bolero – WeSewRetro.com

Separates turned Suit

By Akram Taghavi-Burris on September 22, 2016

Akram's Ideas: Vintage Inspired Suit in Green

Back in spring I had planned to participate in the Vintage Suit-Sew-Along. While I never did get around to making a vintage suit per-say; I did manage to make this great vintage inspired suit.

My lovely green suit is made up completely of separates. I actually started this project with the blouse using Simplicity 1364.

I wanted to make a skirt to go with the blouse and the Delphine skirt from the book “Love at First Stitch” By Tilly Walnes. This is my go to skirt pattern.

Once I had the blouse and skirt I thought this outfit was the start of the prefect vintage style suit. All it needed was a jacket to top it off.

Since I had limited fabric I deiced to make the bolero using Butterick 6354 pattern.

This was the perfect paring of separates into the most amazing suit. I love this suit from the color the print. It may just be my favorite outfit I’ve made.

To read more about my process for making my lovely green suit check out my blog Akram’s Ideas (http://akramsideas.com/vintage-inspired-suit-green)

Birhday Bombshell

By missmaddysews on August 22, 2016

A little late to the party here, but this ensemble was my take on the I-Dream-Of-Tiki sew-along earlier this year – a 50s Shaheen-inspired dress and bolero, made for my 21st birthday!

Also check out my amazing birthday cake, courtesy of my talented grandmother!

The dress was made using patterns from Gertie’s books, altered to suit the design I had in mind. The bolero I made using a free pattern found online. I sewed the whole thing on my vintage singer 201P, using vintage techniques such as bias-bound edges and a waist-stay.

It came out even better than I’d hoped, the perfect outfit for a wonderful night! You can read more about the design process and construction, and see more photos here on my blog 🙂

Until next time,

Miss Maddy xx

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Butterick 6354 #RetroTikiCollab Project

By Akram Taghavi-Burris on August 11, 2016

Wow, didn’t Abi from the Crafty Pinup do an amazing job on her Bustier to Skirt Pattern Hack Gertie’s 6354 Butterick pattern as part of the #RetroTikiCollab project.

I was also lucky enough to be apart of the #RetroTikiCollab project along with d Abi from The Crafty Pinup , Christina fromGussets and Godets and Bianca from Vintage on Tap.

For my take on this pattern was to rock the original, by making the pattern as directed.

This was the first time I worked with boning so I was a little nervous but think it all turned out well.

Akram's Ideas : Retro Tiki Collab — I’m really surprised how good this came out.

For this project I used a cotton navy blue fabric with a golden tropical flower print on it. Not necessarily very tiki, but I had just enough fabric and I need more blue in my wardrobe.

The entire pattern only took a day and a half to put together, so I was quite pleased with the simplicity of this project.

I wasn’t sure how much wear I would get out of this pattern, but since I’ve made it I’ve worn it a couple of times. This outfit is great for hot days, especially ones we’ve had recently that have hit a 100+.

I’m really glad to be apart of this #RetroTikiCollab project and had a lot of fun making this project. Also, as part of this project I decided to host a fabric giveaway.

The deadline for the giveaway is tonight (Thursday August 11, 2016 at 11:59pm CST) , so there’s still time to enter.

To enter this giveaway and to read more about my process for making this dress check out my blog Akram’s Ideas (http://akramsideas.com/retro-tiki-collab-butterick-6354)

A Spot of Elegance: B5882

By missmaddysews on August 8, 2015

Who here will take any excuse to make a new dress? Because I’ll unashamedly put my hand up for that one! When my sister decided to have an elegant high tea to celebrate her birthday, I seized the chance to make up a pattern I’ve been coveting for awhile: Butterick 5882!

I was so thrilled with how it turned out! The fabric I used was vintage, and very special too: a sky-blue swiss dot purchased by my great-grandmother some years ago. It was lovely to sew with, too! I love the style of this dress so much, and all the vintage-esque details in the construction: the full lining, the boned bodice and the waist stay.I had enough fabric left over for a little matching bolero, too – which I made from a free pattern!

I had a lot of fun sewing AND wearing this dress, and I can’t wait to make up the pattern again 🙂 For more pictures and construction details (and a link to the free bolero pattern!) check out my blog post all about it.

Until next time,

Miss Maddy x

Simplicity 4727 (1943) dress and bolero

By LittleBlackCar on July 8, 2014

I’ve posted variations of this dress before, along with the gory saga of fitting the pattern.

I actually finished this version of the dress for the Fourth of July, 2013, and wore it on a day trip to Camp Hearne, but I haven’t posted it because I didn’t have the matching bolero done.

The bolero needed a little tweaking, but nothing like the dress pattern did, which is fortunate because I might otherwise be posting this for the Fourth of July, 2027.

Pardon the squinting. This is on the courthouse square in El Dorado, Arkansas, where the weather was incredibly lovely but sunny.

This photo is also proof that not all introverts are shy.

Almost everything was closed because of the holiday, but we went for breakfast at Jimmy B‘s (I highly recommend the Western omelet) and then wandered around for awhile, just because. There was one antique shop open. My brother got some old Ball jars to use as samples at work (he’s an archaeologist, except in Arkansas it’s spelled “archeologist”, because you can do that when you’re the most geographically beautiful state in the Union), and I got a Napco sitting Great Dane and a Frankoma “Good Luck” trivet, which has horseshoes on it, in case I someday achieve the cowboy-themed kitchen of my dreams.

In case anyone is wondering: The buttons are decorative only, but there are two hooks-and-loops on the inside edge of the jacket to keep it closed. I will very definitely be using the jacket pattern again to go with my sundresses–this was awesome as a coverup for sun/air-conditioning/situation-appropriateness. Also, because people always ask, the boots are Ariat Heritage r-toes. I also have them in brown. They’re super comfortable.

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1950s | Dresses | Vintage Sewing

I can’t afford a real Shaheen… (Butterick B6019)

By Bex on March 15, 2014

Hi guys and gals!

I’ve finally finished making Gertie’s Shaheen-inspired sarong dress (Butterick B6019) and I hope you like it!

The pattern:

My version:

This pattern was HARD! If you want the full story, it’s on my blog here.

The fabric is an indigenous hand-printed cotton from the Babbarra Women’s Centre, available from Spotlight (Australia).

The dress definitely needed a little bolero, and Butterick 6087 (from 1952) looked like a good match.

While the dress nearly drove me mad, the bolero was very easy – which I greatly appreciated by the time I came to sew it!

If you’ve been thinking of sewing this pattern, definitely give it a go but don’t get down-hearted if it’s a bit of a struggle. Unpick, resew, keep going – you’ll have a killer dress in the end.

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1950s | Pattern Drafting | Skirts | Vintage Sewing

1950s Christmas

By Starspangledheart on December 24, 2012

I’d worn the same Christmas dress for the last few years and decided that I just needed something new this year! I didn’t have any fabric that really screamed Christmas in my stash but I did have some red with black velvet polka dot fabric that was quite festive.

I opted for a circle skirt for a 50s look. I used a self drafted pattern. Then I decided that it needed just a bit more and I whipped up a bolero from the leftovers. I used Wearing History’s Chic Ahoy pattern for the bolero. Even though the pattern is 30s, it’s a super cute pattern and I had plenty of fabric from those awkward circle skirt leftover pieces to make it up with. The only change I made was to make it 2″ shorter for more of a cropped look.

I really like the fact that this outfit wasn’t overtly Christmas-y so I can wear it all year round! I love it so much that I can’t believe I waited so long to make up a red polka dot circle skirt! More photos over on my blog. Merry Christmas!

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