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5 Tips to Keep Your Cartridge Pleats from Looking Like Gathers

I hate cartridge pleats! Box pleats, fine! Knife pleats, piece of cake, but gauging? Looks like I gathered it & slapped it on. What am I doing wrong? ~ Sylvia Shope Byers Sylvia’s frustration was...

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How to Calculate Yardage for Ruffles

Ruffles are SO Victorian! You see them on so many skirts from the 1830s all the way through the early 1880s. But how do you figure how much fabric you’ll need for these fluffy strips of trim? 1 yard? 5...

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How Much Yardage Do I Need??

  We’ve all been there. Standing in an aisle of gorgeous fabrics… swooning at the computer screen… gazing lovingly (and with drool at the mouth) at THE.PERFECT.FABRIC for that next dress. Question is…...

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Patterns for the Well-Dressed 19th Century Gentleman

Lest you think we forget our handsome gentlemen around here… Without them where would our Elizabeth Bennet be? What about Molly without her Roger? Or Scarlet without her Ashley AND Rhett? For these...

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How to Sew Cartridge Pleats

This tutorial is dedicated to Corinne Pleger who taught me the beauty of cartridge pleating in July 2000. Cartridge pleats are eye-catching! Neat little pleats stacked in a row, stitched together and...

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Ruffle Calculations for Height Differences

Have you ever made up a pattern with skirt ruffles, and then when you saw it on yourself it was, like, “Holy Smokes! I’m drowning in those ruffles! They are way too large for my short height.” Or...

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Quit Overthinking Cartridge Pleats

Over the years I’ve seen many, many costumers question and ponder and debate and frustrate themselves over how to calculate cartridge pleats. I get it. It’s pleating. Pleats need to be calculated (or...

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Passionate About Petticoats

We’ve all seen it. A beautiful period gown spoiled by a limp, dragging skirt. Besides good flatlining in that skirt, the use of petticoats can take that loose mess and make it a beautiful reproduction...

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