I don't sew. Not even buttons. I love the craftsmanship and history of costumes and textiles. You don't have to ask me twice to research, curate, style, present or write about fashion and all its aspects. Just don't ask me to actually make or fix anything. I got a C in my 6th grade sewing class ! That teddy bear went straight in the dustbin.
However, I find the makers' world that is thriving behind the scenes of historic and artisinal textiles and garments incredibly fascinating.
This edition of Fashion Morsels centers around the concepts of Repairing, Replicating, and Restoring.
Wind the bobbin, and let's begin!
First thing's first!
What do I do when I need to rescue or repair a garment in my collection?
I call Ann Wasserman- seamstress extraordinaire who is also a quilt restorer, textile artist and published author!
Ann has been working with antique quilts for forty years. Ann finds caring for old quilts inspiring, and appreciates working on any type of quilt, from exhausted whole-cloth comforters carrying fond memories of overnights at grandma's house, to a 170 year-old historical gem that was sold at Sotheby's and featured on their sale catalog cover. She and her assistants restore and conserve antique and vintage quilts. She teaches and lectures on quilt history and preservation and is the author of "Preserving Our Quilt Legacy: Giving antique quilts the care they deserve." Her annual, extensive quilt repair workshop is coming up in January-February 2025. She has been my vintage repair fairy since 2010 when I first started this business!
Many a garment has been saved and restored thanks to her handiwork:
20s flapper dress in beaded velvet by Sadie Nemser. The most spectacular item I have ever had! Here is my model, Megan, doing the charleston in it. Ann wrote about her restoration process here.
January 16, 2025Radical Mending: Mending Basics "...designed to build and develop basic sewing skills and promote the importance of sustainable fashion. The workshops include materials for mending and are led by experts in garment and textile repair."
Feb 6, 2025Radical Mending: Paired Repair "a mending workshop where visitors can repair an item for a friend, sibling, partner—anyone they love!"
I clearly won't be joining you in any of the above workshops, but I can surely provide you with a distinctively fetching sewing pattern!
They truly put the "rare" into rarejule as they are unused/uncut, and in their original folded configurations. Each one includes the original instruction pamphlet.
They are selling fairly fast so go snag one if you are a crafty vintage lover!
Reuse old fabric in the Japanese tradition of boro
Boro - where a "useless" or worn out piece of fabric gets reinvented by repeatedly being stitched over. The Japanese, as in many aspects of their culture, have taken a necessity and made it into an art form.
They have numerous traditions and particular vocabulary for different kinds of mending. Kaketsugi is invisible mending. Sashiko is the visible one and that's where boro comes in as it's sashiko just done over and over again until the piece of fabric becomes useable again.
Upcycle Stitcheswill take you down this incredible rabbit hole deeply and expertly.
Ann has been working with antique quilts for forty years. Ann finds caring for old quilts inspiring, and appreciates working on any type of quilt, from exhausted whole-cloth comforters carrying fond memories of overnights at grandma's house, to a 170 year-old historical gem that was sold at Sotheby's and featured on their sale catalog cover. She and her assistants restore and conserve antique and vintage quilts. She teaches and lectures on quilt history and preservation and is the author of "Preserving Our Quilt Legacy: Giving antique quilts the care they deserve." Her annual, extensive quilt repair workshop is coming up in January-February 2025. She has been my vintage repair fairy since 2010 when I first started this business!
