Meg, Author at megan nielsen design diary

slubby linen Wattle midi skirt

03.18.2019 by Meg // Leave a Comment

Megan Nielsen Wattle midi skirt in printed linen

Now that the Wattle sewalong has wrapped up I’m really thrilled to be able to share some favourites from my wardrobe!

This Wattle midi skirt has got to be my most worn Wattle skirt, and I don’t think that will change any time soon. Krystal made this sample during testing and it was love at first sight. This linen is actually digitally printed, so the underside is white! The texture is what I really love about it, and I think that lends itself really well to bias cuts. I bought it at the Potter & co warehouse sale a while back – that really was an amazing sale, I feel i’m like constantly using the pieces I bought.

The top I’m wearing is a River top sample from testing that I don’t think i’ve shared before? It looks a lot like the Banksia blouse I have from the same fabric, and is a great testament to why you shouldn’t make two tops from the same fabric – I get confused all the time!

After taking these photos I decided that the skirt wasn’t sit as snug around my waist as I like, so I simply moved the buttons further toward the side seam on the waistband to get a closer fit. That’s one of the things I really love about Wattle – there is a little bit of flexibility in a crossover closure. If you need to give or take a bit of room in the waist, you can simply move the buttons a tad. I really like that!

There is a small amount left of the skirt fabric and I’m thinking of making a Eucalpyt tank with so i can have a matching set/faux dress. What do you think should i do it?!

Megan Nielsen Wattle midi skirt in printed linen

photography by Bronnie Joel

The one I made for lounging

02.28.2019 by Meg // 3 Comments

Megan Nielsen Jarrah sweatshirt in comfy Ponte knit

I always love to sew things that fill a need in my wardrobe, and this is my loungey/slouchy/comfy Jarrah – for those days when I’m just hanging out doing absolutely nothing. It’s funny thinking you might need to sew something for staying home and not going anywhere. So often I feel like I want to sew really interesting statement pieces, that are fun to show friends. But I think it makes sense to sew where the gaps are. And surprisingly – I had a lounging gap ;) I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but I really love to wear Chris’ sweaters around the house when it’s cold or I feel sick. I don’t know if it’s the size, or the fabric – but I they’re awesome. I realised I really needed my own lazying at home attire. Something mine, with the same comforting feeling.

This is the Jarrah sweater I made to fill that gap! I lengthened the pattern by 10cm for that extra slouchy look and I’m really happy with that choice, it gives it a very relaxed vibe. The fabric is a super soft ponte knit that I had in stash and since I didn’t have matching ribbing hanging around I used self fabric for cuffs, hem band and neck band. I actually really like how much subtlety this adds to the sweater.

If I was going to make a complaint about this make, it would be the thread I used in my overlocker. I couldn’t decide between pink and red (the closest colours in my stash) and couldn’t see the point in buying maroon overlocker thread for one sweater. I ended up using the rose pink, and I really don’t like how it looks when the seams are stretched. If you’re nitpicky like me you might be able to see it in the image below. It’s a small thing, but details matter to me. Having said that, I know it’s likely i’m probably just blowing it out of proportion. What do you think?

Megan Nielsen Jarrah sweatshirt in comfy Ponte knit

I’m wearing it here with my Ash slim leg jeans with stepped hem – by now you probably think I live in them. You wouldn’t be wrong ;) These have definitely been my most worn pair of jeans, and I don’t really see that changing. I judge the comfort level of jeans by whether you can nap in them without feeling like you need to change (yes I’ve thought about this A LOT) and this pair beats all the rest. They are so so soft – the stretch denim from Potter’s is awesome. This post has probably left you with the impression I am spending a lot of time at home napping hehehe I wish that was the case!

Anyway, I just want to encourage you that it’s ok to sew things that aren’t flashy or exciting. Make things for you!! If you love it and it makes you feel good and you will wear it then it’s a worthy thing to make! I’m so happy that I took the time to make myself something I love, and really want to add more loungewear to my wardrobe.

Megan Nielsen Jarrah sweatshirt in comfy Ponte knit

photography by Bronnie Joel

Fish print Floreat crop top

02.24.2019 by Meg // Leave a Comment

Fish print Floreat cropped blouse // Megan Nielsen Design Diary

I really love that moment when you find a fabric and know exactly what you what to make with it. Last year Potter Textiles had a warehouse sale to clear out all their end bolts and bits and bobs they had found lurking in their warehouse. It was an epic day and I went absolutely nuts buying beautiful linens that we ended up using in pattern samples. But I did find keep some things for myself – like this awesome fish print. The second I saw it I fell in love with the print and knew I had to make a Floreat crop top. It’s a really lovely lightweight linen and feels really amazing on our hot summer days. I really couldn’t be happier with how this top turned out. It’s one of those rare times that a garment turns out exactly how you imagined it.

I’m wearing it here with my light wash wide leg Dawn jeans, which is probably my favourite way to wear this top. It’s also been getting a lot of wear with my camel tencel Flint shorts which I was complaining about last year – so it’s been nice to find something I like wearing them with!

Fish print Floreat cropped blouse // Megan Nielsen Design Diary

I’d say the most noteworthy thing about this cropped blouse is the stupid amount of time I spent pattern matching the fish print over the centre back seam. Which lets be honest wasn’t entirely necessary. The difficulty was in the fact that the print repeat is so sparse – it made it really hard to find a spot I could place the pattern pieces in order to get a proper continuation of the fish. And at the end of the day I’m not sure it made much difference to this top. I do wonder if sometimes I take pattern matching beyond its necessity. I guess I just feel in my gut sometimes that it’s necessary and this one of those times that I just wouldn’t let it go.

I sewed a little fabric loop to close the back neckline, and didn’t pay any attention to the size of the hole. I found myself rummaging in my button jar for something small enough to fit. I had one of these pearly buttons left and i’m so glad because it was a perfect fit! I must admit even though it was a total accident I really love this little detail and how it fits with the rest of the blouse.

I still have a little bit of this gorgeous fabric left so I’m planning on using it for one of the kids!

Fish print Floreat cropped blouse // Megan Nielsen Design Diary

photography by Bronnie Joel

Making sandals with The Shoe Camaraderie

02.20.2019 by Meg // 3 Comments

Making shoes with The Shoe Camaraderie // Megan Nielsen Design Diary I made shoes!! This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to take a sandal making class with lovely Lisa of The Shoe Camaraderie and it was absolutely amazing. Lisa is incredibly passionate about making shoe making more accessible, and it really shows in her workshop. Everything was so well thought out and simplified into achievable steps. The workshop ran for an whole day from 9:30am to almost 6pm with a little lunch break in the middle, and finishing with a cheese platter and a glass of wine. I was really blessed with the lovely group of ladies that were a part of this workshop with me including lovely Alice & Jemma – It was a big fun busy day! I made sure to take a lot of photos throughout the day so that I could give you a little peek into the process and what the workshop was like. So fair warning this will be a very picture heavy post after the jump! I feel like I learnt so much and really want to take another class.

If you live in Australia and are interested in learning to make sandals I would highly recommend her workshops – it’s absolutely worth the price and you’ll be thrilled with the end result. Looking at these shoes it still blows my mind that I made them- albeit with a lot of help! I really enjoyed learning more about shoe making and finding out what goes into a beautiful quality pair of shoes. Much like sewing, I appreciate these shoes so much for how much work went into them!

I hope you enjoy my little peek making shoes with The Shoe Camaraderie!

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Boo Designs rashies for the kiddos

02.13.2019 by Meg // 5 Comments

Boo Designs Rashie's made using Ellie Whittaker Creamy Ice Dreamy swim lycra // Megan Nielsen Design Diary

We’ve just finished up the summer school holidays here in Australia which for us means the end of a busy beach season. My kids do beach swim lessons every summer holidays, which is possibly our favourite holiday activity. Surf safety is a big deal when you live near the ocean, and knowing the kids are learning valuable ocean skills goes a long way to putting my mind at ease – and of course it’s a great excuse to spend every morning on the coast!

Last year I made my girls rashie and swimmer sets to wear to the beach (unfortunately I haven’t blogged them yet) and though the girls loved them, they’ve grown out of them! When I first made them I used self drafted patterns, and it was a lot of work. And then something irritating happened – I lost them. Cue temper tantrum. I honestly couldn’t bring myself to start the process over, and decided that this year I would choose a pattern from another designer who had already put all the hard work into creating something awesome.

Boo Designs Rashie's made using Ellie Whittaker Creamy Ice Dreamy swim lycra // Megan Nielsen Design Diary

I went on a bit of a hunt and ended up really liking the Boo Designs swimmers pattern. It made me really happy that I didn’t waste my time trying to draft my own pattern (again hahaha) – this pattern has it ALL. It’s got a Classic Rashie, Raglan Rashie, Togs (one-piece swimsuit), Tankini, Bikini, unisex Shorties, Classic Briefs and Contrast Briefs – all in sizes 2-10. Though Bunny is a size 10 right now and the top of the size range, I figure there are so many options here I’ll end up using this pattern over and over again for Birdie and Buddy. Bunny already wants me to make her the tankini for school swim lessons this term, so I can tell this pattern is a winner with the kids too.

I have a tendency to feel like I should draft everything myself, but this was a really good lesson for me that sometimes I should stop and consider whether it’s actually sensible to do that. I could have saved a lot of time last year if I’d used this pattern and I think I enjoyed sewing these more because the pressure was off and I could just cut out the sizes I needed and enjoy sewing. And I really really enjoyed using this pattern! I made Bunny and Birdie semi matching rashies using Ellie Whittakers Creamy Ice Dreamy swim lycra in purple and blue colourways. I let them choose the combos, and Birdie went for Blue body, and purple arms/neckband, and Bunny chose purple body and blue arms and blue arms/neckband. For Buddy I used some leftover fabric I had from Sew Active fabrics. Though Buddy’s fabric wasn’t technically swim specific fabric, it’s a high quality sports poly and given the fabric composition I know it’s going to last really well. Finding swim fabrics for boys has been quite hard, so I was happy to make this compromise. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that his will be longer lasting. I ran out of fabric for his sleeves so I ended up splicing together pieces and adding some topstitching. I love turning a necessary hack into a design feature!

I added some Kylie and the Machine labels to the back of the rashies so the kids could tell which way round they go when dressing. For the girls I used the rainbow handmade labels and for Buddy I used the hand made label – both available in my store. I used this project as another opportunity to get used to my coverstitch machine. I think It’s going a lot better now that I’m using woolly nylon in it. I think my relationship with my coverstitch is a bit strained – it’s taking me some time to fall in love, but in situations like this it was a real help.

Boo Designs Rashie's made using Ellie Whittaker Creamy Ice Dreamy swim lycra // Megan Nielsen Design Diary

I didn’t take any snaps of the kids wearing their rashies at swim lessons because I’m always wary of not including other peoples kids in my photos and it was a bit impossible to achieve that on days with the beach so crowded. So instead here are some photos of them in action at my favourite spot in the world, Matilda Bay on the Swan River. We have a tradition of coming here for a picnic as a family on our wedding anniversary each year, and it really was a beautiful afternoon celebrating with the kids making giant sand castles and swimming with the swans.

Boo Designs Rashie's made using Ellie Whittaker Creamy Ice Dreamy swim lycra // Megan Nielsen Design Diary