Early in September, I was having a hard time finding direction for my sewing. I blame the change of seasons. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to make, or I'd want to make things I didn't actually feel like taking the time to make, or I just wasn't sure what I wanted to be wearing... things like that. I may not follow modern trends in fashion, but that doesn't mean I don't go through phases of things I prefer, want to ... Read more »
dresses
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 »
Summer sewing wild cards and a list (mostly) wrapped up
Since we're having an unusual very hot heat wave in September and I'm cranky about the fact that the weather feels like the hottest part of summer when I'm ready for it to cool off a bit, and I admit I'm really sick of looking at my hot-weather clothing and my sandals and want to move into dresses with cardigans and cigarette pants and cute flats and light wool (light! not rushing winter!), I might as well blog about a ... 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 »
Special birthday dress for London
Today is my birthday! So I sewed a dress! I'm the ripe YOUNG age of 40! And, I'm in London! Um, not in these photos, obviously. We're actually on vacation right now and I took these ahead of time, since we weren't planning to travel with a laptop and I thought trying to do a blog post on my phone on my birthday sounded like a drag. So you get a scheduled post instead. :) Each year for the last handful of ... Read more »
Ultimate Sheath Jumper
Do you ever get taken with a piece of fashion that up until a particular point in time, you've more or less ignored? That happened to me this winter! I have some tried-and-true style combos that I love and turn to time and time again. But this fall and winter, I kept seeing jumpers. A lot of the modern takes on them didn't grab me for obvious reasons, but I started poking around at photos and sewing patterns for ... Read more »