On Anna's recommendation, I bought a copy of The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook, which turns out to have been the book I've been looking for all my sewing life. Did your sewing machine come with a box of tiny, weirdly-shaped feet? Then you need this book. There are clear instructions for guides, hemmers, rufflers, binding and cording feet, sequin feet, walking feet ... and on and on. If you can screw, bolt, strap or clip it to your sewing machine, I think this book covers it.
My favorite guideline for judging sewing books is by whether or not they make you want to sew -- and this book makes me really, really want to sew. I think the hemming foot instructions alone are going to make my sewing life better.
It's also kindled in me a deep and painful longing for something called a "bias cutting guide" -- a doodad that clips to the end of your scissors so that you can cut bias tape without all that painful marking. I wants one, I do. Couldn't turn one up on eBay, though; does anyone have any leads?
(Also, if you buy it from the link above, the author, Charlene Phillips, will sign your copy. That's always nice!)
There are three dress patterns (sheath, shift, and dirndl) and twenty-five variations, most of which are cute (although they skew a little young). And the pattern sizing has changed from the first book, with the new book including an XL size (up to a 41" bust).
This would be a good book for a dedicated beginner. By "dedicated beginner," I mean someone who is slightly more patient than average (or maybe just slightly more patient than ME), who is thoughtful and careful, and who has sufficient motivation to spend more than one weekend putting a dress together. I estimate that it would take one weekend's worth of time (for a beginner) just to get the patterns traced and altered, one weekend to cut out the pattern and begin construction, and one weekend (or long evening) to do the finishing work. This is definitely a book for someone who will enjoy the planning and the process as much as the finished item.
However, if you worked your way carefully through the projects in this book, there would be very little that would faze you at the end. She covers pattern alterations, collars, clipping curves, sewing on buttons, seam finishing, facings and linings ... and of course, pockets, although welt pockets are not included -- even Wendy says they're on the difficult side, so she left them out. Zippers are given a slightly hand-wavy treatment, but since there are roughly one gazillion zipper tutorials floating around the web, I don't think that's a problem.
I get a lot of emails that basically read "I bought a sewing machine NOW WHAT??" I think this book is the new answer to "NOW WHAT??"
So IndigoTangerine left a comment here last week asking if knew that this blog was mentioned in a book called Breakfast At Bloomingdale's. Which, um, no, I didn't! But it is!
I think most of you know that I'm a dictionary editor in my "day job", but when I was working for OUP I was also an "acquiring editor," which meant that I noodged, nagged, harangued, and otherwise coaxed books from ideas to publication. I have a shelf of books in my house that I can point to and say "I midwived those" (and in some of them I can point to the acknowledgements to prove it). Occasionally, when I am having a bad day, I go look at that shelf and I say to myself: "Those aresomemightykickass books that wouldn't be here if I hadn't helped." (I'm even prouder of those books than I am of myown.)
So anyway, of *course* I ordered this one. I may even put it on the same shelf!
If you know someone who loves to sew and are stumped for a suitable holiday present, this list might help ...
Books: Sewing books are always a good idea, and you really can't have too many. There's always more than one way to accomplish any given task or technique, and the more sewing instruction you read, the better the odds of you finding the way that 'clicks' with you.
First on the list this year is a lovely new book from Ruth Singer (whose blog you may know): It's called, in full, The Sewing Bible: A Modern Manual of Practical and Decorative Sewing Techniques and it's really a lovely book. Clear, well-illustrated, and helpful, with a range of projects from the very simple (envelope-back pillow) to the more elaborate (handbag with pockets, circle skirt).
A book that is probably on a lot of internet-enabled sewists' list this year is Diana Eng's Fashion Geek: Clothes Accessories Tech. I know that there are projects in this book that I've been eyeballing for some time ...
Fabric: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a sewist in possession of some fabric is always in want of MORE fabric. However, if you don't sew, buying fabric for someone else can be a bit tricky. What do you buy? How much do you buy? I think you can never go wrong with high-quality natural fibers (or, of course, Liberty). My advice? Either buy four yards of something gorgeous, or try a gift certificate to one of the posheronlinefabricshops.
Notions: Go. Nuts. Seriously. Wander into a chain sewing store and hit the notions aisle with a basket and an open mind. Don't know what a bodkin is? Dump it in the basket. Throw in whatever little tools or gadgets or thingamagigs take your fancy, put them all in a nice covered basket, and call it a day. If your recipient already has one of whatever it is you picked up, she could probably use another, newer, sharper one, and if she doesn't, she'll have fun figuring out how to use it. Wandering in a store is more fun, but if you don't know where to go (or, cough, have ridiculous problems with going to a "girly store"), try Clotilde's or Nancy's online or even Amazon.
Patterns: This, surprisingly, is less fraught than buying fabric, IF you already feel confident when buying clothes for the same person. You just choose a pattern that looks like something your recipient would wear, IN THE RIGHT SIZE. Remember, pattern sizing is different from "normal" sizing, so go by measurements and not the size number. A better strategy is to get a fancyvintagepattern in an approximate size (or even a couple of patterns) so that you have some redundancy in the system. Bonus points for saying "These were so beautiful, they reminded me of you," when you give them.
And if your budget is tight this year (and whose isn't?) one of the best gifts you can give to someone who loves to sew is time. Offer to run a weekend's worth of errands, make dinner, answer the phone, watch the baby, walk the dog, or anything else that would allow for a four- or five-hour uninterrupted block of time. (And make the sewing time real time -- no interruptions, if you please, unless someone is bleeding or on fire.)
Do you sew and have a gift wishlist of your own? Leave a comment!
What Shall I Wear? is probably one of the most seminal books in fashion, at least for me. I'd rank it right up there with Fashion is Spinach, and that's saying something.
It was supposed to be released today, but Amazon is already showing it's out of stock -- I'd order it now to be sure of getting one! Copies of earlier editions sell for well over US$100.
This is what McCardell had to say about her designs:
"For me, it's America—it looks and feels like America. It's freedom, it's democracy, it's casualness, it's good health. Clothes can say all that."
The whole book is inspiring. I heartily recommend it.
Weirdly, we only have one pattern tagged "Claire McCardell" on the wiki. Hmm. I'll have to see what we can do about that!
Book Review Week: Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts
I really wish I had been in the editorial meeting when this was brought up for approval. I mean, DUH. Martha Stewart + Crafts + Reference? Complete and total no-brainer. I bet the editor just said "Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts" and everyone else said "Yup," and moved on to the next title on the agenda.
It doesn't disappoint (okay, it doesn't disappoint ME). (I loves me an A-Z format.) The projects are everything you'd expect from our friend Martha, and more ... incredibly cute pom-pom baby chicks, scrolled-paper hearts, rubber-stamped rain hats ... if it can be painted, cut, folded, beaded, silkscreened, marbleized, stamped, glittered, punched, or glued, Martha will tell you how to do it. With impeccably-styled full-color photographs, of course.
If you are a known crafter (and not a vocal Martha-hater -- I know they exist, but I don't get it, the woman is like a superhero—or at the very least, Lex Luthor, and I've kind of always had a soft spot for Lex Luthor) and do not receive this book from a loved one at the next major holiday, you may need to consider whether or not anybody loves you. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is.
Let's get one thing straight (especially if you are related to me): There is no chance that I am going to make anything in Alicia Paulson's new book, Stitched in Time, anytime soon.
(Okay, *maybe* the Baby Clothes Quilt. I do still have a bunch of baby clothes around here ...)
But that's only because I'm WAY overscheduled right now. If I could sit down every Sunday from now until Christmas with a pot of tea, an old movie on the television, and this book, I would work my way through it beginning to end. There are SO MANY adorable projects ... and, as the saying goes, so little time. Not to mention the fact that my niece is still too young for that cute little doll on the cover ...
However, even if you don't have time to make even the smallest potholder, you might still want to pick up this book just for the gorgeous photographs and Alicia's lovely voice on the page. (And if you're not already reading her blog, well, why aren't you?)
Because we can all hope that SOMEDAY, you're going to have a rainy Sunday with nothing to do, and you are going to want this book and a box full of fabric scraps and a little girl to make a doll for. You ARE. That's just how the world works. It's always better to be prepared!
Book Review Week: The Civilized Shopper's Guide to Edinburgh and Glasgow
The Civilized Shopper's Guide to Edinburgh and Glasgow is an adorable little book that is fueling my never-all-that-dormant desire to pay a visit to Scotland. (2009 *is* being promoted as "Homecoming Scotland", although I'm not sure if there's a statute of limitations as to how long ago, exactly, your ancestors can have left Scotland before they say "Eh? Never heard of you" when you show up again. I'm thinking two-hundred-some years is pushing it.)
Anyway, if you are lucky enough to be getting to Edinburgh (or Glasgow) this year, or both, I'd really recommend this little book. Unlike a lot of shopping guidebooks I've seen, this one really concentrates on unique shops, and shops all across the consumer spectrum: there's the obvious wool and whiskey and so on, but also chocolates, bagpipery supplies, and vintage clothing. The book includes so many luscious full-color photographs that I want to go to Scotland now just for the light in the pictures!
Born-Again Vintage is another book I'm not really the audience for. I figured this out along about page 10, where the author refers to a "frumpy fifties housedress." (I clutched my pearls and said "Well, I never!" Then I shook out my skirts.)
If I wanted to eviscerate some perfectly good (or not-so-good: think qiana shirts from the 70s) vintage and clap together the pieces into new, wearable garments, that would be one thing (and occasionally a fun thing, too) but here's a list of things I do not consider wearable:
jeans cut off at the knee with sweater sleeves sewn on them, "to create the look of a leg warmer while eliminating the struggle of "boot-horning" your cuffs"
(while we're on the subject of leg warmers) leg warmers made from sweater sleeves, in general
leg warmers AT ALL
a corset made from a sweater
short-shorts (made from anything)
arm warmers
If these sound like garments that have pride of place in your closet (and you have a lot of sweaters to cut up) then maybe this book is for you. I'm afraid that I spent my time flipping through this book wanting the "before" garments a LOT more than the "afters". And when the author wrote (on page 65) "Cutting any fabulous vintage dress is a risk, but the end result here shows that it is worth the gamble," I'm afraid I said "No it's not!" out loud. (Sorry about that, guy in the coffee shop next to me.)
If you DO want to cut up perfectly good vintage dresses and sew them to t-shirts, this book offers more than enough information to get you started. (And if that's what makes you happy, fine. Go, have fun!)
[P.S. the pocket haiku from yesterday are FANTASTIC! I'll post the winners (and some runners-up) next Monday.]
Perfect Plus is a very straightforward book, nothing fancy. You're not going to get any couture techniques here, or anything too fashion-forward or art-to-wear. This is primarily a book for petite, plus-size women who are not fashionistas, but are frustrated with the tatty stuff they see in stores (or with the price tags on the nicer plus-size garments) and who don't have a ton of sewing experience.
The book includes four patterns (a blouse with collar & sleeve variations, pants, an elastic-waist skirt, and a jacket with very nice pockets) and many, many pages of help on how to choose fabrics, construction tips, and fitting.
If you are newish to sewing, need a very basic petite plus-size wardrobe and want a lot of hand-holding, this book is ideal for you. These garments are so simple, though, that your fabric choices are going to be very important. Cheap polyesters or badly-designed prints will make these look like a dog's breakfast -- upgrading to better-quality cottons and silks and good buttons (and taking your time with construction) will make all the difference here.
If you're already an experienced sewist or you want garments with more advanced design elements, I'd save your money -- there's nothing here that you probably haven't already made on your own. You'd be better off getting a good book on fitting patterns (like Fit for Real People) and altering patterns that you really like.
I don't need to keep this book, so I'm giving it away ... the person who writes me the best haiku about pockets will get it! You can email your verse or leave it in the comments. (If you leave it in the comments and you want the book, make sure there's a way for me to reach you.)
In presenting a dress to a friend whose circumstances are not so affluent as your own, and who you know will gladly receive it, select one of excellent quality, and of a colour that you think she will like. She will feel mortified if you give her one that is low-priced, flimsy, and of an unbecoming tint. Get an ample quantity, so as to allow a piece to be cut off and laid by for a new body and sleeves, when necessary. And to make the gift complete, buy linen for the body-lining; stiff, glazed muslin for the facings, buttons, sewing-silk, and whatever else may be wanted. This will save her the cost of these things.
If there are givers reading this blog solely to get ideas of what to give givees who are very interested in sewing, a length (four yards is safe) of a very nice fabric is always welcome. Choose a color you've seen your givee wear, and ask for in the store for advice about fabric if you're unsure -- natural fibers are best. Or you could visit some of the advertisers there on the right and choose a fantastic vintage pattern or vintage accessory -- always welcome!
Oh, more about the charity drive for this year: first, we're up to $860! Second, I was wrong about international donors -- it only works for Non-USians if you use Paypal. If you can't use Paypal and want to donate to an equivalent prisoners' or literacy charity in your home country, you're still eligible, just forward me your receipt! Remember, one lucky donor will have a character in my forthcoming novel named after them (or after a person important to them) -- go out and donate here. Thanks!
If you've been a reader of this blog, you probably know about the Secret Lives of Dresses series. (If you don't know about them, the links are over there in the sidebar, on the right.)
And you probably also know that, for the last couple years, I've been lucky enough to be able to raise money for some great charities by offering to write new "Secret Lives" vignettes if we reach our donation goal. This year, I hope we can raise $1500 for Books Through Bars, a charity in Philadelphia that provides books, especially dictionaries, to prisoners. They are working towards starting a program in a nearby women's prison, and our donations would go towards that effort.
If we make our goal, I have a new prize this year. You see, there's going to be a "Secret Lives of Dresses" book (just like many of you have asked for!) sometime in 2010, from Grand Central Publishing in the US and Hodder in the UK. And guess what? It's a novel! A novel that I haven't exactly finished yet, so I have room to rename a character! If you donate to this charity drive and email me a copy of your receipt (email is erin at dressaday dot com), I will choose one name from all the donors and name a character in the novel after him or her. (Yep, seriously.)
I don't care if you give a dollar or a hundred dollars (although obviously, I'd prefer you give a hundred dollars, if you can ...). But if you give anything at all, you have a chance to be a character (or at least a character's name) in the "Secret Lives of Dresses" novel. In addition, my wonderful editor at 5 Spot/Grand Central, Caryn Karmatz-Ruby, has offered to send me a box of their fantastic books to give as prizes for some runners-up (whom I'll also select randomly from all donors) ...
So, what are you waiting for? Scroll back up and click the "donate" button, and help a woman in prison educate herself so that, when she is released, she never has to go back.
The Donate For Good site accepts PayPal and credit cards; please put "DressaDay" in the "Designation" box so that Books Through Bars can make sure that our donations go to their women's program.
First off, Ms. van der Post is a woman of a certain age, and that age is old enough to have grandchildren. I have never understood why people would want to read fashion advice from someone younger than they are. (Everything looks good on people who are twenty; getting fashion advice from someone who can sleep in her makeup without consequence is like getting a restaurant recommendation from a fourteen-year-old boy.) Fashion advice should be dispensed, ideally, by elegant silver-haired matriarchs, who know all and have seen all ... like Ms. van der Post. Even if you aren't trying to disguise middle-aged spread, or worrying about wrinkle creams, well, forewarned is forearmed, I say.
And although the book is jam-packed with useful information, like where to buy retro sunglasses (Cutler & Gross in the UK) and mothballs (Lakeland) and hats (nyfashionhats.com), the real value is in her insistence that fashion is about happiness ("Completely pragmatically, one observes that those who dress prettily, elegantly, or glamorously have a lot more fun than those who don't.") and that you shouldn't take yourself too seriously ("Only small people take offense," she says, quoting her father).
In addition to the usual topics of style advice books (hair, diet, clothes, accessories, manners, and men) there is an excellent section on home decor, which doesn't assume you will have hot and cold running decorators or a fifteen-room manse to decorate. (My favorite house advice was to buy slowly, one by one, things you really love, so that you don't waste money on temporary solutions ... even though I am the queen of the "let's buy this $5 Ikea lamp until we figure out what we really want.")
But the worklife section is a bit ... antediluvian. "Usually -- but by no means always -- it's in the family's interests for the man's career to be given most attention ..." Really? C'mon. You get the feeling that the "by no means always" was inserted by the editor in a desperate attempt to ward off the stink of irrelevance. And Ms. van der Post's musing on whether any "... alpha woman (or any woman, come to that)" would want a "meek, docile, beta house husband"? Sheesh. If all "housewives" aren't docile (and we know they're not) why should we assume all "house husbands" are?
Actually, when reading through it, I kept having the feeling -- not a bad feeling, but a strong feeling -- that this could be one of those advice books from the early 1960s, like Dariaux's Elegance, reprinted. If it weren't for the URLs (and the odd mention of Uggs or Jennifer Aniston) there wouldn't be all that much to set it apart from those earlier books. And even the year's time since publication in the UK makes for some of those "window on an earlier era moments": Ms. van der Post recommends "Pepe jeans" as a good present for a "Young Boy," as well as "iPod socks."
But really, that's as it should be. Some kinds of advice are timeless (iPod socks notwithstanding), and if we have to republish it every decade or so under a different name with different quirks, I'm happy to read it every time. And really, who doesn't need to be periodically reminded of some of Ms. van der Post's maxims, like "clean and tidy less, and read more." Or "Never go out with a man who doesn't make you laugh." Or "Use the things you love every day. It's never worth saving things for a special occasion."
Peoples! Did you know there's a new book out about Liberty in the 1950s and 1960s?
To say that I want it would be an understatement. Luckily, I've pre-ordered it on Amazon (Amazon.uk also had it, but has sold out) and soon, soon, a copy will be on the way to me. (I can't believe they didn't find me and offer to send a review copy; somebody at that publisher needs a quick refresher course in online marketing, if you ask me.)
And in other fantastic Liberty news, Anna Buruma, the archivist for Liberty has kindly agreed to answer some questions for you, dear readers. I've put in the first batch below ...
What do you think has been the most popular Liberty design of all time? The most popular design is impossible to say, but there are some very long-lived designs.
Hera, the Peacock Feather design, first appears (not at Liberty) in the 1870s; Ianthe (the art nouveau design) was picked up by the Liberty designers in the 1960s and has been identified with Liberty ever since; I think perhaps the most typical of all the Liberty classics is Poppy & Daisy which was designed for Liberty in the 1910s and has been in the fabric range on and off ever since.
Liberty has made Tana lawn, Kingly cord, Jubilee wool/cotton, silk (does it have a name?) and jersey, that I know of ... were there other fabrics, too? Flannel? Oilcloth? Some polyester in the 1970s that nobody speaks of now? Hemp, during the war?
Liberty has always experimented with different cloth bases: many different cottons from very loosely woven ones to coarse to tana lawn; different wools of which the most famous one is probably varuna wool; lots of different silks, we have three different ones at the moment; velvets, and certainly man-mades, from rayon in earlier times to nylon in the 1960s and polyester and viscose in the 70s, 80s and 90s. We don't have any man-mades at present, but never rule out any good bases.
Are there plans to put little biographies of any of the Liberty fabric designers on the new Liberty blog?
There are no plans to put biographies of Liberty designers on our web site at the moment. Many of the earlier designers are in fact unknown as Liberty wanted to promote their own name rather than that of others.
What is the oddest thing that has ever been made from Liberty?
Lots of odd things: someone made a teapot that was sold in the shop; there was a Cacharel/Liberty sailing boat in a race in the 70s with a Liberty sail; there have been various marketing campaigns for Liberty fabric, for example one where Elvis's blue suede shoes were substituted by tana lawn ones.
Can you think of other questions you'd like to ask of Ms. Buruma? Let me know, and I'll pass them along ...
Book the first is Sew Fast Sew Easy Sew On, which is subtitled "All You Need To Know to Start Sewing and Serging -- Today!" I'm not so sure about the "today" part -- it may take you a little time to round up the supplies you want -- but with a little stick-to-it-tiveness, you could be sewing tomorrow, or at the very least Sunday.
I love this kind of rah-rah, you-can-do-it sewing book, because (rah-rah!) you CAN do it. Seriously. People ask me if it's hard to sew, and I always say that if you can drive a car and follow a recipe you can sew, because sewing is really just like following a recipe (and my sewing machine has a foot pedal). You take measurements, you mix things up, and if you've been paying attention, you get something delicious at the end. (And to push the driving metaphor a bit farther: sewing machines hardly EVER crash into each other.)
Sew Fast Sew Easy Sew On lays out, with detailed illustrations, all the basics of sewing. What you need. How to cut out a pattern. The parts of a sewing machine and of a serger. Basic garment construction. It's a very patient and helpful outline of sewing knowledge, and a great beginner book. And it includes some beginner patterns -- a t-shirt, a halter dress, a pair of drawstring pants, a box cushion, and the inevitable iPod cozy.
One-Piece Wearables is for slightly more advanced sewists -- its subtitle is "25 Chic Garments and Accessories to Sew from Single-Pattern Pieces." At first I thought the single-piece thing was a gimmick, but then I remembered how many times I'd altered a pattern to remove a seam I thought superfluous, and decided to take a closer look.
The book includes 15 patterns, several of the halter-top variety (there's only so much you can do with only one pattern piece!) but I was pleasantly surprised by the dress patterns, including a sweet little number called the "window-shopping dress". There's a t-shaped tunic that's not bad either, a great circle skirt, a very interesting little jacket, and even a really cute cloche-y hat!
The illustrations are more aspirational than technical but there are good diagrams of the cutting layouts and the instructions and supply lists are very clear. For intermediate sewists, this would be a great purchase; for beginners it may be a stretch; advanced sewists might want to get their hands on a copy as a jumping-off point for their own ideas.
Forgotten Fashion is not a how-to book, unless what you need to know how to do is be charmingly absurd. I consider myself a connoisseur of the absurd, so take it from me: this is some high-grade absurd, right here. Forgotten Fashion claims to be an "illustrated faux history of outrageous trends and their untimely demise," including safari pajamas (modeled after those worn in a screwball comedy where the stars were interrupted -- repeatedly -- on their wedding night by the groom's pet elephant, Jinx), the "poly-chem Oxford," a man's shirt made of space-age chemicals and designed to last fifty years, and my favorite, the "Four-O'Clock Dress" a toga-like garment to be worn AFTER coming home from shopping but BEFORE "the mister" got home. It had "secret inner pockets to hide the tools of whatever vice occupied the otherwise abject and idle afternoon ... miniature gin bottles, marijuana joints, or palm-sized erotic novels." Genius! (What would be in your secret pocket, I ask?)
Ready to Share: Fashion & the Ownership of Creativity might be harder to find than the books above, but it's well worth it. A collection of essays on creativity, sharing, idea transfer, and homage/borrowing/"theft" in fashion, published by the Norman Lear Center at USC, it's completely engrossing. If you like fashion and are fascinated by the arbitrariness of copyright, patents, and IP law in general, you have to read this book. (And how much do I love that I know that a considerable number of you reading this blog ARE in that category?) The book also includes a DVD of the related event put on by the center.
Whew, okay, that's it for the books on my desk today. Check back at some undetermined interval for more book-reviewing madness!
Deborah writes in with a plaintive request: does anyone know what the pattern number is of the McCalls pattern on the cover of Blueprints of Fashion?
If you know (or better yet, if you HAVE) this pattern, please leave a comment ... I *think* I've seen this one before, but considering I can't even remember the number of the Walk-Away Dress, there's no way I'd ever be able to pull three or four digits out of my noggin for this one.
And to continue my unbroken string of sales announcements, there's a sale at Specialist Auctions, starting today:
Great Dresses of Mediocre Literature, Meta-Discussion
Reader Lynn is looking for fiction that describes twentieth-century older women and their clothes, which reminded me of the wonderful descriptions of clothes (on women of all ages) in the novels of Kathleen Norris, like this one:
Only the wearers and their dress-makers knew what hours had been spent upon these costumes, what discouraged debates attended their making, what muscular agonies their fitting. Only they could have estimated, and they never did estimate -- the time lost over pattern books, the nervous strain of placing this bit of spangled net or that square inch of lace, the hurried trips downtown for samples and linings, for fringes and embroideries and braids and ribbons. The gown that she wore to her own dinner, Mrs. White had fitted in the Maison Dernier Mot, in Paris; -- it was an enchanting frock of embroidered white illusion, over pink illusion, over black illusion, under a short heavy tunic of silver spangles and threads. The yoke was of wonderful old lace, and there was a girdle of heavy pink cords, and silver clasps, to match the aigrette that was held by pink and silver cords in Mrs. White's beautifully arranged hair.
Mrs. Burgoyne's gowns, or rather gown, for she wore exactly the same costume to ever dinner, could hardly have been more startling than Santa Paloma found it, had it gone to any unbecoming extreme. Yet it was the simplest of black summer silks, soft and full in the skirt, short-sleeved, and with a touch of lace at the square-cut neck. She arranged her hair in a becoming loose knot, and somehow managed to look noticeably lovely and distinguished, in the gay assemblies. To brighten the black gown she wore a rope of pearls, looped twice about her white throat, and hanging far below her waist; pearls, as Mrs. Adams remarked in discouragement later, that "just made you feel what's the use! She could wear a kitchen apron with those pearls if she wanted to, everyone would know she could afford cloth of gold and ermine!"
Do you have a favorite author for descriptions of dress, especially descriptions of twentieth-century dress? (Georgette Heyer is great for Regency dress, at least to read -- I have no idea how accurate her depictions are, but I'm sure someone will tell me!) Please leave your recommendations in the comments ...
Fashion Sewing on A Budget ... and the Walk-Away Dress!
I was flipping through some of my old sewing books a while back, looking for something (I can't even remember what) and was arrested by this image, which of course is the famous Walk-Away Dress:
If you can't read the caption, it is:
Even a beginner can make a dress like this one successfully, from two old dresses. This pattern is smart, adaptable, and easy to make since it only has a few pieces.
The book was Fashion Sewing on a Budget, and I have to say it's one of the more helpful of the ancient titles that I've accumulated. I think because it takes a "learning by doing" approach, which is the learning style I've always favored. (You make more mistakes, but you learn more from them!)
The online copies I've linked to above, on Amazon, are fairly pricey but my copy is marked "$1-" on the flyleaf and I'm sure I've seen this many a time in thrift stores and used book sales. Keep an eye out in those places, if you want it.
I still haven't made the Walk-Away dress, myself. I keep reading otherpeople'sreviews and can't decide whether to try it, and, if so, in what fabric ... and, of course, where to put the pockets!
Little, Brown sent me a copy of Sew U: Home Stretch to review (and two more to give away!) and I've just had a chance to sit down and take a look.
Although I think this book is not especially geared to my personal aesthetic (I lived through the 1980s the first time, thanks) the tips for sewing knits seem incredibly helpful. There's a real guerrilla, make-do tone; although a serger is suggested, you can make most of the knit projects in this book with your regular sewing machine. AND the book includes patterns!
I'm seriously tempted to start making my own t-shirts (or at least shorten the ones I buy online) now that I've read this book. Then they would finally all be the right length!
On to the giveaways: I'll give away the two copies to two people selected at random from those who've made recent changes at the Vintage Pattern Wiki by Friday night, CDT, June 20. (You don't have to join/log in to add to the wiki in general, but if you want to win a book you have to so that I can find you!) Not sure how to participate? here are the original instructions.
Also, Jenny added a Fauxlero category! Go forth and upload and tag, please.
If you're not into knits you might be interested in the first Sew U book, which I reviewed here.
I really liked her 
. Which, um, no, I didn't! But it is! 
wouldn't be here if I hadn't helped." (I'm even prouder of those books than I am of 
and it's really a lovely book. Clear, well-illustrated, and helpful, with a range of projects from the very simple (envelope-back pillow) to the more elaborate (handbag with pockets, circle skirt). 
. I know that there are projects in this book that I've been eyeballing for some time ... 
is? Dump it in the basket. Throw in whatever little tools or gadgets or thingamagigs take your fancy, put them all in a nice covered basket, and call it a day. If your recipient already has one of whatever it is you picked up, she could probably use another, newer, sharper one, and if she doesn't, she'll have fun figuring out how to use it. Wandering in a store is more fun, but if you don't know where to go (or, cough, have ridiculous problems with going to a "girly store"), try 
is probably one of the most seminal books in fashion, at least for me. I'd rank it right up there with 
" and everyone else said "Yup," and moved on to the next title on the agenda.
, anytime soon.
is an adorable little book that is fueling my never-all-that-dormant desire to pay a visit to Scotland. (2009 *is* being promoted as 
is another book I'm not really the audience for. I figured this out along about page 10, where the author refers to a "frumpy fifties housedress." (I clutched my pearls and said "Well, I never!" Then I shook out my skirts.)
to review, and it's taken me a while to get to it, being neither perfect nor plus-size.
) and altering patterns that you really like.
is by Lucia van der Post, who is (was?) a columnist for the Times of London. (The book came out last year in the UK, I have the new Americanized edition.) I hadn't been a reader of Ms. van der Post's (and was dismayed to find that she thought the 
, reprinted. If it weren't for the URLs (and the odd mention of Uggs or Jennifer Aniston) there wouldn't be all that much to set it apart from those earlier books. And even the year's time since publication in the UK makes for some of those "window on an earlier era moments": Ms. van der Post recommends "Pepe jeans" as a good present for a "Young Boy," as well as "iPod socks." 
about Liberty in the 1950s and 1960s?
, which is subtitled "All You Need To Know to Start Sewing and Serging -- Today!" I'm not so sure about the "today" part -- it may take you a little time to round up the supplies you want -- but with a little stick-to-it-tiveness, you could be sewing tomorrow, or at the very least Sunday.
