I have loved this dress ever since I found a copy of the full-color photograph in Life Magazine years ago. I am sure it has sat in the back of my head ever since, silently feeding my love for the 1950s silhouette and serving as part of the inspiration for my Girls' Classic 1950s Shirt Dress pattern and my Ladies' Classic 1950s Wardrobe pattern. I never attempted to reproduce it for myself, but, once I settled on Paris as one of the stops on my 2019 Historical Fashion tour, I knew it had to be: I simply had to make a recreation of Dior's Palais de Glace dress to wear while in Paris!

After years of frustration with algorithms that are, at best, silly and, at worst, downright insidious, I'm finally giving Facebook the chop. I will be very sorry to lose nearly 10,000 followers who have sent me wonderful notes, posted their beautiful creations, encouraged new designs, and taken time to reach out and stay in touch over the FB network, but I am going to do my best to use the time I spent over there providing more content over here and keeping my focus on the one-on-one interactions with customers that make this little business such a joy to run.

So many of the books my mother read to us as children celebrated creativity--from gardening to sewing to knitting. It's no wonder I grew up itching to make lovely things! I now read many of the same books to my own children, and I thought it would be fun to put together a post featuring the favorites that have stood the test of time and continue to inspire and delight.

Yes, it is happening! It has been a long time coming together (since 2016, in fact!). And it's a beauty of a trip, complete with Cathy Hay of Foundations Revealed as my co-host through some of Europe's most beautiful cities: The 2019 Tour!

21 years ago, two customers, harp-playing sisters who loved to wear beautiful gowns while they performed, dropped me a line to ask if I'd consider bringing out patterns for some of my designs. At that point, I'd been filling custom sewing orders for about 18 months, mainly catering to the Regency/Napoleonic groups in the D.C. area by making day dresses and ball gowns. I'd also fallen in love with Regency fashions for everyday wear, finding them an excellent match for my expectant silhouette in 1997! But, while I designed patterns for my customers and myself, I hadn't considered publishing any of them. After all, that was what Big Companies did, and how could I possibly compete in a market that was positively flooded with patterns?

At long last, the size 16-26 Ladies' Classic 1950s Wardrobe pattern is ready for printing! Many thanks to all of you who have waited such an age for this one to get to press--particularly so long after the 4-18 version went to press last year! I am truly delighted with the results and ecstatic to show them off with my beautiful South African models who brought such grace and glamour to our photo shoot.

The Dress Like Your Grandma challenge is a highlight every year, especially as more and more sewists participate and dig into family trees and other historical archives for inspiration. Some of the entries this year just made me stop in my tracks and stare in amazement.

I shared this on social media last month but forgot to post it here--eek! This is a wonderful challenge to get you sewing from your own family tree (or borrow a family tree!). Tanya has extended the deadline to April 24, so there's still time to participate!

What fun to see all the entries in this delightful challenge last month! Check out the post of the winners for all the details, and thank you to everyone who participated.

My book review of American Duchess's Guide to 18th-Century Dressmaking! This really isn't a small guidebook at all but a veritable encyclopedia of 18th-century sewing and fitting techniques, all beautifully illustrated with clear, full-color photos and sharp line drawings. You learn how to cut, drape, fit, and stitch gowns from 1740-1790, including an Italian Gown, which is the main option in my pattern. As an added bonus, there are instructions for accessories, including an apron, chemisette, hat, muff, and reticules. Read my full review!

Amanda Kastner has been at it again, and the results this time have become a runaway hit in my household! First, she crowd-funded her adorably illustrated (and very well-written) book, A Really-Truly Princess. I bought the downloadable eBook and coloring book and eagerly await the arrival of the hardback copy in the mail. My little girls have fallen in love with the story and want me to read it to them over and over again. So I was absolutely delighted to find out Amanda has created an Audible audio book, read by a talented British actress!

For Designin' December, I thought I'd show the results of making my own dress from my new Ladies' Classic 1950s Wardrobe pattern, as I am super pleased with how it turned out. I opted for the pointed collar and closed the front with a lapped zipper (I'll be sharing that how-to on the blog in January). The fit is perfect and super easy for this nursing mama. I plan to make a bunch more to do some stash-busting and use up fabric that has been sitting much too long in my cupboards!

The wonderful sisters over at For the Love of Sewing did a five-day sew-along for my Edwardian Apron pattern with the most adorable fabrics. Not only do you get all the steps in order with lots of fabulous photos, but you also get to see how to piece together the tiles of the ePattern to make the full-sized sheet and how to modify the length if you want a shorter apron.

I can still remember the first time I saw an ePattern available for sale. I shook my head, thinking, "No way! Who would want to piece together all those tiles by hand?" I was sure paper patterns would always outsell the "e" versions, but I created the downloadable version of each of my patterns all the same to cater to the instant gratification crowd. Well, lo and behold, we have now reached a point where ePatterns outsell the print versions by almost 8 to 1! This has an impact on how we do business, but I still can't bear to think of parting with paper patterns forever, so let me tell you how we are moving forward in 2017 and beyond.

In early 2010, while hunting for retro-style dresses that I could wear while nursing my baby daughter, I found a deadstock 1950s shirt dress for sale on eBay. Incredibly, I snagged it for only $25, and it was a perfect fit. I really loved the style with its curved collar, self-cuffed sleeves, and pleated skirt. I'd been telling myself for a couple of years that it was time to branch into 1950s patterns, but I hadn't been struck with inspiration for a new design until I got and wore that dress.

If you follow my Instagram account, you've already seen a sneak peek of this beautiful jewelry, designed and made by Liz Turner from books that have fallen into disrepair and are destined for the rubbish bin. I love how Liz chooses words that follow a theme or come from classic literature, like the "Elizabeth" and "Mr Darcy" earrings you see at right. She can even find the words of your choice in a dictionary or another volume and custom-make your own special jewelry, including pendants to wear as single pieces

Amanda has now produced a simply charming coloring book, featuring 25 of Jane Austen's most famous quotes in whimsical settings with delightful hand-drawn ink illustrations.The 8.5" x 11" book is printed on smooth white 65# paper, which is excellent for colored pencils, pens, markers, and even light watercolor washes! To celebrate Amanda's achievements, I am hosting a giveaway of a copy of "She Coloured," and I've also got a special coupon code you can use in Amanda's online shop!

When it comes to retro maternity style, I may not be an expert, but I think sheer experience has to count for something! I've lived through two decades of maternity wear, beginning with my first pregnancy in 1996, when I was just starting out as a seamstress-for-hire and making lots of Regency gowns.

As a young teen obsessed with vintage clothing, I dearly wanted a circle skirt. I'd seen them in old magazines and thought the felt ones with appliques like poodles or the Eiffel Tower were just too cute for words. When my grandmother realized how much I loved vintage fashion, she gave me a beautiful ruffled petticoat she had made in the mid-1950s and two felted wool circle skirts she was still wearing as late as the 1970s (she kept her 23" waist until her death by doing nightly sit-ups on a slant board!). I was 14 at the time, and the clothes were a perfect fit. I was on cloud nine.

There are some days that opening my in-box leaves me with an especially huge smile on my face. I always love to hear from my customers, but I have a special place in my heart for the youngsters--the ones who discovered their love of sewing early on while using my patterns or while reading through helpful posts on the Message Forum, encouraged by fellow sewists all the way.