"Dreams Lavender" Dress

   Hello everybody!! I wanted to share with you my latest project, it´s a dress called "Lavender Dreams" , this dress is part of a triligy that shares the same design of lavender, the dress has a collar hand painted by me and then embroidered to highlight the picture.
  The other two pieces of this outfit are the tights also hand painted by me and the little hat that is also made by me. If you want to make any of those twon things, in my blog there are tutorials to make both. 
  Although the pattern of this dress isn´t vintage, (It´s a Burdastyle pattern) I think the look achieved her could pass for vintage , however.
   All details and tutorials, as well as close-up pictures on my blog,   Sewingadicta

A 1940's hat from Vintage Vogue

I recently finished one of the hats from Vintage Vogue V7464. Hat B to be precise. That pattern is pretty infamous for having poor instructions and I must say that I agree. It took me some time to figure the pattern out, though now when it is done, it really wasn’t that hard to make. I used green wool felt that is a bit on the thin side, but I starched the pattern pieces quite a lot after I cut them out and the hat holds up quite well. I’m not going to wear it when it rains, though.



In the hope that someone else may have an easier time with this pattern, I have made an illustrated guide on how I put it together. It’s in two parts and can be read here and here.

An Edwardian Blouse

Hello Ladies!  I realize this is more "vintage" than "retro", but I thought you would still like to see photographs of an "Anne of Avonlea" blouse that I sewed from the "Beatrix Shirtwaist Pattern" available at http://www.sensibility.com/ .  The pattern had many options to choose from, and I used the 3/4 length sleeve pattern piece so it could be worn year-round .  I love the way it turned out, and it reminds me of Anne Shirley's or Dianna Barry's heirloom outfits.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!  You can read more about it on my blog here. 

A Pattern and a Giveaway!

Hi all,

I'm hosting a pattern giveaway on my blog A Few Threads Loose. Stop on by for your chance to win this:

Have a great week!

Anna

Farmhouse Garden for Betsey Johnson

Hi all!
I made a new "fireman style" sun hat yesterday using Butterick 3850, a vintage Betsey Johnson accessories pattern from the 70s.

 I made it in a fun, summery citrus and checks fabric, and I like the way it came out.

More about my new hat, strawberry jam, and other pre-summer shenaningans at my blog, Farmhouse Garden. 

1920s Sun Bonnet

Hi everyone.

Here is a sun bonnet I made. I created the pattern from those cool and easy bonnets you see in the flapper magazines :)

Its in linen and lined in cotton.

All the progress is on the blog, and more finished images on NVL.

Pattern of the Day

This lovely little pattern for a vestee, purse, and hat all encrusted in sequins just makes me swoon.
I just thought I'd share so that we could all have a case of the vapors at once.

Happy Tuesday,
Anna
A Few Threads Loose

Wherein I Sew a Flight Cap

Recently I was lucky enough to add a really great World War II era flight cap sewing pattern to my collection. I had so much fun sewing it up for myself. I think I'll be making it again soon in a mini fascinator size!

I didn't have any 'olive drab' colored fabric in my stash so I went instead with a thick, black cotton and a yard of vintage gray double-fold bias tape.

The hat was a breeze. It came together perfectly within an hour, and had really great finishing instructions for the seams.

You can read more and see more pictures about this and my other projects on my blog A Few Threads Loose.

Happy Sewing!

Linen WWI hat for Man Month

I just finished remaking a cool WWI wool hat in a bright cool linen for a friend of mine. It was quite an interesting exercise.

You can read more about it here, and here.

Thanks!

VOGUE 7464

Hi everybody! This is my sewing attempt of VOGUE 7464, I did the one I point with the yellow arrow, more pictures in my blog

Metropolitan Hat

 My version of this early 20th century reproduction hat pattern:

 Folkwear patterns #269

A side view:

The fabric is a medium-weight cotton from Tessutti fabrics that I've had for a while. I didn't line it so it would stay floppy.  The hummingbird is vintage from l'ucello in Melbourne. If you make this pattern, I would suggest making a muslin to get used to the all the clipping and notching that needs to be done on the curves. I made a large and I would also leave a little extra seam allowance on the band next time - it didn't quite match up even with extra clipping so there's a little puckering on the back top. Otherwise, it was really easy - I made it in one night! More on my blog Turnips and Toile.

Henry's coat and hat

I made this charming little coat and hat for my son, Henry. The pattern is McCall's 6255 from 1962. It was a stunt outfit for pictures, so I skipped all the interesting tailoring instructions included in the pattern. It still took me two years to finish it!

(Photo by Jennifer Morrison Photography)

Details on my blog, Chronically Uncool.

Pillbox Hat Present

You'll have to forgive me- I didn't do my hair or pose for a proper photo, but here is the pillbox hat I made from Simplicity 4178. It is red silk (reclaimed from a skirt), and the trim around the bottom is vintage and from my late grandmother's stash. I made this as a Christmas gift for a family member who will be attending a formal party in January. As I was getting ready to leave the house the other day in this frigid weather we have had lately, I realized that I do not have anything but fleece hats. Well, now the recipient has a more formal hat to go with her get up, which she has not chosen yet.

The hat is finished with lining and a grosgrain ribbon. I also attached a "Merry Christmas" tag

The hat was really pretty easy to sew, although you have to be careful because 4178 is a one size pattern. I thought the hat seemed a bit small for my head, but I have a pretty big head, to be honest. Also, it depends on whether you favor the large pillbox styles or the small style that is simply perched upon the head. I favor anything that makes my head look a bit smaller, however, the recipient does not have a big head like I do, so I think it will be a very good fit. I would like to make this pattern again for myself, but I will probably increase the hat size a bit. 

My other project that I have been working on is a button down blouse from the sixties, and I am almost done. My problem is that my machine makes a pretty lousy buttonhole (could be operator error, but I have practiced a lot), and I can't bring myself to chew up the front of the blouse with it. I would like to get an auto/one step buttonholer to use with my machine, which is a newish, basic model Brother. Can I attach a Singer buttonholer? I also have a Singer 66 I could use- are the green case buttonholers for use with straight stitch? I see tons of vintage buttonholers on eBay, but I am scared that I will buy the wrong thing, as I have already done that once. Do any of you have any tips or recommendations? Thanks in advance for your help!

The beret to match the dress.

View C

More photos on NVL.

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

Hat Patterns

A while back, I acquired a box of late-1950's through mid-1960's Vogue hat patterns, almost all of which appear to be uncut and in factory folds; head sizes 21.5 or 22 (some say "one size").

However, it appears that I will never outgrow my childhood dislike of having things on my head, and late-1950's postdates my general time-period-of-interest. However, there really are some ridiculously cute patterns and somebody should use them who likes hats.

I'm listing them two-at-a-time on eBay, all with low starting bids and all with free shipping by first-class mail to the United States. I'm sure I would take a buck or two (at least) off, too, on multiple wins. No sales tax; I am not a dealer and from my personal pattern collection.

Seller ootek8599, 100% positive feedback.

Sewing machine woes!

So my machine s broken. Totally crazy. Cleaned it, had it in pieces & still, it will nt work properly, so it's being returned. Which will leave me sans sewing machine. GAH!

On a brighter note, I am attending a couple of 40s weekends & ordered these patterns to complete my outfit

I'm a sucker for hats so I can't wait to get that one! Perhaps B's mama will let me borrow her machine...

xdollydaydreamx