Kittys Drawings

Hello!
On Friday I finished this pattern:

I’ve had this one for a while but wasn’t sure what to make it up from – I didn’t have anything in my stash that would fit the bill – the bill being a lightweight fabric with a lot of drape….Rayon? Yes. I don’t have a lot of it and what I do have is already earmarked for other things.
But then I saw that Sew Retro Rose had recently been to Spotlight and found RAYON there – tropical print rayon at that. WITH BIRDS ON IT.
Omg!!
She was so kind as to purchase me some and send it my way, and this is what I made – also a wrap dress but from the 40s instead of 50s.

This pattern came together really easily – complete in two and a bit sessions – probably about three hours all up. There’s really not much to it – I can’t even say what was the hardest part. Even the hand sewing is quite minimal, just tacking down facings. I finished the seams with rayon Hug Snug binding – though there are two French seams on the back gores of the skirt. I did a narrow hem as I think this looks neater on wrap skirts where the sections can flip up more than in a regular skirt. It also makes this a very economical dress – I used about 2m of quite wide fabric.

You can’t see the details too well in these pics – it’s the curse of prints I guess – but it’s more apparent in real life The gathers at the front are awesome – there’s five rows there and also some at the shoulders.

The closures are just two sets of hook & eyes and a tiny snap at the bust to keep it from gaping open (learnt this the hard way *cough*).
It’s a very breezy, casual and comfortable dress that is perfect for any more 38°C+  days that may be thrust upon us this summer. Plus this amazing fabric works with a LOT of colours, most notably red which always makes me very happy.

The shoes are Miss L Fire of course – I just had these re-soled so they get to be worn again. They’re a smidgen big though so can be annoying to walk in for long distances. I’ve put little heel stickies in them which has helped a bit. They’re my standard EU size 37 – does anyone else have Miss L Fire’s that *dont* have straps and can tell me if they ALL run large? In case I want to buy another pair of pumps…(likeliness of this happening: 100%). This is why I usually buy shoes with straps because then, a tiny difference in size isn’t going to have your shoe falling off your foot every fifth step.

Any-whooo….I don’t know what to start next! How bad is that! I’ve got some odds and ends that need doing – patterns to trace and things to mend. Not sure if I should get stuck into those?
My green coat is still on my mind too – I’ve found a place on eBay that sells heavier weight silk charmeuse for either $20p/yard for 100% silk or $10p/yard for 60% silk, 40% rayon. I need at least 7 yards just to be safe. Thoughts on what I should get? Both are an investment and this coat already isn’t cheap so cost, while it is a factor, I know I just need to suck it up.

Ugh – and my pics are pretty grainy and out of focus today – the camera wasn’t behaving….

Well that ought to be it for today. Till soon…

Hello Everyone!
Woowee am I excited to show you this latest creation!

EVERYTHING is awesome about it ;-P If I do say so myself! Haha.

Pattern: Butterick 3989 – from early to mid 40′s I think. From the amazing Evadress Patterns
Fabric: Awesome tropical print rayon WITH PINEAPPLES from eBay. This isn’t vintage as the selvedge mentions “Hoffman Internation Fabrics 2001″. How COOL is it!? I have another piece which has Plumerias and palm trees on it!

Notions: Just a heap of snaps and thread. Duh.

Cost: About $28 – The pattern was $20, the fabric I got three yards for $6 plus shipping, and snaps are cheapish. Still enough fabric left for a top
Changes Made: Made it knee length – easy! ZERO fit alterations – These patterns fit SO well straight outta the box! Yay!
Finishing: I used selvedge as best as I could, and rayon seam binding on most seams. The curve seam at the front I zigzagged.
Notes: I made a boo-boo with this! I don’t usually make any serious mistakes but here I did. I traced the front draped skirt piece to make a new piece, since I didn’t think I could do my usual trick of folding the pattern piece up to shorten it. It’s a bit of a weird shape and I didn’t want to hack at my pattern. Yes I am naughty and cut straight from precious pieces of paper that are older than my grandma (almost). Though this wasn’t the real reason I made a boo-boo, but it probably helped. See, this dress has quite a few pieces that are only cut once, so it’s important you’re cutting the right side of the fabric. Get where I’m going here? Yep! I cut this piece the wrong way round so I had two left facing skirt sections. Derpalina!
Easily fixed though and the rest of the make was easy….

Until I got to the sleeves…

Yeh this confused me for a bit. I couldn’t figure out how the little tiny sleeve section was to join the cap sleeve, and still be finished on the outside. I decided to just follow the instructions and baste each piece in (instead of taking a shortcut and sewing straight away) – and what do you know? Patience won out and it made sense once I’d basted it all together. It’s a bit of an interesting way to finish a sleeve – and involves less hand sewing than Mccall 6006.

The gathers are so cool, as well as the asymmetrical neckline. These details might have been more visible using a plain fabric but I LOVE prints so much.

Next project and other things – My 1940′s trench coat is cut out. I also found some lining online for my green coat. Silk and rayon blend from Vietnam – the price was very good so I’m hoping it’s nice when I get it. It’s going to be a rich purple colour – a nice contrast to the apple green. *GRIN*
Also went to Brunswick the other day and found some very light white cotton for the underlining of a very special project (hints are on Facebook). Savers was picked clean of anything good – Just got some dark green cotton drill which would be good for a pencil skirt, and buttons to match. Coincidentally I found some Jeffrey Campbell shoes today in the SAME SHADE for $65. Bought. Yep. No more spending til next pay-day so dont let me! Hah.
I’m not usually that keen on the crazy Jeffrey Campbells I see around the parts…I like crazy shoes, but not ones that make your feet look like giant hooves. Errgh. Anyways, you’ll probably see them eventually.

I’m continuing on with hair experiments. This one is a bit blah but the roll is cool. I don’t think my face shape is suited to have two rolls on the top of my head so one will do for now. I’ve purchased some setting lotion and lots of pin-curl clips and currently have my hair setting. Fingers crossed for a nice result tomorrow!

Enough rambling – time to go!

Ciao!

Hi Everyone!
Another dress is complete – another one I am super happy about. LOVE this dress!

It’s Mccall’s 4864 from 1942 I think. I bought it from Patterns From The Past. How quirky is it!? I just love Mccall’s patterns from this era – they have heaps of nifty little details and this dress in particular has more than most. Here are some of those features:

• 4 darts on the sleeves to give them a square shape. This would be more highlighted if I’d put in shoulder pads.
• Low V-neck with contrast bands (also at sleeves)
• BUTTONS on the neckline! I omitted this because it would just be a bit too much with this print
• External darts!
• Top-stitched pleats at the skirt
• Tucks on the back to give a blouse effect.
• Shoulder/neck darts for subtle shaping
• Gored skirt – totally swing style!

Ha! And I chose to make this in busy polka-dot. Typical ;-P I think it’s some kind of rayon-y thing again. That said, I seriously doubt my fabric identifying skills. It drapes nice and was an appropriate choice for this style. Its really really comfortable and will be good for winter and summer.

I hemmed it with some red stretch lace hem tape which I had in my stash.

The edges are trimmed in red cotton voile I bought from Lincraft. I wasn’t going to add it originally but it really makes the dress a bit more special having it there. The red stitched trim is from some rayon thread I found at half price at Clegs. It took me ages to do and it’s a *little* wonky – don’t look too closely (haha!) Yes, I did that by hand.

I made no serious alterations to the pattern at all – Just took about 2 inches out of the length of the skirt.
The side opening closes with a hook & eye and some snaps. Still my favourite method for dresses you can only get into this way
The inside is just as neat as the outside and I’m glad I took my time with this one. My new year’s resolution is kicking along nicely. I’ve been proud of everything I’ve made this year so far.

A couple of silly photos in this shoot ;-P The kitties were hanging around and being adorable.

(In the photo of me below I was squee-ing over how Boofy was so intent on turning himself inside out with sheer adoration, that he nearly fell off the couch!)

Other news – It’s raining outside! Autumn is finally on it’s way. Yay! I much prefer the cooler weather. I’ve already started making plans for winter. Bought a small new supply of vintage seamed stockings. Have grand plans for a fit’n'flare princess coat. It’s going to be a huge project and I should really start it very soon. Ideally I want it made of hunter green silk faille but I’d need over 5 yards, at $65USD a yard, that’s a serious investment – so it will stay in pipe-dream territory for a while yet. Definitely have to think of something more accessible and easier to sew. See if I can find some nice wool without breaking the bank.

I’m also waiting on payday so I can finally pick up the Lady Valet dress-form I put on layby. It’s crazy that I’ve gone so long without one. And I could have gone for a cheaper option but I wanted something that would last the distance. Besides, its RED. And comes with a hem marker…..Handy.

My current project is testing out Suzy’s new pattern. I bought some brilliantly coloured chartreuse linen for the main parts of the dress – and the sleeves and neckline will be out of black lace.

If you’re wondering what’s happened to all the drawing…I’ve had some serious urges to get into it lately. All the best intentions huh! But when it comes down to it, I’m really pressed for time these days and sewing wins out. I’ve got my sketch pad beside my desk which is frequently getting scribbled in – and a couple of projects on the go…but I’d need a ‘holiday’ at home to get into it all. And maybe turn off the internet while I’m at it. Kinda hard to avoid the temptation when I’m on the computer already!  Sometimes I wish I could just shut myself off from EVERYTHING to allow all the ideas I know are lurking in my subconscious to float to the surface…somewhere that’s not in the city! So many temptations here and distractions. We can all dream can’t we. *le sigh*!
And yet on the other hand, I love the city – THIS city. Especially with winter coming up. Melbourne is so much nicer when it’s cold and wet outside. I’m sure a lot of people disagree with me there!

Hmm
Dilemmas!

Anyways!
Better stop dilly-dallying and get to my work ‘Til next time peeps!!

Hi All!
Despite having finished things to show you, I can’t actually post anything proper today. Boo. The white dress I finished seems to REALLY want to get stained. Even the buttons I put on there aren’t keeping their colour. That’s the trouble with vintage sometimes huh?

So I’m just gonna show you a small preview of the awesome 40′s dress I’m working on now. It’s completely wearable but I’m adding some extra touches to make it’s great features really stand out amongst all the black polka dot This is taking a bit of time but it’s giving me the chance to watch all those old movies that The Mr doesn’t have much interest in.

This is the neckline…which will also be trimmed with some red fabric (which I haven’t bought yet). I’m thinking a light and gauzy cotton voile or something – if I can find it. Do you think I should add two rows of hand-stitching along here?

Anyways, back to watching Rear Window….Hope you’ve all had a great weekend!

Hello everyone!

Apologies for the lack of posting last weekend. We didn’t get back from Blaigowrie til quite late. The big ride on the scooter was quite a success…I won’t tell you how I managed to get more scratches in it (eep) but I will tell you that I got down there and back without anything seriously bad happening. For those folks not from Australia, Blairgowrie is about 100kms south of where I live in the inner suburbs of Melbourne (depending on which route you take)…It’s right at the bottom of Port Phillip Bay and is a popular spot for city people wanting to get away for the weekend. Mind you, it’s hardly ‘country’ or even remotely isolated…Melbourne is such a spread out city that the entire trip down the bay is built up with plush beach houses of varying scale and style.
Anyways, we had a good time – playing board games, drinking and just blobbing about. Yay

So on to this week’s sewing project…

This has been the first project for the year following my new resolution of taking my time and finishing things properly. I’m so happy with this top that I can even show you the insides The pattern is Mccall 6475 from 1946 and I used a cotton blend of some description in a nice orange floral. I don’t usually go for orange but I loved this print as soon as I laid eyes on it. It’s another one from Savers from way back. The fabric has a really great drape to it and is soft and airy. It may be a rayon/cotton blend…Not sure. It washes ok from the little swatch I tested….so who knows what’s in it.

A few notes about the pattern and finishing:

• I made view C which you can’t see on the cover but the only difference from view B is the peplum at the bottom isn’t gathered as it’s designed to fit under a skirt.
• I don’t think this would work with anything but a super drapey fabric. There’s a lot of gathering that needs to fall nicely. I’m happy with my fabric choice!
• It’s VERY blousey – considering how small the size is, and it IS meant to be roomy, but there’s a LOT of room. Tight, structured waist definition is absolutely essential for styling this!
• The cute details are a bit lost in this print but I would love to make this out of a plain, maybe even sheer fabric

• I finished as many seams as I could with rayon seam binding.
• The side seams are zig-zag stitched because I ran out of that colour seam binding!
• I made a narrow hem finished by hand.
• The side closure consists of three snaps and a hook & eye on a placket. This is SO much better than a zip – And yes I will keep going on about that forever.
• I omitted the shoulder pads….for obvious reasons. I guess some light ones wouldn’t look too bad and they are very much essential for the era…One day I will make some and see how they look.

Yay! I’m really pleased with this top and I definitely want to make more versions of it. It took about a weekend to do – The bound seams were fairly time consuming but if you omitted those this would take no time at all to make. Once again, this is another one of those 40′s patterns with neat little details. I love how the sleeves attach to the neckline. Mccall’s patterns from the 40′s are especially excellent. Side note: I’m actually waiting on a heap of patterns to arrive from Etsy, eBay and a super special Mccall’s from Patterns From the Past.

Notice I also got my replacement grey shoes from Asos? The 38 fits much better.

Well that’s all for now. I have to start on a new project…I don’t even know if I’ll have anything new to show for next week! I think I’ll have to actually do some drawing! How bout that!

Heh…

Ciao then!

Mine Mine Mine MINE

Now I’m off to go try it on – hope it fits! And pics on the weekend

Hi!

Mini stash post!
Found this cool-as orange-y floral rayon (??) at Savers today. I think it’s rayon. I really have no idea. But it drapes beautifully and would be perfect for a killer 40′s dress with nice tucks and details. Yeh!

Kind of like one of these amazing Trashy Diva dresses. I would just die to have this. But it’s not high on the list of shopping priorities. So I’m happy I found what I did today because I’m sure there’s plenty of patterns kicking around on Etsy which will help me fulfill my dream Even if I can’t have the exact thing.

Other news:

• I sold some drawings to the lovely Domestic Divinity which I’m very thankful for. My first Etsy sale! Yay! If anyone wants anything else just let me know and I can set up a listing for you.
• I’m currently almost finished on one wrap dress. The one out of the blue and white floral sheet. Its proving to be quite comfy and will be perfect for Fiji. It gapes a little in the bust despite the measurements saying it will fit a 30″ bust. That’s pretty tiny and there’s still LOTS of room. Oh wells, it doesn’t look bad. Pics soon.
• I found the most amazing emerald green wool crepe (almost certain this one is wool crepe) at the Salvos which matches my Miss L Fire shoes exactly. It was fate I tell you. I’m going to make a 40′s dress out of it since the shoes are very 40′s in style. I steamed the heck out of it yesterday to pre-shrink it and I’ve begun the cutting too. It only just squeezes out of the amount of fabric I have.
• Also scored from my Savers trip today…a white and green Zara v-neck knit – also perfect for the shoes! The thrifting gods are smiling on me I think It will go really great with my sage green knee high socks and a black mini skirt. Or as mini as I’m okay with wearing. Mind you I don’t have this skirt yet. And I haven’t tried the remainder of this outfit to make sure it’s not too leprechaun…so…It might be FAIL.
• aaaand finally….I have a drawing almost finished, of a gorgeous young Swedish blogger….once I get over my current hurdles with it. That’s on the plan for tonight

That’s about it. Gee – another longish post when I though I was gonna be quick.

Seeyas!!