Well, it has been a hot minute since I posted! I've been sewing up a storm, and adding a new aspect to the business, Fabulous Buttonholes. All that, in addition to running Gorgeous Fabrics, has kept me very, very busy. But recently, Vogue Patterns re-released Diane Von Furstenberg iconic wrap dress pattern to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The original dress was released in 1974, and discontinued at some point in the 1980s. In recent years, it's fetched stratospheric prices on eBay and Etsy ($150 and up). Simplicity, which acquired Vogue in 2022, probably looked at those numbers and said ..read more

Here's a little holiday gift from us to you. Gorgeous Fabrics has half-yard increments!!! Now, you can enter the amount of fabric you actually want, rather than having to do the math to figure out how many half-yards to buy. Here's how it works... As always, the minimum quantity of any cut fabric is 1 yard. That's the amount that shows when you bring up a fabric's page: If you want to buy 2 1/2 yards, now you can just toggle the "+" button until you get 2.5 yards, or type 2.5 directly into the quantity. Then add it to your cart: You'll see the 2.5 quantity in your cart and during the checkou ..read more

It seems that The Big One has discontinued the Glossary of sewing terms in their instructions pages, instead referring people to their videos explaining sewing techniques. While that may be useful on one or two levels, I don't need to watch a 15 minute tutorial on how to do a narrow hem or such. I can read about it and grok the method in less than a minute, and TBH, I know more than the so-called experts. So for your sewing reference, here is a glossary of sewing terms and how-to's that you can read when you need them. I'll update as I think of other terms. Double Stitch: stitch seam alon ..read more

Linen has transformed from a summer-only staple to a year-round fabric in most fashion collections. You see it in the Autumn/Winter shows going on in New York and elsewhere. For good reason: it's comfortable, it's sustainable, it breathes beautifully, and it gets softer and more lovely with age and wearing. Many people avoid linen because they believe it to be prone to wrinkles. Yes, it is, but several years back, the wonderful sewing teacher, Sandra Betzina recommended this method for reducing wrinkles. I've used it on all my linen garments, and it really works. While it won't make your linen ..read more

The Background I've had an... "interesting" summer, which has kept me both busy and away from my sewing machine. There have been many lovely things (shopping with my future DIL for her wedding dress), and some not-so-lovely (dealing with my sister's dementia and getting her into a safe place). But hey! Life. Is. Amiright? And life continues apace.  On a tangential note, I'm running a fundraiser in August, 2023 for the Maui Strong Fund to benefit the communities devastated by the wildfires on Maui last month. 50% of sales of fabrics in the Tori Richard Benefit category go to ..read more

Wow! This year has been a whirlwind, both good and bad. In 2022, I held the inaugural class at Gorgeous Fabrics’ Galactic Headquarters in Billerica, MA. The headliner was none other than the wonderful Kenneth King. Kenneth taught his Trouser Draft Class It was a smashing success for everyone involved: the students, Kenneth, and me.  So I decided to expand classroom offerings in 2023. In April, the incomparable Susan Khalje held her Couture Sewing School. Twelve students brought projects of all types to work on under Susan’s tutelage and expertise. We had everything from a tailored blazer ..read more

Well, it has been a hot minute since I last posted. If you follow my Instagram or Facebook, you know that there has been a LOT going on at Gorgeous Fabrics. I just haven't had time to post about things. So here's a Reader's Digest synopsis of events and projects that I've been working on. A Tailoring Project: Vogue V1870 Blazer I spent the end of winter and early spring working on a classic tailoring project. I used Vogue V1870 as the base for my effort. It's a peaked lapel, single breasted classic blazer. I wanted something that I'll wear for years, and this fit the bill perfectly. For the o ..read more

Many years ago, before I had cancer and lost my hair, someone (I don't remember who) gifted me a terrycloth hair wrap. I know it was before cancer, because it has remnants of hair dye on it.  I loved it, but it's threadbare and worn, and the elastic is pretty much kaput. It's time to replace it. So I decided to do just that. And make an extra for my future daughter in law :) Hair wraps are SUPER easy, and a good way to use up an extra 3/4 or so yard of fabric. I cut a yard of our Spa Terrycloth for a customer and discovered that there was a little scuff mark close to one selvage. Rather ..read more

The Dress that Launched Many Thousands of Fabrics Sixteen years ago this month, I wrote a blog post about a Hotpatterns Cosmopolitan Dress that I made and said, "Gorgeous Fabrics is open for business!" It's the dress that launched over 20,000 fabrics, and it has been an amazing ride! To celebrate our Sweet 16, we are hosting 4 giveaways during the month of February! Each Friday, the random number generator will pick one lucky winner. The prizes are: Week 1- 10 yards of each color of our best-selling Fusible Bias Stay Tape: Black, White, Gray, and Off-White. ($40 value) Week 2- Gently used (b ..read more

Gorgeous Fabrics has a New Look! Happy 2023! It's a new year, and we have a new look. After using the same website format since I restarted Gorgeous Fabrics on my own 6 years ago, Larry and I decided it was time to freshen it up. Thanks to his expertise (I married an ecommerce guru), we launched the GF New Look on January 1st. Let me show you around! When You First Arrive The entire site has a clean look that is easier to read and navigate. When you land on the front page, you will be greeted by the banners, under which you will see the latest fabrics I've added to the site. The feedback ..read more