TGIF (Finished!)

This dress is finally finished! It only took me two months!

 

I had this partly sewn and pinned together in early May. It was on the sewing table all through the cleaning and decluttering upheaval. I refused to return it to the UFO pile, and so it sat there as a daily reminder of all my sewing projects that really needed to just get done.

Finally, an urgent need to get something else done is what finally pushed me to finish this and get it out of the way. As usual, when I finally put my mind to it, it went together quickly and left me wondering what all the procrastination was about.

It is a lovely pattern and I would definitely make it again if I didn’t have hundreds of others vying for my attention.

 

I simplified a couple of things and complicated a few others. The biggest complication was adding the piping along the seams of the bodice. Getting the lines to meet at a nice point in the center front took a lot of trial and error. The piping insertion is far from even, in spite of my patient basting and careful stitching.

However, I made sure that the piping matched at the back.

Notice that I was completely blind to the mismatched fabric pattern, but that piping looks solid!

A minor complication was my decision to convert from a one-piece dress to a top and skirt. It didn’t create a lot of extra work – I just cut a simple A-line and added an elastic waist – but it did use up every last iota of fabric. I would have made the top an inch or two longer if I had any extra, but I think it is wearable as is.

How did I simplify? By using this fabulous KNIT fabric! 

It’s a pique knit, the waffle-textured kind found in Polo and Lacoste shirts. I think this fabric came from Fashion Fabrics Club but it was so long ago I can’t be sure. All cotton, with just enough stretch to be comfortable, but it won’t pull out of shape. It is perfectly cool and comfortable for summer. I think this fabric came from Fashion Fabrics Club but it was so long ago I can’t be sure.

 

I thought I would still need the back zipper called for in the pattern because of the non-stretch piping, but I gave it the pull-over test, and sure enough, I was able to slip it on with the back seam stitched completely closed. Hooray for knits!

Now here is something amazing I found on Etsy the other day:

It looks like almost the same print, but it’s on a very different fabric. What a gorgeous dress! For sale here.

 

 

Well I’m glad I made mine and it fits nicely. And what a relief to finally get it off the sewing table and out of the way. Now, what’s next?

Katrina

Lost and Found – Part 5

For those of us who are fabric hounds, finding a listing on eBay entitled “large lot vintage rayon fabric” would be a thrill. Reading further to find that the lot is from an estate and includes old dresses from the 1940s, curtains, and yardage, might winnow out the more sensible buyers, wary of mold, bedbugs, and dishonest sellers.

The ridiculously low bid for this lot easily overwhelmed the weak defenses of my common sense, and I nervously awaited the arrival of a huge carton of … what?

In fact it turned out to be just as described – a large lot of vintage rayon fabric in various forms, along with some other goodies. Of course I gave it the hot dryer treatment to kill anything that might have hitched a ride, then sorted through my new treasures.

Several of the “dresses” were actually dressing gowns.

 

This rayon wrap-front robe with a bias-cut skirt just needs a few seams and hems stitched and a new snap on the front. What a color combination!

 

The little navy robe is falling apart, but have you ever seen anything like the fabric?

 

I will definitely put this to reuse.

 

 

 

 

 

The burgundy dressing gown has a huge panel missing from the back, and the fabric shows some disintegration throughout.

 

Still, I’d like to try to use it in some way, maybe in a collar and cuffs that can be stabilized with fusible interfacing.

 

Here are two examples of actual dresses.

 

The pretty polka dot shirtwaist is silk. It’s in pretty good shape other than missing one sleeve and the other one hanging by a few threads. I might be able to repair this with a bit of restyling and restitching. 

The brown dress is missing most of the front (this is the back of the dress). The floral print is beautiful, and the fabric is in good condition, so I can definitely use it in other projects.

 

Then there are miscellaneous pieces. 

An intensely pink-on-mustard floral skirt portion of a dress

A gorgeous black floral piece of something

 

This tropical print was part of a bedskirt!

 

There were also some pieces of modern fabric. How did they get in there? (Not that I’m complaining!)

Doesn’t this look like the quintessential mid-century Hawaiian print rayon? But it’s a Cameron Industries fabric from 1993!

 

There were several other little beauties in the lot, and now that I’ve unearthed them all, there is hope that one day they will make it to the sewing table. At least they are hanging neatly in the closet now, instead of bunched up in a bag on the floor.

 

I have one or two more “Lost and Found” treasures to share with you, and then we’re back to complaining about the heat.

 

Katrina

Mix-N-Match McCall's

This colorful patchwork print ITY

from Fabric Mart, sometime last year

was originally intended for this pattern

 

as part of the all-70’s slate-blue collection that I planned way back when.  

Since it is now April, which in Phoenix is the thermal equivalent of August in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere (we’ve hit 90 F/ 32 C already), the allure of a long-sleeved, maxi-length polyester dress has pretty much evaporated.

However, I do have a couple of short sleeved tops made of poly-ITY that are inexplicably comfortable even in the summer heat. So went to the pattern stash to search for a compromise between 70s groovitude and polyester discomfort.

I found these two dress patterns from McCalls. They look similar in the photos, but the line drawings have a number of key differences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like the gathered shoulders on M6073 but I’d prefer a bit of a sleeve as on M5662 in view F. In fact I would have used M5662 if only the skirt were gathered in the back, which it is not. M6073 has skirt gathers in front and back, which I prefer.

M5662

M6073

So I hodged bits of both patterns together into a podge of a dress.

front: the pattern is simple,
the fabric is wild

The shoulder gathers from 6073 went onto the sleeves from 5662. The midriff band from 5662 is with the gathered skirt from 6073. Somehow it all worked out, and I like the look of it.

 

I'm not too sure about the wearability yet, as I still ended up with a maxi dress in polyester.

back

Yes, I could have made it shorter, but I just hate having 1/2 yard of fabric left! Too little of it to make a top, but too much to throw out. My scrap bin is already overflowing!

I’m giving it a test run on a dinner date next week, after which I’ll know for sure whether it’s going to be a summer dress or be relegated to the closet until next fall.

 

 

What’s on your sewing/crafting table?

 

Katrina

Blue and Gray Like the Weather

I cannot believe the East Coast folks are getting hit with another storm of the century! They just can’t get a break. I hope everyone gets their power back on very soon.

Here in the desert, we had a week of springtime sunshine, and then the temperatures dropped again. We’re looking at cloudy gray skies and hoping for rain again this week.

So my first couple of pieces in the new dusky blue wardrobe fit right in with our weather.

I made the jacket first, so I could get a feel for this stretch denim-like fabric before I embarked on the pants. It’s quite nice: heavy but not stiff, and fairly easy to sew, although the thicker twill stripes tend to send pins and needles off course occasionally.


"Marc Jacobs Cotton Double Stripe Suiting"
according to Fabric Mart.
It looks and behaves like stretch denim.

The 1975 pattern was a lot of fun. I like almost everything about it, including the oversized collar.

 

The yoke and pocket flaps were perfect for playing with the stripe, and I really like the way that part looks.

click to enlarge

The one part of the pattern I wasn’t thrilled with was the attachment of the “belt” tabs to the front.

I think it looks sloppy, and although part of that is my poor topstitching, I think there must be a better way of applying these. On the other hand, I do like the look of the rest of the waist, with the wide elastic casing.

It was all easy sewing, but it did take a lot of time, due to my interior finishing. The fabric was unraveling throughout the construction process, so I thought a complete binding would be best. Also, it looks so nice inside an unlined jacket!

 

I used the same pattern to make the bias skirt, because, hey, the pattern envelope shows that you can use a plaid.

mystery fabric, probably a rayon blend?

Ha! I immediately regretted it when I spent hours trying to match up the side seams and insert the zipper. Why are plaids so difficult to match on the bias? This is not rocket science!

In the end it all worked out, of course. In the photos, the skirt is unhemmed, still doing its bias hang to make sure it does all the stretching before I hem it.

Next I’ll work on an “easy” blouse while I mentally prepare for the jeans!

What’s on your creative agenda this week?

Katrina

Sewing? Really? When?

I have sewing plans. Big, exciting plans. The fabrics have been measured and pressed.  The buttons, zippers, linings, and interfacing are ready. The patterns have been double-checked. I’ve even cut out the first two garments.

Yet I still can’t seem to get any momentum going. It’s not like I have anything important to do, it’s just that I have one interruption after another. I don’t know how people with real jobs or kids get anything done.

But at least I can share my plans! It’s another color-coordinated group. I seem to have good luck finishing those. The fabrics are all shades of dusky blue.

It’s sometimes called slate blue, evening blue, brittany blue, steel blue, or simply grey-blue.

Natural blue slate. source

To me, it looks a lot like water reflecting the sky at dusk.

Lake Powell at dusk, Sept 2007

I’m doing a 70s theme here, which at first glance seems as though it could go very badly. Or it could be a wild success.

 

In my mind’s eye, the designs take on a completely different look in, say, blue cotton twill, than the kelly green polyester pictured on the pattern.  

Let’s hope that the reality of the end result resembles my vision.

All I need is an uninterrupted month or so…

Katrina

Inspiration at the Museum

This past weekend offered the opportunity for free museum passes, so we went to the Phoenix Art Museum to see what was new since our last visit in September. We looked at some photos and a lot of southwestern paintings, but I purposely left the Fashion Gallery until the end, knowing I would be there for a long time. Once I got in there, I almost couldn’t leave.

The current fashion exhibit is “Modern Spirit – Fashion of the 1920s.” Where do I even begin to describe this incredible collection? The colors! Yes, the colors. Surprisingly subdued, the colors in the room were mostly earthtones. Rust, camel, salmon-peach, black, and ivory made up the majority. There were also a few dusky versions of jewel tones like jade and plum, and dark blue appeared once in evening wear and once in a suit. A brilliant scarlet red was the exception to all this restraint, and it stood out in several areas of the exhibit. 

Although no photos were allowed in the museum, many of the exhibit pieces are from the Arizona Costume Institute, and these images are from their online gallery.

1928 dresses

The textiles were utterly amazing. Each piece was dripping with embroidery, beading, ruffles, rhinestones, or sequins. Several of the dresses were covered with thousands of glass beads individually sewn onto silk tulle or lace. How does the fabric bear that weight? How does the garment survive 90 years?

Three evening dresses by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. 1928, 1925, 1925.

One of the most luxurious-looking effects was the voluminous, gathered and rolled velvet collars of the evening coats, which were shaped very much like the Poiret cocoon coat. Even the velvet was embellished with beads and embroidery, and in one case, fur.

Folkwear Pattern 503, The Poiret Cocoon Coat. Source

I could go on and on, but without photos, I feel I can’t really do justice to the other pieces.

I will leave you with the last one that I do have a picture of, which was the simplest design, and also my favorite. It’s a Vionnet, of red silk crepe chiffon. The narrow silver edging is a lamé binding. For the sewists reading this, can you imagine trying to stitch a long strip of lamé to a fluttery, tissue-thin expanse of silk, on the bias, without snagging, tearing, shifting, or even creating the tiniest hole?

The epitome of elegance

A history of Madeleine Vionnet and her design techniques that we still use today is here. Also, Coletterie did a nice writeup on Vionnet here.

I was very inspired by my visit. I won't be sewing up any 20s-style evening gowns, but it certainly boosted my creativity.

What has been your source of creative inspiration lately?

Katrina

all photos from the Arizona Costume Institute, http://www.arizonacostumeinstitute.com/ACI/The_Collection.html

 



Must Watch TV

I’ve fallen in love with Bomb Girls, only to learn that there are only six episodes! Although the program was renewed for a second season, production has just begun, and there's no telling when the new episodes will be shown in Canada, much less here in the US.

This Canadian show is set in 1941 Toronto, where women have taken over the work of building bombs at a factory since most of the men have gone to fight in WWII.  

Waiting for their shift at the factory

Although I was drawn to the show by the promise of 1940s wardrobes and hairstyles, music, dance and period lingo, I was immediately impressed by the presentation of daily life for women of the time. Yes, it is somewhat glamorized for television, but the grim reality is there too.

My almost-twin, Meg Tilly (we were born 24 days and 400 miles apart) as the stern matron

Women dealt with shortages of food, toiletries, clothing and every other item we take for granted, and they were essentially single mothers raising their children. They lived under a constant burden of fear for their husbands and sons who could die far away. At the same time, they went into unfamiliar workplaces where they learned technical skills, performed dangerous jobs, and kept manufacturing going throughout the war. Through all of it, they were subjected to mean-spirited chauvinism by the male bosses and harrassed and undermined by the few male coworkers. Moments of joy came from family time, camaraderie with their coworkers, and the occasional flirtation with soldiers at the local pub.

the dresses!

The wardrobe designer did extensive research in the Canadian archives, and the GlobalTV website has some very nice photos of women at work and in everyday life during the war years. Yes, the wardrobe is fantastic. Every time I watch an episode show I jump and twitch with each scene change, coveting the incredible dresses and blouses. I’ve already got a mental list of styles I want to recreate.

All photos from Reelz channel

 

 

 

 

Bomb Girls is definitely worth watching if it comes to one of your television channels or if you find it on DVD (I don't know if it is available yet).

Katrina