Do you love gingham? I loove gingham. Apparently, I love gingham so much, that between my two latest YouTube videos, where I show you my favorite tricks for achieving perfectly smooth bias tape facings around armholes, and then sew up the example blouse from the tutorial, I end up showing 4 different gingham summer tops I've made. I really had no idea until making of those videos that I sewed it that much! If you'd ... Read more »
vintage sewing patterns
Sewing a 1940s maxi dress for summer
I've really been on a roll sewing dresses! Like I'm sure many people, I go in cycles in terms of what I want to sew and what I want to wear. And lately, that's been dresses. Granted, I type this while wearing a skirt and a top, but I've definitely leaned more towards dresses this year. And I just finished up a fabulous vintage dress! It's featured in my latest YouTube video. I used a 1940s sundress pattern, Simplicity ... Read more »
Sewing a vintage dress with ribbons on the bodice
As it's been getting warmer, I've been a busy bee lately with life stuff, and my sewing time has been less. You have to enjoy the warm weather when you can, and sometimes that means hanging out on my deck rather than holing up in the basement sewing! (Much as I love holing up in the basement sewing!) But I recently finished sewing a vintage dress, and it's the subject of my latest video on YouTube. It's another ... Read more »
When I sewed a vintage capsule wardrobe for Viva Las Vegas
This week is the Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekender, and while we're not attending, I'm reminiscing about the last time we went! Back in 2019, we attended, and I was a vintage sewing machine: I sewed a vintage capsule wardrobe, sewing a total of 10 outfits for the weekend, including two menswear shirts for Mel. I KNOW. Of the items in this more-is-more vintage capsule wardrobe, only one thing that made it to my ... Read more »
How I sewed my vintage birthday dress for 2023
It's my birthday, and as I've done for the last decade, I sewed myself a birthday dress to mark the occasion! I haven't been that great about keeping up with them all on my blog, but several have made it here, including my very first one, the one I made for my 40th birthday in London, and the one I made for Viva Las Vegas. They're almost always made from vintage sewing patterns, and this year's birthday dress was no ... Read more »
Sewing a plaid flannel jumper dress with Butterick B5748
If you've spent any time around my blog or social media, you know I love plaid. And I love sewing plaid. And apparently, I love sewing with Robert Kaufman Mammoth plaid. Because I've made a vintage dress with it, and a vintage tie-front topper, and now, in my latest YouTube video, I sewed a vintage jumper dress with it! I used Butterick B5748, which I wouldn't exactly call a tried and true pattern yet, but it's ... Read more »