Winner of the 1933 jacket pattern...

I'm super happy that the winner of the 1933 jacket pattern is....

Nan who blogs over at Retired in Alaska!!!

Definitely check out Nan's blog! I love following her sewing adventures, seeing the beauty of where she lives and the two adorable Weimaraners 'Pan' and 'Kalen' that are always nearby!  Plus, Nan said this pattern is exactly in her size and her style! YAY! I know it will be well loved!

Stay tuned next week for another episode of Vintage Pattern Lovin': Send it Around!!   Have a lovely Saturday!

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From 2006 to 1933: My jacket refashion

 

Happy Friday everyone! I was really happy to dip my toes into refashioning this week and decided to tackle a jacket that's been in my closet for awhile but that I don't really wear that often.

It's a lovely colour and I really like the fabric (linen look) but it's not quite the right style for me.

5 hours later...et viola...My new jacket based on a 1933 pattern complete with matching neck scarf:

I thought I would try out the same techniques of refashioning that were used in the 1940's. Instead of just taking in a side seam here or chopping the sleeves there. I took apart this entire jacket. I first took out the lining, then meticulously unpicked every seam. It took about 2.5 hours to take apart the entire jacket as most of the seams were serged. Here are all the pieces:

I decided I was going to try and make it into an early 1930's jacket and use McCall 7284 as my base.  This pattern is also this week's giveaway.  Leave a comment on this post by midnight GMT tonight for a chance to enter!

I really like it!  I love the front princess seam and the shorter length.  I love the more fitted sleeves.  True to the time period, this is a really short jacket (I used View B) and goes best with high-waisted pieces like my 1941 trousers from the Simplicity repro pattern.  Luckily, I had some of the nice lightweight wool left over from the trousers to make the matching neck scarf...LOVE it!!

I kept the original jacket's front facings, buttons and buttonholes, back darts and cuffs.  I redid the neckline and shoulder caps and added the front princess seam.  I also added a snap at the bottom of the jacket since I had to cut the last button off since it was literally on the bottom seamline!

Here is the back of the jacket before the refashion...not fitting me very well:

Here is my new jacket back.  So much better:

The original jacket was lined but I decided that I didn't want to line this one.  Since it's so short and fitted and the fabric is more lightweight, I felt it didn't really need it.  I did decide to neaten up the seams on the inside by binding them all with some matching lime green binding I had in my stash.  I really like how it looks:

The one consistent pattern alteration I have to make is to lengthen sleeves.  I love my sleeves on a bit of the longer side as well and decided to reuse the beautiful cuffs from the original jacket but instead of folding them down (as in the original) to keep them straight to create a bit of a feature cuff.  I really like how it looks:

We've been having the typical start to the Scottish summer (i.e. three seasons in one day) and we managed to get poured on while taking these photos! hehehehe....Here's to singin' in the rain! :)

Best Day EVER

OMG. I've had the best day ever (not counting the day I met David of course :) ! I have a really exciting collaboration in the works (can say more now but soon...I promise!)  You are going to LOVE it!

Happy first full day of summer (winter for my lovely friends down under)!

What I'm working on and this week's pattern giveaway....

This week's theme over at the Sew Weekly is refashioning--something I've never really done!  The idea is to take something in your wardrobe that you don't really wear or that doesn't really suit you and make it into something new and improved.

I do love to follow the work of refashioning gurus like Meg the Grand and Miss P and there is always the Refashion Co-Op.

So I picked something in my closet that I like...sort of.  I love the colour and fabric of this jacket.  I do not like the shape and fit.  Hmmm...maybe I could make this a bit more me?

Here it is again in better lighting.  We took this photo a year ago in March (2010).  Look how much my hair has grown! Crazy!

This is a better representation of the true colour.  It's very nice and I would like to wear it more!

So here is what I am working on....making a version of View B for this jacket:

This is also this week's pattern giveaway!!  It is a size 18 or 36B.  The pattern is in good condition and all the pieces are present.  It is a jacket pattern from 1933 and you can make three different versions of the jacket.  There is also a pattern piece for the belt and for the neck scarf. 



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

• Leave a comment on this post by midnight GMT Friday, please also leave a way for me to contact you,
• 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 on 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. And again, the only caveat is that you don't sell the pattern.  Keep the pattern for yourself as long as you want and when you are done, pass it on to someone else!



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Mission McCall Mondays: Some Missing Images

Thank you for all the lovely comments on the new flat! I love how Kat described it as a 'ray of snuggly sunshine'! I love that!!

This week I'm happy to fill in a few of the missing images from the Mission McCall Mondays.  The first three images are from Cécile (aka Petite Main at the wiki) and are from 1936.  First up is 9001 (which I've been dying to know what it is....isn't it lovely?):

 I really love the the back on this dress! So beautiful!

Next up is 9006 for the low-neck dinner gown:

This look definitely epitomizes mid 1930's gowns for me!

9007 is also absolutely stunning:

I also found several images from the December 1936 McCall Style News on Trevira's flickr photostream including McCall 9049:

This may be my new favourite gown pattern!

YAY! Glad to have found a few more images!  Happy Monday everyone!


Missing images so far: 502, 503, 505, 507, 508, 510, 9000,9002, 9003, 9008, 9009, 9011, 9012, 9013, 9014, 9017, 9030, 9040, 9041, 9048, 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.

MMJ Days 13-18

Here's a bit of a Me-Made June catch up:

Day 13:

About the Outfit:
White blouse from 1943 DuBarry pattern, navy wool skirt from 1940 pattern and beloved Ness shoes.

Where was it worn?
To work.  It was a bit muggy outside hence the crazy frizzy hair :)

Days 14 and 15:

About the Outfit:
My new black and white dress from a 1939 pattern.

Where was it worn?
Oh yes! I wore this twice in a row!  Working from home one day and then to work the next day.  After work I  met up with the lovely Katie from Monkeysocks Learns to Sew.  We had a fabulous time and a few gin and tonics :)

Day 16:

About the Outfit:
My "Paddington Bear" dress from a 1967 pattern and my favourite Ness shoes!

Where was it worn?

To work and then at home sewing!

Day 17:

About the Outfit:

Me-made bolero and matching skirt from late 40's/early 50's pattern, blouse from Monsoon.

Where was it worn?

To work and then out to drinks with friends!  My colleague just passed her Viva (dissertation defense) for her PhD.  Congrats again Lou!!!

Day 18:

About the Outfit:

Refashioned blouse with embroidery and gold leaves skirt.

Where was it worn?

Running errands, cuddling with the kitties and sewing!

In other news, we found a new place to live! YAY!  We'll be moving in mid-July and I'm really excited about the new place.  Here's a photo of the living room:

It's so colourful and the perfect size for us! And I'll have fun setting up a new sewing room! More photos once we get all moved in.  How's your weekend going?

And the winner is....

Ooohhh! I am very excited to announce the first winner of my weekly vintage pattern giveaways!

And the winner is....

Tamina Listening from the blog Bodies & Words.  You must check out her blog!  This is how she describes herself: A sometimes burlesque performer, vintage enthusiast, home sewer and feminist thinker. I like bodies and think you should too.  

YAY! We can't wait to see what you make the pattern but I'm sure it will be stunning! Keep it as long as you want and when you're done, pass it on!!

Stay tuned for a post on Tuesday about the next vintage pattern giveaway! I can give you a little hint, it's a lovely pattern from 1933!!  ooohhh...I am loving this so much! Happy weekend everyone!

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More details from McCall 3228

McCall 3228 gave me plenty of chances to try out new things!  One of the things I love most about the dress is the rose trim at the collar:

This was my first time putting trim on a neckline.  I first sewed on the trim right sides together and gave enough space at the top when I flipped it to then also add the neck facing (which hid the other side of the trim netting).  Here it is facing down and sewn at the top before flipping it up:

I was also very proud of my cuffs, cuff opening and link buttons:

Did I mention I really like long-sleeves from this time period?  It's the perfect amount of drape in the sleeves.  Very comfortable.  I must have really long arms because I also have to add 1-2 inches in length to get it to sit right!

The pattern also called for a double thickness of organdy sewed into the sleevecap.  Instead I used lightweight sew-in interfacing.  It works perfectly and provides that extra bit of structure in the sleevecap:

I also made the belt from an already existing belt that I found at a local charity shop.  The belt didn't have any prongs and I could tell it was a self-made belt from a kit, which was perfect for recovering.  I folded the material over it and topstitched it down each side on the front. 

I cut off the old buckle and attached my own belt buckle! Et Viola, the easiest belt I have made so far!!

The dress front also has two pockets which get lost with the busy print (but I know they are there :-)

You can sort of see the pockets in the picture above.

Such fun details!  Don't forget to enter the giveaway before midnight GMT on Friday to win this pattern!

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?