The 'Lady of the Lake' Dress or McCall 3228

Do you like my new logo and blog layout?  David did the logo for me and I LOVE it!!!!  I've been wanting to switch to a white background for some time and this is just perfect!

Here's some photos of my newest creation.  This should actually be called the 'Lady of the Stream' outfit...hehehehe

This is my version of McCall 3228 for this week's theme of black and white at the Sew Weekly.  I don't usually do busy prints but I thought this was a nice one. It's synthetic but has a nice drape to it.

It has a 'bloused' effect which was popular in 1939/1940 patterns in that the top of the dress looks like a blouse that has been tucked in.

I used a really cute white rose trim at the neckline and pearl buttons, buckle and link buttons.

Since the theme was to incorporate a hat as well, I have this little late '40's hat that goes perfectly! It's got the most adorable feathers on the top.

I really like it!  I've got tons more photos to share but I'll save some of them for another post :)

Weekly Pattern Giveaways!!!!!

I am taking a wee break from the Mission McCall Mondays (to catch up with the pattern wiki uploading) but wanted to share something that I'm really excited about...

Weekly Pattern Giveaways!

Oh yes! I've decided that I am going to give away the pattern I use each week for the Sew Weekly challenge.  I'm extremely lucky to have an amazing pattern stash (that comes through lots of persistence with the vintage pattern hunting!) and I really want to share it.  I love sewing with vintage patterns so much and I know a lot of people would love to give it a try but maybe don't know where to start or are put off by some of the crazy vintage pattern prices (is it me or have they gone up recently...it really does take a good search to get a good deal).  My goal is to get as many people hooked onto sewing with vintage patterns as possible!


I'll be making a copy of each pattern so I'll still have it in case I want to use it again but this way someone else can have it too!  I always wonder what something would look like sewn up by someone else!  This is also a good challenge for me to sew with lots of different size patterns and try my hand at grading more (so there will hopefully be lots of different sizes in the giveaways).


The only caveat?  For those that enter the giveaway, I am only asking that if you do win a pattern that you do not sell it.  Keep it as long as you want but when you are ready to move on, pass it along to someone else either as a gift or through a giveaway!  One of the things I really love about our sewing community is how generous people are and I definitely want to give back (I've won my share of giveaways and you have all been so wonderfully supportive).

There are occasionally weeks that we don't sew from patterns (like the pillowcase week) or there may be weeks when I want to sew with a reproduction pattern (like Wearing History, EvaDress, etc).  I'll still have giveaways those weeks--either partnering up with the repro pattern sellers or giving away a previous pattern I've sewn.


I get lots of emails asking me where people can find the patterns I use.  For those that don't win the giveaways, I'll also be offering a very limited quantity of reproduction patterns each week.  We'll see how it goes and how much interest there is for each pattern but I'll probably offer between 5 to 20 a week.  I know for those that live in the UK, getting repro patterns can be difficult!  I definitely want to eventually open up my own online store and carry some of the U.S. repro patterns (like Wearing History, VPLL, Vintage Fashion Library, New Vintage Lady, Decades of Style, EvaDress, etc.)  Because if you live in the UK, it becomes too expensive with VAT and shipping to order more than one pattern at a time (and repro patterns are the easiest way to get some of the amazing 1930's and 40's patterns).  So watch this space for more news about this.


So what I am making this week? I actually just finished sewing this dress:

This amazing McCall pattern from 1939.  I made view A.  Check it out on my blog and the Sew Weekly blogs tomorrow.  This will be the first pattern in the weekly giveaways!


The pattern giveaways will be open to readers everywhere.  To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post by midnight GMT Friday (I'll plan to do these posts on the Tuesday of each week) for one entry,
2. If you are technologically savvy and connected then post about the giveaway on 1. your blog, 2. twitter or 3. facebook for an additional entry for each method (so you can have a total of up to four entries...be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you've done any of these extra things).

I'll announce the winner every Saturday and I'll ship anywhere in the world.  Just note that it sometimes takes awhile for packages to arrive for those outside the EU but I'll aim to mail out the patterns by the following Wednesday.  If you win a pattern, you can't win again for another six months (but you can enter if you've won one of my previous giveaways as those don't count). And again, keep the pattern for yourself and when you are done, pass it on to someone else!  That way we can keep these lovelies available and perhaps get more people involved in sewing with vintage patterns!

MMJ 8 & 9

Howdy everyone! How's your Sunday going?

I'm a bit behind on the MMJ posts...but here are days 8 & 9....

Me-Made June Day 8

 What I Wore: My 1931 EvaDress faux fur trimmed suit, blogged about here and my white DuBarry 1940's blouse.  And yes, it's been cold enough here to feel very comfortable in wool flannel :)

What I Did:  Worked during the day and sewed when I got home from work! This is a picture of me in my office.

Me-Made June Day 9

 What I Wore:  Me-made 1944 ruffle blouse, me-made 1941 trousers and Ness jacket (not me-made but from an awesome Scottish company).


What I Did: Worked during the day (my lovely colleague took this photo as we were leaving work) and then a bit of sewing and etsy trawling in the evening :)

What have you been up to this weekend?

How to make a faux wrap blouse from a pillowcase

Hi everyone! Thanks for your lovely comments on my faux wrap blouses.  As promised, here is a step-by-step picture guide to how I made the blouses!

Supplies Needed:

• For this project you will need 1 pillowcase for the blouse (get the pillowcase size based on your bust size) and 1 pillowcase (or matching material) for the tie sash.  
• 1.5 to 2 metres of matching trim (or more if you decide on a longer tunic length)
• Matching thread
• Pins
• Scissors

Pillowcase sizes.  Apparently both Standard and Queen pillowcases are the same width but Queen sized pillowcases are longer.  They should be 20 inches wide (but as you see below I had one that was 17.5 inches and one that was 18 inches--so always double check the width).  Your bust size should be equal to or less than one-half of the width of the pillowcase.  I am a 35 bust size and could fit both the 17.5 and the 18 inch.  The 17.5 inch wide pillowcase (the blue floral one) was comfortable (but I also have a narrower back) and only required a slight bit of 'shimmying' to get it on but nothing too drastic :)

If you have a larger bust size than 1/2 the width of the pillow, try to find a 'European' or square pillow.  The standard measurements for these are 26 by 26 inches allowing for a bust size up to 52 inches--again depending on your back width and shoulder size.

For those with smaller bust sizes, you may need to make a new side seam for your pillowcase.  To do this just turn your pillowcase inside out and stitch a seam line from bottom to top for your desired width.  Cut off the excess (and iron that seam flat) and then proceed as normal.

For those with smaller hips you can even try to make a faux wrap dress with a king sized pillowcase (usually measures 20 inches across and up to 40 inches long).

Once you have your pillowcase, these are the steps to follow to make a faux wrap blouse:

Step 1: Measure Neckline:

Take your pillowcase with the folded edge up and measure the width of that edge.  Both of my pillowcases were approximately 18 inches across.

Mark the centre point with a pin (9 inches here), determine how wide you want your neckline.  You can take measurements across the front of your bodice with a tape measure.  Doing this, I decided to make the neckline at the top about 6 inches wide.  Mark your cutting lines with pins.

Also decide how deep you want your neckline.  I took my measurements and thought 8 inches would be good.  But because I was a bit hesitant about cutting it too low, I decided to cut 7 inches and to take the extra inch off later if I wanted to (I did indeed go with 8 inches on both blouses in the end).


Step 2: Cut Out Neckline Area:

Cut through both layers for 1/2 inch or so and then cut only the front layer down to your marked neckline stop point. 

My two pillowcases were slightly different.  The bright yellow pillowcase was actually stitched closed at the end and the floral blue pillowcase was folded over (i.e. it was one long continuous length of fabric just folded at the bottom).  Cut the length of the neckline you marked making a 'v' shape.  For the back of the neckline, make a very elongated 'u' shape (i.e. just add a slight bit of shaping to the back).

I found it very helpful to cut down a short distance from the 'v' shape on the neckline.  This helped when I folded the fabric under for the seam finishing.

Step 3: Measure and Cut Armholes:

 

 Measure on yourself how long you want the armholes to be (when measuring, take only the front measure).  I decided that 7 inches would be good.  Again, I cut it a bit short figuring if I needed to cut more that was easier than adding the fabric back!!  Cut the armholes in a sliver of a moon shape (i.e. elongated 'u' as with the back of the neck).  I cut the armhole right up to the top (again shaping it along the way).

Step 4:  Try on your pillowcase
At this stage it's really helpful to try on your pillowcase and make any adjustments in the cutting.  Also mentally note which side you want the trim to go across.

Step 5: Prepare for Finishing Seams and Adding Trim:

I decided to try and save as much time as possible and do narrow hems and to sew the trimming on all at once.  To do the narrow hems, fold under the fabric on the neckline (all the way down the front to the 'v' point and across the back) and the armholes approximately 1/4 of an inch.  Iron these flat.  You now want to take these folds and make another 1/4 inch fold (for two folds on all edges)  Since pillowcases are often made of cotton which holds the iron creases really well, I just ironed down the initial fold and folded over one more time.  I then held these in place with pins while I did the rest of the seams.

 

Do the same thing with the armholes.  It can be a bit tricky to do the double fold on the armholes, so pin where necessary!

I also found it very helpful to 'pull out' the bottom bit of the armhole as it tends to get awkwardly folded under during this process.  This will make it so much easier to add trim later if it is not puckering at the bottom of the armhole.

Step 5: Prepare to Add Trim:

I did both blouses a bit differently.  For the yellow blouse, I did a fold in the fabric from the neckline down the side to mimic the 'faux wrap' aspect.  For the blue floral blouse, I just put the trim down the front without the fold.  I think the end result looks very similar.

Also, when you first try on the blouse, you will see how long you want the blouse to be.  The standard pillowcase does not go over my hips at all.  I had to cut a good portion of the pillowcase off at the bottom and then narrowly hem the bottom edge as well (since I lost the already hemmed edge!!)

I ended up leaving the yellow blouse a bit longer and unpicked a small section of the side seam (just one side seam...the one that the trim goes down).  I then hemmed each unpicked side.  For the blue floral blouse, I left both side sections closed and made the blouse a bit shorter.  Experiment with different lengths when you first try on the pillowcase by folding under the fabric at different points.

Step 6: Attach Trim:

The next step is to attach the trim on the outside of the neckline and around the armholes.  The trim should conceal all of the edges but should remain on the top of the blouse.  Pin in place in the direction you are likely to stitch.

For the neckline 'v', just tuck the shorter side well underneath the longer side.

I ran the trim all the way down the side seam on one side.  Once at the bottom, I just folded the trim under the bottom to the inside (when you stitch the trim in place, it will catch this folded under bit in the stitching).

Do the same for the armholes.

Where the two edges of trim meet on the armholes, I did two different methods.  The first (which I don't really recommend if you have bulky trim like I did) was to fold one of the pieces of trim under and to sew this onto the other piece (as in the photo above).  You'll want to place these bulky ends either at the back or near the armpit so that they are not visible.

 The version I liked much better but would only really work with 'busy' trim (such as the one pictured above) was to sew one of the cut edges right over another cut edge.  To keep it in place and to prevent fraying, I sewed over where the top edge met the bottom trim at least 3 times.

Step 7: Seam Finishing and Hemming Options:

 Here you can see where I reinforced where the trim edges met on the armhole.  Once you have your trim all pinned in place, sew it on according to the trim.  For the bright yellow blouse, I sewed right down the centre of the trim.  For the blue floral blouse, since the trim had the main elements in the centre, I sewed it down the right and left sides close to the edges.  In the photo above you can see where I sewed down one side and how it also sewed the folded edges under creating the instant seam finishes on the armhole.

Step 8: Sewing the Tie Sash:

I can think of three different ways to make the tie sash.  All involve cutting the fabric (from ANOTHER pillowcase or you can even use matching fabric not found in a pillowcase) all the way from the open end around the bend and back up the back side (so you have the longest piece of fabric available).  Then you can either:

1. Cut this from the corner side so that one side of your long piece is already attached.  Fold it open so that the right sides are together and stitch it the entire length on the open edge but leaving a small portion unstitched.  Turn the fabric through this small portion and then slipstich that opening closed.

2. Since I didn't want to do any handstitching, I cut two similar width pieces.  I then folded the edges of each side under, ironed and pinned.  Then I topstiched the two pieces wrong sides together.  Since you are cutting the new pillowcase from the bottom all the way around the length to the bottom again, you won't need to finish the ends of the tie sash (since it's the bottoms of the pillowcases that are already hemmed! Hooray!).  Does that make sense?  This is the method I used for the blue floral blouse.

3.  If you don't want a double sided tie sash, you can also cut one single length of material and then just fold the edges under and stitch.  That is what I did for the bright yellow blouse.

A standard pillowcase cut this way gives enough length to the tie sash to leave it long:

Or to tie it into a cute little bow:

Et viola, new faux wrap blouse!!  Let me know if you try it out! 

MMJ 6 & 7 and my new blouses and skirt

MMJ Day 6:
For Day 6, I wore my grey jersey 1940 dress and my ness shoes.  I also just happened to be in the neighbourhood of my local fabric store :)

One really fun thing happened in that I was waiting to cross the street and two lovely ladies behind me complimented me on my outfit!  So sweet and it really made my day!

MMJ Day 7:

For this week's theme over at the Sew Weekly the challenge was to make something out of a pillowcase.  Luckily, I've been holding onto two sets of pillowcases that I picked up in charity shops because I liked the fabric.  I don't know exactly what I was thinking when I bought them because it would be highly unlikely that I would unpick the pillowcase to actually make something (plus as I discovered one of the pillowcase sets had french seams!!)  Luckily this challenge came to the rescue and I could actually use these to make something!  I present to you faux wrap blouse #1 which I will call 'Sunshine Overload" and faux wrap blouse #2 which I will affectionately refer to as 'Garden Surprise'.

Here's the 'Sunshine Overload':

 Here was it's life as a pillowcase:

Not my usual colour scheme!!  But I am oddly drawn to bright colours and thought these were fun prints.  I got the inspiration for doing a faux wrap blouse from a pattern I picked up this last week at a charity shop when I was out with my niece Brittany:

It's a wrap dress and tunic pattern from 1968.  Originally I was going to unpick the fabric from the pillowcase to see if I could use it for this pattern.  As you can see in the illustration at the bottom left of the pattern, the main pattern piece is quite large.  I would have had to put in a back seam and then I might not have had any fabric left over for a sash.  Instead, I opted for a much easier route which was to make it a 'faux' wrap blouse and to keep the seams already in the pillowcase!  I'm planning a more detailed post on the construction process! So stay tuned!!

Ok onto pillowcase #2 or the 'Garden Surprise'.  This is it's life as a pillowcase (I'm just cutting out the sash tie in this photo):

And here it is as a faux wrap blouse:

 

I also made the skirt in fabric that I had in my stash.  It's amazing how well it matches both prints.  I used the trusted McCall 3968 that I used to make my navy blue skirt.  The pattern is from 1940 and it is very versatile:

I made the skirt out of a lime green crepe back satin with the crepe on the outside and the satin inside.  The only bad thing with crepe back satin is that the hem is not invisible.  I may have to go back and give it a narrow hem.  But other than that, I like how it turned out:

What do you think?  I know it's a bit of a departure from my favourite colours like burgundy!  Wait, did I just mention wine?  heheheehe... 

Resistance is futile...or why I am adding a new yummy pattern to my stash

 

 I couldn't walk away, I just couldn't.  McCall 4114....I think I am in love.  This pretty pattern is coming home to me from the amazing etsy shop called 'Miss Betty's Attic'.  She's got an AMAZING assortment of 1930's and early 40's patterns (as well as 50's and 60') and what's even better?  She's giving readers of this blog a 10% discount to her etsy shop!!  Just enter the code: SEWHAPPY

That's what I am right now :)

Mission McCall Mondays: 9071-9080

This week's Mission McCall covers pattern numbers 9071-9080. I can't believe we've almost made it through 100 patterns already! phew! For those of you new to the series, my goal is to update the Vintage Pattern Wiki so that it's complete for all McCall patterns from mid 1936-1940. If you have any source images for any of these patterns, email them to me and I'll add them to the Vintage Pattern Wiki!

This is the week of interesting yoke designs!  I am super excited about this week's patterns!
First up is 9071 which is an adorable children's romper.  Whenever I think of 30's children's fashions, this is the type of garment that comes to mind:

9072 looks so similar to 9070 blogged about here.  Both patterns are for girls and are based on Scottish dress and both patterns also include a hat:

I'm missing the image from 9073.  Do you have it?  I'm thinking we must be in January or February of 1937 by this point but would love to hear from those that have any McCall Magazines from those months....are we there yet?

Tia from the lovely etsy shop called Sydcam123 (seriously, check out the amazing patterns she has listed), sent me the pattern cover for 9074.  Isn't it beautiful?:

 I love the slit neckline!!  You'll notice that both 9074 and the next pattern, 9075, also have the visible gathering stitches on the sleeve cap.....

But I think 9075 might be my new favourite dress, here's a close-up of the bodice:

I definitely want to recreate it!!

Next up is 9076, which is already in the wiki and boy, what a gown!!!

Love the heart shaped neckline!

Next up is 9077, 9078, 9079 and 9080 respectively--I love them all!!!  And you can easily see why I named this week the week of the interesting yoke details:

Here's a close-up of the back view of 9077 (which has straight OR puffy sleeves)....argh....I am in heaven!!

Here's also a close-up of 9079, eeek! Brilliant pattern drafting...I love it!!!

And here are the line drawings for the short-sleeve and back versions of 9080...you know I love these lines:

Ok, I am dying to know who else loves these interesting yoke details??  Would you wear these dresses??


Missing images so far: 502, 503, 505, 507, 508, 510, 9000, 9001, 9002, 9003, 9006, 9007, 9008, 9009, 9011, 9012, 9013, 9014, 9017, 9030, 9040, 9041, 9048, 9049, 9050, 9062 and 9073. If you want to contribute to the Mission McCall--just email me the images or pattern covers and I'll update them in the Vintage Pattern Wiki.  myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com.