April | 2011 | SewVeraVenus

Taking the plunge 1940′s style…

24 Apr 2011 10 Comments

by VeraVenus in 1940's, dressmaking, sewing, Swimsuits, vintage Tags: 1940's, dressmaking, sewing, swimsuit, vintage patterns

Project ‘Swimsuit’ is finally under way.

All last summer I talked about making some retro styled beachwear for myself, daughter and friends.

Did I actually get around to it ? weeelll, I sketched ideas, collected some 1940′s and 1950′s patterns and original garments for reference… and then suddenly last summer was over.

But amazing early warm sunny weather has hit the south coast of England this last week and my thoughts turned once again to sun and sea.

I saw this 1940′s pattern at the Vintage Pattern Lending Library and decided it was the answer to my annual beachwear problems.

The cotton fabric is from a French Connection skirt I bought 6 years ago. I always loved the print but finally the waist just became too tight so the skirt landed in my scrap bag only to be recently rediscovered and recycled into this swimsuit.

The top is bagged out with a lightweight black cotton poplin and that is what I used to make the shorts that attach under the skirt as well.As the fabric was limited cutting out was tight. The waistband is pieced from 3 scraps and I narrowed the band on the bottom of the bodice to be the same width as the waistband. My skirt finishes 1&1/2″ shorter than the pattern which was just too long for my 5’4″ height and I saved a bit more on the cutting layout by not including the 2″ hems allowed for on the pattern. The fit was perfect and the pattern for the shorts underneath could make a great pair of flat front wide legged trousers at a later date.

A cotton swimsuit will be quite a different experience from a lycra one especially in terms of drying out time after a dip. I’m ready to put up with some dampness in exchange for style though.

All in all I’m really pleased with the outcome and full sail ahead.

A very green coat.

10 Apr 2011 6 Comments

by VeraVenus in 1940's, Coats, sewing, vintage, vintage reproductions Tags: coats, sewing, vintage, vintage patterns

Ready for an Easter parade I am in my exceedingly green coat. It’s a colour that cheers me to look at… but I need to be in an exuberant mood to actually wear it.

The pattern was a 9.65€ find at a local vintage fair and with my new zeal for old patterns I was impatient to try it out. So late one evening at the costume studio I quickly chalked the pattern lines on to my pre-washed linen, lengthened it, cut it out and dived into sewing. The water was cold! Caught out again by the generous amount of pattern ease in a vintage pattern plus it being a bit too big anyway I needed to make a fair few alterations as I went along. That was the night I accidentally got locked in the building and so had not much else to do but to keep on sewing until someone with keys could come back and unlock the front door. I got a lot done by the time I was actually let out.

It’s unlined and the seams are all edged with bias cotton binding. Happily linen is forgiving and easy to work with so all my un-picking and messing about with the fit wasn’t too obvious in the end.

Vintage kimono fabric used for facing and to cover shoulder pads

7 rows of Top-stitching on collar, cuffs, pockets & hem.

It’s a great shape pattern and I will make it as a jacket next for a summer suit with a pair of trousers like these Vogue 5757 I think.

I now pronounce you finally finished.

10 Apr 2011 20 Comments

by VeraVenus in 1930's, dressmaking, sewing, vintage reproductions, wedding Tags: 1930's wedding dress, bias, dressmaking, satin, sewing, wedding

1930

Seems like I’ve been working on this forever … but wedding dresses often do. The first toile fitting was just before Christmas and the fabric didn’t arrive until the end of January so it hasn’t been that long really. Getting fittings scheduled is usually the problem. We will have done a total of 5 to get this just so.

Anyway, ultimate try-on and collection tomorrow. Hooray! It’s funny how brides-to-be often say they don’t want a veil, but somehow get more in the spirit of things towards the Big Day and for this we’ve ended with a veil and a tiny cape cover-up as well.

The satin is a fairly weighty 240gm. All seam and hem edges are bound with bias georgette strips and I mounted the bodice on silk georgette as well but left the skirt unlined. With a pair of Spanx underneath not a vpl in sight . Perfect. It fits the bride like a Jean Harlow glove. She’s having a soft waved & rolled 1930′s style hair-do with white flowers pinned in the back and the 3 metre veil will just fall from there.

This job has been a real pleasure, such a gorgeous style to make.

(Pic of original vintage dress in my Rouleaux Obsession post

A peek inside- tiny blue bow for good luck.

Little cape cover-up

The wedding day.

Pedalling furiously on the upcycle

04 Apr 2011 4 Comments

by VeraVenus in Accessories, dressmaking, How To, Inspiration, sewing, vintage Tags: bags, Fashion, scarves, sewing

Collar & shoe appliques made from a georgette scarf

The idea is about treating scarves as simply another fabric and using them to spark up what could otherwise be a rather plain sewing project. Uses for scarves: cuffs, collars, frills & ruffles, applique´s for spot adornment or to create an all-over-print, bindings, facings, yokes and plackets. I’m sure I missed a use or two there but you get the idea. AND it’s a good excuse to go diving into huge boxes of vintage scarves the likes of which Beyond Retro and To be Worn Again are so fond of. The ones you don’t cut up you can wear. Anyway I think it’s a great way to stretch a remnant of a solid colour fabric that isn’t quite enough to make with on it’s own into something much more fun and unique.

I added .pdf’s to download on how these two tops are made here.

Circle ruffles & bindings cut from a scarf

The Green Skirt From Hell

This skirt was one of those projects where if something could go wrong it certainly did. It is a side shoot of this project. I simply wanted to proof the skirt pattern before cutting out the full dress and as I can always use another skirt in my wardrobe it seemed like a grand plan to whizz it up in a remnant from the stash.

So:

1)pattern incorrect. Check. (hip shaping bad, godets not long enough)

2)fabric problematic. Check. (silk marocaine quite shifty, cut edges fuzz like mad, if there’s a teeny speck of oil from the sewing machine it absorbs it into a spot 10 times bigger)

3)me having a totally bad day. Check.

Not an auspicious beginning. But the professional in me triumphed over my tantrum-ing inner child and I fixed the pattern issues, un-picked and re-sewed seams as many times as necessary to get the hip shape right, the hand picked zip flat and the seam edges from fraying away. The triple top-stitching lines I did on either side of the seams will stay as they are… I’m not proud of them (that’s why no close-up pic) and wish I’d done them on my trusty Bernina Minimatic (which though more than 50 years old sews like a dream) instead of my monster Brother industrial. Even the hem is left down & topstitched multiple times as a finish – the silk was just too spongy to turn up nicely with the 6 godets it has and when all else was done I hand washed it and all the oil marks came out. So yay me and I won’t be polishing the furniture with jade green silk rags after all.

PS- I ♥ my new bag, it cheered me up a lot and I can always hold it protectively in front of the bad topstitching if anyone gets too close.

Upcycling, so now I know!

03 Apr 2011 3 Comments

by VeraVenus in Accessories, dressmaking, Inspiration, sewing, up-cycling, vintage reproductions Tags: accessories, bags, dress made from sari, Sari, sewing, vintage

“Upcycling is the art of reusing unwanted items by converting them into something better.”

SOooo, that’s what I was doing when I made this evening dress from a second-hand silk chiffon sari I bought at a market for 30£ a few years ago!

Though I wouldn’t say ‘better’ I’d say ‘something else’. It’s all relative, the better-ness or not of things isn’t it.

When I bought the sari I had no immediate plans for it, it was just a lovely fabric and appealed to the magpie in me …. I love a bit of sparkle n’ shine.

However the bias dress possibilities were immediately apparent once I began wafting it around and draping it against myself and this dress was made in a day. Careful cutting out to get the motifs well placed on my pattern took the most time and a couple of extra motifs needed to be cut out and hand appliqued in place to fill gaps as well as the edging which I cut off and hand sewed on the seam below the bust.

The bodice is on the straight grain and the two piece skirt on the bias with a side zip up to the armhole. I machine pin-hemmed the neckline and armholes and that was it. A very simple make as the wonderful fabric does all the work. And enough left to make a large stole.

While looking at it the other day to do this photo I realised that the chiffon around the neck and shoulders is now so fragile it’s finally coming apart. So some backing with flesh colour chiffon or complete replacing with new black is in order but not very high on my list at the mo.

I made a couple for friends after this one out of sequined thin cotton saris as nylon ones just won’t hang well and the dealer had no more silk chiffon ones. Very pretty as well but more ‘bare foot & festival’ in feeling whereas this one actually passed perfectly as a 1930′s evening gown when all dressed up with the right hair and accessories. The local sari dealer is unfortunately gone now and I’m not happy to buy from the internet as I like to actually feel the weight of fabrics and see how they hang before I get my wallet out. I know if I ever make it to India what my suitcase will be stuffed with when I come home.

The little bag in my photo is from Accessorize a couple of years back. A good place to find vintage style accessories… especially bags.