We’ve all been there. Standing in an aisle of gorgeous fabrics… swooning at the computer screen… gazing lovingly (and with drool at the mouth) at THE.PERFECT.FABRIC for that next dress. Question is… how much to buy?? Will 5 yards be enough? 10? Or do I have to sell a kidney to afford some unmentionable amount Read More...
Tag: Civil War
Passionate About Petticoats
We’ve all seen it. A beautiful period gown spoiled by a limp, dragging skirt. Besides good flatlining in that skirt, the use of petticoats can take that loose mess and make it a beautiful reproduction worthy of a fashion plate. Read More...
Quit Overthinking Cartridge Pleats
Over the years I’ve seen many, many costumers question and ponder and debate and frustrate themselves over how to calculate cartridge pleats. I get it. It’s pleating. Pleats need to be calculated (or can be, but it’s not absolutely necessary). But cartridge pleats – or gauging as is the 19th century period term – are Read More...
Ruffle Calculations for Height Differences
Have you ever made up a pattern with skirt ruffles, and then when you saw it on yourself it was, like, “Holy Smokes! I’m drowning in those ruffles! They are way too large for my short height.” Or perhaps you are quite tall and skirts seem never-ending in their length. Then you carefully mount a Read More...
How to Sew Cartridge Pleats
This tutorial is dedicated to Corinne Pleger who taught me the beauty of cartridge pleating in July 2000. Cartridge pleats are eye-catching! Neat little pleats stacked in a row, stitched together and standing at attention. Those little pleats do a heck of job too with getting an enormous amount of skirt fabric into a tiny Read More...
Patterns for the Well-Dressed 19th Century Gentleman
Lest you think we forget our handsome gentlemen around here… Without them where would our Elizabeth Bennet be? What about Molly without her Roger? Or Scarlet without her Ashley AND Rhett? For these dashing men to be appropriately dressed, they must make a visit to their tailor – who probably dressed them to the T Read More...
How to Calculate Yardage for Ruffles
Ruffles are SO Victorian! You see them on so many skirts from the 1830s all the way through the early 1880s. But how do you figure how much fabric you’ll need for these fluffy strips of trim? 1 yard? 5 yards? Here is the easy formula for you… Read More...
5 Tips to Keep Your Cartridge Pleats from Looking Like Gathers
I hate cartridge pleats! Box pleats, fine! Knife pleats, piece of cake, but gauging? Looks like I gathered it & slapped it on. What am I doing wrong? ~ Sylvia Shope Byers Sylvia’s frustration was pouring through her Facebook message. “I’m trying to make them small and lovely, but I might be making them too Read More...