Making Life more Beautiful
The two jackets You may remember that I started with the idea of making a 1940s vintage jacket for my son Gus. I toiled it twice and made a number of alterations. On the third iteration, discouraged by the amount … Continued
I bought a lovely old jacket pattern on eBay. Weldons (“For a wide choice of simple styles”) was formed in 1879 and was Britain’s first major pattern company. It seems to associate menswear with pipe smoking, but these nice patterns … 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
Since drafting and testing the pattern I made what I hoped would be a wearable toile. I used some purple cotton with appliqued, embroidered flowers on it. The motifs remind me of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. And here I am wearing … 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
Halter necked dresses, blouses and swimwear are such summertime staples, so I draped one, avoiding a side seam. I created the bodice from just two pieces relying on a princess seam line across the bust point. The two pieces of … Continued
What is the difference between a shift dress and a sheath dress? Both are one piece dresses, made in woven rather than stretch fabrics, often knee length or shorter, often sleeveless, and are often confused. Both styles are classics and … Continued
My pattern (Simplicity 100) is quite a small size (32″ bust, 34″ hips). While I anticipated the fit at the shoulder and neckline would be fine, ease, styling and other factors often mean a pattern will make up bigger than … Continued
I bought this book in a second hand shop in Clitheroe. As its age spots and dilapidated cover attest, it has been around since 1944. If you ever see old dressmaking books do buy them. Much of the advice is … Continued