I am a finalist in the Threads Ultimate Sewing Challenge!

The finalists for the Threads Ultimate Sewing Challenge were just announced, and my Emerald Green Gown made it in the top 10! 

Voting ends November 30th

And I could use a bit of help to win the fabulous sewing machine that is up for grabs - I really could use it – my poor little White has been plugging away for over 10 years!

Voting runs until November 30th.  It is one of those contests that allow you to vote every day, so I apologize in advance, because I am going to keep reminding everyone to vote.  There are some wonerful entires, so the competition will be stiff! 

There is something in this for you – by voting in the sweepstakes you will be entered to win a Threads prize package worth over $100.  And if that does not interest you, I would still appreciate the votes!

Thanks!

1940s Cocktail Dress in Blue

I am quite sure that I will be sick and tired of the cold weather soon enough, but for now, it is an excuse to pull out all of the dresses that have been patiently waiting for the temperature to drop!

I sewed this dress using a reproduction pattern from the Vintage Pattern Lending Library (the original pattern was Hollywood 1449).  I highly recommend the company as a wonderful resource for vintage reproduction patterns.  The patterns are printed on sturdy bond paper, and seam allowances are clearly marked, as are all notches and darts necessary to construct the garment.  So there are no more excuses for anyone that might be overwhelmed by the thought of an unprinted vintage pattern – VPLL has done the work for you.  More information about the actual construction may be found over at Pattern Review.

There are so many lovely little details to be found in this pattern.  I have plans to make the peplum version in a bright colored print one of these days, but the short sleeve version is also calling out to me!  Oh, whatever shall I do?  Perhaps I should stop daydreaming and finish the jacket that is currently in pieces, waiting for a few bound buttonholes.

I have so many visions of fantastic frocks (who needs sugar plum faeries when you have velvet and lace?!), but not enough time to sew them. 

Dress: Made by me, VPLL F1149.

Hair Ornament:  Made by me.

Earrings:  Antique fan earrings from Shadows

Shoes:  Seychelles “Little Owl” in Navy Suede

Fishnets:  Mervyns

New Vintage Reproductions from Butterick!

There are not one, not two, but three new vintage reproductions in the Butterick Winter/Holiday 2011 collection.  How very exciting! 

So let’s take a look, shall we . . .

Butterick 5708

I am a bit unsure how the fit will work with this one when there are so many shoulder tie options, but I love the look.  Maybe some boning added along the side seams?  And maybe a bit of interfacing on the lower bodice pieces?

Butterick 5716

The swing jacket is super cute, but I have a couple of coats planned for this season and I must not let this distract me.

Butterick 5707

My favorite is this lovely shift.  How fabulous is the cutout and bow tie.  Love it!

My only gripe is that I would like to see more complex vintage styles reproduced.  When will Vogue bring back all of the Couturier designs?

I cannot wait until the next sale at JoAnn Fabrics.  And I will have to go through the stash to find the perfect fabric for 5707.

And, of course, there are quite a few new contemporary patterns for those of us not completely obsessed with the past.

Film Noir Vixen

I attended the Marin Symphony’s Mahler program this Tuesday.  Guess what that means . . . time to play dress up!  

After a couple of hours attempting to finish Vogue 1136 Monday evening, I took a deep breath and realized that I have a closet full of clothes that are suitable for an evening at the symphony.  Not to mention, I enjoy the sewing process, and rushing through something when it is not absolutely necessary is just silly!  Instead of doing a shoddy job, I put the pins and fabric away and looked in the closet. 

This suit is one of the first vintage reproductions I ever attempted, and certainly the first structured suit I ever sewed.  The fabric is from the upholstery section at JoAnn Fabrics and is therefore quite stiff and heavy.  There are a few fitting issues.  The bound buttonholes are a bit embarrassing.  And I probably should have padded out or used an interfacing with more body for the jacket hips – I may not have used any interfacing at all – bad, bad seamstress.  I did manage to match stripes at the shoulders, though.  

I actually love this suit because it is a clear representation of how far my sewing has come in six years.  (I know that I finished the suit in 2005 because I am a complete dork and keep a diary of pattern numbers, start and finish dates, along with swatches and notations of any alterations made for all the sewing and knitting I do.) 

At work, someone told me that I remind him of a film noir character!  Rita Hayworth, Barbara Stanwick, and Lana Turner, oh my!  I will definitely take that as a compliment.   It is so much better than the response I got from my boss, D: “what are you wearing?”  After ten years, he certainly knows what to expect with regards to my wardrobe, so I have to assume he is doing it just to irritate me.

And yes, the Symphony was fantastic!

Suit:  Made by me, Vintage Vogue 2339, Original 1948 Design.

Fishnets: Simply Vera by Vera Wang for Kohls.

Hat:  Made by me.

Shoes:  Via Spiga “Unit” in Black Suede.

Necklace:  Made by me.

Ring:  My grandfather’s high school ring.

Earrings: Gift.

Vintage Knit Lace

I finally finished this sweater - and it only took two years!  And now that it is finally complete, I can say that this is one of my favorite hand knit pieces.   

It is amazing how a lack of finishing notions stops me in my tracks – in this case it was buttons.  Because I knew that I would be unable to finish the sweater without them, I tucked it away over a year ago.  Last weekend, I noticed the unfinished project mocking me from the bureau drawer and decided to do something about it.  The only finishing details it needed was to be sewn together, the edges of the sleeves crocheted, and those darn buttons.

Thank you again, Burda Style, for your blog post about Dorset Buttons.  Now instead of being disappointed when I cannot find the right buttons, I just make my own.

Because I see things much better as a visual representation, I made myself a knitting chart for the lace pattern.  I am forever losing my place when the instructions are written in prose, and this really helps me visualize what the pattern is supposed to look like.

The yarn is a cashmere/merino blend from Colourmart.  This is the softest yarn I have every worked with.  And I love the color!  I have quite a bit of yardage left, so I may be able to squeeze out another sweater at some point.

One work in progress finished, so many more to complete.

Sweater:  Made by me. (Gleam Sweater - from freevintageknitting.com)

Skirt:  Made by me. (Simplicity 4044)

Earrings:  Antique fan earrings from Shadows

Snood:  Made by me.

Shoes:  Seychelles “Little Owl” in Navy Suede

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

So, I was a bit lazy this year - I did not make my costume.  This is, in fact, my Dorothy costume from an eighth grade production of The Wizard of Oz, pulled out of retirement because I absolutely have to wear a costume on Halloween.

Image from The Wizard of Oz (1939)

My mom also wore the costume on Friday and Saturday evening for a couple of Halloween parties, so it has been making the rounds this year.

Aaahh, memories - children's theatre in a multi-purpose room.
Let's see how many children can be packed onto one "stage."

I clearly remember being horrified that the yellow gingham apron pulled out of the costume closet was going to be my Dorothy costume.  Evidently, I did enough whining and complaining, and my mom agreed to make my costume.  

This was before Simplicity had come out with an adult Dorothy Gale costume.  Mom did take home economics in high school (the fact that the class was not offered at my high school still irks me) and made a few garments - I have proof in the form of a very cute dress currently residing in my closet.  However, her Singer sewing machine had been gathering dust for many, many years, and drafting a pattern was a bit overwhelming.  My piano teacher came over and helped draft the bodice pieces on paper grocery bags.  Isn't it funny the things we remember?  

That's not Toto! - R.I.P. Buddy.

There were some stressful moments, as I recall, but the costume turned out beautifully.  And it is still getting some use, so I feel totally justified in my demands.  After all, if I was going to be Dorothy, I had to have my blue gingham and ruby slippers.

Turns out, this is one of two garments that my mom sewed for me.  The other was also a costume - a gypsy/harem girl for Halloween which won a prize at school.  So she many not have been prolific, but she did a great job when properly motivated!

And she relinquished that Singer sewing machine to me a few years later when I had the urge to start sewing my own clothing.  Eventually one of the plastic gears broke, and the machine was retired.  At that point, I could not live without, so I purchased a White 979, which is the machine I have been using for at least 10 years.  I wonder how many hours of use that translates to – quite a few, I expect!

And if I was going as Dorothy, I needed a Wizard of Oz themed costume for my little guy.  

Toto was way too obvious (and Valentino does not have dark or long fur), a flying monkey was too scary, he would have nothing to do with a Glinda costume, well, you get the idea.  

In the story, Scarecrow is Dorothy’s best friend – perfect!  

Protecting the fields of corn - look out for those crows!

And look how adorable he is!  He was extremely patient with the whole experience, and loved all the attention he received, not to mention the treats!

Time to go to the office to be admired!

"Can I take these silly clothes off yet?"

Pinafore:  Made by mom.

Blouse:  I don’t remember – it was probably thrifted.

Shoes:  Nine West “Vishnu” from 6pm.com

Scarecrow Costume:  Made by me. (Modified Simplicity 3939 and Simplicity 2740)

“Whistle While you Work . . .”

Today I am busy making Tino’s Halloween costume.

Tomorrow is fast approaching, but I need a break from tiny sleeves and armholes, so I though I would share a costume from a few years ago. 

This is Snow White with her trusty side-kick, Happy.

With the help of Simplicity 2813, I came up with a decent version of Disney’s Snow White. 

My research started with the 1937 animated film.  From there, I did a few internet searches to find still images. There are quite a few variations out there, but I wanted to take most of my ideas from the film.

The one thing I really did not like about the pattern was the cheap looking sleeve treatment. The pattern advises you to fuse sections of one fabric to another with raw edges - ick!  It took a bit more time, but I cut an inner and outer sleeve.  I created a template for my cutouts a bit more tear-drop shaped than the pattern, cut those templates with seam allowances, sewed right side to right side on my outersleeve, clipped the seams, and turned to the inside before invisibly stitching the facings down. The inside sleeve was then basted to the outer sleeve, right side to wrong side and treated as a single piece for gathering and setting in.

More information about the construction may be found over on Pattern Review.

For Happy,  I used Simplicity 3939 as a basic pattern base to help with sleeve placement.

His beard was a happy mistake.  I knew that a bit of elastic was going to be necessary to keep any kind of hat on his head, but I really did not want it to show.  Lucky me, most of the dwarfs have little beards, and a small chunk of fiberfill folded over the elastic and sewed down took care of disguising the elastic.  In the end, I think the beard really made the costume!

And now I really must get back to his costume, for tomorrow is Halloween!

Dress, Cape and Collar:  Made by Me.  (Simplicity 2813)
Petticoat:  Made by Me.  (Simplicity 5006)
Wig:  "Bettie Page" wig from Party City
Shoes:  from Lacis