· 1950s Nautical for Kathryn ·

I'm getting to be quite jealous of Kathryn's wardrobe lately.  Which is quite silly considering I'm the one making it. ;-)

Long-time readers will know the back-story of why I make her vintage and historical clothing: she's a dear friend and we've worked out a system whereby she is my Personal Photographer and Website Mistress and in turn I make her clothing.  You can see some of her previous requests here.

A few months ago, we made the decision to take a fun girls trip to Maine and naturally, this was the perfect opportunity for a 1950s nautical outfit! ;-)  (oh, and I promise I haven't forgotten about sharing photos of Maine!  My life has been..... crazy since being back so a re-cap of the trip has taken the back burner!)

We had stunningly gorgeous weather every day, so we had our pick of when to take outfit photos!  Portland Head Lighthouse seemed like a pretty wonderful backdrop and as you can see, it didn't disappoint. :-)  After taking these photos, we got lobster rolls at Bite Into Maine (a cute food truck parked near the lighthouse) and took them down to the rocky coast to enjoy our seafood with the salty spray crashing beside us, a great view of the lighthouse, and very few other tourists.  Amazing!!

Anyway... enough spoilers from the vacation post!  Time to get back to the outfit!

I used Simplicity 2154 yet again for this blouse!  I changed the neckline and added buttons down the front, which in turn meant I could eliminate the back keyhole opening.

The big fluffy bow is just safety-pinned on, so the blouse can be worn without it and the bow can be used for other outfits.  It's made from one layer of the skirt fabric and I decided to cut it on the straight of grain.  I'm not quite sure why I decided that?  Might have been due to fabric shortage, but I think it looks good like that anyway. ;-)  I didn't use a pattern for it, just eyeballed about what I wanted it to look like and cut!  Ok, yeah.  I measured a lot, too.  And made a few mock-ups.....

I was so tickled to find these stripey buttons at Hobby Lobby!  They add the perfect touch!

An on-seam pocket for practicality- after all, what's the point of having a full skirt without taking advantage of the suitability for pockets?!  There is an invisible zipper on the other side.

The blouse is made from a lightweight linen/cotton blend from JoAnns.  This is the 2nd project I've used this for, and I'm so pleased with it!  It's also surprisingly cheap for JoAnns and with coupons, is a steal!

The trim is 1/4" wide satin ribbon- turned wrong side out so it's not as shiny.

My favorite method of finishing off these armholes is to cut facings rather than using bias binding.  I usually make my facings so they're about 3/4"-1" wide when finished and I love hand-sewing them down.  A neat, smoother finish than bias binding allows for. :-)

This skirt is made just like her red one with slightly narrower pleats.  It's made from a polished cotton and is lightweight enough to be great for summer, while still having enough body to look professional.  I am sensing a dire need for several such skirts in my wardrobe now.....

· Perfectly Parisian ·

If you've been following Kathryn's blog, you'll already know that she recently got back from a trip to France!  Yeah, I know.... I'm jealous too.

At any rate, I get to share fabulous pictures of the Eiffel Tower on here too, because she requested a new outfit for the trip! :-)

(For newcomers to the blog- we work on the barter system: she takes photos for my blog, in exchange I sew her clothing. :-)  Check out the "Kathryn" tag for other outfits I've made for her!)

This outfit was inspired by this 1950s Hallmark card and as you can see, it works just as smashingly for posing in front of the Eiffel Tower! ;-)

The red flared dirndl skirt (is flared dirndl an oxymoron?? I think it might be... ;-)) is made from a polished stretch poplin from JoAnns.  It has great body and looks really nice for skirts!  Since it wasn't really clear what the inspiration skirt was doing, I did box pleats like a different skirt Kathryn liked.

There is a pocket (of course!) on one side and the skirt closes with a side zipper.  Hand-picked, of course!  My favorite method for zipper sewing. :-)

It was kind of hard to tell what exactly the inspiration's collar was doing!  In all actuality, it might have just been defying all laws of physics and fabric manipulation... :-P  Instead of a direct recreation, Kathryn decided on a collar like my Fruit and Lemon dresses.  I combined a total of 3 patterns to get this blouse- Simplicity 3706 for the collar (with minor modifications), Simplicity 2154 for the body, and my own kimono-sleeve draft for the sleeve.

The blouse closes with pearl buttons.  The original inspiration has gold dots, but JoAnns only sells silver, so a gold dotty blouse will have to be another addition to her wardrobe at a later date. ;-)

All in all, it is a rather perfectly Parisian sort of outfit! :-)

Thanks for having such great taste that makes it so fun to sew for you, Kathryn!!

· Photos by Kathryn and her mom! ·

· A Quintessentially 1930s Outfit for Kathryn ·

OK.  This outfit turned out to be absolutely fabulous!!

For our next installment in the "Decade Project", Kathryn, Tara, Gretel, and I needed 1930s outfits.  It took some convincing to get Kathryn and Tara onboard, but it was eventually successful!  Of course, then we haven't actually all been in the same place at the same time to have our party. :-P

In the meantime, Kathryn has a fun 1930s outfit to wear. :-)

She wasn't too sure about 30s styles last year when I started her outfit, so she chose a sweater and skirt to ease into the style.

(As for her other dresses, I make her fun clothes in exchange for the fabulous photographs she takes for this blog- such a great deal!!)

I was confident in my fabulous sweater re-fashioning skills, and confident to take on anything!

After this sweater, I think I'll be a bit more cautious next time. ;-)

Everything worked out well in the end, but a word to the wise- don't choose bulky cotton knits, if at all possible.  The waist seam was almost a disaster, but I found that stitching elastic to the seam after serging it helps keep the knit in place, looking good, and still stretchy enough to pull over the shoulders!

The skirt is based on one from a 30s ad- a basic skirt pattern (the 1980s had lots of wonderful 30s-appropriate skirt patterns!) was dressed up with some seaming details to keep the 1930s aesthetic.

It was Kathryn's first time doing finger waves, and I think it turned out charmingly! :-)  She is so, so suited to this decade!!  It's almost not fair.

Oh well.  I'll just live vicariously.

The V-neck sweater was dressed up with a rayon fabric detail.  Amazing how such a simple change makes such a huge difference!  

She's now reconciled to the 1930s and is eager for more.  I'm glad. :-D

· A Regency Ballgown for Kathryn ·

With a fancy Regency Ball to be attended last December, my friend Kathryn needed a dress suitable for the occasion!

There was a lot of agonizing over what style to settle upon, but one thing was certain- she wanted silk.  She also wanted something very drapey, so we settled on a silk habotai.  The gold color was partially just a result of the fabric available, but I'm so glad that's what she chose!  The color is stunning on her, and is perfect for the style and the setting! :-)

The dress closes in the back with covered buttons.

And just act like you didn't see those machine-sewn buttonholes.  I probably should be so shamed by them that I learn how to make nice hand-sewn buttonholes, but I'm not. Yet.

Maybe that should be one of my New Year's Resolutions- perfect my hand-sewn buttonholes. ;-)

One of my favorite parts of regency dresses- all of those lovely skirt pleats! :-)

I just love this back view!!  So pretty.  I am in dire need of a silk regency dress now.  Like, right now.

The dress is very simple, so we decided that detailed sleeves were a "must".  The sleeves are lined in quilting-weight cotton to add more body and strips of fabric "bunch" the sleeve up.

The bodice is gathered in the front, and has a small drawstring in the neckline to ensure a perfect fit each time.  The waistline is trimmed with large piping, which adds just a touch of detail and makes the dress look more complete. :-)

· Photos by oh, wait... me.  With Kathryn's camera. ;-) ·

· A Gingham Dress for Kathryn ·

Fall has officially taken hold here and the trees are starting to get gorgeous!  Consequently, this post is a bit out-of-season now.... so try not to notice that this post is much more suited to summer. ;-)  That's one problem with posting just once a week- sometimes the end of the season comes far too quickly!

For Kathryn's next dress, she wanted a simple gingham dress to go with a "theme day" we had conjured up. (If all goes according to plan, you'll get to see the theme next spring or summer.  If it doesn't, well... Kathryn can just enjoy her dress anyway. ;-))

She wanted a very classic red gingham, in a simple, classic shirtdress style.  We used a 1990s pattern they had languishing in their stash for the bodice (proof that you never know when you'll use those ugly, outdated patterns!).  Since all we wanted was a notched collar and darts, it didn't matter that the rest of the pattern was vastly unsuitable for our desires. ;-)

I was really happy with the skirt from Simplicity 1459 when I made it last- it's gathered and flared, so it seemed perfectly suited to this style of dress. :-)

The dress is made from a 100% cotton gingham and is wonderful! :-)  I was concerned it might wrinkle more than the usual cotton/poly ginghams, but even after wearing for long car trips it looks great!

This dress was a great opportunity for practicing my plaid-matching skills, since it only required matching in a few places and came together smoothly. :-)  The only "failure" of sorts was the collar- I need to have a better plan next time for planning that all out! :-P

Her belt is from a different dress she made years ago- and it matches perfectly! :-)

Oh, and isn't her new haircut adorable?!? :-)

This style is so great- wear it without a crinoline for a perfect Audrey Hepburn/picnic look, or with a petticoat and pearls for a quintessentially 1950s look!  It can be dressed up or down so easily. :-)

I am offically convinced that my Summer 2015 Wardrobe is in dire need of a gingham dress.  Now to choose a color and style that doesn't look like I'm trying to copy Kathryn exactly. ;-)

· Kathryn's Maroon Dress ·

Last weekend, we traveled down to TN with Kathryn to attend the Remembering WWII event down in Linden.  It was a blast, and I look forward to sharing more about it later!  For now, here's a post on the dress Kathryn wore to the event. :-)

This is the second version of Simplicity 1587 that I made Kathryn (first one is over here!), and we made a few slight tweaks to the fit on this one to get the shoulders to fit better. :-)

Also, Kathryn wanted a 6-gore skirt on this one instead.  

The dress is made from a maroon rayon fabric that Kathryn found at a local quilt shop that was going out of business and snagged it for just $2/yd!

Elasticized shirring on the sleeves

Ugh, and her hair!!!  I really want to be Asian. ;-)

The dress features a pleated yoke with a decorative bow, and closes on the side with a zipper and the back neck has a keyhole opening.

Kathryn says this is her favorite 1940s dress so far, and I can see why! :-)

This pattern looks so cute no matter what fabric is used!!
(Well, it doesn't hurt that Kathryn can pull off the 1940s so well! ;-))

· Kathryn's Khaki Dress ·

It's a shorter post this week as I'm currently in California visiting some friends! :-)

The second dress I made for Kathryn this year was this cute 1945 dress!  When Kathryn first told me she wanted to use Butterick 5209, I was a bit unimpressed.  But, it being her dress and all, I went along with the plan.  Wow.  This dress is SO cute!  All the aspects that I hated in the pattern illustration (I tend to dislike many quintessential 40s ideals) are not an issue in real life!  And let me tell you- this pattern is so ingenious!  It's really cool!

The dress can be made either as a halter dress or with the attached piece to make it into a kimono-sleeved dress.  The piece extends from the front shoulder all the way around the back and to the waist.  So. cool.

Well, and a bit confusing to construct.  But really- who likes a project with no challenge?! ;-)

All in all, this pattern is now on my list of favorites and "must makes"!

The dress has a flared, gathered skirt, closes with a side zipper, and is made from a medium-weight rayon twill.  I love how well the red accessories pop with this dress! :-)

Oh, and just a note to anyone who is now inspired to go off and make their own version- the center front neckline was raised about 2". :-)

· Kathryn's 1940s Print Dress ·

Long-time readers will remember my deal with Kathryn- she takes my pictures, does my web design, pushes me to the next level, is my biggest cheerleader, and encourages me to dream big.

In return, I make her some dresses. ;-)

So without further ado, here is a dress I made for her last fall!

The bodice of this dress is Simplicity 1587 and the skirt is from a original 1940s pattern.  I just love the neckline detailing on this dress!

The back keyhole opening closes with a button, while the dress also features a side zipper.

This drapey rayon flows beautifully and according to Kathryn- is great fun to dance in. :-)

Ruching detail on the sleeve.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not a big 1940s fan, but this pattern has definitely tempted me!  I will be making this next season! (never mind the fact that I've said that for the last 3 seasons.... I really mean it this time! ;-P)