I've experienced a true gem of a customer.  She has been an all around pleasure to work with, from the day she contacted me via email to request a custom Regency bonnet and all throughout the creation process.  Not only that, but she sent a lovely handwritten thank you note after receiving it.

This follows on the heels of another lady I sold a ( Read more... )

I'm inordinately pleased to have my first sale on Etsy.  To a lady in the UK no less!  For some reason I feel like having someone buy it from from a place that experienced the Regency fashions firsthand is validation...I know that sounds strange when I type it out.

Etsy certainly is more freeform than eBay.  No annoying micromanagement of shipping ( Read more... )

I started with a "twisted sea grass hood" from Leko's hatsupply.com.  As a side note, her website has an absolutely extensive supply of hat blanks, tools, and trimmings.  I only wish it was easier to navigate.

It arrived flat, springy, and quite not-a-finished-hat-shape.

I fell in love with the capotes, best described here at Jane Austen's World. ( Read more... )

What did this hapless straw hat do to deserve a deconstruction?


( Read more... )

Here is the latest Regency bonnet.  It has a wired buckram frame - I normally forego the wire because of the extra time it takes to apply it properly, but in this case it created a much sturdier frame to work with - covered with olive green taffeta.  I pleated the fabric around the crown and used the trim to disguise the securing stitches.  It's ( Read more... )

My latest creations :)  I've really enjoyed the process of learning as I go and trying out different ideas in terms of framing them.  Constructed with buckram frames and brims, covered and lined in various fabrics, and trimmed with ribbons, bias tape, feathers, and lace.  The one on top is my favorite so far.  I may end up keeping it rather than ( Read more... )

So much for staying updated.  I recently went to a stress management workshop for grad students, and the best recommendation I came away with was to schedule my "off" time, to put my sewing time on the calendar for the day so that I feel I deserve to take a break from work.  Haven't managed to do it yet, but I see it in my future.  There would be ( Read more... )