Beads & Velvet Reimagined from a Funky Vintage Upcycle

May 3, 2022 Jennifer Serr

Hello There! It’s been a while. My mother had been very ill and then passed away in March. That is the reason for my absence here. It’s been a time for both grieving as well as endless amounts of sorting and figuring out of #allthethings in relation to my mom’s transition. Thank you for your patience!

These are the last photos my mom took of me, and of my projects. It was in early January. I had intended for this to be a Christmas Tea outfit, and then a New Years outfit. But alas, neither ended up working out. So goes life! Some times are less sparkly than others….

The Frannie Adventure Doll - Designing a Rag Doll

January 12, 2021 Jennifer Serr

Over the last few months I’ve been hard at work developing a pattern for a Rag Doll. “Why a Rag Doll?” you might ask. Well the truth is that I’ve always loved dolls. I loved my barbies, I loved my china dolls, and I loved hand made rag dolls as well. When I was 8 years old, My Grandma Fran gave me her Bisque Baby Doll that she got when she was 8. I still have that doll. It’s a little worse for wear and needs some attention but I still have it.

I also loved making dolls and made quite a few as a child. It always gave me pleasure and I was infinitely fascinated by the process.

Sewing a Miss Fisher Style Jacket with Vintage Chinese Silk

January 28, 2019 Jennifer Serr

Today’s post is about a 1920’s Short Car Coat I finished just last week. The fabric for the jacket/coat has been in my stash for the last several years. I was planning on making it to go with the blouse and skirt I’m wearing in the photos, for Miss Fisher Con, which was almost 1 year ago (already?). It didn’t quite happen in the time I originally planned to make it, but an occasion came up and It seemed like a faster make than finishing a sweater, so off I went.

Going to Miss Fisher Con 2018 - my favorite moments

August 13, 2018 Jennifer Serr

It's been almost two months since I attended the 2nd annual Miss Fisher Convention. If you don't know about Miss Fisher, she is the main character in a series of books by author, Kerry Greenwood. The books inspired an Australian TV Series called Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. A quite liberated lady detective, Miss Fisher, lives in 1929 Melborne, Australia. The Convention, celebrated everything "Miss Fisher". If you haven't seen it, you should. Fantastic show and books and her snappy dressing (ie. beautiful costume design) inspired me to create a whole wardrobe and rope my friends into coming along for the ride.

Miss Fisher Con or Bust - Fitting my Art Deco Inspired Evening Gown

June 25, 2018 Jennifer Serr

Miss Fisher Con is less than a week away and my wardrobe is getting the finishing touches (even as you read this!). Here is a little sneak peak into the fitting of the evening gown I'll be wearing to the masquerade on the Saturday Evening of the Con.

A 1920's Blouse Done 3 ways with One Vintage Dress Pattern - Miss Fisher Wardrobe or Bust!

June 13, 2017 Jennifer Serr

As part of my quest to build a "Miss Fisher" wardrobe, I've sewed up three little blouses inspired by separates her character wears in different episodes. This post will show you 3 blouses I have made, starting with one pattern and explain how you can do it too!

Creating a Skirt from a 1930's Dress Pattern

June 6, 2017 Jennifer Serr

Vintage Pattern Lending Library Pattern #T3221

Recently, I've given myself the task of creating a "Miss Fisher" wardrobe....

Fashion Your Way to a Better Body Image - 5 ways to do it without Dieting

May 31, 2017 Jennifer Serr

Body Image - That's a tough one for a lot of us. It's not something talked about openly, very often, but a lot of the people I work with seem to be challenged by it, and daily. I've struggled with my own body image over the years as have most of my friends. As a teenager, looking through fashion magazines constantly (wanting to be cool, fashionable and popular), I compared myself to the models on those pages, dressed beautifully & styled to the nines. The comparisons killed me. You see, I've always been my own worst critic. Self criticism and loathing get to the heart of the matter. That internal critic (along with a little external reinforcement - peer pressure, magazines etc.) led me to an eating disorder, hospitalization and a life unmanageable, all by the tender age of 15...

Full Bust / Narrow Shoulder Adjustment - Fitting my Embroidered Jacket

May 2, 2017 Jennifer Serr

This jacket was found at the Vintage Fashion Expo in the Michaan's Auction House out at Alameda point last Fall. I loved it immediately and was pleased to say that it fit fairly well upon first trying it on, all be it, a little loose. This beautifully embroidered piece was only $45, so I nabbed it up and took it home.

Once home, I kept trying it on with different outfits and just found that I felt a bit frumpy in it. Have you ever had this experience? My bust and hips are full, at least in comparison to my shoulders and rib cage. The difference in size is about 3 dress sizes. Yikes. I'm the typical "Pear" - size 4 in the shoulders and rib cage, size 8 in the bust and a 10-12 in my waist andhips. Makes for a difficult fit a lot of the time. Well, this car coat (that's what these short jackets are called) is just a little too "Miss Fisher" to give up, so after close inspection, an alteration seemed in order.

"What to do?" You ask. Well, I say, make it fit in the shoulders. I started by pinning out the shoulder to see how much needed to be reduced - about 2" in the end.

After seam ripping the sleeves off the jacket, I drew a new armhole on the jacket, making the shoulders 2" smaller on each side. This made the armhole quite a bit larger than the sleeve.

In order to reduce the armhole measurement so that the sleeve would fit, I created a dart along the sides of the jacket, as there was no side seam to reduce. This made the bust smaller as well, but that worked out just fine, as the jacket was quite full in the bust already.

The sleeves were sewn back into the garment and the lining pinned in and stitched by hand.

With my jacket altered, and fitted properly, I now love it even more. Time to make an outfit to go with it, don't you think?

Happy Sewing!

Building a Miss Fisher Wardrobe

April 11, 2017 Jennifer Serr

my Miss Fisher Mood Board that inspires me to dress like this sassy lady!

Have you seen Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries? It's an Australian TV show based on the Kerry Greenwood Novels. The series highlights the Honorable Miss Fryne Fisher, who is a lady detective in the 1920's, and is played by the brilliant actress, Essie Davis. TheFryne character is the epitome of the strong, sassy, smart woman that I would love to be. AND she has a fantastic wardrobe.....

The Making of a Hat - How I achieved my 1920's Miss Fisher Look

March 28, 2017 Jennifer Serr

Having acquired all the materials - wool hat (a la Old Navy), millinery wire, ribbon aplenty and a beautiful feather rose, I was ready to make my hat for the Girl's Inc. Hat's off to Women Who Dare event. Yay! I love decorating hats and making them very special.....

Hi, I'm Jennifer ! Owner of The Sewing Room and the host for these blogs. I love everything about sewing and fashion and have been doing it professionally and personally my whole life.

Inside my blogs (yes, there is more than one), I hope to give you some insight to the fashion world as well my daily design & sewing practice (which tends toward the Vintage).

Disclaimer - We use affiliate links which means that we get paid a few pennies for each click and when you purchase the items.

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