The pattern that keeps on giving...

Hmmm, what pattern could I possibly be referring to? Why New Look 6217 of course! I've made two versions of the top (here and here) and I'm now going to bore you to death about the skirt. The decision to make the skirt happened slightly by accident… my friend Emma wanted me to help her make a very simple pencil skirt and asked if I knew of a suitable pattern. I immediately thought of the New Look pattern - just two pattern pieces, no waistband and an easy side split, perfect for a beginner.

I took Emma's measurements and decided to make a quick muslin before we were let loose on her precious fabric. There's quite a bit of ease in this pattern, so I went down one size from her actual measurements and made up a size 12, which also happens to be my size... I tried it on to check it wasn't wildly off and discovered it was a perfect fit on me. This was too good a sign to ignore, hence the decision to make one myself!

I used a piece of lovely stretch cotton yellow gingham from my stash. I bought the fabric as a vintage remnant so it was only 85cm long, but it's quite wide (150cms), so was easily large enough for a small, knee length skirt. I made no adjustments to the pattern at all, not even to the length, so the skirt you see is a size 12 straight out of the envelope. As expected it was quick and easy to make: just two darts to the back, an invisible zip in the side seam and twill tape to finish the waistband. 

The twill tape is suggested in the pattern for both the skirt and trousers waistbands, and I think it's actually a better option than bias tape. Unlike bias tape, there's no stretch to it, so it should help prevent the waistband stretching out over time.

The skirt turned out slightly looser than the muslin due to the stretch content of the cotton, the drag lines on the photos are just from me sticking my leg out! As the skirt is supposed to sit an inch below your natural waist this doesn't affect the fit, in fact it improves it in my opinion! There are no front darts, just back ones, so it's fitted but not skin tight. And the side split lends a air of dignity when getting in and out of the car! 

I can see a few more of these skirts in my future sewing plans. Keep your eyes peeled for my friend Emma's version, which I'll put on the blog as soon as it's finished. If you like the look of my skirt you'll love hers - it's made from budgie fabric! Have a good weekend. x

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Spring/summer sewing plans

Spring finally appears to have sprung - hoorah! I can walk round in a cardigan instead of a coat, sunglasses are required and socks have almost (but not quite) been discarded. Time to sew some summer clothes! So, in no particular order, here's what I'm planning:

A sundress, using this fabric... 

Vintage barkcloth

...and this pattern - New Look 6457 - although I'm undecided about the bodice shape, probably A or E.

A shirt dress, using this fabric, which is the same viscose print I used for my Pussy Bow Blouse, just in the black colourway. I bought the fabric a while ago from Fabric Godmother so it's not longer in stock, but there are lots of other gorgeous viscose prints in stock here.

I really like the idea of a shirt dress with princess seams and the new Butterick 6333 looks like a good match.

I'm also keen to use the two vintage chambrays I picked up at the Handmade Fair last year (they're under the yellow gingham in this picture). 

The green one would look good as a top (perhaps the Clara Bow blouse?) and the pink one a simple summer skirt, probably Simplicity 2451.  The yellow gingham will be turned into one of the vintage tops from this pattern. Currently I'm leaning towards the tie front top on the left, any preferences?

Realistically, this is all I'll have time to sew this summer, so I'm planning to take my time and really enjoy the process. Can't wait! What's on your summer sewing list? x 

Silk crepe de chine madness

I briefly lost the power of rational thought at the Knitting and Stitching Show last week. Not quite to the same level as the lady next to me who had four carrier bags of wool and was mumbling, "I didn't really need any wool"… but still! I stumbled on a fabric company I'd never heard of before and fell head over heels in love with everything on their stand. The company - Til The Sun Goes Down - produce a unique collection of beautiful dressmaking fabrics in limited edition prints. Most of the fabrics I saw were silks, satins and rayon, all inspired by vintage prints from the 1920's to the 1960's and all absolutely breathtaking.

I kept leaving and looking at other stands, but my feet kept bringing me back to the stall and to one fabric in particular - this beautiful aqua posy print. I had a vintage inspired blouse made from a near identical print about twenty years ago. I loved that blouse and was devastated when I caught the front on a nail at work (god knows how) and ruined it. 

I caved in eventually and bought a metre. The fabric is a lightweight silk crepe de chine with a slight sheen to it. It's also eye-wateringly expensive (£36 a metre), which is the most I've ever spent on fabric, but it was the only thing I bought, so I'm telling myself that justifies the expense. I have big plans for it anyway - I want to recreate my nail-shredded 1930's style blouse! With fabric this special I don't want to mess about with an unfamiliar pattern, so I'm going to use vintage Simplicity 2844 which actually dates from the 1930's and which I've made twice already (here and here.) 

It has some lovely vintage features such as gathered shoulders and a back yoke and I think it's a perfect pattern for my precious fabric. The crepe de chine is very fragile - recommended garments to make from it are French knickers, camisoles and slips! - so I'm going to fully underline it with white silk cotton. This will make it a little more robust, especially for areas like buttonholes. It will also boost the colour too as it currently looks a bit grey rather than aqua next to my super pale skin.

I'm going to consult my new sewing bible - Fashion with Fabric - for recommendations on sewing with silk. I'm also wondering whether it's worth using silk thread for this blouse? If anybody has any thoughts on this or on working with crepe de chine in general, I'd love to hear them.  x

A look at vintage fabric, patterns and notions - guest post by Carol Seatory

Today I have a rare treat for you - a guest post by vintage fabric aficionado Carol Seatory. Carol works as an illustrator and graphic designer and spends her spare time sewing, upholstering, printmaking and collaging using upcycled papers and textiles. Remember the Midwinter teapot collage I was raving about in this post? Well that was one of hers. When she can tear herself away from making things, she teaches university students how to design fancy things using a computer. Here's what she has to say about using vintage fabrics, patterns and notions….

"I have sewn and made things all my life. I have also always been a terrible hoarder. Along with vintage clothing, I have been collecting pieces of vintage fabric since my teens, mostly attracted by the prints and colours of the early 1960s.

A few years ago, I started making children’s clothes from pieces too small for anything else. I found two vintage children’s patterns that would just squeeze a dress out of a piece of fabric barely bigger than a cushion cover. My favourite arty, abstract prints of the late ‘50s and very early ‘60s made for something quite different from the small, cute prints usually associated with childrenswear.  

Look - a matching bag!

Having used up most of my stock of just-about-big-enough pieces of fabric, I allowed myself to start buying fabric again. I have a real fondness for the large scale prints of mid-century furnishing fabrics and if I can find a curtain (I never cut up a pair) with enough usable fabric left after the sun damage to the edges and any paint has been cut off (old curtains were often used as dust sheets for decorating), this can make an adult-sized dress.

For this dress, I particularly enjoyed playing with the contrast of skeletal winter trees with a sleeveless summer dress. But there was also the fact that there was so much damaged fabric there was not enough left for the sleeves!

I started collecting vintage patterns purely for the illustrations on the envelopes. I used to display these in frames, but luckily I saved all the pattern pieces. Alongside the practical considerations of salvaging usable pieces of reclaimed fabric, there are also things to consider about using vintage patterns.

Firstly there’s the sizing issue. Standardised dress sizes have changed dramatically over the years, so whatever dress size it says on the pattern, ignore it and go by the bust size instead (luckily, this is always included).  

Secondly there’s the fit: bear in mind that period clothes were designed to be worn over the underwear of the time – pointy bras, corseted waists, girdled stomachs. What this also means is that the bust and waist are generally high and the bust darts may need to be adjusted unless you’re going to go the whole nine yards with a conical bra! This high bustline can also mean high and narrow armholes, depending upon the cut of the garment.  The waist-hip ratio is often more extreme than nowadays (smaller, corseted or girdled waists) – if a waistband is part of the garment then it may well be a good idea to check and adjust the pattern.

Finally, these patterns tend to have more complicated diagrams and verbose instructions than modern ones. It’s not only patterns – the instructions for my sewing machine (a “Diplomat“ from 1963) have illustrations with so much intricate detail of the engraving on the deluxe model that there is no way of seeing the complicated route the thread is supposed to take. So make some time to read the instructions before you start, with a clear head – especially if you tend to sew at night when the kids are in bed, like I do.

I am finding that as my friends’ parents get older, boxes of fabric from hoarding mothers and grandmothers are coming my way. One of my friends has given me several large boxes of clothes her mother never got around to mending and garments she cut out and never made. In one box alone there were five red and white gingham school dresses to fit a girl of approximately seven years old – and my friend is now 50! 

The huge advantage of using deadstock (old but unused) fabric over salvaged fabric is that it will almost always have been stored away from the light, so there is no fading or wastage. Lots of these fabrics are of much better quality than you would easily find nowadays, particularly the linens and wools. The downside is that, if you make to order, you can’t always have exactly what you’re looking for – you have to wait until the right thing comes along and some colours are not as common as they are nowadays. However, if you like the typical colours of a particular period, dyes are different now and the shades are quite unlike the ones in modern fabrics.

It’s not only the patterns and fabric I’m giving a new lease of life to – as well as using my Diplomat when I secretly have a modern sewing machine stored under the bed, never having taken it out of its box – I also use vintage threads, zips and buttons. I often see free-standing wooden sewing boxes at flea markets and boot fairs. Nine times out of ten these are still full of threads, notions and equipment. I started buying bagfuls of this stuff when I was making the children’s dresses and getting through a very large amount of bias binding and I’m still working my way though all the threads, hooks and eyes and zips.

My real weakness is buttons: I have jar after jar of sorted, colour-coded vintage buttons and have to try and stop myself buying more whenever I see them. Recently I bought a very large tin with an enamelled design of a Chinese dragon and when I got it home found that it was full to the brim with sets of beautiful buttons already sorted and bundled.

The two dresses below were made from patterns I’ve been thinking about using for some time. Seven carrier bags of fabric arrived from somebody’s mother’s hoard a couple of weeks ago, so I had plenty of fabric to choose from! 

This wool jersey was great for an early 1960s column dress, but the fabric was too bulky for the bow that trims the “empire band” across the bust in the pattern (Butterick 8839 pictured above). 

I was very lucky to find a deadstock bolt of this leaf print crisp linen in a junk shop – I just have to remember not to sit on the chair (salvaged, naturally!) I upholstered with the same fabric when I wear it!"

How cool is that final dress?! Thank you so much Carol for sharing your wealth of vintage knowledge with us. You can find out about new projects via Carol's blog, or see her collages and prints in her Etsy Shop. Right, I'm off to unearth that pair of '50's curtains I found in Walthamstow a couple of years ago…. x

Oooh Betty!

It's my pleasure to present to you the new pattern on the block from Sew Over It - the Betty Dress. 

I LOVE the cover illustration!

The Betty dress is already taught as a dressmaking class at the Sew Over It sewing cafe (it's one of the most popular classes), so it's lovely to see it released as a paper pattern. It's a classic fifties dress based on the style of Betty Draper from Mad Men (in the early days, when she was still married to Don). I did hesitate about pattern testing it initially, as I'm not a big fan of circle skirts (although I do love a fitted bodice!)  But I've been curious to try out a Sew Over It pattern since they started releasing them last year and the overall look of the dress was just too tempting, so I said yes. I'm really glad I did as I've surprised myself by how much I like this dress. 

The pattern requires three metres of fabric (it's all in the skirt) so it was perfect for some vintage fabric I've had squirrelled away for a while. It's a tiny navy gingham print with ribbons woven through it which I picked up for about £10 from a vintage fair. It's definitely made from some kind of poly-blend as it's very drapey. It was actually quite a good choice of fabric for this dress - the skirt doesn't have the very full effect you'd probably get from a less drapey cloth, which was exactly what I wanted.  I decided to have the stripe of the ribbon running in opposite directions for the bodice and skirt, sort of a low-rent Horrockses effect if you will. 

The pattern is a classic design, comprising a darted, fitted bodice with a rounded neck and V back and a full circle skirt. The instructions were clear and well explained and included a gem of a tip for ensuring your seam lines line up around the zip. The only part I struggled with was the all-in-one facing. The shoulder seams are left free and once the bodice is constructed, everything is finished by machine. I couldn't quite get to grips with the method demonstrated, so I finished the shoulder and facing seams by hand, which still gave a very neat result and took no time at all. There's a sew along coming soon to the Sew Over It blog so I'll be following it like a hawk when they attach the all-in-one facing.

I shortened the skirt by 3½' as I'm intending to wear this as a day dress. If I was making a version for a wedding or something more formal, I'd probably take the hem a bit lower. I also took ⅝" off the back shoulder seams to stop the back bodice gaping. It's worth noting that there's not much ease in the bodice - it's designed to be very fitted - so just pay attention to the waist measurement. For reference I made a size 10 all over.

Luckily, I realised quite early on that the fabric was actually pretty see-through, so added a full lining to the bodice rather than just a facing (I just used plain white cotton lawn). I didn't bother lining the skirt - my reasoning was that it was so enormous the folds of fabric would disguise any transparency. Wrong! As Patrick Stewart would say in Extras "I could see everything!" so it has to be worn with a half slip.  It's the first full circle skirt I've ever made and I'm pleased at how flattering it looks. If I was making a fancier version, I'd use a less drapey fabric and maybe add a crinoline, just for the hell of it.

Behold my circle skirt!

The pattern retails for £13 and is available both in store and at the Sew Over It online shop. I do have a copy of the Betty Dress pattern to give away, but this will have to wait until later in the year as I've had quite a lot of giveaways on the blog recently. Overall, I think it's a lovely pattern for the summer and a really nice addition to the Sew Over It pattern range. x

The Betty pattern was given to me free of charge for pattern testing. All views my own.

Summer blouse with shorts shocker

This 1950's blouse was my last stab at dressmaking before the school holidays kicked in and my sewing effectively ground to a halt. I found this darling little Style Print pattern at the South Bank Vintage Festival last year. 

The difficult part wasn't sewing up the blouse, it was deciding which option to go for.  In the end, I went for View B: a buttoned front, short sleeves and lovely collar detail, isn't it cool? 

It's such a great 1950's detail. It's the first time I've used a Style Print pattern and the clear directions and sturdy pattern paper were a delight.  I'll definitely be looking out for more of them.

I used a linen mix polka dot fabric I found at the bottom of a remnant box at a vintage fair. Like the cotton pique I used for my first Peony dress, this fabric is quite drapey and my suspicions were that it would sew up larger than a normal woven fabric because of the extra stretch. I was right. View B isn't supposed to have any darts, but looked positively sack-like when first sewn without them. Handily, there were darts positioned on the same pattern piece for the other views. So I added two sets of darts to both the front and back. 

The back fitted perfectly, but I had to remove one set of front darts to avoid button-gaping - the final fit is absolutely fine. I was also able to use up the last of my vintage shell buttons, the rest of which adorn the back of my Roobeedoo top.

Although this blouse looks fine tucked in, I made it to wear in the holidays, and because of the darts, I can wear it untucked…. with shorts. 

I can't actually believe I'm typing these words and showing these pictures. Eighteen months ago I wouldn't show my bare knees and didn't even possess a pair of shorts. I had it in my head that it was somehow against the law for a woman over 40 to reveal her knees or wear shorts or an above-the-knee skirt.  It's not that I've got issues with my legs or anything, I just felt I was a bit past it. 

Well, the skirt problem was soon solved thanks to the super flattering properties of the Colette Patterns Beignet and Ginger skirts.  Fast forward a few months and I now also own a pair of shorts - Banana Republic rather than me-made I'm afraid, but hey, it's a start. Banana Republic trousers fit me perfectly and I knew a pair of shorts bought there would be way more flattering than anything I'd make myself. And you know what? I like these photos, they don't have me running for the hills, and that's the main thing.

Ooh attitude...

I blame sewing blogs. They've got a lot to answer for in terms of confidence building and pushing you out of your comfort zone! I'm very aware of what suits my shape and won't sew something that I know will be unflattering. But… since I started sewing and reading blogs, I've experimented with different styles and made things I've been dying to have in my wardrobe for ages, just because I can. I'll never be wild and mad when it comes to colour, but I'm happy to test out just how many variants of red, blue, grey and turquoise can be found in the world. Some choices I regret, but hand on heart, I'd say I wear about 80% of my handmade clothes on a regular basis, so something must be working.

What about you? Have sewing blogs encouraged you to be more adventurous with your clothing choices? Have you ever sewn something you'd never have picked out in a million years, just because somebody on a sewing blog looks fabulous in it? I know I have….  x

Lovely new things...

My recent acquisitions seem to have been piling up, so I thought I'd better share some of them with you (not everything mind, nobody wants to hear about purchases of thread and zips, no matter how exciting...)

From The Village Haberdashery, a 'Seamstress' mug. 

The description reads:

"A creative and intelligent woman engaged in the noble art of clothes making; both at home and in the workplace." 

A while back there was a debate on somebody's blog about the preferred term for us stitching types.  Lots of people objected to the term seamstress on the grounds that it was old fashioned, female specific and implied that you only sewed as a profession.  I wasn't one of those people and proudly hold my hand up as a fan of the term, it just sounds so lovely when you say it and who could object to the description on the mug?  ALL sewing related tea and coffee will now be taken from it.

What next?  Oooh an Edwardian (allegedly) cherry basket, picked up from the Cirencester antique market.  No surprises for guessing which dress this will be teamed with...

Now as soon as I saw Scruffy Badger's vintage pattern lady brooch recently, I knew I HAD to have one. 

They're made by Zoe and available through her Etsy shop ladybirdlikes and they don't really need any explanation, aren't they just awesome?!  Of course, I chose a brunette wearing a spotty red dress, although if there'd been a blonde one, I'd have gone for her instead - I love the idea of wearing a little vintage-style mini-me brooch. 

I also had some good luck again at Portobello market.  Last time I was there I came back with the curtains that eventually turned into my Portobello blouse.  This time round, I found this little beaut of a Vogue pattern...

and two metres of this boudoir-style slinky red fabric.  It's a bit over the top for a dress, but maybe a dressing gown? Or a fabulous, unexpected lining?  

I was also sorely tempted to buy this 1920's dummy, but I didn't have a spare £80, so had to restrain myself....

And last, but by no means least, look at my fab new sweatshirt made for me by Zoe.  

I fell in love with her grey version after seeing it on this post.  I asked if I could commission her to make me a navy version and because she's a darling, she agreed. It's beautifully made, fits like a dream and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.  

In fact, five minutes after ripping it out of its envelope and putting it on, I received a compliment on it when I answered the door. It's a little too warm to wear at the moment (can't believe I just typed that after my recent whining about the weather), but I can see it being worn to death once the cooler weather arrives.  

Happy Tuesday. x

Portobello Curtain Blouse

Yes, in true Sound of Music style, my latest make started life as a pair of old curtains. 

I bought them from a stall on Portobello Road market, along with these buttons, and just knew the two together would make a fab vintage style blouse.  

I used Megan Nielsen's Banksia pattern, primarily because I was drawn in by the oversized Peter Pan collar. The pattern was a delight: the instructions and diagrams are clear and well written and I like the fact that she gives lots of other suggestions for tweaking the pattern for different looks.  I made a size small, but ended up taking it in quite a lot at the sides.  If I'd taken the trouble to make a muslin, instead of slacking as usual, I'd have probably cut a medium at the bust (the small only just fits), tapering to an XS at the hips. Ah well. I'm reasonably pleased with the fit, but will probably wear it tucked in as it looks more flattering that way.

What else can I say? Well, I learnt a new technique - inserting a placket - which sadly I inserted upside down (sigh) - you can't tell though!  The collar seams are finished with bias tape rather than a facing, which was another plus point for me - facings are just tiresome.  I liked the look of the inside collar so much, I finished the sleeve edges the same way.

I'm pretty pleased with my Banksia and will almost certainly make it again with a few tweaks.  I've convinced myself it's definitely more Anthropologie chic than Von Trapp frump.  

I just need the UK weather to improve so I can wear it in what is technically supposed to be spring season.  I suppose that's what the cardigan was invented for…..!  x