Friday, May 30, 2014

1914 Fashions IN COLOUR!

Every now and again I used to pick a random year from the 20th century and post the colour fashion pages from Sears catalog from that particular year. It's time to bring back this post today with colour fashions from 100 years ago -- 1914. Enjoy.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Dress #18 -- Simplicity 5130 (1972)

Pilgrim, nun, Lizzy Borden, librarian, Victorian axe murderer....all words used to describe my newly-made dress. As it sits on the dress form, my husband says, "It looks like it's about to start moving and chopping me up!"

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Dress #17 -- Simplicity 3833 (1960s repro)

Hey there! My weekend sewing has come to an end. I have to put the machine away for a bit before my back stays in a permanent hunch! Hehe! Last night and most of today I completed the 1960s reissue Simplicity 3833 shift dress. Once again, I am impressed with Simplicity's perfect sizing to my figure. The results:

I paid 0.56 cents for this in an extreme JoAnn pattern sale!

The main fabric used is Alexander Henry's Vinyl Vacation that I bought at J&O. As I was making it I thought the blue bodice was just, well, too blue. And it began reminding me of scrubs. During the process of putting it together I hoped it wasn't going to end up looking like fancy scrubs! Or even worse...a maternity dress! I always get nervous when my dresses are in that half-sewn "sack" stage. I know I shouldn't ever judge how the final product will look in that stage, but I always do! I was kinda worried about all that BLUE so I decided it needed something to break it up a bit.

The Sack Stage!

First, I cut out the sleeves in the Vinyl Vacation fabric to break it up. I pinned them on, but hated them. I have decided I strongly dislike sleeves on shift dresses. Short sleeves (long sleeves are great, though!) Short sleeves on shifts remind me of Thelma Harper every single time I attach them! Now, I love me some Mama, but her look is not what I am going for. She's the same reason I stay away from "couch cushion" florals!

Then it occurred to me: This dress is almost the same exact construction as Simplicity 1609, especially the neckline and the way the facing is attached. Why don't I use the scalloped collar from 1609 to break up the blueness? What a great idea!

That little tiny bit adds enough ZING!

I also decided to add the belt bits to the back. Again, too much novelty fabric and it needed to be broken up. Paired with a blue zipper, it came out better than I though it would!

This dress is so SUMMER PICNIC I can't even deal. I love it and it's possible I'll make it again in solid colour blocks (something I've been wanting to make forever!) I still think 1609 is a better pattern, though. It makes me look slender and I have endless "themes" for it. And speaking of 1609, last night I scored the ORIGINAL 1965 version on Etsy -- IN MY SIZE! Beyond thrilled:

That's it for now. I hope you are enjoying your weekend endeavors, whether they involve sewing or not!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Dress #16 -- Simplicity 4044 (1940s rerpro)

Wow. Today I sewed from noon until 10pm! I realized it was 7pm and I had forgotten to eat all day! Lol. I finished the skirt from Simplicity 4044, which is a 1940s reissue. I had the plaid material left over from my 30s skirt and it turned out like this:

The pattern

I made it a little snug in the hips on purpose. I usually truss myself up when I wear my creations out so I take that into consideration when checking the finished garment measurements.

The skirt was very easy to make -- just 4 skirt pieces and some waistband facing. And a zipper. I hand sewed around the scallop so this skirt took the better half of the afternoon. I never got the hang of sweetheart/scallop bits on the machine so I find doing them by hand turns out better.

I'm already about 60% done my next dress! Ha! This blog can't keep up!

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Dress #15 --McCall 8059 (ca. 1933-34)

I made an easy peasy 1930s skirt today. It had three pieces total and the instructions were all tore up:

Lol. Good thing I didn't really need them! The actual pattern pieces were in usable condition, though a bit brittle. I will have to trace them onto tissue paper when I make this again (oh, I will make this again!) But now, on to the results:

Tatty pattern!

Made from 100% polyester. Putting it together was so quick and simple. There are fancy pleats at the bottom of each side seam. When I walk you can see them -- they give this skirt that classic 1930s flare! I'm so excited for this skirt because it's REAL 1930s and the shape and fit is spot on. Repro 1930s skirt patterns always fall short somehow.

My pleats! So happy! Modern patterns don't use pleats enough!

Yea, in the pleat picture you can see my not-so-perfect machine hem. And the flash brings out my dog's hairs (which are inescapable in my apartment!). I also accidentally put the zipper on the right side instead of the left -- but these are things I really don't give a shit about, lol. When I wear it, the average, non-sewing person won't even know/notice/look for it.

It was so wonderful working with a real 1930s pattern again. They go together like magic and the fit is EXACT (no stupid ease!) Last night, in a moment of weakness, I ended up buying 10 patterns from the 60s-80s costing me a total of $23.00 (shipped!) Oh, I have a sewing queue, too. Several projects lined up!

I'm also still working on that thing that was "out of my range." It's actually for my husband and he ordered a few bits he wants added to it so I had to put it aside for now. Next week it should be done. Stay tuned.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Dress #14 -- Simplicity 8485 (1969)

I started making this one about three weeks ago, but I developed a very painful boil under my arm. I had to have it lanced and today was the first day I've felt "myself" -- so I finished up my dress!

As it sat unfinished, I wasn't feeling it. At first I made the side panels white, but the contrast was way too stark and I just didn't like it. So I decided the entire thing would be zigzag. As I top-stitched the side panels, it occurred to me that a fancy strip of white bias would set it off.

The collar is a bit off, but I don't care. I didn't know those two front petals would be so long and floppy, but that is how they are supposed to look, apparently. I lined up all the dots and did the correct seam allowances. Oh well. My hubby says it looks "60s" and that's good enough for me.

Making 2020 Interesting

I know this used to be a sewing blog, but I have only sewn two thing in two years. I plan to start doing in again in the upcoming months as...