It’s Fall here (finally) in Northern California and the trees are starting to turn. And by Fall I mean it’s gotten hot in the days (upper 70’s F) and cools off at night. Not quite jacket weather, in the daylight, but it feels good to dip into the fall colors.
Read MoreMy Vintage Fairy Godmother has been quite active over the last few months. In fact, I’m actually quite lucky to have friends that give me vintage pieces that they no longer want or don’t know what to do with. The story behind this ensemble, definitely falls into this category.
Read MoreIt shouldn't hurt to wear a bra.
Nor should wearing a bra cause "divots" in the shoulder area or the rib cage.
Many women wear the wrong size bra, and doing that can hurt for a number of reasons.
It can also affect circulation and cause numbness. The shoulders and back can hurt. Wires could constrict or poke.
A properly sized bra can alleviate many of these conditions, and might even make you look younger and slimmer.
Read MoreWelcome to my favorite dress ever! Ha! I love this dress. And by this dress, I mean the Colette Patterns Parfait dress. I like it so much I’ve made 4 of them. There are only 3 pictured here because I have something planned for the 4th. It’s a little unusual and a little patch work…More on that later.
Read MoreEvery year the Art Deco Society of California puts on the The Gatsby Summer Afternoon. This Gatsby Event is the highlight of my year, as far as vintage events go, and this year was no exception. The weather was perfect (high 70 degrees and breezy), the picnics were exquisite and the company eclectic and entertaining.
For this year’s ensemble, I chose to replicate a look that my grandmother wore (see photo above) in one of her modeling photos. I’ve admired this dress for years and have not quite had the nerve to re-create it until now. That front neck detail with the capelet and ruching really had me flummoxed.
Read MoreA 1920's evening gown is not quite complete with out an evening cloak, a headpiece and the right jewels. Luckily for me, I had a lovely piece of velvet and some pink silk crepe-de-chine along with matching crepe back satin, tucked up on my fabric shelf just waiting to be used.
Read MoreRecently, my good friend JoAnne took at trip to Los Angeles to take an art class. What a renegade idea! If she could do it, then so could I! The opportunity arose, to do just that, when I got an email from Ann Wood Handmade back in January or February, announcing a class she would be teaching in Los Angeles, in March. I jumped at the chance, because...
Read MoreI've started working on my "Miss Fisher" wardrobe for the Miss Fisher Convention in June. Very exciting! The first step was determining some wardrobe basics. After analyzing her wardrobe in the show (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries), over all the seasons, I have broken down her DAY outfits to include the following:
Read MoreFor those of you who don't already know, along with teaching sewing and fashion at The Sewing Room, I've designed a collection of Sewing Patterns. It is comprised of 3 hats, 4 dresses, 1 pair of shorts, a blouse, a skirt, 2 tote bags, a vest, a set of aprons, a relaxation kit and 1 jacket - Am I forgetting anything? Most (but not all) of our patterns are made for the "TWEEN" girl, and some are sized for adults as well.
Read MoreWhat is Fashion Styling ? Those who master it, become our style Icons. It's how you put outfits together or how you make something look a certain way for a photo shoot. Styling gives the observer a visual reference and creates stories around design. It's how it all comes together to create a cohesive idea. Styling comes down to how you assemble a "look", making the end result more exciting than the sum of it's parts.
Read MoreAnyone who knows me, knows I LIVE in striped T's. I made the one pictured as a sample for some upcoming classes that I'll be teaching. It has long sleeves, a Bateau neck with a button shoulder/sleeve vents with grosgrain trim and side vents at the bottom opening. It's made from a beautiful navy blue and white synthetic yarn dyed striped (the stripe is knitted into the fabric as opposed to printing on top of the fabric) double knit, purchased from Piedmont Fabric. The gold nautical star buttons and vintage striped rayon grosgrain ribbon at the neck and sleeve vents were acquired from the ReCrafting Co. I made the pattern for this Breton Striped T-Shirt, using my body measurements. I'm fairly happy with the fit. I would only make the armhole and bicep a little smaller to match the slim fit of the body. I'll make those changes on the next one I make up.
Read MoreI've amassed a bit of a coat collection over the last year. Two of these beautiful coats were given to me, one was purchased at a Vintage Fashion Faire and I even made two myself - a Black 1920's Straight Coat & a Red 1930's long swing coat. For the coats, I didn't make some of my favorite acquisitions needed a little freshening up and/or restoration.
Read MoreWhat are your Sewing Plans for the New Year? I already have a long list of things I would like to accomplish with the knowledge that there probably won't be time for everything on my list. In any regard, I'm very excited to get started. Take a look below at some of the things in the works....
Read MorePictured here is a 1940's (or late 1930's) outfit that I sewed up using the Wearing History Smooth Sailing Sport Togs Shirt and Trousers pattern. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!! This pattern is great. The blouse needs a little work in the armhole, but otherwise...
Read MoreIn this post, two recently finished projects will be highlighted, but will the main focus will be on MEASURING. The Bay Area Sewists met up at The Sewing Room a couple of weeks ago to talk with me about pattern measuring.
Read MoreWell, it's done and I have to say, I'm very pleased/relieved. This jacket was an enormous amount of work and so easy to become distracted away from because of it. It's been a serious commitment to get it finished this month before staring any new projects. AND, has definitely been a practice in patience for sure. I must have done at least 20 hours of hand work, last week alone, in the push to get it finished. My hands are a little broken, but they can rest for a little while while I do some decision making about future projects....
Read MoreOne of the things that has been so daunting about completing my French Couture Jacket are all the buttonholes. There are 14 total - 4 on the front, 3 on each sleeve and one on each of the 4 pockets. Each buttonhole requires multiple steps. First you stitch a little rectangle (with your machine) using really tiny stitches, then you cut a slit and then proceed to hand finish this with lots of tiny blanket stitches around the entire hole. If this weren't enough....
Read MoreProgress has begun on the re-start of my Chanel-Style jacket. It's been in the works for several years now. I don't even remember when I started but I do remember buying fabric at the Mill Ends store in Portland, OR in November many years ago, and giving myself the fabric + trims for Christmas that year. Maybe my friend Angie remembers....???
Read MoreAs Some of you may or may not know, I've taught an online class about how to run your own Sewing Camps through Pixie Faire (where I sell my doll patterns), for the last two years. I built the course so that other people could have success teaching kids how to sew. And over the last couple of years, I've learned a LOT about the whole process.....
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