Almost Done!

I'm almost done with my birthday dress suit.  I really love it.  I just need to hem the dress and the jacket and attach the last of the buttons which I'll do tomorrow after work.  My goal is to post the outfit photos before my birthday month is over!!

Here's a sneaky peek:

You can check out the pattern I used (a 1937 McCall pattern) here...

My esteemed sewing assistant, Echo, was very helpful during the dress construction phase:

YAY!  I'm super excited.  My sewing mojo got a major upswing after the Crafters' Ceilidh meet-up--and I'm sewing non-stop!

What are you working on at the moment?

Pattern Giveaway Winner + What I'm Working On

Thank you everyone for your feedback on my new blog layout!!  I was able to make the blog layout narrower, hopefully that solves the problem of having to scroll.  Let me know how it looks from your end!

Giveaway Winner
I'm very happy to announce the randomly chosen giveaway winner for the 1950's Butterick pattern is...

Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons!

Congrats! I can't wait to see what you make with it!!

What I'm Working On
For this first week in the Month of McCall, I'm working on a dress suit from 1937:

I haven't gotten very far but hope to make some headway on it today!  What are you working on?

What's on the sewing table... a sneaky peek

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments on yesterday's post!  It's great to hear from those that have been to the Isle of Skye!!

Instead of announcing this week's pattern giveaway today--I am going to wait until Friday so that I can catch up on mailing the patterns :)

I do want to give you a bit of a sneaky peek of what I'm working on! You may even be able to guess the pattern that will be in the giveaway as I've blogged about it before:

Hopefully I will finish it up tonight!!!  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Sneaky Peek: Alfred Hitchcock Challenge

Can you guess which Hitchcock movie I used as inspiration for this week's sewing challenge? Here's a picture of David and I reenacting a scene from our favourite Hitchcock movie:

More details of the outfit coming soon (and going up on the Sew Weekly today)

Look! Sequins!!

I've been making some progress on my 1940's sequined blouse:

Check out my post over at the Sew Weekly for more photos and details of my crazy week!!

Also another lovely reader, Petit Main found McCall 9047, one of the missing McCall images, on Wondertrading's flickr stream.

I really love it!!

Happy Friday everyone!

My thoughts on sewing productivity...

Hi everyone! Thank you for the wonderful anniversary wishes yesterday!  Celebrating eight years and surviving the end of the world, not bad for a Saturday :)

I'm super excited to have been asked by Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons to do a guest post today on my thoughts on sewing productivity!  Check it out here...I would love to hear your thoughts!!

In other news, I'm hoping to make some progress on a new blouse for both the Sew Weekly and the Sewing Through the Decades Challenges:

It's from 1945 and I am LOVING the sequins! This will be a first--but I'm super excited to sew up this blouse!!!  I'll keep you posted on the progress!

What I'm Working On...

Pin Queen had a good question: What's next on the agenda?  Well I am super excited to say that I am about to make my first stitches into this pattern:

Ooooohhh so excited!
I'm using this AMAZING fabric that I got from Croft Mill

It's a loosely woven tweed made from 70% Acrylic 15% Wool and 15% Polyester.  And let me tell you it is the softest, most beautiful fabric I have ever touched.  So much so that when I initially got this in the mail, I turned around and ordered more!!  I absolutely love this fabric but am yet unsure how it will 'behave' during sewing.  I'll keep you updated....

What are you working on?

What's on the sewing table...

I've got a few projects going at the moment.  So here's a sneaky peak at what's on the sewing table (or probably more precisely strewn across the sewing room..)

One is the Unfinish Object (UFO) 1930's DuBarry dress that you've all managed to get me really excited about again!

This next week's theme over at the Sew Weekly is Kiss the Cook.  Oh yes! We'll be making aprons this week.  I'm super excited to make up a 40's styled apron with some great polka dot fabric I got recently:

This week's challenge is two-fold: To make our own aprons pop, we'll also be making this BurdaStyle dress in black.

 Now, I gotta get cooking on this!  What are you working on this week?

What's on the Sewing Table

I'm going to be attempting my first 1970's pattern this next week!  The Sew Weekly theme is "Don't judge a pattern by its cover." So, trying to make attractive garments from very unattractive pattern (envelopes).  Sounds fun, no?

Here's the pattern I'm going to be sewing:

I'm going to sew up View 1.

First, I should clarify that this pattern is only hideous compared to the other patterns in my stash (I tend to buy patterns based on their pretty envelopes!)  I actually think the pattern cover is kind of cute and definitely very reminiscient of the time period!  However, in comparison to my other patterns, it does stand out a bit.  I mean, who wouldn't want a self-decorated rick-rack poncho in their wardrobe?  Or what about a vinyl cow print poncho with a matching miniskirt?  One of the options for the poncho and mini-skirt is fur fabrics.  I briefly toyed with the idea of making a faux fur poncho and matching mini-skirt with my leftover faux rabbit fur...though you will be happy to know that it was a very brief fleeting thought (thank goodness)!

I do look forward to channeling a 70's vibe this next week!

What I'm Working On....

Hello lovelies! Sorry it has been quiet in my neck of the woods!

This week at the Sew Weekly the theme is green for St. Patty's Day and I'm working on the dress below:

I think this might be my first attempt at sewing something from the 1960's!  I've got some groovy green fabric and I think it will look hot, baby, yeah! (giggle)....

What are you working on this week?

Progress on 1931 EvaDress Suit

I've made some progress on the 1931 EvaDress suit.  I was able to finish the skirt this week and I really, really like how it turned out.

The skirt is made of flannel wool.  It's the first time I've sewn with this material and I really like the weight of it.  It's a bit heavier than some of the wools I've sewn with but gives a nice drape to this length of skirt.

I got the hat from a Monsoon Accessories on sale for £4.  Isn't it very 1920's?

We also took some photos at the Cannongate area of Edinburgh:

Cannongate is the lower part of the Royal Mile heading towards Holyrood Palace.  It was named after the canons of Holyrood Abbey and the Scots word gait meaning "road".  These last photos are taken at the Old Tolbooth building.  The Tolbooth was built in 1591 and it was where the tolls or public dues were collected.  It has a fantastic clock on top of the building:

I'm standing on the steps leading up the building:

Here's a close-up of the skirt.  I wore it to work and it was very comfortable:

I'm also making good progress on the jacket.  I absolutely adore the details on the sleeves and the collar.  Here's the pattern cover again:

And here is how my jacket is looking so far:

I just need to finish the sleeves, some of the facings and the belt!  I won't be able to work on it this weekend but I hope to finish it next week!

What I'm working on...

Thank you all for your wonderful comments on my dress! I really enjoyed making (and wearing) it!

This weekend I'm working on the first year of my Sewing through the Decades challenge--1931!  I am super excited to try out another EvaDress pattern:

There are so many things I love about this pattern! I think it is super classy looking and will be great to wear to the office or out on the town.  I love the unique sleeve and collar details and am planning to use some of my left over faux fur fabric for this!  The instructions are very minimal but hopefully if I take it slow, I'll figure them all out! :-)

What are you working on at the moment?

Working with Faux Fur...

To say I had trepidation about working with faux fur is an understatement.  I've heard how difficult it is and have ready countless articles which included box cutters and electric shavers....

I've had this thin faux rabbit fur from EmmaOneSock.com in my fabric stash for a short while.  It is super plush and soft...

I carefully cut out the fabric (with small snips from my normal scissors....no box cutters for me...scissors are dangerous enough in my hands!) and it cut beautifully.  There was, of course, tons of fur on the floor when I was done but the pattern pieces were fine (and the fur was super easy to vacuum up)!

I practiced sewing on a scrap and the seams were totally fine.  In fact, better than fine...you can't even tell where I sewed!  I actually really liked sewing with the faux fur!!  I cut out all the main pieces (just the bodice front, back and sleeves).  I decided to interline this with cotton batting (similar to my cape).  I am really happy that the pattern had directions for interlining.

There are two large darts in the bodice front (one on either side) and also in the bodice back.  Instead of doing the darts in the interlining, the pattern instructed me to cut them out and then catchstitch the pieces together.  Here's a close-up of what it looks like:

And here's the bodice back interlining:

And then the pattern instructed me to put stay tape around the outside.  Unfortunately, my local fabric store didn't have any stay tape.  BUT they did have a sale on silk organza and I seem to remember that Gertie used this in her underlining or interlining.  So, I decided to give it a try as I've never sewn with silk organza before (and they are constantly referencing it as sleeve stiffener in vintage 30's and 40's patterns).  Here is what the pattern instructions look like (1940 Simplicity pattern instructions are much more detailed then 1940 McCall pattern instructions):

And here's what I did with the silk organza:

Oh yes, I used pins on my faux fur.  After initial testing, I found it made no difference (pins versus weights, i.e. soup cans).

What about you?  Ever worked with faux fur? Interlined? Use Silk Organza?  I must say the weight (i.e. relatively thin) faux fur has made it a dream to work with.  I can't imagine working with something thicker or stiffer.

What I'm Working On...

Happy weekend everyone!

I'm working on a few projects this weekend/week including trying to finish my 1935 cape as part of the Sewing Through the Decades Challenge:

 

I started this in December before we moved.  It got all packed up but now it's time to finish this beauty!  I am really happy with the cape so far!  It's interlined and lined and is in a beautiful blue/grey tweed fabric.  There are still quite a few steps I need to complete including attaching the collar, attaching the cape to the jacket, finishing the pockets, doing the buttonholes, making the belt and finishing the lining!

Here's how it looks so far:

This next week's Sew Weekly Theme is to create a garment inspired by another garment available for sale somewhere (you get early notice of the sew weekly themes through the newsletter).  After a preliminary search on etsy, I decided this was the perfect opportunity to make up something that's been on my list for awhile: a 1940 faux fur jacket (in fact I already have the fabric I want to use).

Here's my inspiration that is for sale on etsy (for $238 by DarlingNikkiVintage): 

I have the perfect pattern which is Simplicity 3529 from the year 1940.  I've had this pattern for a couple of years.  The first thing that drew me to the pattern was the long coat.  But recently, the little jacket has been calling to me!  I am going to make my jacket (the short one in the picture) in black faux fur:

So, if all goes well, I'll have two lovely toppers to wear soon!  Do you have any projects that you weren't originally planning to make but they've sort of pushed their way to the front of your list?

What I'm Working on This Weekend...

Thanks again for all the lovely comments on the 1933 dress and jacket!  This week I'm heading back to the year 1940 to make a dress!

If you get the Sew Weekly newsletters (which are great because they have a weekly giveaway!), you'll know that this next week's theme is Something Floral, Something Blue.  Turns out that most people have some sort of blue floral fabric in their stash....which may not be far from the truth because I actually do (one of only two floral fabrics in my stash is blue!).  I got some amazing blue crepe floral fabric on ebay UK (I think 4 meters for £2.99!!)  I was really excited when I got it (I got it awhile back) as the first fabric listed on most of my patterns is crepe.  So this will be my first time sewing with crepe fabric and I am super excited!

So, I'm going to start on this pattern tomorrow (and you can see the fabric I am using as well):

I am going to try view B with the short-sleeves.  This looks like a fairly straight forward pattern to sew.  But I've learned awhile ago not to try and predict the 'easy to sew' versus the complicated patterns.  The first pattern I ever did was marked 'easy to sew' and it took a couple of years (and lots of alterations), whereas the EvaDress 1933 outfit looked complicated but was very straightforward.  I'll just go with the flow and see where it takes me!

What about you? Do you have any blue floral fabric in your stash?  Do you ever misjudge whether a pattern is easy or hard?

What I'm Working On...

This week's outfit ticks several boxes of things I am working on....  First, we are stepping back a decade to 1933.  Originally, I was saving this pattern to be a bonus pattern to the Sewing Through the Decades Challenge but it's perfect for this week for several reasons:

1) It's an EvaDress pattern and they've just announced a competition for sewing up their patterns (with a prize of $100 to spend in their store! eep....more patterns! yippeeee...definitely worth the work to enter!!)  Check out the competition rules here but basically you just need to sew up one of their patterns between 15 Jan (this last Saturday) and 15 March and send in your photos.  Then people vote on Facebook for the winners!

2) This pattern fits in with my Sewing Through the Decades Challenge as the pièce de résistance is the blouse/jacket...

3) This pattern fits with the Hepburn & Hepburn Challenge that I am also doing as this pattern is from one of the first movies that Katherine Hepburn starred in!

and

4) This pattern fits with this week's theme for the Sew Weekly Challenge as it's about a movie which features unrequited love (and all sorts of other love issues).

Phew! Not to mention that I've been so curious as to what this pattern will actually be like to sew!  So, without further ado...this is what I've started sewing this past weekend and continuing on with this week:

You may recognize the pattern as it was featured in a past issue of Threads magazine.

I'm sewing the jacket/blouse with a superfine wool that is a olive/brown small herringbone:

And the skirt I'm sewing up in a brown viscose stretchy fabric!

Can't wait to see how this turns out!

What I'm working on: Coco inspired blouse

If you haven't heard already the theme for the Sew Weekly this week is 'Coco Chanel'.  Have a look at the lovely creations so far and add your own Coco-inspired outfit!

For the theme, I am working on a DuBarry pattern blouse (as part of my Sewing Through the Decades Challenge) from 1943:

If you recognize this pattern, it's because I've sewn up view 2A (minus the pocket) before:

Now for the 'Coco' inspired bit....I'm making this blouse in a white silk taffeta!

Nothing says Coco Chanel to me more than the basic white blouse (and a white blouse that drapes really well).  I wanted a long-sleeved version that had great (but not overly dramatic) draping sleeves.  I think the pattern fits the bill perfectly!

Are you going to sew something 'Coco Chanel' inspired this week?  What style of hers do you like best?

Progress on the 1935 cape (McCall 8501)

I'm making good progress on my 1935 cape pattern and I'm getting really excited about it.  Here it is with part of the shell completed AND the lining and interlining which is almost finished (still have to hem the bottom):

Here's a side view:

This was my first time lining anything!  I had my doubts along the way but it turned out really well:

I also interlined the cape following Gertie's excellent tutorial.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any lambswool for the interlining, so I used cotton batting instead.  I was a little unsure about this but it was really easy to sew with and hasn't affected the drape at all!

There's still a few steps left:

• Sew the jacket to the cape front,
• Face and attach the collar,
• Sew on the pockets,
• Make buttonholes and sew on the buttons,
• Make a matching belt, and
• Finish hemming the lining!

I've gotten some really great buttons to go with it but have encountered difficulties in finding a matching belt...so I've decided to make my own.  Here's another look at the pattern cover to get an idea of how it will hopefully look when finished:

In other news, it's still snowing here!!  Here's my favorite recent snow picture:

1930's Cape

I'm itching to move onto something I can wear this winter....so I'm starting on McCall 8501 from 1935:

Isn't it a beauty?  I love the jacket (there is only a jacket front pattern piece--apparently the belt keeps the cape on) and the collar!

I'm making it in this fantastic tweed plaid that I picked up at a charity shop (only in Scotland can you pick up nice tweed and wool in charity shops!!!):

But it was a weird experience at the charity shop because they didn't have any fabric in the shop.  So I asked the guy working behind the cash register if they had any fabric and he said, "let me check in the back room".  So he takes me to this back room and there's another store employee there and she said, "oh yes, we set aside all fabric for a woman that comes and buys vintage fabrics, whatever she didn't want is in this suitcase."  And there I found 3.5 yards of this tweed and an identical tweed in brown (also 3.5 yards) and about 3 yards of matching grey lining fabric.  Major score!  Now, I always ask about fabric!!

I am going to try and interline (with the help of Gertie's interlining vlog) and also line this cape (with the gray lining fabric).  This will be my first time doing either!  I'm very excited as it looks like a fairly straight forward but elegant pattern.