Sew Retro

PJ Pattern

I posted about this pattern yesterday but was unable to load the image - here it is now!

Excuses, excuses. I'm late -- had to get Easter skirts done and then get a whole household full of girls ready to leave for a week of spring break in Orlando. Then I had no internet access while there. And the pattern is copywritten 1985 -- sorta vintage, does 20+ years old count? --

Ah well. Here they are anyway. I changed the skirt up a bit. Instead of a waistband, I used quilt binding in white -- my girls are so used to skirts sitting down on their hips that the waistband sitting at the waist just did not work. The girls loved the side-seam pockets, on both sides instead of just the left. And I used a back zip instead of a button opening in the left pocket.

Very easy, very quick (thank God!) and everyone looked like a collection of Easter eggs. The biggest problem was the shopping for the tops so everyone would coordinate. More on my own blog at www.blondiejenthemom.blogspot.com.

P.S. One more thing that made them easy -- for the hems, I just turned it up about 1/4" wrong side up, and stitched white grosgrain ribbon over it. I love the way it weights the hemline and accents the white dots.

Dream a Little Dream

I made these spring-themed cotton pajamas from a 1950s pattern bought from Out of the Ashes. I took a picture of the pattern but the camera battery died before I could get it onto Flickr!

I am obsessed with vintage nightwear, housecoat, and robe patterns. Wearing pretty pajamas lends a little bit of elegance to those times when I'm not at my prettiest.

I wish the camera battery hadn't died, because I wanted to take close-ups of all the neat little details there were on this pattern. The pants have a button closure at the waist instead of today's lazy elastic waistband. And TWO rows of topstitching on almost every seam! I was really happy with how professional-looking it came out.

And check out the pants cuffs - that was a little idea of my own. I figured the PJs were matchy-matchy enough already, why not take it that extra mile?

Lastly, do you like my teacup prop? Ever notice how old loungewear patterns always show the illustrated model holding a cup, book, or hairbrush? Love those details.

An experiment cannot fail

A wise high school science teacher once explained to my class, “An experiment cannot fail, because you will always get a result. You may get results you didn’t expect.”

This patternless halter top was sort of what I expected, and yet not what I had hoped.

The Venus de Milo of Dresses

This is Style 4408, from 1973. I ~~made~~ attempted to make the view with the short sleeves, without the little tie at the neck. I bought this pattern in a B42, even though I am B36 (when stuffed). I had to do some major adjusting to the bodice to deal with that extra six inches of fabric in the bodice. I was just making it up as I went along, which usually works for me. This time, not so much. Still, it's my favorite sewing project so far.

This was supposed to be my first atttempt at set-in sleeves. My complete lack of consideration of the armscye in my adjustments made the sleeves impossible, especially for my first try with sleeves. I improvised with some double-fold bias tape and made it sleeveless. You can read all about it in tedious, rambling, excuciating detail here.

Vintage Skirt

From this 1957 Simplicity pattern:

I made this skirt:

::Does anyone else feel weird taking pictures of a topless dress form, or is it just me?::

I used this fabric, which has an incredibly supple hand. The herringbone pattern refused to submit to the will of my camera, even with the added incentive of a nice, sunny day. Let me assure you that it's fabulous in real life.

Because of the fiber content, the fabric proved to be quite a challenge to sew. It went all wiggly and refused to be pinned in a straight line. In the end, I left off the pockets because I figured they would be limp as noodles and if I used any interfacing I was afraid it would show through. The zipper and waistband went in well, but I’m still not happy with the hem. Not that Joey will let you see it, but it’s rather bulky looking. There’s plenty of length, so I may cut it off and try a different hem treatment. This fabric doesn't like to be ironed - the nap flattens right out and the color changes. Hard to change my turn-it-up-all-the-way ironing habits.

All in all, I like it. Now I need some tall black boots and a knit wrap top.

Making a new dress older

I am hosting a 1950s afternoon tea party at Costume Con 26 in San Jose, CA next month. I figured if I tweaked this dress a bit, it would work fine. I will also be giving a lecture that same day at the convention on the history of sewing patterns.

It is a dress from the fall by Isaac Mizrahi for Target (on the sale rack now). I figured if I changed the buttons and the belt. Maybe added a half apron, I would be ready to host tea. I would wear gloves, but it is hard to serve tea with gloves on. Any suggestions?

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Based on your comments - how about this for accessory ideas? For those you want to know this is Vogue 9880 c. 1959

I can use this pattern from 1961 for the hat. It is off by a few years - but it is almost the same hat.

Regards, Oldpatterns

vintage made (accidentally) modern

I liberated this 1975 Style pattern from my mum's collection because I really liked the neckline and arm bands. My mum made this in the 1970s from a floral cotton which she probably wore with wedge shoes not dissimilar to those on the pattern model. I decided to use a stretch cotton in black with a fine white pinstripe from my stash, because I thought it would nicely contrast the neckline and arm bands by cutting them on the horizontal whilst the bodice was cut on the vertical. I also ditched the puffy sleeves and recut the skirt into a pencil skirt because the fabric was too stiff to hang the way a flared skirt should, and these modifications combined with the fabric choice unexpectedly gave the dress a much more modern feel:

Worn with a red belt and red shoes (which look great but really really hurt) it has a very corporate feel and is perfect for work.

More details of this and the other projects occupying my waking hours can be found on my blog.

Retro Easter Outifts

For more on these sweet Easter outfits, including the retro overall pattern, see here.

Easter Dress

This is my latest dress, which I am calling an Easter dress, although it may be too cold this Sunday to actually wear it. I like the way it turned out, despite the fact that I didn't cut it on the bias as the pattern called for.

I followed the pattern exactly except for omitting the sleeve ruffles. I did not lengthen it, as it may appear. It's just that my legs are about half as long as the pattern illustration girl's.

More construction details can be found on my blog, here.

I love the butterfly print; it reminds me of old school tattoo flash.