It's FPF at The Hem Line!

Free Pattern Friday is back at The Hem Line. This weeks' giveaway includes three great retro patterns . . . . all are UNCUT and UNUSED, but missing the envelopes. Visit my blog to get in on the fun! Drawing will be held this Sunday night (August 2nd).

Happy To Be A New Member of SewRetro

Hello everyone, My name is Cennetta and I'm excited about being a member of SewRetro. Like all of you, I love, love to sew. I started sewing barbie doll clothes when I was about ten years old. Then in junior high I took a six week introductory course to sewing and fell in love with the whole garment making process. Needlesstosay, I've been sewing since then. My grandmothers sewed and my mom is a sewer as well (not as intense as me and my grandmothers). I've visited SewRetro many times, but didn't think about becoming a member until a few days ago.

Recently, I've become a big fan of vintage clothing and want to sew more of them. The unique styles and details of the 40's, 50's and 60's are my favorites. I hope sharing my experiences will inspire and/or benefit others. I'm planning to make at least two vintage outfits before the end of the year and will post the project notes and photos here as well as on my sewing blog.

Thank you, Angela, for allowing me the privilege of being a contributor of Sew Retro.
Cennetta

Need some advice for a flapper dress

Hello all! It's been about a million years since I posted about anything I've sewn, retro or otherwise. I have been sewing, though. And I need some help.

I've been invited to one of those murder-mystery dinner parties. The theme is 1920s Chicago gangster and my character is a flapper. What would you all recommend as a quick, easy, flapper-esque style dress? I have limited resources as far as going out to the store to buy something and not enough time to order something online. I think I have plenty of fabric and notions but I don't know where to start with a pattern. I'm thinking a shift or tube dress, but unfortunately there is absolutely no fringe available to me to flapper it up a bit. Does anyone have any suggestions or can point my toward some inspiration? Thank you!

Maudella 5125

I have been wanting a 1950's blouse pattern for awhile. I bought it on ebay.uk. I have never heard of Maudella patterns before now. The pattern was easy and fun to make. I love an quick, self gratifying project once in awhile. I made it with a cotton black and white stripe seersucker with a little crochet lace for embellishment. More on my blog.

Allow Me to Introduce Myself...

Hi Everyone -

My name is Nancy, and I've been sewing off and on since 8th grade home ec class! ;-) I've always loved clothes from the early 20th century, and I've recently started collecting patterns and fabric to start building my own vintage wardrobe. I'm still learning the intermediate to advanced dressmaking techniques I'll probably need to make the vintage clothing I want; it seems like tailoring was MUCH more complex in the old days, or is it just me? (lol)

If you want to see what I'm up to, you can check out my blog, Waiter Waiter Percolator. I have other interests besides vintage sewing, so you'll find other stuff there too.

I'm looking forward to reading more of what everyone else is working on, and hope you won't mind if I pick your brains once in a while!

Cheers!
Nancy

Vintage e-zine

Hi all, I hope it's ok for me to post this here, if not, mods please feel free to delete this post!!

I'm starting up a vintage e-zine, intially to be published bi-monthly with lots of things about vintage bits & bobs for the 20s - 50s. One of the sections I intend to have is a crafty bit with reviews of sewing patterns so fi anyone would like to take part in this project, please drop me a line at kdexeter@yahoo.co.uk & I can give you a bit more info. I'm also looking for contributors for all areas of the site about which I am currently writing a blog post...

ttfn

ddd

Hi everyone!

Hi everyone! I am new to sew retro, but I have been following the blog for a few months now. I get super inspired by everyone's projects and posts.

I have been sewing since I was 5. My grandmother taught me how to sew quilt pieces together, and I didn't start sewing patterns until I was in high school. I still don't feel like I am an accomplished sewer but I am working on it.

I look forward to posting more in the future and getting my behind in gear on sewing some of my vintage patterns. If you like please visit my blog .

Some Romper Goodness!

I've been contemplating this patter for ages:


I didn't want to look like a clown, so knew I had to choose my fabric carefully. I did like the stripey romper though in the picture, so have made this one:


Woo! Just wish it was summer already here, so I can jump around without tights on! As always, more photos on my blog and more deets about my current challenge, a dress/outfit a day through July! Woo!

McCalls 4769

I have been following this site for some time, but this is the first time I've actually posted anything. I've just finished this 1975 McCalls coat dress pattern which I successfully graded down from a 20 1/2 in the back to a 14. I'm very proud of this effort, which is why I'm showing off the back view. The front was equally challenging, but for different reasons, because my front is not as small as my back. In fact, it is a whooooole lot bigger. But in different places from the pattern. Sigh. You can see the front on my blog.

Butterick 6887

I'm so pleased with the way this came out. It looks like a 50s pattern to me but I'm not really sure. I just wish that I had paid attention to the pattern of the fabric when I was cutting it out. I had to grade it up a few sizes. As per my usual, I ended up grading it up too much and then had to remove the extra later. Better too big than too small! I will make this again, perhaps in a nice silk. This project has given me courage to perform larger grades.

Hello, I am new here...

My name is Cyndi. I discovered SewRetro by accident one day while I was posting my vintage patterns to the vintage pattern wiki. I have lurk/followed ever since then. I really enjoy seeing all the lovely dresses the ladies have made.

I sew, sometimes clothing but more often now I make fabric accessories. I divide my time between sewing these, and listing them and vintage patterns in my etsy shop sewinghappyplace.

I have some great vintage patterns listed in there and I promise to keep you updated so you have first dibs on them. I love to know that they are going to someone who really appreciates them.

You can read more about me in my blog -the sewinghappyplace

Vintage jumper dress

I'm absolutely loving all the great clothes that everyone has been posting lately, so I thought it was about time I got my butt into gear and posted again. I made a jumper (tunic / pinafore for those of us living outside of the US) from Butterick 5000 - how's that for a pattern number eh? No date on the pattern envelope, but from the looks of it I'd say 1960s/early 70s - anyone else hazard a guess?

I started this dress to enter into the June competition, but oops, I missed that deadline! I like to call this 'the dress that should have taken a few hours but instead took many weeks because I have a six month old baby who never sleeps'. I think you get the picture of why I missed that deadline.....

Anyway it was simple to sew as the pattern envelope claimed, although I used a rather unstable and thin cotton bought from an op shop or garage sale (long term stash resident so can't quite remember), and even though I underlined it with black organza it still had a tendency to slip and slide and generally misbehave. But I got there in the end, and here is my dress in all of it's school uniform/modest librarian look:

No further details on my blog about this dress, but feel free to stop by and see pictures of the little imp who's keeping me from sewing and read all about my odyssey to stop my UFOs becoming my vintage sewing of the future!

McCalls 9359---Jackie O.

This is a 1960's pattern which went together very nicely. Very Jackie O., wouldn't you say? The full information is on my blog.

Two-tone Tuckshop (or Canteen Cowgirl?)

Hey folks! It's been a while since I posted, but great to see so many new members.

This is my latest. I can't decide whether it's Two-tone Tuckshop or Canteen Cowgirl (for the non-Aussie readers, a tuckshop is a food kiosk in a school) but either way, I love it. Yeee-haw!

Few changes from pattern - longer in torso, wider in skirt, didn't bind the buttonholes (of course I didn't! Sheesh!) and I took it in a whole lot at the waist.

Now, who wants a lamington?

Pleased to Meet You!

Hi - I am new to the Sew Retro blog and wanted to introduce myself! My name is Amanda (a.k.a. - Miss Dandy) and I love to sew, especially with vintage sewing patterns! I especially enjoy the challenge of using discarded clothing and fabric to create new, one-of-a-kind wearable things. I'm also completely obsessed with 1960s and 1970s pop culture! In fact, most of the patterns from my collection are from those two decades. I think I am most intrigued by these decades because of my mom. When I was younger, she liked to tell me about how she and her sisters made most of their clothing as teenagers, and I used to love looking through her high school year books from the early 1970s! I really look forward to sharing some of my projects and meeting all of you!!! Please feel free to drop by my blog sometime - I'm preparing for the birth of my son, who is due in late September, so I've been working on lots of vintage outfits for him and maternity clothes for myself! :)

Wiggle Dress in Plum!

I just finished this dress yesterday, it's a Butterick retro re-print, and quite nice, but I'd never make the full dress, the wiggle tight dress. And I'm awfully fond of the wiggle dress (thanks to Madmen - the tv show), and then I saw Rachel's post from the other day and we'd made EXACTLY the same style!



Yay! More photos of course, on my darling blog, yay for sewing guys!

Greetings from Alaska

Hey all. My name is Michelle and I just joined. I am a brand new mom to a baby boy and stepmom to two school aged girls. I love vintage and retro patterns, fabric, and nearly everything else. They seemed to have so much more style back then. I especially adore things from the 60's and 70's. After having my son, my measurements aren't the same, so I am working on a few pattern resizings. My first project is a little jumper from the early 70's. I am an intermediate sewer I suppose, but I'm starting easy the first time around.
I look foward to sharing my projects with all you talented ladies, and seeing your projects in turn. I hope to learn from your experinece with vintage patterns. Happy sewing!

The Naughty Librarian Dress

Hello! This is my first post. I have been sewing for about two years and have slowly amassed a collection of patterns, some of which are vintage. I own a number of vintage dresses, shoes, and hats and am looking forward to creating my own. My first post highlights a Butterick reprint, #6582, from the 1960's. I call it the Naughty Librarian Dress, because, with a little tweaking of the pattern pieces, it just came out so form-fitting. You can read my full review at my blog Sewer Sluts.

1955

I just finished McCalls 2033 sz 4 for my youngest daughter. I really like how it turned out and she loves all the pockets. More pics on my blog Spring Bean Things.

Vintage Pattern Postmark Project

I haven't been sewing nearly enough lately. I hope to get Simplicity 1217 (1945) at least started this weekend. I need some summery dresses. I'm not that big a fan of buttonholes, though; I suspect I may only do buttonholes far enough down to allow me to get into and out of the dress, and then just sew inoperable buttons the rest of the way, for appearances.

I'll also be doing different pockets. Since it's princess-seamed, I'll probably do large pockets sewn into the gore seams, like on my beloved Marian Martin 9359. Those little diamond pockets are cute but don't look very useful.

I'm doing the flutter-sleeved version with the square neck. My plan is that it will be pink with burgundy and white trim and white buttons (since I have about 50 bazillion reclaimed white buttons to use up).

It's also avaliable as Decades of Style #4002 1944 housedress.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile,

I want your postmarks and dated newspaper ads!

Since so many mail-order and smaller-production sewing patterns (Marian Martin, Anne Adams, Sew-Rite, Excella, American Weekly, etc.) were not dated, I'm collecting dated postmarks and newspaper or magazine ad images to help approximate the production dates for these orphan dresses. I'll be posting the dates on the Postmark Project blog as I get them.

If you have a pattern with a postmark or advertisement date and would like to help, please send the pattern company name, pattern number, postmark or ad date, and a brief description, to the best of your ability, of the item of clothing (or an image of it, if you're willing to share), to:

patternpmproject@yahoo.com (copy and paste into email)

New Undies!

Butterick 6288 is a pattern from the late 70s or very early 80s.

I used a bit of leftover cotton interlock and cut the waistline a little lower than the original pattern.

As you can see, I prefer to use casing for the elastic. I think that it gives me greater control over the fit - especially at the leg openings. (When I took the photo, I hadn't inserted the elastic into the leg openings.)

These have sewn up so quickly that I'm inclined to make them by the dozen!

Interview!

So I have an interview today & I made an outfit especially!

It's from Simplicity 5398 (1964) and a bolero from a 1940s playsuit pattern to cover the tattoos (we must think practically about these things!!). Please don't ban me for mixing eras in such a fashion! ;)

Read more over on my blog!

Oh, and wish me luck!!!! :D

Recreating missing pattern pieces?

I bought this cute dress from a salvation army store a few weeks ago, only to find when I got home that only the collar pieces were in the packet (I swear when I checked in the store they were all there!).

I've got patterns I can easily borrow from to put the dress together, and it's a pretty simple dress to draft, but I started thinking that it might be possible to recreate a missing pattern piece from the instruction and layout images. Has anyone tried this?







I'm going to experiment with this pattern and scale up the instruction images rather than just drafting from scratch, but I'd really appreciate any hints or tips you have as I have a few patterns with one or two missing pieces. Drop me a note on my blog if you've got suggestions!

Introduction

Hello and greetings.  This is my first post.  I've finally completely my first successful project from a vintage pattern.  I've been teaching myself to sew in earnest for about a year and recently it started to really click.  Things seem a bit easier and I've conquered my frustration - now the challenges seem like a fun puzzle instead of an insurmountable impossibility.  For the complete story, see my new blog, Projects and Preoccupations, to journal my learning progress.

Reading this blog has been a great source of inspiration, so thanks posters!!

Pattern from eBay and finished dress

Another one off the to do list...

I finally finished the trousers I started at Easter so that's 4 off my to do list! Hurrah!!

I love them, although I do really need to adjust the buttons a little as the waist is still a bit on the big side. Seriously, I'm not that much of a funny shape am I?!! These are the trousers from the 40s overalls pattern by Eva dress. Great trousers but I think when I make them again I will make the legs slightly narrower. I have small feet & they kinda disappear inside the cuffs!!

I'm also wearing the wrap shirt I made the other day. I didn't mention how awesome the fabric is did I? It has little strawberries on it :D

More sewing related bumph on my blog

1960's Swimsuit Cover Up

I finished two coverups from the 1960s McCall's pattern I bought awhile back. Here is how they turned out. For more details read my project post on my blog Bobbins And Bombshells.

Rosie the Riveter

My version of the "dirndl dress"

I’m a little bit late, but here is my answer to the “dirndl dress” question.

I sewed three 1950s dresses with dirndl skirts this year. One is Simplicity 3429 which I made twice.



I do own a few vintage dresses. At least 3 have a true dirndl skirt. A few of the others dresses have pleated skirts, but they are made from two rectangles too.

I try to post pictures of them on my blog in future, because I think it’s always interesting to see how things are done back then.

You can read more about Simplicity 3942 and “dirndl dresses” in general here.

Busy Busy

I've been making my way through my to do list & have almost finished 2 shirts. First up is Simplicity 4255;A great pattern that I will definately be making again many times I think. With modifications, however...

I've also (almost) finished Simplicity 1554. Just needing buttons now.


So I'm getting there. Hopefully I'll be back on track & able to make some new things soon! Check out more information on these sewing projects and some VI buys at my blog

Hello - New to group

Hello, I found this sewing group while doing some research on a Singer 501A. I have sewn my whole life, ever since my aunt put me out in her garage studio with her featherweight, showed me how not to run the needle through my finger, and then said have fun. I was about 7 or so, and have sewn ever since. Made all my clothes in jr. and senior high, and alot through college days. Most of my sewing the last few years has been for dolls and other crafts. Currently re-create outfits for vintage and antique dolls, and am studying reproducing (in doll size) historical accuracy in mid-1800's fashions. I do still sew for myself, and am wanting to get back into making my own clothes, or at least supplement my wardrobs with my own creations again soon. Love vintage patterns, have many and have been wanting to make some of them up. So this group is a great inspiration to do so. Recognize many of the patterns I've seen made up so far. Also, am a collector of vintage sewing machines, just love them. Besides my featherweight I inherited from my aunt mentioned above, I have a Singer 301, 401, 500a - Rocketeer, my 80's Bernina Sport, a Bernina minimatic, my late 50's-early 60's era Brother, and a few other assorted machines not as collectable but in process of being cleaned up. Splurged and bought a Viking #1+ in 2000, but love my older machines more. That's about it, appreciate being able to join, and look forward to reading about other's projects and hopefully will get started on some of my own retro sewing projects. Need to get a blog, too, have been going to do that. When I do, I will post it. Thanks again, Susan

Summer of the Dress Re-Visited

At this rate I'll have to do Decade of the Dress. I combined a couple different patterns to come up with the details that I wanted. I'm still not sure about the hemline. I am tempted to raise it a couple inches. Come on over and let me know what you think.

Dress Fail: Marian Martin 9253

I am posting this as a Fail!, though not an irretrievable one, since it might still be usable to somebody else.

I won this on eBay a few months ago. The seller was a little unclear on sizing and, as you can see, the eBay camera watermark obscured the size stamp. I got most of the way through and was thinking, "Gee--that looks a little short-waisted." Actually, it looked a lot short-waisted, but I was optimistic.

Optimism lasted until I got down to the buttons and the hem, tried it on, and realized that the "natural" waistline was around my ribs. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a half-sized pattern, intended for mature but petite women. I haven't been petite since I was eleven years old (and I'm long-waisted), so it's a whole lot short.

I am keeping the pattern and plan to do a re-draft on the bodice to see if I can get it to fix my dachshund-figured self, but this particular incarnation of it will do me no good. If you are a vintage size 18 (bust 36, waist 29-ish, hips 39) but 5'2" or shorter and would be interested in trying to salvage the dress, visit my profile and drop me a line. It needs buttons, buttonholes, hemming, a belt, and some general finishing work, but it's not mangled and I was very pleased with how it was turning out right up until I discovered that the belt would be up under my chin. I can't stand to have unfinished projects lying around, and it does not deserve to be cut up for quilt scraps.

It's in a good-quality Moda quilting cotton, rust-colored and dark brown calico. More pictures of the fabric on my Flickr set.

* * * * * * *

Measurements:
Bust: 36"
Waist: 31"
Shoulder-to-waist: 15"

A 'Rectangular' Skirted Dress?

Just recently I've come across a number of dress patterns that have a skirt which is just 2 rectangles of fabric, sewn together & then gathered to attacht to the bodice. Has anyone made a skirt like this before? How did it turn out?

It's odd that I've been collecting patterns for a while now & never seen this method of making a skirt, then all of a sudden I seem to have about 4 of the things! I'm not sure if I like the idea or not. If anyone has pics of this kind of skirt it would be very much appreciated!!

ddd

10 things I "hate" about this dress

Last year I found a cute fabric, with red and white flowers on it, in a thrift store with some other fabrics ranging from the 1950s to the 1970s. I’m not sure how old it is, but it was only 36” wide, so it’s probably pre 1970’s.

Because I really liked the print of the fabric I decided to make dress Number 4 out of it. My usual 1950s dresses wouldn’t work with this rather thin polyester (?) fabric, therefore I choose McCall 5622, which was already in my stash. I made View D, with short sleeves. Although the dress was easy to sew, the project sucked from the beginning to the end.

Read more about it on my blog

Wiggle Dress in Floral & Greens

This is my fave pattern at the moment:


And here's some off shoots, both with vintage green material:





Some more piccies over on Veronica Darling's Crafty Adventures, but I'll be making more of this one soon. It's so easy, especially the one with sleeves.

Refashioned 1970s Thrift Store Find

I found this 1970's formal in a thrift store. It had this shiny silver top and polyester plaid knit skirt and jacket. The top was too tight, and I can't imagine wearing it anywhere anyway. It was floor length. The jacket wouldn't close and was long sleeve. So I decided to modernize it a bit. I separated the top from the skirt, sewed a zipper in the back, shortened the length to just above the knee. I shortened the sleeves on the jacket, and took out the bust gathers so it would close. And voila, there you have it, a new outfit for me. Hope you like it!











This is before I released the bust gathers.




The jacket was too small. It would not close all of the way. There was a four-inch gap. So I unpicked the band at the bottom and released the bust gathers. Then I sewed the band back on. And now I am able to close it all of the way and tie it.




I cut off part of the sleeves and hemmed them to make them shorter.





This is a skirt from the 1970's that I found at a thrift store. It is floor length. I'm just not sure what to do with it yet, if anything.




This is a preview of my next post.

You can visit me at Sewing With Trudy.