Newest Conquest.

I've finally finished a retro inspired dress for a friend, completely self drafted.

Blood sweat and tears went into this thing.... okay none of that actually went in but you know what I mean. It was actually quite fun to make and she was so pleased, it fit like a dream!

Back View

Front View

So another one bites the dust! Time to tackle the next project...

For more details, feel free to visit my little blog

A giveaway will be happening tomorrow. Good luck :-)

Butterick B4087 - Retro Apron Cuteness!

I finished these aprons today. They're little extras for Christmas for Little Tornado's Nan and Great Nan.

I adapted the pattern a little and added the embroidery to personalise them a little. My first attempt at these, so hopefully they'll go down well! More about it over on my blog

Oh, and I did some cute little pin cushions using the same fabric, andsome vintage buttons, for my fellow "sewists" at college. (Also over on my blog)

Happy Christmas and a happy, healthy & prosperous 2011 to all at Sew Retro.

Retro on the Runway

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give you an exciting update on RTW fashion..retro is on the runway for Fall 2010!

These images are from the Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 RTW collection. You can see more images from this and other collections in my post at Five Guineas, or view them all at style.com.

Enjoy!!

Ruth xx

From the Reel Screen to Real Life

A while ago, I wrote about the green silk dress from the movie Atonement and how it was created. Well, Gemma commented here and on my personal blog that her wedding dress was inspired by that movie costume and that she had pictures. So, of course I emailed her to send those pictures to me. After I saw them I knew I wanted to ask her some questions on why that dress and how. Here are some gorgeous pictures of her completed dress and please enjoy the rest of her answers on my blog.

I'm Gemma McCrory from Belfast, Northern Ireland but now living in London, England. Any spare time that I have I love to shop! Depending on my mood I either like trawling through vintage shops and warehouses or searching on the high street for vintage styled pieces. I am not very good with my hands so am a bit hopeless at actually making my own, but what I am good at is finding vintage patterns and emailing them to my sister-in-law in Belfast to make for me. It was Marie, my sister-in-law and 1940s fanatic, who actually alerted me to Lsaspacey's post about my wedding dress.

Were you influenced by the movie Atonement in choosing your dress or was it a coincidence?

I watched Atonement and hated the movie but instantly fell in love with the dress, when my husband proposed I knew that I had to get that dress made. Being 6 feet tall I knew that any 'off-the-peg' dresses just would not do. Also being a lover of 1920s/30s clothing, the dress ticked all the boxes!

How did you find your dressmaker or did a family member/friend make it for you?

My dress maker was the wonderful Lucia Silver based in London. Believe it or not I just googled "1920 wedding dress maker" and up she popped! She has an amazing studio in Notting Hill which is dripping with vintage gowns, clothing and jewellery, as soon as I walked in I knew that she was the one for me. There was a hand made flapper dress hanging in every panel in the bay windows- stunning! When I arrived Lucia was just as excited as me when she saw the pictures I had brought with me as she was just about to start designing a dress similar- so I guess I was the guinea pig. She now uses the dress (a.k.a the goddess dress) on the main page of her web site, The State of Grace.

Did they use that same Vogue pattern to make it or did they copy the dress from pictures? How many tries (muslins) were made before the final dress?

No, they made the dress from a block which they drew my measurements on. From this they were able to make one toile then finito! Experts!

What fabric is your dress made out of? It moved so beautifully in the wind.
It is made from pearl crepe-back silk satin bought from Morocco.

Did you buy or make the fascinator/headdress?

The hatlette was also made by the same team it is made from the same fabric as the dress with hand stitched silver seams. The feathers and veil were also hand attached. Lucia also made some vintage single drop rhinestone and pearl earrings which she gave me as a gift.

The happy couple!

Join me in wishing the McCrorys the best in their life together and thank you, Gemma for sharing your story!

Images: property of Gemma McCrory, Focus Features Films, State of Grace

a bit of this, a bit of that

I'm heading back to work in a few short weeks after having 14 months maternity leave, so I've been sewing like a madwoman lately! I've churned out quite a few projects, including several vintage pieces.

First up I made a little girls dress for my daughter's first birthday from Butterick 5521, which is a 1977 pattern. I made it from modern fabrics though (some seersucker cotton), but I don't think you'll see this style of dress in any children's store. It's a 'special occasion' dress, because that big, white collar is sure going to attract some stains I think!

Next I made a circle skirt for myself from a sturdy cotton printed in a caramel/yellow bias plaid pattern that I bought in an op shop some time ago. I used Style 1932, which is a 1970s version of a 50s style circle skirt, right down to the poodle applique. However I made a fundamental mistake with this one - I was so busy trying to match the plaid pattern at the seam lines (which I failed in anyway) that I overlooked cutting the skirt panels on the bias and as a result the skirt doesn't ripple evenly around the body. It's not too obvious from this photo, but the skirt does tend to gather at the centre and side seams and I seem to be constantly rearranging the folds. Oh well, notch that one up to experience, when a pattern says cut something on the bias it's for a reason! The white blouse is made from a Burda magazine pattern.

My most recent project is a bow tie neck blouse made from Simplicity 4676. So simple to make, yet it came out fantastically in terms of fit and finish without any alterations to the pattern. This is also made in a modern fabric, a dark red pinstripe, but there was a scrap of fabric in the envelope from the previous owner which funnily enough was a dark blue pinstripe fabric!

Sadly now my overlocker is burnt out and in need of a service so the sewing has to come to a halt for a little while. Might be a good time to clean up my sewing room! Or not.....

More deets over at my blog.