Hi

I'm Susan - new to Sew Retro (and blogging).  Here's my current sewing project, begun yesterday.  I'm making the dress in a mid-grey suiting.

I'll be posting pictures showing the progress. http://snippa-snippets.blogspot.com/

Hiya Ladies and Gents!

My name is Bonita, and I am very pleased to be able to introduce myself to all the lovely people at Sew Retro!  I must confess right off the bat that I have virtually “little to none” sewing experience, and that the only thing that I have sewn{that I can wear} are these pyjama pants right here!

They are most definitely not vintage, but they are comfy!  However, I have many plans to rectify this most severe problem{yes, severe!} and I aim to do it with the help of my trusty, new~to~me Bernina 830.  Let me introduce you to Charlotte!



We have yet to begin our adventures together{what is it they say about the best laid plans again?  > <}, but I am hoping to do so very shortly so that I may actually achieve my goal of sewing myself a dress before the year is out.  I looking forwards to sharing my stories with you all, and definitely picking up as much sewing how~to as I possibly can.  In the mean time you can find me over at Depict This! where I ruminate on vintage, sewing, art, photography and all the random creativity that comes in between.  See you soon!  ^ u ^


xox,

bonita

Introduction

Hello fellow sewers! I'm Ginny, from Cumbria in the UK, and I have a passion for sewing. I sew most days, and my current passion is for vintage, and 1950s styles in particular. I sew mainly for myself and my one year old daughter, using patterns old, new and self-drafted. This summer I made a resolution to make myself better clothes and work through my pattern and fabric stashes, and you can follow my progress in my blog Buttons and Bobbins.
 
I have lots of projects just finishing up, so keep an eye out for photos soon! In the meantime, here is my most recent make, a 1950s "Grows With Her" jumper dress, pattern courtesy of Bramcost Publications, made in a rainbow cotton plaid.

Front view

From the back you can see the adjustable ties that add length as she grows, and it also has a deep hem that can be progressively let down for an extra few inches.

Hello - An Introduction

Hi! This is just a quick introductory note.  I'm Shelly and I live in Melbourne Australia.   I'm not new to sewing but I am relatively new to blogging and I write about my sewing projects over at Shelly's D.I.Y. Style!    I've been a lurker at Sew Retro for a little while now enjoying the posts and being inspired by others.  I have no picture to upload since I've not yet sewn any vintage patterns.  However, I thought it was time I started as I have a great love for all things vintage with the styles I like  most being from the 1930s - 1950s.  I love seeing all your gorgeous vintage creations and look forward to sharing with everyone on this great blog.

Pleated full skirt

Hi guys! I'm Beata from Melbourne, and this is my first SewRetro post, though I am a long time reader. I only recently started sewing, and have only just started a blog, Tatulinka's Tales, to motivate myself to sew more often - I completed my last project about 6 months ago! My next project that I'm planning on is this pleated skirt from one of my mum's old "Handmade" magazines:

Hopefully I'll be posting more about that soon, as well as some of my past projects. Come over and have a look!

An Introduction

Hello! I'm Rebecca and I blog over at Tales of a Wannabe Seamstress. I am excited to finally be part of the Sew Retro community after being a lurker for quite some time. There is so much inspiration here with all of the lovely garments that the contributors make. I haven't been sewing terribly long ( about a year and a half), and I sew with both modern and vintage patterns. I look forward to working with more vintage patterns though, and posting my creations here!

Introduction - Erin @ crazyncrafty

Hi there.  I'm Erin and I've been a lurker on the site for a while now.  I've been a bit intimidated by the whole retro sewing thing in the past, but I am hoping to branch out more and try to incorporate more of the aesthetic into my creations.  I've seen so many projects on this site that inspire me.

I blog over here and welcome you all to check out what I've been working on.  I do a few different types of crafting so it is a bit eclectic.  Thanks for having me!

My Sew Retro Introduction

Hello, My Name is Jenny (around the web I usually go by Jenny J Kerr) and I am a vintage lover and avid sewer. I've been a reader of Sew Retro for years and never had the courage to apply to join, but I decided to go for it and now here I am. I sew all sorts of things, from ren faire costumes to speaker covers, lol, but my favorite thing to make is what I call "Vintage Stitchery" Clothes made from vintage patterns with vintage materials. I collect old patterns, fabric and sewing odds and ends as many of you do I am sure. I used to make clothes for myself, but I got a little too round to pull off most vintage styles, so now I play around at children's clothes or clothes for people other than myself.

(my pattern case that I bought at an antiques auction)

My favorite periods are the late 1930's through the early 1960's. I also love Elizabethan, Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian. I like to live my life with a vintage twist. Almost everything hubby and I own was bought from Estate sales, thrift stores or antique auctions. We watch a lot of the living history shows on BBC and we love places like colonial Williamsburg for inspiration on how to do things in an authentically historic manner. I have a blog (KERRFECT!) where I try to share our life and some of the more interesting things I come across on the web, not all of it vintage, but much of it has a hint of the past about it. I post regularly so there is always something new to see! We try traditional recipes, decor, I share my thrift shopping finds and right now I have a series of posts that are scans from a WWII Victory Garden booklet. I post about my crafting and sewing and I also post "Inspirational" screen captures from films, I call them my "Frocks on Film" posts. The latest was Far From Heaven which is set in the 50's and had tons of great clothes, including a hat that was almost identical to one that I myself own!




As I said above, I like to sew with vintage materials, which often times means I need to reuse objects that already exist. Some of my favorite things to reuse are sheets! I know I always kick the top sheet off the bed as soon as I'm in it, lol so I always try to look for those. I must not be the only one because whenever I find a set, the flat sheet has almost no wear to it! LOL. I used sheets for the top two dresses and thrifted items for the bottom dress and the hat. I recently won 3rd place in the NBC/Etsy Art of ReUse contest and my upcycling efforts were featured in Altered Couture magazine last year. I don't consider myself to be a great seamstress or designer, I just really, really enjoy it.





If you'd like to read more about anything mentioned above or about myself, you can visit my blog.

New Contributor to Sew Retro!

Hello, everyone! I'm Amanda from Virginia, USA and I've been sewing for about 2 years now. Very excited to be part of Sew Retro since I get so much inspiration here!

I'm an architectural historian so I work in the past on a daily basis :) I use old photos a lot to help understand when parts of a building were altered, so becoming more knowledgeable about period clothing has helped me date photos by what people are wearing in them. I particularly love classic mid-century styles and dresses, but really want to make more separates this year to create a more versatile wardrobe.

I blog at Sewin' in the Rain (can you tell by that name that I also love old movies?!). Below are photos of my 1940s "Seabee" Trousers that I made from a Decades of Style pattern.

Thanks, and I look forward to posting here!  ~Amanda D.

Hello Sew Retro

Hello there !
My name is Catherine and I am a mostly self taught sewer who likes to dabble and make things albeit with varying degrees of success. I enjoy reading about and seeing the pictures of the clothes that everyone makes and thought that I should perhaps share my makings with others.Anyway,if you have a few spare minutes have a look at my blog.

Hi :-)

Hi Everyone! My name is Sam and I write a sewing/quilting/vintage blog called All Things Quilty... and Sewy!

I am thrilled to be part of the Sew Retro blog and am looking forward to sharing my sewing projects and vintage finds with you all.

Let me tell you a bit about me :-)

I am an Aussie girl currently living in Sydney. I live with my high school sweetheart of 12 years. We have been married for the last two. We share our home with a silver tabby cat called Prada (I take complete responsibility for the name). I am lucky enough to occupy the spare room in our apartment, and make use of it as a sewing room.

I first began sewing during high school. I hated it. During sewing class a friend and I would hide in the trimmings room adjacent to our classroom. It would always be a good half an hour before our teacher would notice us missing, and this realisation was quickly followed by her bursting through the trimming room door and yelling at us as we ran back to our sewing machines. During the times we would actually stay in the classroom, I would often make stupid sewing mistakes. I remember once painstakingly hand stitching something together, only to get up when the bell rang to find the item sewn to my school skirt...

Time has since past and I am now a fully fledged quilter and recreational seamstress.

I look forward to getting to know you all, and I hope you enjoy my posts.

Sam xox

Introduction

Hi there! My name is Reana Louise and I'm new to the Sew Retro community. I'm from Brisbane Australia, spend lots of time reading SewRetro, and this year I'm teaching myself to sew! You can find me at my blog which I've created to document my journey, and waffle on about miscellaneous things.

I've just sewn my first ever vintage pattern (that's it above ^). Although very simple it was incredibly rewarding and I can't wait to do more. I'll probably be asking lots of silly little questions to you expert sewers, and hopefully I can contribute too!

Looking forward to meeting you all,

Reana

Introduction

My name is Steph & I've been looking around on Sew Retro for a while, so I thought I may as well contribute a few of my own projects. Whilst I make a bit of modern clothing, I often find myself drawn to designs from the 50's & 60's. I'm also very interested in some of the vintage construction techniques.

I've been sewing for about 6 years now. I started when I was in university because I wanted to make dresses to wear to balls & parties, (I didn't have the money to buy them ready-made). I've really gotten into sewing in the last 2 or 3 years though.

I keep track of all of my projects on my blog, Orchids In May.

The above picture of me, was one of my most recent vintage projects, Vogue V1137. I made it using an embroidered wool. Whilst it was fairly simple to actually sew, it took FOREVER to cut out as I was trying to get the embroidery to match up perfectly at each of the seams. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Butterick 2194 children's dress

Hi! My name is Rhelynn, and this the first time I've posted to Sew Retro! I have been sewing most of my life but only began making clothes once my daughter was born. I bought a Singer Advanced when she was five months old, and give it a workout several times a week. All of my daughter's clothing is handmade, mostly from vintage patterns. It is hard to keep up with her rapid growth and a learning curve! She is a happy model and very opinionated about what 'Mumum' makes for her. I have made a few vintage things for myself, as well, and continue to improve. I've loved following along and have taken a lot of inspiration from all of your wonderful blogs and projects!


This is Butterick 2194, size 2, undated but circa 1960

I needed, and thought I was working with, a size 3! But, Butterick patterns allow a 5/8 seam allowance. I compared this size 2 to a similar modern size 3 and found that with a 1/4 inch seam allowance they were nearly the same size. I was going to make view 'B', the girl in the blue dress. Then my daughter steered me towards this cow print fabric instead of the blue fabric. She said 'yuck' to the blue and 'kiss' to the cows. So - cow dress it was. The cow print is definitely not 'vintage' - but I hope that's ok with you!

The trickiest part was gathering the side skirt to a flat front bodice, and putting in the tie belts between the bodice parts before attaching the skirt.

Finished and on!

I might make it for her again, but cut the neckline deeper on the second try!

a few more pictures in the blog post on the project
Come visit us at KnitOwl blog :)

An introduction...

Hi Everyone,

My name is Suzie and I've been lurking on Sew Retro for quite awhile. I'm mostly interested in patterns from the 30's to the early 60's (although I think all eras have some wonderful styles to offer). I haven't been sewing for very long but I hope to one day have a wardrobe full of home-sewn clothing. I have recently finished my first vintage sewing project, a 1950s blouse pattern, Vogue 9278. Here's how it turned out:

The pattern:

For a few more pictures check out my blog: Modern Suzie

Thanks,

Suzie

An Introduction, and an Entry to the Fabric Treasury Halloween Competition

Hi everyone! My name is Lynne and I'm a 20 year old budding vintage enthusiast from D.C.!

I've been seriously sewing for perhaps the past seven years, after deciding maybe mainstream fashion wasn't for me. My love of vintage and reproduction actually got started when a friend and I decided to plunge headfirst into the world of corsetry, and shortly thereafter, the Renaissance Festival. It wasn't until yet another friend started taking me to a local swing dance night that my interests were anything before 1890!


(one of the swing ensembles in progress)

But, now that I've been exposed to it, I've been diving headfirst into recreating and reinterpreting 40's-50's fashions for swing dancing and other life experiences.

To follow me and my adventures in vintage fashion and life, check out my blog, Little Missile and the Big Bang.

For my contest entry, I offer up this year's Halloween costume. I played (and will be playing again) the revamped Silk Spectre from the Watchmen film that came out last year. I've always been a huge fan of comics, and when they revamped the original Silk Spectre into a 40's pin-up, I was all over the costume design. You can read more about the planning of the costume here at my blog.


(The victory rolls started sagging a little as the day progressed)

Hello!

I am so happy to be here! My name is Syrena and I am a home seamstress who is fascinated with the 1940's, 1950's and early 1960's. I am a stay at home mom and housewife with traditional values that reflect those of the mid 20th century when women were homemakers & men were the breadwinners. My New Year's resolution for 2010: sew more & make more of my own clothes to wear and eventually replace anything RTW with my own sewings.
I have recently created a blog to not only document my sewing endeavors, but to also interact with others who share the same passion for vintage.  Unfortunately, as with all New Year's Resolutions, I dragged my feet and am just now getting started (in October!).  Better late than never.... Visit me at:

http://balcsgirllovesvintage.blogspot.com/

An introduction: [Patty the snug bug]

Hi all! I'm Patty and am jumping into the sew retro pool too! I'm a 30-something (sigh, for a few more years, anyway.) I live in Minneapolis, where it is cold, cold, cold and I like to sew. And knit. Listen to audiobooks, play with my dog and husband, Mr. Bug. And vacuum.

I'm super-drawn to styles of the 50's, some of the 40's, some of the 60's. The 20's, not at all! I also love polka dots, mary janes, bows, full circle skirts, fitted bodices and I have an all new love for pencil skirts. My inner-style is probably pure Lucille Ball crossed with Minnie Mouse, but my street style is South Minneapolis house wife and Liz Lemon. With a dash of Minnie Mouse. I aspire to more mouse, less lemon. I love the shape and style of the late 50's/early 60's and started looking for more, more, more after having a vintage-style wedding earlier this year. There were crinolines. I made the maid of honor's dress and then almost made her trade with me so I could wear it down the aisle instead of the ridiculous white one!

Here's a few pictures of retro-inspired projects that I've worked on and am extra fond of. Note on the apron... this was an adapted-from-a-dress-pattern apron with a full circle skirt and I happen to be having a GIVEAWAY (ends 10/27/10) on my blog for fabric and a pattern to make your own- feel free to stop by and enter for some wonderful apron fabric (polka dots!), rick rack and a pattern!

   

You can find me at my blog, on Facebook or drop me a note!

  

Rachel Red Lips loves Sew Retro

Bonjour to my fellow seamstresses! Je m'appelle Rachel Red Lips; I've just joined Sew Retro and couldn't be more excited to get to know a sweet, supportive, and active group of seamstresses with a love for vintage patterns, fabrics, and notions. As avid sewists, it makes sense to look to vintage clothing, prints, and patterns as inspiration because a great deal of care, skill, and style went into making garments of the past, as opposed to the shoddy mass production which takes place today. I take great pride and pleasure in envisioning designs, scouting vintage materials, reconstructing garments, and sewing one of a kind garments and I strive to further my sewing education with more classes and practice. Until then, here's a look at a series of vintage inspired jumpers that I'm currently working on. Originally I used a vintage pattern to make a lightweight, silky jumper (shown above) then I lost the pattern pieces! So, I ripped the seams out and made my own pattern from the pieces...as crazy as it sounds, it's also a really fun way to learn how things are constructed! 

Here is the finished product - a one of a kind jumper made from vintage jantzen fabric. I've listed it for sale here, but plan to add more to my new shop! You can read more about my sewing projects by clicking here. 

Thanks for letting me join Sew Retro; I'm so excited to see the progress you all make in your sewing endeavors! Good luck, and stop by my blog to say hi sometime! 

xoxo,

Rachel Red Lips

Hello!

Hi all!  I'm excited to be invited to participate on this blog.  Some of you may know me as Drsue on Pattern Review.  I love sewing vintage items and am happy to find a like minded group.  I'm afraid I don't  have a personal blog.  I've debated getting one (technically I do have a couple but I've never posted on them lol.)  You can bet I will post here all vintage items I put together.