In the Edwardian era, there were 5 ways to attach ruffles: with a receiving tuck, flat felled seam, finishing braid, French seam or whipped gathers. The first four can be sewn on a sewing machine, while the last one is sewn by hand. All these techniques have in common that the right and wrong side of your skirt looks tidy: there are no raw edges on the wrong side and the skirt is also much more durable than if you‘d use zigzagged or serged seams to attach ruffles. Continue reading 5 Ways To Attach Ruffles – Historical & Heirloom Sewing
Category Archives: Sewing, DIY & Recipes
9 Creative Ways To Turn Jeans Into A Skirt
Turning jeans into a denim skirt is very popular at the moment. But there’s not just one way how to turn old jeans into a cute skirt: you can make a 6- or 8-gore denim skirt, a pleated denim skirt, a distressed denim skirt … And you can also embellish your DIY refashioned denim skirt with beads, fabric applique, metal chains and fabric paint! Continue reading 9 Creative Ways To Turn Jeans Into A Skirt
Gibson Girl Cardigan Sweater Refashion Tutorial
Turn an old, ugly, ill-fitting cardigan into a cute vintage cardigan any Gibson Girl would wear proudly!
Knit sweaters and cardigans were a popular choice of Gibson Girls for casual wear and sports around 1900. Continue reading Gibson Girl Cardigan Sweater Refashion Tutorial
How To Sew Buttonholes On The Bias
Sewing buttonholes on the bias grain of fabric is difficult. If you try to sew buttonholes on the true bias the fabric stretches and the bias buttonhole looks distorted. But there’s a trick how you can sew perfect buttonholes on the bias!
In the Edwardian era, buttonholes were often on the bias grain of fabric. Bias buttonholes with silk ribbon threaded through them decorated necklines and hems of Edwardian lingerie. My next sewing project is an Edwardian combination suit with 144 buttonholes on the bias. And because I didn’t want to sew all these 144 bias buttonholes by hand, I had to think of something to sew the bias buttonholes on my sewing machine! Continue reading How To Sew Buttonholes On The Bias
How To Dye Cotton Fabric Black Naturally
Cellulose fibers, like cotton, linen and rayon, are more difficult to dye with plants than protein fibers like wool and silk. It’s possible to dye cotton fabric black but it takes time: at least three days (or rather a week) from start to finish! Because you have to scour the fabric, extract the dye, dye the fabric, modify the color and overdye the fabric again. But even if it’s a lengthy process, it’s very budget-friendly and sustainable: Because you probably have the materials already at home or can gather them outdoors! Continue reading How To Dye Cotton Fabric Black Naturally
How To Paint Shoes
Make your old shoes look new again with leather paint!
Painting leather shoes with leather paint is easier than you think! I hesitated for a long time to paint my leather shoes because I was afraid the color might not cover properly or look streaky. But the painted leather shoes turned out so well! Yay! My shoes look like new again. Continue reading How To Paint Shoes
18 Incredible Ways To Repurpose Your Old Jeans
One of the main topics on my blog is the repurposing, upcycling and reusing of old clothes. If clothes no longer fit or I no longer like them 😉 I refashion them instead of throwing them away. Like almost everyone I have old jeans in my house that I’ve turned into new clothes over the years or reused for other projects. Here’s a list of all my jeans upcyling projects. Continue reading 18 Incredible Ways To Repurpose Your Old Jeans
How To Refashion Jeans Into A Panel Skirt
How to make a graffiti denim skirt from a pair of jeans – easy sewing tutorial! And what’s best: the finished skirt looks like a denim skirt and not like a refashioned jeans!
There are a lot of jeans-to-skirt refashions out there. But this jeans-to-skirt refashion tutorial is different! Most denim skirts that are refashioned from jeans look like they were a jeans before. Because most refashion tutorials tell you to rip the seams and just sew the fabric pieces together again! What was the crotch of the jeans before makes a strange pattern piece at the front and back of most refashioned denim skirts.
But your new denim skirt doesn’t have to look like it’s refashioned from a jeans: Because there’s another (easier!) way to make a denim skirt from jeans: Simply treat the old jeans as a piece of fabric! Jeans legs are perfect to cut them into A-line panels or gores. Then sew these panels into a skirt. You can even use jeans that are too small like I did here. You get 8 panels out of a pair of jeans with almost no waste of fabric! You can even reuse the belt loops, pockets, labels and buttons for your refashioned skirt. Continue reading How To Refashion Jeans Into A Panel Skirt
Modern Edwardian Bra – Historybounding
My modern Edwardian bra has a button closure, adjustable shoulder straps, elastic lacing at the back and is boned like a corset.
I made another historybounding garment! My modern Edwardian-style bra is inspired by antique Edwardian brassieres. But I’m wearing the bra as everyday bra because my DIY bra turned out so comfortable. Continue reading Modern Edwardian Bra – Historybounding
How To Join Lace – Invisible Seam
Do you need to invisibly join lace trim for your next sewing project? Learn how to sew an invisible lace seam by hand. This method to join lace is from the Edwardian era! Use this invisible lace join instead of a bulky seam for your next historical costuming or heirloom sewing project!
Currently I‘m making an Edwardian lace chemise for which I use lace scraps from my stash. And the Edwardians knew a method to invisibly sew lace together. This invisible seam works particularly well with lace that doesn’t fray badly: like cotton Valenciennes lace which I use here. Continue reading How To Join Lace – Invisible Seam









