Gertie's Sewing Show, Episode Three!

Episode Three is here! In this new installment, I look into a '50s dress, complete with boned inner corselet, waist stay, built-in crinoline, and horsehair braid. This is a beautiful example of workmanship (workwomanship?).

Hope you enjoy the episode, sewing nerds! As always, special thanks to my sponsor Elna. And endless gratitute to my production peeps Fleur Hoare and Martin Kemp, and songwriter Mark Ellison.

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel here. More episodes to come soon!

I Have a Theme Song!

When I started doing Gertie's Sewing Show, I asked my friend/bandmate Mark if he would do a little guitar intro for the show. Not only did he do that, he wrote an entire freaking jingle and it's possibly the best thing I've ever heard. It's basically my blog in a song. Have a listen!

Here are the lyrics, in case you missed any. Because they are awesome.

Your gal may be a beauty

She might be tall and lean
She might have shiny golden hair and eyes and teeth that gleam

She might ride around in Cadillacs and only buy top shelf
Well my gal drives an Elna
So she dresses like herself

You might think that yours is perfect

But pal you oughta know
My gal is the finest
'Cause she's sew, sew, sew! 

There are beauties who are bigger and honeys who are small
If pretty comes in every shape, who needs one size fits all
One'll go for Hayworth, the other loves Monroe
Me, I want the gal who's just sew, sew, sew!


Mark told me the idea came from pondering how every woman doesn't think she's pretty enough, or she's just "so so." Which evolved into "sew sew", which evolved into the awesomeness that is this song.

Another thing you should know about Mark is that he's an amazing hand embroiderer and he made all the guys in our band custom shirts. This is from a little show we played last night. Those stars are hand appliques!

(More to come on my dress, which is a modified version of my pattern Butterick 6019. I made it for the show and haven't had an opportunity to have good pictures taken yet.)

Hope you enjoyed the theme song! Thank you, Mark!

Gertie's Sewing Show, Episode 2!

It's here! The next installment of my new sewing web series. This one is a sewist's review of the exhibit Charles James: Beyond Fashion, now showing at The Met Museum. I'm joined by my lovely fellow sewing nerds Allyson and Fleur.

The purpose of Gertie's Sewing Show was to be "nonstop excitement for the sewing nerd." Not just tutorials, but a dialogue about the things that make us go "Ooh!". Infotainment, if you will. I hope you enjoy it.

Check out my snazzy new intro! Music courtesy of guitar genius and songwriter extraordinaire Mark Ellison (thanks, Mark!). Editing and such done by dear friends Martin Kemp and Fleur Hoare. Entire series made possible by Elna sewing machines.

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. Upcoming episodes include a tutorial on using spiral steel boning and a look inside some really awesome vintage dresses. Sewing nerds unite!

Slip Sew-Along #9: Introducing Gertie's Sewing Show!

Cool news, readers. I've been working on a new series of videos that I'm calling Gertie's Sewing Show. The motto? "Non-stop excitement for the sewing nerd!" I've integrated episode 1 with our slip sew-along. We've filmed ten episodes so far, so there's lots more excitement to come.

Special thanks to Elna, and my amazing group of friends who helped make this happen. More to come! Subscribe to my YouTube channel to make sure you don't miss any episodes.



Previous sew-along posts:

Slip Sew-Along #1: Inside the Kit, Plus Other Supplies
Slip Sew-Along #2: Pre-treating Your Fabric
Slip Sew-Along #3: Picking a Size and Making Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #4: Bust Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #5: Cutting and Marking
Slip Sew-Along #6: Sewing the Bra Top
Slip Sew-Along #7: Sewing the Front and Back
Slip Sew-Along #8: Sewing the Lace Hem