Venturing into Historic Dress - Sewing a Regency Corset for an 1830's Costume

I've had a bee in my bonnet for dressing up "old-fashioned" style for about as long as I can remember. Now as a grown woman, when my friend says that the Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild is hosting an 1830's picnic at Ardenwood Farm in June, I can't help but jump at the opportunity. At this point, I've finished some of the undergarments (Shift and Drawers) and started on my Regency Long Stays. In doing some researc h, I found that during the 1830's, ladies were still wearing their long "stays" or transitioned to slightly curvier long stays and haven't quite evolved into the corsetry of the later 1800's. The pattern for these "stays" came from Redthreaded and the fit is spot on, with very little alteration.

Work in Progress - Knitting a 1920's Polka Dot Sweater

Last year I came across the photo above while looking for inspiration on Pinterest. I was immediately struck by the novelty of the graduated dots and sharpness in the way the subject has put her outfit together. The whole ensemble - Jumper, paired with the hat, necklace, belt, skirt and shoes, is iconically 1920’s in a sporting kind of way. Everything about the photo delighted me and I KNEW that it must be brought to life in the 21st century.

Sewing a Miss Fisher Style Jacket with Vintage Chinese Silk

Today’s post is about a 1920’s Short Car Coat I finished just last week. The fabric for the jacket/coat has been in my stash for the last several years. I was planning on making it to go with the blouse and skirt I’m wearing in the photos, for Miss Fisher Con, which was almost 1 year ago (already?). It didn’t quite happen in the time I originally planned to make it, but an occasion came up and It seemed like a faster make than finishing a sweater, so off I went.

Sewing a 1930's Blouse, Hat & Skirt

It’s been busy over here at The Sewing Room and finishing this ensemble took some time. I think the blouse was one of my longest running projects in quite sometime. Partially, because of other projects that got in the way and also because I did a LOT of hand finishing.

Sewing a Gingerbread Inspired Dress & Apron for The Holidays

I recently finished these 3 pieces for our Holiday Window and thought it might be interesting to show how I put them together. These were 3 very fast and furious projects that you could easily accomplish in a weekend.

Thread Dolls by Ms. Y - Make your own dolls out of Thread Spools

Guest Post from Jo Anne Yada (AKA Ms. Y)

I recently had the pleasure of collaborating with the fabulous Jennifer Serr, owner of The Sewing Room, to design a holiday window display. I wanted to highlight her business in a fun, festive, and vintage way to showcase the amazing creativity that represents her and her business. I wanted to do more than hang some lights and set up a tree; I wanted to give the message to all those walking by that this is indeed a creative space where you can make adorable sewing projects. And so I decided to make some vintage-inspired dolls out of sewing materials to add to the display.

Etsy Gift Guide for Vintage Makers and the Vintage Enthusiast in your life

Some of my favorite places to shop are on ETSY, the global online marketplace for everything Vintage, Craft or Craft Supply. And lately, I’ve been coming across some really wonderful vendors as well as my trusted favorites. Below is my GIFT GUIDE for Vintage Makers and the enthusiasts in their life.

Sewing for the Holidays! Our Store Window Display (and the Downtown Alameda Holiday Window Contest)

So excited to share what’s been happening in the Store Front! While it’s not my normal Vintage sewing, we did add a vintage twist to the Window Display at the Sewing Room. There is a contest, which started last year, in our Downtown Alameda Business District. Sponsored and run by the folks over at Digifli, the Downtown Alameda Window Contest has really encouraged downtown merchants (such as myself) to participate in making our town more Festive during the Holiday Season.

Bra Making 2.0 - Inside our Bra Making Class with Linda Sepeda

I can’t say enough good things about our recent Bra Making class at The Sewing Room. Linda Sepeda was a fantastic instructor and she really helped us to get the best fit possible.

Sewing a 1930's Fall Ensemble - Silk Blouse & Wool Trousers

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.

Repairing a 1930's Orange Chiffon Evening Gown

My 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.

Learn How to Make Your Own Bras - With Linda Sepeda of Violet's Valentines

If you can sew a sleeve into an armhole, you can make a bra….Linda Sepeda

It 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.

Alameda Point Vintage Fashion Faire and Costume Contest

Last month on a beautiful fall evening, Michaan’s Auction House opened up it’s doors to the Alameda Point Vintage Fashion Faire produced by Sandra Michaan with a little help from Jonathan Belmares and a host of a dozen (or more) others. This is an annual (and sometimes bi-annual) event that happens at the Point and the opening of the event is really quite special, happening the first evening of this, weekend long, event.

Sewing Pattern Review - Colette Patterns Parfait Dress

Welcome 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.

Re-Creating My Grandmother's Dress - Gatsby 2018

Every 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.

1930's Sleeves - Weirdly Wonderful and Over the Top!

I’m getting ready to put together a Fall outfit and am very excited about working with some of the fabrics I’ve put aside - lots of luscious wools and silks in gold tones. And I bought a terrific 1930’s hat at the Alameda Point Vintage Fashion Faire, last weekend. So when Wardrobe Shop and Nataya approached me to do a sponsored blog post with this article, I couldn’t refuse.

Vintage Style Knitted Lace Cardigan -

I fell in love with this style when I paged through the Fall 2014 issue of Vogue Knitting Magazine and stopped on page 44. I’m kind of a sucker for a well styled layout and this was no exception (you can see a bit of the magazine in a photo below). What I really thought, however, was that this sweater would be a great accompaniment to my several Colette Parfait Parfait Dresses (Pattern Review coming soon). And pictured here in this post, it pairs perfectly with this dress.

Creating a 1920's Style Velvet Evening Coat

Well, because you asked, here is a blog post about the Blue Velvet Coat I wore to Miss Fisher Con. In this photo shoot (Thanks Mom!) I paired the jacket with a true vintage 1920’s silk lace and chiffon dress, along with some rhinestone / crystal accessories and coordinating shoes and bag.I think it all works together quite nicely.

Hand Knit Beret - From Vogue Knitting Fall 2009

This little beret is probably the most complicated knitting project I have ever embarked on. Thank goodness it was just a hat. Yikes! I was managing up to 5 DPNs (double pointed needles) at a time and having to keep track of a pattern which was a 24 stitch repeat over 54 rows. My goodness. Well, I feel quite accomplished after finishing this project.

Knitting, MillineryJennifer SerrSeptember 3, 2018The Sewing Roomknitting, knitting project, handknit, vogue knitting

New Fabric, Sewing Supplies, New Signage & More!

There are big changes afoot in Alameda, CA! and one of them is a complete update to the shop. Over the last 6 months I've been working to give the shop a little overhaul and pretty it up a bit. Another change, sad for many of our customers and friends around town, was the closing of Beverly's, our local big-top of crafting supplies. Fear not, friends, we have what you need now - thread, zippers, buttons, skirt hooks, lots of pretty fabric, sewing needles and more!

Vintage Blog

If you can sew a sleeve into an armhole, you can make a bra….Linda Sepeda

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