The Greater Bay Area Costumer’s Guild puts on many special costuming events. This one, called ‘At home with Josephine at Malmaison’ was an elegant afternoon in Empire (1804-1814) court dress, complete with Champagne, nibbles and Opera. The Oakland Bellevue Club was our glamorous venue and it was fitting indeed.
Read moreSewing a Regency Petticoat
It’s almost time for the GBACG At home with Josephine at Malmaison event at the Bellvue Club. I actually purchased a costume to wear to this Regency event, a few weeks back at the GBACG Bazaar. Turns out the costume I purchased was worn in a BBC costume drama of some sort. More on that later.
But for my event, I needed a petticoat to wear under the dress, that would smooth out the bust area, because my stays made it look a bit lumpy. I think that’s also, ahem, in part because the costume is a tad bit small in that area. I’ve since moved a bunch of hooks and eyes and made it a bit bigger, but have yet to try them on together. I’m still somewhat undecided if I’ll wear it to the event or instead make a gown that is more of an evening gown. depends on time really and if there is enough of it before the event.
Read moreBlogging Book Tour - Sew Bags by Hilarie Wakefield Dayton
I have never heard of a Blogging Book tour before. Have you? When my friend & Colleague, Hillary Wakefield Dayton, told me she was having one for her new book, “Sew Bags” The Practical Guide to Making Purses, Totes, Clutches and More, I was intrigued. She sent her book to me to review and make a project from, so now I’m blogging about & you can see inside this awesome creation of hers.
Thumbing through the pages, it was difficult to choose which pattern to pick, but Ultimately, I landed on the Abigail Boxed bottom Tote. I really needed a new & prettier knitting bag, as I’ve been using a cotton canvas grocery bag for the last few years.
Read moreVenturing into Historic Dress - Sewing a Regency Corset for an 1830's Costume
I've had a bee in my bonnet for dressing up "old-fashioned" style for about as long as I can remember. Now as a grown woman, when my friend says that the Greater Bay Area Costumer's Guild is hosting an 1830's picnic at Ardenwood Farm in June, I can't help but jump at the opportunity. At this point, I've finished some of the undergarments (Shift and Drawers) and started on my Regency Long Stays. In doing some research, I found that during the 1830's, ladies were still wearing their long "stays" or transitioned to slightly curvier long stays and haven't quite evolved into the corsetry of the later 1800's. The pattern for these "stays" came from Redthreaded and the fit is spot on, with very little alteration.
Read moreMy Sewing (& Knitting) Plans for 2018
What are your Sewing Plans for the New Year? I already have a long list of things I would like to accomplish with the knowledge that there probably won't be time for everything on my list. In any regard, I'm very excited to get started. Take a look below at some of the things in the works....
Read moreFull Bust / Narrow Shoulder Adjustment - Fitting my Embroidered Jacket
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
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.....
Read moreThe Making of a Hat - How I achieved my 1920's Miss Fisher Look
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.....
Read moreDraping in Fashion Fabric - Progress on My Preservation Ball Gown
This blog post is about how I drape my gowns in the fashion fabric. This is only just the beginning. It will take me working on the dress in my spare time over the course of the next few weeks to get a final dress.
Read moreHat's Off to Sewing Blogger Chuleenan Svetvilas of Csews.com
Chuleenan Svetvilas - photo by Portraits to the People
One of my Goals in my Vision for 2017 is making a Roaring 20's hat to wear to the "Hat's off" event which benefits Girl's Inc. With this in mind, I set out to talk to an expert, and the first person I thought of was the organizer of the Bay Area Sewist meet-up Group that I attend. In addition to facilitating our meet-up group she also runs the blog CSews and is a guest blogger for Britex Fabrics. She always wears such fabulous hats and I know that she makes some of them. Below is our conversation. I hope you find it as gripping as I did!
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