Redthreaded Blog

It seems a universal rule of sewing is that one can never have enough patterns. Even with an overflowing stash, the right one is never there when you need it for a specific project. So if you haven’t heard of this month’s business before, it’s time to add them to your shopping list for just those moments!

With cozy season in full swing, many of us are planning our winter wardrobe projects, and this month’s featured  business will certain spark some inspiration! For over 15 years, Decades of Style has been providing high-quality reproduction sewing patterns, perfect for your vintage or modern closet.

It all started with a regency dress, but since then, In the Long Run Designs has expanded to encompass a wide range of art forms—cosplay, historical costuming, photography projects, and a small business specializing in historically inspired jewelry and accessories.

“Remember what your hands can do.” Sewn Company’s motto reflects its central mission—"to reconnect you to yourself, your past ,and your global community with a needle and thread.”  

Owner Sarah E. Woodyard has taken her decade of experience of sewing and interpreting at the Margaret Hunter Shop in Colonial Williamsburg and applied these historic techniques to modern practice, providing education and inspiration to encourage and promote a love of hand sewing.

Draping can be quite a challenge for both everyday garment making and historical costuming. Standard forms never perfectly replicate the human body, and without a second pair of hands, it can be difficult to drape a pattern on yourself. But this month’s featured business has a new solution for this problem.

Trimmings are often the most exciting and eye-catching part of an outfit, and this month’s featured business offers everything from patterns to kits to classes on a variety of techniques, perfect for your next project!

One silver lining to come out of the past year is the increased availability and accessibility of online education, and this month’s feature is the perfect example of this! In early 2021, Black Orchid Atelier launched the Costume Skills Institute, a platform dedicated to helping costumers of all levels learn and grow.

When it comes to accessorizing yourself are you a magpie? Do you enjoy all things sparkly and all things historical? Then this month’s featured business is perfect for you! Dames a la Mode is the go-to place for all your jewelry needs, and while her designs are based on extant pieces and period images, they also blend beautifully into a modern wardrobe.

 

Entertainer. Musician. Style activist. This month’s feature is one of the most fashionable and talented people in the vintage community and beyond. Bandleader Dandy Wellington is known for both his jazz music and his colorful and classic wardrobe.

In last month’s feature we highlighted a great source for Regency bonnets and millinery, but what if you are looking for more accessories to complete your outfit? Or perhaps you want to commission a gown rather than make it yourself? The Bohemian Belle has just the thing, whether you are looking for something historically accurate or just something historically inspired!

This month’s featured business is perfect if you are looking to accessorize your latest Regency costume creation. With everything from patterns to finished bonnets, Timely Tresses is a great place to find all your millinery needs! They have styles spanning the late 18^th century to the mid-19^th century, and to date, they have published 22 patterns, 28 fashion plate collections, and 4 millinery guides. They have over 100 extant bonnets and 1,000 original fashion plates in their collection, and they use these period resources in combination to design historically accurate patterns.

It’s time for the first Feature Friday of 2021! Are you looking for some sewing inspiration for the new year? Then this week’s feature has you covered.

Revival Designed Patterns is the latest endeavor from Janyce Hill, founder of the Vintage Pattern Lending Library. Janyce has been reproducing patterns since the mid-1990s, and she has an archive of over 50,000 patterns from the 1860s to the 1950s to use as a source for her new releases.