All posts filed under: Tutorial

Tutorial: how to dye fabric shoes

Having shoes that perfectly match the dress was the ultimate touch of luxury for the fashionable Victorian (and Edwardian, and quite a few other eras!), so of course I needed a pair of Emily pink shoes to go with Emily’s pink dress. This is how you dye fabric shoes. Start with your plain, undyed dyeable fabric shoes:  (yes, they really do need to be undyed, and uncoloured – shoes that are already coloured/dyed have almost certainly been treated with a surface finish which will make it very hard for them to absorb a new dye, plus the colour that they already are will affect the colour you want to achieve.) I’m using a pair of 90s bridal shoes that I paid a whopping $8 for. Try to determine if your shoes are silk, or synthetic (or, less likely, cotton or linen).  If your shoes are a natural fibre like silk, linen, or cotton, use a natural fibre dye.  If your shoes are a synthetic like polyester, you will need a synthetic dye.  Remember that satin …

Tutorial: How to make a drawstring petticoat to go over a crinoline

My hoopskirt tutorial has been getting a lot of use, and I have had a request to do a tutorial on making the petticoat that goes over the hoopskirt, so here goes. This tutorial will make a full petticoat gathered to a 45″ drawstring waistband with two layers of 6″ ruffles at the hem.   The petticoat has a circumference of approximately 150″ at the hem, and is up to 45″ long. For your petticoat you will need: 7 yards (6.25m)  of 45″ wide fabric (60″ if you want your petticoat to be longer or can be bothered hemming) 2.5 yards of 3/4″ wide  cotton waist tape 10 yards of cotton cord for cord gathering Apologies in advance for the quality of the photographs with this tutorial – I guessed at what I would need as I made the petticoat, and then wrote the tutorial, and my guesses were hopelessly off, so I need to go back and make another petticoat and photo-document the process properly. Step 1: The Hem Ruffles Cut 14 7″ wide …

Tutorial: self fabric bias binding

I’m long overdue for a tutorial, and long overdue for an update on some sewing progress, so I’m multitasking. I love multitasking. I hemmed my not-so frothy fairy dress (now dubbed the Marianne gown, because it combines Sense and Sensibility) with self fabric bias binding, which is my favourite hemming technique. It takes a little longer, but it provides a beautiful effect, especially on curved hems.  It is also very strong, and can be replaced if the hem gets soiled (unlike traditional hems). Whether you use it for hems, or any other technique, self fabric bias binding is a useful thing to know how to make.  You can buy metal tools to make it, but I find they don’t save much time, and don’t give you nearly as much flexibility in terms of size. To make your own self fabric bias binding, cut bias strips of the fabric you intend to use. This tutorial uses many of the same techniques as my self-fabric piping tutorial, so you might want to check that out. Your strips …