Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween

Don't you love this dress?
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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Suits vs. Suit-Frocks in 1940

Some more fashion inspiration--this time from 1940.  The question McCall's asks is 'suits versus suit frocks'?  Hmmmm...which is more versatile?

I love this dress (McCall 3588).  I actually think the dress looks better with a suit jacket.  But I do love the dress details on their own as well (the yoke is cut in one with the front panel).


Then there is McCall 3592---A-DOR-ABLE!  I love the short nipped in jacket with the dress:

And the suit of the bunch is McCall 3557.  I must say this is probably my favorite.  I love that the lapel of the jacket can match the skirt.  I also love the lines of the jacket!

And just look at all the different hats!  I love it!!
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Fashion Inspiration: 1939 Suits

A major inspiration for the dress I am working on comes from 1939 and 1940 suit/dress combos.  I love the way a collarless dress looks with a suit jacket.  Check out these 1939 McCall beauties:


And this lovely number which is McCall 3107:

There's also these....I love the one on the right which is McCall 3096:
Which one is your favorite?
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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Lapped Seams: A Common 1940 Technique

I'm still progressing on McCall 3638 and the bodice calls for lapped seams:


Especially on the yoke:

Here's a close-up of the lapped seams I have been working on for McCall 3638:

There was also a lapped seam action going on in the McCall 1940 sundress I made, specifically on the set-in belt:

I like lapped seams though I must say topstitching still makes me nervous :-)
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Monday, October 25, 2010

I Joined the Crafty Christmas Club

 I'm super excited that I just joined the Crafty Christmas Club blog that Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons started (you may remember Tilly and I met up awhile back in Edinburgh!)


I am super excited.  I am hoping this will be a bit of a support group to help me along in finishing up some presents.  I'll definitely need it!  It's about to get VERY busy around here.  In addition to landing a super fabulous new job, I also just got some super duper fabulous freelance work.  So, the next couple of months is going to be work, work, work....  But it will definitely be worth it and I hope I can still manage to get some sewing in!

What about you?  Do you think you'll manage to do any holiday crafting?
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Saturday, October 23, 2010

What I won....

The fabric I won in the Long & Winding Bobbin's giveaway arrived in the post yesterday!!!

Oh, I love it soooo much.

There is 1.5 yards of this amazing light blue small houndstooth checked fabric:

And 2.5 yards of this glorious plaid--which is a perfect autumn color!


Hmmm....I am already plotting and planning what to do with these!

Thank you so much sending me the fabric all the way from Australia!  You're a doll!!
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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Dickey patterns on etsy

Interested in trying out a dickey?  Or just interested in seeing different styles?  I've found some great patterns on etsy that I wanted to pass along your way....

Simplicity 4477 from nancesnostalgia on esty.  $18.95

Advance 9045, a 1950's dickey pattern from Kimaroo for $7.99 on esty:

1940's Advance 3247  from StudioGPatterns for $12.50 on esty:

Speaking of finding patterns on Etsy, Eileen from Eileen's Basement found the same 1940 McCall coat pattern that I am hoping to sew this winter (McCall 3941)!!  

How great is that?  We'll have to have a mini sew-along :-)
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Monday, October 18, 2010

It's finished and there are ruffles galore!

It's finished!  I've made my first dickey from a 1940's pattern.  Here's what it looks like on the dressform from the front:


And from the side.  There is seam binding all the way around and that forms a nice little tie at the side:
 

Here's the view from the back:

Here's a picture of the pattern again, I made view #2.  I definitely want to try out some of the other styles as it's a great use for a small amount of fabric!



 I think I like this cascading ruffle look best!  I paired my dickey with a great black wool jacket and black pencil skirt and my favorite ness shoes.  How cute is this 'Thistle Cottage'?

 

It's super dark now all the time in Scotland!  So, it's hard to get daytime shots during the week.  But I kind of like how this photo turned out (a bit of sepia tone)!


I got this amazing tilt hat when I was visiting my family over the summer in Vancouver, WA.  My sister took me to this lovely vintage shop called Urban Eccentric Vintage.  Do you know the blogger Vixen Vintage?  It's from the shop she works at--unfortunately, she wasn't there when I stopped in but I got this hat and another amazing 1930's hat!  I LOVE IT!  I plan on wearing it a lot this winter.


Here's a close-up of the hat from the side:


Oh, I love it!  How much fun are ruffles?

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Friday, October 15, 2010

And the winners are....

Thank you everyone for entering the vintage pattern giveaway!  For each separate pattern I used a random number generator to figure out the winners.

So, without further delay....

The winner of the 1930s fabulous simplicity pattern is....
Jane from Handmade by JaneI am super excited about this because this pattern will mark Jane's foray into sewing from vintage patterns (you won't ever go back Jane--it's so much fun!)  You must check out Jane's blog, she makes some gorgeous fabric bags and cushions and loads more!

The winner of this delicious 1940's McCall pattern is....
Chip from Chipmunk's Corner!
Chip's blog features some amazing handmade historical costumes! Including a fabulous costume inspired by the Sound of Music that was entered in the Historic Costume Inspiration Festival.  Go check it out!

The winner of the most popular 1950's McCall pattern and beating out 62 other people is...
Molly from Molly and MangoMolly, I must say you have fantastic luck!  Molly has a fantastic blog that I love following...with the cutest owl graphics I have ever seen! 

And last but not least is the winner of this chic 1960's pattern....
Steph from 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World!  I just recently found Steph's blog and LOVE it!!!  She posts everything from fantastic tutorials to scans from 1940's magazines and is working on a great 1940's Advance pattern at the moment.

Winners, please email me your address at:  myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com

Thank you everyone for entering.  If you didn't win this time, no worries as I plan on having lots more giveaways in the future.  I love them!
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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Progress on the dickey...

Should be no problem to just whip up a dickey pattern, no?  I, of course, go and pick the dickey with the huge ruffle (aka....lots of hemming).  Here's the ruffle, looking, well, very unruffled at the moment (it still needs to be gathered):


It took me one and half train rides (my commute to work is one hour each way) to hem one side of the ruffle (luckily I only have to do one side, the other gets tucked under).

Here's a view of the shell so far.  I've pinned it at the sides, so that you can see how it might looked tied at the sides:


So, the sides of the shell will have seam binding all along and extra to tie the front to the back of the blouse (don't want any dickey accidents!) Hmmmm....should be interesting!
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Don't forget to enter the pattern giveaway!

Don't forget to enter the thank you pattern giveaway that I'm doing.  You have the chance to win one of these fabulous patterns:


 







How to Enter the Giveaway:
  1. You must be a follower of this blog to enter the giveaway. 
  2. Just leave a comment on the giveaway post (not this one) by the end of the day TOMORROW, Wednesday the 13th of October and let me know which pattern you would like.  You can say  "all of them" and I will enter you into the drawing for each separate pattern.
  3. You can get another entry if you post this giveaway on your own blog.  Just leave another comment and let me know that you've mentioned the giveaway on your blog.
I'll do a random drawing for each pattern on Friday the 15th and will post the results.  Please check back then.  I'll ship anywhere in the world.

Should be fun! I love giveaways!
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Monday, October 11, 2010

What I'm working on...

This weekend was fantastic for delving into a few sewing projects.  I've currently got several things I'm working on at the moment.  The first up is a dress from a 1940 McCall pattern:

I'm making View A, the collarless version, in the dark grey jersey material in the picture.  I picked up about 4 yards of this material for super cheap at a charity shop and it's been in my stash for awhile.  So, I am really excited to sew something up with it.  Plus, this grey will go with my plaid shoes!!

The other thing I am sewing up is a dickey!  Yup, a dickey (giggle).  A dickey is a faux blouse that you wear under a jacket.  They were really popular in the 40's.  I'm sewing up View 2 from this Simplicity pattern in the remnants of my hot pink silk that I used to make this other Simplicity blouse.


Here's a close-up of view 2:

Why not sew a full blouse you ask?  Well, I've been wanting to try out sewing a dickey.  Plus, I tend to get very warm in silk and other blousy materials and it's too cold to wear just a blouse but I often get too hot with a blouse and a jacket.  So, I'm thinking a dickey will be the perfect combination!  What do you think?
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Saturday, October 9, 2010

New at Ness

Ohhhh...I just got a new Ness catalogue in the mail today!  Ness is a great Scottish company that makes fantastic bags, shoes, clothing from their own tartans.  They only have three shops in Scotland but do a lot of mail order stuff.  Many of you know that I've been building part of my sewing wardrobe around two pairs of shoes I got from them that are lovely plaids!  (p.s. I don't get anything from Ness to post this on my blog--I just truly love their stuff).

Their autumn line is really great--some of the pieces could be used in a vintage inspired wardrobe!

Check out this cute sweater with bows on the pockets:

Here's a close-up of the sweater (I'm sure there are much better photos on their website).  It's a bit out of my price range but I love the idea:

I really like the beret--it's got a great purple band (which would go very nicely with the purple skirt I made!):

One of my favorite things in the new catalogue (besides the hats and shoes) is their adorable new tartan purse and beautiful jersey dress:
So cute!  (that's the same plaid as the shoes I have!)  Here's a close-up of the purse:

Are there any clothing companies that you really like or that you look to for fashion inspiration?
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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Pattern Giveaway of the Century: Part Deux

You are all so amazing!  I can't believe that I now have over 200 followers!  You know what that means?  Giveaway time!!  I really appreciate all of you stopping by my little corner of the blogosphere and for being so encouraging and supportive!

Plus this giveaway marks another celebration for me.  I just started an amazing new job this week and I am absolutely loving it! 

So this is titled the 'Pattern Giveaway of the Century Part 2' and like last time, I'm giving away one pattern for each decade from the 1930's to the 1960's.  All you have to do to enter is be a follower of this blog and leave a comment below by Wednesday the 13th of October.  I'll announce the winners on Friday the 15th and will ship your pattern to you anywhere in the world!

The patterns in the giveaway are...

From 1930's is Simplicity pattern #2844 for an adorable tennis/exercise outfit that includes a blouse, shorts and matching skirt in a size 16 (Bust 34).  I absolutely love the skirts that open up to show matching shorts underneath.  Perfect for autumn or spring!


From 1945 is this perfect office ready outfit from McCall (#6019) in a size 16 or 34 Bust.  I absolutely love the waist detailing and the lines of the skirt and bolero on this pattern.  It has a Foley Bros sticker and some quick research found that Foley Brothers was founded in Houston, Texas in 1900 and was acquired by the Federated Department Stores, Inc in 1947 (so this sticker must be original to the time the pattern was bought in the store!)



Here's a pattern for everyone!  From the 1950's (1950 to be exact) is this set of collars from McCall's 1521.  It is in a size 14" to 15" necksize.


 This pattern is very useful and great for refashioning garments.  I used it to refashion my stretch knit top with a peter pan collar (View F) to match a skirt I made:


Moving right along to the 1960's (1966) and Simplicity #6933 with a one-piece go-go dress and fabulous coat.  This is a size 16 or Bust 36.  The epitome of the 1960's look.  I love the detail of the stitching on the dress:



How to Enter the Giveaway:
  1. You must be a follower of this blog to enter the giveaway. 
  2. Just leave a comment on this post by Wednesday the 13th of October and let me know which pattern you would like.  You can say  "all of them" and I will enter you into the drawing for each separate pattern.
  3. You can get another entry if you post this giveaway on your own blog.  Just leave another comment and let me know that you've mentioned the giveaway on your blog.
I'll do a random drawing for each pattern on Friday the 15th and will post the results.  Please check back then.  I'll ship anywhere in the world.

Thanks again for all your comments and support on my sewing journey!  And happy sewing everyone!!
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