1940's jacket with circular skirt

I don't know much about this pattern, because I can't remember where I found the picture. My pattern-making teacher helped me make the pattern for the jacket. I did not add cuffs to my sleeves, because I forgot to make the pattern for the cuffs. Overall, I think it looks quite like the original. For more pictures visit my blog dartsandpins.

Greetings Sew Retro

Hello I am pleased to be joining you all here on Sew Retro, I am a bag maker who is learning to my clothes.

I can be found over on sewvala.blogspot.com

So far I have only made one item of clothing, using Vogue V8146. It is my first ever item of clothing. I made the jacket but as yet have not got around to the dress.

More details can be found here on my blog.

Thank you for inviting me to join Sew Retro. Vala.

Vintage inspired jacket

I while back I asked all of your to help me choose a fabric for a spring jacket I was drafting for myself. I got so many great suggestions and decided to go with a soft coral red linen and a lively cotton lining. I finished the jacket a few nights ago and wore it for the first time today!

=

Please read more on my blog Creative Accomplishments!

Advise please!

Hi everyone! I was hoping to get some input on what color to use for my self-drafted 1950's inspired fitted jacket. (Muslin not showing sleeves but the finished jacket will have those. Also, a thin belt at the waist and covered buttons).

I have decided to use a linen fabric as this will be a spring/summer jacket but have no idea in what color.  I would love to hear from you! Either comment here or visit my blog Creative Accomplishments!

1950's faux fur jacket

I have just finished a cropped jacket from Vintage Vogue, V2934, a re-print from 1950. I made it in faux fur and the pattern was very easy to make. It was also much easier to sew in faux fur than I had anticipated. However, I don't think the cut was the most flattering on me...


A few more pictures and some more information, can be found in my blog, here.

1970's Puff Sleeve Jacket!

I just purchased a box lot of vintage 60's and 70's patterns off of Ebay a few weeks ago and was really excited about this particular pattern. I really love the contrasting collar and cuffs! I've been feeling especially inspired by the fashions of the 70's, as my fiance and I are working our way through all of the Oscar Best Movie winners, and have finally made it mid-way through the 1970's!

This was a super-easy sew, as it was unlined and the collar was cut in one piece. I am looking forward to sewing a long-sleeved version soon!



You can read more about it if you like, on my blog

I can make a tailored jacket in a week!

I finally finished my jacket!

All info on the blog. Thanks to all those who followed my crazy progress!

The Betty Draper Suit

It must be Mad Men day in Sew Retroland! And here's my contribution...

So I was watching Mad Men a few weeks ago, when there was a shot of Betty wearing this:

I jumped off the sofa and went to check my patterns, and behold!

The pattern is Simplicity 7032 from 1967. I found it under a pile of rubbish at an antiques shop in Brighton and snapped it up for £1.50.

Here's my version:

More on my blog, including finished jacket post here and tutorial on sculpting scallops here :)

Can I make a tailored jacket in a week?

Hi everyone.

I haven't finished many projects lately, but with this new month brings a new adventure. I'm trying to complete a tailored tweed jacket from a 40s pattern for a get together this Thursday night!

Day One.

Day Two.

Day Three.

Day Four.

I'm four days in and its such an undertaking. If you are curious as to my progress and if I'll finish it, check out ye old blog!

Thanks everyone and happy sewing!

Lutterloh System International 1979 - Pics III

 

Third chapter with pics from the Lutterloh System dated 1979...

more to come on my blog!!

PS: I am holding a little funny giveaway....come and try to win!!

Early 1960s dress and bolero - Simplicity 2550

I made this dress a few years ago and wanted to share it with you all. It's an early sixties pattern I found somewhere ( I don't remember where); Simplicity 2550.

I've also made the full skirted version, although I don't wear it as often.

There's more information about this dress on my blog.












I've also gotten a bit farther on that lace sweater. Almost finished with the back!

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. 

Interview!

So I have an interview today & I made an outfit especially!

It's from Simplicity 5398 (1964) and a bolero from a 1940s playsuit pattern to cover the tattoos (we must think practically about these things!!). Please don't ban me for mixing eras in such a fashion! ;)

Read more over on my blog!

Oh, and wish me luck!!!! :D

More Simplicity 1412

So this time I made the dress & the jacket especially for my interview today. More information over at my blog, including a special guest appearance by Mao the cat...

New jacket, new fabric!

I have the sewing bug!! After the success of my Simplicity 5398 pattern, I thought I would try a pattern a friend lent me months ago (about time!!) - Simplicity 1412;

At the moment I am totally obsessed with having amultitude of jackets so went for the little one in this pattern. Find out more about the pattern & finished product on my blog.

I'm not sure if I should make this or the Simplicity 5398 with the new fabric I bought either. Help me out guys!!!

New Patterns!!

I am so excited about my new purchases!!

Unfortunately as my forum is down I have noone to show these off to & tell me how amazing they are (the boyfriend is really no comparison for vintage loving women...)

Read more on my blog

xdollydaydreamx

The Good, the Bad, and the Extremely Unfortunate

It's been far too long since I last shared, and I have no good excuse. I have at least a half dozen things I've finished, so I'll parse them out in a few posts over the next couple of weeks, and 4 more things that just need finishing.

First, the Bad (modeled by my homely, homemade assistant, whose freakish figure makes it look even worse):



This dress (Butterick 6582) fought me the whole time. It's one of those I look at and only see the flaws. The bodice was too droopy, so I had to shorten the straps, which I then mangled, so I covered the seams with a faux-bow tie thing. This covered the flaws, but the ties are now very thick and the arm holes are tight. The front seam is (very obviously in the photo) wonky--it's both crooked and puckered. The pleats...it's a blessing the belt hides where they meet the bodice.

The jacket is actually a bodice from a different pattern, Simplicity 3829, and not all that bad, except for my attempt at homemade covered buttons. They're not terrible, but the technique needs a little work.



The Good is the belt, Vogue 9648 (the bottom view on the patten envelope). I'm quite pleased with it, and have worn it with other things. The size is way too small but it was a breeze to resize, and it went together fairly easily. The one trick was finding a good weight canvas to use as interfacing. I left off the "tail" of the bow and cut the bow a tad bit bigger to make it look more dressy.



And the Etremely Unfortunate? The petticoat. I'm not even going to show you that one. I made it up as I went, sans pattern, and, well, it does the job, but the less said about it the better.

Next post I'll share one of my more sucessful projects!

LibrariAnon (Formerly Peregrine)

vintage jacket long time in the making

Happy 2009 everyone! Like many sewing bloggers, one of my goals this year is to finish off my unfinished garments that are clogging up my sewing space and psyche, so I'm off to a good start.

This vintage Simplicity pattern is 37 years old and I took nearly that long to finish making it! Just kidding, it took me 3 years to get around to finishing it which is just shameful given how simple it is and the fact that it only took a few hours to finish it off which I could have easily done 3 years ago when I started it. Oh dear, I must work on my attention span now that I'm all growned up.....

Anyway I've made the jacket from this pattern in a textured silk/cotton fabric in glorious purple berry colour. The fabric is just gorgeous and the simple lines of the jacket let the texture be the main feature of the jacket. I am thinking of some sort of embellishment, but maybe just a fancy brooch will liven it up when I wear it.

The sleeve caps on this jacket were an absolute pain to ease in - I quite often find that there is more ease in vintage patterns than modern patterns so I commonly have this problem. I got there in the end although the lining is another story, good thing no one but me can see how puckered that is!

Here is a lame coathanger picture, the best I can do since I'm currently 41.5 weeks pregnant and this doesn't fit around my extremely 'padded' body at this point in time:

Fingers crossed that I get back to my pre-preggo weight so that I can actually wear this now that it's finished! More details on my blog at http://www.loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com/

vintage dresses make me stand up straight and be a lady

I made both the dress and cropped jacket of this lovely 1959 Simplicity pattern. With a nipped in waist and soft pleats I have to stand up straight and hold my stomach in to show the dress off in all its glory, but it's so worth it......

I did make the matching belt as shown on the pattern envelope, but the print was too busy for it too be noticeable, so instead I've worn it here with a plain belt. I think this is the first time I've ever made all the pieces of a pattern.

More details can be seen on my blog.

Faux Retro

The pattern for this jacket is not vintage, but it has very vintage lines, and was partially inspired by Livebird's post on here a week or so ago, so I thought I'd post it. I'd been waffling back and forth over whether to make the band collar view or the peter pan collar view, and the contrast collar on her so-cute dress decided me.

The jacket is made of black fleece with the contrast collar done in a grey and black houndstooth flannel that was left over from a jumper that I made in October (details on that are here, if you are interested). The pockets are also lined in the flannel, and the front is edged in it. that was a "design element" that I had to come up with on the spur of the moment when I realized that I'd messed up the facing. I made this jacket unlined when it is designed to be lined, and I didn't realize the full ramifications of that. Overall I'm not so happy with the way it turned out, but it's really only a wearable muslin for a planned version of the jacket in corduroy lined with minky.

I lengthened the sleeves a bit, as I actually wear jackets to keep warm, and thus the 3/4 sleeve jacket just doesn't make sense to me. Together, the flannel jumper and the jacket make a very cozy winter ensemble.

The best part to me is the buttons, which I got at a local fabric store. They're giant pound symbols.