strange and ugly fabric

This is a vintage knit fabric I picked up for $3.00 for 3 meters at the Hobart C.W.A.(love your shop ladies!)

isn't it ugly?! I thought they were planets...but apparently they are chinese vases and tree branches.....how graceful indeed.

Well it still looks "captain planet" inspired to me

stupid post sorry!

Allison.

Butterick 6927

This is a test muslin, or it was supposed to be, for an upcoming wardrobe contest on patternreview.com.  I'm planning on a 40s/50s wardrobe consisting of 5 tops, 4 skirts and 1 coat.  I will be using one repro pattern but the other patterns will need to be resized.  This pattern is size 18 bust 36.  Luckily it didn't require much altering, just extra added to the side seam allowances.  Because it looked easy, I decided to cut into some good quilting cotton.  I will make the contest version in silk.

1940's boxers

After a sewing hiatus mostly due to being machineless for a couple of months, I finally had a chance to use my new machine.

These boxers were made from Simplicity 1960, a mens boxer pattern from 1945, which I've had lying around for a while. These beauties are destined to be PJ shorts, as soon as summer finally rolls around in these parts!

More photos on my blog.

Yes! Another Giveaway!!

It is FREE PATTERN FRIDAY at The Hem Line. These two great patterns are up for grabs this weekend! Visit my blog to enter!

Gertie's Dirndl Skirt, a la Nancy

Thanks to Gertie's excellent dirndl skirt tutorial, I whipped this up in 45 minutes, and still had time to customize the eBay Calvin Klein shoes I wanted to wear with it! What I love is that it's full enough that I don't feel like I need a crinoline under it. Of course, that means it makes my derriere look even bigger than it is.... but I don't care. How can you be unhappy with a skirt that has bubble print fabric, and isn't *tight* on you anywhere? For more pics, go to my blog.


Thanks for the great tutorial, Gertie! I'll be making more of these for sure!

Girls' Dress: 1975 McCall 4615

Hi!
I finally made something that I can post on Sew Retro. It has been a while because all my recent vintage attempts have failed. However, this one I made for my daughter turned out quite well.


The pattern is from 1975. The fabric, is not vintage, but I think it does have that look, especially with the small printed flowers.... so cute! I made the dress version and mostly followed the instructions, except I rolled the hem at the bottom of the dress.
I have a full review on my blog.
Thanks for reading!

Su

"Up-cycled" L.L. Bean Dress

Lately I've been haunting the local Salvation Army, buying things that I think can be altered and made into something more interesting. Last week I found a blue rayon dress that was *very* long (almost to my ankles) and had a very boring round neckline. I loved the fabric and the dress "had good bones," so for $3.99 it was mine!

I shortened it and used the cut-off fabric to make a new neckline with a collar. Here's how it turned out:


I think it looks a bit 1940's-ish. Sorry for the wrinkles - I wore it at work all day. For more pics and details, check out my blog.

Vintage Vogue - V2858 - Original 1944 Design

This is a Vintage Vogue original 1944 design, V2858. It is very comfortable and has beautiful lines.



















See more on my blog.

Roller Derby Cheerleader!

I dressed the part of the roller derby cheerleader at last night's Santa Cruz Derby Girls (SCDG) bout against the Silicon Valley Roller Girls. The theme was Black & Blue, the home colors of SCDG. I found this great 1971 vintage pattern (Simplicity 9645) through an online auction site and whipped this up just in time to attend the bout. I did View 3 (the yellow and blue outfit) and I used blue costume satin and some cool skull fabric for the little inserts.

You can read more about this costume at my blog, Sewer Sluts.

McCall's 2440 (1961): Polly Esther

Okay, don't laugh--this is one of my "modern" patterns.

I'm not kidding. Apart from a handful of genuinely modern patterns, that this is copyright 1961 makes it the most recent pattern I have. It was nicknamed "Polly Esther" because it's made from--drum roll, please--a pink cotton-polyester bedsheet and cotton-polyester gingham trim. I normally use 100% cotton. I think I'll stick with that policy from now on, too, since the cotton-poly was rather slippery and fussy to work with.

I really am unreasonably enamored of the pink-with-gingham-trim idea, though.

The appallingly-bad mirror shot below shows the results:

The shoulders are a bit big and I think I'll probably trace the pattern piece and adjust them accordingly (bring the neckline in toward the center, mostly), but otherwise it seems to fit well. It think it will also fit better when I'm not wearing it over a bunchy tank-top.

The project Flickr set is here.

I shrank the pockets up a bit since they were in the running for the biggest pockets I'd ever encountered; bigger, possibly, even than those on Simplicity 4015 (1952), which were pretty darned big. The smaller pockets--I only trimmed off 1/2 inch all the way around--are still as big as any I'll ever need.

I was irritated, however, to discover that I didn't need anywhere near as much bias binding as the pattern said I would. I spent a lot of time custom-making that pink gingham bias because nobody in my area carries it pre-made. I guess I'll have to use the rest for something else.

* * * * * * * *

Addendum: Now that I've worn it for a day, I think I will also be adding a button and loop on the back to help keep things from gapping. I love the idea of back-wrap dresses but they seem to be tricky to pull off in practice.

Book Giveaway!!!

Hi, Guys! I'm having a giveaway for this awesome (out of print & very obscure) book, RAGS by Peter Burden.

It was published in 1987 in the United Kingdom and tells the fictional story of Leo Freeman, a man who establishes a successful string of fashion boutiques in 1960s Carnaby street London. It's one of those trashy, guilty pleasure books (in the vein of Valley of the Dolls), but is a really fun read if you love 1960s fashion or sewing from 1960s sewing patterns! If you are interested in winning this book and having it shipped to you for FREE, cruise on over to my blog and leave a comment. I will randomly choose a winner to be announced next Sunday the 30th!

Hello Everyone!

Hello, I’m Collette of Serendipity Vintage. I have been reading Sew Retro for over a year, and I am so excited to be a part of the community (thank you, Angela!). I’ve collected vintage sewing and craft patterns for while now, and I’ve also collect vintage beauty books, vintage and antique homemaking manuals, vintage etiquette books, vintage sheet music, vintage housewares, and vintage cookbooks for over fifteen years.

I was a crafty kid and enjoyed crocheting and sewing as a teen, but it fell by the wayside over the years. A friend taught me to knit a few years ago so I began crocheting again. But I haven’t sewn since I took Home Ec. in high school nearly 20 years ago! Seeing all of your creations has inspired me to start sewing again; I truly appreciate your posts. I just bought a Brother machine and I’m starting at the beginning again with really, really easy patterns. It’s like riding a bike, right? Once you learn you never forget? (smile)

I started an Etsy shop a couple of weeks ago to help sewists and collectors find patterns and other fun vintage items (and to destash – my collections are outgrowing my space!). I also started a blog, Serendipity Handmade, to share my love of vintage sewing and craft patterns, as well as share the other vintage items I collect. I post new shop items to my blog, Facebook, and Twitter, and one day I hope to have my entire collection on Flickr. Of course, I plan to be active on Sew Retro too.

I will be posting a free 1940s knitting/crochet pattern on my blog this week so be sure to check it out!

Vogue pattern 1960's

I found some nubby woven orange fabric for $3 at an op. shop.

this is part of Allisons bright, cheerful cheap Spring/Summer wardrobe.

Playing catch up...

I'm playing catch up. New blog post here... http://sewinghappyplace.blogspot.com/

I have listed the cutest little boys play clothes pattern in size 6 6x. More vintage patterns listing soon.

--happy sewing------
Cyndi

Shirring!

I’m still sewing, but I’m slightly behind with posting on my blog.
This is one of my latest creations: A shirred sundress made with a 1970’s cotton fabric.

Read more about it on my blog.

Pattern Archive

I don't think this has been posted here yet, but the Commercial Pattern Archive is having a free week this week:

http://www.uri.edu/library/special_collections/COPA/index.php

Just the search screen made me squeal! Over 86000 pattern images from 1860 until 1970 I think. They even have a small diagram of the pattern pieces with each image.

Such inspiration!

Blogger Being Silly

There is a message at the moment when you log into Blogger saying that Sew Retro may be a spam blog... I have requested that they review it so hopefully the message will disappear soon.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused by Blogger's odd behaviour!

Anna

Skirt Tutorial from Gertie

Happy Tuesday, friends! I just wanted to let you know that I've posted a tutorial for a 50's style skirt (like the one above) on my blog. No pattern required! The first part shows you how to draft your own pattern, and then the second part deals with the construction of the skirt.

Please come visit. Hope you enjoy!

G'day!

Hi to all you inspiring sewists! Although I've been watching this blog for months, this is my first post and I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Michelle (Mischka) and I'm from the beautiful wine country of the Barossa Valley in Australia. I started sewing for my self in my teenage years. My mother taught me, and her mother taught her. While it sounds like a great heritage I think we've all just picked up each other's bad habits! Impatient should be our family name. I didn't sew for about 10 years and recently picked it up again. My desire to sew again came from the horrid choice of Plus sized clothing available in Oz.

I've recently purchased a small amount of vintage patterns to my stash.

My first one - I love the scarf, attached at the back inside collar, that tucks under the neckline.

There are soooo many great vintage patterns out there but I'm trying to limit myself to one's that will either fit with my 'normal' adjustments - I'm not skilled enough yet for the whole up-sizing thing. Hopefully I'll get game and actually sew from one of these rather than just collecting them...

resizing for an idiot?

Hi,
This is a boring post sorry...I was just wondering how i could resize the blouse top left of the picture..would it be easy enough to do???

Vintage Fabric - updated!

I have to share my experience of a few minutes ago. Soooo overwhelmed! I hope the topic of fabric is okay to post.

This morning on SF Gate.com I read about a newish vintage fabric store that turns out to be a 10 minute walk from my work. Since completing my two vintage pattern projects, I realised a big issue is finding great vintage or vintage-inspired fabric. Why toil over a great pattern if you can't find just the right fabric, right?! So I walked over to Columbus (170 Columbus to be exact) before grabbing some lunch and heading back to work.

There it was, the oddly named store, Urban Burp. I stepped in the door and what I saw practically brought tears to my eyes. I had trouble getting past the shelves near the front door. The owner, Electra, was amazing helpful. She said 95% of the fabric in the store is vintage and...and... Read more about her and her store at SF Gate and Apartment Therapy and Yelp.

Wow oh wow. Tonight I'm checking yardage on a few patterns and I'll be back!

Correction and website info:
Hello again. Quick correction and website info for those not in the Bay Area.

The store is actually called Urban Burp and they have a website where you can browse fabric and buy online!! http://www.urbanburp.com

Sorry for the misinformation :)

Butterick 5032

Home from my recent vacation and I was itching to get sewing again. A running eighths wiggle dress? Sounds perfect. Easy to put together and a nice result, if I do say so myself.

From The Year 2050

Read more about it at The Year 2050.

Back to School Uniform-ity

The public charter school that my children attend requires a basic guideline for uniform wear. Solid top with khaki or navy bottoms. So, with my daughter starting Kindergarten this year I decided to incorporate some of the sewing I do for her by making a couple of short-sleeved cotton blouses with skirts. I will make jumpers and probably some long-sleeved blouses later, but our weather stays warm for another couple of months here.

I used a vintage Du Barry pattern with a pima cotton (absolutely the BEST!) that I bought from Bessie Mary . This pattern was a size 4, which was perfect for the width around (she wears a 5/6), but I needed to add three inches to the length for an appropriate fit. I would definitely say this pattern requires some intermediate to advanced skill, not so much for the sewing but for the implication of prior knowledge/experience in the pattern instructions - quite a bit was assumed. Considering that, the blouse itself was rather quick and easy to put together.

Instead of hemming the 'Trimmings' (little Ruffles) I just folded over and starch-pressed a 2 inch strip of fabric so I could use my Ruffler Attachment - so easy and fast and I like the look better than a narrow hem anyway. I also added some thin iron-on interfacing for the button plackets.



I would have made the skirt from the vintage pattern, too, but I think the straps would not have coincided with the school's uniform policy. Instead, I used an Oliver + S pattern for that.

(Our local embroiderer added the school logo for me.)

McCalls 4120- Knit Dress

So here is another vintage dress I made. It is from 1974. I really like this one. It is very flattering and so comfortable to wear. I love the top and pants look from the same pattern and will have to make that up next time I use this pattern.

This is my second entry in the Pattern Stash Contest at Pattern Review. The goal is to use as many of your unused patterns that have been sitting in your stash. You have until the end of September to enter items.

Check out my blog for more info on this dress!



~Byrdie

Help?!

Hello Everyone!

I need some help, and I hope that you all might have some suggestions. I have been looking for a good place to buy craft and sewing supplies online. No luck so far. Any ideas?

Hello from Gertie!

Hello, sewing friends! My name is Gertie and this is my first post here. A couple months ago, I started a long-term blog project in which my goal is to sew my way through a vintage sewing book called Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing (aka VoNBBS). This involves tracking down fourteen patterns from 1952, and following the book's methods to the letter (tailor's tacks, anyone?). You can see my site and read more about the project here. Also, check out this link to see all fourteen fabulous fashions in VoNBBS.

So far, I've completed four out of the fourteen main projects in VoNBBS. As my introduction to you fabulous retro sewing fanatics, I thought I would share them with you, alongside the original photos from VoNBBS.

I started with "the feminine, portrait neckline blouse."

I liked it so much I made it again in pink.

Then there was the "slim, supple skirt."

I did a re-do with modern methods.

Next, I moved backwards to the first project in the book, "the chemise dress."



And moved right along to "the full, gathered skirt."

Whew! It's been an amazing ride so far. Please come visit me at Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing to follow me as I go along.

I have a couple special tutorials planned so you can make your own versions of two of these projects - no patterns required!