M Elaine Mackay, author of 19th Century Patterns for the Modern Body, gives listeners insight into a world where historical dressmaking can be used for modern day clothes design.

In this episode, Elaine discusses the artistry, clothing features, and everyday practicality behind adapting 19th‑century pattern drafting for today’s bodies to create your own garments.

Elaine guides us through each decade in the 1800s with the techniques featured in her Bloomsbury‑published step‑by‑step book—revealing how to interpret period silhouettes, translate classic drafting, and reshape historical garment elements for our bodies.

You’ll be able to draft your own pattern blocks with the details provided in chapter 1.

Elaine shares her clothing analysis process in chapter 2 so we can create our own analysis of clothing details from any era.

Elaine provides clear instructions, rich historical context from many sources, and plenty of encouragement so you can create something you want, no matter what sewing level you’re at.

Whether you’re a patternmaker, or sew your own clothes, a fashion student, or simply fascinated by how clothing connects past and present, this episode with Elaine Mackay offers an inspiring blend of pattern drafting, design creativity, and hands‑on guidance. Elaine’s thoughtful teaching style makes complex pattern design accessible.

You might just decide that garment you saw at the V&A museum or at your local museum might just have the garment feature you want to create for your own clothes

As a university lecturer, Elaine also provides the basic block drafting knowledge and her step by step period clothing analysis so we can benefit from her decades of experience working in museum collections including the V&A Museum.

Her connections to Canadian museums are the historical dressmaking information Elaine shares in her insightful book. Hearing how these clothes became part of local museums is fascinating.

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