Anyone who knows me knows that I am a planner. I plan weekly menus before I go to the grocery store. I map out an entire two-week road trip months in advance ensuring that all hotels are booked for the right days and I know the precise driving time between stops. I write outlines for […]
How often do you make a new garment following every single line of the pattern and every single direction about how to sew it together? If you’ve been sewing for more than a nanosecond, I’m willing to bet that it is rare for you to do this. And how often do you look at a […]
“Not only do I do what I want to do, but I do my work in my own way and never have been influenced by another artist.” ~ Erté I was on a cruise a few years ago on a small luxury-line ship that showcased some extraordinary artwork. I know, I know: art auctions of […]
If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember something in junior high school called home economics. I know I do. I remember that first “home ec” classroom I walked into my first week in grade seven. While the boys went off to something called “Shop” class to do things I never really understood at […]
When you start a sewing project, which comes first: the design (the pattern) or the fabric? For most of my years since I learned to sew decades ago, I began with the design. There were so many reasons for this. First, in the early years, I sewed so that I could have a wider variety […]
Coco Chanel herself in her soon-to-be-iconic suit in 1954 She was brilliant, wasn’t she? Of course I’m talking about Coco Chanel. When she relaunched her couture house in Paris post World War II – well, she waited until 1954 – she took the fashion world by storm. She upset the status quo. Her new designs […]
How often do you make a new garment following every single line of the pattern and every single direction about how to sew it together? If you’ve been sewing for more than a nanosecond, I’m willing to bet that it is rare for you to do this. And how often do you look at a […]
I think that the shrug might just be the most useful piece of clothing a woman could own. They are so small, so light, so packable. Well, most of them are. The shrug. Sometimes referred to as a bolero. But are they the same thing? I’ll get to that, but let me begin by introducing […]
I’ve been thinking a lot about darts this week. That’s likely because now that I have a well-fitting bodice sloper, I need to start learning what to do with it if I want to design a few of my own creations. I could just do a bit of online research and plunge in head first, […]
Ever since I began studying and learning about pattern drafting and design, I’ve obsessed about creating a kind of “collection.” This probably stems from my internal, imaginary fashion designer. Many others who also create their own wardrobes seem to refer to “capsule” collections in a similar way. In my mind, these two are related but […]
Well, I never thought I’d ever write or even utter these words: this is the beginning of my man’s shirt project. It’s the last “project” of 2019 and it was unexpected, to say the least. Anyone who knows me knows that my design and sewing projects are pretty well confined to me, me, me. My […]
When I was a little girl (so many years ago!) I remember the popularity of “knit” jackets. Jackets that someone actually knit. With a pair of knitting needles. Knit jackets were a ‘thing’ back then. Knitting patterns from the 1960s. The ones I remember most, though, seem to be men’s hand-knit jackets (and machine-knit jackets […]
It feels a lot like winter today here in Toronto. In fact, when I raised the blinds this morning, there was some of that “white” stuff” on the rooftops some stories below. Thankfully, there wasn’t actually any of it on the streets or sidewalks. It’s too early for that! What this always means to me […]
I don’t know about you, but I just love making test garments. Whether you call it a muslin, a toile or a calico, it all means the same thing: a garment made for fitting and testing out sewing and tailoring techniques before cutting into your fashion fabric. Muslins I have known and loved! The idea […]
