Overalls from 1940

I once had a boss that told me she hated dogs because they were needy and smelled like foie gras.
And I felt really sorry for her.
Because I think dogs are the best thing ever.
Even better than cookies and rainbows.

My doggie likes to help me sew by laying down on the fabric when I am trying to fold it or straighten it. Sometimes I forgo cutting out patterns on my cutting-table, just so we can have this little ritual on the floor....not that we ever have it on the table. Just saying.

Dogs *love* fabric...especially quilts....and I think they bless it somehow with the fur they leave behind.

I've thought about collecting it and knitting a sweater, as outlined in this book but I just can't. :) Has anyone done this? I love my beast with all my heart, but....I don't know.

He's a real spazz....a border collie mix, which means he is neurotic and crazy. I've heard dogs and their owners share personality traits, so when I see him run into the sliding glass door chasing after flies, I have to wonder.

He usually tries to bite the vet during vaccinations, and it always reminds me of the time three nurses had to hold me down, kicking and screaming, during a booster administration when I was about four. My middle brother shared this apprehension--and wouldn't kick--but there was generally a wrestling match that ended in piercing screams.

Our youngest brother was smarter than both of us, and would run back out into the waiting room to hide under the chairs.....just out of reach. But he was always bribed out with the promise of Happy Meals or trips to Shakey's Pizza.
Fearful, fearful children.

Our poor mother.

So my dog is a nutjob. See his ears go back as I try to smother him with love? He's my little freak. And I love him. Even more than I love my new overalls.





I had a heck of a time with this pattern.

Even though many older patterns have illustrations, I find the directions difficult to interpret.....but frankly, I find most directions confusing. If I could just *see* someone put the darn thing together first, I would remember how to do it forever.

So it takes quite a bit of time to do the first draft. I was ready to set the bodice on fire and dance around it naked. That placket was confusing as hell.

BUT I am finding the more projects I complete, the more pleasant the process becomes....After finishing these, my next project was easy like Sunday morning.

Sometimes when I get really frazzled, I set the instruction sheet aside completely, and sew without it...which is less complicated than trying to make sense of somebody else's words.
It feels like a learning disability, I tell ya. And maybe it is.
I always scored really low on reading comprehension, even as a young child.
My SAT scores were abysmal....just smart in other ways, I guess!

(My ACTs were *much* better, by the way...better enough to get me into an advanced english course in college....go figure)

I would like to make another pair, but with shorts.....Look how cute these are:





This is the cover of a romance magazine from 1940. You should read some of the stories....Oh my heck.
(I don't really say "oh my heck" just to be clear.)

Of course I love this stuff for the ads and photos....and there is a whole section called "Pies On Parade" with the most delectable sounding culinary yum-yums. Here's the page...it should enlarge when you click on it.





I have another outline due on Tuesday for my fairy-tale writing class, so I will probably work on that and make the Summertime Cheesecake Pie today.

Happy Sewing!

Simplicity 5914

Almost forgot one! :)

(actually, I almost forgot TWO. I made those wonderful 40's overalls from evadress over 2 months ago.......guess I should post those too.......at some point...)





I had been looking everywhere for a skirt to match an Anthropologie sweater my husband got me for Christmas. When I received the sweater I had not been sewing as much as I do now, and I could not for the life of me find ANYTHING that looked good with it. Rather, looked good on ME with it. :)

I used to love shopping when I was 21. My friend Emily and I could spend 8 hours at the mall and find a million things that looked awesome...and eat those soft and salty pretzels....but now?

I know I've already mentioned this along the way, but it is *crazy* how the body shifts it's shape as we get older.....Even when you take pretty good care of yourself.

I am so very thankful that I started sewing again, because I never have to experience the awful "dressing room nightmare" of trying things on and not having them fit....looking super frumpy...too tight, too loose, weird waistband, muffin top, short crotched, wait.....I am a size 16? I was a size 4 at the other place! Tight armholes, fits in the thigh but enormous on the waist, uni-boob, i can't put my hands over my head, what IS this color?? trampy, trashy, Far Side, oh crap I just ripped it, manufactured cookie-cutter excuse for fashion that makes us all feel terrible about our bodies.

So I made a skirt. :)

Out of corduroy....but not the kind with the wale. So it looks more like velveteen or something. There must be a name for it, but I am still learning. :)

When I make this again I will cut a smaller size. I had to take it in all over---the front and back pieces are the same. There is a slight curve to accomodate the rear end, so that curve shows up in the front as well when you put it together. I just sewed thru the curves at the front to make the seams lie flat against my body, if that makes sense. :)

Now I love my sweater even more!
I am going to make a few of them in lots of colors.....A deep burgundy one for autumn.

How can I be dreaming about Autumn?? Summer just GOT here!

McCall's 5137

Oh my gosh! Am I finally caught up?? Is this four or five blog posts in one day? I had fallen seriously behind.

This are my versions of the beloved Duro.
And it is true love.

Quick to make (in one afternoon, after you suss out the bugs with the first draft) and so, so colorful!

This is the cool version:

and this is the warm:

I don't know which I like best, and I think I need to make a neutral version as well---in ivory eyelet or somethin' somethin'.

It's two sizes smaller than my measurements on the package (many people said they were swimming in it if they cut it to match their size) without the sleeve or hem bands, so it would be more flattering and less busy.

I wanted a nice hippie-like sun dress to throw on in a blink of an eye over a swimsuit. Or something to wear to a picnic. Or something I could wear while I take a bike ride! Or even all three in the same day!!

And it is perfect---A little low cut---really needs to be worn with a tank top or slip underneath---but slips are nice anyway.....and I need more of them.

Maybe some 1940's slips should be on the next agenda! There's a rockin' pattern for one from 1945 in the old stash......with matching taps pants.

P.S. It's going to thunderstorm tonight! I love a good thumpest! Don't you???

Magic to Make!

This is me and my brother's loverly girlfriend before we hit the town for my 36th birthday. We had much champagne and pink martinis.

I was visiting that weekend for a family reunion of sorts, and when that was over and done with, we attempted to go "clubbing"....in Boise, ID.

Firstly, when did I become such a snob? Secondly, when did making music requests to a DJ become a thing of the past? And thirdly, HOW DID I GET SO OLD??

The DJ at the first club was born in 1986 and had no idea who Frankie Goes to Hollywood were. And this kind of burst my bubble. The second DJ acted like requesting a song was a serious faux pas. He had no Depeche Mode. And made me feel bad.

HOWEVER

The Dress Made Me Feel Fabulous.

Even after all that pinning.
Even after grading it up a size and then having to grade it back down... after it was sewn together......because I didn't do a muslin first!
Even though I had to turn the first two inches of the midriff band up over the bodice and topstitch under the bustline to make it fit properly.

And even after I hemmed nearly 12 feet of circle skirt by hand.

Butterick 8505.
Magic to Make? You were not.
By my, you were heavenly to wear.

Butterick 4790

This has been the month of playing catchup with old fabrics and patterns. Since I have been unemployed (until today, hurrah hurroh hurree) I have not been able to purchase any new fabric to add to the pile.

And you know what that means?

Stuff is getting done! :)

Decisions are being made!

Creativity conquers in a recession!

Always wanting more is bad sometimes.....it keeps a person from celebrating what they already have.

Like this fabric, for instance.

I am kicking myself right now, as I meant to take before and after photos to illustrate how I tea-stained it. And I am not sure if I kept a piece of the original.

The flowers were a really stark white, and it looked awful against my skin. So I soaked the fabric (after I cut out the dress) in a big pot of tea until it softened them into an antiqued white.

The dress itself went together, no problem. Which astounded me after I'd read all the reviews of this pattern. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. After careful consideration, I did cut out a full size smaller than what I usually wear.

(if it helps anyone, my measurements are upper bust 36 1/2, full bust 40--or 34dd--30 inch waist, and 39 inch hips...which would mean I was a pattern size 16 with an FBA....but I made a size 14 and no FBA was needed).

Many people complain about the back of this dress being too heavy, and that after wearing it awhile, the front creeps up. I don't have this problem and I think it is because the waist is FITTED. And by fitted, I mean there is almost NO ease at the waist. An inch or less. Which is how it is meant to be worn. It fits like a glove, on purpose, and therefore looks alot like the image on the front of the pattern.

There appears to be some wonkiness with the closures at the front, but when I wear it, it is not crooked. I also discovered my dress dummy has a much longer waist (and smaller rack) than I do. : ) So it does not fit her properly.

This itty bitty photo is the only one I have of me in it----I will have the DH take one later. I really need a cropped and fitted dark olive cardigan to wear with it....I have never been sweet on sleeveless dresses, and this one is no exception. Plus, it makes me look *REALLY* stacked....which I guess I sort of am.....but that is not the first thing I want people to notice. :)

Rick Rack, Frick Frack

I will start with my second version of this dress, as it was my first rick-rack installation. (So we can get the frustrations out of the way---because I adore this pattern).

I had to sew the trim into the seam three times before it looked decent. It was either not showing enough, or showing way too much...sigh. I almost gave up, but the third time worked like a charm.....well.......good enough to be charming, anyway. Any advice would be muchly appreciated....I thought I'd centered the rick-rack on the seam line, but that was not the case. Tips?








Oh my. That center photo needs pressing! Oops. :)
Allrighty!
This is a pattern dream come true, because I hate set-in sleeves. Okay...maybe I am not done venting, :) But I find them tedious. I need to set a day aside where I sew about ten set-in sleeves in a row until I get the hang of it and am no longer afraid.

That's what I did with buttons and buttonholes......Once upon a time, I just threw them on there without measuring all willy nilly, but realized later that it looks really, really super bad to do it that way....especially if you use brightly colored buttons :) So I sat down one afternoon and worked on nothing but button placement and holes. Yeehaw.

Sewing is a good meditation and challenge for me. It works BOTH sides of the brain, which is good since I am soooo right-brain dominant I can hardly finish a sentence without swirling into a totally different...hey! Cookies are good.

I discovered Butterick 7373 when reading an old Dressaday post. And another copy just happened to be on ebay in my size at that very moment....so I snagged it. I have made these two versions and plan on making a couple more.

It goes together relatively quickly. I no longer finish the bodice and then add the skirt seperately, if the skirt and bodice have matching side seams. I make the front of the dress, then the back, and then sew them together---much easier than trying to attach a finished skirt later...especially when there is a side lapped zipper to install.

Did I mention I am no longer afraid of those either?
mwhaha.

Sew in Love....

All righty then! I have been a sewing machine (ba-dum, kssh!) the last couple of weeks. I wanted to get plenty of things made for my upcoming trip and so far everything appears to be going according to plan.

This little number is Butterick 7862 and it sews up like a dream.

I wanna make lots and lots of them in time for summer, but one more in mauvey floral goodness just in time for Florida. I need to add about an inch to the trunk next time, but this one is fine just fine for now...no FBA or anything. It is very comfortable to wear and somewhat boyish, which I like. This was my first honest and thorough attempt at set-in sleeves---I'd never done them with perfectly flat seams before...always poofy, so it was a challenge. In fact, when I put the sleeve on "my way" and the top was poofy and gathered I thought, "WHAT?" and after referring to my trusty copy of the 1970's Vogue Sewing Book, I saw what I had been doing wrong all these years. It took the length of two Duran Duran albums to attach the sleeves properly, but in the end, as the Chaffeur reached it's climax, I conquered.

I am in love with the flattering Decades of Style Butterfly Blouse:

I'll be using this pattern again and again...Wouldn't one in multiple fabrics, like a Duro Olowu, be scrummy? (thank you dressaday) Like something you'd find at the Dragonfly in Boise (I hope that place still exists--pretty hippie clothing and incense....yum yum).

It went together really quickly...I dilly-dallied, so it took me a couple of afternoons but I could have easily assembled it in one. I gladly took Sincerely Yours, Kate's advice and glued (then sewed) thin bias trim along the edges instead of french binding to save time and give it more definition. I like it for this version, but I'm eager to find another gauzey fabric and roll all the hems....it will take longer, but give it a different and softer feel. Lots of options with this bad boy...I highly recommend it.

This little ditty is from a 1940's mail order pattern:

I really like the topstitched yoke and flutter sleeves. I messed up on the yoke and folded over/top-stitched more than the seam allowance, so there is a funky drape to the very back of the sleeves where the yoke connects to the bodice. I was not feeling perfectionistic at the moment, so I let it go. Next time I will be more careful and see what's what, but for now, who cares? I'm going to Florida.

It still needs hemming and buttons (they are pinned on in these pics) but I was excited and wanted to share now, darnit.

Next on the agenda is a pair or two of shorts and pedal-pushers from New York 100,

circa mid 1940's. CUTE. I purchased the pattern from The Vintage Fashion Library. There is a bit of confusion over what size the pattern is exactly, so I am doing a muslin first. I have been pretty good about doing muslins every time before diving in, but I cut right into the fashion fabric for the butterfly blouse and the Butterick....the Butterick was a risk, but it worked out okay. The same cannot be said for a pair of pants...way too risky. I might just say "Bollocks to it." and buy some capris and shorts online.

Lastly, I would also like to make the middle dress from McCall's 4028 in a blue batik:

Well.....it's either that or this:

That is the fabric next to the pattern there.

Comfort will be an issue on this trip, and I don't want to squish myself into a girdle every time we go out, so I am leaning toward the former as the ties are adjustable and there are no zippers and closures to faff with.

Okay...that decided it.

But the 50's pattern sure is purdy, isn't it?

It says "Magic to Make."

Dreamy!

Hmmm....maybe I haven't decided.

EDIT: I am sooooo bummed. I ironed the blue fabric, and started setting out the pattern pieces for the flutter sleeve dress and guess what?? NO FLUTTER SLEEVE PIECE! It is missing. :(

I was so excited about this dress after seeing a few finished blouses from the pattern on Sew Retro and around the web. And I wanted to dive right in, so I decided not to draft a sleeve just yet. Instead I am using the blue fabric to make the dress below, as "Magic to Make" needs to be graded and I am impatient! :) :

Butterick 7373