‘This coat is definitely my most worn me made but I rarely share the full eyeball-dazzling glory of the inside because usually I’m in it!’ Megan exclaims on her Instagram feed @nutmeg_makes.
Olive Road London got involved in the Sewing Bee Style competition by giving away a £20 voucher and bag of goodies for Reduce Reuse Recycle Week. @anzymillblenk and @sewistandthecity have been organising the competition for a few years. A fun way to get involved in the BBC sewing program, The Great British Sewing Bee. Join in with the contestants for each themed week, with 4 weeks to make an outfit rather than 4 hours!
My vintage fabric shop was built on the basis of recycling fabrics by reusing fabrics. Whether that is from a fabric stash that has never been used or items such as curtains that can be upcycled into something new. I love the challenge of using up small pieces of fabric. I was thrilled that Megan won the Reduce Reuse Recycle Week, what an inventive way of using up scrap fabrics.
Megan created one large piece of fabric from lots of small scrap fabrics. Painstakingly fitting each piece together like a colourful jigsaw puzzle. She explains:
The lining is made entirely from scraps from my Mum’s many projects. There are fabrics in here I remember both of us being clothed in when I was a kid (her frog trousers were the stuff of legend) and others that featured on more family quilts than I can count. There are so many fabrics in this coat that featured in things she made when I was growing up, it’s really quite a trip down memory lane!
Megan, nutmeg_makes
She continues ‘I was 14 when Mum passed away. As well as her fabric stash (and a huge bag of scraps), I inherited her love of colour and penchant for taking on ridiculous projects. Since then, aside from a couple of family quilts, I could never thing of a fitting project to use the fabrics in until the idea for this coat came along in 2020.
I think of it as a big hug from her Mum every time Megan wears her beautiful coat. The pattern Megan used is the Truffle Coat from Lara Sanner. Megan’s hack was to add three extra pockets so she can stash all her stuff in them.
it’s the most ‘me’ thing I’ve made and I love how I feel wearing it. It’s amazing what you can do with scraps isn’t it?
Megan, nutmeg_makes
Congratulations to Megan for winning the Sewing Bee Style, Reduce Reuse Recycle week. Thanks to Ella from Sewist and the City and Andy Millblenk for organising such a fun competition with fantastic prizes. Follow them on Instagram for next year’s competition. Follow Megan for more sewing inspiration.
Want to know how to create a large piece of fabric from small pieces of fabric? Follow my how to blog post with tips for either hand sewing the pieces or machine sewing them.