Back in March I sewed McCalls 7950 which is a pattern I've fallen in love with. The other day, I was browsing Pinterest looking for some sewing inspiration and I came across a Dolce and Gabbana dress which featured an Italian/Tuscan inspired tile print. With a little more research I found out this dress came … Continue reading Sewing a Dolce and Gabbana Inspired Italian Tile Dress using McCalls 7950
It's been a rough year and as much as I had plans to sew some epic Halloween projects, I honestly just want to crawl into bed and snuggle up with a cup of tea and a Ghibli movie. That's when I realised what the greatest sewing project for Halloween would be; pyjamas. Cute, comfortable pyjamas … Continue reading Sewing Vintage Halloween Pyjamas Using Vogue 5725 from 1962
Pumpkins are my favourite autumnal/ Halloween decoration and I love covering any flat surface of my house in a miscellaneous scattering of gourds as soon as it hits August. I remember a few years back, velvet pumpkins were really trendy and to be honest, I still love them and they are really easy to make. … Continue reading How to Make Velvet Pumpkins
Earlier in the year, I tested out a sewing pattern that produced one of my favourite dresses which I'm embarrassed to say I wear almost weekly. The pattern in question is Simplicity X Lisette 1419 and it contains two dresses with different collar and sleeve options as well as a jacket; on my first attempt, … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Simplicity X Lisette 1419 but Make it Halloween
Might as well be honest, originally this post was entitled 'How to Make a Vintage Bat Fascinator' but after at least two meltdowns and multiple shouts of "I give up on this thing!" and "What have I done wrong now", I knew I had to change it to an attempt type blog rather than a … Continue reading I Tried Making a Vintage Bat Fascinator for Halloween
Tis the most wonderful time of the year when we can get cozy in our homes, use pumpkins and leaves as decorations, watch spooky movies and absolutely everything smells like vanilla and cinnamon. Ah, Halloween time; oh yeah, we need a costume! Unfortunately this year, my usual October of cosy crafting and sewing times has … Continue reading Sewing Patterns for Vintage Halloween Costumes
This year, I am attempting to curb my spending so I've been shopping my sewing stashes when it comes to new sewing projects. Until I saw some of the new re-releases of original retro patterns that Simplicity put out, mainly R11333/ S9464. It was in my shopping cart faster than I could say "oh my … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Simplicity 9464 / R11333
So. Many. Gussets. As it's officially winter, I thought it's a great time to whip up a few warmer dresses and focus on patterns with long sleeves. I'm honestly not the greatest with sleeves and have no idea how people make them fit perfectly onto the bodice whereas I always end up having to put … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review; Butterick 5605
As the year goes on, I am learning and getting more and more comfortable with true vintage sewing patterns wether they be digitised or the actual original envelope and pieces. We have only made two true vintage patterns which were vintage Simplicity 8398 and McCalls 5142 both of which come from what is known as … Continue reading Vintage Sewing Pattern Review: Style Print 1028 Pinafore
Whilst visiting my family in Europe a few years ago, I was chatting with my aunty who mentioned she had a box in storage full of ribbons collected by my grandmother. She asked if I wanted to see it and of course I said yes and the next day, there it was on the dining … Continue reading Vintage Sewing Pattern: Simplicity 4343 from 1962
Why does it cost more to sew your own clothing? There's a common misconception that sewing your own clothes is somehow cheap. It's not and even on a budget, it's very rarely cheaper than buying your clothing in a store. If you sew, there's a high chance that you've been asked by someone you know … Continue reading Why Sewing your own Clothes isn’t as Cheap as You Think
How to keep the cost down on your sewing adventures. So I might just be confusing myself with something else but I swear I have written this blog before. Alas, I'm sure past MonMon started writing notes and just thought my idea went from a brainstorm doodle in a notebook into cyber space and is … Continue reading Sewing on a Budget
Not all sewing project go smoothly. Have you ever started a project and you can tell from the get-go that it's just not going to work out? This is exactly how this project started. I was looking through my more modern sewing patterns that I was gifted when I first started sewing; some have been … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Cynthia Rowley X Simplicity 1873
At the time of writing this review, it's currently May and I've had a huge Endo flare up that landed me in hospital and I've been recovering very slowly. To hit a snag in my sewing groove has thrown me for a loop and with so many creations made in the last two months, to … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Retro Butterick 6318
Setting up a sewing room really gave me a chance to go through all my sewing related things and make space for them in a way that's logical and organised (my sewing space being a pile of storage boxes was a pain and I'll never go back to that). Going through my patterns, I came … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Retro Butterick 6175
It doesn't take much to cause excitement in the vintage sewing community but when Butterick 6453 hit the shelves in 2017, we all went a little mad. This pattern was hugely popular that it was sold out for ages; it even had it's own Facebook group with several thousand members and of course there were … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Butterick 6453 / Simplicity 9291 by Gertie
Spurred on from my last true vintage sewing pattern, I wanted to try another so I returned to my stash of true vintage patterns. When it comes to vintage patterns, it can be really daunting to cut one up and I have noticed that more and more online pattern sellers are selling prints of vintage … Continue reading Vintage Sewing Pattern McCalls 5142 from 1959
Before I wore pinup and vintage clothes daily, I guess the closets description I could give my style was retro hipster. There were lots of fun prints, collars, cute sleeves and of course, I accessories with hats, long socks and cute brooches. Back then, this pattern would have been my absolute favourite "go-to" make and … Continue reading Sewing Pattern Review: Simplicity X Lisette 1419