Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Review: Commonsense Dresscutting and Drafting for Adults by Muriel May Staeheli

An Australian classic from the 1940s and 50s.

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I absolutely love this book but it is a little hard to come by. I found it in Bayside Books, in Wynnum. Given there were so many editions, it must be around somewhere. If you’re in Australia, I recommend keeping an eye out for it in second-hand book shops. If that’s not an option, Abe Books and Ebay are obvious places to watch. Books & Collectibles is also a good place to look. Good luck! It is a great shame that this volume is not available as a modern reprint or an ebook. You will see at the bottom of this post that a small excerpt is available on scribd.

Successful Dressmaking by Ellen and Marietta Resek would make an ideal companion volume. It pops up regularly on the above websites. And I have tripped over it a couple of times in the back room at Bayside Books.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Long Bobbins for the Bebarfald Bluebird Sewing Machine

 

I have tried three types of bobbin in my Bluebird vibrating shuttle treadle machine: the original Bebarfald bobbin, a Singer bobbin, and a Frister & Rossmann bobbin.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Dress Cutting by Margaret C. Ralston

Revisited! And a stash-busting update.

And what it is to be “wrong" in one’s fashion sense.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Bras, hypersensitive skin, summer and McCall 8092

 

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Warning: this post contains no gorgeous embellishments, almost no lace and no pretty colours. It does contain a review of a vintage bra pattern McCall 8092. I did not make the bloomers because my fiancé begged me not to.