All posts filed under: Sewing

Things I sew – historical and modern

Shell’s dress: a very meaningful fascinator

It’s been a while since I have posted about Shell’s wedding dress, but I always meant to tell you about her fascinator. Shell’s fascinator was a combination of need and happy circumstances. First the need: Shell had always planned to make a fascinator to wear, but as the day approached we were all super busy and running out of time. Then the happy circumstances: Shell’s mother had sent lace motifs clipped from her own wedding dress, and satin from her Grandmother’s wedding dress, which we hoped to incorporate into Shell’s dress, but the dress was too far along by the time they arrived. Emily of Ever So Scrumptious had a collection of kereru feathers from her backyard (yes, she got permission from DOC to keep them) that she offered to Shell for her fascinator. Shell’s mother-in-law to be crocheted her a series of flowers for her fascinator and the bridesmaid’s fascinators. And of course, we had the gorgeous embroidered buttons that Madame Ornata had worked. And finally, I found a bluebird feather in my stash. …

Finished project: an utterly adorable 1930s playsuit

Published by The Dreamstress

A client contacted me to make a playsuit from a late 1930s pattern she owns. After we looked at lots of modern fabrics without finding anything inspiring I suggested an early-mid 20th century style print, and she picked an adorable bows & flowers print in grey and yellow from Reproduction Fabrics. I’m a huge fan of the yellow (so exciting to have a client who loves it too), and the print and colours are the perfect mix of pre-war innocence while still being fresh and modern. To relieve the rather busy print, I used custom made white piping with a very subtle woven-in stripe, and graphite-grey buttons. I think this was particularly important on the front of the skirt, where I did a piping-bordered placket. Isn’t the halter back of the playsuit clever? How it combines with the side-fastening of the connected shorts so that you can get in and out easily? And the halter is so unexpected: we don’t usually think of them featuring in fashion that early. To keep the halter modest, and …

Finished project: the very dreadful silver stays

Published by The Dreamstress

Well, for better or worse the silver stays of doom are finally done. They continued their inclination to bad luck through the last few steps. As I was working the eyelets they got sparkling apple juice splashed on them. Luckily it didn’t stain the linen, but liquid is very bad for kid leather, so I think I’m going to have to replace part of the binding at some point. And then, after all the fuss about loosing the shoulder straps and having to cut a new pair, once I got all the eyelets worked and was finally able to try the thing, on the shoulder straps just didn’t work very well. So all that perfect, painstaking hand stitching got unpicked, the back got cut down just a little and I now have strapless stays. Without the shoulder straps tying in pretty bows in front, the front has little visual interest, so I felt the need to lace it with fancy ribbon. Of course, this means I can only unlace it via the back, which means …