Having acquired all the materials - wool hat (a la Old Navy), millinery wire, ribbon aplenty and a beautiful feather rose, I was ready to make my hat for the Girl's Inc. Hat's off to Women Who Dare event. Yay! I love decorating hats and making them very special.....
Read moreDraping in Fashion Fabric - Progress on My Preservation Ball Gown
This blog post is about how I drape my gowns in the fashion fabric. This is only just the beginning. It will take me working on the dress in my spare time over the course of the next few weeks to get a final dress.
Read moreDesigning my (Art Deco Preservation Ball) Gown
For me, it usually starts with Fabric. This time, I was lucky enough to be gifted two beautiful pieces of silk from my friend, assistant and fellow fabric-lover, Maria Chenut....
Read moreThe Beginning of a Hat - a Visit to Lacis
After I interviewed Sewing Blogger and Hat Enthusiast, Chuleenan Svetvilas, I asked her if she would meet me at Lacis to help with some of my millinery choices. We met inside (where I as already busy picking out boning for my foundation garment) and then did the tour of the Millinery section.
Read moreHat's Off to Sewing Blogger Chuleenan Svetvilas of Csews.com
One of my Goals in my Vision for 2017 is making a Roaring 20's hat to wear to the "Hat's off" event which benefits Girl's Inc. With this in mind, I set out to talk to an expert, and the first person I thought of was the organizer of the Bay Area Sewist meet-up Group that I attend. In addition to facilitating our meet-up group she also runs the blog CSews and is a guest blogger for Britex Fabrics. She always wears such fabulous hats and I know that she makes some of them. Below is our conversation. I hope you find it as gripping as I did!
Read moreWorking on my 1930's Foundation - Getting ready for the Art Deco Preservation Ball
I've embarked on creating a foundation for my dress that I'll wear to the Art Deco Preservation Ball at the End of April. I really want to create the right silhouette for my dress which will inspired by the late 1920's / Early 1930's. My figure, at age 47 doesn't quite fit naturally into that era, so I definitely want an undergarment that helps me re-create the look....
Read more1920's Straight Coat and the Art Deco Member Party
Every year the Art Deco Society of California celebrates it's members with a cocktail party in January. This year, the party was held at Flora in downtown Oakland. It was a lovely event in a wonderful Art Deco building, gloriously restored to it's original beauty. There was a grand crowd all dressed up in cocktail attire from the era. Some are serious vintage collectors and some, like me, enjoy making their own creations from vintage inspiration...
Read moreFoundation Garments + a Giveaway
As a special treat this week, I'm giving away a fantastic book from my collection - Vintage Lingerie - 30 Patterns based on period garments plus finishing techniques. I'll pick one lucky reader from our email list, so you have to be a subscriber to win!
Read moreClarifying my Vision - What the heck am I going to sew?
The Vision Board class with Heidi last weekend was highly informative for me. I made two vision boards - 1 overall VISION for my life and 1 VISION BOARD for my business. Plus, I ended up making two "Mood Boards" for things I want....
Read moreOut with the OLD! - Let's finish those UFO's (Unfinished Objects)
Since my last post (and because it was the end of the year) we've been cleaning up a bit and getting ready for new things. We've had a build up of projects left behind at the shop......
Read moreMy New Year's Vision
One thing I do every year is put together a Vision Board. It's important to me to do this for many reasons. I do this in lieu of resolutions because it really gives me an overview of what I want my life to look like. Also, I look at it EVERY DAY. My Vision Board from last year sits on my desk and stares at me when I'm on my computer. It's a constant reminder of what really feeds my soul.
Read moreInstructor Maria Chenut Designs Costumes for DON QUIXOTE made into a play by Peter Anderson and Colin Heath
THE SEWING ROOM Instructor Maria Chenut designs powerful costumes for Marin Shakespeare Company's DON QUIXOTE
Read moreGetting Excited to teach SEWING CAMP POWER in October
In October I'll be teaching an Online workshop via PIXIE FAIRE. on how to run your own SEWING CAMP. So excited to share this information so that more people can teach kids how to sew and really learn how to make it fun for them.
Back in the day, everyone had to take Home Economics, where they learned how to sew, cook and do laundry, among other things. When I was going to school, we could take sewing or home EC as an elective, but it certainly wasn't required. Now it's not even an option for kids in school.
Making it FUN is my way of passing these skills (at least the sewing skills) on to a new generation. We have such a great time in sewing camp. I sure hope others will bring this to the children in their communities.
So excited to partner with PIXIE FAIRE as well. Cinnamon & Jason, Pixie Faire's founders, have been a great supporter of my work, both with my Bonjour Teaspoon Sewing Patterns as well as with my summer camps. We will have more information coming soon regarding dates, pricing and registration for the class, but in the meantime, check out this video with Cinnamon and I.
Happy Sewing!
Jennifer
Project Runway Designer back at THE SEWING ROOM
PROJECT RUNWAY designer Emily Payne Back in Alameda to Teach Draping Classes
Read more2015 Art Deco Preservation Ball
FUN TIMES AT THE ART DECO PRESERVATION BALL!
Read moreFinishing my 1920's Art Deco Dress for the preservation ball
Finishing the 1920's ensemble
Read more1920's Lingerie
1920's Lingerie!
Read moreStarting my dress for the Art Deco Preservation Ball 2015
Every year in May the Art Deco Society of California puts on an amazing Soiree in an authentic Art Deco Setting. This year the Preservation Ball was at the Scottish Rite Center in Downtown Oakland, right across the street from Lake Merit.
One of my favorite things to do when creating something like this, is to use materials i have on hand. Luckily, I had some lovely silk hanging around. I did NOT however, have large pieces of anything in particular.
This incredible gold color peacock pattern silk jacquard was the only fancy fabric I had enough yardage to start with. It also coordinates very well with my gold art deco t-strap shoes, so it was an obvious pick. A friend had given me an amazing piece of green and gold lace. There was only about a yard of it, but combined with the gold peacock silk and a lighter green washed silk, the assortment of fabrics really worked.
Here are some photos of my dress in progress.