Dress Of The Day with Angela

I bought a tarten pair of pyjamas in a red and black and white pattern. Label Senza Sleepwear. Angela Lansbury wearing a red, white and black pyjama set by label Senza. Then I bought a similar patterned shirt by label Shein.  Angela Lansbury wearing the Shein shirt. Why buy another garment so similar? Well, one was pyjamas, the other a shirt, or blouse. One day I was rushing to an appointment when I accidentally put on the pyjama top instead of the blouse!  They looked so similar, I don't suppose anybody noticed. I had a jacket on top most of the day. I felt happy.  The only difference was that the pyjama top had an open neck.  It looked so similar that I don't think anybody except me would have known the difference. The pyjama top felt and looked better. It is in a soft fabric, loose and comfortable.  It goes with a black skirt, a perfect match. It is an alternative to wear if I am washing the shirt by hand overnight and it is not yet dry next morning.. In fact...

 In the days of my grandmother, my paternal grandmother who was a seamstress, you would sew buttonholes by hand. How? How to make a Buttonhole by Hand You start by drawing a line in pencil or with tailor's chalk. What is tailor's chalk?  Tailor's Chalk A tailor's chalk looks solid, like coloured pencil lead. It doesn't crumble like blackboard chalk. The tailor's chalk is a contrasting colour, but washes out easily. Another name for tailor's chalk is French chalk. From Wikipedia. An alternative in a washable felt tip pen. Check it really washes out on another scrap of fabric or the back inside hem  or half way up an inside side hem, anywhere which won't show. Stitches To stop the button hole from fraying, you sew several parallel lines of one long stitch across both ends of the slit. These lines must be close together. That conceals the end and prevents the fabric pulling apart each time you use the buttonhole to fasten or unfasten the button.  Then you s...

  I am wearing a white dickey (a decorative collar without any shirt, just a shirt front). The dickey has buttons which enable me to pin on the napkin to the top button. An alternative would be a brooch or pendant with a chain so you can tuck in the napkin. Whenever I dress for a dinner out, especially in summer and light evenings, I look for something light, a change from the funeral blacks of winter. But I then consider that I might stain my lovely outfit with food.  I don't want to have clothes hung up and never worn. What a waste of money - and wardrobe space. (Americans say closet.) Angela Lansbury wearing a buttonhole napkin supplied at the Tanglin Club, Singapore. You can buy two white dinner napkins for just under 15 collars (plus postage) from Etsy from suppliers in the USA. Others on Etsy offer sets of six at proportional prices. From EmbroiderybyLinda and DapperDiner. The napkins can be supplied in cotton or polyester.  Cotton or Polyester Cotton, for a softer ...

  I am wearing a white dickey (a decorative collar without any shirt, just a shirt front). The dickey has buttons which enable me to pin on the napkin to the top button. An alternative would be a brooch or pendant with a chain so you can tuck in the napkin. Whenever I dress for a dinner out, especially in summer and light evenings, I look for something light, a change from the funeral blacks of winter. But I then consider that I might stain my lovely outfit with food.  I don't want to have clothes hung up and never worn. What a waste of money - and wardrobe space. (Americans say closet.) You can buy two white dinner napkins for just under 15 collars (plus postage) from Etsy from suppliers in the USA. Others on Etsy offer sets of six at proportional prices. From EmbroiderybyLinda and DapperDiner. The napkins can be supplied in cotton or polyester.  Cotton or Polyester Cotton, for a softer feel? To match your tablecloth. To wash on high heat to get rid of stains and bacteri...

  Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. I was looking around for a piece of ribbon to make into a tab to fasten a button. Then my eye fell on this hair elastic.  You see these all the time. Supermarkets sell them in sets of a dozen or more. People drop them in the dirt.  If you drop your own, retrieve it with a hand in a plastic or washable or disposable glove and a plastic or washable or disposable bag and later in a basin or toilet (washroom to Americans) wash your hands and the bag and the elastic. Elastic and Ribbon Storage When the elastic is clean and dry you can store it with your re-used, washed and dried glass jar from jams and chutneys or pickles. I store  small pieces of ribbon and elastic which looked too small to be of use. Are they too short to tie into a bow? They may be but just right for rolling up, braiding or sewing at both ends to make a catcher for a button. Elastic is wonderful because it will stretch over any size of button. You could sew it acr...