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March madness

Finally, as we leap into March (happy birthday to all you leaplings!), the mornings are starting to get a little lighter and the evenings are getting a little longer. Spring is just around the corner… and then it snows! Yes, today in Somerset we have had a lovely sprinkling of snow. Hmm… what to wear, what to make?

But March it is, and with it brings the return of the Frome independent market, new workshops and new fabrics at Millie Moon.

Tomorrow is the first market of the year, and our pattern swap box will be back out.  For those who are unfamiliar with the swap, you can bring in any pattern you no longer use, didn’t like or never opened and swap it for one in the box.  If there is nothing you want this month we will give you a token to have a look another time.   All we ask is that all the pieces are still useable, the front is marked with the size cut and the instructions are included. Come along and have a rummage. We have a variety of small project patterns, vintage patterns, and dressmaking patterns.

New in for spring!

We have had lots of deliveries over the last few weeks. Here are a few of the new arrivals to tempt you back to sewing this spring. From lovely delicate Indian cottons, to soft cosy Dashwood needlecord, we have something for all weathers and all wardrobes. We have also had a restock of the Merchant and Mills patterns, including the new Ludlow, Sanda and Margo, (perfect for Annas’ next garment making workshop). Keep an eye out for new samples coming soon!


 

Workshops in March 

 

KIDS CLUB 7+ years

Sewing tutor Claire is a local teacher, author, beach cleaner and self confessed crafty mess maker! Once a month, kids sewing club make a new project learning valuable hand sewing skills whilst having fun!

This month is Mad March Monsters! Next month they are making Wererabbits and carrot bunnies! Sign up online or in the shop. 

 

12th march 6 week     Sewing your own clothes skills sessions

Dressmaking tutor Anna is back with a new evening class.

Anna has created a series of workshops to cover all areas of dressmaking in more detail. Rather than working on one project, you will learn a different technique and skill each week. Whether you are a beginner or just a bit rusty then the tips and techniques in this masterclass will enable you to go on and produce beautiful garments.

Expect to make lots of samples, take away clear notes and practise the skills to build up your confidence .

sessions include:

  • Introduction to paper patterns
  • Zips and buttonholes
  • Hems & Seam Finishes
  • Working with stretch and overlocker demonstration
  • altering patterns
  • making a garment from your favourite garment
  • mending and alterations

 

12th march      6 week garment making 

Dressmaking tutor Anna is back with the her popular 6 week evening class.

Bring your fabric and pattern and let Anna guide you through the process at your pace with lots of helpful tips and advice along the way. Small groups mean lots of attention for everyone. This is suitable for beginners with basic machine skills or intermediates who want to try a more advanced project.

 

*these workshops do not include pattern or fabric. You are welcome to purchase these from Millie Moon with a 10% discount.

 

24th march     1-1 Using your overlocker 

New overlocker still in the box?  Forgotten how to thread it? Are you stuck on a project and in need of some sewing tips? Do you need a refresh on how to use a certain technique?

Whether you’re a complete beginner, or a more experienced sewer in need of a fresh pair of eyes and some tips, Anna’s 1-1 overlocker workshops could be the perfect solution for you!

In these sessions, our dressmaking tutor Anna, will be able to answer all of your sewing queries and problems. Just bring along your overlocker for that personal help.

 

 

If you have any questions about workshops or cant see what you want then please just get in touch

Hope you to see you  for market or maybe a workshop

Rachel and Becki

xxx

It’s our birthday! 15 years on Catherine Hill.

Happy 15th birthday Millie Moon

 we are celebrating!

 

On 4th July 2008, we opened Millie Moon on Catherine Hill. It was truly our “Independence Day’ as we followed a childhood dream to open a shop together. It was on the opposite side of the hill to where we are now, we had a very small start-up budget and opened with a limited but gorgeous range of products.

15 years later, a bigger shop and a lot more stock we are still loving life at Millie Moon. Working together all these years, has got us through some difficult times, as well as creating some amazing memories. We have been very lucky to have been supported by our families and our customers, some who we now call our dear friends.

thank you everyone!

Rachel and Becki xx

Then and now, changed much? 

4/7/2008

 

4/7/2023

New product launch

To celebrate we have exciting new exclusive Millie Moon products to launch!

Becki has been working really hard on a simple pattern range for everyone. So far we have launched the Adult and Kids Aprons and we now have two new kids patterns to share with you.

The Dotty Dress and the Tilly Romper.

 

The Dotty Dress and the Tilly Romper (named after our two nans) are suitable for ages 6-18 months. A multi-sized simple beginners pattern. These patterns are available online and instore £10 each. BUY HERE

 

We also have a new exciting fabric from @koolKactus.  The celebration fabric is great fun for a party dress! We have made two for the window, the Liberty Natasha tiered dress and Anna Vickery kids party dress. Both patterns and fabric are now available in the shop.

Buy fabric here 

Special birthday discount! 

15%

As its our birthday we are offering you all a little gift!

On the 4th July 2023 there is 15%off all products in store and on the website.

Just say happy birthday at the till or pop the code happybirthday15 in at the checkout.

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The discount is valid for one day only and cannot be used on workshops or gift vouchers. 

 

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Getting a decent photo of us is really hard! One we are not usually in the shop together except for market day and two, we are sisters. Sensible is not our thing, we automatically revert to being kids…but we always have time to check in with each other, have a natter and cuppa.

Festival Season is here!

Hi Hello to you all,

Welcome to sunny June! What fabulous weather we have been having. Let’s hope it lasts for the Summer.

We are getting in to festival season, which for us at the shop means Glastonbury is nearly here! It’s Just  a few miles down the road for us and we love all the build up and excitement in the area as Somerset prepares for the festival.

This year we have been really lucky to have the new Glastonbury fabric By Kool Kactus arrive (and sell out) in the shop.  Kool Kactus is the very creative and talented artist, Millie Noble (Becki’s daughter). Millie’s fabrics are fan art inspired and range from famous faces, films, retro toys and now an incredible glasto fest design. Millie’s designs are unique and exclusive to us at Millie Moon.  The Glasto fabric includes all the highlights and memories of the festival, from the iconic ribbon tower, to the decorated bins and of course the long drop toilets. This fabric is 100% cotton 150cm wide and is £20 per metre

We have currently sold out of this again! But we will be placing another order. Can’t guarantee it will be here before the festival now, but if you would like to order any please drop us an email and we will add you to the wait list.

PRE ORDER

We have also had a delivery of the fantastic festival cross stitch kits by @thrillingletter. These festival kits make great gifts for fans of the festival or just to do whilst watching it on the tele.

Kits £18

Need to dress up, embellish that outfit or just add some colour to your festival wardrobe we have feathers, sparkles, ribbons and trims perfect for some up-cycling that old denim jacket.

From £1 per metre 

NEW RUBY STAR!

In non festival news, but continuing the summer vibes, just arrived in the shop are these beautiful new ruby star cottons. “Reading Nook” and by Sarah Watts is a collection of soft colours and neutral backgrounds. The prints include, cats, books, flowers and tea celebrating a Perfect afternoon sitting in the sun reading a book. These are all 100% cotton and 112/44’ wide £18per metre

There is also a canvas cotton with the purple cat print which is £24pm

 New Ruby Star 

We have also had a restock on the Merchant and Mills Linens and patterns. You cant beat linen for the summer and these are just such amazing colours.  There is a new colour  “Dorset blue”. We also have  the new patterns are in stock including the men’s range.

MM linens and patterns

 

SUMMER WORKSHOPS at Millie Moon

Looking for a new skill, inspired the Sewing bee? Want to make or mend your own clothes? We have a workshop for you.

9th July – Darning with Skye £42

9th July – Sashiko with Skye £42

16th July – Beginners Patchwork and Quilting with Lucy £95

23rd July – Stretch garment making day with Anna £115

25th July – 6 week beginners evening dressmaking class £198

13th August – Garment in a day! – with Anna £115

For more information go to the website, you can book online or in person at the shop

Book here 

 

Have a wonderful Summer whatever you are doing and wherever you are travelling.

Keep sewing, keep smiling and enjoy the sunshine 

Rachel and Becki  xxx 

The April review

Hello and welcome to our monthly review blog post!

Sorry this one is a bit late, got distracted with all the bank holidays, still  not sure what day it is!

Each month we will be trying patterns from different independent pattern companies and working with different fabrics we stock here in the shop. We will make them up on our work bench, so you can see the finished garment sample. We have found having the samples made up in the shop really helps people decide on a pattern, so if you can’t pop in and browse the rails, hopefully this will help you decide.

We always make the garments up in our current fabric ranges so they match the season and this month we have chosen the lovely bright fabrics by Ruby Star and patterns from Liberty. The windows look bright and cheery, even on rainy spring days.

This months Patterns used are:

The Zina Wrap skirt from @liberty fabrics  £18.50

The Bella tea dress from @liberty fabrics  £18.50

The  Mabel tiered dress from @liberty fabrics £18.50

The Zina Wrap skirt from @libertyfabrics £18.50

 

The Zina wrap skirt pattern is a simple beginners pattern.

This pattern has lots of options, Short, long, and with a ‘flounce’ edge.Sized from 6 to 22, but we always recommend you go by your measurements rather than dress size. Dress sizes vary so much between designers and none of us really fit in the same box do we? There are no zips or buttons. Great for beginners.

I had been looking forward to making a wrap skirt but hadn’t found a pattern that worked well. This one is really simple and makes a lovely style skirt. Its instructions allow for it to be well finished on the inside too. The only fiddly bit was making the button hole to thread the tie through. This was made easier with the buttonhole foot on my machine.

The lovely soft cotton “reverie’ Fabric by @Ruby star was perfect for this pattern (£18 per metre).  This would also be fabulous in our new rayons or linens that have just arrived.

The pattern is printed on a fine traditional patternweight paper. This can be fiddly as the paper tears easily. If you want to use it more than once, then maybe  trace the Pattern onto thicker paper to begin with. The instructions are set out in a traditional format with line drawings. It’s made in an apron style, sewing the panels together to make almost a semicircle. The fit was true to size , so the fabric requirement was spot on, with very little wastage. 1.5cm seam allowance included

A Lovely pattern to get started with and one to make over and over again, a wardrobe staple.

Level Beginner

Sizes  – 6-14 or 14-22

Total Cost £66.45

Buy here:

Pattern £18.50

Fabric £45.00 (2.5m)

Interfacing 80p (20cm)

Thread £2.15

 

The Bella Tea dress from @liberty fabrics £18.50

 

The Bella tea dress is a gorgeous vintage style dress. Based on the tea dresses of the 30s/40s it has a beautiful round collar and a puff sleeve. The pleating on the front adds delicate detail. This pattern is more for intermediate sewers who have done some garment making in the past.

This pattern has a couple of variations but I went with the traditional option B  Sized from 6 to 22, but as before, we always recommend you go by your measurements rather than dress size.

The lovely soft cotton “daffodil’ Fabric by @Ruby star was perfect for this pattern (£18 per metre).  This would also be fabulous in a Liberty Lawn or maybe in our new rayons and crepes.

As above, The pattern is printed on a fine traditional pattern weight paper. This can be fiddly as the paper tears easily. If you want to use it more than once, then maybe  trace the Pattern onto thicker paper to begin with. The instructions are set out in a traditional format with line drawings.  The fit was true to size , so the fabric requirement was good, with very little wastage. There are a lot of pieces so make sure you mark the pieces well with numbers, darts and notches. 1.5cm seam allowance included. It has a side zip. The opening at the neck is closed with a hook and eye but you could use a button and loop. I also added the ribbon bow detail.

Level – Intermediate

Total Cost £85.95

Buy here:

Pattern £18.50

Fabric £61.20 (3.4m)

Zip £2.50

Thread £2.15

interfacing £1.60 (40cm)

 


The mable tiered dress by @liberty fabrics £18.50

The beautiful dress pattern is  for ages 6m to 4 years and suitable for beginners.

The flutter sleeves  and tiered skirt make it suitable in light weight fabrics, like lawn, linen or cotton. I chose a beautiful floral liberty fabric  for this one to complement our adult outfits for the window. This sample is age 3-4 years. The dress has a couple of options, with ruffles, elasticated sleeve or sleeveless. There is also a coordinating hat in the pattern. There is a zip.

A very simple pattern to make with good quality pattern paper and multi sized. It has photos to help you follow the instructions. The only tricky bit is probably adding the zip and the bias binding. Binding can be a bit fiddly, just take your time.

A really pretty little dress.

Level Beginner

Total Cost £54.75

Buy here:

Pattern £18.50

fabric £31.20 (1.2 metre)

Bias Binding 40p (1.m)

Thread £2.15

Zip £2.50

 

 

ABOUT LIBERTY FABRICS

The new Liberty Fabrics dressmaking patterns draw inspiration from their fashion archive, with contemporary style details offering a fresh twist on classic vintage shapes.

“The Liberty Fabrics department is a true design institution. World-renowned for our historic 50,000-strong print archive, and for our in-house studio where new artworks are painted and drawn by hand, the Liberty Fabrics offering reflects our storied heritage and century-spanning passion for art and design. From ornate Art Nouveau layouts and classic 1930s ditsy florals to bold geometrics, landscapes and offbeat conversationals, our fabrics offer a colourful canvas for bespoke creations of all kind “  taken from @liberty.co.uk

ABOUT Ruby Star FABRICS

Ruby Star Society is a sisterhood and collaboration of five modern day makers. Ruby Star Society consists of Melody Miller, Alexia Abegg, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Kimberly Kight and Sarah Watts.  Along with collections such as Rise, Stay Gold, Tarry Town, First Light, Speckled and Spark.

“Friends, sisters, creators, trendsetters, star-gazers, hell-raisers, and modern-day makers. Our designers’ talent and vision are the backbone of Ruby Star Society.” – Ruby Star Society

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Hopefully these will have inspired you to have a go at one our patterns. If you still feel nervous why not book onto one of our workshops with Anna. Never used a sewing machine before but want to learn, book our beginners workshops. Just need a little help on specific project then maybe a 1-1 session would be better for you. Just take a look at our workshop pages with upcoming dates. You can book online or in store.

If you have made up one of the patterns, drop us an email with your review and we would love to see pictures! Info@milliemoonshop.co.uk

Happy sewing
Rachel and Becki x

Festival season is here! … isn’t it?

It’s that time of year when we would be packing up our tents and heading to Glastonbury festival!

We’ve have been festivaling at Glasto since 1992. We bought tickets from the little record shop in Bath corridor, no hours of internet queues then, there was no internet!  Becki had just passed her driving test and we set off in the brown mini metro packed with everything including the most massive tent! (not realising how far we would have to walk and carry everything) How things have changed since then!  Over the years, our group of festivallers grew as the kids came along, and the grandparents joined the fun too. Camper vans replaced the tents, toilets became compostable, ticket sales went online, the Park and the ribbon tower arrived at the festival.  Every festival was different, from the music, the entertainment, the kids field, (which became an important stop of the day), and of course the weather. We have survived floods, storms, mud and the heat. All extremes in one day at times! But we always had the most amazing time. Dancing with 1000’s of people, singing at the top of our voices, watching the kids faces light up at the circus tents with the most skilled acts, the food… delicious food, plus seeing some incredible artists perform.  We were there for David Bowie in 2000, it was little Millie moon first Glasto at only 6 months old. Incredible moments, amazing memories.

 

As there is no festival again this year, we have decided to pay homage to our usual pilgrimage by decorating the window in Glasto style!

Becki has made a fabulous colourful patchwork tent for us to camp out in, and of course we are wearing the wonderful buffet dress @fridaypatterncompany wilder gown in pink leopard print double gauze. Plenty of swishing and dancing in that one, (plus you can layer up underneath!)

   buy Patterns here     buy fabric here

         

We also have included trips to the rainbow tower, the pyramid stage and of course the long drops with the amazing cross stitch kits by @thrillingletter  

                            

I will be working on my cross stitch this weekend whilst watching old glasto on the tele. Hopefully the sun will shine and We can have a little dance in the garden.

We have also filled the window with photographs of good times at past festivals, if you are wandering past take a look!

How about you? Are you missing the festivals this year??

Maybe you are staging your own festival in the back garden?

Please post your pics on instagram/ facebook and tag us so we would love to see!

 Oh to dance and sing again!    Hope to see you dancing in a muddy field soon!

take care

Rachel and Becki xx

 

 

 

Anna Vickery kids patterns now available to print at home!

With most of us staying at home, we are able to get some real sewing time in. With this is in mind, Anna has been able to make her patterns available to print at home. Ordering via the website, the patterns will be sent to you via email as a PDF. These are easy to print off at home on A4 sheets, just stick together with tape.

Anna’s patterns have been tried and tested in our workshops at the shop and are designed for beginners. Nice simple patterns with simple fastenings and very wearable in 100% cotton. You will be making them over and over again!

All of the patterns are available for £6 pdf or £10 paper version. Buy here

https://milliemoonshop.co.uk/product/kids-patterns-by-anna-vickery/

Plus, if you get stuck, Anna is always available for a helping hand. Just email us at the shop. info@milliemoonshop.co.uk

me made may 2019

 

It’s that time again and this year Millie Moon has decided to get involved.

Millie Moon is asking you all, whether you have bought fabric, a pattern, a button or attended a workshop to shout about it! Show your work on instagram/facebook using the hashtags and be in with a chance to win a £25 gift voucher!

All you have to do is:

  • Share your makes on instagram in MAY.
  • Tag us @milliemoonshop so we can see the post
  • Tag a friend so they can get involved too
  • Use #memademay2019
  • Use #makewithmilliemoon

We will pick our favourite each week in May and send you a £25 gift voucher to spend on your next make! 4 vouchers to win!

We even got some fab badges from @koolKactus for you to buy £2 so you can shout about it some more!

 

 

So what is it? For those of you who haven’t taken part before then here are the details from http://www.simplysewingmag.com

So, what’s it all about?

It’s that time of year when our instagram feeds are filled with handmade goodness for #memademay and this year marks the 10th year of the popular makers challenge. If you’re new to Me Made May, get ready to join a huge community of fellow sewists!

Me-Made-May (or #memademay2019 as it’s also known on instagram) is an annual challenge for people who make their own clothes, launched by blogger and maker Zoe EdwardsSo, Jo.

The idea is to encourage makers to develop a better relationship with their handmade wardrobe, by asking them to pledge to rethink how they wear their garments throughout the month of May.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve only made one skirt ever or have a wardrobe bursting at the seams – everyone can set their own individual pledge. The challenge aims to get you to wear your me-mades more often and more thoughtfully – to learn some useful lessons about yourself, your style, your body, your creativity along the way.

What started as a solo project has grown into an annual phenomenon, with sewists, knitters, crocheters and refashioners all wearing their handmade wardrobes with pride. If you like the sound of it, it’s not too late to sign up for the 2019 challenge. Remember this is not a photography competition – or an instagram photo challenge – so don’t be daunted!

Your pledge can be as simple or tricky as you want it to be, but it’s a great opportunity to move beyond your comfort zone or level up how you wear the garments you have spent hours crafting.

The goal should be to think about your relationship with what you create.

http://www.simplysewingmag.com