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How To Create a Custom Sketching Croqui from a Photo
It’s early 2010. Michelle, my very first custom bridalwear client, is leaving my home studio after our Design Consultation. I snap a photo of her on her way out the door. My mind is buzzing with ideas. My table is scattered with images and inspirations. I pull out a blank piece of paper. I’m ready to start sketching. I…

My 7 Year Quest to Custom Jeans (+ more about those pockets!)
Contrary to what you might think, I don’t have a lot of clothes and I tend to wear the same (old) things over and over. Almost all of my custom garment making is for others. Even the custom clothes I have made for myself were mostly crafted on-screen while sharing with my students. But I’m…

My 26th Sew-iversary! Pt 4: Pandemic to Present
(If you are new to this series, start with Pt 1: Academics. Otherwise…) It’s THE END of this Sewiversary series! My previous post “Entrepreneur” left off in October 2019, when two of my custom brides walked down (different) aisles in the same weekend. I was working in my dream studio while teaching couture sewing to…

My 26th Sew-iversary! Pt 3: Entrepreneur
If you are new to this series, start here with Pt 1: Academics. Otherwise… Welcome back! Let’s pick up my sewing story 15 years ago at my own March 2008 wedding, which is where we left off in Pt 2: Employment. In my free time, I had designed and made my own wedding dress (after…

My 26th Sew-iversary! Pt 2: Employment
Welcome back! In this second segment of my Sew-iversary series, I’ll share about the various ways I was employed before going solo. While putting together Pt 1 Academics, I predicted Pt 2 would be a quick post. I didn’t remember having many photos from my Employment Era. But after poking around and digging deep into…

My 26th Sew-iversary! Pt 1: Academics
Hi there! I’m Brooks Ann Camper and I love making things. You may already know that I’ve been blogging about making custom wedding dresses since 2009 and have been teaching those who sew solo how to design and handcraft garments from their own self-drafted custom-fit patterns online since 2014. But that’s only a part of…

Hi there! I'm Brooks Ann.
I’m a former professional costumer and couture dressmaker for one-of-a-kind bridalwear located in Hillsborough, North Carolina, who teaches custom garment sewing too the sew-curious online.
My blog mostly follows along with the couture process of how each heirloom-quality custom wedding dress was made from idea to wedding day, as well as other interesting tidbits related to sewing, weddings, and body positivity.
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