Recent Projects

14th Century Cotehardie – Drafting the Pattern

14th Century Cotehardie – Drafting the Pattern

For the Las Vegas Renaissance Faire last year, I decided that I wanted an outfit in keeping with the group I was camping with: a 13th century mercenary company. So I went for a late 13th century/early 14th century, lower upper-class English lady fallen on 

Venturing Into the World of Knit Fabric – Double Down Day Dress by Ragamuffin Patterns in French Terry

Venturing Into the World of Knit Fabric – Double Down Day Dress by Ragamuffin Patterns in French Terry

Welcome to Day 3 of the Breaking Ground Blog Tour, hosted by Mahlica Designs. See below for all the other creatives taking part, as well as the giveaway info! I am breaking ground with both the pattern designer and fabric type. This is my first 

How to Hem a Circular Skirt using Bias Binding

How to Hem a Circular Skirt using Bias Binding

I have always done circular hems by: putting in gather threads, measuring and pressing up the hem, pulling up the gathers, turning the raw edge under, pressing and sewing the seam. Quite the rigmarole! I recently found a new method and tried it out on 

1930s Evening Gown – Decades of Style #3301 in Crepe and Brocade

1930s Evening Gown – Decades of Style #3301 in Crepe and Brocade

class=”wp-block-image”> class=”wp-block-image”> This dress was made for the Art Deco weekend on the Queen Mary in 2015. The pattern is Decades of Style #3301 1930s Evening Gown. I used a blue and silver brocade for the bodice, and a blue crepe for the skirt. The 

Up-cycling: New Flannel Cat Beds from Old Pillows

Up-cycling: New Flannel Cat Beds from Old Pillows

  I replaced my pillows recently, and decided to turn the old ones into cat beds. I used a yard of flannel for each one, sewed three sides of the rectangle to make a ‘bag’ or ‘pillow case’, put the pillow in and topstitched it 

Vera Venus Reversible Stole

Vera Venus Reversible Stole

I first made this Vera Venus Reversible Stole in 2015 for an Art Deco event on the Queen Mary. For that version I used blue velvet instead of fur and grey crepe back satin for the lining. Since I was not using fur, I added 

#SewInTheNewYear – 2019 – A Virtual NYE Party

#SewInTheNewYear – 2019 – A Virtual NYE Party

Join us on Instagram for a virtual New Year’s Eve party! We have hosts across various time zones. Be sure to follow everyone on Instagram now so you don’t miss any of the fun on Monday night! The party runs from 9pm to midnight in 

Arya Cat of the Canals – Part 2 Skirts and Accessories

Arya Cat of the Canals – Part 2 Skirts and Accessories

Part 2 Read Part 1 Skirts To start with I wanted pleated cotton skirts, since the original is clearly pleated. I found pleated chiffon skirts and pleated satin skirts in abundance, however, cotton, or even an opaque non-shiny pleated skirt, was nowhere to be found. 

Arya Cat of the Canals – Part 1 Blouse and Bolero – Butterick B5008, Simplicity 8462

Arya Cat of the Canals – Part 1 Blouse and Bolero – Butterick B5008, Simplicity 8462

Read Part 2 You may remember that a few years ago my department at work did Game of Thrones for Halloween. I did Margaery Tyrell. Well. The new employees since the move to Colorado found those photos, and wanted to do it again. So we