To Present Pagne

Presenting PAGNE!

(about time, right?)I'm going to rock the pagne pants at Katie's wedding today.  I know photographers are supposed to be somewhat subdued in their attire, but, my mother-in-law (watch her on WHSV Monday morning, by the way) made me some seriously hot, super-tailored, stovepipe pants out of some of the most fabulous pagne print ever.  

That darling Jill!

See Congo Mama for the real stuff.

There will be more and more to show off here too, don't fear..... (thanks, Jill!)

linen, old lovely linen

Some of my favorite treasures of fabric are pieces I "inherited" when the sewing mothers and grandmothers of my non-sewing friends have died.

One friend gave me a piece of linen that had been her grandmother's.  No telling how many decades ago this linen fabric was created.  I hope that I have done at least some justice to the great fabric that my friend's mother passed along.

I treasured the fabric here in my studio for many years before I decided to wash it.  I washed and washed it, buffeting it to lovely softness.  Then I made one of my famous "O-Back Jumper" delights out of it!

Do you mind the rumpledy-ness of linen?

Hand-stitched red embellishment....  A simple, nice contrast.

I created a new listing in KathleenTemple, Tailor on Etsy this morning that features my Linen O-Back Jumper as a sample.  You can see more information about it there.

I was on THE SPARK!

I had the honor of being interviewed by the brilliant Martha Woodroof of National Public Radio fame; I got to talk about my life as a tailor/dress maker/designer.

After listening to Martha's show THE SPARK today on our local NPR radio station, I feel proud.  And I also love my work even more than I did before!

Temple The Tailor on THE SPARK.  Take a listen!

Martha is a terrific question-asker.  And her editing makes me sound pretty good, too. 

M Missoni inspiration

I will be making a maxi-length dress sort of like this M Missoni design soon.....

  My version will have shirred insets at waist, shoulders, and cuffs, though.

Let's see....  Maybe I will use white crinkle rayon.  Or white cotton.  Or......  ?

The labor for this sort of dress would be about $200.  Let me know if I can plan to make one for you!  You will choose the fabric(s) and you will specify all the details.  FUN.

Lacey's One Dress Protest is up to Day 275!

Lacey has now worn her dress every day for the past 275 days!  The great hemp blend twill dress I made for my client in Texas last summer is Lacey's One Dress.

Read all about Lacey's One Dress Protest, and see how the dress is holding up with only 90 days remaining.





One Dress; she wears it every day for one year.




Thanks, Lacey, for the update and for sharing your insights and reflections!

A design that failed. .NOT.

Well, I at one time I feared that this design had failed.  The delightful customer for whom I made the first one in this style ended up not wanting it to be a jumpsuit; she had it made into a top and pants set!  She had had to have some changes made to the fit (this happens from time to time when I work with clients who are at a distance!) and elected to have it remodeled as well.

But no failure!  The jumpsuit I had made for myself in order to work out the design worked perfectly for me.  I have worn it about a thousand times over the past year and I love it more all the time.

I listed this jumpsuit in KathleenTempleTailor (on Etsy).  Click HERE to see the specifics about the jumpsuit as a custom creation.  I am eager to make more of these great jumpsuits!

Color, multiplies exponentially

How about some COLOR?

She wrote:  

"Oh, I do love colors!! In architecture, back in school and even till now working, everyone wears black, gray, cream, taupe, etc... (Don't get me wrong, they are nice colors, well, professional.) I'm tired of it, somewhat. I NEED colors for a change. "

And she sent this SILK COLORFEST to my studio.

I created this colorfest dress, based on one of my original designs.  It's listed here.

To show you the back.....

Front detail, to show the cross-over sashes.

I created little crocheted thread lingerie keepers inside the shoulders.

Another front view shows what the dress looks like with the sash ends wrapped twice around to finish in front.

... the back looks neat as a pin when the sashes are twice-wrapped.

YES. She loved the dress!  I am so proud and happy.  This is from my etsy "feedback" page:

"I LOVE LOVE LOVE the dress! The design is so beautiful and functional! And the color and style is so funky and original - I SO have my favourite outfit sorted! Absolutely a masterpiece. Fits and drapes exactly like what I expected. BEAUTIFUL construction. Kathleen was attentive and kept me posted all the way. Thanks SO much Kathleen for the customer service has been exceptional. Kathleen is a dream to work with, a top notch Etsy seller, I highly recommend! Cheers!!"