Readers, You may have noticed my new assistant appearing in recent photo shoots. I bought her on an expedition a few weeks ago when my sister, photographer, and fellow adventurer Cynthia was in town. A year ago Jack and I visited Accent Store Fixtures in Minneapolis searching for a mannequin small enough for my clothes […]
Project: Vogue 9820 (1959) Jacket, Part 7
Readers, I was racing against the dimming light late this afternoon to capture a few pictures of the jacket work-in-progress. It’s turning out really well. The wool-cashmere blend has a lovely spongy texture that made sewing in the sleeves a dream–perfectly smooth sleeve caps even without sleeve heads. These two fabrics look as if they […]
Project: Vogue 9820 (1959) Jacket, Part 6
Readers, Just a little report on the progress of the leopard collar jacket. I cut a stencil of the collar pattern piece from heavy paper and laid it on the velveteen to preview the look before I cut into the fabric. This leopard print varies from dark in the middle to lighter toward each end, […]
Project: Vogue 9820 (1959) Jacket, Part 5
Readers, I finished my wearable test this morning, and am pretty pleased with the result. When I saw how well this was coming together I realized this could be a garment I’d really wear. So I lavished more attention on it than I would a usual test. I went ahead and interfaced it, put in […]
What Works/What Doesn’t: McCall 7842, Coat (1934)
Readers, My coat-making fever this fall has prompted me to take a fresh look at a project I did about five years ago. I was disappointed in the result, but had not really clarified my dissatisfaction until I had myself photographed wearing the coat and could analyze the fit and the look against the pattern […]
Project: Du Barry 5913 (1944), Trench Coat, Part 2
Readers, I had time before my next coat-making class session to make a muslin of my next project, this 1944 trench coat by Du Barry. Normally I find making muslins a tedious business, but I’ve changed my tune with this one. It’s been exciting to reconstitute a little piece of mid-’40s fashion. Look at those […]
A Trench in the Works: Du Barry 5913 coat, (1944), part 1
Readers, I’m all caught up with the wearable test of my leopard collar jacket project, and my next Coat Craze class at Treadle Yard Goods isn’t for another five days. What to do till then? Start another coat project, of course! This coat-making class I’m taking consists of five two-hour meetings spaced one or sometimes […]