If you've followed me a long time anywhere on these here interwebs, you know that I love to hack sewing patterns. Hack patterns together, hack them into different cuts and style, you name it, I'll hack it. I knew one of the first things I wanted to do on my new YouTube channel (did you miss my launch?!) was a video where I walked through how I hacked one of my favorite bodices. It's a bit of a tutorial! Quick ... Read more »
butterick
I just needed a sweatshirt
Do you ever just drop everything you're working on to sew a quickie project? I almost never do. But I did recently, and can understand why people do it sometimes! In the middle of my latest jeans project I suddenly had the urge to try out a pattern I've been thinking about non-stop since finishing my Carbeth pullover. The cropped shirt in Butterick 7557, from around 1956. Meant to be more of a sweater, or a ... Read more »
Meet me in Washington, D.C. over the holidays!
I couldn't resist a title riffing on one of my favorite old movies, Meet Me in St. Louis. But it's true! If you're in the Washington, D.C. area over the holidays, let's meet! I'm very tickled to announce I'll be at Three Little Birds Sewing Co. in Hyattsville, Maryland (suburban D.C.) for a retro holiday Meet & Greet on Friday, December 22nd, from 7-9pm. Cocktails, festive music, and sewing chatter. Come ask me ... Read more »
Vintage dressing gown in plaid flannel
Sometimes you get an idea for a project that feels like it comes out of no where, but once you sew up the item you realize it was so YOU all along! Late in the summer, I started thinking about dressing gowns. House coats. House dresses. Hostess gowns. Hostess dresses. Brunch coats. Whatever you want to call them. Vintage dresses that zip up the front, of varying lengths and styles. I think the seed was planted when ... Read more »
Novelty knights in shining armor dress
Here's something I rarely do: show off something I made ages ago! In fact, this is a dress I sewed an entire year ago. Mel and I take a trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire in southern Wisconsin every summer, and I enjoy wearing something with a kitschy Renaissance-ish print because that's the kind of person I am. In rotation, I have a skirt I sewed years ago with castles on it, a beautiful vintage rayon blouse that's ... Read more »
Bye Bye Birdie blouse
What's blue and tan with birdcages all over? My blouse! And it's another Vintage Pledge item! Sometimes, I really love the terms used to describe various elements of a garment in vintage sewing patterns. Today's treat was Butterick 6223, a pattern from the 1950s, featuring a "small rising collar" for the view I sewed. It's a perfect description—says exactly what it is! This is actually a blouse I've sewn up twice ... Read more »