Learn how to make 34 historical types of seams. For historical costumes and modern clothing!
The Victorians had a seam for every purpose! The following 34 historical types of seams have already been used since the Victorian era. While some types of seams are even older and have been used since the Middle Ages. You can use the following 34 historical seam finishes for your Victorian and Edwardian clothing. But of course you can also use them for your modern clothing! Continue reading 34 Types of Seams – Historical Sewing→
This bum roll pattern is suitable for the 18th century and early Victorian era (1830s and 1840s) particularly for working class wear. It creates a fashionable bell-shape, especially when you wear it with tucked and corded petticoats. Continue reading How To Sew A Bum Roll→
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→
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→
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 was 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→
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 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→
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→
