Full Bust / Narrow Shoulder Adjustment - Fitting my Embroidered Jacket

Alterations, Fitting, shopping, Sewing Vintage, SewingJennifer SerrMay 2, 2017jackets, alterations, missfisherstyle, miss fisher style, miss fryne fisher, miss fisher's murder mystery, fitting, fit techniques, jacket fitting, sewing, sewing blogger, sewing skills, embroidery

An Epic Day at The Alameda Point Antique Faire

The Alameda Antique Faire is a treasure trove of fantastic finds, vintage treasures and upcycled garbage art. There are regular booths that are there without fail each month and then there are some others who’ve jumped at the opportunity to sell their wares. After one thwarted (rained-out) attempt, I made my way, this past weekend, out to Alameda Point for the Antique Faire. I wish I could say that I did it monthly without fail, but really, I only get out there a couple of times a year...

Building a Miss Fisher Wardrobe

Have you seen Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries? It's an Australian TV show based on the Kerry Greenwood Novels. The series highlights the Honorable Miss Fryne Fisher, who is a lady detective in the 1920's, and is played by the brilliant actress, Essie Davis. TheFryne character is the epitome of the strong, sassy, smart woman that I would love to be. AND she has a fantastic wardrobe.....

Designing Vintage Gowns

The Making of a Hat - How I achieved my 1920's Miss Fisher Look

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.....

Draping 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.

Designing 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....

The 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.

Hat'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!

Working 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....

1920'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...

Foundation 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!

Clarifying 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....

Out 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......

My 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.