How to release procrastination

How to release procrastination

That time of the year is coming… when a more prolific soul than you or I will post a list of the sixty-five fabulous projects she completed this year. And lo, most people will look at her edited highlights, and compare them to their backstage mess, and feel inadequate.

Ugh. Doesn’t sound like fun.

So let’s release some of our stuck creative energy right now, and release ourselves from 2018 like an arrow departs from the bow.

To begin, let’s release procrastination.

Here are the matching drawers for that beautiful Edwardian chemise

Here are the matching drawers for that beautiful Edwardian chemise

Remember the Edwardian chemise I made earlier this year?

Well, if you keeping hunting around in the Metropolitan Museum archive, you’ll come across a matching pair of drawers (top of page). They’re part of a set containing an identical chemise to mine – the lace is unmistakeable. So obviously I have to make the drawers too.

Every day I’m bustling

Every day I’m bustling

You’ve heard it before, I’m sure: you need the right foundations to get the silhouette right.

Sometimes you need them even when you re-purpose historical dress as everyday modern dress, and discard the corset.

I’ve been working on an 1890s wool skirt to just wear around the house this winter. I drafted it from an original set of instructions in the Keystone Jacket and Dress Cutter, with a smooth front, and a back that explodes in acres of gorgeous pleats. I should have guessed that this plan led to an engineering snafu…

How to Make Do and Mend, Victorian Style

How to Make Do and Mend, Victorian Style

I love wearing vintage, but sometimes I feel bad about wearing really old clothes… especially if an accident happens. ????

My favourite vintage dress shirt has been hanging in my sewing room with a 3″ L-shaped rip for months… and I finally decided there was only one thing to do… mend it the same way its original owner might have done…