Special thanks to Jennifer over at New Little Blessing for a positive review of our first pattern, Catherine's Choice!

Now, Here's an Idea!

During the Regency period when necklines were at a fashionable low, women, for modesty, warmth, and variation, often wore chemisettes to fill in their necklines.

Image courtesy of Sense and Sensibility Patterns

You can make a chemisette from scratch, but here's another option that incorporates a perhaps beloved blouse you may not wish to part with. This is was a linen blend blouse I bought several summers ago. The collar being my favorite thing, I decided to salvage it by creating a chemisette that I could wear to fill in the scoop necklines of Regency gowns. It could also work with v-neck sweaters.


Try on the blouse and decide how long your chemisette will need to be to cover the bust and leave enough room for a casing around the ribcage. After removing the blouse, you will cut off the blouse a few inches below the bust and at the sides to remove the sleeves and sides.


Narrowly hem the chemisette at the sides. Then turn up the lower edges 3/4". Turn under raw edge and stitch down. You will need a piece of twill tape or 1/4" ribbon long enough to go around your ribcage, plus a few inches for the placket overlap. This you will run through the bottom hem. Try on the chemisette for size Then back stitch in the front to secure the tape or ribbon. Sew a hook and bar where the placket overlaps. Change the buttons if you like and take pride in your resourcefulness!

A Wardrobe for Katie

Katie, how's this for inspiration? These patterns date from the 50's and 60's and should be pretty close to your size already! Let's start a sewing club when we get back to school, alright?

Opening Shop: Rebecca Newton, Dressmaker

If you've been hankering for a custom-made dress, now is your chance! I will be accepting custom projects from May to July 2008 while I am home from school for the summer. Although I primarily work with Baker Lane and Sense and Sensibility Patterns, I am happy to negotiate other projects as well. Drop me a line to discuss what you have in mind at regencyreb@gmail.com.

Anna's Rescue Mission

The moths dared to touch Anna's gray wool skirt,

But "a curved row of tonal freehand flowers sewn on by machine in 'artistically messy' fashion" fixed that!

Images: Pleasant View Schoolhouse. Used with permission. (Thanks, Anna!)

Denim, Her Way

Lillibeth of The Pleasant Times submitted this as a lovely feminine application of denim. Great find from the Spiegel catalog!

For a Grandmother

I loved the colors, patterns and textures of my grandmother's ensemble: a pleated wool skirt, a silky navy blouse with a conservative pattern of paisleys, and a chunky cable knit sweater and cap. What could be more perfect for this warm and spunky woman!

It's In the Blue

RetroGirl over at the Sense and Sensibility Forum fashioned this skirt from Butterick 5041 and a length of fabric she found on the bargain table. Isn't it lovely?

Feminine, Fashionable, & Frugal!

Erica created this fetching skirt for as a class recycling project last spring. She lengthened an old denim mini skirt by sewing on a width of red bandana print fabric and ruffle of white jacquard that she salvaged from another garment. We give her an A+!

Sisters Share

My sister made me a gift of this lovely Emma James skirt (right). The fit and flare of it makes me want to dance! Amy is wearing a stretch denim skirt I bought at Dress Barn.

Inspiring Images (& A Skirt Tale)

Seeking old-fashioned inspiration for your wardrobe? The Baker Lane Inspiring Image Archives offer a wealth of it! Now viewable on Flickr, the gallery includes images of most of the custom projects I created while dressmaking at Baker Lane. Enjoy!

Psst! Notice the broomstick skirt I'm wearing. I didn't make it, but it was a favorite for years. Only when it was in shreds was I convinced to retire it to the rag bag. Then, o happy day, I found its twin at a thrift store, in red!

Skirt Tales

Elizabeth in Alaska wears a far-from-dowdy hand-me-down from Grandmother.

A move accross campus prompted me to take inventory of my wardrobe. I had hoped to find some clothes I could toss out, or at least pass along to the Free Box (the place for student shoppers) because I'm taking up more than half the closet my roommate and I share. However, what I discovered surprised me; I have more than 20 skirts and I don't want to part with any of them. I guess you could say I collect skirts.

Since it's obvious my closet won't hold all the skirts I see and love, and because not every skirt I like will fit, I thought I'd expand my collection to include other people's skirts. When I see a pretty skirt, I'll ask its wearer for permission to photograph it! Or if I spot your skirt photo on the web, I may just ask you if I may post it here. These photographs, along with shots of favorite skirts in my collection, will appear in "Skirt Tales," a series celebrating feminity.

Pink Gingham

Another Regency gown from the Sense and Sensibility Girl's Regency Gown pattern for a little woman...a very little woman!

Back view

Changing Seasons

Inspired by a Sense and Sensibility Clothing catalogue offering from several years ago, Baker Lane is pleased to announce the release of "Changing Seasons", a pattern for Motherhood in sizes 6-26. It affords numerous options for neckline, sleeves, and skirt, and is flattering for all seasons of motherhood: pregnancy, breastfeeding, and beyond!

Visit Baker Lane for information on ordering.

Regency Gowns for a Little Woman

Ladies have long loved Jennie Chancey's easy, elegant Regency gown pattern. Now, with the release of her little girls' pattern, Empire gowns are becoming quite popular among a younger set! Miss Lizzie models one of her new dresses, fashioned in a cotton print with pearly white buttons. More pictures of Lizzie and her dresses can be seen at her family's blog.

Maryhill Museum

This regal beauty was the coronation gown of Queen Marie of Roumania, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. It is part of the permanent Queen Marie collection at the Maryhill Museum in Washington state.

Another collection of interest to the fashion enthusiast is the Theatre de la Mode French fashion mannequins and design sets on temporary loan to the museum. More information is available on the Maryhill museum website. I snapped a few pictures during my visit in May, but they only hint at the marvelous couture detail of these miniature ensembles; my photography does not do them justice!

This summery frock from Changing Seasons, the soon to be released motherhood pattern from Baker Lane, is fashioned from a cheerful cotton print with a coordinating peter pan collar and flower buttons.

It was a ball!

Should Hillary Clinton Wear Skirts?

Fashion designers can dictate what women wear but woe unto the men of God who ask the women of the church to dress like ladies. Double standard?

Should Hillary Clinton Wear Skirts?

Modern Victorian

Mum just emailed me the link to Modern Victorian. Had I seen their website? Nope, and boy, does this make me happy! Even though the prices are so far out of my range at this stage of my life that they might as well be on the moon, it's thrilling to see designers drawing on the elegance of the past. Kudos, MV!