Readers, A tear-stained letter poured into Getting Things Sewn headquarters recently: Dear Miss GTS, The pace of my househunting has really picked up lately. I’ve been flying to Columbus and back so often, the flight attendants don’t ask me anymore whether I want the peanuts, the pretzels, or the cookies! That’s the good news. The […]
Field Trip: American Craft Council Library, American Fabrics
Readers, Last summer I discovered the most wonderful old trade journal, and I’ve been wanting to go back and look at it ever since. It’s called American Fabrics. Have you heard of it? Well, I hadn’t till I was doing research last year for “Sewing Destination: Twin Cities,” which came out in the February-March 2014 […]
Project: Vogue 4036 Jacket, (1959), Part 4
Readers, I made another sample for this jacket, Vogue 4036, from 1959: the pocket and flap.I’m so used to misunderstanding instructions, making goofs, and starting over that I was surprised–shocked!–that the pocket and flap turned out so nicely on the first try. Here are the printed instructions: And here’s what I did: On to the […]
Project: Vogue 4036 Jacket, (1959), Part 3
Readers, For me, making a bound buttonhole is a little like making a souffle. They’re both out of the ordinary, and require preparation and care. And every time I make either a bound buttonhole or a souffle I feel a small sense of accomplishment. This 1959 jacket calls for bound buttonholes. But it didn’t even […]
Project: Vogue 4036 Jacket, (1959), Part 2
Readers, Before cutting into my wool-synthetic blend for this jacket I knew I’d have to tame its ravelly nature. I went to the Threads magazine website looking for help, and found it quickly in a post by Kenneth King called “A Trick for Working with Raw Silk.” I’ve had the experience–okay, frustration–in the past of […]
Project: Vogue 4036, Jacket (1959), part 1
Readers, Every time I look at this large-collared, boxy little late ’50s jacket the word “demure” comes to mind, and I don’t know why. Demure is not a style I’m after. There’s just something about that collar. Here’s another word that pops into my head about this jacket: “suburban.” That’s a 1950s suburb I’m thinking […]
Book Review: Looking Good…Every Day by Nancy Nix-Rice
Readers, Have you ever said, “This is the book I wish I had written”? Well, Looking Good…Every Day is the book that addresses just about everything about wardrobe that drove me, in my extreme frustration, to create Getting Things Sewn to identify and solve my many sewing and clothing dilemmas. I don’t really wish I’d […]