ooobop! 70s dress blue

I am very happy to be posting my first Sew Retro post. This also happens to be my first vintage dress from an original 1970s pattern.

I first made a toile last week which was hugely useful in highlighting pitfalls before I started the real thing. Main lesson learnt: do not shorten an A-line skirt from the hem... especially when you need to ditch 6 inches!

More details on the toile here and more about the finished dress here.

Lutterloh System International 1979 - Pics

Hi everyone!!

I hope you liked the prevous post about the Lutterloh System...

I just wanted to share few pics of the patterns I can't wait to sew!! :)

 

 If you want to see more of them come and visit my blog!!

Hope to see you!! :)

Thrifting and Hoarding to Feed the Sewing Obsession

I know many of us share a common obsession with sewing patterns and vintage notions that sends us out scouring the thrift stores every chance we get. Well, recently I scored pretty big in my opinion when I found a pile of vintage sewing books (one with buried treasure), knitting patterns, and notions at a couple of local shops. I would love to share some photos with you, but don't want to hog the whole page here at Sew Retro. If you would like to see my goodies, head on over to Farmhouse Garden and have a looksie! Here is a photo from a Bernat knitting pattern book I found:

My waist hasn't been this small since I was 8!

dreamy sewing

My friend Zephorah and I love to sew, SO we decided to do a vintage inspired shoot, with my fab Montgomery Ward Signature machine from 1971. Check out a dreamy interview with Zephorah and more photos on my blog.

model: zephorah photos: lesley w. dress: 16 Stone vintage

That 70's Skirt

I found a Lutterloh supplement from the 70's in my local op shop (for 50c) ... but I wasn't too sure what it was until I got home and googled it! I can't believe what an awesome, simple pattern drafting system this is :) This skirt is my first Lutterloh attempt, and I love it ... it fits great (using only my hip measurement!) and it was so, so easy.

I blogged about it here

Linda :)

Simplicity 7381: 1976 Short Kimono Sleeve Top

Finally! I'm back to sewing after my son was born last October and it feels great!!! This is one of the few things that I've had the chance to make for myself during the last month.

First of all, I want to proclaim my love for the illustration on the pattern envelope for Simplicity 7381, especially the illustration of the lady in the beret with her matching turtleneck top and wide leg pants and long pendant necklace. She just oozes bohemian cool circa 1976!

For this top, I used a colorful vintage 1970s faux patchwork print cotton fabric. The contrasting sleeve and neckbands are made from cotton chambray and are topstitched with white thread. There is a zipper in the back, but I almost never use it since it’s easy to just pull the top on over my head. I would probably omit the zipper if I ever decide to make this again. I highly recommend this pattern if you’re looking for a quick and relatively easy 1970s style top – it took me roughly 3 hours to finish. It’s one of those designs that’s perfect for spring and summer, but would also work in the fall and winter as a layering piece since it’s pretty roomy.

I've also blogged about this on my own blog as well as BurdaStyle.

Another Introduction

Greetings everyone.  My name is Linda, and I'm happy to be a new member of the Sew Retro community.    To repeat what every new member says:  I've been lurking for a while now, and finally decided to sign up.  I've just started blogging myself, so come visit me.  I'm a little slow to get started, but hopefully blogging will motivate me to sew more, which will give me something to blog about.  You can find me at:  http://fairevergreensewsandsomuchmore.blogspot.com/

I'm more or less a life-long sewist... which is much longer than I'll admit to.  My favorite victim  beneficiary is my lovely daughter.  My most recent project for her started out in life as Simplicity 9806 circa 1970s.

By the time I got finished with it, here's what it looked like:

Honest! It is the same pattern.  The story is the first entry in my blog.  She finally received it yesterday, after the volcano and customs conspired to make it late for the wedding to which she planned to wear it. 

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.