Vintage Pajama Party!

by Lise N

in 1950s,Buttons,Lingerie

As a three-time cancer survivor, my mom has had more than her share of challenges.  This year, I’m especially happy to give her a pair of hand-made pajamas – her favorite garment – for Mothers’ Day.  Since she grew up in the 1950′s, this terrific vintage pattern was the perfect find:

1950's Pajama Pattern - Simplicity 1325

I chose View 3, with shorts, because she lives in the South.  Instead of the two hip pockets though, I did just the single upper pocket from View 1.  Here’s the result:

Pajama top

The fabric is a crisp cotton in yellow (her favorite color) with ribbons and pale pink roses.  I trimmed the sleeves and pocket with lace.  I love the boxy shape of the top.  The bottoms have a cute front pleat, which truly gives them 1950′s flair!

Pleat detail on pajama shorts

 

Pajama shorts

I accomplished a few sewing ‘firsts’ with this project:  first collar, first set-in sleeves and first project finished with my new machine ( a Husqvarna Emerald 116, which I’m absolutely loving!).  This machine makes near-perfect button holes, automatically:

Woohoo, a buttonhole!

And here is perhaps my favorite detail, the pink vintage buttons:

Pretty buttons

Altogether, a fun and worthy project.  I know my mom will love them!  And I’m looking forward to making a few more pair, for summer and winter.

Has anyone else made vintage pajamas or lingerie?  I’d love to hear your advice.  Thanks for reading!

Tagged as: lingerie, Mothers' Day, nightgown, pajamas

{ 7 comments }

Simplicity 3673 View C

by Inkdork

in 1950s,Dresses,Jumpers / Pinafores

Yesterday I post View A of this pattern here, and despite its currently wrinkled appearance, I had to make view C with its fitted bodice and fuller skirt. For those of you who commented on it, I do have an iron, just no place to use it, but I will have an ironing board on Wednesday. :)

View C of this dress has the same bodice as View A, but the skirt is wider and not fitted. I thought about including the faux belt detail on this one two, but instead opted to keep it as simple as possible. As I made it, there were only 4 pattern pieces- skirt front and back, and bodice front and back. And like View A, it was super easy to put together and I had a new dress in a few hours.

You can see more photos here on my sewing blog.

 

Tagged as: 1950s, 50's, dress, retro, Simplicity

{ 2 comments }

The Novel Cover Dress

by MelissaO

in 1950s,Dresses,Vintage Sewing

Hello again! Melissa here. Today I’m sharing a dress I actually made last summer. I was inspired by a dress from the cover of a 1950′s detective novel I came across. I loved it so much I decided to re-create it for myself. Here’s the inspiration:

The dress is made from a cotton broadcloth with white bias tape details. I cobbled together a couple of different patterns I had to get the right shape. It’s not exactly the same but I’m really happy with how it turned out!

Thanks for looking! You can check out some more details and pictures here on my blog, Scavenger Hunt.

-Melissa

{ 24 comments }

Simplicity 3445 – Birthday Burlesque

by girliefrank

in 1950s,1960s,Burlesque / Pinup,Dresses,Hats,Vintage Sewing

If it’s early May, there are two things those around me can count on:

1. I’ve tormented them for the last month with a countdown to my birthday (39 this year) and…

2. The Vancouver International Burlesque Festival (8 this year) is going on.

I love Vancouver’s burlesque scene.  There are some AMAZING, creative, sassy women working hard. This is why for the last four years I have attended at least one of the three showcase nights for my birthday.

Now usually I prefer to make something colourful, but my husband gave me a bespoke hat for my birthday gift and so I chose to make a 1959 Simplicity 3445, View B for my night out IN BLACK.  How very simply basic of me!

Thank you to momspatterns.com for always having what I need!

One thing I love about buying vintage patterns is the items you sometimes find tucked in the pattern envelopes.  I found a full page from The Los Angeles Times showing a dress similar to View 2, made in jersey for $11.98!  What a treat!

Newspaper from Feb. 21, 1960 with the newly married Mrs. Larry Cessna McVey.

"Star in no-iron Arnel jersey white as the Milky Way"

This pattern was really quite simple to put together and I used some black crepe I found in my stash.  I did a muslin to ensure that I didn’t have to do any major alterations.  The only alteration I had to do was to shorten the dress by 20cm (8″), but being 155cm (5’2″), I’m use to shortening everything!   I had given myself a week to work on the dress, but unfortunately I caught a head cold early in the week. Boo.  Needless to say, I am VERY lucky that this was a straight-forward pattern.  I managed to finish it up in about 12 hours over two days.

Full length picture of finished dress.

I really love the simple details of this dress.  I was worried that the waist gathers would add a paunch where no lady wants a paunch to be seen, but they are really very flattering.  The pleated sleeves are wonderful!  I really would like to make a bright, eye-popping version of this dress, that’s how much I love this dress.

Close up of waist gathers.

Subtle, but gorgeous sleeve pleats.

I don’t have a full body shot of the finished look yet, but I will post one once I have one!  Hopefully you can accept a head shot of the finished look.  I love my bespoke beaver felt percher with antique veil.  My necklace was also a gift – a design from the early 60s.  I wore seamed fishnet stockings and peep toe satin heels with bows at the heels.  We’ve had beautiful weather in Vancouver this week, but the nights still get a little chilly, so I finished the look with a rabbit capelet.

Head shot of the finished look!

I had a fabulous time celebrating my birthday with friends and the girls AND boys of burlesque.  The highlight of the night for me was when Judith Stein, Canadian Legend of Burlesque (in her 60s and STILL putting on a fantastic show!) stopped me after the show and complimented me on my look!  Meep!

EDIT:  An ALMOST full length picture of the finished look.  Picture by Pin-up Perfection Photography.

The final look outside the Vogue Theatre. Picture by Pin-up Perfection Photography.

Tagged as: 50's, 60's, dress, Simplicity, vintage pattern, vintage sewing

{ 12 comments }

Simplicity 3673

by Inkdork

in 1950s,Dresses,Jumpers / Pinafores

I chose View A on the right.

Simplicity 3673 is a pattern I picked up because of its retro styling. I loved the idea of a jumper, but decided to just wear it as a dress once I finished it. This was one of the easiest patterns I have ever sewn, and I am beyond pleased with how it turned out- it looks just like the envelope images.

This dress is of a style I have wanted to wear for a long time, but wasn’t able to try until I had lost a lot of weight, and I’m happy to say I love it!

I used some deep wine cotton broadcloth I had in my stash or some time, making this a great $15 dress. I love when I get something so good for such a small investment!

I followed the directions almost all the way through, and only made one small change to the dress, and that was to add a large button to the center of the faux bow on the front.

Stop by my sewing blog here and see more photos of the dress.

Excuse my wrinkles, please!

Tagged as: 1950s, cotton, dress, jumper, simplicity 3673

{ 8 comments }

McCalls 9635, a shirtdress with a difference!

by Bex

in 1950s,Dresses,Vintage Sewing

I call it the shirt dress with a difference, because, well, its a little bit different!

Here’s the original from 1953:

And here’s my slightly modified version:

My version uses a stretch cotton sateen to get a nice fit – and a self drafted circle skirt. I have a strong feeling the pleated wiggle skirt in the original wouldn’t be flattering on anyone with a tummy!

The pattern is so easy, and the dress fits wonderfully. I’m definitely going to make another version! As always, the full story on my blog…

Tagged as: 1950s, day dress, mccalls 9635

{ 9 comments }

1960′s Babydoll Nightie

by Bessie M.

in 1960s,Lingerie,Vintage Sewing

This week I have been working on a gift for my friend’s lingerie party: a 1960′s babydoll style nightgown!  Because what girl doesn’t need one of these in her lingerie chest??? ;)  (I know I do–might be making on for myself next!)

You might notice some pulling on the yoke–I need to give it a final press still, which hopefully will eliminate most of that.  I also still need to hem it.  I really LOVE how it has turned out so far, though!

You can read more about this project and see more detailed pics at my new blog, The Vintage Home Sewist!

Bessie

{ 9 comments }

UFO finished; a green linen suit.

by Pimpinett

in 1940s,Jackets,Pattern Drafting,Skirts

I finished a UFO that got stuck right after the first fitting, oh, about seven or eight years ago. That calls for celebration, doesn’t it? It’s a fitted suit jacket, aiming for a 40′s silhouette, and it was left unfinished because tailoring is, or was, kind of intimidating; but I really love the fabric, a heavy, bright green vintage herringbone weave in what I’m pretty sure is linen, and I needed a jacket for spring, summer and fall wear, so I went ahead and did it.

There were a few problems, to begin with; I made the pattern a very long time ago and had lost it, of course, so I made a new one from the cut-out pieces for the lining. I also had a couple of remnants of the fabric that I really wanted to make a skirt out of, but the fabric, having spent a number of years in someone’s attic, had a few large sunbleached areas that were unusable and needed to be cut around. I managed to puzzle out a skirt from tiny pieces anyway before I got to work on the jacket, which was stupid, because as it turned out, I hadn’t cut the jacket collar when I cut the rest of the garment. And this green, let me tell you, was not an easy shade to match – for a while I toyed with the idea of making the collar from the only matching fabric I could find, an upholstery canvas, and then covering it with tiny cross-stitching in a matching green mouliné yarn. My mother came to the rescue with a beautiful green silk twill from Burma, though; I sent a small sample of the original fabric with her. The rest of that fabric will hopefully make a nice dress some day.

Also, I had to refit the jacket, again, mostly because I made a false start at it about four or five years ago, did another fitting then and remembered it as being a bit tighter than I like jackets now, for whatever reason. So I put it together with a smaller seam allowance than originally planned to give it some extra ease now, only to find that it was huge on me and needed adjustments in the opposite direction. On the bright side the fabric was lovely to work with, firm but still pliable, with a nice drape for such a heavy fabric. It certainly wrinkles like linen, but that’s mostly only noticeable in the skirt.

The end result is alright for a jacket I made the pattern for almost ten years ago, and a skirt made from impossibly small scraps of fabric. I still love that shade of green and the herringbone texture. I could be happier with some of the details, but I always could, every single time. And I’m getting a lot of wear out of it at the moment. Mission accomplished.

Green linen suit

Suit in action. The snow is gone now, thankfully.

 

Tagged as: 40's, jacket, linen, skirt, Suit, tailoring, UFO, Vintage Fabric

{ 30 comments }

May Day

by Mkonieczki

in 1950s,1960s,1970s,Blouses,Skirts,Vintage Sewing

Hello, there! Spring has finally arrived in Chicago, and in the knick of time! I made this outfit to commemorate the first day of my very first Me-Made-May. This outfit hits on three decades. The blouse pattern comes from the 50′s, the blouse fabric is from the 60′s, and the skirt pattern is from the 70′s. The pattern details and more photos can be found: HERE.

{ 3 comments }

DuBarry 2154B

by Through the Alley

in 1930s,Dresses,Vintage Sewing

Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since I posted something, but it’s always crazy to find time to take pictures of the things I make with school and work. Anyways, I wanted to share a dress that I made about a year ago and never got around to posting it. I used DuBarry’s 2154B from the 1930′s. I made it in like 2 days, but I ended up ruining the fabric! My iron setting was too high for the fabric, so there’s these funky burn marks everywhere. Thus I didn’t even bother fixing the crooked skirt seams. I suppose it was a good practice dress for the final draft, which I’m feeling very uninspired to start and finish. I guess you could say I just haven’t found the perfect fabric. So to remake or give up?

For more pictures check out my blog,Through the Alley!

{ 6 comments }

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