Happy 2-Year Anniversary, 昔のSewing!

Welcome back to Mukashi no Sewing! Friends, I can hardly believe it, but this week is the second anniversary of this blog. I’ve really enjoyed the last year so much, and I wanted to take a moment to thank YOU for reading for two whole years now! Your comments and support have really helped me feel connected to a community of people who love history, sewing, and fashion as much as I do. ❤

I really enjoyed the retrospective I did last year, so let’s take a look at what I’ve accomplished during Mukashi no Sewing’s second year.

The first project completed this year was my second obi makeover project – turning an obi into…another obi! 😀 I passed my black belt test in this and I still couldn’t be happier! ❤

The second project was restoring my wool yagasuri kimono. This kimono is tied with my lavender summer-weight kimono for most-worn in my collection, so I’m very happy to went to the trouble of fixing it up. 🙂

The third project finished this year was the restoration of my two velveteen lolita dresses from Metamorphose. There’s something so special about having made the headdress to match my red one; I can’t help but smile every time I see it in its drawer. ❤

The fourth project I completed was making some obiage for myself out of my new favorite fabric – shown here modeled with the other kimono I wore the most this year! 😀

I had fewer spotlights this year, since I didn’t buy many antique pieces. These were:

• An Original Singer Manual from the 1960s
• A four part spotlight on my storage and curation!

• A review of Paradiso 2022 (RIP)
• And a look at some vintage kimono textbooks!

Of course, I also joined the Bibliotheca Blog Circle which has really created some fun opportunities for sharing and learning!

• Vacation Dress and Destinations in the Victorian and Meiji Eras
• Clothing and Mannerisms of Edo Period Japanese Ghosts
• Seasonal Dress Changes for Autumn/Winter in the Victorian and Meiji Eras
• The Magic of Alternative Fashion
• The Afterlife of Clothes (my presentation as part of Bay Area Kei’s Gramarye event)
• A Brief History of Strawberries on Dresses (I really enjoyed researching this!)
• My New Favorite Brand: Hoshibako Works (Star Box Design/星箱设计)
• How We Challenge Ourselves

So what’s on the docket for year three? Hopefully, continuing to have a lot of fun! I’ve got the Victorian undergarments and Edo coat restoration projects to finish (STILL LOL), as well as the restoration on my Edo mirror (which is shockingly close to being finished). I’ve been saving up a couple of really fun antiques for spotlights themed around projects, and I plan on revisiting my very first restoration project for another pass at some stains and damage that intimidated me too much the first time around. Being part of Bibliotheca has given me opportunities to pursue research that isn’t related to a project but that I still find extremely interesting. I hope you will continue to enjoy reading those posts as much as I enjoy writing them!

So thank you again from the bottom of my heart for joining me this year, and I hope to see you back every Tuesday in the coming year here at Mukashi no Sewing! ❤