When I was a little girl (so many years ago!) I remember the popularity of “knit” jackets. Jackets that someone actually knit. With a pair of knitting needles. Knit jackets were a ‘thing’ back then. Knitting patterns from the 1960s. The ones I remember most, though, seem to be men’s hand-knit jackets (and machine-knit jackets […]
Remember back in the 1970s and 80s? Well, maybe you’re too young, but that was when everyone seemed obsessed with colours. Did anyone ever ask you, “Have you had your colours done?” I used to roll my eyes and think: Just look at me. I don’t need someone to tell me I’m a winter―because I […]
Not my home economics sewing class, but it brought back memories – found on the web. I remember it as if it were last month – and not decades ago. I can feel myself walking into the Home Economics sewing room at Prince Arthur Junior High School. It was like a kind of playroom for […]
It seems so appropriate that as we enter the final days of 2020, I have finally finished that last of my two major 2020 sewing-designing-related projects for the year. At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to master (as much as possible) shirt-making. That project took up much of the first half […]
There’s an old Zen proverb that I love. “You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” I’m one of those people who’s spent so much of her life doing, doing, doing. My husband, who has mastered the art of sitting still after […]
There’s an old Zen proverb that I love. “You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” I’m one of those people who’s spent so much of her life doing, doing, doing. My husband, who has mastered the art of sitting still after […]
I love a great detail on a garment. It could be special top-stitching, a bias-cut sleeve vent or (and this may be my favourite kind of detail) a great button or six. What I’ve noticed, though, is that many ready-to-wear pieces lack these details. Sure, you can order some great buttons from your favourite online […]
Coco Chanel knew a thing or two about elegance. Most of us have an innate sense of what it means to be elegant (whether or not we aspire to it – I do), but if pressed to define the term—well, that’s a bit more elusive. Since one of my objectives in paying homage to Chanel’s […]
[*Little Black Jacket sometimes referred to as the LFJ or Little French Jacket] A couple of days ago I ventured down to the fashion district here in Toronto to my favourite fabric store to peruse their bouclé and silk stock – because I’m finished! My Little French Jacket, that is. When I started this process […]
*Little Black Jacket sometimes referred to as the LFJ or Little French Jacket So my obsession with Chanel and her Little Black (French) Jacket runs deep. If I am going to re-create it, I need to know more about it. So I begin my research by trying to figure out the details of the real […]
What are you wearing this fall? If you’re anything like me, you’re interested in what’s current. Still, you don’t necessarily want to buy into the craziness of clothes that will be outdated in mere months—or trendy pieces that you have no occasion to wear, based on your lifestyle. What I like to do is to […]
I just love making muslins. I don’t know what it is about those ugly, non-wearable garments that I love so much, but I do. Maybe it’s the freedom of knowing that accuracy is essential, but finishing is not. Perhaps it’s because it permits tweaking and fussing and getting it just right. Or maybe it’s because […]
I’m not really an embellishment kind of woman. My wardrobe tends toward the minimalist which is the reason I so love some of the new shops like COS and designers like Armani. A Little French Jacket, however, requires embellishment. As I look back through my inspirational Pinterest board where I’ve been amassing photos of Chanel […]
It is an easy dress pattern to whip up. That is if you actually follow the pattern instructions to the letter, do not veer off into couture sewing territory, do not focus too much on fit, and completely ignore Coco Chanel’s exhortation that the inside of a piece of clothing should be as beautiful as […]