Hanami Girl

Hanami Girl

I love warm evenings of golden sunlight and long shadows. Spring is the season of optimism and potential, the fresh green leaf and bright blossom heralding a promise of new beginnings and brighter things ahead. Mid April teased a few gloriously sunny and hot days, before spring retreated as suddenly as it had arrived, and a winter chill descended. Temperatures dropped precipitously back into low single figures centigrade. But the tide of spring has already turned and can't be held back, and everywhere you look trees and hedgerows and gardens are bursting into bloom and new leaf. 

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The "Blómafoss" Dress

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The "Blómafoss" Dress

Iceland! Realm of magic and mystery and otherworldly scenery, inhabited by elves and trolls and fairy folk. Although our trip was planned somewhat last-minute, I set my heart on making a dress that would reflect the ethereal beauty of the Icelandic landscape - then spent a week individually hand-sewing petals onto lace and tulle. I named it the "Blómafoss" dress, which is "blossom waterfall" in Icelandic. 

The “Lily the Pink” Dress

The “Lily the Pink” Dress

This was actually my first (successful) version of the boat-neck bodice from Gertie’s Ultimate Dress Book – a pattern I’ve now used multiple times in different variations. I made this one with fitting advice from Gertie herself at one of her dressmaking retreats in Beacon, NY, back in June last year. This is the dress I wore for my Masters graduation ceremony in July.

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How to choose colour for your home (1956)

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How to choose colour for your home (1956)

Free download: This tear-out supplement in Woman magazine 24 March 1956, How to choose colour for your home, provides “sound practical advice with many colour-scheme suggestions, guides to measuring and up-to-the-minute information, to help all homemakers achieve a happy, good-looking, well-planned home”. As the name suggests, it offers tips on choosing colour, but it actually covers more than that, including advice on texture and painting as well.

The "Bow-dacious" Dress

How long does it take to plan a sewing project? In the first picture I ever saw of Dita von Teese back in 2001, she wore a black vintage dress with enormous bows on the pockets and neckline - I’m guessing it’s a cusp late 30s - early 40s number. I fell in love with it instantly. Years later I came across the dress again on Pinterest, and saved it to my sewing inspiration file.

My handmade and vintage #Goodwoodstyle over the years for @goodwoodrevival, in paper doll form! For 2018 I recreated the yellow and green outfit worn by Betty Grable in the 1944 movie Pin Up Girl. In 2019 I wore coral accented with chocolate and aqu
I had the most amazing day at @goodwoodrevival yesterday - after a last-minute change of outfit plans thanks to the less-than-clement weather, I was beyond thrilled to be selected as a finalist for the #goodwoodbestdressed #goodwoodbestdressed24 cont
I was chatting with a good friend recently and she told me about a conversation she’d once had wherein someone shared a mistaken impression of me as some kind of… tradwife or something? Because I’m married and I’m into vintag
I think I’ve described every one of the patterns I’ve released through my Patreon as my favourite, but there are definitely some I come back to time and again. The #daytripperdress is one - it was among the first patterns I released, and
Another throwback to Madagascar last year and my fishy beach cape. I’ve long been obsessed with the concept of beach capes, which were popular in the 1930s-50s, often made in chenille or terrycloth fabrics. I’ve used this one on beach hol
Throwback to our Madagascar trip last year, and this tropical dream of a pattern, the #waterfalldress from #charmpatterns. Inspired by an original “Polynesian pattern” edition, it works great in a floaty viscose challis like this for the
Another of my favourite patterns is the #mimosadress, which I released last year. I’ve made five versions of it now. I like that the relatively simple silhouette lets a bold print like this shine. It’s also another one that comes together
More views of the #catskillshalterneck bodice (paired with the #sightseeingskirt). It was fun playing with geometry with this stripe fabric! For this version I cut the bodice front on a bias, aligning the grain with the neckline to create the V effec