First, some background. Four years ago, right after I got my sewing machine, but before I started really sewing, I attempted to make this dress, the one shown in blue. I did such a horribly sloppy job cutting it, the skirt was all I could save from the pattern. There were literally inches of fabric that did not line up on the back of the originally cut bodice.

After about two years, I finished it as just a skirt, but it was pretty hideous- there’s no other way to describe it. Fast forward to this weekend. I pulled out the last of my black cotton broadcloth from my stash and I re-cut the bodice, this time going for the view on the right in white. I ripped out all the seams of the skirt and ironed them all. I re-stitched everything with French seams. I made a few changes to the design as I went (you can see them listed here on my blog) and when I was finished this afternoon, I had something not only wearable, but likeable.

The empire waist I ended up with and the cap sleeves along with the almost A-line skirt shape give this a kind of 70′s feel, similar to what you see here and here, though I think the shorter length is reminiscent of children’s dresses.

My fabric choices are far from that era though, and if I did this again, I’d still make the same changes I did to this now, but would choose less loud and busy pattern for my fabrics- probably a solid color. Either way, I have a feeling my altered version of this dress are more my style than the original intended design.

I’ve also just won a lot of 60 women’s patterns off of eBay for about $15. All I know about the lot is most of them are uncut, so maybe I’ll find some treasures in there when they arrive! I may have a pattern buying problem.

Hello, this is my first posting on here and I want to share with you my first ‘vintage’ make.  I have been sewing and knitting since I was a young girl but this is the first time I have drawn out my own pattern quite like this one.  I recently bought a fab 1950′s book (via pdf) from Subversive Femme on Etsy.  It is  by Enid Gilchrist and has loads of designs to draw up as in the picture shown.  At first viewing the patterns look quite daunting but they are not.  You just need a set square, tape measure, a pencil and paper – I used baking parchment.

I needed to change some of the measurements a little and found this easy enough as the book details how to do this.  I also made a ‘mock up’ of the bodice which I was glad to have done as some tweaks were made to this too.

The cotton fabric was bought in Paris from Marche Saint Pierre, very near to the Sacre Coeur.  It’s a fabric shop on 5 floors.  Needless to say my eyes were popping out of my head when my partner took me there!  So much fabric to choose from!

I chose to make a petticoat to go underneath my dress.  This pattern is also in the same book.  The dress hangs much nicer with the petticoat and I decided to put broderie anglais lace at the bottom.  I could have added net but didn’t want my dress to stick out too much so lace is great.

When making this dress I also completed my first invisible zip and looked on You tube to help me.  It actually wasn’t too difficult and I’m very pleased with the result.

I’m loving my new dress and feel inspired to make some more clothes in this way.  I hope you like it too?

Okay, so I guess she’s not a baby and she’ll be transitioning into the toddler room in one month, but I wanted to share the sweetest little dress I made out of Butterick 3949. There’s no date on the pattern, but I’m estimating it’s from the 1980s.  I used a batik print and I think it worked out really well.  The prairie bonnet is modified from a book called Sweet Booties.

You can read more about this at my blog.

Just a small post about my day job, and the lovely stuff we have created.

James and the ladies

check out my blog for more

Hello, We Sew Retro-ers!  I just finished a project and I am so happy with how it turned out that I decided to share it here!

I made this skirt for a special event held at the Higgins Armory museum in Worcester, MA. I used McCall’s #1851, which has been in my collection for a while but honestly, I never had any intention of making it up. . . Until I found occasion to visit a museum that contains nothing but armour and swords!

More pictures and info can be seen on my blog.

Hey YAWLL!
It’s been a long time, well ive actually made something wearable but unfortunately its not for me its for my boyf as a valentines prezzie awww. <3
I used kwik sew 3506 i cut a medium it was massive i took in a couple of inches. the most annoying bit was the facings-i get mixed up with them alot left right front back confusion. as it was valentines and i wanted to put my stamp on it, i tried to stitch I <3 U on the inner pocket flap.
does anyone know of a good book to help the drafting of muslins, converting measurements to drafted clothing? and not hating the fabrics i have thats a big problem for me. but i feel newly inspired by all the gorgeous pieces that you ladies are creating

hope to see you all soon

As the back piece now has nothing to hold it in shape, we will insert a box pleat later on.

Ensure you cut the back piece on the fold also.

Now this part may seem unconventional, but it’s how I measured the cross back! If you have a dressmaker’s mannequin, then this would be the perfect time to use it! Using the discarded half of the back cut a second piece from tracing paper so you have a full back piece.

 

With a measuring tape, measure the length from the shoulder to where you want the strap to end. I again used my bra as a guide and aimed to have the strap attach where my bra strap attaches to its back. Make sure you also mark these attachment points onto the back piece as we will refer to these when applying the facings.

Transfer these measurements to tracing paper or directly to the fabric remembering to add 1.5cm (5/8 inch) seam allowance

Now going back to the front and back pieces, on the tracing paper trace your facings, cut, pin and cut your fashion fabric.

The facing for the back piece will need to be shorter depending on how deep the box pleat is. You shorten it later on once you’ve inserted the pleat

Sew the facing on with right sides together around the arms, back and neck.

Leave the facing open at the strap insert point on the back and at the shoulders

Voila!

Step 5 – Shoulder Straps and finishing

Take your 4 strap pieces and sew down either side, turn out, press and top stitch

As we cut them slightly smaller than the shoulder, they should easily insert into the hole, make sure you turn in the raw edge, stitch and press.

First posting! Proud of how my retro ’46 came out. Only my third dress ever to make and the first with a lining. Used gabardine as recommended on the pattern and it was easy to work with and provided the right weight. Added some button details to make it my own from a stash I picked up at an antique shop in Hot Springs Arkansas.

For the first time in my life I’m flying to the other half of the world. I’m going on holiday to Miami! And boy, do I look forward to that! I’ll be arriving there June 3rd and am staying for almost 2 weeks. Now, ofcourse, I must be checking out some cool vintage stores and markets. And what about great fabric stores? Recommendations anyone?

Well I took a few trips to some 2nd hand stores in my area and came up with some fantastic finds this weekend! several vintage and 1 modern pattern that were all 1.00 a piece! they are all complete…one of them is a little wrinkly but they have all instructions and everything included. the top left one has got to be my favorite!

The top left one is my favorite!

I also found a nice little stash of vintage and modern fabrics while shopping…a lightweight burgundy wool (I believe..not 100% sure on that) a semi-sheer cotton with flowers, a black/blue checked rayon/polyester blend, and some fabulous vintage curtains with diagonal strips and flowers on them. Super excited…there is enough of the curtain fabric, and the polyester to make dresses out of each but the others were only about a yard and a half each…but hey for a total of 6 dollars on fabric I think I got a steal.

The package of stockings was only .10 so I couldn't pass them up...they are the wrong color but the picture on the package is great to look at

Which leads me to the project I just completed! a fun wiggle skirt out of the burgundy fabric that I am rather proud of. I used this modern pattern and lengthened the hem to just below knee length, brought the sides in rather than keeping it completely straight and repositioned the waistband so it sat higher on my waist.

Like most of my sewing projects as a beginner it had a few issues…for instance when sewing the darts on the front I sewed one set to the right side and the other to the wrong side. It was rather upsetting I had to very carefully use the seam ripper there! Lol But at the end it turned out alright…I need to fix the back a bit the top of the zipper gapes before you get to the hook and eye. I think all i need to do is reposition it? not 100% sure on  that one any advice on would be appreciated. I also sewed my first button hole and added a white vintage button to the back of the waistband…the button hole isn’t perfect either but hey…I tried.

as mentioned...not perfect but still proud. Side Note: my bottom is not that wrinkly..the shirt is just bunched underneath Lol.

I also thrifted the lace shirt for .50 the picture doesn’t show it but its actually a light gold color.

All in all I would say my thrifting trip and sewing as for the week of 5/20/13 was pretty successful

This past weekend our friends got married in a gorgeous little ceremony on the Gold Coast.  When the wedding invitation first arrived I decided I would make myself a dress to wear.  I spent a while searching for inspiration and after getting some advice on twitter about where to get some nice red lace I picked up some gorgeous lace with a scalloped design from Darn Cheap Fabrics.  Now before I go on I must say the ladies from Darn Cheap were a massive help.  I had multiple emails with two lovely ladies and they sent me swatches of all the laces they had in stock.  Once I had decided I ordered via email and my fabric arrived the very next day.  Now I am not getting paid to say this I just love finding a great shop with affordable fabric and great service!  Now onto the dress….

The dress is a hybrid of two patterns.  The bodice is from vintage Simplicity 5343 and the skirt and sleeves came from New Look 6723.  I had used this bodice before when making my sewing dare dress and I knew that it fit well so I decided to use it again rather than having to fit the bodice from the New Look pattern.  Also, the new look bodice has princess seams and I didn’t feel like trying to match the lace on those seams.  As the skirt was partially gathered it was really easy to match it up to the alternate bodice.  I also lengthened the skirt pattern a little bit.

The dress is lined in a red cotton poplin.  After cutting all the pattern pieces I hand basted the lining and lace together and worked through construction as if they were one piece of fabric.  I took a lot of time on this one to make sure the insides were just as neat as the outside.  I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out!  I used bias binding the hem the lining and for the neckline.  The perfect finishing touch was the hand picked zipper which I finished sewing in at 9pm Friday night.  I am so happy with how this dress turned out and that I managed to get it finished in time.  For my first time working with lace I think I did pretty well!

 A little over a year ago, I posted here about some fabric and patterns I found thrifting. A few days ago, upon receipt of the final part I needed to get my lovely 221-1 Centennial Featherweight actually sewing, I decided to put that fabric to some good use. (Why can’t I un-bold this? Aw, that’s ok! It looks important this way!)

This is the pic I posted here in January of 2012, when I found three yards of this fab vintage Fun-Shus athletic themed cotton.

I chose to mate it with this pattern, thrifted within the last few months.

And, I made it up on this pretty, thrifted long distance, which hums like a bee. I acquired it last month, and I spent several hours bringing it back to life, as it was all but seized and missing a few parts.

And I came up with this…

Don’t fear the shoulder pad, my dears. And can I just say it? I love a wing-y collar. I do!

Innards. Collar and button placket interfaced with an old cotton bed sheet. Edges serged. A fair amount of hand-stitching. Me-made shoulder pads using Casey’s tutorial.

I have a few more pics over at my blog, and the usual rambling that only sounds drunken. Stop by any time.

After my favorite pair of store-bought cigarette-style pants had too many mends to be functional anymore, I decided I needed to bite the bullet and sew my very first pair of pants. When Gertie released a pattern for high-waisted capris through Butterick, I knew I had found what I was looking for!

How I Knew Fit Would Be… Interesting

Following the method outlined in Fit for Real People, I had created a “body graph” that helped me map my body and compare it to the big pattern companies. Much to my surprise, I discovered my left leg was chubbier than my right!

My body graph.

Once I did my muslin, I immediately could see excess fabric on my right leg. Thanks to the body graph, I knew why so I could fix it!

Learn more about the body graph method and how it impacts how I fit. I also have written a limerick in ode to Chubs, my left leg that’s a 1/4 of an inch bigger!

The Finished Product 

Here’s my pants, in all their glory!

Butterick 5895

I also sewed a 1950s blouse, Simpicity 2195, with some reproduction feedback cotton. I think it looks pretty smashing with the pants.

Simplicity 2195

Take a gander at the full outfit together.

Now I can say I have conquered pants! I liked the pattern so much I went out and bought fabric in denim for summer and a plaid wool for winter, so I’ll be making these lovelies again soon. Happy sewing!

I’m not much of a country girl but I couldn’t resist adding a bit of western flare to my blue chambray dress!

I used Simplicity 2851 from 1949. I just love late 40s looks!

I used these cute metal buttons with stars and faux top stitching. And of course, it needed a self fabric belt!

More photos and construction details here.

Hello Happy Sewers! I’m here today with my Chardon skirt, a contemporary pattern, made using vintage fabric and trim. I estimate both the fabric and the trim to date from the late 1960′s/early 1970′s.

This was my first experiment with attaching a trimmed border to fabric. I stitched inside the perimeter of the bottom and used a straight line of stitching towards the top. I have no idea whether this is an acceptable means of securing trim, but it gets the job done. Do you have experience with trims? What is your preferred method for applying it? I’d love to hear your suggestions. There are more pictures and details on my blog. See you soon!

XOXO,

Michelle

Oh my! I haven’t posted here in ages! I used to post on the old sew retro page but don’t even know if I have ever posted on this site. So this post is long overdue

I’ve been reading along all the while but never shown you any vintage-inspired garments of my own. I don’t sew much from vintage patterns because vintage sizing scares me, so I’d rather make my own pattern or use a modern one.

My new Colette Sencha has a super-vintagey look but is made from a modern pattern.

This is my second Sencha. I have made one previously in 2010 but it no longer fits me. Alas, I passed it over to a friend who can hopefully get some use out of it.

For the back closing I used vintage buttons from my stash. I think they go well with the white polka-dot pattern.

If you’d like to see more of my sewing creations you can visit me on my blog: http://starcross-sewing.blogspot.co.uk/.

Happy Vintage Sewing!

Stephanie

There are a lot of interpretations of Suzy’s dresses out there including lots for halloween, and this my one. I used Style 2475 for the dress and swapped the stand-up collar for a peter pan style one which I drafted. The collar at the back is too short so there is a bit of a weird gap between the end of the collar and the zipper. I won’t show you – it’s hideous the way I tried to fix it…

I also borrowed the cuffs from another pattern, but they could be very easily drafted up as well. 

I came across a charming booklet entitled Headline News via the Vintage Pattern Files website and decided I simply had to try out some of the crochet patterns there; it had to be something that I could actually wear, though, which meant the strictly practical ‘head-shawl’ featured on the right-hand side of the front cover (suitable for ‘motoring or riding your bike’) rather than the exotic ‘fascinator’ on the left, let alone the flower-covered ‘captivator’ illustrated inside!

I’d wanted something like this for some time and had actually planned to make up one of my various hat-and-integral-scarf patterns – I have one with a bunch of bright crochet flowers on that I’ve meant to try for years – but felt that this would work quite well to fulfil the double role of keeping my ears warm and stopping draughts whistling down the open V-neck of my tailored coat.

Unfortunately none of the patterns in this leaflet give any indication as to tension, so it was complete guesswork as to what thickness of wool I ought to be using and what size crochet hook. The yarn being advertised (“Lily’s No.600 Crochet and Knitting Cotton”) was evidently quite chunky as crochet cotton went, so I thought I’d try some of my vintage 4-ply wool on the grounds that this was fairly chunky as vintage yarn went, and picked a 2.5mm hook after experimenting with a 2mm hook and deciding that the resulting crochet didn’t look as ‘open’ as the fabric illustrated. All these first three patterns in the booklet are essentially a basic triangle shape gathered in different ways, and the base of the triangle seemed wide enough to drape around my shoulders adequately, so I reckoned this was probably about the right size.

When I reached the apex of the triangle, however, it became apparent that it was on the contrary very much too small! The neck-cord was supposed to be threaded in a semi-circle at a radius of 12″ from the edge of the shawl, and the entire shawl was less than twelve inches deep – something had evidently gone radically wrong.

Fortunately this was crochet and not knitting, which meant it proved possible to retro-engineer a complete six-inch additional section of shawl (with the aid of some mathematical calculation) and then slip-stitch the upper loops on to the cast-on edge in a fairly stretchy manner without the join’s showing too much…

Join just visible towards upper edge of triangle

I’ve read descriptions of young ladies conversing while ‘knotting a fringe’; I never realised how long it took in real life. No wonder they regarded it on a level with doing tapestry as a means of avoiding idle hands!

Winding wool to size around a card before cutting more lengths to knot as a fringe

The next problem was trying to get the weird cockscomb crest working. I wanted it to match the fringe rather than the body of the shawl, and as I’d used a thinner yarn for this I was back to experimenting with hook size again. I tried a large hook, I tried a small hook, I tried using the wool doubled, and eventually came to the conclusion that folding up a thick strip to get the heavy cartridge-pleated effect visible in the photo wasn’t going to work. I also came to the conclusion that the instructions about how far along the strip to place the folds were simply wrong!

So in the end I winged it to produce a lighter and shorter strip that would stand up better under its own steam – the heavy one simply weighed down the front of the head-shawl and caused it to flop – and decided that the mysterious instruction to ‘gather slightly’ the folds implied gathering each separate fold width-ways across the strip to spread the bows a little at the top, rather than gathering the strip lengthways into the actual folds required. At any rate it seemed to provide the requisite stiffening.

After all this I wasn’t particularly pleased with the finished article, which didn’t look much like the original pattern photo despite all my efforts. However I tried it out in the cold and snow of this past spring, and found it surprisingly effective despite the open mesh; it’s not proof against a direct blast of icy wind, but it does keep your head pretty warm otherwise. And I had been getting very, very tired of reknotting my large polyester headsquare, which persisted in slipping undone and was very unflattering.

The drawstring design of the head-shawl (essentially, you just pull the cord tight around your neck to fasten it on) proved as practical as advertised, although I haven’t used it for riding my bike – and the long ends of the triangle hanging down in front fill in the neck opening of a coat very conveniently. It doesn’t have the same tendency as a neckscarf to come unwound if you turn your head, and I found I didn’t spend so much time hunching rigidly to try to keep the draught out. Meanwhile the ‘crest’ on the front does actually serve a purpose in making the design noticeably more flattering than a basic headscarf – it removes the ‘low forehead’ appearance and is much less reminiscent of a Russian granny!

So in fact I ended up wearing it on a more or less daily basis throughout the prolonged wait for Spring: it’s easier (because less bulky) to carry around than a hat and scarf, doesn’t look like a peasant headwrap, and is surprisingly effective as a warm garment. I’ve even been told that it looks appealingly ‘retro’, which is perhaps unsurprising in a 1940s pattern…

Really enjoyed chatting with everyone in my first post! I’m back with more 70s sewing projects.

Some members commented on their fondness for a classic 70s pattern that was in my last post; Simplicity 9354. I previously created two versions of the dress done up in different, modern fabrics and in different lengths. The maxi was made for a cotton batik and the midi from some leftover, cotton, Halloween fabric with stars on it.

Wishing you all sharp scissors and balanced tensions!

I modified the, you guessed it, laurel for this dress. I used a brocade fabric I brought on sale ages ago for like a dollar a yard. The beading is an appliqué I picked up on ebay, and the headband is just jersey and feathers. I’m going to see the movie tonight, and plan on wearing this, I expect some “looks”!

While I know this isn’t the best shape for my figure, it’s pretty authentic. I even wore a sports bra to help flatten out my girls, which takes a WHOLE LOTTA sports bra to be quite honest.

I’m going to wear it out with a drapey cardigan I picked up from target, it seems to go quite well.

For more you can check out my blog here if you feel so inclined!

I started working on this dress last June or July, and managed to finish it in under a year.  Yay!

This was one of the first vintage patterns I purchased, and it was both easy and fun to make.  It took me so long to finish because I ran out of steam last summer when I had trouble finding buttons to match the fabric, and by the time I finally found the right buttons I was busy with other projects.

The pattern is from 1964.

I have more photos and some notes on the issues I ran into on my blog.  I’m planning on making this again, but I won’t start the next one until I’ve bought both the fabric and the buttons.

So there I was minding my own business when I thought, “Hey! That bright purple stretch cotton shirting in my stash would make a GREAT wiggle dress!”

Of course I had to do it. The Sewing Gods must be obeyed.

I combined two patterns in my stash – I put the bodice from 5808 (dated 1960) on top of the skirt from 5507 (dated 1961). This was a great instant gratification project – about $15 in supplies and a day and a half of labor. Even better, it allowed me to check off one of my resolutions as I’ve been meaning to make a wiggle dress for ages! Of course, what happens when don’t make a muslin is that you discover that the bateau neckline is about an inch too wide on either side… after it’s been faced and understitched. (This is at least the third bateau neckline I’ve had problems with, maybe someday I’ll learn!) Rather than undo all that hard work, I took a couple of pleats on either side of the neckline to rein in the extra material. They coordinate with the double pleats in the skirt so I’m calling it a design element.

The purple color is really hard to photograph – it’s a bit grape-ier in real life. And I am hard to photograph too!

All in all, I’m really glad I made this dress for myself. For one, it was really nice to have a new dress for Mother’s Day! For another, I’m gradually getting over my fear of my giant hips. I was really surprised to learn that I don’t look like Barney the Purple Dinosaur in such a form-fitting dress. Actually, while I used a material with a wee bit of stretch, I didn’t really need to – there is plenty of ease in the hips. Once I get the neckline issues worked out, I actually have some vintage brocade that would make a SMASHING wiggle dress!

 It was at the end of october that I found the missing piece. We went to a flea market to sell some things. I found the skirt piece in one of the boxes we took with us. I really don’t know how it got there, and how I could miss it when I fill the boxes with things to sell?!? 

 So, in october I could start sewing this dress, but I didn’t know how to start. I couldn’t remember how far I had progressed and I thought I had to start all over again because I missed the traced/graded patterns. Until last week. I finally had enough courage to take a look at the muslin and try it on. It wasn’t that bad at all! It gave me motivation to finally finish the dress. 

Maybe someone here can help me date and name this pattern. I haven’t got the actual envelope for it and therefore only the pattern number but not what make it is. It looks like a mailorder pattern to me but Vintage pattern Wiki wasn’t any help to confirm my suspicion. Maybe one of you lovely reader can help.

But onto the dress. I made it from a black and white floral cotton, that I got when visiting my in laws in Leicestershire last month. I wasn’t sure what to make from it at first and decided I want to make one of my vintage shirt waist patterns that I haven’t touched yet. After a little help from Twitter and Instagram friends I decided on this pattern.

I opted for sleeves and shortened the hem by about 9 inches. I’m really happy about the way it turned out although I wasn’t too sure about the collar on me at first. If I make this dress again I would probably make a circle skirt instead of this center seamed one.

Please visit my blog for more pictures and details here.

Thank you XX

I just adore the summer! And when I saw this cute retro 50s inspired BBQ print fabric, I just had to have it!

Fabric: quilting cotton ($5/yd)
Pattern: Vintage Vogue 2960
Year: 1954
Notions: black piping, covered buttons
Hours to complete: 12
First worn: May 2012
Total cost: $30

I’ve seen quite a few versions of this dress around but most are on less chesty gals. If you need an FBA, you’ll definitely want to do a muslin since the underbust seam makes the fitting a bit more difficult. This was my first time sewing with a vintage Vogue reprint and it was much less intimidating than I thought it would be.

Loads more photos, and detailed construction notes over on the blog.

I made my first version of this 1950′s sleeveless top almost exactly two years ago and even though it’s far from perfect I love it to death – it’s one of my most worn handmade items. So when I was wondering what to do with a remnant  of navy stretch polka dot fabric, I knew exactly how it could be put to good use. I would make another sleeveless top from the same pattern (vintage Simplicity 4238).

The fabric is awesome. It’s got a slight stretch to it which is perfect for fitted garments as it yanks you in. And because it’s medium weight and holds its shape pretty well, I didn’t have to bother with interfacing. I was pretty inexperienced in sewing with vintage patterns when I made my first version, so it was good to be able to come back to the pattern with a bit more experience under my belt.  Instructions that made no sense whatsoever two years ago, suddenly became crystal clear. I still really like the pattern details too, lots of strategically placed darts (12 in total) which give a great 1950′s shape.

Verdict? Love it! More details and pictures on my blog – Handmade Jane. Thanks for reading. x

Vintage 1950's Perma Lift

Okay, Ladies! Let’s talk brassieres! The more vintage sewing I do, the more I hate my bras. The grapefruit shaped T shirt bra just looks all wrong. So, here’s the $64,000 question. What sort of shape do you prefer under your vintage style clothes? Do you go all out for the torpedo shaped bullet bra or is that just too much? I personally like a 1940′s shape, which is right between the grapefruit and torpedo. Sort of like the brassiere equivalent of Goldilocks. Just right! Have any of you made your own bras? Would you buy a vintage style bra pattern? Thoughts?

Love Productions is casting for the next series of The Great British Sewing Bee and here at WeSewRetro Towers we want to be able to point at the tv and squeal “Oh! Oh! I know that person!”

If you have been umm-ing and aahhh-ing about applying, stop procrastinating and get your application in.

If you have questions, these are the people to ask:

Love Productions: 020 70674822 or sewing@loveproductions.co.uk

And here is the application form:

http://www.loveproductions.co.uk/be-on-tv

Go on! Do it!