Butterick 7461, or, Project Housecoat

by Frances

in Vintage Sewing

When my fiance and I moved to Massachusetts for school, I knew that one thing I wanted to purchase or make was a very warm housecoat.  I’d purchase the pattern for Butterick 7461 last summer and made the shorter version out of a kimono that my mother and I made while I was in junior high, and the fit and style were great and the pattern was quick and easy (like it says on the package!) so I figured it would be perfect for making a longer housecoat.

I procrastinated on the hand finishing for ages, but… it’s DONE!!  And I love it to bits and wear it constantly.  For more construction details and lots more pictures, keep reading…

[click to continue…]

{ 16 comments }

Dress Form Dilemma

by CarolP

in Vintage Sewing

Hi All

I only recently stumbled across this treasure trove of inspiration, and instantly became an avid fan! I just graduated from college, and although I am just a beginner, I am trying to hone my sewing skills specifically with 1950s/1960s styles. I am having so much fun perusing all your projects, and only hope I have something just as nice to show off soon.

To show his support for my new found obsession, my BF is going to spring for a dress form for Christmas! I am obviously super excited, but as I mentioned before, I am kind of newbie to this fun and fantastical world, so I am a tad clueless as to what exactly I should be looking for.

The hunt began at the logical first stop for all things beautiful and vintage, Etsy of course. My heart sang as I browsed the plethora of loveliness that might just soon be mine, and I did find a number of contestants for the coveted position of my in house body double.

Vintage Adjustable Dress Form/ Mannequin

In Rare Form - Vintage Sewing Mannequin - Dress Form - Adjustable - Mint Green - Dress Rite - Clothing Jewelry Scarf Display -

I mean, how gorgeous are these girls?

But then a nagging thought occurred to me; Perhaps I should be focusing more on the function of the dress form, and less on the display/vintage aspect. I did a bit of research about what I should be looking for, but have come up with nothing conclusive. Collapsible shoulders, adjustable height, and wheels seem to be biggees, and I did find a nice form that doesn’t break the bank from The Shop Company that seems to cover everything.She looks clean and crisp, but alas she is admittedly not vintage.

 

So, sewers of the world, what do you think? What do all you professionals out there use?

I am so excited about joining this awesome vintage-sewing community. Keep up all the beautiful work!

 

{ 12 comments }

Catholic School Girl Skirt

by raywuwei

in 1970s,Skirts

This lovely wool challis pleated skirt is my second make from Simplicity 9070 circa 1970.

My mother’s friend saw it and exclaimed, “That is a perfect pleated skirt. And I went to Catholic school, so I know what I’m talking about!”

To see some more photos you can stop by my blog. Thanks and happy vintage sewing!

{ 6 comments }

Fleur of NOLA ~ Butterick 8080

by technicolorcutie

in 1950s

Hello WSR!

I recently served as Bridesmaid for my gorgeous girlfriend’s destination wedding in New Orleans! I received Butterick pattern 8080 as a gift, and was very excited to make this pattern. I have many tattoo’s and needed to cover them for the conservative Catholic wedding mass.

I couldn’t believe I found this amazing grey satin with embroidered Fleur de Lis for $6 a yard. It was in the back area of Joann’s! It was originally 20$ a yard. What a score!

Upon opening the pattern, I was missing the back lining piece and the INSTRUCTIONS!! It was my first time flying blind, but everything came out pretty fantastic! I jimmy rigged the front enough for it to lay right. I almost want to purchase another pattern to see how it really goes together!

The rest of the dress and my New Orleans adventure can be seen on my blog!!

~Missy

Technicolorcutie

Tagged as: fleur de lis, New Orleans, sewing without instructions

{ 4 comments }

Advance-7075

by Sewingadicta

in 1950s,Dresses,Vintage Sewing

I thought to share some photos of this beautiful dress, I was inspired by the pattern “7075 Advance”, although I drew the patterns to make the dress look like the original pattern. You can see more about it here .

Tagged as: 1950s, 50s Fashion, dresses

{ 1 comment }

My 1960s dress

by seamsoddlouise

in 1960s

This is economy Design E233.   I found it in my Nan’s  stash.

Economy design

Economy design

I thought the picture sheet was lovely and I decided on design A.  I had all the pieces but no instructions!  I used a plain cotton drill in purple.  I’d have loved to use a wool crepe but I was worried I’d mess it up without those instructions.

I added the braid  to the neckline and hem.

I thought this made the dress look more 60s. I like the dress and it’s fun. If I were to make it again, I’d shorten the bust darts as they are too long

This was my first vintage pattern and I really enjoyed sewing it.   I’m looking forward to my next vintage make.

{ 2 comments }

1930′s (inspired) dress

by Lauriana

in 1930s,Dresses,Pattern Drafting

It’s finally finished! I thought and drafted and muslined and sewed this dress over the past month.

It’s inspired by the beautiful images in 1930′s sewing magazines and made from wool crepe and silk satin. The dress has raglan sleeves which form a yoke at the back. The lower back bodice is gathered to that yoke and fits at the natural waist. At the front, there’s a satin cowl neck with pleats. The skirt rises into a point well above the waistline at the front. It’s fairly slim and has flared inserts.

It’s very comfortable but I still have to get used to the silhouette. I mostly sew 1950′s dresses with the odd mod look or 1970′s thing thrown in…

 

Go to my blog to read more about this dress!

{ 6 comments }

Plaid Hawthorn

by cawmags

in 1950s,Dresses,Giveaway

As usual I’m rather late to the pattern love party, but here is my Hawthorn.  I wanted a cold weather version, so made this from a brushed cotton (this did mean that all the layers in the collar and facing became rather unwieldly).  I found aspects of the pattern challenging, but I love the result and will make another, perhaps in a thinner fabric.  There are more details on my blog.

{ 4 comments }

My first vintage pattern…

by Foam of days

in 1960s,Dresses,Vintage Sewing

Hello, it’s my first post here, and my first try of using vintage pattern too..

Where to start? I needed a dress for a rather formal event.. After a lot of pondering and wasting time researching on pinterest and such, I thought I rather fancied this vintage Vogue Couturier Belinda Bellville dress:

V2112

The problem was I couldn’t find it (by that I mean couldn’t buy it for a reasonable price, the cheapest I found was £50+, and it’s not what I’m prepared to pay for a pattern.. )

To recreate this vintage pattern, I found another pattern from the same era, very similar Simplicity 8498:

S8498

As you can see the front looks absolutely identical. The view 1 even has a self fabric belt  buttoned in back that is very similar to a band with a bow in Vogue Couturier 2112. And it’s  much cheaper!

I was very excited to try a vintage pattern for the first time… but I’m afraid it was the case that on PatternReview website described as “pattern ok, but didn’t work for me”.  Well, it was a nightmare!

Now, according to my bust measurements, I’m between size 14 and 16. I bought size 16 to be on safer side.. but when I made a muslin for the bodice, there was no room in it for my bust! I couldn’t believe how small it was! (I mean the bodice, not the bust..)

I’m very glad that I made a muslin! I spent 3 days fiddling with it, and in the end there was no line or curve of the pattern that had been left unchanged!

You can read the whole saga of my troubles on my blog, here I will show only the result  :)

DSC_1226

The back was a challenge.. Center back opening from Vogue 2112 just didn’t look good.. I ended up making a V-cut instead..

DSC_1239a

The fabric is lovely Duchess satin that I bought on Goldhawk road in London. When I was buying it I spotted discounted muslin, and I bought about 3 metres of muslin for making, well, muslin :)

It was the first time I made a proper muslin, and, as I said, it was the right decision. I couldn’t believe it, but it really speeds up the process! After all alterations were made on the muslin, it was so nice and easy to sew with actual intended fabric!

DSC_1245aDSC_1236
My thoughts on the pattern.

As I said, it didn’t work for me.. Maybe my shape is wrong for this particular pattern, or because it’s vintage. I don’t know.. Besides, I’m not sure about those french darts.  Next photo shows: the pointy problem with french darts; the second dart on the bodice that was not intended by the pattern; and that I could’ve done better ironing..

DSC_1235
DSC_1246aDSC_1253

Thanks for looking at my first contribution to this wonderful community (not sure whether there will be more, as this painful experience kind of put me off vintage patterns..)

You can see more photos and info on my blog.

Tagged as: 1960s dress, 60's, evening dress, vintage dress., vintage pattern, vintage sewing, vintage simplicity 8498, Vogue couturier

{ 12 comments }

Plaid skirt

by Pimpinett

in 1930s,1940s,Skirts

I’m finally getting somewhere with my everyday wardrobe. I tend to wear a few favourite garments all the time, and having something like two skirts and three tops that I love to death in constant rotation isn’t really ideal. All those favourites are getting worn out, too. I’m on a complete ban on sewing silly party clothes, with the one exception of a New Year’s gown in sequin seaweed that’s in progress right now, and for once it’s working. I just finished this plaid wool skirt and thought I’d show it off, mostly because pattern matching usually isn’t something I do all that well, but this turned out quite nicely. Nice to know that I can get a fairly large-scale plaid to match well enough not just horizontally but vertically too, in a fitted garment on a figure with a large waist-to-hip ratio.

 

The fabric is a mid-weight wool in a crepe-like, slightly textured weave, and this is a lined seven-gored skirt with five inverted box pleats.  The jumper is new too, made from a soft wool knit fabric that I bought years ago and already have two tops in. I have loved and worn them for seven years or so. They’re getting close to worn out now. My mom knit the scarf after a vintage pattern; I’m not a good knitter myself, sadly.

I have another meter of the plaid fabric, for a top or jacket of some sort. Haven’t decided on the details yet, but probably a fairly unstructured jacket for indoor wear, so I can wear it like a two-piece dress.

Tagged as: 1930s, 1940s, matching plaid, plaid, pleats, skirt, wool

{ 16 comments }

← Previous Entries