Kathleen Crowley Costume Couture

Kathleen Crowley Costume Couture Inspired by days gone by, luxurious textiles, and simpler times. I can't not be making things. Her clothing transforms.

KathleenCrowleyCostumeCouture is a small one woman run design studio tucked away into the sweet little town of Crockett, California - right in front of the C&H Sugar Factory. Crcckett is located right off the highway about 20 minutes from Berkeley and half an hour from the town of Napa. Since so many things are of interest and an inspiration to Kathleen: history, nature,fashion,music,art,theater,dance, trends of yesterday and today.............they all play into into whatever she makes. It can be your wedding dress, it can be a belly dance costume, drapes for your home, a well fitting pair of pants, expert alterations or a giant floor cloth for a grocery store installation...........her technical experience and ability to hear what the client envisions is her strength. Her understanding of what people wore before modern times - and why - gives what she makes now something extra special.

I finally found some decent fabric stores up in the Sacramento area. Stores where I can touch and feel the fabrics and i...
08/15/2026

I finally found some decent fabric stores up in the Sacramento area. Stores where I can touch and feel the fabrics and if I buy a whole bolt, I get a discount. So I bought a couple bolts of nice lightweight cottons because I just couldnt pass those up. Those can always be used for something! I see so much rufflie clothing now that kind of reminds me of these super lush pantaloons that I used to make. I needed to go on my little fabric road trip to see if those fabrics are still available - and at what price. Well, the market isnt what it used to be, but I did get a little inspiration for other things. Not going to make a big deal of anything until I actually produce something in my snail-paced slow-fashion way. But the inspiration was there for sure! Not much in the way of silks and high end textiles, but there was plenty that I could use. I was thinking of our belly dance community as well. Lots of fun, decent quality materials with a good drape for costuming.

Im not going to gate-keep these shops because I want all fabric stores and shops to stay in business. If you can make the trip to Sacramento, I would suggest visiting my three new faves:

World Class Textile
4701 Franklin Blvd.
Sacramento
Lots of knits, bridal,
stretch velvets, wools, linens, brocades, fancy fabrics, and an assortment of different textiles. They gave me deals. My kind of place. Not a quilting shop.

Hi Fashion Fabrics
4106 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento
Has an assortment of notions, crafting supplies, bolts of knits, cottons, dress weight fabrics, some denim, and some bridal. Worth checking out.

Fabric Land.
2265 Watt Ave #1
Sacramento
Lots of Indian fancy fabrics. Rolls and bolts of all kinds of fun fabrics! There was a costume designer in there with a tiny budget - picking out stuff for a show, so I knew I had come to the right place! They have a wall of Sh**ha mirrored trims and jewelry. If I was still dancing, I would have died and gone to heaven. Great prices. I walked into a back room full of Bolts of shiny white fabrics full of sequins and trims, so I'm sure a bride could be having a great time in here.

These are all family run businesses. And I love supporting these places.

Ive been working on repairing an old woven tapestry that used to belong to my Grandma Crowley. Nobody seems to know the ...
07/10/2026

Ive been working on repairing an old woven tapestry that used to belong to my Grandma Crowley. Nobody seems to know the history of it, and classically, I didnt ask her when she was alive. It is full of really obvious repairs and weavings, so while not being a weaver myself, I wondered how hard could it be to try to match colors and see if I can just get it to look half-way decent again. I have no desire to redo the old repairs that are a part of it's history. I will say, if my grandma had had the right colors and threads, she would probably have done a much better job than I, because that was a necessary skill for many back in the day. So Ive been having fun with it and messing it up a bit. But it's better. Almost done. I experimented with threads and coffee dyed some. I found lots of wool threads up on Etsy that worked great. Close enough. I have things to do right now, but will finish her up soon.

Dearest Elvira. Always willing and able to help me with my mockups. Making a costume for an old friend this month. We've...
07/07/2026

Dearest Elvira. Always willing and able to help me with my mockups. Making a costume for an old friend this month. We've had two corset mockup fittings to solidify some ideas that were thrown out into the ether and challenging what I know about corsetry. So now I can take those ideas and start cutting into the fabric that I chose for this. Still not sure how to do a couple things that we want for this corset, but after this last fitting, I saw that I was on the right path. I and Elvira are ready to dive in.

She's usually not allowed on the work table, but right now, we are having a moment.

Ive been spending the last few months cleaning, tossing clutter, organizing, and putting things into storage for an inev...
07/07/2026

Ive been spending the last few months cleaning, tossing clutter, organizing, and putting things into storage for an inevitable move at some point probably this year. Some of it has been fun and easy, but the hardest things that I am having trouble parting with are books and patterns. So Im just not going to. Because just as soon as I think I'll never use them again, Im needing my bra making books that arent even printed in English and those men's corset patterns that I drafted years ago as reference. I think Ive been getting tricked by society constantly drumming it into my head that less is more and that by a certain age, you have to downsize for the convenience of others. And I do get pretty drained when Im working full time gigs, so it feels like I wont ever make anything ever again. But thats just life fooling me, because if you are a maker, you have no choice but to make things. Sometimes for a side hustle, sometimes for a living, and sometimes just for the sheer fun of it. Oh - and for something to wear to court for that traffic ticket that you will be fighting.

There will come a time when it all has to end, but not today, Satin. Get thee behind me.

I was laughing so hard at myself yesterday. After all the fiddling around with my new ruffler attachment and never getti...
04/13/2026

I was laughing so hard at myself yesterday. After all the fiddling around with my new ruffler attachment and never getting it right with this fabric, I just whipped out all these tiny pleats by hand and enjoyed the process immensely. Wasted a lot of time earlier, and I would never do this for more than a one off, but I learned a lot. And we'll have another go with the ruffler later with an organza or some project without a deadline.

04/11/2026

I thank the gods for all the artists. They save us all from the death grip of the mundane.

I took on a skirt project that needs pleats and I thought this would be a fairly easy project on one of my little home m...
04/09/2026

I took on a skirt project that needs pleats and I thought this would be a fairly easy project on one of my little home machines. But nope. I need a ruffler/pleater and the ones I had just wouldnt do the trick on those machines. So I bought one for my industrial machine and the instructions were lacking in instruction. I had a hell of a time getting it going until I finally found a woman on YouTube with the exact same ruffler and instructions - that she also deemed useless. I just need to adjust my tension and then we can get this skirt finished! I love getting new parts for my machines, but sometimes there is learning curve that tests my patience!

Ive just been keeping my head down these days and making and finishing personal projects and working at the Ballet when ...
04/09/2026

Ive just been keeping my head down these days and making and finishing personal projects and working at the Ballet when they need extra hands.

These tutus are often hooked up pretty tight and it's hard to find decent supplies any longer. I had to replace some bars that I had just replaced the day before because the newly made bars are so weak now. They break and bend under the pressure. This is frustrating to say the least.

I always scoop up vintage notions when I can because they are generally built to last. Not like the new cr*p we have to buy now. Thrift stores and garage sales are great places to start your search. I wouldnt actually buy most used thread, but those old pins and needles are gold now!

Happiest Of Halloweens!
11/01/2025

Happiest Of Halloweens!

Address

Apointment Only
Crockett, CA
94525

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

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