when i purchased this sweater knit and bought too little for all my pattern pieces to fit. I honestly don’t know what i was thinking. Maybe i’d originally planned it for the kids? No matter how i tried i couldn’t squeeze all the cropped Briar pattern pieces in . Cue panic attack. Finally i realised that if i pieced the shoulders with leather i could just eke out a cropped sweater. YES> now the happy dance.

Hilariously, i am so much happier with how this turned out than my original plan of a plain green sweater. I also added some leather elbow patches using this free little add on pattern piece for the Briar – and i’m suddenly remember how much i like elbow patches and am feeling the need to add them to everything.

As much as i’m always really happy with a garment turns out exactly like i envisioned – sometimes it’s actually more satisfying to salvage a disaster and end up with something more interesting.

So there you go my dears – it’s not a mistake, it’s a design detail hehehe

photos by Chris

[Make this look]

Sweater: Megan Nielsen // Briar pattern + Elbow patch add on pattern piece
Dress: Megan Nielsen
Tights: Country Road
Shoes: Beaucoups via Zomp

Briar MN2303

About Author

Meg

Meg is the Founder and Creative Director of Megan Nielsen Patterns, and is constantly dreaming up ideas for new sewing patterns and ways to make your sewing journey more enjoyable! She gets really excited about design details and is always trying to add way too many variations to our patterns.

17 Comments

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Ali

7 years ago

The leather and knit looks great! And I love the velvet skirt (or maybe it’s a dress)…I think I need one for my Autumn wardrobe!

Author

Meg

7 years ago

Reply to Ali

Thanks so much Ali! Its a dress – actually i made it when i was pregnant (https://blog.megannielsen.com/2014/04/the-favourite/) and it was my absolute favourite, so i still wear it all the time. I think it’s probably the one maternity make that i still use – though sometimes i feel a little weird about wearing something i made for a belly when i don’t have a belly anymore! That sounded weird, but hopefully you know what i mean LOL
hugs! xo

brigidboyer

7 years ago

I love this color combo Megan! So delightfully warm and lovely. Now you are making me yearn for my sweaters… :D

Author

Meg

7 years ago

Reply to brigidboyer

Thanks Brigid! It is seriously so hard to watch you guys enjoy the warm weather when i’m soooo cold hehe. But the shoe will be on the other foot soon i guess LOL

nicole eaton

7 years ago

looks awesome! and yay for great local suppliers, since moving to the Gold Coast from Melbourne I have really struggled to find good local fabric/haberdashery suppliers

Author

Meg

7 years ago

Reply to nicole eaton

I totally understand – it’s so hard when you’re used to having access to good suppliers. You’ll probably become an avid only shopper like me hehehe. On the plus side, you get to live in perpetual summer so that’s kind of rad right? xo

laurenflowerchildjewelry

7 years ago

Ohhh, I love this sweater- I have a weakness for elbow patches. This outfit is adorable and is making me wish it was Autumn here in America!
Have a great day!
-Lauren
http://www.musingsofaflowerchild.com/

Author

Meg

7 years ago

Reply to laurenflowerchildjewelry

Thanks Lauren! I’m so with you – serious elbow patch weakness! Meanwhile, i’m going to be very jealous when you hit Fall – that is seriously my favourite time of year in the US. It’s such a pity we don’t get the kind of seasonal change you do :)
hugs! xo

Sarah

7 years ago

Goodness the last time I tried elbow patches on a knit they stretched out SO badly during the stitching. Total fail. What’s your technique to prevent this?

Author

Meg

7 years ago

Reply to Sarah

That’s a really good question! I’m assuming you mean the knit stretched out not the leather patches?
That is seriously a pain and i have SO been there.
For leather i usually take one of two approaches – I either use a stabilizer like here https://blog.megannielsen.com/2013/02/briar-variation-leather-elbow-patches/ or i pin careful along the stitch line and use my walking foot. For this sweater i just pinned top and bottom and both sides along where i was going to sew (as the pins leave holes) and then used my walking foot carefully.
i really hope that helps!

Sarah

7 years ago

Reply to Meg

Thanks so much. I definitely didn’t use a stabiliser and I used a knit for patches too AND I think I was zigzagging too. A recipe for a horrible warped disaster I think! Thanks again ?

Author

Meg

7 years ago

Reply to Sarah

oooooh you know what, you might be able to fix that with steam! i also use zig zag when i sew knit on knit, and i often don’t use a stabilizer because when it’s knit on knit i don’t want to add stiffness (if that makes sense) – check out this post, https://blog.megannielsen.com/2015/07/why-its-important-to-press-stretchy-fabrics/ one knee patch is wavy after being sewn and the other knee patch is after pressing. I also find that loosening up my presserfoot pressure helps a bit too! XOXO

Heidi

7 years ago

Adorable! The leather patches really bring the sweater up a notch, to look store-bought!

Are pieces with leather patches washable? I’ve not used leather before.

I just opened a Etsy shop!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/createdpretties?section_id=all

Author

Meg

7 years ago

Reply to Heidi

Hi Heidi!
Most of the time people will recommend that you dry clean leather only – but i handwash all of my clothing with leather patches very carefully (here is a blog post all about my method https://blog.megannielsen.com/2013/04/how-to-wash-clothing-with-leather-patches/) and i’ve found that the leather holds up really really well. It’s very easy and I’ve never had an issue!
Having said that, i only use leather patches on clothing that won’t be washed too often (such as on sweaters). Also worth noting that you never ever want to tumble dry something with leather on, i did that by accident once to a pair of jeans with leather knee patches i made for my son and they were instantly ruined.
I hope that helps! And congrats on your Etsy store, what lovely jewellery! xoxo

patternandbranch

7 years ago

Reply to Meg

That was my exact question! Thanks for answering it. I have all these leather scraps and I love this look, but I wasn’t sure how to wash it (and don’t want to pay for dry cleaning). I’m going to check out that post you mentioned.