Simplicty 3045

This is my version of simplicty 3045. The kimono sleeves were not working for me so I modified it using a modern pattern to make a sleeveless version. More details on my blog.

"Summer Sky Dress"

  Hi, loved sewing, I just wanted to show you the last dress I sewed, it isn´t made from a vintage pattern, I made alterations in a current pattern to get this dress, but the look is full of 50s fashion, if you curious to know more and see more pictures of it, please visit here .... your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

adorable 1950s day dress: McCall 3489

Pattern Description:
1950s day dress with bateau/semi-cowl neckline, darted front, gored skirt.

Pattern Sizing:
30B/Size 12
using a fitted piece from another bodice, i sized it up to a 32.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
the bateau neckline was a bit of a challenge, but the instructions were by and large very solid.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
i was drawn to the great neckline and bodice shape above all. the gored skirt i can take or leave--in fact, i left it, subbing in a pleated skirt from advance 8280.

Fabric Used:
pale yellow china silk, Paron Annex, NYC
liberty of london tana lawn, "honeymoon," purchased on eBay (2 meters for about the price of 1yd at B&J, score!). it sang to me for this dress!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
because i had my beloved advance 8280 on standby, i was mass-cutting a few dresses at once. to save time and fabric, i used the pleated skirt from the advance pattern on all three, including this one.

i lined the dress in yellow china silk, to highlight the tiny bit of cheery yellow amongst the flowers and spiderwebs of the tana lawn.

i finished my skirt lining with some 1/2" horsehair braid and a bit of lace in a great contrasting burgundy color.


Conclusion:
at about the same time i was making this dress, i was also working on some other things: a basic 1960s cowl-neck blouse from simplicity 1839, and determining the appropriate pattern for some printed italian silk (literally, straight off the boat and still unpriced at mood when dennis showed it to me). at the time, i was leaning toward vogue reprint 1084, which has a very similar shape to this dress.

it was fun to compare three very different techniques to achieve a cowl/bateau neckline shape.

i was going to say "head over to the new vintage lady's etsy shop! she has this pattern for embarrassingly less than i paid for it!"...but she's already sold it. c'est la vie!

50s Day Dress

Hi retro-lovers! I've been enjoying all your creations so much, time for me to add one of my own into the mix. I recently made this dress from a 1963 McCalls pattern, don't know about you but I think it's got more of a late 1950s vibe, which is why I refer to it as my 50s day dress (I hope to make that plural some day soon!).


I was lucky enough to come across this fabric at work which fits with the era of the pattern pretty well. It's such a sweet ditsy design. I've gone into more detail about this pattern, including this interesting under-arm stabilising/finishing technique that the pattern instructions (which I rarely follow!) suggested in this blog post.


I'm gearing myself up to making a full gathered skirt 50s style dress, but this four-gored skirt is full enough to push my comfort zone, and actually wearing it feels really nice. I'm usually more of a wiggle dress girl, but I find they are a bit sexy for day wear, or at least the kind of days I tend to have!


Forgive the flipflops, vintage fiends! Keep it creative,

Zoe xxx

Full Skirt 50's Dress

Made this dress to wear on St. Patty's day. I got tons of compliments and will definitely wear it again and again.





See more at SewIThought...

The result of inspiration

Hi dear sewers, I'm here again to show the dress I finished this week, it is inspired by this pattern and I looked up the fabric from my stash as close as possible, I drew the pattern (I have the pattern, only the image), so it gave me enough headaches for proper operation.

There are other beautiful photos in my blog, if you want to go through there.

1950s Day Dress - Simplicity 1507

Pattern Description:
1950's sleeveless dress with lowered waistline, waistband and below-knee pleated skirt. bodice is fitted with bust and side darts. version 1 has a bit of neck trim.

jacket is cut boxy with a shoulder dart in the front and no shaping in the back. collar and facing are cut-in-one and 3/4-length sleeves have cuffs.

Pattern Sizing:
size 15/B33

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
close enough for government work!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
yes. by the 50s, simplicity patterns seemed to be including more details with their instructions and better illustrations as well.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
the elongated waist immediately drew my eye because, as with many modern women, i've had a difficult time adjusting to the shorter waists of so many vintage styles. i loved the waistband and the change into a pleated skirt, and i was intrigued by the idea of doing two different orientations of stripes on the same patter, as depicted in the pattern drawing for view 1.

Fabric Used:
liberty of london tana lawn "purple chris", from purl soho in NYC
bemberg rayon lining, NY Elegant Fabrics

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
tucked out 1/2" on the bust darts and pulled in at the sides for a tighter fit. i wish i had altered the armscye as well, since it comes closer to the edge of my shoulder than anticipated and can be uncomfortable, almost like carrying a heavy bag, after all-day wearing. i may go back and re-fit this section.

i added interfacing to the bodice for greater stability against the tana lawn and lined the bodice with contrast bemberg, as well as adding a contrast waist stay and bias-binding the zipper with contrast tape, just for additional interest. i added a straight skirt lining, eliminating the pleats, and trimmed it with contrast lace hem.

i eliminated the neck trim because 1) the instructions didn't make enough sense and 2) with the busyness of my fabric, i felt i had enough going on.

i ended up hand-picking the zipper and adding beads because, well, i like the look, and it gave the back a bit of visual interest. also, the first time i tried inserting the zipper with my sewing machine i almost lost the garment.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
it's a great little dress and i can see myself doing it again, but right now i'd like to focus on completing the matching jacket. i had attempted one earlier this year but had a massive series of headaches, first with the incredible amount of wearing ease in the design (the jacket is truly *boxy!*) and then with construction errors (i may never attempt to "bag" a lining again!), but the dress really needs the jacket to complete it as a "look", especially if one wants to wear it at work, or in the winter.

i will grade the pattern slightly, adjust the sleeve and cap ease, and hand-attach the lining with some light tailoring according to kenneth d. king's techniques as outlined in his "tailored jacket" e-book.

Black & White Fetish

As always, there is a new fetish in my life.

This time its all things black & white.

This is the first in my series of black & white dresses...

Pattern: Self Drafted (My first completely self drafted dress)

Fabric: Vintage gingham taffeta :-)

See my blog for some more pictures and other such ramblings...

Stay tuned for more black and white!

Vintage Vogue 1044

This is Vogue 1044, a reprint. I made it out of cotton sateen, with vintage buttons. After taking these pictures we went to the grocery store, and I received many "over-dressed crazy lady" looks. Ha ha!

Many more pictures on my blog: mollysews.

Introducing The Blue Crepe Dress

This is a dress I draped from the below picture. It is made of polyester (I think) crepe and is fully lined. There are pintucks at the shoulders and a little split collar at the back. Side zip, lapped and hand picked.

Thanks for looking. You can see more at my blog, Modern Twist.

Hope you had a great weekend!
Jacki

a little bit retro, a little bit french country...

I just finished work on a new 'winter dress' - heavier fabric, longer sleeves, definitely lined. No idea what sort of footwear and hosiery to wear in the frozen north in such a thing. Legwarmers? Waders? A modern pattern with a 50's vibe. Still deciding on a matching belt.

For more details and pictures, head on over to my blog...

Vintage dress inspired design

Here is a dress designed by all by myself. I just love the full skirt dresses from the late 50's/early 60's and instead of using my vintage patterns I decided to put my own drafting skills to the test. The result is a dress with a high neckline, knee-long gathered skirt and 3/4 sleeves.

The skirt is quite full on its own but I am wearing a petticoat in the picture to accenturate the shape. Please stop by my blog for more pictures!

The Victoria and Albert Museum Free Pattern Dress

Remember this free pattern from the V&A Museum's Golden Age of Couture exhibition? I made it to wear to see the exhibit (now traveling the world) in Nashville.

I love the way this dress turned out and I had a great time in Nashville with Gertie and my fellow vintage clothing enthusiasts. This project is my best work yet!

Links:

Details about the construction on Pattern Review and on my blog, Chronically Uncool.

Post about the trip and my favorite dresses from the exhibit

Free pattern from the V&A Museum

The Wildwood Flower Dress

The Wildwood Flower Dress is finished and it's fast becoming one of my favourite dresses. For more pictures and chatter about this project, please click here.

Sarah :)

What Was I Thinking?!? re: What Pattern Should I Use?

Oh my goodness!!! What was I thinking?!?!? I completely forgot about this dress pattern, mostly because I didn't save a copy of the photo of it on my computer...

Don't you think that THIS pattern:

...would be perfect for the vintage sheet fabric?

Thanks for all the feedback, but I think I've completely fallen in love with this idea...case closed!

Poll: Which Dress Pattern Would You Use?

I'm buying 2 sheets like the one below from Regency Cottage on etsy, and I can't wait to sew with them!  They're SOOO much cheaper than buying fabric yardage, they're already soft, and they're PRETTY! I may tea-dye them a little once I get them, but we'll see.....

So here's the problem.... WHICH DRESS do I make??? Each sheet is 70"x84", so I've got a fair amount of fabric to work with.

#1) Inspirational dress from etsy - won't be hard to throw together based on my measurements, etc.

#2) Re-issued pattern I bought and haven't made up yet. Not sure I'll be able to make the skirt that full, but I wouldn't be wearing a crinoline with it anyway.

#3) Vintage pattern I bought and haven't made up yet.

#4) Yet another vintage pattern I bought and haven't made up yet.

What do you all think?  Which would you choose?  Would you tea-dye this and line the bodice with muslin, or just leave it ivory and line the bodice?  So many choices! so fun!! Thanks for your 2 cents!

The Poppy Dress: Finished

The Poppy Dress is finally finished! I can't thank everyone enough for your positive feedback and helpful tips. I really appreciate them. :)

Please visit my blog for more photos and chatter about this project. Come and cast your vote to decide on my next project!

Sarah :)

i love being a girl

i just finished up sewing simplicity 9637 from 1954 to wear this weekend to a wedding and i am sooooo happy with it!

it makes me so happy to own things like this. it just really helps me justify the massive LACK of pants i own when i get to run around in things like this!
more on my blog if your interested!

and for those of you who have contacted me about the sewing things in that hoarder's house- THANK YOU! this morning i sorted out all of her books into the follow categories:
sewing techniques and tips
home sewing
quilting
sewing with a serger
accessories
embellishments and appliques
crochet, needlepoint and knitting
misc.
craft projects
vests, jackets and sweaters
and there are still shelves and boxes of magazines to go through, plus one more box of books i found as i was leaving. if your interested PLEASE email me so these go to a good home! crissy_baker (at) yahoo (dot) com

xoxo
christine

The Poppy Dress: Neckline Nightmare

I reached the neckline part in the poppy dress the other night. Until that point, everything had been going swimmingly. I think I may have jinxed it. *sigh*

Please visit my blog for more photos and how I attempted to save this dress from becoming a wadder.