My niece, Neko, loves dresses and has fairly expensive taste. It is a good thing her auntie can sew. I had lucked out last year and found 10 yards of green taffeta for just $1.00 a yard. I bought all of it just waiting for the right pattern to come along, so when I came [...]

Dear Jennie, For my new gown I have used your new 1780′s pattern and I was very pleased with it. It was a joy to work with as all your patterns! I have adopted it a bit as I wanted a round gown, so I have changed the front into an apron front. I used [...]

This dress was made from Sense and Sensibility’s 1780′s portrait dress pattern with some fitting alterations.  I added buttonholes and daisy buttons to close the back.  When it came time to mark the tucks and hem, my daughter was so excited about the length and about it being a “Princess” dress!  In the end, instead [...]

When I created the Girls’ 1780s Portrait Dress pattern, I knew I’d want to follow up with a women’s version. The construction of the dresses offered in this pattern comes from the study of dozens of portraits, plus scrutiny of extant gowns for women from this time period, but I've stuck with conventional machine techniques in the instructions to allow for ease of sewing.

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These are the pictures of Ana-Gloria’s Easter Dress and my second time with the 1780 Portrait Dress. This time I made the gathered bodice and it went together beautifully and was so much fun to make. The dress is white cotton lawn with a silk dupioni sash in “Tiffany Blue” with a hand made flower [...]

My daughter Olivia wanted to look like a princess, and I wanted to find something classic-looking for her First Communion. The portrait dress looked like a perfect fit. Not being a particularly advanced seamstress, I was a bit scared to do it in solid white, but am pleased with how it turned out and so [...]

I have no experience with historical sewing, so I make no claims that the lace or anything else on this dress is period-correct When I had trouble finding a modest and elegant pattern for my daughter’s first communion dress, I turned to period patterns and found this lovely website, and I am delighted with the [...]

My daughter, Kyra, absolutely loves this dress. The sash is not as wide as the pattern calls for, since I only had a minimal amount of the blue, but it went perfect with the blue flower fabric. I also had to put in an elastic “drawstring” since it was slipping off her shoulders too much [...]

Hello Mrs Chancey! My name is Lexi and I am 19. I started sewing from your Regency dress patterns when I was 17, and have continued to enjoy them! I just love your new 1780′s pattern! It was the one thing I wanted for Christmas, and I was so happy to have my Mother order [...]

Two years ago I found this Nativity Toile and made dresses for my then 2-yr-old and 3-month-old granddaughters. This year those dresses were passed down to younger sisters and I made the Portrait Dress for my now 4-year-old granddaughter. I added a pleated ruffle around the neckline. A young lady at church crocheted the lace [...]