Butterick 6055: The 'Ice Princess Dress'

Move over Elsa, there's a new Ice Princess in town.  I am beyond excited to share my most recent make on my newly relaunched blog (*squealing with excitement*).  As with a lot of my upcoming makes, this was an 'unfinished object' or UFO in sewing world lingo.  I originally started cutting out the pieces to this dress during December 2016!

I used a Butterick reissued retro pattern originally from the year 1950.  I just fell in love with the bodice shape, the collar, raglan sleeves and the pockets...oh the pockets!!

As many of you know, I sew primarily with true vintage patterns and have hit or miss success with reissued or new pattens.  But this pattern is PHENOMENAL. I adore it so much (already dreaming of all the pretty fabrics I could make it in as well as SOLIDS with contrasting bows...gah, the possibilities are endless!)

The fabric is a great polished cotton snowflake print that I picked up in the Philippines in 2016.  The fabric is gorgeous --beautiful and sparkly.  This poor fabric and pattern were sitting in my projects storage box (oh yes, I have several projects started but not finished).  Then something extraordinary happened. It snowed A LOT in Edinburgh.  This is pretty rare. I know you think it would snow a lot here since we are so far north but that last time I remember snow that stuck for multiple days was in 2010.

Suddenly this project sprung to the top of my sewing queue and with gusto! I really wanted to finish this great pattern and capture the beautiful fabric with a snowy Edinburgh backdrop.  I seriously felt like I was back in my 'Sew Weekly' days with adrenaline pumping to finish this dress before all the snow melted!  It was such a nice change to be so focused on one project.

I'm so giddy with how it turned out. I just adore the pattern and fit.  And those pockets with the adorable little bows (which thankfully don't have to be turned inside out to be sewn. phew! thank you Butterick!)

I didn't really spend much time on pattern matching since the snowflakes are a bit asymmetrical across the fabric.  I also really like how the pockets blend in slightly until you see that sweet little detail.

The dress closes with a side zipper and I'm really pleased with the bodice fit.  The collar got a bit tricky but only because I used some fusible interfacing that got a bit wrinkly and required lots of coaxing with the iron to straighten out.

Looking at the fit of the back, I could probably have taken a quarter of an inch off the back to prevent the wrinkling...but not bad overall.  And unlike the early 1940s patterns – attaching the bodice to the skirt is super easy (right sides together unlike the overlapped and topstitched early 40s patterns).

And boy, did Edinburgh cooperate with the naturally beautiful backdrop. I literally feel like a snow princess in these photos which were taken by the seriously talented @Dashiee (on instagram) in Holyrood Park.  It seriously looks like we are deep in the Highlands!

And the dress (and backdrop) match my vintage accessories. I got the late 1920s ermine cape from Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair in Edinburgh about a year ago and I literally bought the white muff on a whim two weekends ago from my dear friend Rachel's vintage store (Carnivale Vintage) before this dress was a serious contender for finishing.  I'm so glad I did--isn't it cute (and very functionally warm)?

Yippeee....LOVE this dress and look forward to making more with this pattern.  And a perfect project to celebrate the relaunch of my blog :)

Blog Relaunch

I'm so excited to be relaunching my blog after a TWO (2!) year hiatus!!  The last two years have been a crazy journey for me. Many of you know that I split with my partner of many years in late 2016 – it was my decision and while we have both tried to make it as amicable as possible – it has still been a difficult period. One thing I noticed was how important sewing is to me – I've missed it incredibly during these past two years and I know now that I'm indeed happiest when I allow myself that creative and community space.  I'm in such a positive space now and super duper happy to be delving back into regular blogging alongside my other vintage creative pursuits.

In the past year, I've really connected with so many amazing vintage enthusiasts in Edinburgh and reconnected with many of my friends from the sewing community online again through instagram.  And I can't wait to make more friends and be even more inspired by this amazing online community we have!

You will have noticed that I have changed my blog name. It's a long story that involved my original domain name expiring and then going to auction. Needless to say it was bought at auction for something like $450 and then I got a weird message from a dodgy person on Facebook asking me if I wanted it back.  I decided then that it was the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter in my blogging life and focus more on the 1940 McCall project and some of the pinup fashion that I've been increasingly getting into.  I'm still working on switching over names (for example I'm not sure how to change my facebook page name)--but I'm happy to have gotten my ideal domain name – Ms1940McCall!  Woohoo! (but a note to change any links you have because I have no idea what will become of the other domain name! eep!)

I've been finishing up and photographing quite a few UFOs (Unfinished Objects) that I had started many years ago alongside new projects and it has been immensely satisfying!  So I look forward to sharing these new sewing projects with you all over the coming weeks as well as continue my research into the year 1940 and the McCall pattern company.

It's so good to be back!


xoxoxo
Debi

The 'Luck o' the Irish' Dress in Autumn

It's starting to get really chilly here in Edinburgh – so I'm on a mad rush to wear all my Autumn dresses.  I also visited my favourite stylist, Ariana at Vanity Thrills Vintage Beauty Parlour, to update my vintage cut (I went with a Middy Plus cut) and she did an AMAZING job creating an early 40s wet set:
Her styles are amazing!!

I wore my 'Luck o' the Irish' dress which is made from McCall 3624, a pattern from 1940 and part of my 1940 McCall project (where I attempt to find AND sew all the 1940 McCall patterns)!

I love this colour of green (which is hard to photograph--it's more like a kelly green than is showing up in the pictures!) and matched it with some yellow pearl buttons.  I have a matching belt somewhere but for the life of me can't find it (note to self: time to organise and keep the belts with the dresses! gah!)

This dress is a classic shirtwaister but the details of the pattern are perfect for soft, flowy fabrics!  The fabric I used is a brushed silk and omg it is SO SOFT.  I am seriously in love with this fabric.  I found it in Goldhawk Road down in London on one of the most amazing blogger meet-ups and I've been dying to pick up more since.  For some reason, they don't carry this type of fabric in any of my local fabric stores!

We took these photos on a crisp Autumn day in Edinburgh – our trees are now fast losing their leaves!!

I am also super excited to get my first pair of Swedish Hasbeen sandals.  I've been seeing these all over the blogosphere.  The thing is that I'm allergic to the chemicals they use to tan leather – so all my shoes are of manmade materials.  You can imagine my delight when I found that all of their shoes are vegetable tanned! YIPPPPEEEEEEEE!  So I am giving them a try!  I love how they look very similar to sandals from the 40s.  So far, they are very comfortable.  I did have some problems with the strap rubbing my ankle but I think that will go away when the leather softens a bit!

Happy November everyone!! xx

The 'Fleur Dress' at Hogwarts

Happy almost Halloween!  This year, I've been very Harry Potter inspired.  Specifically, I wanted to recreate the outfit from one of my favourite characters, Fleur Delacour from the Goblet of Fire movie.

The Beauxbaton uniform is very late 1930s, early 1940s inspired:

I found the perfect blue colour at Edinburgh Fabrics, a synthetic crepe that is very soft to the touch and drapes wonderfully.

I made the 'Fleur Dress' using McCall pattern 3733 from the year 1940.  For the cape, I turned to McCall 8776 from 1938 – which has the absolute perfect mid arm length, tie-front cape.  I made my version without the collar in the same blue fabric.

And what's even better is that David and I went to see the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour just outside of London.  Oh my goodness...what an AMAZING place.

Going through Platform 9 and 3/4:

They have done such a wonderful job of preserving all the backdrops, props and aspects from all of the movies.  We started our tour at around 4:30pm and didn't finish until almost 10pm – and we had to rush through the final rooms.  There is so much to see!  They've recreated the Hogwarts Express:

As well as the inside of the trains:

The tour starts in the Great Hall – and it is phenomenal! The hall is very large and it's great to see how they were able to film the movies within this fantastic set:s

Just to get the scale of the hall with the giant gargoyle lanterns and long bench tables:

One of my favourite set pieces is definitely the bridge.  It's crickety and twists and turns and the details are just fantastic!

Perfect for the Fleur Dress! Of course, being among so many Potter lovers was great too.  I got lots of compliments on the outfit and a few people thought I worked there!  haha.

However, to really complete the outfit, I knew I wanted to get the hat!  This hat is very reminiscent of some 1939 hats I've seen.  I found an amazing online seller, MontanaKnitWitsFelts, who makes these beauties by hand in whatever colour you want.

I thought long and hard and decided to go with a darker Navy blue hat to match my shoes – as I knew I wanted to wear the hat again with different outfits.  I absolutely love it! It fits perfectly and was custom made for me. Rebecca was such a great and communicative seller.  I'm hoping to commission a few more period hats from her!

EXPECTO PATRONUM......teehee...  David and I were debating what my Patronus would be...we are thinking either a Lynx, a tiny bee or a giggly bunny....

What about you? Any crafting for Autumn or Halloween?

McCall 3733: The 'Fleur Dress'

Never mind it's August, I just made a long-sleeve dress! Thank you very much Scottish weather.

I'm happy to introduce my latest muse, the 'Fleur Dress'.

I made it using McCall 3773, continuing with my quest to find and sew all the McCall patterns from the year 1940.  This pattern features a neat gathered partial bodice insert with curved neckline. I opted for view C which has the straight long sleeves.  I'm still planning to make the green version with lace as seen on the pattern cover (sometimes the pattern covers have the BEST ensembles!)

I made this using a medium-weight soft synthetic rayon fabric that I got at Edinburgh Fabrics.  I just love this colour of blue.

The dress was fairly easy to put together but I think I might need to put more ease into the elbows on the sleeves as it's not very easy to do the whole over head shimmy into the dress primarily because of the arms! Ha!

I made this dress for a big event--more pictures from that and the associated accessories tomorrow :-)

Happy 4th of July

Photo credit: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images

Happy 4th of July to all my American sewing friends!  I'm wearing my star hair clip today in celebration :-)

McCall 3792: The 'Vintage Pattern Pledge' Dress

I'm guest posting today over at Kerry's blog, Kestrel Makes, about my latest 1940 McCall make for the Vintage Pattern Pledge July challenge using McCall 3792:

 You can read the full post here.

McCall 3615: "The 1940 Sears Catalogue Replica Dress"

I am beyond excited to show you my latest make, McCall 3615 which I am calling "The 1940 Sears Catalogue Replica Dress".  The original inspiration came from a page in the 1940 Sears Catalogue.  I fell in love with the fabric and David recreated it in Photoshop from the not very good quality photo below!  See his post here on the design process.  I then got the design printed on cotton satin fabric through an amazing new fabric printing service in the UK called Contrado.  They are a great company because they don't have a minimum order size, they are based in the UK and are family run, they have an amazing array of fabric choices and they are going to start carrying other products that you can print on as well (hello shoes!)  I am beyond excited to start doing lots of replica outfits with this new service!

I used McCall 3615 as it was the 1940 pattern that was the closest match to the original dress design .  It features gathers and overlapped seams on the bodice shoulder front, a really interesting waist detail, a great high side neck as well as gathered sleeves.

Here are some close-up shots of the fabric and pattern details.  I just love the fit of the dress and the fabric design! I am also happy that I managed to line up the bodice lines with the seams in the skirt front.

Here's the back of the dress which is pretty basic. I probably could have made the bodice back slightly shorter but I'm also not standing up perfectly straight.  Isn't this hat fabulous?  I found it at a  vintage store in Portland last year.

One of my favourite things about this pattern is the neckline. I just love the ever so slight high-neck look.  I would love to make this dress in a plain fabric as well so that the bodice details would really jump out.

YAY! So very happy with my new make.  The fabric is a perfect weight and cool because it is cotton but also has a nice soft hand with the satin and is a dream to sew.  I plan to print many more fabric designs!

What about you? Have you ever thought of printing your own fabric?

1940s Fabric Collaboration

I am currently working on a very exciting project.  I was recently approached by Contrado, a company that prints fabrics.  You can design your own fabric and get it printed onto any type of fabric, from cashmere to silk to cotton to you name it!  They have everything. Check out Handmade Jane's post on her tour of the factory.

I had always wanted to try printing my own fabric, but all the companies for doing this are based in the U.S., making it very expensive to order any fabric.  Until now! So I am delighted that this company is UK-based (and also family-run! double hurrah!). They let me try out their fabric printing service for an upcoming sewing project.

My inspiration for the fabric collaboration came from this 1940 Sears catalogue photo:

I'm using this pattern to try and recreate the look:

I'm almost done sewing (just need to attach the bodice to the skirt, insert zipper and sleeves and hem it).  Whoohoo.  Very excited.  Tomorrow David will share a guest post on how he designed the fabric based on the 1940 Sears Catalogue photo.