Peanuts for Christmas

It's time for the annual holiday frock.

I actually decided what I was going to do with this fabric last December, as I was rummaging around in the holiday themed fabric bin.  My first thought when I purchased the novelty print was that it would make a great blouse (mostly because it has a very white background).  But I had a few yards, and I didn't want to end up wasting the yardage.  I was in the process of making this vintage pattern in a vintage upholstery fabric and thought that it would make a very cute and festive holiday dress with that collar and those cuffs!  At the time, I thought that contrasting ruffles might be a nice addition.

The first thing that I stitched together were the cuffs having decided that using the fabric for the ruffles would be a better choice, followed by the collar pieces, mostly because I didn't want to leave all of that gathering of the ruffles till the last minute.

I shortened the first version of the dress due to extremely limited yardage, but I do think it looks more Mod/1960s with the shorter length, so I stuck with that modified silhouette.

But the most exciting part of the project was that I found a use for this red pom-pom trim.  Which is infinitely better than a contrasting ruffle, in my opinion. 

While the trim could be stitched into place with a machine, that seemed like a real pain.  I would probably end up hand basting it into place anyway, so I just went ahead and hand stitched it.  The trim was also attached to the cuffs by hand since the hand stitching worked great on the collar.

I knew that I would be adding the ball fringe to the hemline, I just wasn't entirely sure how many rows would look best.  My initial thought was three rows (odd numbers tend to read better, design-wise) but I thought I would start with two and see how I liked it with the rest of the dress completed.  And that meant installing a center back zipper.

The collar was stitched into place, which is what initially drew me to the pattern.

I also fully lined the dress since it will be worn with a pair of tights and the cotton would 100% stick to a pair of tights.  Also, the white portions of the fabric are rather sheer, and the lining solves that problem, as well.

I essentially created a duplicate dress in rayon lining, leaving the sleeve pieces separate from the body of the dress, dropped that lining into the dress and basted the neck and armholes together.  The sleeve lining was dropped into the sleeve, basted at the top edge and treated as a single layer.

Because the cuff is added at the lower edge of the sleeve, I didn't want the sleeve lining attached to the dress lining and potentially pulling things out of place.  The armscye edge was easily finished with rayon seam binding.

The hem was hand stitched into place, and the skirt lining was trimmed to be about one-half inch shorter than the dress.  I used thread tacks at each seamline to keep the lining from shifting.

In the end, I just went with two rows of trim for the skirt.  Because of the shorter length of this dress, the third row looked just a little too cramped when I pinned it into place.

That also means that the double row matches the cuff embellishments, which I think looks intentional.

I used the distance set by the cuffs to set the distance between the skirt trim rows.

This dress is as silly and festive as I had hoped it would be.

Someone in the office used the adjective "ridiculous" as a descriptor.  This was not meant as an insult (you would have to know the personality to understand) and actually, it's probably a fitting word to describe the dress. 

For me, the dress is a complete success.  I wasn't looking to make something glamorous this year, just a fun dress made with a charming print.  And honestly, I am so happy that I didn't end up going with a blouse pattern.  This is so much better!

A Cropped Swing Coat

This project was not exactly what I was expecting.

I thought that I was getting into a fairly easy sewing pattern, but there were a few issues with the drafting and instructions that were aggravating and I got a bit frustrated.

Giving the jacket a time out was helpful.  And I was able to "fix" the sleeve lining, even if the repair is visible from the interior.  And while the cuffs are fun, they would work a lot better had they been shaped instead of rectangular.

This is one of those experiences that has reminded me to trust my instincts.  Unfortunately, it's not the first time that I have discounted those feelings and been burned.

That being said, I did manage to make two garments out of the fabric yardage (love when that happens!) and the coat is 100% wearable.  In fact, I suspect that I will get a little less annoyed with the "faults" of the darn thing after some time has passed.

I have an old wool coat from Banana Republic with a similar tent shape and a shorter hemline that reads more jacket than coat.  It sees a lot of wear in the colder months because the silhouette fits over my petticoated skirts.

My idea with this coat was to add another more colorful option to the coat closet that would also work over a fuller skirt (the existing ready to wear garment is brown, which may be extremely useful, but not very "fun").

And to that end, I would call this project successful.

So I am inclined to go with that feeling and leave any of the grouchiness about the making of the coat behind.

I often forget about the jacket and coat patterns in my stash because the dresses catch my attention more easily, but I would like to add another more 1940s style coat with a bit more length to my collection sooner rather than later.

I am hoping that the cold weather we have been having may push me in that direction - I even have a suitable wool stashed away . . . but then again, I should really get back to work on that Christmas dress that I have cut out on the sewing room table.

Coat:  Made by me, Charm Patterns "Swing Coat"
Dress:  Made by me, Vogue 8701
Shoes:  American Duchess "Marilyn Pumps"
Earrings:  Gift

The Cropped Jacket

It may have taken years, but I finally made a matching jacket for my pleated skirt.

While doing a bit of decluttering in the sewing room, I came across Simplicity 2841.  It was just the type of jacket design that I had thought would pair perfectly with my pleated skirt and it seemed like as good a time as any to make it.

The fabric matches a wing backed chair that lived in my Grandmother's home, although I am somewhat confused by the remaining and somewhat oddly sized pieces that were left.  This couldn't have been ripped from the chair itself as there is little to no wear on the textile, but it also doesn't have any stitched hemlines that I would associate with discarded curtains.  But no matter, it ended up in my hands, and I am very glad that it did.

I had thought about possible patterns for this fabric last year, but I knew that I was going to have to significantly alter the jacket pattern that I had in mind, and I am so pleased that I waited until I came across this vintage pattern.

The size of this particular pattern is larger than I usually use, but I was more concerned about making all of the pieces fit on the random fabric scraps that I had available to me. 

And while I technically was not able to fit all of my pieces on the fabric, it's not apparent from the outside of the garment, which is all that matters!

As is a common occurrence around these parts lately, I did not have a suitable lining fabric.  But I do have more of that striped silk . . . 

One bottle of Rit Dye later, and I had a (much brighter than expected) pink lining.

Although it is not marked on the pattern piece, the instructions mention adding a pleat to the upper edge of the bodice back lining, however, they push the piece off grain to accommodate the upper edge, but not the waist edge.  I thought this rather odd, so I just added about one inch of ease along the entire center back, and later pleated the upper neck edge and also the waistline for a couple of inches as I have seen done on at least a few coat patterns.

And while I was somewhat surprised by the dark color that didn't fade with rinsing, it does match extremely well to the darker pink shading in some of the flowers, so that was a happy accident!

The lining was hand stitched into place.

I do enjoy a bit of hand sewing, but also, if you have been around vintage clothing, it is common to have the lining fail when the rest of the garment is in great condition.  If that lining is hand stitched, it is SO much easier to remove and replace than if it is machine stitched.  I also find it somewhat irritating to machine stitch two very different types of fabric together (heavy upholstery and lightweight silk would be such a combo) so that's another reason that I prefer hand sewing the lining into place.

And finally, I hand worked an internal buttonhole.  I haven't done one of these in quite some time, and since it is hidden internally because of the double breasted situation, now seemed like the perfect time to get in some hand stitched buttonholes for practice.

As far as the finished product goes, I probably should have sized down slightly with proper drafting through the shoulders.

In the end, I took both side seams and all four darts in at the waistline to give a bit more shape to the jacket.

But the shoulders are a bit dropped for me.  Then again, the illustration does show that shoulder hanging off of the model's shoulder, so perhaps the fit isn't as far off as I imagine.

The good new is that I now have a matching top for my pleated skirt.

And I do think they look great together!

An Informal Full Length Gown

I took a chance that a 1980s vintage reproduction had enough 1940s style to feel like something I would want in my wardrobe.  Turns out, it worked!

I think that the rayon challis print plays nicely within a 1940s theme.

The bodice turned out a bit more drapey than I expected (probably shouldn't have sized up).

And the suggested shoulder pads were excluded from the final dress.

I initially expected to make the knee length version, but changed course when I realized that I had just enough yardage to go for the full length skirt option (minus about an inch).

Green and purple paired together is probably my favorite color combo, which has me wondering why I haven't been working with more purple for the past few years.

This dress has convinced me that I should get back to that stack of rayon challis that I have tucked away.  It may not be the most well mannered fabric in the world, but it is definitely worth any added aggravation.

And it is so much fun to wear.

It is now too cold for a single layer of rayon, but this dress will come in handy when the weather warms up again.

And I would not be surprised if I end up making another version with the shorter skirt as more of a day dress version at some point in the future.

Dress & Belt:  Made by me, Butterick 7036
Shoes:  Remix "Miranda"
Earrings:  Nicky Butler