Silence may indeed be “golden” except when one is trying to maintain some regularity in writing a blog.  My silence this past Fall and into the end of the year was not intentional. I actually got as far as starting a new post in November on a “Blouse for Fall” only to have its completion thwarted by more pressing priorities.  Such is life, as all of us know.  So now, in this sparkling new year we have entered, I have the opportunity to play some long overdue catch-up.   It is at this time of year when I like to reflect on my sewing from the year just pas ..read more

Sometimes extra incentive is needed to push through a project which turns out to be more difficult than anticipated.  Such was the case with this pink silk jacquard dress. I had purchased this fabric quite a few years ago online from Britex Fabrics.  I knew it was a dressy fabric, and unsure of what form this dress would take, I made the decision to purchase four yards of this 58” wide silk.  That gave me some latitude in my selection of pattern.   Finally last Spring I made a decision about what I wanted this dress to be.  That was precipitat ..read more

Whenever I am working with vintage fabric, it seems I either have more yardage than I need or, more frequently, less than I need.  I have learned over the years there is usually a way to work around having less fabric than I really need.  I just have to get creative.  And that’s what I did when I made this dress. I quickly determined there was no way I could get the dress I wanted by placing the pattern on the lengthwise straight-of-grain.  The flare of the skirt, which I wanted to be mid-calf, precluded any notion of such a layout.  At 45” w ..read more

Where to begin with this story?  I have to go back 50 years – which sounds daunting and slightly surreal.  As a 23-year-old about to be married, I had already made my wedding gown that summer of 1973.  I still, however, needed a couple of dresses to take on our upcoming wedding trip in early September.  With that intention, I ventured into Stapler’s Fabric Store on Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA).  Stapler’s was one of the old, notable, family-owned purveyors of fine fabrics and dress goods, and I loved going in the store.&nbs ..read more

For a number of years this light, filmy, patterned and printed cotton, made in Italy,  had been lurking in my “cottons basket.”  I had purchased two yards of it from Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, for a “future” dress presumably. This fabric is partially sheer. The print is overlaid on what appears to be a “burn-out” cotton, ie., two-layered. At 60” wide, I knew two yards would be sufficient for just about any summer style I chose to make.  It seemed like every Spring I would take it out and consider the possibilities for it, not reaching a decision.  But this ..read more

There are now a few scrapes remaining of this fabric: Before the scraps there was this blouse: Before the blouse there were two Springtime dresses for my granddaughters:  And before the two dresses, there were two Valentine’s Day aprons for my granddaughters: Sometimes a fabric is just so versatile, it pays to use it over and over.  Such has been the case with this pink and white striped cotton I originally purchased from Farmhouse Fabrics back in late January.  It all started with my decision to make aprons for my granddaughters for Valentine’s Day.  I f ..read more

Mark you calendars for a visit to Winterthur Museum in Winterthur Delaware, (USA) in the Fall of 2023.  Ann Lowe, American Couturier opens on September 9th and runs through January 7th, 2024.  For those of you unfamiliar with Ann Lowe, she probably is best known as the designer of Jackie Kennedy’s wedding gown when she married John F. Kennedy in 1953 –  but Lowe is so much more than that.  For decades she was the designer of choice for “America’s most prominent debutantes, heiresses, actresses, and society brides.”  Despite designing cout ..read more

It has been a slow start to the new sewing year of 2023.  Although I had anticipated the completion of my first project – this black jacket – to be a speedy endeavor, I anticipated incorrectly!  (Has anyone ever said fashion sewing can be very humbling?) I was making this jacket to go specifically with a wool sheath dress I made two years ago – and also, hopefully, to pair with other dresses or skirts which might benefit from the addition of a somewhat dressy black jacket.  I had the pattern, and I had the fabric, a very soft light-weight cashmere (which I found ..read more

Retrospection is a good thing, I think, when it comes to sewing (or many things, actually!)  When I think back on 2022 and what I accomplished of my sewing goals for the year, I am surprised by how much I actually marked off my list.  I seem to have started the year with a lot of momentum, but by the end of the year, that momentum, both sewing and blogging, fizzled out, for one reason or another.   My theme for the year was so, so easy for me to remember – PINK  – as in my favorite color.  It was so easy, in fact that I almost shied away f ..read more

Sometimes the smallest thing can be the deciding factor in the trajectory of a sewing project.  In the case of this dress – my last dress of summer sewing – the buttons told me how to proceed.  There was some serendipity involved as well, which is often the case with my sewing, it seems.   I purchased the very light and airy white and blue fabric from Britex Fabrics two or three years ago. When it arrived, I tucked it away to think about it.  Somewhere along the line, I purchased the buttons you see here, but not for this fabric.  (I rarely le ..read more