Sunday, July 29, 2018

McCall 5384: 'The Summer Goodness' Dress


Bubble, bubbles and happy, pretty new dresses!  I love summer in the city--especially Edinburgh getting ready for festival season!!  There is a bubble man in the city centre and he makes me very happy! :)


I've used this pattern –– McCall 5384 from 1943 before:


I just adore the very fitted bodice on this pattern leading into a straight skirt. The high neckline is eased by the overlapping shoulder details--which gives a nice gathered effect to the bodice.  I also really, really adore the pockets!

Here's the version I made before in a faux linen raspberry coloured fabric (check out the blog post here):


I made this version in a similar linen-look teal fabric (it's synthetic --so no wrinkling!!):


Overall, really happy with the fit except look at the pictures now, I think I am going to have to finally tackle the full bust adjustment (basically I've been too lazy--as it doesn't bother me that much but I see that I could probably eliminate the wrinkles on the bodice sides if I did that!)


Teal has to be one of my favourite colours (after bright pink!) and I've got several outfits in the works that all feature teal (as I have lots of teal fabric in my stash! hahaha--YAY!)


Ok...more bubbles overload.... I just love these photos!!!



Bubbles aren't the only thing I love about pre-fringe festival Edinburgh--I also love the vintage ice cream trucks.  We've been having an unusually phenomenal summer here--and everyone has been out and about.  It's really nice as usually Edinburgh is fairly rainy during the summer.  So I've definitely been taking advantage of the heat and sunshine to indulge in some summer fun (ice cream, bubbles and just being outdoors in general!)


hahaha. I love this picture...people are always impressed that I can independently raise one eyebrow...makes me look a bit cheeky! lol.


Another funny photo....


How cool that these stairs (just outside the national gallery) perfectly match my dress (and good place to make sure I don't spill my ice cream everywhere while avoiding the crowds!! :)




You all know how much I love being matchy-matchy. I've had these shoes for some time and just adore making dresses to match them. They are a great teal tartan from Ness Clothing (local store) and I am super excited that What Katie Did just released some teal seamed stockings (my dream!!)


ah, Edinburgh...I adore you!  Look at our new ferris wheel (comes out for the fringe in August and in December for the Christmas Market...brrrr...)


Yippeeee....I think I could make this dress in all the bright colours--maybe one for each season (I've got raspberry for spring, teal for summer...maybe pumpkin for autumn and wine for winter?? hmmm...)  What do you think?

Photos: Darja Bilyk
Location: Prince's Street Gardens and the Mound, Edinburgh
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Sunday, July 22, 2018

McCall 3580: The 'Gardener's Cottage' Dress



Another pink and flowers inspired me-made outfit for the glorious Edinburgh summer!


This is McCall 3580, a wonderful summer dress with a matching short sleeved jacket.  I just adore the lines on the jacket with the serious shoulders, unevenly spaced buttons (which allow the jacket to be worn buttoned up or with a lapel.  The jacket can be made in long or short sleeves and I opted for the latter.


This fabric that I used may look familiar:



In fact, I've used this exact fabric combination --the lightweight wool-like hot pink fabric and the breezy and lightweight flower cotton fabric --for my last me-made outfit, the pink pinafore and floral blouse:
 

I just adore this summer dress pattern--it features a v-neck bodice connecting to a waist panel before going into a gathered skirt:
 

The back features a straight back bodice connected to the two shoulder straps:


This isn't the only double-take with this outfit as I've actually used this 1940 McCall pattern before for my 'Weaving Destination' Dress:



You can see in my previous green dress iteration that I didn't quite get the straight bodice piece low enough--something that I was able to correct on this version! YAY!  The fit is way better on this newer version.


Overall, I am super pleased to have another 1940 sundress in my closet and one that goes so perfectly with all my hot pink accessories (like these awesome Bait Footwear sandals! yippeee).


I'm also really pleased with the jacket too...it's such an unusual style. I will have to try ironing the lapel into it and see what it looks like--thought I like it straight like this too!  It's also great to be able to make several outfits with the same fabric and colour scheme as now I can mix and match!

 

We took these pictures in the Prince's Street Gardens in Edinburgh (photos by the lovely Darja Bilyk)--I especially love the Gardener's Cottage.  Doesn't this dress just look like it was made for that cute little cottage and a spot of rose gardening?

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Saturday, July 14, 2018

McCall 3595: The 4th of July Playsuit

So excited to be able to share my me-made 1940s 4th of July playsuit!


I used McCall 3595 -- another pattern from The 1940 McCall Project.  It's an amazing button down all-in-one shirtwaist playsuit with a matching skirt.  I didn't make the matching skirt as I already have a great navy vintage one in my wardrobe that goes perfectly with the playsuit.


The playsuit was slightly tricky to construct --especially all those buttons!  It's also tricky to wear as it's all one piece (which makes using the loo tricky as you virtually need to disrobe! ha!)  and you can imagine that you need very good posture to ensure the buttons don't gape!
 

I was gifted this amazing shirt-weight red and blue striped fabric from my friend Magdalena.  As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for something 4th of July related --and then I settled on this playsuit pattern.  The buttons are vintage ones that I already had--so that sealed the deal for making this pattern!


The back also has a shirtwaist effect and is slightly puffed with an inverse pleat on the bodice back.  


The waistband is set in and I made it so the stripes were horizontal for the belt section:


Overall, quite pleased as I was treating this as a wearable muslin test run for this pattern.  I probably would go in a darker colour the next time as the pale fabric can look a bit washed out against my very pale skin! hahaha. 


But I do love the stripes in the shirtwaist playsuit--it is very evocative of the 1940's look!
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