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I’ve been a busy little sewing bee

…the last few weeks. I’ve been completely MIA at my own blog because I was sewing like a mad fiend for the Pattern Review “Sewing For Children” contest. I’ve got three pieces left to make before the end of the month and then I’ll heave a sigh of relief. In the mean time, I’ll share with you what I’ve made thus far. Some of it is good. I can’t seem to find any bad, but there is ONE fugly. But more on that later.
Let’s begin!

Advance 8932 a jumper and blouse pattern.

This is a size 8 or 10, if I recall correctly and hails from the late 50s. I only made the jumper since my childrens’ school requires *polo* shirts. Even for girls. Which is better than the button down oxfords *I* had to wear. But I digress. The fabric is a polyester spandexy suiting from Joann’s. It was red tag fabric that I picked up for ~$2/yard. WINNING!!!

You can see the pattern envelope here, if you like.

Simplicity 8769 1970

PantDress without skirt

From there, I branched out into some super 70s awesomeness, also known as the “pantdress”. Simplicity 8769 from 1970 was the pattern du jour. I used quilting cotton for the outer, juvenile apparel for the skirt and a vintage bedsheet purloined from my nana’s closet (with her permission, I promise!) for the lining. I wanted to fully line it because who wants raw edges in their hoo-ha?

I used the owl fabric for the reverse of the reversible skirt. Buttons were from my stash as was the zipper. W00T! for using up stuff in my stash!

Moving right along… We’ve hit the 60s and the 70s, lets aim for another decade…

Simplicity 4870

Helloooooo 1940s. Now there are some little girls who can’t carry off all these frills and ruffles. And to be honest, they CAN look a little dated. Luckily for my little peanut, that’s not the case.

For this seafoam green number, I used another one of nana’s purloined vintage sheets for the dress and lining. The trim is vintage deadstock lace! How awesome is that? Vintage pattern? Check! Vintage fabric? Check! Vintage trim? Check! Vintage button for the neck closing? Check!

This dress also came with the matching doll dress pattern as well. I took some liberties with the doll dress because I’d pretty much run out of ruffled part (the top of the sheet) and I’m a lazy cuss. I’m NOT going to put as much effort into a doll dress as I am a dress for an actual child. So I cheated a bit.

Simplicity 9529

Since we’re like, totally sewing our way through the decades, like fer sure, let’s swing by the 80s. They called and they want Simplicity 9529 back. This was a fun pattern to sew. It was all like, totally, a flashback for me. I think I owned an outfit very similar to this as a kid.

The skirt portion and jacket are fully lined with the raspberry fabric to keep the totally rad purple Star Trek TNG fabric from scratching the skin. And yes, I DID have to refrain from singing Raspberry Beret whilst I was working on this one. The skirt and bodice are all sewn together to give the impression of a skirt/blouse. The belt is detachable (and currently lost!?!). This beauty is dry clean only. Someone smack me back into sanity so I don’t ever do that again for a 9 year old. But really the fabric was JUST too awesome AND I bought it specifically for my purple lover AND it was all red tag fabric, so what’s a girl to do? I just wanted to have fun with it…

Simplicity 2007

I feel like I’m missing a decade in here or something. Let’s see, 80s…. Check. 70s…. Check. 60s…. Check. 40s…. Check. That’s IT! I’m missing the 50s. Okay. Here we go kiddies, let’s take a trip back to the Nifty Fifties!

This here is probably my second favoritest kids’ outfit I’ve ever made in the history of ever. Check OUT the mad plaid matching skillz! Now I know that some people think matching plaid is of the debbil, but for me, it’s like…. I don’t know how to describe it. It just is one of the most soothing things to do. Which means I’m officially nuts. Or something.

This is my daughter’s favoritest – even more than the purple – outfit I’ve made for her. What I love is that when sewing vintage patterns for her, she’s a straight 7/8 and not a 10/12 like the RTW stuff you find in stores. She’s freakishly short for her age (just like her mama!) so I’ve pretty much given up on RTW for this kid anyhow.

I especially love the side invisible zip and the back bow detail on this one. You just don’t see stuff like this at the local Big Box Mart.

And now, for the pe-ayce de ray-zis-tahnce…

McCall’s 4672 1942

McCall’s 4672, overalls and jacket. I’m giving you the big version of the picture so you can really take in the details:

Self-covered “stealth” buttons that are matched to the pattern of the fabric so you just don’t see them.
“Stealth” pocket on the jacket.
Chinese dragon that goes across the front from one leg to the other.
Fu Dogs that face each other on the jacket front.

Longevity symbol

overalls without jacket

How cool is THAT? Now that you’ve seen the good… Brace yourself for the fugly. Because, friends, it just ain’t a pretty sight.

1962 Toddler Maternity Pattern?

Yeah. Not quite the result I was looking for. This one did not pass go, did not get entered into the contest. Why? Well, despite the awesome fabric, it just wasn’t *right*. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And this was a BIG lose. Laura Petrie might have been able to carry this one off. Or even Lucy Ricardo as maternity wear. But even with dupioni silk(!) and awesome stretch check fabric that feels like taffeta, this outfit wouldn’t make the grade. And the shame of it all is that THIS pattern is one that I really, really, really wanted to make up. I’m not even sure I’d resell it, it’s so bad. Plus it’s missing a couple of pieces.

***And might I say I REALLY hate Blogger’s method for inserting photos into posts.

Difficult Redraft

Today I redrafted this 1950’s pattern from Eva Dress: –

The pattern is a size 14 (32bust) which I am attempting to size up to a size 18 (36 bust). I thought that this would be a very simple pattern to sew, since it says on the pattern cover it is just one piece – it is not – there are facings for the tie, hem and an underarm gusset. I have some (rusty) sewing and drafting experience, but this is way more complicated than expected.

I am making some minor modifications – lengthening the hem to lower on the hip, and also adding length to the tie. I’m doing the 3/4 sleeve – still deciding if I will attempt the underarm gussett , or just skip it. I’ve got some old sheets to test it out on for a muslin, but I have a sinking feeling this may end up as a UFO.

Has anyone made this pattern, and if so, do you have any construction tips?

A four piece dress pattern.

´ve never seen a pattern quite like this. The pattern is from 1965, Simplicity 6351. A dress pattern with only 4 pieces. Ok 5 pieces because the dress was way too mini for me.

There is only one piece for the yoke and the sleeve. The front and the back pieces are identical.

For more pictures, come visit my blog

I

catalog Sunday

My scanner broke 😦 so whatever is leftover on my hard drive is what I have for catalog Sunday. I hate not having a theme, but catalog sunday must go on!

Fun with detachable collars #1

I’ve been experimenting with detachable collars this weekend, mostly inspired by vintage designs – inspiration shared here – and I’m pretty pleased with the results!

First up is View D from McCall’s 1911 from the 1950s, which I made from a crisp white linen. This is such a chic pattern and easy as anything to make. Honestly, the hardest part of this pattern was tying the square knot to finish the look off! I can’t wait to make the other views, especially B!

I was also inspired by the cover of Simplicity 2567 from the 1930s for this next collar, but I had to draft it myself as the actual pattern pieces were missing. My favourite features are the scallops obviously and the cute button closing. My scallops definitely need some work and possibly enlarging, but it’s not bad for a first go!

There’s more information and pictures of these collars, alongside another two I made, over at my blog – A Sewing Odyssey.

The Dinner Belles

(source)

Vanity Boom and I went to see The Dinner Belles on Friday night at The Casbah. It was their CD release party for their newest album, West Simcoe County. I love live music and The Dinner Belles put on one of the best shows I have seen! Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

If you like good foot-stompin’ folk music, The Dinner Belles are right up your alley! They’re Vaudeville Tattoo approved!

Art Deco Boudoir Bra

One of my 1930s needlework books (from my ever expanding vintage craft and sewing library) had some very basic instructions for making a bra out of a hankie. I decided I would use an original Art Deco silk crepe hankie and some ribbons from my ribbon box to have a go. There was a lot of improvising – the only instruction that seemed to be precise was to make a 2″ dart – and with a lot of pinning and checking on my (size 12) mannequin, I finally got there with the delicate taupe and cream creation above. I was glad to have a couple of little ready made bows that matched, but when I make this garment again I am going to ensure I have toning ribbon flowers prepared (can feel a shopping trek to VV Rouleaux coming on already …). Plus, I will make longer ribbon ties for the back and am going to try it with gathers instead of a dart as well as experimenting with different size hankies. No cheeky comments about extra large men’s hankies, please!!

Below is the diagram from the sewing book plus a couple more views of the bra.

 

If you want to read more, I am Karen (brocobelle) in the contributors’ list to the left or click my link here brocobelle

 

Advance 8898- 1950s dress in plaid

This is a late 50s Advance pattern featuring a stand-up collar and a very gathered back bodice. I think the back is my favorite part!

 I did the hem and sleeves by hand and made fabric-covered buttons. This was my first real attempt at matching plaid, so that turned out fairly well.

I cut the waist on the bias, but I followed the directions for the rest. More pictures on my blog, with the dog photobombing each and every one! Thanks for looking!

Using Hand Sewing to Salvage a Vintage Sweater

One of the things I’m always looking for at thrift stores is vintage and high quality cashmere sweaters. I know I can go to Macy’s after the first of the year and buy a new cashmere sweater for $49.99, but cashmere is one of those items that it is true that you get what you pay for. After touching Pringle, or most other Scottish cashmeres, you’ll never be content with Charter Club again.

As with many used items, you really have to be careful about condition when buying used cashmere. Some advice: 1) If it pills, don’t buy it. 2) Learn to mend small holes 3) Don’t be afraid to hand wash cashmere. I use conditioner shampoo.

I recently found a nice tan Pringle, button front with a collar. I knew I’d wear it a lot, but there were two issues – the elbows were getting thin, and there was a small hole. I learned a long time ago that holes are just part of owning cashmere, and that if I was to wear it, I’d have to learn to mend them. So I did.

The elbows were a larger problem. I decided to go with patches. I like the look of elbow patches. I can remember a time when all men’s sweaters had them, so maybe this preference is nostalgic in nature.

Here is where it is convenient to have a fabric stash. A stash is not hording. A stash is made up of fabrics and trims and buttons you love and can see yourself using. My stash is carefully edited! I had no problem finding a fabric I liked, a Pendleton plaid taken from a skirt made unusable by the presence of multiple moth holes.

I cut two identical ovals (being careful to avoid those pesky holes) and carefully pinned them to the elbows. I then used buttonhole twist to hand sew the patches to the sweater, using a blanket stitch. This is quite easy, the only problem being that it is easy to catch up both layers of the sleeve instead of just the one where the patch is applied.

There are a few more photos at my blog, The Vintage Traveler.