1950's-Style Thanksgiving Dress

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers! I hope you all had a blessed day reflecting on the good things you have been blessed with. We had a fabulous time with our guests, ate too much pie and played cards. David smoked a pork loin on the grill and I brined and roasted a turkey. They came out great and I think we'll be eating leftovers for a week!

It is true, the majority of the pictures David unwilling took of the dress were candid ones, alas. Forgiveness.

I finished my dress the night before Thanksgiving, putting in the zipper. Did I say I detest putting in zippers? This one was no different. It was one of those "invisible" zippers but it didn't come out all that invisible as my zipper foot does not snug up to the unrolled edge of the zipper close enough to warrant it being invisible once it is zipped. I had to insert the thing literally five times before it was done. It still isn't perfect but oh well. It is what it is.

I really like how the sleeves came out. The one thing I am not pleased with is the neckline. I cut this dress using the pattern I draped for my era-less dress from last year, only raising the neckline a tad. It still seems like it is way too low. I know it's not the dresses fault. It is the fault of currently nursing my baby. I think I'll be much happier with the fit of the neckline of this particular dress once the baby is weaned!

The only other mishap with the dress was the putting on of the waistband. The waistband is cut slightly curved, with the top of the waistband being slightly longer than the bottom edge. I put it on upside down. So the underbust area of the waistband is a bit too tight and the waist edge is a bit too big. This has the unflattering effect of making my stomach look like it is protruding from the underbust. I cannot fix this unless I take the waistband off and turn it around and put it on the right way but right now that seems like more work than it is worth. Maybe I will make a girdle. That might help.

I like the pouf the petticoat gives to the skirt. For a one-layer cotton petticoat it really does give a LOT of body and pouf!

It was a fun dress to wear yesterday although I did not wear the red shoes very long. The boys kept asking me where I was going since I never wear shoes unless I am leaving the house!

But it was NOT a fun dress to eat Thanksgiving dinner in. Note for next year: Wear a loose fitting sweatsuit. That way I can eat more.

Love,
Sarah

Vintage Baby Dress - Progress

The little dress from the vintage 1970's (maybe? I think? There is no copyright date on it) pattern is nearly complete. Keep a lookout for a giveaway post sometime next week! I have fallen in love with this style for a little girls dress. It reminds me of the illustrations in old childrens book from the 30's, 40's and 50's. For me it brings to mind images of a toddling baby picking flowers in a field of buttercups and daisies, or finding bright colored Easter eggs to put into her basket, or sitting on a blanket in a sunny spot with dollies and stuffed toys arranged around a tiny tea set.

A very old book, c. 1880's that I have, properly entitled Selections for Children, has this charming little poem in it that I thought I would share.

Little Brown Hands

Little brown hands! Ah! what in under the sun

Tells us so plainly of mischief and fun?

Always from morning to ev'ning so busy,

Tending the dolly or pulling the pussy.

Ready for dinner? Your little chair stands

Ready as you are, dear little brown hands!

Little brown hands that are pulling the flowers

Tended by mother for hours and hours

What will she say when she chances to see

Rosebuds all crumpled as these seem to be?

Darling, that merry smile nothing withstands - 

Pluck away, pluck away, little brown hands!

Little brown hands! How at grace they are crossed;

Grace said and over, how quick they are tossed!

Little brown hands that are busy all day,

Getting so healthful and tanned at their play;

Dearer than titles, or honors, or lands

Dearer than all things - little brown hands!

May all of our children have busy little brown hands! 

Love,

Sarah

New Fabric. Happy Me.

I went to the thrift shop last week and found five yards of a lovely, heavy, creamy satin in a particular shade of seafoam green that I particularly love. And in a reckless mood of "I'm-going-to-do-what-I-want-and-no-one-can-say-me-nay" I looked through my 1920's/30's inspiration folder like a child stealthily slipping a hand into the cookie jar. And I decided the seafoam green satin would make a lovely nightdress, and this is the style it will be:

I don't think this is originally intended as a nightdress,  but the style will work just as well for nightwear as evening wear, and no one will laugh at the sight of a pregnant woman in a bias cut, slinky dress. The only one to be horrified will be my husband and he will just have to deal with it. 

Here is the fabric. I think it definitely wants to be a 1920's/30's-ish nightdress. Don't you?

And then I was thinking about Civil War reenacting this year. I decided I hate most of the dresses I already have and that I need a new wool dress. A wool dress is just such a practical thing to have. You can wear it almost anywhere. So I got this wool from Fabric.com:

It arrived  yesterday and although the color is more gray-green-blue in real life than the bright green and blue it appeared to be on the computer screen, I still love it. And I love plaid. It will become a dress similar in style to this one from Time Travelers Antiques:

A pretty basic dress, but I love the sleeve style. 

Then I went to Jo Anns last weekend and their red tag fabric section was 50% off. In the middle of the piles of heavy home dec fabric, sleazy polyester knits and faux leather I found a bolt of this very springy cotton print.

I bought some to make a little girls dress, because my mother in law gave me this pattern last week and I think it is so adorable. In all liklihood this dress will become the subject of a giveaway post in the not-too-distant future. Having no little girls, size 2, of my own the horizon must be expanded and a little girl must be found who can fit this dress!

And no fabric for this project yet, but soon some must be found. For the boys, this 1950's shirt and trouser pattern will be just perfect for Easter, I think. I will have to size it up a bit for the older boys but that shouldn't be too difficult. I just love vintage patterns for little boys!

Love,
Sarah

Pink 1920's Dress ~ Finished

I finally finished the renovated linen dress. It ended up taking me a lot longer to finish than if I had just started from scratch and used new material, but, hey, it was kind of fun figuring out how to transform the linen dress and some pink fabric into a 20's style.

Last time I posted, my dress had the side panels attached for a fuller skirt:

However, the bodice hung rather loosely and unattractively so I took in the bodice. First I removed the sleeves, then raise the whole dress at the shoulders. Then I took in the side seams of the bodice so it fit me better.Then I added a band of the pink gauze to the original cap sleeves on the dress, and a slightly flared band below that, of scraps left from the pink linen when I cut the sides off the skirt.

After that, my dilemma was deciding how to finish off the dress. Originally I was going to go with a scarf-type trim, like this: (which I must mention I still really like. . .I really liked the drapiness of it)

But my children kept thinking that the scarf-type trim was a kind of tail they could yank and pull on. Plus it gave a very unflattering silhouette from the side.

Next I tried a V-shaped piece of the gauze. I kind of liked how that looked, so I decided to go with that.

Since pink does not go very well with my hennaed hair color, I thought a contrasting color would help soften the transition from the pink dress to my reddish hair. This cream colored antique lace from Natalie was just right, and I had just exactly enough to sew a few rows across the V shaped area on the front bodice.

The belt tabs were. . .boring. From any distance at all, they melted into the skirt and you could not even tell they were there. I was very sick yesterday so spent the afternoon curled up in David's bathrobe, in bed and chain stitched in cream colored thread all around the belt tabs to help them stand out more. I also made covered buttons by covering metal washers with the pink gauze, and sewed them to the belt tabs to make them look more belt-like. :)

I am really pleased with how the dress finished up. It's definitely *pink* but sometimes a pink dress is the perfect dress to wear!

I am loving this style for everyday use since it is *so* comfortable. No zippers. No buttons. No hooks. No fitted bands. Nothing. It just slips on over the head and hangs there. The skirt is a perfect, practical everyday length and the fullness is just right for comfortably moving.

I tried to put my hair up in a different way by simulating a short cut look. I think I like a tightly-pulled back chignon better.

Love,
Sarah

Renovated Thrift Shop Dress to 1920's Dress

A few months ago I got a few bags of clothes from the thrift store during their annual fill-a-bag-for-$1 day. I got this pink dress because it is 100% linen and at the time, I figured I'd cut it up to use for linings or something for medieval, 18th century or regency stuff. However, I never used it and it has been sitting on a shelf in my sewing room since then.

A few weeks ago I was wondering what the heck to do with it when I realized I had some pink cotton gauzey fabric that was a very similar color. The fabric had also been sitting unused on my shelf for quite some time. I then had the idea to combine the two to make a 1920's style dress.

I haven't had a chance to start work on my idea until this afternoon. But today I finally took scissors to the dress and began sewing it up.

To start with, I measured from my shoulder down to where I wanted the low waist to be. For early 20's, this is not extremely low. I decided to go with 19"-20" for my length, so I pinned a row of pins across the dress to mark the low waistline:

Then I measured a center panel 12" in width, from the waist of the dress down to the hem:

Then I cut out the sides following my pinned lines:

I then cut two rectangular panels of the gauze that measured the length of the dress from the waistline to the bottom hem. This was 33". I used a full width of my fabric which is about 40" wide, for each side.

I sewed the panels to the long edges of the dress, leaving the top (waist edge) free. I then pleated the top edge of the side skirt panels to match the waist of the dress:

To keep everything tidy, I basted the edges to a piece of hem lace:

And then covered the hem lace with a faux tab belt, stitched down to cover everything.

So far, I have only sewed down one side of the faux belt. The other side is just pinned. I also pinned up the hem to just above the ankle and tried it on the see how it is looking so far. I think this is going to work!

The dress is still obviously very rough. Since this was a generic "medium" size dress it does not fit my body very well. The neckline is too wide so I plan to bring it in a little bit by making a few tiny tucks that release just above the bust. I plan to add to the sleeves to bring them down to just above the elbow, and possibly add a V shaped faux insert at the neckline so the bodice doesn't look so plain. Or maybe a collar. :) I still don't know yet!

I'll keep you posted!

Love,
Sarah

Vintage Style Underwear ~ Part 2

The bra is done. I got bored with it yesterday so finished it up quickly before I was tempted to shove it to the bottom of my sewing drawer and forget about it.

It came out better than I thought it would. I really do like it but it's just so darn ugly. ;P I wish I had used prettier fabric. Or a different color. I forgot how much I hate white bras. But I bet I can dye this one if I want to. And now that I know how easy bras are to make, I can whip up a new one whenever I feel like it in whatever fabric I want.

I sewed the binding on:

And added the hooks:

And added the straps last.

It gives a nice shape under my dresses and tops. It is so different from my modern t-shirt bras or the stretch sports bras I usually wear. It lifts and defines each breast into a kind of cone shape, but it actually makes them appear smaller than my modern bras do - which in my case, is a good thing.

Making a bra really forced me to evaluate my body. That can be scary but now I have been reinforced strongly in my theory that I am really very terribly short waisted, and that a higher bustline like the one  my new bra gives is actually better for my shape than modern bras that give a lower, fuller, more rounded line. There is not much space between my underbust and my waist so any hanging boob flesh that obscures my mid-section just makes me look top heavy and fat all over. : / Did you know that when I wear a soft molded cup t shirt bra there is literally ***1 and 1/2 inches*** between the bottom of my bust and my actual waist???

For comparison, here is a picture of a plain sweater I like to wear. This picture is with my "best" modern bra, that is, the one that I feel is most flattering to me. It gives a pretty good lift, but a very rounded shape.

And here is the same sweater with the bra I just finished making. Definitely more pointy in shape, and my midriff area is more visible and less curvy. I doubt I will wear this bra with this sweater, though, since there is too much nipple effect going on. :P (forgive my horrible hair).

But I do like the vintagey silhouette it gives. It seems trimmer, tidier, more put-together. I am so pleased with how it works underneath this white blouse.

I got this blouse, and the silk/linen stripey skirt this summer at a fill-a-bag-for-$1 day at the thrift store. I love this blouse, but with  my modern bra, the pleated midriff section sat across the bottom of my boobs. And then the waistband of the skirt was just below that. It was ugly and horrific and dumpy. To make it work I had to pull down the blouse so the midriff section settled at the proper place, but then I had excessive boob crack issues from the neckline. Now, I don't need to tug or pull anything into place, and the midriff section sits where it is supposed to sit. And because the midriff band isn't straining to encompass boob flesh, the side zipper zips up easily and I don't feel like I'm trying to squeeze into something that is too small for me. And yeah, I gotta loose my belly pooch. ;) No, I am NOT pregnant.

Now I need to finish up my undergarments and make a real vintage style dress to go over my new bra! I'm thinking something fun and twirly and totally girly from the 1940's would be just the right thing!

Love,
Sarah

I Finished My Coat!

After lunch today, the boys decided to all three nap at once in the living room. Judah was the last to succumb to sleepiness and his little yellow head with his bright blue eyes peered silently at me as I sat on the couch opposite him and stitched away at six buttonholes to finish up my winter coat. The white lights on the Christmas tree sparkled, Malachi sighed in his sleep and shifted position. David was curled up next to me in a corner of the couch, a pillow on his legs for a blanket.

I battled with silk buttonhole twist, wax, and a very shifty area of moleskin and fleece. But, at last, it was done. My coat is finished! Yay! And just in time. Tomorrow we are supposed to get our first substantial snowfall of the year. And I will be ready for it! Hmm. I must make some peanut butter blossoms later this afternoon so we will have something nice and homey and chocolatey and peanut-buttery to eat while the snow flies outside.

I'm really rather happy with how my coat came out! David says it reminds him of an 1860's generals frock coat, reenactor-style. Reenactor style because the cuffs and collars are black velvet, while military regs of the 60's called for dark blue velvet. But most renactors just use black.

I was very bad this week and started a new sewing project before I got this one finished. I know! But it was an impulse thing. Here is a sneak peek of it; a 1930's/1940's style silky print blouse. I'm not much of a blouse person and I'm not very experienced at making blouses but I thought I'd give the pattern a whirl and I had the perfect fabric on hand to try it out in. (Thanks Jackie!!) It needs buttons and a hem and I need to sew the tucks down at the waist.

Have a great weekend everybody!
Love,
Sarah

1930's "Ultra-Modern Magic Bias Slip"

Greeting dear friends;

As this sultry summer weather suffocates the midwest I have found renewed inspiration to continue making 1930's style dresses for summer wear. After I finished my most recent dress, I discovered I needed a slip or underdress to wear beneath it. Since a search through the local thrift shops for a full length slip was fruitless, I began researching 1930's underwear and came across these lovely instructions for a 1930's bias cut slip: http://dressmakingresearch.com/1930s_under_dress.htm

With nothing to loose, I set about making this slip for myself. It is my first ever bias cut garment so I was confounded at first by the odd cutting and sewing insructions. However, I followed them to almost a T, and it produced a very serviceable slip - plus I'll have the satisfaction of knowing it is period correct when I wear it with my dresses! :)

It is odd to wear a bias cut garment. It moves differently on the body and clings and drapes differently. I don't know if I exactly like it, but I will get used to it. The only thing I changed on the directions was the length and drafting of the skirt piece. I made my own piece (very similar however to the pattern instructions) since I didn't want to fool with making the pattern piece as the instructions said. I eyeballed and measured and it came out good enough. :P

The bodice is made of 4 squares of fabric and the instructions called for cutting them out as 15" square. I assumed that since I am probably larger than the average size woman of the 1930's I'd need to make the squares bigger. I originally cut them out at 20" square. Well, that was way too huge due to the way the bias fabric drapes so I ended up using 15" squares after all.

I don't have pictures yet of my new dress but here is a sneak peek: I think this one is my favorite so far. I decided I like the early-mid 30's a lot better than the later years, so tried to go for that look with this dress.

Have a lovely week!

Love,

Sarah