Author: Alice in the Polka Dot Palace

CocoWawa Honeycomb: Third time’s a charm!

Home sewn, Pattern review

I wrote about this pattern before (click here if you’d like to have a read), and I admitted that something about it didn’t feel right. It was my second attempt – the first was far too big, then the second try just looked off; my recent revelation about viscose explains why! I’m so glad I realised it was the fabric type and not the dress itself because I love the design.

Having realised it was the viscose that was the problem for me, I decided to make another in some cotton poplin that I bought from Sew Me Sunshine.

Continue reading “CocoWawa Honeycomb: Third time’s a charm!” →

Haute stuff: My top 5 autumn trends…and patterns to sew your own

Haute Stuff, Sewing ideas

While most people are lamenting the end of summer, I’m getting really excited for the new season; clearly the back-to-school feeling of a fresh start has never left me!

However, as much as I love to track the seasonal trends, I think it’s really important to make sure you’re making (or buying) clothes that you’ll love year in year out. So herein is my round up of the trends for autumn/winter, but ones that you’ll want to wear well after this whirlwind of a year is over…

Pump up the volume

Big sleeves are still everywhere!!!  They’ve been around for a while and from the look of it, they are here to stay. The easiest hack for this would be to make a mega gathered sleeve, but if you’re after some patterns to satisfy your sleeve needs, the Thea Boho Sleeve Shirt from Liberty, the Lima Dress from Cosedo Studios, and the Cologne blouse from Bella Loves are right up your street.

Continue reading “Haute stuff: My top 5 autumn trends…and patterns to sew your own” →

An ode to the Kew dress!

Pattern review

I’ve previously written about my love for the Kew dress from Nina Lee, so this won’t be a hugely long post today, but I wanted to share my latest version and the hacks I made!

Part of the reason I love the Kew pattern is the potential it holds. Straight out of the packet you have two dress versions and a skirt – great value for money. It was only once I’d made a couple of versions of the dress that the real potential occurred to me – this pattern is friggin’ awesome. I’ve made a gathered skirt version, a dress with a tapered skirt, a tie-back dress, and my latest version has a few mods too.

Nina Lee Kew dress Continue reading “An ode to the Kew dress!” →

How to make your own pleated pocket

How to

I’m going through a bit of a style slump and decided that a guaranteed winner of a make was going to be a pretty summery dress. Out came my Nina Lee Kew dress pattern, one of my most-made and most-loved patterns. You know how books can get ‘dog-eared’? My Kew dress pattern is more like ‘mauled and torn to pieces by a pack of wild dogs’; that’s how many times I’ve made it.

In spite of my sewing slump, a lovely little gem arose in the form of this pocket, and, as requested, I’ve made a little tutorial for you here! There’s even a pattern to save you measuring it all out, because I’m nice like that.

Continue reading “How to make your own pleated pocket” →