After spending hours, or days, or months.....or years on a piece of embroidery you bet you want to show it off in a great display! A hoop is a standard go-to. But not all pieces look great in a round hoop. Frames to the rescue! Follow along below to learn how to prep your embroidery… Continue reading How to Mount & Frame Embroidery
Butts: A Backstory
I first heard about Butts: A Backstory when I listened to a re-broadcast of a Radiolab episode from 2022. Best summarized by the show notes: “she [author and Radiolab contributing editor Heather Radke] tells us about a fascinating history she uncovered that takes us from a eugenicist’s attempt in the late 1930s to concretize the… Continue reading Butts: A Backstory
DIY Mini Office Makeover
My workspace at my day job is pretty standard blah (and I work in a costume shop!). Looking to add some pops of color to my little corner of the institution, I did a mini-makeover using fabric and removable wallpaper from Spoonflower. The best part? It's totally reversable if I ever want to change it!… Continue reading DIY Mini Office Makeover
Mauve: how one man invented a color that changed the world
Part biography and part science history lesson, Simon Garfield touches on it all in Mauve. If you geek out over how seemingly un-related things are actually interconnected, then this book will certainly keep you enthralled. Following a trail of purple from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, one man did indeed invent a color… Continue reading Mauve: how one man invented a color that changed the world
Button Needle Minder
This scrap-buster is a multi-tasker! A magnetized covered button can be either a needle minder or a fridge magnet. These are just absolutely adorable, and perfect for using up fabric scraps--particularly ones with small motifs/patterns. Consider yourself warned: they're kind of addicting to make, which makes them a perfect candidate for a handmade gift! Materials… Continue reading Button Needle Minder
Thread Catcher Basket
I'm still working through my stash of Spoonflower swatches (among other bits & bobs), so here we are with another scrap buster project! With all straight seams, this is a great project for a beginner--perfect for classes too! This one is perfect for National Sewing Month. I'm a thread thrower, so this is one of… Continue reading Thread Catcher Basket
Copying a Tissue Paper Pattern
(How to copy your favorite commercial pattern onto something better than tissue paper) If you've ever used a commercial pattern (Simplicity, Butterick, McCalls, Vogue, etc.) you've probably wondered why on Earth they are printed on such flimsy tissue paper. Well, you can thank Ebenezer Butterick for that. The first to sell graded (or multi-size) patterns,… Continue reading Copying a Tissue Paper Pattern
Top 10 Sewing Notions
September is National Sewing Month! To kick things off, I thought I would share my top 10 sewing notions. OK, not all of them are technically notions, but whenever the sewing machine is out, so are they! #1: Magnetic Pin Cushion / Grab-It No matter if I'm hand sewing or have the machine out, whenever… Continue reading Top 10 Sewing Notions
Badass Bustles
New design available in my Threadless shop! Bustle (noun)Clothing: a pad or framework expanding and supporting the fullness and drapery of the back of a woman's skirt or dressMarriam-Webster Dress fashion took quite the roller-coaster ride throughout the 1800s. The first two decades (1800’s through the 1820s) saw the columnar Empire gown reign supreme—think Bridgerton.… Continue reading Badass Bustles
Hexie Needle Minder
Another great scrap-buster project! This one is perfect if you have prints with smaller motifs/patterns. I will notoriously stick my needle in my shirt when I'm hand sewing, or stab it randomly into my project when I'm doing a counted cross-stitch. Knowing there's a better way out there, I finally got around to making these… Continue reading Hexie Needle Minder
Ramblings of a Costume Nerd 