Readers, For me, one of the pleasures of making a shirt is not having to squint and keep finding my place in the instructions. Many shirts ago I realized I could put instructions for all the separate parts on index cards and exercise much more freedom in the construction sequence. If I’m in a pocket […]
Project: Vogue 8267 (1955), “Boy Shirt”
Readers, Sewing-wise, I’m in an indolent mood these days. I don’t feel like tackling a new pattern, a new technique, a new fabric, a new anything. It’s a fine time, then, to sew myself a flannel shirt. We’re reaching the peak of the flannel shirt-buying season, that’s for sure, judging from the L. L. Bean […]
Packing with a Plan
Readers, A month from now I’ll be in London for the Fashion and Textile Museum’s short course Tailoring with Savile Row Tailors. More than a week ago I started thinking about what to pack in case I needed time to sew or buy something for this trip. I’ve traveled quite a lot and packed many […]
London-Bound
Readers, The subject line read “Bespoke Tailoring–2-week short course at FTM.” “FTM” is the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. I had visited it as part of my research two and a half years ago for “Sewing Destination: London, England,” which I wrote for Threads magazine. I had been getting the museum’s e-mail newsletter ever […]
Organizing by Messing Around
Readers, Sometimes the best solution I’ve discovered for a pesky problem turns out to be the easiest, cheapest and laziest. I have to be in the right state of mind though, for that solution to occur to me. A couple of days ago I had wrapped up a big sewing project and series of posts […]
A Dream with a Deadline
Readers, Yesterday, after I did a photo shoot, a mind map and a title for my usual Saturday afternoon post, the fingers were poised over the keyboard to bang out several hundred words. They stayed poised. If a mirror had been hanging on my bulletin board it would have reflected the wrinkled brow of someone […]
Project: Vogue 9820 (1959) Jacket, Part 8
Readers, Here it is: the jacket I spent more than a decade dreaming of making. After more hours than I care to say, it’s 99 percent done. And it measures up to my expectations, which is pretty fantastic. You know that feeling of sliding on a coat or jacket that feels exactly right? The right […]