SOooo it’s been awhile since my last post in April so bit of a catch-up. Back in May when I went to visit my Mum in New Mexico among other lovely outings we spent a wonderful afternoon at an iris farm. Irises by the thousands, so gorgeous…who knew! On my “to-grow” list for next year. No smuggling of bulbs in my luggage was necessary as apparently I can buy similar beauties from Holland and also in the UK. However something I couldn’t seem to get in the UK (at a price I was willing to pay) was a half scale mannequin. Yes, I know irises to mannequins? – quite a jump. Anyway ‘back at the ranch’ after the iris outing I was doing some recreational web surfing and came across a place in Alabama that sells PGM half scale mannequins at a nice price. Clickty click done deal. It arrived at my Mums house a week later. You maybe wondering what is the point of a mini-mannequin. More
Gingham & Stripes & More- Oh My!
14 Jul 2015 32 Comments
in 1950's, Dresses, Free pattern, VeraVenus Patterns
U.F.O -abbreviation for Un-Finished Object. [noun] A sewing term.
20 Apr 2015 16 Comments
in 1950's, 1960's, Dresses, Free pattern, Inspiration, Making Magazine, Modern style Tags: dressmaking, free pattern
UFOs.
Oh yes.
If you sew you have ’em.
They lurk in closets or huddle in bags. If left long enough they transform from UFO into a WTF was I thinking? or an OMG I remember this! and get cut into quilt pieces if they are lucky or simply binned if not. This past Friday I had a pre-summer closet shuffle, a.k.a. What-Fits-This-Year and I found two UFOs from last summer.
But isn’t it wonderful how if you take a break from a project, anywhere from overnight to ahem a year! and look at it with fresh eyes that whatever seemed wrong with it isn’t such a big deal after all? That’s how it works for me most of the time anyway. A sleeve suddenly fits in perfectly…. the pattern correction needed is blindingly obvious…. the pocket placement is clear. More
All tied up
27 Feb 2015 20 Comments
in 1930's, 1940's, Blouses, DIY & How To's, Free pattern, Making Magazine, sewing, VeraVenus Patterns Tags: bow blouse pattern, dressmaking, free pattern, Making magazine, vintage inspired
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Issue 58/March 2015 of Making magazine was released in the UK yesterday and in it is this simple front buttoning bow tied blouse pattern and tutorial by yours truly 🙂 Now the issue is on the shelves I can share this version with you- available on my Free Patterns Page
A little more on the kimono front
04 Feb 2015 22 Comments
in 1930's, Blouses, DIY & How To's, Free pattern, Kimono, sewing, upcycling, VeraVenus Patterns Tags: blouse, free pattern, making shoulder pads, VeraVenus pattern, vintage dressmaking, vintage inspired
Magyar blouse with shoulder pads
No shoulder pads and with tie belt from the dress.
Left over from my recent adventures in vintage Japanese kimono deconstruction I had enough of one to also make this simple magyar/kimono blouse.
The definition of magyar blouse says that ‘…the sleeves are cut in one with the body.’ I’d also call that a kimono style top. I’m not sure of or even if there’s much difference between a magyar and basic kimono cut …if anyone does know a distinction please enlighten me.
In any event the magyar style of dress bodice & blouse seems to have been around for a long time in western fashion history from before WWI through the 30’s, into the 50’s and pops up beyond though in more recent decades maybe that’s when it began to be called a ‘kimono’ cut. Really I’m just making a supposition on that, don’t quote me. More
The sewing book winner is…. and something for everyone
25 Sep 2014 11 Comments
in 1920s, Coats & Jackets, DIY & How To's, Free pattern, Making Magazine, upcycling, VeraVenus Patterns Tags: coats, dressmaking, free pattern, kimono coat, Making magazine
I want to say a huge thank you everyone who participated and to all VV followers, but especially the 18 who help me reach 1000 and the 5 beyond that even! I enjoyed all the lovely comments everyone left too 🙂
And for all, just added to VV Free today :
Available to download from the VV Free Patterns page
This is a pattern for a cardigan/kimono coat, commissioned by Making magazine UK, for their February 2014 issue. I always get my project samples back and now it is Autumn I thought those in cooler climes might like a super easy casual coat to make. I am wearing mine almost every day at the moment. More
I have a bias
31 Mar 2014 59 Comments
in 1930's, 1940's, DIY & How To's, Free pattern, Inspiration, Lingerie, Nightgowns, Slips Tags: bias, free pattern, lace, Lingerie, Making vintage style lingerie, vintage dressmaking
towards slips. I am a slip convert, a slip missionary even.
Do you know that these days many women don’t own even a single slip ?!
More
Handbags and Gladrags
08 Nov 2013 20 Comments
in 1930's, 1950's, Accessories, DIY & How To's, Dresses, Free pattern, Inspiration, Making Magazine, sewing Tags: accessories, bags, dressmaking, free pattern, Original vintage inspiration, vintage dressmaking
Where did that summer go? Cold, wet and nasty here in the UK now… where I am at any rate. But tomorrow morning at some hideously early hour I start the 18 hour long trip that lands me in still warm and sunny southern New Mexico to visit my mum for two weeks. A very welcome break from work and crummy weather 🙂 So this post is a quicky Hi y’all with a free 50’s style dress pattern AND a cute bag to make. I did these two projects for the Christmas issue of Making Magazine that hit the newsstands yesterday. The patterns can be downloaded from my free stuff page. The dress pdf is 33 pages! I’ve put the full size A0 & A1 pattern pdfs up too for those of you with access to large format printers. I expect to be making quite a number of the bags myself soon in tweed, fake leopard fur, sequin- fab to give as Christmas presents I thought.
Something For The Weekend: a vintage styled sundress pattern.
26 Jul 2013 31 Comments
in 1950's, 1960's, Applique, DIY & How To's, Dresses, Free pattern, Making Magazine, VeraVenus Patterns Tags: applique, dressmaking, free pattern, Making magazine, sewing skirts
It is the hottest summer here for 7 years – sundresses needed fast!
This cotton swimsuit (still my fave) I made from a vintage Butterick pattern a couple of summers ago provided the inspiration. I re-drafted a similar style bodice (bust 35-37ins/89-94cms) and the pattern is now up on the VV Free page for you to download and use with just about any skirt pattern you like or even sew it onto shorts or bloomers for a cute swim/play suit similar to the Butterick one. More
Nicole Needles made a LBD!
16 Jul 2013 4 Comments
image by Nicole Needles
I’m so thrilled to see that someone has used my free Little Bias Dress pattern with such great success 🙂 Click on the photo to get to Nicole’s blog for more photos of her fab results plus an interesting mini history lesson on the Great Depression and her thoughts behind making a cotton version.
The One That Got Away and Circular Knicker Redux
22 May 2013 18 Comments
in 1920s, 1930's, Costume, DIY & How To's, Free pattern, Knickers, Lingerie, random, sewing, Tutorial, VeraVenus Patterns, vintage magazines Tags: fancy dress costume, how to draft french knickers, how to sew vintage style french knickers, Lingerie, Wedding dresses, Weldon's
Been cruising eBay a bit recently. Yeah, it’s under control, just. Got some chic vintage French fashion magazines, a wonderful German pattern magazine that is killing my eyesight with deciphering it’s spider-webs of pattern sheets, and a couple of Weldon’s Lady’s Mags from the 20’s and 30’s complete with tissue lingerie and dress patterns. This 1920’s Weldon’s Fancy Dress issue is the One That Got Away:
I really do wish I’d bid that little bit more on it. It reminds me of this wonderful early 1920’s photo of my Italian grandmother in a fancy dress costume. She was a dressmaker too.
Also during WWII she was the only woman out of 4000 employees in the U.S. tank parts factory where she worked who became a Journeyman Machinist. More
Bits & Bobs and A Loose End or Two
11 Mar 2013 34 Comments
in 1930's, 1950's, DIY & How To's, Free pattern, Pyjamas, Skirts, Tutorial, VeraVenus Patterns Tags: pencil skirt, sewing skirts
Monday. 3pm. And I might as well face the fact that the work I should be doing (1910 outfit for up coming TV show) is just not going to get a look in today. It’s snowing!! Like the railroads here, a bit of weather and my day goes to hell. That’s my Monday excuse and I’m sticking to it. So a good day instead to catch up on blog bits and pieces and post a few little items that had been shunted aside and that I do feel a little guilty about not getting back to. So in no particular order-
1: I have redrawn my 30’s PJ pattern in Illustrator and now it looks all lovely and ‘professional’ and is clearer to use than the original hand-drawn and scanned one 🙂 The cover illustration and included Sewing Instructions got a bit of a makeover too. If you had down-loaded this pattern previously please do replace it with the newer one.
Pencil Skirt with Bucket-Pockets
2: Remember the 3 skirts from September -my, how time flies! Well a very nice reader (as I’m sure you all are) contacted me a few weeks back to ask when was I actually getting back to the skirt drafting tutorials I had started as she really wanted to make herself this 50’s style one with the ‘bucket’ pockets. I re-checked the tutorial and all the info you need to draft a pencil skirt is there. And now today I’ve posted the pdf pattern for the bucket-pocket pieces. A bit of a cop-out but I just couldn’t get my head around explaining completely how to draft them. So you can download the pieces and hopefully you’ll see how the pocket works and can adapt the pieces to fit your own pencil skirt patterns, self-drafted or otherwise. As always just drop me a line if you need help with my pocket explanation.
3: A GIVE-AWAY 🙂 The second half of my Second Year Blogaversary celebration (the LBD being the other).
ONE copy of my Bloggin’ Blues dress pattern. It will be the complete pattern, hand copied onto pattern makers spot & cross pattern paper, posted to wherever the winner lives. Size is a UK12 (89-73-96cms/35-29-38ins) but will easily work on a figure either a bit smaller or a bit larger.
“Bloggin’ Blues” dress
I gotta be honest now, this is not a “beginner” project… the bias draped sleeves take a certain amount of finessing (read hair pulling) to get them to hang nicely, the multi-rows of shirring take ages to do and the rouleaux loops down the front are, well, rouleaux loops and the hassle they always are. But it is a fab dress, dare I say so myself. I’m about to make another in a rayon floral print which will look very different. I’m still debating whether the sleeves, yoke and pockets should be in a plain fabric to contrast or to do the whole dress in the print… watch this space.
Annnnnyyway, if you haven’t been put off now by my saying what a fiddly dress it is to make and you would relish the chance to have a go yourself leave a comment saying so and next Sunday the 17th before I shut down for the night I will post an Entries Closed comment and randomly draw a winner to be announced a couple of days later. Until the Entries Closed comment is there the draw remains open.
So, short of explaining how to move darts around and split them as needed for that bow skirt I think I’m fairly caught up. With blog things at least. Everything else is another story…
The Little Bias Dress pattern has landed
02 Mar 2013 67 Comments
in 1930's, DIY & How To's, Dresses, Free pattern, Nightgowns, sewing, VeraVenus Patterns Tags: 1930's, free pattern
Little Bias Dress pattern- download from VV Free Patterns page
aka the LBD.
“Just-below-the-knee 30’s inspired bias dress. It fits snug over the hips and the lower skirt then flares out into a 1⁄2 circle. The V-neck bodice is cut on the straight grain and finished with a facing. There is shirring under the bust and across the back waist which also has a 2 piece belt. The entire skirt and the fluted 3⁄4 circle sleeves are cut on the true bias. All seams are best simply pinked and pressed open though french seaming the long side seams of the nightgown worked well. Sleeve and skirt hems are finished with either a hand or machine rolled hem. Armholes are bound with bias strips. This 10 piece pattern (all seam allowances included on the pattern) is sized to fit a UK size 10/12, 162-167cm/ 5’4”-5’6”height person. “
So, after making my LBD dress first posted about here last month I thought it could be adapted to also make a sweet 30’s style nightgown…and in some soft embroidered cotton lawn it did. The instruction pdf I just posted suggests tells how the adapt the dress pattern to make this style too along with pattern/body measurements, fabric suggestions, notions and a cutting layout even 🙂 I think by following the Threads grading guide it would not be difficult to grade this pattern up a couple of sizes.
However I should warn you the tiled pattern is a whopping 28 pages to print and tape together! If you know of a CAD print service (cadtoprint.co.uk for instance) to whom you could email the full A0 pdf (edited to add: 33.1 x 46.8 inches) and have them post you back a full size printed sheet drop me a note via my VV contact form and tell me you would very much like a full sized pdf. For the brave and patient among you the sewing instruction pdf and tiled pattern pdfs are now all up on the VVFree page …in both A4 and US letter tiled formats 🙂
If someone could give me suggestions of similar digital printing services in the US, Canada Europe etc I’d be grateful as I’d like to list them on the blog because it’s a question I get asked from time to time and I only know the UK possibilities.
My next post will be for a draw to win one printed pattern of that other dress now known as the Bloggin’ Blues dress even though my blog blues are long gone. As soon as March begins the year ahead feels full of promise even though the weather here is still perfectly miserable.
I love me a violet posy.
Keeping calm and carrying on…. fur stole pattern posted
17 Sep 2012 27 Comments
in 1950's, 1960's, Accessories, Free pattern, sewing, Skirts, Tutorial Tags: fake fur, fur stole pattern, vintage style skirts
(Fake fur of course)
The Mad Men style furore seems to have died … or maybe it’s just off the radar until the next season starts? If a bit of 50’s/60’s glam is on your things-to-make-list the pattern for this stole is now up on my Free Stuff page… finally got around to digitizing it. Until my broken foot is healed computer work is about all I can do for a while. Which means I’ll get to those 3 skirt drafting tutorials sooner rather than later too.
Which tutorial shall I do first: 30’s, 40’s or 50’s??
30’s
40’s
50’s
last of the summer sweet peas
And aren’t these sweet peas the most amazing colours! That’s half of my autumn/winter palette right there.
French Knicker Sew-Along Announcement
27 Aug 2012 28 Comments
in 1940's, Free pattern, Sew-along, sewing Tags: 1940's, sew-along, sewing french knickers, sewing vintage lingerie
Over the weekend of September 8 & 9 I’ll be hosting the first ever VeraVenus sew-along on making 1940’s style french knickers! More
