Sew Retro: October 2009

Materinity Top just for Fun!

I've got this little idea on the go, the pattern and the fabric, now I just need the time.

I want to make the vest (yellow) not because I'm pregnant but because I love the shape and think it would be super handy for summer. The fabric is a light cotton from the 50s.

I will post the photos when I get it done. At this stage it's beside the machine in the 'next' position.

Butterick 8128

This is the pattern. Butterick 8128 probably from the 50s. I made the one on the left.

This is my fabric, cotton with tiny world maps.

It's a bad picture, but the dress is cute and comfortable.

I made it exactly like the pattern, and the instructions were so easy to follow. It has beautiful details, like a nice kick pleat in the back, a fan of darts over the back, the scarf, tiny darts on the elbows and a cute button detail on the back waist.

More details and pictures here!

Advance 2709

Sorry I haven't been sewing! There's been lots of work going on at home, hence why I have only just finished hemming and photographing my newest creation, Advance 2709.

I love this pattern! Its set-in, diagonal pockets. Its six-gored skirt. The fact that it has a provision for just a shirt-waist dress as well as the full shirt dress. (I only had four buttons, so I went for the shirt-waist. Also, I hate making button holes but love shirt-waists, so... that's also a reason.)

I can't say I love this pattern enough! Read more over at The Year 2050!

Cowboy PJs for the Big Guy

These have been through the washer a few times, and he was WAY too shy to model them, but sometimes even big guys like their flannel cowboy pjs! I added pockets and used modern fabric.

More vintage and sewing adventures at The Vintage Traveler.

Any San Francisco Bay Area Folks?

Hi Everyone!! :)

Anyone here in the San Francisco Bay area who might like a sewing buddy? I have HEAPS of vintage patterns...see above from a very early sew retro post... (lots of them plus size! Yippee!) several vintage machines and I am a decent seamstress, but some of the fitting is just impossible to do on oneself! I'm good at fitting others and altering patterns and garments. Figure if I have a buddy to sew with, we can help one another out! I'd also love someone to do sew-along sort of projects with.
I'm in Vallejo but anywhere in the Bay area would be fab! This may be a shot in the dark, but who knows!

Christine

(Who is trying to decide on the next project, a semiformal for an awards banquet the first week in December. I need to get cracking!)

Hello Everyone!

My name is Emma, and I'm new to Sew Retro! I've taken up sewing vintage patterns as a way to combat the frustration of being unable to find many clothes I like in mainstream stores, and the fact that there is a bunch of ebayers in my area who pick the op-shops clean of anything decent! Boo!

I have a whole bunch of projects lined up for the summer when I'll be free of uni, so expect to hear more from me soon! In the meantime, have a link to my blog: http://thebarnothing.blogspot.com/ and a few photos of my works so far.

re: NEXT!

I think the silk twill would look stunning using this pattern!

I agree with the shirtdress for the cotton stripe. Maybe one of the raglan sleeve versions.

For some reason I see the gold/black print in a dress with a sexy solid black (maybe knit?) bodice and full tulip style skirt. Add a sweet little cropped jacket if you have enough fabric!

The red/gray stripe would make a super cute sundress with a flared bias skirt.

The teal rose print I see in a summer dress with a full skirt and snug (maybe boned) bodice with very narrow straps (possibly tie over shoulder). Maybe some waist piping for detail.

NEXT!

Swooshy silk twill

Fine quilting cotton stripes

Beautiful thick polished stretch cotton twill. My favourite colours, ever.

Fine, dense vintage cotton (36" wide) begging for chevron cleverness

Sheer silk organza with teal cotton to line

So, I mentioned I like loud prints, right? Well, these are a few from the stash that are jostling to star in my next project. Thought I'd ask you SewRetro superstars what you reckon. What sort of frock do each of these fabrics suggest?

From the top, I'm thinking:

cowl-backed 60s sheath
shirtdress
no idea, I'm still in awe. I love this print.
definitely demands some wily playing around with the stripe
simple, simple frock. But then again, maybe some ruching on the bodice and full skirt.

Your thoughts?

Keep it simple, stoopid

I loves me a loud, garish print. Giant splashy flowers, bit of painterly abstract or geometric action, and I'm all over it. (Or, more correctly, it's all over me.) Problem is that tricksy seams and details get lost in all that palaver, so I've been trying to find a balance between detail and pattern.

This rad fabric splattered with large, coral-coloured ranunculus demanded utter simplicity. I trawled the pattern cattledogs looking for the right sort of 50s-style plain fitted bodice/full skirt combo but couldn't find exactly what I was after. So, time for a bit of frankensteining with the patterns I already had.

The bodice was a modified version of Vogue 8413, altered for bustiness and sleevelessness and collarlessness(ness). I was convinced by Catherine's ace version which I reckon looks utterly smashing. However the skirt on this one is a bit too clunky for my tastes... all those loose folds can look bulky and lacking in finesse. And I'm all about finesse, dahling.

So I turned to trusty New Look 6557 for the skirt, with a couple of tiny pleats at the front where it meets the bodice seams.

I like it. Deluxe. Buxom readers should be gladdened by the ease with which I altered the bodice... princess lines are good that way. I cut a size bigger and then trimmed the side front pieces to take out a couple of inches in the armpit and at the waist. Easy peasy. Next time I'll line it (facings suck!) and make a couple more tweaks to fit my narrow shoulders. Once I get the pattern perfect I'll make several more, each more lurid than the last. Bwwwhooaooarrrhrhrhr.

But the real lesson here, folks, is before you buy a new pattern, see what you can hybridise from what you already have. Like Jenny just showed us!

Gingerbread Nightgown

Vintage Simplicity 3503 size 4 increased in width to size 5-6.

Alexander Henry Christmas fabric with accents of brown polka dot. I also used vintage pink cotton rick rack and vintage pink buttons.

I don't care for flannel sewing because of how much flannel fabric pills after a couple of washings - it's like the prettiness goes away. I solved my idiosyncrasy by lining a cotton woven instead. You'd think this snuggly flannel was a true coordinate made for the print. I love the little "Especially Handmade by Mommy" tag.

The belt tie was a fun feature!

Another garment sewn using my vintage Singer Featherweight 222.

50% Retro

This dress is a frankenstein project. It's half retro and half....um, classic? The bodice is the "Vintage Vogue" reprint, Vogue 2960. It's the same pattern I used for my Cloud Dress. I slapped it onto an eight-gore flared skirt (recently OOP Vogue 7910) to make something with plenty of twirl that didn't require The Fluffer. I made it for an outdoor wedding at the beginning of October.

The biggest lesson from this project was that it's not too difficult to neatly attach a bodice with front and back darts and CB and CF seams to an eight gore skirt. All my darts and seams matched perfectly at the waist without much hassle! I will definitely be thinking about frankenstein-ing more fantastic retro bodices to wearable modernish skirts. I love the full skirts and the fluffer, but it's a bit much for work most days.

More details on my blog, Chronically Uncool.

Pardon the lack of ironing and the lumpiness (and the obvious dangling bra strap) - it's been a real challenge to keep up with sewing, photographing and blogging my projects with a 5-month old baby in the house. If I waited until everything was perfect I'd never get anything posted!

Mad Men Competition Spoils...new projects!

Hi everyone!

I have basically been out of town since the end of September, which means I haven't had a chance to choose my winnings from the September Mad Men competition until now!

I found some really fun stuff at Patterns from the Past. I can't wait till they show up and I can start some new projects!

I thought I'd share what I ended up with. I'm in a really feminine phase right now, which will become evident in my choices:

Photo of Citrus Paisley top using B3070 from the 80's

Yeah, I did not want to take a photo of myself, too hard. It is resting on my desk chair. In the second you can see the added embellishments to utilize the puffs on the neck binding. For the record, this is my TNT, B3070, from the 1980's, traced and redrafted to fit me. I used two layers of mesh, which made it puff a bit in the front armpit area. This does not happen with regular knits, which makes me think it is the mesh and the two layers. I sewed them together and the neck and cap sleeve hems, left the sides free and hems are free and two lengths so the underlayer peeks out at the lower hem, both ruffle edged with zig zag. My blog is www.adventuresbabysewing.blogspot.com.

Vintage T-shirt :-)

Easy Peasy quick and satisfying...just how I like my sewing to be :-)

I Think I will make the other version of this top too. i like the little sleeves..they look cute.

Allison

www.littlethistles.blogspot.com

Hello All!

Hello my darling Darlings!

I'm brand new to Sew Retro, but I like what I see. My name is Garnet, and I like to sew. And bake. And talk.

I have a (rather infantile) online journal at http://rubysatin.blogspot.com/

Recently (actually the first week of September) I made that ever-so-popular jumper: Simplicity 3673. And I think it came out marvelously.

I did have to take the waist in a bit, but after a (sort of) small struggle, we emerged victorious!

You can learn more about it (although, why would you want to?) on my blog!

Dasvidanya Darlings,

Garnet

Hi Retro Sewers!

Hi, my name's Zoe. I'm an English girl who is living in Barcelona, Spain. I am OBSESSED with sewing, and do so almost everyday. I have stalked this site for literally YEARS, but I have finally got round to joining. I was kind of biding my time as my sewing projects don't tend to be overtly retro, but a recent success with a vintage pattern, and being fortunate enough to win two more from the latest Hem Line giveaway, I relised now was the time to strike!

So, if you'll indulge me, let me introduce you to my recent vintage pattern success:

The pattern is Simplicity 8271, which was published in 1977. I followed the instructions pretty much to the letter (a rarity for me, as I often tend to deviate and free-style!) and aside from way more hand stitching and basting than I'm used to, it came together very easily.

I added the strip of gingham bias to make the top a little more feminine, and I'm super-happy with the results. I'm very tempted to try a shower-proof version like the yellow top on the pattern illustration. For more on this project and my other creations, inspirations and musing, check my blog.

Thanks Sewers for all the inspiration you have provided me since I discovered Sew Retro, I hope I am able to send some inspiration out there in return! Happy sewing!

Thank You, Everyone

I just wanted to thank everyone at Sew Retro who has visited my personal blog and left me kind words of encouragement, prayers, and well wishes. My husband is starting a new phase of his recovery and is being moved to the "step down unit" in the hospital after a month + in the ICU. Your sweet support has made a world of difference in the middle of the most awful time in my life. Thank you so very much.

Butterick 3610, Young Designer Clovis Ruffin

I actually made this dress last spring, but it was too warm to wear it until now. I used a medium weight cotton/poly blend jersey to make it. I usually prefer vintage fabrics, but for some reason I've found vintage knits (except 100% poly doubleknits!) hard to find, so I used new fabric in a great dark teal color. It's really soft, washes well, and is warm on a chilly fall day!

I made a tie belt, and then found some beautiful ribbon for a belt (which I have not yet made). I had already sewn the buttons on using red thread, but I'll redo them in brown. The buttons are vintage; they are carved from wood, made in Czechoslovakia.

The pattern is from the mid 1970s, and is from Butterick's great Young Designer series. I had a page showcasing these on my website, but the page has somehow disappeared. I'm trying to find it, and just hope I do not have to redo the thing. But it is worth seeing because I have photos of many of the patterns in this series, from Mary Quant and Betsey Johnson to John Kloss, over 100 in all.

Update: Found it!