I was talking with a friend today about historical costuming, and how what’s important to me in events and making isn’t how fancy an event is, or what era things are, it’s who I’m doing it with. Because when you’re with the right people, even the simplest thing is a joy, and even the dumbest thing is hilarious. Case in point: when you’re out for a walk in Medieval costumes, and you only get halfway down the (admittedly very long driveway) and someone’s shoe decides to bite the dust. And then, like an absolute chucklehead, instead of getting her to stand there awkwardly on one foot while someo ..read more

It’s the most wonderful part of a pattern launch: time to show off the tester makes! Everyone loves seeing tester makes, and it’s no wonder: they show what the pattern looks like styled in a whole range of different ways, on a whole range of bodies, in different fabrics.  There are always testers who do fabulous things with the pattern that never even occurred to me!  So inspirational Pattern testers also ensure we deliver you the best possible pattern.  They ask about instructions that are confusing.  They provide feedback on the fit on a whole range of bodies.  Ba ..read more

We’ve just launched the Scroop + Virgil’s Fine Goods Aidah Gown pattern, and I’ve introduced it as the ‘sister’ pattern to the Angelica Gown.  There is a lot in common between the two pattterns: they cover the same timeperiod, are both Italian gowns, and they have interchangeable elements. But, like real sisters (or at least my sisters – the youngest likes to say of me: “she’s nothing like me“), they are also very much their own distinct individuals. So, how are the patterns different? In brief, they have: Side seams (Angelica) vs no side seams (Aidah). Different front necklines Differe ..read more

We’ve hit the point in the Scroop + Virgil’s Fine Goods pattern collaboration where all our hard work in setting up the foundations of patterns is paying off!  We’ve refined the our base patterns, our graphic designs, and our instruction layouts, and we can now put together new patterns much more quickly (although we’re still make extremely detailed, labour  intensive patterns, so not that quickly). What does that mean?  It means that only 6 months after launching the Angelica, we have a sister pattern to the Angelica: the delightful Aidah Gown! Wondering how to say it?   ..read more

If you’re into 18th century costuming and/or dinosaurs, you’re probably familiar with the absolutely awesome Vincent Briggs and his pterribly cute Pterrible Dinosaur Drawings (on tumblr, facebook, instagram, or with the world’s best patreon tier level options – pick your favourite poison). You might even be aware that he also does really fantastic fabric designs.  (it’s so unfair that anyone is that talented!). I looooooove his fabric designs.  After a really rubbish first half of 2022, I decided that while a wardrobe full of ridiculous monster dresses wasn’t going to fix t ..read more

When Amber and I designed the Scroop + Virgil’s Fine Goods 18th century mantle patterns we tried to keep the amount of extra specialist notions you’d need to have to make a beautiful mantle to a minimum. So the pattern includes pattern pieces and instructions for mantles with fabric bindings, but…you can also bind your mantles with purchased ribbon! We used this technique on the hoodless View B Marie Mantle in black wool that Averil models: This particular technique is for hoodless Marie and Charlotte mantles, but I’ll be doing another tutorial later for versions with hoods. Here’s how to do ..read more

13 years ago I finished a Hawaiian quilt, photographed it (with help from Felicity), blogged about it, and gave it to dear friends who had just had a baby. And then I immediately started another one, because Hawaiian quilts take a looooooooong time to make, especially when you only work on them around other projects.  But I knew that at some point someone else I loved enough to make a quilt for would have a baby, and I needed to be ready! 12 and a bit years later, the quilt had progressed quite a lot, but wasn’t quite done, and my dearest friend in the world (the one who knows secret ..read more

Amber of Virgil’s Fine Goods and I have another fabulous late 18th century pattern almost finished, so we need testers to help us check the final fit and instruction details. We’ve already asked a number of testers with specialised skills, so we’re only looking for a few extra testers. If you’d like to be one of them, keep reading to learn more, and how to apply. The Pattern: The pattern is a fashionable ‘Italian’ Gown with two bodice views, three sleeve length options, and two front closure options.  The fronts and backs are interchangeable, and the skirt can be made with or witho ..read more

I’ve been in love with second-half-of-the-14th century fashion ever since 2015, when I made my first 1360s gown. Between life in general, the demands of my job, and Scroop Patterns, I’ve never managed to make another one, until now! I bought some beautiful vintage yellow wool at Fabric-a-Brac in Wellington back in 2017, and knew it would be perfect for a 1360s gown, and that there was exactly enough. Back in 2020 my local costuming friend group decided to do Medieval, so I helped a bunch of them make custom patterns based on the techniques I used for my original gown, and I started one of my ..read more

We had a mixed-up Historical Sew and Eat Retreat this year, with a day of 18th century, and a day of Medieval. 18th century was our outing day, with a relaxed (yet historical) lunch and breakfast.  Medieval was our big feast day, with an extravagant Ottoman Empire inspired meal. Because we were doing a bunch of cooking, and because the weather was sadly wet and chilly, we didn’t venture far from our house. Enjoy a bunch of photos of costumers of varying levels of expertise in 14th century English, French and Swedish fashions, and their time-travelling Viking friend! I started out looking ..read more