Making Life more Beautiful
I have never knitted a garment in my life. Well I made a few items for Esme, when she was a baby, using very simple patterns, the odd scarf and a granny squares blanket. I know how to knit, but I … Continued
Following our recent adventures with plastic food wrap I wanted to test the outcome. My fitting buddy Pia suggested I draw round the pattern, including the darts, and then make a fabric toile. She also advised a CF zip so … Continued
It started with a blog post from Marianna about her Mummification, in which my friend got her new husband to wrap her torso in plastic food wrap. Nice. I was intrigued! I had heard of people making “duct tape dummies” … Continued
Do you ever find that your bust darts are a bit too, well, pointed and obvious? Darts that stick out and draw attention in an inappropriate way? Of course body shapes change and so do the silhouettes that underpin them. … Continued
I am making a personal dress block. I covered my first experiment last week, and I was overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of the feedback. Thank you Jay, SJ KUrtz, Anne McC, Mary F, Cherry, Kim Hood, Linde and … Continued
After a year of studying Draping on the Stand at Morley college I have signed up for Intermediate pattern cutting. The class started with an interesting round up of who does and knows what. As usual we had a group … Continued
Introduction This is a post about a 1960 designer skirt; it updates my 2016 Sewing with a Plan. But, for those into tips and techniques it tells you how to make a garment with a) insufficient fabric b) the wrong … Continued
When you have spent two days draping a Vionnet bias evening dress the sheer ability of the designer impresses itself on you. This fabulous French designer made over 12,000 individual dresses and other garments(I can hardly believe this quantity of … Continued
I have been studying draping on the stand at Morley for nearly a year now. Each term we focused on a different area – tops, skirts and dresses. Although we have done a cowl top, the course expressly excluded both the … Continued
Cowl tops are elegant and interesting. The bias is draped across the neckline giving a soft look to frame the face. I wanted to learn how to drape one. The cowl neck had its heyday In the 1930s, Often made … Continued