Making Life more Beautiful
I saw this pattern – a Vogue Paris Original by Yves St Laurent, in my size, on eBay, and bought it (for £15). In all its glory – a full length evening dress, in white and silver heavy silk damask, … Continued
The story is quite funny really. As you know I have been testing the Birkin Jeans, which call for stretch denim. There is all manner of denim available in shops and on the internet but I could not find what … Continued
I love markets. I used to sell fabric on them with my cousin David Ryecroft from the age of about 12 to 16, getting up at about 4am and driving to various towns in Yorkshire and Lancashire. We would unpack … Continued
I am making up a YSL Vogue Pattern Originals dress as my first SWAP garment. I do enjoy using these old patterns, especially the “designer” versions. I like to think about Yves St Laurent himself drawing the lines that got … Continued
Independent Pattern designers – of whom there are many these days – do not have the luxury of a professional pattern testing team. They cannot afford to pay people to make up several versions of their designs. So they often … Continued
I remember a post years back, before I started blogging, where Jay wrote about what she didn’t think it was worth sewing. Is there anything you wouldn’t bother making, because it is too much fuss, or you find it too hard, … Continued
I have spent a couple of weeks draping over understructures and found it hard work. I wanted something dramatic, but also wanted something wearable. First here is my minimalist understructure – I created a couple of “croissants” (left). I made … Continued
Design, alteration and materials I covered these issues in the previous post. In this one I will deal with the issue of how I made jeans. Construction I had never used denim before. I thought of it as heavy, hard … Continued
The Sewing with a Plan rules were announced six weeks ago and I have been thinking, and dithering. I had three ideas – a collection of calm, classic neutrals; a collection inspired by Vivienne Westwood with a vibrant colour palette; … Continued
The Design and Pattern Lauren of “Baste and Gather” recently posted a pair of flared jeans she had designed and made, and called for testers. As you can see these jeans are obviously flared from the knee down. They also … Continued