The Good, The Bad, and The Sewing Groups
It happens. You make something awesome, and you’re dying to share it online with your community. Maybe you were inspired by something someone else posted and made your own version. That happened to me, and [...]
Vanlentine’s Dress
Happy 2026. Can you believe it is already 2026? As I sit here eating chili in my studio, it is 19 degrees in Dayton, Ohio. Staying motivated with goals feels hard in this cold, and [...]
2025 Year in Review
As I look back on the year, that isn't even fully over with, it's very apparent how loved and privileged I am. I have tons of free fabric, endless sewing friends, good health and the [...]
Easy Pants Fitting Tips and Help
Every five years, I decide I am going to try to love pants again. Here's the thing: pants may have easy construction but they're the hardest to get the fit right. I can not tell [...]
Let’s get 1950s Witchy in a Skater Dress
15 years ago, I made this 1950s skater dress. The "skater dress" is named for its A-line silhouette, narrower at the top and flaring out at the bottom, like the dresses worn by figure skaters. [...]
Alien Twinning Dress
I started drafting flat pattern blocks so I wouldn't have to fiddle with the fit on commercial garments. With this, I have truly been challenged and had the opportunity to make one garment, including muslins, [...]
Lengthening a T-Shirt
There are hundreds of Pinterest ideas for lengthening T-shirts online. One method is stretching the t-shirt when it's wet. It is said to add fabric softener or conditioner to the water first. If you don't [...]
Glow in the Dark Cowgirl Dress
I'm still spending the year revisiting old skills by reworking the collared, button-down shirt into a dress. Twenty-five years of making my own clothes, followed by years of weekly production of these collared, button-downs for [...]
First Dress – 25 Years Later
This is my 25th year of making garments from the ground up and I'm celebrating by revisiting all I have learned! Things do indeed get easier with time. I hope you enjoy the changes; they [...]
Walk With Me Free-Motion Embroidery Dress
I use a regular sewing machine to do free-motion embroidery. Most people don't realize this and when they hear "embroidery," their immediate ask is what kind of embroidery machine do I have. "I don't," I [...]
The One Hour Dress, Take Two
Oh, man! One of my goals this year is to revisit all of the textile skills I have learned, bought a ton of supplies for, and then quit as soon as I started blossoming. These [...]