Not a Ghost of a Chance

The Sophistique Noir theme for April is vintage, so I wanted to share two of the vintage garments I own and one that I sewed.  I love the look of vintage garments, but given that modern RTW garments don't fit my odd shape, I don't own all that many.  The benefit of sewing your own vintage repo garments is that they'll actually fit.

This jumper (US English)/pinafore (British English) is Simplicity 3673 view A.  The pattern doesn't give an exact year, but it does say 1950s retro.  It does feature a good deal of darts, some gathering, a rear zipper, a back vent, and a little bow-belt thing (which I omitted).  It was a bit finicky, so I would say this is probably an intermediate-level pattern.

The fabric I got on eBay an eternity ago; probably four or five yards for $15.  I couldn't give an exact year I bought it, but I remember bidding on it using a Sidekick I or II.  It features tiny little embroidered ghosts on a plaid-ish, and I believe it is cotton.

This cowl-neck sweater was my mother's.  She wore it as part of her uniform when she was in boarding school in England, so it is probably from the mid-60s.  The fabric seems acrylic and in cold weather, I wear the jumper with the sweater, heavy tights, and boots.  I suppose it isn't really vintage-accurate to combine the 50s and 60s, but I don't care because I'm warm.  In spring and fall, I wear the jumper with regular tights, a long-sleeved shirt, and heels; a t-shirt and sandals completes the outfit when it's hot.

I am not sure what to call this other vintage garment.  Is it a sleeveless jacket?  It doesn't really seem like a top, so I guess sleeveless jacket is what we'll go with.  The sleeveless jacket is lace covered with beads and has a synthetic lining.  A separating zipper up the back serves as the closure.

This belonged to my grandmother.  It was no tags, so I don't know what it is made from or where it came from.  I am not all that versed in vintage clothing, but if I had to guess, I would say this came from the 70s.  The lack of tags, plus the fact that the lace is quite similar to the standard one from JoAnn's, makes me wonder if someone made this for her.  (She certainly did not make it for herself.  She knitted and crocheted, but hated sewing.  She started a club called I Hate Sewing which I did not join.)  Due to the time period that I think this came from, if someone made it for her, it would probably have been my great aunt (her sister).

I might also add that all the beads on this make it heavy as sin.

Green with Envy

Due to Red & Black week and being out of town this weekend, I don't have any new sewing to show you. Instead, I raided my closet to show you this dress that I made just before I started the blog.

I've mentioned previously that I am frequently get on kicks for a particular style (usually vintage-inspired) or color combination.  In this case, it was both.  New Look 6776 wanted desperately to be sewed, but I hadn't yet found a fabric that tickled my fancy.  I woke up one morning wanting to wear green, which isn't too prominent in my wardrobe (despite being my favorite color). To remedy this, I went on a fabric search.  Unfortunately, black and green isn't too common a color combination.  Although I love this fabric (Boo to You! by Riley Blake, which also comes in purple and grey), I wasn't too happy about making another vintage-inspired dress in polka dots, because I had just made one the previous summer (in orange, which I will feature at some later date).  Obviously, my reluctance was overcome in the end. The fabric for the sash is nothing special.  It's just a quilting cotton from JoAnn's.  They did have an exact match for the dots, but it was just too stark against the dress.  I thought this one, with its own dots, looked better.

If the bolero looks familiar to you, I direct you to my second pattern review, featuring Simplicity 2183.  I am getting more use of out of this more than I thought I would, because the bolero is frequently waiting to be washed when I want to wear it.  This means, of course, that I must make another and/or more in a different pattern.

Finally, onto the pattern review.  The dress isn't as simple to make as it looks.  There's gathering under the bust, which I expected, but it also has pleats in the front and back (which are covered by the sash).  It is also lined.  It isn't difficult at all, just it's more complicated than it seems.  The sash, however, is ridiculously simple.  I would recommend this for an advanced beginner.

Modifications made: I shortened the straps (as always) and lengthened the skirt (as always).  I made the sash in the largest size in the envelope because I like having lots of dangly ends.

One final word of caution here: take care when choosing a fabric for this dress because some of it is cut on the bias.

Accessories:
Barrettes: Etsy, ~$2
Earrings: Etsy, ~$5
Socks: Target, $7 for a package of six vibrant colors
Shoes: Famous Footwear, $70 (more expensive than what I usually go for, but so comfy and so worth it)

Yeah, my hair is wet again.  Sorry.

Skittles Dress II

Last time, I left you lamenting over how I couldn't eat Skittles (I checked - the recipe has changed and Skittles no longer uses gelatin, though Starburst still does) and with a convoluted tale of how I chose the fabric for Butterick 4790. I stated, off-handedly, that the sewing of the dress would probably end up being shorter. Oh boy, when will I learn not to open my big mouth?

First up: since I was making the dress in view A, I needed a fabric for contrast. Plain black wouldn't have worked here, I thought. It seemed too stark. I did have a matching pink (JoAnn's calls it flamingo), leftover from a Daisy-Head Maizy costume I made for a coworker. Apparently it makes a comfy cat bed.



Butterick rates this pattern as "very easy". Erm. I would say it's "very easy" for someone who already knows how to sew. The first step is inserting darts in the front and back, with no instructions other than "sew in darts". This is the front:



I've seen fewer lines on a road map. Note that the lower dart actually meets up with the bust dart! Sure, since I can put in darts with my eyes closed, this wasn't a big deal to me, but this alone would probably bump a pattern from the "very easy" category. Harumph #1.

Because the skirt of the dress is cut on the bias, this dress has to hang a while to stretch out. The instructions say 24 hours, which I found weird. Usually they say overnight or eight hours, but whatever. This style of is called a walkaway dress because you can sew it quickly in the morning and walk away wearing it that night. Doesn't seem possible if you have to hang it for 24 hours.

The next few steps involve putting darts in the back, joining the back and front, and then hemming the skirt. If you can handle the darts from the first step, this should be no problem. However, the next step involves bias tape. I won't treat you to my rant on bias tape, but I will suffice it to say that I made my own (as I always do) out of the leftover fabric from the front. The instructions at this point are "enclose the seam in bias tape" - er, what? Again, I am experienced at this, but for "very easy" I would have expected more. I have several Simplicity patterns of a higher difficulty rating that feature step by step instructions on using bias tape. Harumph #2.



After the bias tape is applied, sewing on the closure is the final step. The pattern states to use sew-on snaps (overlapping the front) and then make a loop for buttons out of bias tape. I did not like the look of the overlapping front. It added bulk to the waist and just looked sloppy. Also, I don't trust stretchy bias tape with two buttons to keep a dress closed. I decided I would have the bias taped edges just meet in the middle and use actual buttons with buttonholes for the closure. I toyed with sewing a flap to the inside edge, sewing buttons to that, and flipping it over (does that make sense to anyone but me?), but in the end, I sewed the buttons to the actual inner front (the pink part) and the buttonholes in the outer dotty fabric. That should also ensure that the dress doesn't slip around too much.



The color combination reminds me of watermelon. I flipped the front around, buttoned it, and then added a hook and eye to ensure the dress doesn't pull too much at the buttonholes.





Here's the back and side:





Looks cute, right? I showed it to my husband and he said "wow, that's a lot of pink!" This from a guy who is always trying to get me to wear more color (to which I say: "I wear exactly as much color as I want to"). This was immediately followed with "hey, your bra is showing through!" - I guess I'm either going to have to get a beige color bra (ugh), line the dress (ugh ugh), or wear a slip (ugh ugh ugh). Harumph #3 (though this one is my fault).

I twirled around a little to make sure the fit was good and immediately noticed a problem. Scroll up to the picture of just the front with the buttons; the back of the sheath isn't sewn to itself or anything, and the only thing keeping the back of the dress in place is static cling. When I wore it, the sides immediately fell down to the level of the buttons, exposing my bra and ribs. A quick fix was a small piece of elastic and some Velcro, but sheesh. This dress would be utterly unwearable if it was constructed according to the directions.

So, it comes down to this: though Butterick might rate this pattern "very easy", if you don't already know how to sew in darts and enclose seams in bias tape, I would shy away from this one if you're just starting. If you're not comfortable with making major modifications to make a garment wearable, steer clear. Simplicity has a better collection of learning to sew patterns.

One more thing, regarding the waist: since this is going to be tight around your waist, double check your measurements! I saw a lot of people whining about how there must be something wrong with the pattern to gap or overlap in the front so - nope, you either sewed it wrong, cut the incorrect size, or you aren't the size you think you are. A lot of people measure once and then don't bother doing it again after significant weight loss or gain, and then bemoan how sizing on their patterns are wrong. Listen, if your purchased garments don't fit after weight change, why would sewn garments? Harumph #4.

Skittles Dress I

Our story begins with Butterick 4790. It's a reprint of a pattern designed in 1952 with modern sizing. I go in and out of vintage phases, and was in one when I bought this pattern. I was itching to make it as soon as I could, but I was in the middle of other projects that I couldn't stop. Around the same time, fabric.com (one of my fave fabric sites) had this fabric on sale:



That's Geeks Gone Wild's Pac-Man fabric. I had to have it! Had to! I just needed to decide which pattern I would use it for and then buy the appropriate yardage. I remembered that pattern and thought it would be perfect. The incongruity of a 50s dress meeting 80s pop culture was too good to pass up. I even had some mega-cute Ms. Pac-Man buttons made for me on Etsy. I was ready and raring to go, all I needed was the time to make the dress!

Well, my projects all finished up (after months, harumph), and I finally was back to sewing for myself. I kept going to that pattern and fabric and then shying away from it. Something was making me hesitate. Was it the humor of a 50s/80s matchup wearing thin? Was it the thought of trying to explain the humor daunting? Concern over how the fabric would look cut on the bias? I think what finally changed my mind was those damn buttons. They're made of polymer clay and probably shouldn't be put through the washing machine. Even washing the dress by hand would be a risky prospect. I began thinking of ways to make the buttons removable without having to re-sew them whenever I wore the dress (such as sewing the buttons to snaps, sewing them to a Velcro strip, etc.). Ultimately, I decided that if I had doubts about such awesome fabric, then this probably wasn't the pattern to go with. You can always re-use the pattern, but you can't re-use the fabric.

So with that idea shelved, there was the question of what fabric I should make the dress in. It just so happens that I had McCall's 6024 and fabric already purchased - AND both patterns used the same amount! I'm going to take this as kismet and sew the Butterick pattern in the second fabric. I can't find the fabric on the Joann's site, but it's black with lavender, pink, yellow, and green dots - which is why it reminds me of Skittles.

I can't eat Skittles because they have gelatin. (Or at least they used to. I haven't checked in a while.)

I also know regular Skittles don't have a pink flavor and the purple is dark, rather than light. But Skittles were the first thing that popped in my head, so that's what I'm sticking with.

So next time, I'll feature the actual sewing of the dress. I imagine that post will be shorter than this one.