Here are some pictures of the Romantic era outfit I made about five years ago.

This year I went with my mother to a Jane Austen Ball & High Tea organised by the Jane Austen Society Holland. I loved it!!! We sewed both the Regency Gowns.

Regency fashion is beautiful and elegant. I have wanted to attempt a dress from that era for ages, but being a novice sewer, I never even considered it. After reading many blogs and visiting this site several times I gave it a go.

This breathtaking, all white Regency gown is in the collection of the wonderful Valentine Museum in Richmond, Virginia, which boasts one of the largest historical costume collections in the South. I photographed this during a visit in 1998 to file away.

I thought I'd show off this wonderful 1950s party dress she sold on eBay. I wish I'd had a chance to snag it before it was sold, because I'd have loved to make a pattern from it! I'm still filing it away in my mental cabinet for future inspiration, you can be sure! This reminds me very much of "Liesl's" party dress in the 1964 film, "Sound of Music."

This is a reproduction Regency gown I made in 2001, savoring every moment of this delectable project! My customer asked me to copy the gown and the chemisette with standing "ruff" collar seen in the Regency portrait at left.

If you’ve followed S&S Patterns over on Facebook, then you’ve probably seen this coming for a while, as I took a poll to see which fashion era people would like to see in patterns next. The 1780s won out, hands-down, though the 1930s came in a close second. Funny how this works out, but a

Isn't this the most stunning Edwardian dress? This confection of a dress was sold by Vintage Textile. I'd never seen a dress with a large floral print like this from this time period, but I really like it. From a distance, the effect is one of a soft pink blush. It is only on up-close examination that you see the flowers. Breathtaking! Can't you just picture afternoon tea on the lawn beneath the shady oak? Love it!

So, you've made your first outfit from one of my patterns. It went together without a hitch...until you put it on and stepped in front of a mirror. "Wait a minute!" you exclaimed. "This waistline is way too high! This sleeve just doesn't hit me where I thought it would! How am I supposed to be comfortable in this?" All of us are built differently. Even if we fit into a standard "size" on the pattern chart, we may find that the final results are less than flattering because we failed to take into account one or more unique features of our own body type. This page is here to help you identify those features and modify any pattern to better suit your figure type.

If you are usually a size 0 or 2 in off-the-rack sizes and have a petite frame (particularly if you are narrow through the shoulders with a measurement of less than 15" from shoulder to shoulder), you will need to make some adjustments to your bodice pattern pieces to obtain a perfect fit.

No matter how well designed a pattern may be, it cannot fit each individual perfectly. Each human body has its own quirks, and each person has different fitting needs. You may find that you need to enlarge a pattern beyond the sizes available on the sheet, or you might need to shrink it. Perhaps you would like to reduce a woman's pattern to fit a little girl. Or maybe you found an out-of-print pattern you'd love to make ... but the sizes are too small for you. Anything is possible once you know how to resize a pattern!

Understitching creates a beautiful, professional finish to linings and button plackets. Here's a video to show you how to do it!

There are so many fun ways you can alter your gown bodice to make it uniquely your style! Below I've illustrated two additional ways to change the look of your gown. The first method creates a fitted bodice with darts under the bustline. The second gives you a more "fan"-shaped bodice with the gathers in the center. I strongly recommend that you play around with a muslin bodice or two first until you achieve the exact fit and look you want. You might want to try different neckline treatments while you are at it (I've done a bodice with a "V" neckline and darts).

Flat-felled seams make a beautiful finish. They were common in the Regency era and are called for in my chemise pattern. Here's a video to walk you through the seam!

This tutorial is here to walk you through all the steps of taking that pattern and modifying it to make your own Regency bodiced petticoat.

Modifying my Regency Gown Pattern is extremely simple. I've shown in my Diary of a Dress how to add a train, make an overskirt and add other fancy embellishments to a ballgown. The purpose of this section is to demonstrate how the bodice can easily be changed to button up the front rather than down the back (especially nice for nursing mothers!). I'll also include instructions on how to modify the skirt front for expectant moms.

Here is yet another modification you can make to my basic Regency Gown Pattern. This section will show you how the bodice can be changed to include a drop-front (or “apron front”) panel. This is a fantastic feature for nursing moms, and I can tell you that I absolutely love nursing my daughter in this

This is a project I undertook in Fall of 2000, creating a unique wedding gown for a customer. Through this diary, you will learn how to modify the original Regency Gown Pattern to add a train, make "window" sleeves, add a bodice inset, and more!

Question: Can I create a pattern from a favorite dress, blouse, or skirt without taking the original apart?Answer: It can be done -- and it only takes patience and a few tools!

I took a class on what is ‘in’ for children’s clothing. One of the topics was shirring.... I thought it would be fun to try the technique on my favourite tried and true pattern, the Girls’ Regency pattern. :-)