This dress was actually a wearable muslin but I am glad I used a cute fabric as it fitted well. It is always a gamble using a decent fabric when making a wearable muslin but if it does fit and I hate the fabric it would be a shame too! When I first saw the retro sheath dress pattern posted on Burdastyle I knew I had to make it at some point, luckily the opportunity arose when I was searching for patterns that would work for a design hack I had in mind. This pattern is supposedly 60′s inspired but it feels much more 1940′s to me. I posted a tutorial for this dress and can’t wait to wear it all summer!
My brother was going to throw these military curtains away. They’d be hanging in his bedroom in our parental home since he was born in 1968.
I knew they’d be the perfect bold print I needed for the 1970′s Butterick 5597 waistcoat pattern.
Lined with emerald green Indian sari silk and some vintage frog fastenings donated by a friend I can’t wait to wear this at Glastonbury.
Tagged as:
1970s,
Butterick,
Maxi Waistcoat,
Vintage
So I got to finally make my 1940s Turban from an old sewing book. Love how it turned out and goes with my dress lovely. Now to make some in really nice material so I can wear them to the reenactments I attend also the dances. I love how versatile these are too as I can wear it with my dresses or dungarees. There is no such thing as a bad hair day with with these sweet things!
More pics at my blog… http://lilliansesembles.blogspot.com
Tagged as:
1940s,
cotton,
turban
Although this is a knitting project, not a sewn one, I thought that it would be of interest to WeSewRetro readers as I know a lot of sewists also knit. This sweater is from a modern book that published a collection of vintage patterns called Vintage Knitwear for Modern Knitters. This pattern is originally from 1939, but a woman that knit this sweater when the pattern was published in 1939 certainly would have continued to wear it through the 40′s making it WWII era.
The buttons on the sweater are also vintage, although I’m not sure from exactly when. They were among a collection of vintage buttons that I have inherited from a couple of different sources and have clearly come off of a used item or have been banging around in a jar for a very long time as they have dents and scratches. I purchased the modern shawl stick although I intend to do a bit of research and find a more period appropriate design. If anyone can point me to information on that end, it would be appreciated! I have more information on the sweater construction on my blog and on Ravelry for those that are interested.
Tagged as:
1930s,
1940s,
40's,
knits,
knitting,
SeamstressErin,
Sweater,
top,
Vintage,
vintage pattern
I made this dress from Simplicity 6555 which dates from 1966. I used a vintage double knit polyester I purchased on eBay.
I decided to hand picked a vintage metal zipper. (Why don’t they make met zipper anymore, they seem so much better?) because hand stitching virtually disappears in this fabric. The stitching on the zipper, sleeves and hem are completely hidden.
I also bias bound the sleeves with some lighter weight fabric from a previous project, as the fabric was bulky and I didn’t want to add any extra bulk. I used seam tape to bind the waistline seam / stay the waist after I tried on the dress and realized the waist seam allowance was making the waist seam stick out, despite being pressed.
I am very happy with how it turned out. I feel like Jackie O. in this dress. I am especially in love with the cut of the bodice and the interesting seaming.
Much more info here
Tagged as:
1960s,
60's,
dress,
Mad men inspired,
retro,
sewing,
Simplicity,
Vintage,
Vintage Fabric,
vintage sewing
I’m back with another sweetheart sundress from Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing! This time it’s the tiki variation I made from some Marc Jacobs flowered cotton from my stash. This fabric was meant to be a tiki dress! I did another shirred back, because I’m obsessed now, and I draped a faux sarong piece that goes on top of the pencil skirt. I LOVE IT!
Read more on my blog ErikaMadeIt
Tagged as:
Gertie's Book For Better Sewing,
Tiki Dress
Hey ya’ll))))
Here’s my sad-funny story about a dress. This one was made this February. Some years ago Mom gave me a huge ammount of old fabric. My guess is it was made in USSR, because it smells mad feels exactly like red pioneer scarf I used to wear at school (yep, I’m old enough to have been a part of Soviet pioneer organization – something like boy/girl -scouts. I guess I got in last couple of bunches of pioneers because 2 years after that organization stopped existing). Anyways, she gave it to me ’cause she didn’t know where to use it and it only looked good enough for curtains or something on that kind.
When I fell in love with vintage I immediately saw this fabric turning into a dress in my mind. So, again, I have dratfted the pattern based on a Soviet sewing book published in mid 5o’s.
The funny/sad part happened at the photoshoot. I have spilled wine on my dress and when I washed it all the colours got messed up. I surely loved the dress, but didn’t get too upset. I thought I would make a couple of new ones instead))).
Tagged as:
1950s,
50's,
dress,
full skirt
A friend cleaned out their old family home and gifted me with the patterns she found. This is the oldest, note no markings on the patterns. From a day when everyone sewed and knew what to do! : )
The good stuff on the back…
I like this pattern because of the wider shorts like legs. More comfy for chubby baby thighs. The back needed elastic and the straps were long, so I made them adjustable. Here it is part way done being modeled for adjustments. I sewed up the sides for this, to make sure it was OK before adding snaps and that gave me the idea to make a second one without snaps.
And the finished sunsuit…
And the second sample…
What do you think? Snaps or no snaps?
Pants and I don’t get along particularly well. If they fit over my hips and rear, they gape terribly at the waist, and pants that fit at the waist won’t go up over my thighs. Evidently, the only solution is to sew my own!
I’ve seen lots of rave reviews of the wide-legged pants pattern in Simplicity 3688, and since I picked the pattern up for a song at one of those lovely pattern sales. I made up the first iteration (my “Wearable Muslin!”) out of some sort of olive green mystery synthetic that I picked up at Goodwill for about $5. This pattern has a fair amount of ease, and I ended up mostly cutting out a size 14, but tapering in to a size 10 at the waist. I feel like the back darts pull a little bit (maybe I need to make them shorter?) but otherwise the fit is perfection!
I made a second iteration in a black cotton twill, which had a lot more body than the first fabric I used. I also ended up adding about three inches to the length, because although I don’t think of myself as a particularly tall person (I’m 5’6″!) I was only able to put a very narrow hem in my muslin without making them too short. This time, I was actually able to put in the folded hem that the pattern calls for! They look a bit rumpled in the photo because I had been sitting all day, but I think that I (mostly) like them.
The third iteration of the pattern is another wearable muslin–I wanted to see if I could transform the pattern into some sort of wearable summer shorts. These are made of some sort of cotton canvas with a tiny floral print that I found at Goodwill. Unfortunately, the high waist + white shorts + tiny print makes me feel like I’m wearing boxer shorts!
I also somehow manage to construct the shorts completely catty-wompus… The zipper somehow ended up on the RIGHT side, and the button is all backward. Fortunately, these are just grubby work shorts and I’ll be making a few more pairs in nicer fabric for actual wear.
I’m currently working on one more pair of shorts in a stretch cotton sateen. The first zipper I put in broke (!!!!) so I need to replace it and hem the shorts still…. But that’s part of a bigger project, so I’ll share that once a few more of the pieces are done!
Tagged as:
1940s,
Simplicity
Hello fellow vintage sewists!
This is one of my latest retro creations made using Retro Butterick 5748. I wanted something quick and easy to make and this fitted the bill. I also had this lovely blue and white cotton lawn in my stash and it worked quite well to make this dress. I lined it with cotton batiste and the combo makes this quite breathy and comfortable. I didn’t change anything from the pattern other than adding a faux belt of blue grosgrain ribbon. This is definitely a dress I will make again!
Pardon the photobombing border collie….. 
Retro Butterick 5748 1960 sundress in blue/white jungle print cotton lawn
Retro Butterick 5748 1960 sundress in blue/white jungle print cotton lawn
Happy Sewing!!
Tagged as:
1960 sundress,
cotton lawn,
retro butterick 5748
