It seems like whenever I tell someone I sew, they ask if I made the clothes I have on – does anyone else run into this as well? Of course, I always wish I could answer yes. Lately, I think about this question whenever I get dressed in the morning  – and try to always […]

Last post, I showed you my design for the Night and Day dress but I’m still trying to get my mitts on a pattern, so that project is on hold for the moment.  This summer, I took my final exams for the bespoke women’s tailoring certification I’ve been working towards. The biggest part was practical […]

Unless you’ve been sewing under a rock lately, rumors that blogger Gertie has released a new dress pattern have probably drifted past your ears. It has 72 different options (seriously!), which makes it quite the buy-in-bulk-and-save deal, but I hadn’t really considered getting it because I have a slew of untouched patterns at home. Until […]

I’ve been working on my pattern-making skills lately.  After drafting my own basic block – a plain fitted dress pattern used as the base for creating more complicated styles – I tried making a few of my own designs. This style was my favorite, so after trying it out in muslin, I made it into […]

When making a tailored pencil skirt for my mid-apprenticeship exam, I learned a so much new information about making and lining a skirt, as well as three understated embellishment techniques, and I wanted to pass this on to you.

I’m still working through my apprenticeship as a tailor here in Germany. Partway through last fall, I was able to skip from the first year to the second year of the program. So, this April, I reached the halfway point of the (usually) three-year apprenticeship – which is marked by a big tailoring exam.

Hi there… remember me? It’s been forever since I last posted. I have been struggling to write the last few months. I worked so long on the same project, Marie Jokerette’s dress, that after a while, I couldn’t convince myself that anyone would be interested in continuing to hear about the same project. So even though […]

You voted, I listened! This girly is now officially called Marie Jokerette!

The photos from Jokerette’s photo shoot are finally finished and I’m so excited about how they turned out!!!

Jokerette’s skirt is made from the same pattern I used for her petticoats – trimmed with a raggedy ruffle and striped puffs of silk. It’s made from an iridescent taffeta I had in my stash. Yay stashbusting! Iridescent fabric didn’t exist in the 18th century, but that’s a detail I’m willing to overlook for this costume.