Alice in the Polka Dot Palace

How to make your own pleated pocket

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.

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Bargainous sewing: ways to save the moolah

Bargain, Sewing ideas

Sewing is a wonderful hobby, but we have to admit, it ain’t cheap. I tend to live a fairly thrifty lifestyle but sewing can be really bloody expensive. I have a friend (not naming names), who started to track her sewing spend and one month it almost hit £1000! So, in the name of saving a bit of cash, I thought I’d share some tips for ways to save while still enjoying this awesome skill of ours. Continue reading “Bargainous sewing: ways to save the moolah” →

A Miu Miu-inspired Sew Over It Vintage Shirt Dress

Haute Stuff, Home sewn, Sewing ideas

I love looking to the runway for sewing inspiration, and the Miu Miu Resort 2020 collection is beyond beautiful! Typical of the brand’s style, the collection offers up quirky tailoring, bold prints and girly-yet-edgy details; everything I love in a garment!

I basically want to make my own versions of every item in the collection, but this dress really sang to me:

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Eh, oh! Palazzo!

Pattern review

A new pattern company, The Pattern Preacher, got in touch with me on Instagram and kindly offered me one of their patterns. They didn’t specify what they wanted in return so although the pattern was ‘gifted’ in Instagram terms, in this blog post I am expressing my own views (and I’m not going to say everything was wonderful because it was gifted!) about the Sienna palazzo trousers.

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Haute stuff: The white shirt edit

Haute Stuff, Sewing ideas

You can’t deny the power of a good white shirt. They’re easily boxed into being ‘crisp’ and ‘smart’, but the possibilities are literally endless, just have a scroll on any good retailer’s website and you’re swamped with inspiration. Although I’m generally drawn to a bold print (I have been known to wear 6 at a time, but who’s counting?), the lure of the white shirt has got me. Here I’ve put together a few inspiration images from some luxury brands and paired them with patterns so you can hack your own! Allwhite, enough faffing (and enough puns), let’s get down to it…

This preppy shirt from Red Valentino is so gorgeous and I love it! One of my most-made shirt patterns, the Juliette from I Am Patterns, would be perfect to recreate this. I’d curve the collar and add a ruffle, plus little ruffles to the sleeves and add a zip at the back instead of buttons – or just keep the buttons as it’s those front details that are so beautiful! All that’s then needed is a straight necktie which you could then wear with other shirts, too.

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