· Venturing into the late 1930s ·

Oh goodness.  I hate coming up with post titles.  How can such a simple thing be so difficult?  Consequently... here we are with yet another un-inspired title.  Let's just say that it's a good thing I have photos- no one would click on my posts without other inducements.  Maybe I should take a page out of BuzzFeed's book.

On the other hand, this dress was such a delightful project to work on!  Sewing garments is so much simpler than inventing post titles.

This dress is the result of my collaboration with Penny Rose Fabrics and you can read my guest post with my inspiration for this dress on their blog today!

I've liked the looks of Simplicity 8050 since it was first released, and this seemed like a great opportunity to use it!  I raised the neckline a fair bit and ended up shortening the sleeves by about 2" so they'd be a more flattering length- I liked them on the cover, but either my arm length or my fabric rendered them rather awkward looking....

Also, since this is a late 1930s dress, shoulder pads were a must!  My little sloping shoulders definitely need a bit of help to look proportional. ;-)  It's kind of funny what a difference just a bit will do to the overall look, though! (yay for not looking dumpy anymore!)

A huge thank you goes to my mom for her help in fitting this!  I truly avoid set-in sleeves because of fitting issues, but she helped me through the rough bits!  I took a hint from this video and raised the bottom of the bodice armhole by 5/8" and bottom of the sleeve armhole by 1" to add range of motion.  It worked well and I'll definitely keep using that method. :-)

"Woohoo! Let's pick an extremely acute angle to accent with ric-rac! That would be brilliant and so fun!"

Sometimes I truly do wonder if I am conspiring for my own ruin when I come up with grand ideas.  It's a good thing I love a challenge! (and it's a good thing it worked so well. that's all that really matters. ;-))

I used a lapped seam method to attach the princess seam/waistline seam since the acute angle rendered that a highly-historically-probable method of construction.  Aaaand, since there was ric-rac application involved as well, I jumped on the chance. ;-)  Sure-fire way to make sure the trim ends up exactly where I want it?  Sign me up!

Seamed stockings!!  Squee!  I know- I'm long overdue for getting these.... but now I no longer need to be ashamed of the backs of my legs in pre-1940s attire. ;-)

As an aside, there's a great article on seamed stockings on Tuppence Ha'penny's blog here.

I went through the process of writing about how I'm a bit conflicted with how off-center this method made my buttons and how I wasn't sure how to fix it.... but then apparently that's just what I needed to process the fact that I need to redo those loops to be the more "C" shaped loops.  I think.  That would end up bringing in the buttons closer to the true center.

Anyone have any advice?  I'm thinking the only issue I might run into would be gaping between the buttons- but would that really be a problem if it isn't already?

These buttons were a wonderfully timely find at an estate sale just a few days before I needed them!  We, ahem, may not *technically* need more buttons, but when there are matching vintage sets, how can you walk away?  There were 10 total in this set so I felt a little bad using only 8 of them, but I'm sure I'll find a use for the others. :-)

This purse is part of our growing hoard of vintage purses. ;-)  This would be one thing we've found in spades on our estate saling adventures!  This is a black "corde" style, frequently seen throughout the mid-20th century.

This is what I affectionately refer to as my Quirky Nurse hat.  It's just so ridiculously 30s!  I picked it up at an antique mall last spring- it was a very serendipitous trip that resulted in 2 1940s hats and this 1930s hat!  I rarely, rarely find hats earlier than the 1950s but somehow happened upon 3 hats at once!  Hooray!!

These gloves.  I just love them so much.

I used to think I had very average hands but I have more trouble finding gloves than I ever expected (apparently I have long fingers? who knew?), so my collection of gloves that are "passable" is rather smaller than I'd like.  My collection of gloves that are "comfortable" is only 1-2 pairs.  These are a nigh-perfect fit, and I couldn't be more thrilled that they just so happen to be the kid leather, amazing cutouts, gauntlet length pair. :-)

· Photos- the inimitable and amenable Kathryn! ·

· 2015 Christmas Outfit ·

My festive outfit this year has a couple of new things going on that signal a few personal changes this year.  Nothing deep and of life-changing import (ha!), just the fact that I made a circle skirt after swearing them off years ago. ;-) They are the ultimate in impracticality in windy/gusty climes such as the midwest, so I previously avoided them.  I'm throwing caution to the wind this year (agh... how do I always come up with unintentional puns?? pretend that didn't happen...) and embracing one just for the fun of it. ;-)  After all, if you're doing a 1950s appliqued skirt.... it had better be a full circle.  Also, my mexican skirt did a fair share of weakening my defenses. ;-)

The other way this year is different is that I've now relocated from the gusty midwestern plains to... the Windy City.  I am just doomed to wind, I guess.  It's a temporary change, but I'm enjoying the experiences of an urban location. :-)  Naturally, taking outfit photos downtown is a must, so off to find lighted trees we went!

I've already posted about my ornament skirt in my tutorial post, so I won't elaborate on all the details involved with the applique process...

My partnership with Riley Blake Fabrics' Stitch n' Kitchen Christmas Blog Tour was such a great opportunity to make another Christmas-themed novelty outfit. :-)  I do love a good novelty print, but this time I did something a little different and appliqued novelty designs!

Initially, I wanted to get a festive photo setting for the tutorial photos, but I was rapidly running out of time before my deadline and actually, the skirt was in a remarkably unfinished state for that post!  You'd never know it, but the back of the skirt wasn't completely appliqued, there was no waistband, and no zipper.  Well, I'm pleased to report that this skirt is absolutely and completely finished now. ;-)  There are no secrets this time!

See?  Bragging zipper photo!  Unabashed back shot!  I must be all finished!

The waistband is from a 1950s skirt pattern that we've had for ages, but I just never got around to using.  This project seemed like a good time to fix that. ;-)

The skirt has pockets on both sides as well as a side zipper.  It was a little tricky figuring out how to insert a regular zipper underneath an on-seam pocket, but it all worked out in the end!

Ahh, the infamous waistband.  The story is far too long for sharing here, but suffice it to say that this unassuming little piece was the source of the most agony of the entire outfit- all due to the Postal System.  Sigh.

However, it still remains true to my original design, so all the ups and downs leading to this point can now fade away. ;-)

It wrinkles a bit, as expected, but overall I'm pretty pleased with the way it's behaved.  Time will tell whether I'll have to come up with a different interfacing plan after washing, but I'm hoping it holds up.  This waistband is much wider than any I've made so far, so I'm still anticipating some learning curves in getting it just right!

Also, waiting a couple weeks to take these photos meant that I now have a new sweater to wear!  This fun sparkle confetti sweater is from Kohl's this year- altered to a more vintage style using this method.

The glittery gold cord, ornament tops, and star fabric got the wheels in my brain turning, and inevitably led to another project....

... Because when one is pushing the limits of a deadline, one should start unnecessary-but-"boy-that-sure-would-be-a-nice-touch" sorts of things, right?

Thus, I have a brand new gold dotty blouse for the occasion. ;-)

The blouse is made of the leftover scraps from my Gold Dotty birthday dress.  I love, love, love that I was able to fit 2 projects on this fabric!!!

The blouse portion is just made from my self-made bodice sloper, while the collar/bow is taken from a 1950s maternity pattern that I love!  I figured this would be a great opportunity to make use of it!  The boat neck is a fun change, I love the way the collar is pleated up a bit at the center front, and the tab is a nice touch. :-)

Kathryn was entirely skeptical that I would disrobe down to short sleeves in the winter evening (and I did receive more long looks from passersby...), but after putting that much effort into a blouse that would coordinate *just* right, it seemed only appropriate. ;-)

And besides, I don't look cold in these pictures because I really wasn't. ;-)

And can we just have a moment to say how amazing it is that there was no wind that night in the Windy City??  I was pretty sure a circle skirt was going to be a stupid decision, but it worked without a hitch!  Turned out to be a quite perfect night to take photos, despite the cold and (boohoo!) lack of snow.... What is it with my Christmas outfits not having snow in the photos?? :-P

All in all, it's a delightfully festive skirt that I had a blast designing and making!  And judging by the amount of compliments from a broad range of people, I'd say it's pretty close to being universally admired. ;-)

· Photos by Kathryn! ·

· Deck the Halls Skirt Tutorial ·

For my post this week, I'm joining in the Riley Blake Fabrics' Christmas Stitch 'n' Kitchen Blog Tour!  I had such a fun time picking out which fabrics I wanted to use for a project, and of course I couldn't resist going in a quirky, mid-century direction. ;-)  This is now the second "novelty" Christmas outfit I've made... I sense a trend coming on...

Without further ado, here's my tutorial for making your own!

"Deck the Halls" Christmas Ornament Appliqués

Prep time: 10 minutes

Making time: 45-60 minutes (per appliqué)

Ingredients:

• Printable Ornaments pdf
• Fat quarters in fabric of choice (I used the Red Dot and Red Stripe from the Santa Express collection and the Cream Stars from the La Vie Boheme collection)
• Remnant of tissue lamé
• Gold cord

I adore the 1950s, so naturally I used my appliqués on a 1950s style circle skirt!  The appliqué design is so versatile and it could be used on just about anything.  Tea towels, tote bags, other clothing items- the list goes on! :-)

Step 1- Cut out appliqués, adding extra if appliquéing by hand.  The pattern is for the finished size, so I added 1/4" to the perimeter of mine.

Step 2- Mark the finished size on the wrong side of the fabric for an accurate finished result.  I used a blue water-soluble pen, but it's a bit harder to see the marks in photos than real life. ;-)

Step 3- Staystitch along the marked line by machine, then use the stitched line as a guide for folding in the excess.  Iron smooth.  I found that the circles and the curved edges of the onion shape benefited from a single line of basting near the raw edge.

*Step 3 1/2* If you're making a circle skirt, now is the time to choose your placement of the appliqués!  This is the trickiest part of the project- I just adjusted them until I was happy and measured accordingly for the rest.  The amount of appliqués you use is highly dependent upon the width of your skirt.  Mine ended up having 34 appliqués.  But that makes for some weird math to duplicate it!

Step 4- Hand appliqué the ornaments in place.  I love how much control hand-sewing affords as well as being a great way to take some time to relax and enjoy the process!  This isn't a "quick and easy" project, but especially in a season that can get hectic and stressful, I enjoy having a project that forces me to step back and savor the season. :-)

Step 5- Apply the tops!  I used tissue lamé for mine and they were made from 2 pieces of fabric and sewn on the machine.  Since tissue lame loves to fray, I traced the shape on a doubled piece of fabric.  I sewed along the top and side edges leaving the bottom free, and trimmed around the stitching.  Then I turned it inside out and tucked the free edges in.

I prick-stitched the tops on as I was afraid traditional appliquéing would mar the structural integrity of the tissue lamé.

Step 6- The final step is connecting all the ornaments with gold cord!  Enjoy!

(see more pics of the finished skirt here!)

For my recipe to share with this blog tour, I knew I had to share our family's longest-standing Christmas: gingerbread men!  I remember making them with my Grandma when I was just 3, and I'm planning on making a batch this Sunday. :-)

Gingerbread Men

1 c. molasses

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

6 c. flour

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1/2 c. hot water

Simmer molasses and butter together for 15 minutes.  Cream egg, sugar, and vanilla.  Add baking soda and water.  Mix in dry ingredients and molasses mixture.  Chill.  Roll 1/4 in. thick and cut out.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

· 1930s Penny Rose Dress ·

As promised, here are the details of my latest 1930s dress. :-)

As I mentioned in my pocket tutorial post for this dress, I knew I wanted to use this fabric right away when I discovered Penny Rose fabrics!  My inspiration for the dress were classic 1930s cotton print dresses made from feedsacks and the like.

I searched through Pinterest for inspiration and quickly realized that I needed to have a white organdy collar with a giant fluffy bow to finish off the look!

I knew I wanted these sleeves from VPLL T7357; so with statement sleeves and collar, the rest of the dress needed to be a basic, simple design.  I used the VPLL pattern as a base, making a few changes.

This is my second time using this pattern (first version here).  I made some fairly typical alterations for my body and since this fabric has more body, I decided to make the skirt portion fitted rather than being belted in.  That necessitated making a waist seam in the front (due to the original seaming and shaping, there isn't a waist seam) so I could have a fitted skirt and blousy bodice.

These 1980s Etienne Aigner shoes are fabulous for earlier 20th century outfits- classic enough to go from the 1910s through the 30s.  And much more afforable and easy to find on eBay! ;-)

These sleeves.  So ridiculously faddish in a 1930s sort of way!  I recently realized one of the reasons behind my passion for wearing historical styles all the time- I am naturally very cautious and practical about my purchases and I like to ensure that each and every expenditure will be well-used for years to come.

Well, the very nature of fashion is change.... so that means clothing styles can easily fall out of style.  The allure of vintage is that it either has (1) stood the test of time and is perennially classic or (2) is a "fad" style like this that is now so out-dated that being a fad is not an issue! ;-)

So there you go- with vintage, I have the freedom to embrace fads I love and the security of knowing my money and effort will still be put to practical purposes. :-)

However, faddish or not- these sleeves are so fun and unique!  They're made from what are essentially 2 circles sewn together on the outer edges with holes cut in the centers of each for the armsyce and the cuff.

(Added bonus- due to the shape, these sleeves give complete range of motion and absolutely no restriction! ;-))

The fashion nerd in me was geeking out when I saw the pattern shape, because in the 1830s, puffy sleeves were all the rage and there is an extant garment in Patterns of Fashion, 1660-1860 that features circular sleeves, too!  Fashion echoed itself exactly 100 years later.  So fun!

I am now secretly (or not-so-secretly since I just announced it to the internet...) hoping that we get a little fad in the 2030s for circular sleeves!  I might even be tempted to dabble in contemporary clothing on such an occasion, just for the fashion-history-nerdy-ness of it all. ;-) 

We found a set of 6 of these adorable little "hershey's kiss" buttons at an antique mall a few years ago, and I was thrilled to finally use them!

I love it when I can use a fabulous vintage buckle on my dress!  And I love it when it is just the perfect color.  And I really love it when it echoes the (previously decided) design lines of the dress.

In short- this buckle makes me happy. ;-)

The bow is made from a single layer of bias-cut organdy and is edged with narrow self-fabric bias tape.

The bow is held in place and given its shape by a brooch.  The collar is removable and is edged with bias tape at the neck edge and basted to the inside of the dress neckline.

This dress was a great canvas for a cute little decorative 1930s pocket.  I based mine off of this illustration (far right), and I blogged about a tutorial for making one over here.

I used the VPLL pattern for the skirt pieces, which includes V seaming at the hips and a large box pleat in the center front.  The decorative seaming gets rather lost in the print, but I know it's there- and that's really all that matters, right? ;-)

This dress fought me every step of the way, but you know what?  All the frustrations fade away when I look at how happy I am with the result that I strove and conquered so much to achieve. :-)

· Photos by Kathryn! ·

· 1930s Pocket Tutorial ·

For those of you following me on Facebook and Instagram, this is old news- but I'm thrilled to announce that I'm part of the Penny Rose Project Design Team!

Penny Rose is a fabric company that has many different lines of 1930s, historical, and floral prints.  When they contacted me about sharing a project made from their fabric, I was excited about all the possibilities!  I've been on a big 1930s kick lately, so I naturally picked a 1930s print to make into a new dress. :-)

I'll be sharing details of my dress next week here on my blog (edit- here's the post!), but this week I have a special post over on the Penny Rose blog- a tutorial for making your very own 1930s pocket! :-)  I'm sharing it here on the blog, too and I'd LOVE to see your results!!

The finished pocket measures approx. 5" square, so it's a cute size for dresses and aprons and even tote bags or pillows. :-)

The pockets on the far right were my inspiration.

I decided not to do contrasting "petals" on my pocket for this tutorial but I made contrasting petals for my dress, as you can see. :-)

To start, cut 4 rectangles 2 3/4" by 7 1/4"

To make the rectangles into isosceles trapezoids, make marks 1 5/8" from one edge.

Cut on an angle from the mark to the opposite corner.

Make a mark 3 1/4" from the top.

Sew one group of 2 pieces together from the bottom until the mark, using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

Each piece should be sewn over half-way up, as you see.

Press open.

Next, join the pocket to the 2 remaining trapezoids, pinning around the outer edges and down the inside edges of the "petals".

Be sure to fold back the seam allowance on the bottom corner of the trapezoids.

Sewing with a 1/4" seam allowance, butt the stitching up to the previous seam, sew down one petal, around the outside, and down the other petal, ending the stitching to meet up with the previous seam and making sure to backstitch at the beginning and end. 

Completed stitching!

It's a bit hard to tell, but here you can see how the stitching lines up with the previous seam.

Trim those corners! (and yes, both pairs of my shears made it into this shot- haha!)

Since we didn't sew together those 2 trapezoids, you can turn it right-side out through that opening.

Iron everything flat.

Fold back the petals and iron in place.

Flip it over to the back side and press the seam allowance under on both edges.

Using a ladder-stitch, sew up the seam.

Now you can admire your work!

Sew the pocket to your project around the outer edges, leaving the petals free.

If your petals need it, tack them invisibly near each edge.

And there you go- your own vintage pocket!  This design lends itself perfectly to contrasting petals, so play around with options!  I'd love to see what you make! :-)