Everything on Pages One through Three is 
as of August 14, 2008!
Hold on to your hats! Anna of Pleasant View Schoolhouse is a prolific, gifted seamstress who creates some of the most beautiful outfits I've ever seen. I am thrilled and honored that she uses my patterns, and she has shared pictures of several projects, so prepare to drool! (Stunning photography by Anna's son Giles!)
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"Bella's fabric arrived in the mail--a cotton sateen with a little stretch. It has a much sturdier, less drapey hand than Clara's cotton and rayon blend, which makes the dress hang differently. More castle, less cottage."
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"I made a spring dress for Clara from Sense and Sensibility's Regency pattern. An excellent value pattern as the sizing runs from Clara's slight measurements up to a very generous 22 or so. She chose the short sleeves, and picked out this soft cotton-rayon blend plaid from the stash. I remembered to match my plaid lines, and to make a muslin to fit the bodice. My work on the muslin paid off in spades: after pinching various gaping issues out, enlarging the armscye, and raising the front neckline, we had a perfect fit."
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"Daisy's turn for a Regency-style dress for Easter! This is a separate pattern from the ladies' and big girls' pattern, and it has fuller sleeves. And because Daisy loves bunnies so much right now, I embroidered a bunny on the front at the hem. The transfer is from the delightful Pattern Bee."
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"Clara suggested a blouse from the Regency dress pattern. I had just enough of this beloved vintage polka-dot fabric to do it, if I pieced the back. Goodies from the stash--vintage navy blue velvet ribbon and unbelievable buttons in sort of a polka dot miniature."
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"The girls and I have been happily engrossed in the 1999 BBC miniseries 'Wives and Daughters,' which we have never seen before. Daisy above everyone is obsessed with Molly, Roger, and Cynthia, and is full of questions. Why does Cynthia wear two buns AND a ponytail? Why is Molly good? Is it because she has better dresses? Did Roger die? And more. Molly's dresses actually are enchanting, probably to the point where they truly would make you a better person. Clara wanted one and we made it from Sense and Sensibility's Romantic Era Dress pattern. Clara was confident that she could handle the Big Sleeves so we went for it. used a beautiful Moda print from their 'Kansas Trouble' series. We piped the sleevebands and waistband in contrasting red, and trimmed the neckline with tiny cotton lace. Covered buttons do up the back. The skirt is two straight panels of fabric gathered, and the bodice is lined with a very delicate cream voile."
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This is a unique version of my 1910s Tea Gown, complete with nursing access in the center panel (see the snap detail).Love the color scheme with the chocolate browns and that yummy pink rosette!
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"This is a lovely pattern! I made it once before without taking the designer's excellent advice and shortening the bodice to the right length. Doing it right this time around made a big difference--look at the fit of that bodice! I inadvertently installed a too-short zipper in the side seam which makes the dress very tricky to get in and out of, but it's worth the trouble and is extremely comfortable once it's on. I omitted the ties that the pattern calls for and took in the waist a little. The fabric is a very light silk charmeuse I bought several years ago. I adore the combination of pink, rose and brown. I thought I might have trouble with the drape as the pattern calls for a mid-weight drapey fabric, but it couldn't be better. ~ Anna "
I think Anna gets a standing ovation for her fabulous work, don't you? And kudos to Giles for the beautifully lit, ultra-clear photos!
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"My daughter got on a designing tangent, and drew designs for costumes and room settings for a number of fantasy parties (fantasy, as in, one can only fantasize about being able to afford one!). When she showed me the drawings, I pointed at 'Autumn' (shown above). And said "You know, we could make that with the Sensibility Regency pattern, and just leave off the sleeves." And so we did.... This project involved a number of firsts for us: Amanda hand-painted the tree on the underskirt, and we worked together to dip-dye the overskirt. Neither of us has ever painted or dyed any garment before. And I pleated the skirt-back instead of gathering it. I've pleated before, but only with little dotted pattern markings to guide me! This was the first time I've had to figure it out for myself. The underskirt is ecru silk dupioni, and the overskirt is silk gauze, which we ordered from Dharma Trading Company. Lovely, lovely fabric, but holy cow was it hard to cut! Remember the line in 'The Sound of Music' - 'How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?' Well that applies to silk gauze, too.... She really loves the dress, no matter what she looks like in that last photo. She was just tired of being photographed by her mother!~ Nancy H." Nancy does it again! If you've looked through the Show and Tell section before, then you've already seen two of Nancy's fabulous creations for her beautiful daughter. This one takes the cake, though, with that amazing dye job and the layers of silk! Wonderful!
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"Hello Jennie,
Thanks a million for the fabulous patterns. I made two chemises, sets of stays (.huge amount of work) and dresses for my show, 'Loving Burns'..a play about the women of Robert Burns the poet. Enclosed are two pics of the frocks (I made the caps too). I made that lot from 29th Dec to 10th Jan. I haven't worked so hard for a long time! I'm the one with the pale dress...it's a light cotton with a lovely golden sheen on the surface...not strictly period but worked with the lights. I flat-lined it in muslin. I made the other one in a polyester taffetta (black shot with orange hence the fabulous tones). Hope you like them. Thanks again, Alicia" Oh, those gorgeous fabrics! Stunning work, too....
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"These are the 1914 tea gowns we made for our tea party last spring. I
ordered your pattern when I was about 16 (nearly 4 years ago!) to make
a 'for fun' dress. When our friends set up a tea party last year, we
decided to pull out some special fabric we had stashed away and sew up
some nice dresses. I made my own (the pink one), and my mother made my
sister's for her. Shamefully, I can't remember what our under dresses
are made from since we bought the fabric several years ago to have on
hand when we decided we would be brave enough to use it. My sister's
over dress is a cream chiffon, I believe, and mine is white crushed
chiffon. We didn't have any problems with the pattern, and the
instructions were clear and easy for me. Thanks for making such a
lovely, simple to use pattern!! The only tricky part was sewing with
that slippery chiffon, but we got the better of it, and we absolutely
love the way the dresses turned out!!!
God bless,
Crystal"
I featured these young ladies in my e-newsletter's "My Pattern Story" section, which won them a $15 gift certificate! Have beautiful pictures and a great story to share about using one of my patterns? Contact me through my Feedback Form for your chance to win!
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Former student of mine Melissa T. is now creating gorgeous Regency Gowns for sale through her home business, "Stitching the Standard." You can find Melissa's offerings through her eBay store!
"Here are the pictures of my favorite latest creation - a cranberry calico wrap-front dress with the ballgown sleeves. I really love this pattern! Hope you enjoy the pictures!" ~ Melissa T.
Here are photos of another of Melissa's lovely creations--a drawstring dress all in white. Beautiful!
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"My goodness, I started this skirt November 30th, but finally it's wearable. Am quite happy with it...the drape is lovely and oooh, it's fun to wear. It's made of a pretty worsted wool plaid in a soft green with red and yellow accents and blue undertones. I chose the trained version, and also opted for the boned high waist. The skirt is hemmed as close to the length of similar examples shown in a 1910 Ladies Home Journal (thank you, Carol!), where the illustration of a nice suit shows the model's shoe tips just peeking out in front, and a light train in back. I am wearing shoes with a 1.5 inch Louis heel, shoes of a type as close as I can get to 1909 in my (midget) price range. The skirt lovely to walk in: it swishes quietly and romantically. I have a double-flounced petticoat on underneath that comes to the shoe tops. It keeps the skirt from wrapping around my legs, and the train also helps when I walk. However, it's so true that you must lift your skirts to climb stairs or step outside, and I found that the white petticoat would peep out when I lifted the skirt. Perhaps ladies of the day preferred black petticoats for a more modest effect? It would be nice to have a skirt lifter to attach a belt so that my hands would be free. I love the boned waist. It's made with a facing, and the bones are attached to the seams under it. The result is so nicely low-bulk! Thank you, Jennie, for such an adaptable, lovely pattern! Now on to the Beatrix shirtwaist.
Very best to all,
Natalie"
This is the loveliest "Beatrix" Skirt I've yet seen from my pattern. I adore the dark plaid and the train. Wonderful work!
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"Dear Mrs. Chancey,
I am sending you pictures of my mother and I wearing gowns which I sewed using the Elegant Lady's Closet pattern. I am thrilled with the way they turned out, and they were so fun to sew! The "Elegant Lady's" pattern is so wonderful, because there are an almost endless number of variations. For example, on my mother's dress (the tan one), I gathered the front of the neck and then attached the binding for a round neckline instead of the semi-square drawstring option. On my lavendar dress, I moved the sleeve gathers from the back to the middle and gathered 3/4 of the neckline with elastic sewn in place. I also sewed my mother and I the chemises and stays from your Regency Underthings pattern. They are just great, and I like to wear the chemise as a nightgown.
Thank you for such a wonderful website and patterns!
God bless you!
Katrina C."
What great fun to see these delightful pictures of a mother-daughter Regency teatime! I love the colors of the gowns, and the fit of each one is impeccable. Fantastic sewing, Katrina!
