Megan Nielsen Patterns Blog https://blog.megannielsen.com/ Contemporary Sewing Patterns for the Modern Maker Fri, 01 May 2026 02:18:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://blog.megannielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/cropped-MN-the-blog-icon-1-32x32.jpg Megan Nielsen Patterns Blog https://blog.megannielsen.com/ 32 32 89930924 Sewing a voluminous tulle petticoat https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/05/sewing-a-voluminous-tulle-petticoat/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/05/sewing-a-voluminous-tulle-petticoat/#respond Fri, 01 May 2026 01:01:57 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53729 I think the thing that has stood out to me the most whilst sewing Bunny’s Prom dress – is how much work goes into the early stages of the construction. The hidden ‘guts’ of the gown that does all the heavy lifting and make the external shine has taken the majority of my time. I knew this going in and I know this is incredibly necessary, yet it’s still really confronting how much work needs to go into the underlayers. Bunny wants her skirt to have a good amount of volume, partly because she just loves that silhouette, but also because this is necessary to allow the details of the embroidered tulle outerlayer to shine. Now that i’ve finished the cupped corset bodice, I’ve been sewing a voluminous tulle petticoat crinoline in order to do […]

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]]> I think the thing that has stood out to me the most whilst sewing Bunny’s Prom dress – is how much work goes into the early stages of the construction. The hidden ‘guts’ of the gown that does all the heavy lifting and make the external shine has taken the majority of my time. I knew this going in and I know this is incredibly necessary, yet it’s still really confronting how much work needs to go into the underlayers. Bunny wants her skirt to have a good amount of volume, partly because she just loves that silhouette, but also because this is necessary to allow the details of the embroidered tulle outerlayer to shine. Now that i’ve finished the cupped corset bodice, I’ve been sewing a voluminous tulle petticoat crinoline in order to do this, and had to make a lot of little decisions along the way to make sure that I got it right.

Cupped corset and dress net petticoat. These will form the base of a ballgown and are the main structural elements.

A crinoline is essentially a structured petticoat that would sit under a petticoat in traditional clothing to hold the skirt away from the body and achieve the desired shape. Historically these have been made lots of ways, but I think most people associate them with hoops, which isn’t always the case. Bunny quite definitely did not want any kind of hoop under her gown, and wanted a soft feeling when she sits. Which works for me, as I did not want to sew hoops, and honestly I haven’t seen many examples of modern crinolines that include hoops.

The skirt of her gown essentially requires four layers. The outermost layer being the embroidered tulle, the second layer being the sage green satin that is the base of the gown skirt, the third layer is the structural support layer aka the crinoline, and the last layer is the lining that sits against her skin. After a lot of research and planning I decided to combine the lining and crinoline petticoat into one to simplify things. My sewing philosophy has always been and will always be: simplify, simplify, simplify.

Cupped corset and dress net petticoat. These will form the base of a ballgown and are the main structural elements.

I had originally drafted a half circle skirt for the lining, and decided this was still a good base to work from. I purchased dress net fabric – which is essentially a very stiff tulle for creating structured underskirts. I’ve seen this called many things, and have also seen it advertised as crinoline fabric if you’re looking for it yourself. Dress net or crinoline fabric, is incredibly stiff and stands up on it’s own, so I did not want to make the entire crinoline petticoat out of this.

Cupped corset and dress net petticoat. These will form the base of a ballgown and are the main structural elements.

What I decided to do was to cut a half circle lining and a half circle out of the dress net and then sew the two together. The reason for this was simple. The dress net will on it’s own, stand out slightly from the body due to it’s structure, the lining however, has a tendency to cling to the body. When you are wearing many layers of fabric anything that clings is very uncomfortable, so I wanted to make sure this didn’t happen to Bunny.

Cupped corset and dress net petticoat. These will form the base of a ballgown and are the main structural elements.

By combining the lining and crinoline I was essentially forcing the lining to sit away from the body as the two fabrics will act as one. To achieve this i cut the three panels of the half circle from the lining and the dress net, then carefully pinned each panel together. I sewed from the waist down to the hem in a number of locations across the waist, always radiating from waist to hem. Once the panels were joined well i sewed the half circle petticoat together treating the lining as the ‘right side’ of the garment to ensure no dress net would touch her body. I hope it’s easy to see in these photos how the dress net natural sits away from the body and creates volume.

Sewing ruffled tulle layers to a dress net crinoline skirt to add volume

Once this base was complete in order to include additional volume I purchased 10m of tulle in the same sage colour as the lining. I cut the tulle into strips and four different widths so that i could sew them at different levels up the skirt hem to lay on of each other and create volume at the hemline – which is where we want most of the volume in this dress.

Sewing ruffled tulle layers to a dress net crinoline skirt to add volume

My ruffler foot was essential to this process and I was so glad that I took the time to purchase and test it early on as it saved me so much time. I joined all the pieces of tulle that made up each of the four layers, so that i had four long strips of tulle. I then simply fed each one through my ruffler foot and once they were gathered I sewed them directly onto the petticoat. There are a lot of ways of using tulle for volume in a petticoat, but this method was preferred by me as it allowed me to add layers of volume incrementally. I also like that it resulted in a very pretty underlayer hem that pokes out when you walk.

If you would like more details of the process and method for constructing this voluminous petticoat, I’ve got a video up on Youtube now that will take you through everything I did.

As a last note I will say that the weight of the gown itself will compress any petticoat crinoline that is underneath it somewhat, so i have found that it is necessary to make the petticoat more voluminous than you wish the final garment to be. That way when the gown and petticoat are combined the weight of the gown will somewhat compress the volume of the petticoat, but the petticoat will still have enough structure left to hold the skirt in the appropriate position.

Now that voluminous tulle petticoat crinoline is complete and I’ve created the volume that Bunny wants for her skirt, I can now move on to making the final skirt! I really hope you are enjoying following along with this process. I’m certainly learning a lot and enjoying myself! As always if you have any questions or tips let me know in the comments.

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/05/sewing-a-voluminous-tulle-petticoat/feed/ 0 53729 5 Tips for mending with patches https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/5-tips-for-mending-with-patches/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/5-tips-for-mending-with-patches/#respond Fri, 20 Mar 2026 02:00:00 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53640 Adding patches to clothing has been the go to strategy for mending worn out clothing for centuries, and across all cultures for very good reason – it just works. I’m really passionate about mending broken things, and I really love adding patches to worn out clothing. I think it’s such a fun opportunity to take something that was potentially ruined, and give it new life, turning it into something beautiful and unique. So today I’ll be sharing my top 5 tips for mending worn clothing with patches. MAKE IT LOOK INTENTIONAL My first tip is to always make it look intentional. The winning strategy when mending is to fix it in a way that looks like it could have been a part of the original garment. You’re looking to improve the garment, not just mend […]

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]]> Adding patches to clothing has been the go to strategy for mending worn out clothing for centuries, and across all cultures for very good reason – it just works. I’m really passionate about mending broken things, and I really love adding patches to worn out clothing. I think it’s such a fun opportunity to take something that was potentially ruined, and give it new life, turning it into something beautiful and unique. So today I’ll be sharing my top 5 tips for mending worn clothing with patches.

Tip 1 Make mending look intentional

MAKE IT LOOK INTENTIONAL

My first tip is to always make it look intentional. The winning strategy when mending is to fix it in a way that looks like it could have been a part of the original garment. You’re looking to improve the garment, not just mend the hole as quickly as possible. I believe this is the key to making sure that your mended garments actually get worn. A poorly mended garment is not going to be worn – but similarly, neither is a garment that was mended in a way that makes it look less stylish. So whenever tackling mending, I recommend always trying to mend in a way that adds beauty to your garment as well as function.

Blanket stitch knee patch on leggings
Tips for mending with patches on the Megan Nielsen blog
Blanket stitch knee patch on leggings

For these leggings that I mended for Birdie way back in 2017, I hand sewed two layers of jersey at the knees using a contrast thread and blanket stitch. As these were a ready made garment that I didn’t want to take apart (does anyone actually like unpicking overlock?) I hand sewed the patches to cover where she had blown out the knees crawling around. We managed to get a whole season out of these and i’m so glad that they were still cute enough to pass on to our neighbors for their little girl

MACHINE SEW PATCHES FIRST

My preference is always for machine sewn patches where possible because i think it makes the patch visually blend better with the original garment than a hand sewn patch. However this isn’t always convenient. I like to machine sew patches on all pants sewn for small children as a precaution. This is why you’ll find knee patches come as an option in my Mini Virginia leggings pattern. The benefit here is that the patch will take the wear first, making it easy to remove the patch later, and add a new one, while the original pants remain intact.

Original knee tear in pair of pants
zig zag stitched knee in torn pants
new patch applied at knee
new patch applied at knee using twin needle

When adding a patch to an existing pair of pants I also like to do it by machine when possible. It’s obviously incredibly fiddly to do this on every garment, so I only do this on garments where I can easily unpick the inseam and side seam in the knee area. Here are a pair of Buddy’s pants from when he was little that I patched. He had ripped a big tear in the knee. So i unpicked the side seam and inseam of the knee and first zig zag stitched the tear closed. Then to make the repair look intentional, i cut two symmetrical patches, and added them to both knees (even though the right knee was intact). I used a twin needle for consistency with the rest of the garment, and then sewed the side seams back up. These track pants ended up lasting him the rest of the season, and even went on to be worn by my friends kids.

VISIBLE MENDING WHERE THE VIBE MATCHES

I love hand sewing, and I love hand sewn patches – but they have their place. I recommend only hand sewing patches where it matches the overall feel of the garment or where it’s not physically possible to sew with a machine.

Sashiko Mended Jeans by Megan Nielsen
Mending my favourite jeans with Sashiko

For example an obviously hand sewn patch can look out of place on a very structured tailored garment, but look right at home on a pair of Sashiko jeans. If you need to hand sew a patch on a garment where visible stitches won’t be consistent with the feel of the garment, you might need to switch to a stitch that doesn’t show on the right side of the garment.

IRON ON PATCHES NEED TO BE SEWN TOO

No-one wants to hear this – but iron on patches need to be sewn too. Iron on patches are a wonderful quick fix and you can often find packs of iron on patches in sewing stores. Particularly for denim. These are so convenient as you can quickly iron them over your holes and you’re good to. However as a long term solution I would suggest sewing them down as well. I know that is extra work – but I know from experience that they never last with just the glue provided.

Iron on knee patches need to be sewn as well as ironed for longevity
Iron on knee patches need to be sewn as well as ironed for longevity
Iron on knee patches need to be sewn as well as ironed for longevity
Iron on knee patches need to be sewn as well as ironed for longevity

These jeans are a pair that I ripped a hole in back in 2012. At the time I purchased iron on denim knee patches from the local sewing store near my house and ironed them on. They looked great and I loved them, but not even a year later they started peeling at the edges and fall off despite very gentle washing and a lot of care. So I sat down with a rom com and hand sewed them down. They lasted many years after that.

FUTURE PROOF YOUR MAKES

Lastly, i think it’s worth remembering that there is value in future proofing your handmade clothing, especially if you know it’s going to wear in obvious places. When making clothing for my kids I will often add knee patches at the very beginning in the construction phase, which makes the knees much sturdier and means that if holes do develop, they develop on the patch. That was the method I used for these jeans I made for Buddy when he was a toddler. I cut up a pair of Chris’ old torn jeans to remake them into these pants and added leather knee patches to prevent wear.

Adding knee patches to kids clothing makes them last longer
Knee patches on toddler jeans
Toddler pants made from an old pair of jeans with knee patches added for longevity

This is helpful because the patch is usually made of a sturdier material, but also because patches are replaceable. When they do wear out they can be removed completely, or removed and replaced by a new patch. It’s about being proactive rather than reactive.

BONUS TIP – PREWASH YOUR PATCHES!

And as a small bonus tip about patches – please make sure that your patches are prewashed and preshrunk. The way I remember this is actually really a bit silly. There is a Bible verse where Jesus is using old wisdom to make a point:

No-one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on to an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse
Mark 2:21

I’m using this out of context – but the thing i love here is that 2000 years ago it was common knowledge that you should always preshrink your patches. So friends – please don’t forget to prewash your patches!

Some of my favourite patched garments

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/5-tips-for-mending-with-patches/feed/ 0 53640 Mending with embroidery https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/mending-with-embroidery/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/mending-with-embroidery/#respond Mon, 16 Mar 2026 02:41:21 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53621 So often we consider our clothing ruined when it has a stain or a rip, but I believe so strongly in caring for our garments so that they last many years. Mending is a crucial part of the life cycle of a garment, and I love taking the opportunity to improve the garment and make it a bit more special.  I think that’s what I love so much about mending with embroidery – the fact that you’re taking something that is “ruined” or “damaged” and improving it. Putting time into it to make it better than before. Let’s take a look at some of my favourite projects!  Covering up a bleach stain Many years ago after our Dawn jeans photoshoot, I realised there was tiny little bleach spots on the back of the shorts sample. […]

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]]> So often we consider our clothing ruined when it has a stain or a rip, but I believe so strongly in caring for our garments so that they last many years. Mending is a crucial part of the life cycle of a garment, and I love taking the opportunity to improve the garment and make it a bit more special. 

I think that’s what I love so much about mending with embroidery – the fact that you’re taking something that is “ruined” or “damaged” and improving it. Putting time into it to make it better than before.

Let’s take a look at some of my favourite projects! 

Covering Stains with Embroidery | Geraldton Wax Embroidered Dawn Shorts

Covering up a bleach stain

Many years ago after our Dawn jeans photoshoot, I realised there was tiny little bleach spots on the back of the shorts sample. I was absolutely heartbroken! But never fear friends – this was the way I discovered my favourite way to sort out bleach stains…embroidered flowers!! 

Check out the blog post to read all about the story of the Geraldton Wax embroidered Dawn shorts!

Covering Stains with Embroidery | Geraldton Wax Embroidered Dawn Shorts
Covering Stains with Embroidery | Geraldton Wax Embroidered Dawn Shorts
Covering Stains with Embroidery | Geraldton Wax Embroidered Dawn Shorts

Sashiko Ash Jeans

When the denim on my favourite pair of Ash jeans started to get a little too worn, it was a perfect opportunity to try out a new technique for me…Sashiko mending! Check out the blog post here for the journey!

When it comes to supplies for this project i bought the book Simply Sashiko which is full of lots of Sashiko designs with very clear instructions and measurements for how to transfer them to your fabric. 

Sashiko mended jeans by Megan Nielsen
Sashiko Mended jeans, chunky boots, beige puffer jacket winter outfit

Bleached Flint Flowers

Ok friends, this is absolutely one of those fixes that has made me fall in love with the make even more. Does anyone remember these gorgeous mauve Flint shorts? Well, I made the grave error of wearing them on the incredibly rare occasion that I had bleach in the house. I was so sad when I saw the damage initially…but now…it’s all coming up ‘hand stitched pink and purple’ roses. 

Check out the video below to see how I turned my little bleach blunder into the cutest embroidered flowers. 

Sashiko T-Shirt Repair

I’m so grateful my kiddo’s let me practice ideas on their clothing! Especially when it becomes a favourite piece in their closet.

After a dramatic fall on his bike, Buddy’s favourite t-shirt sustained a bit of damage (more than he did thankfully!) and rather than turn it into a rag…I thought I’d try out some mending using Sashiko and patches! I was so thrilled he loved it, and wears the shirt more than ever.

Have you used embroidery to cover up stains or fix parts of your clothes before? I would LOVE to hear (and see) all of your fixes, be sure to pop a comment below to let me know all about your favourite mending project!

Happy Mending! 
Meg xo

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/mending-with-embroidery/feed/ 0 53621 Cottagecore Bedsheet Protea Dress https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/cottagecore-bedsheet-protea-dress/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/cottagecore-bedsheet-protea-dress/#respond Fri, 13 Mar 2026 23:11:00 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53567 The story of this dress starts with my eldest daughter Bunny. She has fallen deep in love with the cottagecore aesthetic and had come to me with a moodboard of ideas and a sewing pattern in mind – Protea. One of the many things I love about making things for Bunny is that you can always count on her to make you a moodboard, and i love that so much as it really reduces any misunderstandings or confusion. She mainly wanted view C of the Protea sewing pattern, which is a square neck dress with flutter sleeves and a tiered skirt. She did not however want a drawstring waist, and was very keen on rows of elastic at the waistline to cinch it in a bit more there and give the general vibe from her […]

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]]> The story of this dress starts with my eldest daughter Bunny. She has fallen deep in love with the cottagecore aesthetic and had come to me with a moodboard of ideas and a sewing pattern in mind – Protea. One of the many things I love about making things for Bunny is that you can always count on her to make you a moodboard, and i love that so much as it really reduces any misunderstandings or confusion. She mainly wanted view C of the Protea sewing pattern, which is a square neck dress with flutter sleeves and a tiered skirt. She did not however want a drawstring waist, and was very keen on rows of elastic at the waistline to cinch it in a bit more there and give the general vibe from her inspiration board.

Cottagecore dress inspiration using the Protea sewing pattern

For the fabric she wanted to choose a very busy Liberty print – which is quite different from the images she had found for me. Given this hack wasn’t something I had done before, or seen her wear before I thought it was worth making a test run that she could try on and see if she liked the style before choosing her final fabric. Whenever i sew a test run of any pattern i much prefer to use a fabric that isn’t valuable enough for me to feel worried about but is also nice enough that the garment could potentially be used afterwards. I just hate waste and this tends to be a real winning strategy for me with making sure i am careful with materials.

Using old bedsheets for sewing garments is an affordable way to try out sewing patterns, but they also have so many cute patterns!

My absolute go to for making toiles is old bedsheets. I tend to keep a nice stash of thrifted bed sheets that I can use in my sewing. Some of the prints in vintage sheets are so cute that I wish i could get them again! I also keep any of our own sheets that have worn out, and my mom has passed on many pretty sheets to me that had seen the end of their life as linens but were perfect for test sewing.

Sewing a Protea dress from an old bedsheet!

So for this dress I turned to my stash of old sheets and pulled out this very pretty Tommy Hilfiger sheet which I must admit I have no memory of buying. It doesn’t match any of our sheet sets, but has been in my linen cupboard for as long as i can remember, so i have a feeling i thrifted it when we still lived in America. One of the things that is so incredible about using bed linens for sewing is their size. I got this entire dress out of a single flat sheet and still had fabric to spare. I thought the little flowers would probably help her decide if she liked the look of a very floral dress.

Taking apart an old sheet to make into a Protea dress

I thought that the rows of elastic casing would look so pretty with the contrast edging on the sheet so i carefully unpicked it and ironed it all out so that I could use it. The strips were very narrow- only 1″ (2.5cm) wide so i didn’t have a lot of seam allowance to work with, but I made it fit! The method here was incredibly simple. I sewed the entire Protea view C dress, but just did not add the waist tie channel.

Thrifted bedsheets make wonderful materials for making pretty dresses!

After I was finished i took my my 1″/2.5cm strips and folded in and pressed 1/4″ (6mm) on the upper and lower raw edges. For the first row I carefully pinned the channel the entire circumference of the waistline, so that the bottom edge of the channel was aligned with the waist seam. I then top stitched it in place and left a gap to thread 1/4″ (6mm) elastic. The second row of channeling was placed 1″ (2.5cm) above the top edge of the first row of channeling and was attached by the same method.

Adding labels from the original sheet to the garment made from it is a cute detail

I also decided to keep the original labels and add them in to the project too. This is a little thing I love doing with any old garment that I take apart and remake – it’s just so fun to keep a record of where my materials came from.

Thrifted bedsheet dress

And lastly I added a little bow to the waistline. It has no function, i just like bows and thought it was pretty.

A cottagecore Protea dress made from an old bedsheet | Megan Nielsen Patterns

Now here is the funny part. I was starting to fall in love with this dress whilst I was making it, which is always a bittersweet feeling when you are making something to give away. When I had finished making this test dress, Bunny tried in on, developed a very worried facial expression and declared “I think this might be a little too cottagecore for me”. And I think she was right. This dress is a lot with all the skirt and sleeve volume and the little flowers and the contrast elastic channels.

A cottagecore Protea dress made from an old bedsheet | Megan Nielsen Patterns

In the end she decided she would like a solid colour linen for her final dress and wants to omit the skirt tiers so that her dress is above the knee length and not quite so voluminous. Given her tastes and style I thought this was a great choice, and I’m really enjoying seeing what fabric she chooses for it.

A cottagecore Protea dress made from an old bedsheet | Megan Nielsen Patterns

And of course, I cannot tell a lie – i was more than a little pleased to find that I had an excuse to welcome this dress into my wardrobe. So if anyone wants me I’ll be floating around my garden, cuddling my chickens and pretending that I live in the actual countryside. It’s amazing isn’t it to think that a dress made from a bedsheet could turn out so pretty?

A cottagecore Protea dress made from an old bedsheet | Megan Nielsen Patterns

I love how my cottagecore bedsheet Protea dress turned out, and I hope that I’ve convinced you to give a thought to using old sheets in your sewing. I think you’ll be really surprised what great materials you can find in thrift stores/op shops and even in your own linen cupboard.

Some of my other Projects using sheets

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/cottagecore-bedsheet-protea-dress/feed/ 0 53567 Repurposing Materials https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/repurposing-materials/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/repurposing-materials/#respond Wed, 11 Mar 2026 22:59:36 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53545 Welcome to the first of the Make Do & Mend series posts! Today we are looking at cost effective ways to create some fantastic new makes – without the need to spend loads on materials! One of the best ways we can all do a little more ‘making do’ and a little less ‘buying new’ (loves a rhyme ?) is to repurpose our materials – fabrics, notions, features etc. Whether you have old makes that you want to refashion, if you use some old linens in the cupboard (sheets, table cloths, pillow cases…and don’t forget those quilts!) or perhaps you love op shopping for treasures that you can remake: there are endless options and beautiful makes just on the other side of a little inspo. Shop the bedding aisle When Bunny and Birdie felt the cold coming […]

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]]> Welcome to the first of the Make Do & Mend series posts! Today we are looking at cost effective ways to create some fantastic new makes – without the need to spend loads on materials!

One of the best ways we can all do a little more ‘making do’ and a little less ‘buying new’ (loves a rhyme ?) is to repurpose our materials – fabrics, notions, features etc.

Whether you have old makes that you want to refashion, if you use some old linens in the cupboard (sheets, table cloths, pillow cases…and don’t forget those quilts!) or perhaps you love op shopping for treasures that you can remake: there are endless options and beautiful makes just on the other side of a little inspo.

Shop the bedding aisle

When Bunny and Birdie felt the cold coming on last winter, they of course requested their own “puffer” Hovea Coat…which made me VERY excited! However, I was a bit apprehensive about quilting two jackets in quick succession. Winter doesn’t last very long here in Perth, so time was of the essence. 

So we had a look online to see what ‘quilted bedcovers/quilts/coverlets’ were available in our price range. The girls spotted these two gorgeous puffy bedspreads at Kmart (similar to Target) and off we went! I even had enough left over to make Anita’s little girl a puffy jacket!

There are many reasons why I love this idea: it’s affordable, you get loads of fabric, definitely more than you’ll need for your make; and all of the materials are already there for you. This way if you’re new to sewing or quilting it’s a great way to introduce you to the process!

Check out the video for the full story on this journey :)

Thrift store finds

Did you know that most op shops/thrift stores have little sections dedicated to sewing supplies? Sometimes you can even find meterage of fabric that has never been used. I always make sure to have a little squiz just in case there’s some treasure in there!

Another section I’ve started checking…the linen! You won’t believe the beautiful quilts and bedspreads people give away! Another thing to keep in mind is that op shops/thrift shops sometimes have brand new, unused sheet sets. So be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the gems!

Shopping your own linen cupboard

DIY tie front blouse with peplum and puff sleeves
Protea

When Bunny got some gorgeous new mauve coloured bedsheets can you imagine my sadness (please note my saracasm here) when I realised they were too big for her bed! As a result – I was left with some off-cuts from the sheets, and just enough to make this beautiful tie front, puff sleeve Protea hack blouse!

I wrote a blog tutorial post about it here and I even filmed a super simple video below to show you how you can make your own!

Megan Nielsen Mini Darling Ranges dress made from a vintage sheet

Mini Darling Ranges

We often use thrifted sheets to sew our toiles during testing, and I really feel like some of the most gorgeous prints are found in vintage sheets! Back when I was developing Mini Darling Ranges I was lucky enough to test out two Darling Ranges dresses for my little ones – from vintage sheets I picked up at an op shop years before! Check out the posts here and here.

Hovea Quilt Coat

Ok everyone…I think you should make quilted Hovea jacket using a pre-made bed spread or quilt and we have a blog post here and a video below that’s going to let you in on all the reasons I think it’s an awesome idea!

Megan Nielsen Patterns | Hovea: Tips For Making A Hovea Jacket From A Vintage Quilt | Anita & Her Quilt
Anita

Remake unworn pieces

Whether it’s a skirt you don’t wear as much as you thought you would or Levi’s in your husband’s wardrobe that are never worn…if you are wondering whether you should remake a piece…let this be your inspo!

PROTEA SKIRT = MARRI DRESS

There was one Protea skirt I didn’t wear as much as I thought and I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it instead..a Marri dress!

There is a blog post coming for this one, but please enjoy the progress pic here, complete with my very apt label use (Panic Sewn ?) and my favourite straps to date – velvet ribbon!

LEVI’S to DAWN JEANS!

We have been inspired by Candice’s Dawn jeans crafted from Men’s Levis from the thrift store!  Check out her blog post here for all of the details on how she crafted her Dawn Jeans!

Candice's Dawn jeans
Candice's Dawn jeans
Candice's Dawn jeans
Some of my other Projects using sheets

Have you got any secret sources you love to check for materials for your sewing journey? We’d love to hear your tips and tricks for ways we can all save AND reuse/recycle fabrics!

Happy Mending! 
Meg xo

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/repurposing-materials/feed/ 0 53545 Make Do & Mend https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/make-do-mend/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/make-do-mend/#respond Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:11:57 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53529 This month I am so excited to introduce our Make Do and Mend March series! If you’re signed up to the newsletter you would have seen a little introduction email with some of the ideas I’ll be chatting about throughout the month. If you’re not on the newsletter mailing list, never fear! All the info is right here for you :) One thing I love doing is making sure my beloved makes are kept in a great condition. I’ve put so much love and care into making my clothing over the years it would break my heart to let something go because of a small rip or because my body has changed and it doesn’t fit me quite the same!  This is not a new concept. For as long as garments have existed, so has mending. It’s […]

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]]> This month I am so excited to introduce our Make Do and Mend March series! If you’re signed up to the newsletter you would have seen a little introduction email with some of the ideas I’ll be chatting about throughout the month. If you’re not on the newsletter mailing list, never fear! All the info is right here for you :)

One thing I love doing is making sure my beloved makes are kept in a great condition. I’ve put so much love and care into making my clothing over the years it would break my heart to let something go because of a small rip or because my body has changed and it doesn’t fit me quite the same! 

This is not a new concept. For as long as garments have existed, so has mending. It’s even mentioned in the Bible! Which I have to admit always makes me giggle. As a child my favourite thing to talk to my Granny about was war rationing. She was born in 1908 and had lived through two World Wars, The Great Depression, and after all that moving from England to Africa with a small child on her own and starting her life all over again. Her stories of saving, remaking, reusing and frugality were the things I would daydream about. I truly believe that scarcity is the fuel of creativity, and it’s incredible how much genius has come out of tough times.

Make Do and Mend

Even if you look at something as ubiquitous as quilting – that exists because of the desire to save fabric scraps and reuse worn out garments. An entire area of our beautiful craft, existing only out of a desire to be careful with our resources and not waste a thing.

About a decade ago i was really missing these stories of my Granny’s and I went on a hunt for the original Make Do and Mend pamphlets and stumbled across this gem of a book. I have loved reading it and flicking through the pages. The hardcover is now out of print and quite pricey but the Kindle version is free. There are so many incredible ideas and techniques which were not only relevant back then – but are still very relevant now.

Make Do and Mend

I think we can all agree it’s been a really tough time for so many people financially, with the cost of living rising and things getting harder to keep up with. It can feel like our favourite stitching hobbies are only getting more expensive – in a time when everyone needs it. If there is one small change I can make that might make things a little easier on the hip pocket – that still helps me nourish my creativity and love for sewing, I’m there for it!

So for the month of March we will be putting together a series all about fabulous, simple and beautiful ways to mend your clothing and make the most of what we have or how we can be creative with sourcing our materials. I really hope you enjoy it and if you have any suggestions for how you Make Do and Mend – please let me know, i’d love to share them with everyone!

Make Do and Mend

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/03/make-do-mend/feed/ 0 53529 Sashiko mended Ash jeans https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/sashiko-mended-ash-jeans/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/sashiko-mended-ash-jeans/#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2026 09:15:35 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53518 I’m so excited to final share my Sashiko mended Ash jeans with you! I worked on these over a year ago and it’s taken me that long to edit my rambling video footage to give you a peek at the process. I originally made these Ash jeans 8 years ago and they have worn in so beautifully in colour and softness – but unfortunately have also worn out in many places, like the backside. These are my favourite most comfortable jeans, so when we were planning our trip to Switzerland at the end of 2024 I knew I wanted to fix these take them with me. I have been wanting to try visibly mending jeans with Sashiko, and this felt like the perfect opportunity to do so! I had enough scraps of the original fabric […]

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]]> I’m so excited to final share my Sashiko mended Ash jeans with you! I worked on these over a year ago and it’s taken me that long to edit my rambling video footage to give you a peek at the process. I originally made these Ash jeans 8 years ago and they have worn in so beautifully in colour and softness – but unfortunately have also worn out in many places, like the backside. These are my favourite most comfortable jeans, so when we were planning our trip to Switzerland at the end of 2024 I knew I wanted to fix these take them with me. I have been wanting to try visibly mending jeans with Sashiko, and this felt like the perfect opportunity to do so!

Mending my favourite jeans with Sashiko

I had enough scraps of the original fabric left that I could use it to patch the jeans. Which unfortunately was another confirmation for me that hoarding all my favourite scraps is a great idea. Poor Chris, every storage spot in our home is full of fabric hahahaha. I had to be really careful when choosing my patches that the grain was aligned so that the stretch of the jeans wasn’t compromised. The same applied when choosing which designs to stitch – i was really careful to only choice designs that were diagonal and vertical as anything horizontal would not stretch and would make me unable to put my jeans on. The horror!

When it comes to supplies for this project i bought the book Simply Sashiko which is full of lots of Sashiko designs with very clear instructions and measurements for how to transfer them to your fabric. There is some basic instruction on the method of stitching for Sashiko – but i found it to be slightly different than the method I had learnt in the Sashiko course I took with Upcycle Stitches, and also were not as thorough. You can certainly get something that looks right with the book – but i think there are some key techniques (like overlapping threads rather than knotting) that I think are overlooked and are important to learn. All Sashiko thread, and needles and thimble I used were also purchased from Upcycle Stitches and I highly recommend them.

Megan Nielsen Ash jeans mended with Sashiko

I actually still had enough of this fabric in my stash to make an entirely new pair, so I also did that! I love that with the step hem and Sashiko mending these jeans look so different to the same cut of Ash jeans made with the same fabric, but with a regular hem and different hardware and topstitching. If you’d like to watch my video comparing how this denim has aged over the years you can watch it on youtube as well

I love my Sashiko jeans so much, and since I mended them in 2024, A new hole popped up and I added to my mending with a new Sashiko patch which was really fun. I love that these jeans are essentially an evolving artwork and will continue to change as i wear them more and more.

Sashiko mended jeans by Megan Nielsen

Also as a side note, I bought these boots in Gstaad on our trip and was absolutely delighted to find that the length worked so perfectly with the step hem on these Ash jeans. I love a happy accident and this has become a favourite winter outfit combo for me!

Sashiko Mended jeans, chunky boots, beige puffer jacket winter outfit

I hope you enjoyed hearing all about how i went about mending my jeans with Sashiko – if you have any Q’s or comments let me know!

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/sashiko-mended-ash-jeans/feed/ 2 53518 Bernina #86 Ruffler Foot Review https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/bernina-86-ruffler-foot-review/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/bernina-86-ruffler-foot-review/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2026 01:58:29 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53509 When I started working on my daughter’s Prom dress it became apparent pretty quickly that I was going to be gathering metres upon metres of tulle to achieve the volume and silhouette she was wanting. The idea of this really daunted me, and so to make my life a little easier I bought a ruffler foot in the hopes that it would make it easier to gather a lot of tulle quickly. I purchased the Bernina #86 ruffler foot from Sew Masters here in Australia, and it was quite pricey coming in at $113 AUD. I don’t usually purchase a lot of specialty feet – i have a few, but i prefer to try and get along with what I have most of the time, so this was kind of a big deal for me. […]

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]]> When I started working on my daughter’s Prom dress it became apparent pretty quickly that I was going to be gathering metres upon metres of tulle to achieve the volume and silhouette she was wanting. The idea of this really daunted me, and so to make my life a little easier I bought a ruffler foot in the hopes that it would make it easier to gather a lot of tulle quickly.

I purchased the Bernina #86 ruffler foot from Sew Masters here in Australia, and it was quite pricey coming in at $113 AUD. I don’t usually purchase a lot of specialty feet – i have a few, but i prefer to try and get along with what I have most of the time, so this was kind of a big deal for me.

Bernina #86 Ruffler Foot Review

After trying it out I was honestly blown away by how easy it was to pleat or gather large amounts of fabric quickly and I think this might be my new favourite foot. I definitely recommend it and put together a full review on my Youtube channel that goes through how to use the foot and all it’s features.

Essentially the way this foot works is to pull in fabric using a ruffler blade with every stitch it takes. You can adjust how much fabric is pulled in, and also how many stitches the machine takes between pleats. It takes some calibrating to get it set up the way you want it for each project but i think it is totally worth it for how efficient and accurate it is.

I think you’re probably going to be seeing me use this for a lot more projects in the future. I really hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions let me know in the comments!

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/bernina-86-ruffler-foot-review/feed/ 2 53509 Birdie learns to knit https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/birdie-learns-to-knit/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/birdie-learns-to-knit/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2026 03:17:57 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=53490 My mom taught Birdie to knit before our big family trip to Switzerland, and it was so wonderful to see not only how Birdie persevered through learning, but also how special it was between the two of them. I have tried knitting lots of times, but I don’t have the same skill level as my mom, and if i’m honest, i have too many hobbies already to dedicate the time needed to be good at it. So it’s been such a joy to see my mom pass on her knowledge to Birdie, and see a new generation fall in love with knitting. This project combined two things i’m really passionate about. I think it’s incredibly important for kids to spend special time with their grandparents, and i’m also a massive believer in the value of […]

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]]> My mom taught Birdie to knit before our big family trip to Switzerland, and it was so wonderful to see not only how Birdie persevered through learning, but also how special it was between the two of them. I have tried knitting lots of times, but I don’t have the same skill level as my mom, and if i’m honest, i have too many hobbies already to dedicate the time needed to be good at it. So it’s been such a joy to see my mom pass on her knowledge to Birdie, and see a new generation fall in love with knitting.

Ouma teaching Birdie to knit
Ouma teaching Birdie to knit
Ouma teaching Birdie to knit

This project combined two things i’m really passionate about. I think it’s incredibly important for kids to spend special time with their grandparents, and i’m also a massive believer in the value of hobbies. I think the more physical hobbies kids have the less temptation there is to spend all their time online.

Birdie practicing knitting with Ouma
Birdie knitting her own scarf
Birdie knitting her own scarf

Birdie’s first lessons were on smaller needles with a finer yarn, but for her final project she chose a lovely chunky plush yarn and thicker needles and i think that helped her enjoy the process and see her work take shape faster. It was a bit of a challenge fitting everything in as though Ouma’s yarn stash is quite large, she only had two skeins of this yarn and we couldn’t find it anywhere. I think she had bought it quite some time before.

Birdie's handmade tube scarf and hat

But they made it work! My mom used one skein to knit the hat, and Birdie used the remainder to make a pom pom for top as she is a fan of massive pom poms. Birdie used the second skein for her scarf and she just knitted a strip until she ran out, then we twisted it once and sewed the ends together.

Tube scarf handmade by Birdie

What this resulted in was a tube scarf with a twist at the front and she really loved this as it meant that she didn’t have to fuss with tying her scarf, she just popped it over her head when we went out into the snow and if she was really cold she doubled it up so it was closer around her neck.

Birdie wearing a scarf she knitted with matching hat knitted by her Ouma

This worked so well that it really makes me think all kids scarves should be tubes! It was so easy for her to wear, never got lost and in the situations where she did get a bit hot, it was so easy for me to just sling it over my arm.

Birdie wearing a scarf she knitted with matching hat knitted by her Ouma

I’m so glad that Birdie not only had the opportunity to learn to knit from her Ouma, but also that she was able to take the things they made together and use them on our family trip to Switzerland. So many wonderful memories all wrapped up together!

Birdie wearing handmade hat and scarf in Switzerland

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/birdie-learns-to-knit/feed/ 1 53490 How to choose between Dawn & Dawn Curve https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/how-to-choose-between-dawn-dawn-curve/ https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/how-to-choose-between-dawn-dawn-curve/#respond Thu, 12 Feb 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://blog.megannielsen.com/?p=50330 If you find yourself in the crossover 14-20 sizes and are struggling to choose between the Dawn & Dawn Curve patterns, this post is perfect for you! We found in the drafting of Dawn Curve, that there wasn’t a need for any drastic changes for those over-lap sizes (14-20), so if you fall comfortably in sizes 14-20, either the 0-20 or 14-30 patterns will serve you equally well. The deciding factor of which range to choose is whether you will need to grade up past a size 20 or below a size 14 for any reason. If you’re looking for some more guidance on this check out the posts below! If you have any questions on fit or sizing we are always here to help! Pop a comment below or email us at hello@megannielsen.com to […]

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]]> If you find yourself in the crossover 14-20 sizes and are struggling to choose between the Dawn & Dawn Curve patterns, this post is perfect for you!

We found in the drafting of Dawn Curve, that there wasn’t a need for any drastic changes for those over-lap sizes (14-20), so if you fall comfortably in sizes 14-20, either the 0-20 or 14-30 patterns will serve you equally well.

The deciding factor of which range to choose is whether you will need to grade up past a size 20 or below a size 14 for any reason. If you’re looking for some more guidance on this check out the posts below!

If you have any questions on fit or sizing we are always here to help! Pop a comment below or email us at hello@megannielsen.com to ask any questions!

LOOKING FOR MORE ASH AND DAWN POSTS?

Here is the full list of Dawn and Ash jeans posts:

We absolutely love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNdawn or #MNash and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!

Don’t have the Dawn pattern yet?

Dawn & Dawn Curve

Order Dawn today in sizes 0-20 and Curve sizes 14-30

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]]> https://blog.megannielsen.com/2026/02/how-to-choose-between-dawn-dawn-curve/feed/ 0 50330