About Me

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Melrose, MA, United States
Hi there, and thanks for visiting my Blog! How did I get started? Well, when I was pretty young, my mom taught me all the basics of sewing. It seemed to come natural to me, and by the time I was in middle school, I began to make lots of my own clothes. I did some sewing for people I knew, (including my mom!)and then bought my first sewing machine in 1986 when I decided that I would make my own wedding gown! I live in Melrose, MA with my husband and our 3 boys. When expecting our first, I started to make dolls, just in case I had a girl. I continued making and selling them as they were fun to make and customize for a special girl. I work out of my home and have had the great experience of making gowns, home fashions, dolls and doing many alterations over the years. My work has been largely word of mouth, with very little advertising. I think you will find my work unique and would like to create something special just for you!

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Grandmother's Silks

I recently was asked to use some delicate (meaning very old) silks and jewelry, which belonged to a friend's grandmother, to create keepsake pillows for her 16 grand and great-grand daughters which will be given to them at a family event in June. Most of the fabrics are adorned with lace and in good condition for their age (they were part of her trousseau from 1938), while some had to be treated with interfacing to keep the delicate fabric intact. 


She has had these fabrics in her possession for some time already, so has been referring to them to her daughters as "Grandmother's Silks".
https://www.facebook.com/Fashions-by-Tamara-229784013701474/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1133478166665383



The fabrics and jewelry were brought to me on February 14 of this year.


I don't consider myself a "crafty" person, but do enjoy the creative process, so I knew this would take some time to first, examine all the fabrics, purchase a tool to separate the jewelry into usable pieces, and then think about the design. I used a lightweight, flexible interfacing on most fabrics because they were starting to disintegrate, and I needed to keep them intact.






My friend said they could be different shapes, no heart shapes though. So first I looked to see if I could purchase small pillows to cover. No luck, so I designed rectangles, circles and triangles.








I really had fun designing each one. They are all unique. I was so proud to show my friend the finished results. I can't wait to see the pictures of them with their new owners!!!

https://www.facebook.com/Fashions-by-Tamara-229784013701474/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1133478166665383






What a fun and creative idea for a family treasure!!!


 https://www.facebook.com/Fashions-by-Tamara-229784013701474/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1133478166665383https://www.facebook.com/Fashions-by-Tamara-229784013701474/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1133478166665383https://www.facebook.com/Fashions-by-Tamara-229784013701474/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1133478166665383