#VintageSecretSanta

I took part in Chronically Vintage's very first Secret Santa exchange this year! Jessica did a wonderful job hosting and everything was so very organized.

 

I just received my package on Saturday and let me tell you, I was blown away by the contents! I shared all of these on my instagram with the tag #vintagesecretsanta.

 

 

It turns out my Secret Santa was none other than the beautiful and oh so sweet Molly Maka from Milwaukee,Winconsin.

 

 

The first thing I came across in the box was this McCall 6916 from 1947!! It was wrapped and I had no clue what it would be! So exciting!

 

 

Then underneath the pattern, I unpacked this amazing woven sewing box! I don't know when it is from, but it is gorgeous, and will be forever among my favorite things in my sewing room!

 

 

When I opened the sewing box, there were more little treasures inside! There was a little baggie of these amazing Bakelite buttons!!!

 

Underneath the tray there were two baggies full of vintage salvedged buttons! I'm a nut about buttons and truly have several jars of them, but none that are vintage! I can't wait to organize these and see what I can do with them!

 

 

This wonderful apple cookie cutter was also in the box! I'm a huge collector of apples and I adore things like this.

 

So the piece de resistance was this pair of jeweled apple pins! I mean these things are the bees knees! I screamed with delight when I unwrapped them and I still can't believe how beautiful and well kept they are. I want to do some research and see if I can't find out a little more about them. The fact they are a matched pair of pins is so interesting to me. I haven't seen anything like them before.

 

So thank you so much Molly! You definitely went above and beyond and made an apple and button loving vintage girl very very happy! Thank you Jessica for hosting a wonderful event! I look forward to taking part in the years to come!

 

"Is Christmas Fun or What?"

I bought this fabric from a buy/sell/trade group that I am a part of and when I saw it, I just knew that it was going to become my Christmas Dress. Well, turns out it was just enough for a Christmas skirt and an adorable little a-line dress for my baby girl.

 

 

I loved the border print of this Mary Engelbreit fabric. It's from her "Isn't Christmas Jolly" line.

 

 

It's so fun and festive! The colors are so bright and vibrant. I love the little candies that are made to look like flowers and the polka dots and stars.

 

Of course, the candy shapes on the fabric just begged to be made into covered buttons. I also handpicked this zipper. That seems to be my preferred way to do them now. I cannot sew a zipper in by machine to save my life. Well I'm sure I could if it were a life or death situation, but seriously, it is always a disaster and I end up ripping it out at least 3 times before I just give up. I think I need to take a zipper class next year!

 

 

This skirt has almost 4 yards of fabric gathered into it dirndl style! I don't normally do dirndl skirts because I'm a bit of a rectangle/pear shape and that much fabric in the waistline tends to make me look much larger than I am. Of course due to the border print, I didn't have many options. I thought about pleating the waistline, but I was short on time, literally decided to make this skirt the night before I needed to wear it to a company Christmas gathering. So I decided to keep it simple and pair it with a black sweater in order to make it as slimming as possible.

 

I'm really glad I didn't do a dress though because seriously, with this pattern all over, it would have been way too much, even for me, and you know my motto is; "Too much is never enough!"

 

I made this dress for my baby girl's first Christmas. I actually completed this first because I still hadn't decided if I was brave enough to wear the fabric myself. It's just a simple A-Line jumper, with cute little covered buttons at the shoulder. I can't wait to see her toddle up to the tree, she just started walking, in this dress and her tights with her little red glittered shoes. It's going to just be perfect. I'm looking forward to getting pictures of the both of us in our Christmas finery.

 

Thanks for reading!

Beautiful Dresses for Holiday Parties

So the holidays are fast upon us and that means Holiday party season is here! Here's a list of gorgeous, glamorous, dramatic evening wear patterns that I think would look amazing at any holiday party. Feel free to click the link above the pattern art to be taken to a random seller.

 

McCall 7595 - ©1933

So glamorous. I love the deep open back on this one.

 

 

 Butterick 6810

A classic ballgown style. I love the surplice bodice.

 

 

 Vogue 599 - ©1951

This is by far my favorite in this group. The single shoulder but double strap is just fabulous. The drape on the hip is also lovely. This just screams Old Hollywood. This is one I'd love to find for sale. If you see if let me know!

 

 

 Simplicity 1795 - ©1956

Another lovely dress. I would love to see this in an ivory lace with a bold red satin sash for Christmas.

 

 McCall's 5131 - ©1959

A spectacular gown by Pauline Trigere. The tulip hemline and deep back v are just beautiful.

 

 

I love all of these and wish I had the time to track them all down and sew them all up. Then I would have to find someone to invite me to tons of holiday parties!

Presenting... McCall's 5411!

So if you've been following along, I've been participating in a sew-along hosted by the lovely Beccie at SewRetroRose. We were sewing this pattern.

McCall's 5411

I chose this blue cherry blossom fabric with a lovely hot pink contrasting trim and button.

Well, the dress is finally complete!! I finished up this weekend and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I'm definitely planning on doing a couple more of these for next summer and I'll be trying out a different neckline and possibly some alternate pocket styles as well!

I had to make some changes to this pattern to get it to fit properly and it could still use some alterations but as a whole it's a good fit now. I had to take out a couple of inches at the back bodice because it was gaping something awful when I first tried it on.

After making that adjustment it fits pretty awesome and I'm so excited to say that I finished my first actual vintage pattern! I would like to lower the neckline on the next one, or perhaps do a v-neck. The possibilities are pretty endless as far as customization goes on this one. I'm looking forward to Beccie's roundup post later today so that I can see everyone's beautiful frocks at the same time!

Excuse the terrible pictures (the bare feet and the lack of makeup, it was later in the evening and I was just hanging out with my kids), I do have a decent camera, but no internet at home and it's pointless to try to upload anything. So, crappy phone pictures it is. I'm actually wearing the dress today at work and even though it's terribly dreary, rainy and colder out, I'm still rocking this frock like it's no-one's business! This sew-along was my first ever and I think I did pretty good with it. I made some great new vintage loving friends through the wonder of the interwebs and it feels so good to have some like-minded people in my life, even if we've only met in cyberspace. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed the time with your families.

On to the next!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, I can't believe it's Thanksgiving Eve already! Where has the year gone? I have so many things to be thankful for this year. I gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby girl 9 short months ago and she is already growing so fast. My sweet son is making huge milestones in his efforts to communicate. They are both healthy and happy and I couldn't be prouder of them. I'm sewing again and for that I'm thankful. I'm thankful for the skill and the ability to make something beautiful out of nothing. I'm thankful for my family, I don't get to see them enough since I live across the country from them, but they are there for me always. I'm thankful for the friends I have made here and for my job which allows me to provide for myself and my children. I'm blessed in so many ways, and I hope that no matter how you celebrate your Turkey Day, you celebrate it with those that you love, or at least those that you like a little bit. ;)
Be grateful, be joyful, be beautiful.

Me, In a Past Life

So there was a time in my life, during the end of the 1990's swing and big band revival, that you would find me, on many given nights, jumping and jiving my time away. I was an acrobatic swing dancer, complete with saddle shoes and rumba pants. I danced 5 out of 7 nights a week. I also taught lessons and got paid a fair amount on numerous occasions. I came across some pictures of a much younger me during one of these paid gigs. Forgive the quality as these are terrible scans of the originals. Digital cameras weren't what they are today and I believe these were taken on a 35mm.

 

 

I was quite a collector of vintage dresses that I could dance in and had way too many garter belts and baskets of stockings. Most of those dresses are now ripped in the armscythe from too many lifts and tosses and in desperate need of repair. They are also way too small for my post baby body. This little gingham dress was always one of my favorites. It had a metal zipper up the back and cute little cross stiching along the bottom of the skirt using the squares of the gingham.

 

I recently reconnected with my partner from those days, and it brought to mind better times. I miss this part of who I used to be. I miss the music, and the crowds. The dance-offs and the shim-sham. I miss the dresses, golly the dresses. I still have them tucked in a box in my basement. Which reminds me, I really need to get them out, repair them and pass them on to a new home.

 

There is a little window into me and who I am, and used to be. Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me!

Dreaming of Summer

So the weather has taken a turn and it's getting colder. Naturally, my thoughts turn to summer and warm, sandy beaches. I'm a southern girl living in the Buckeye State. We've been here for 3 years now; I still miss my Florida sunshine, and I just can't get used to the cold, wet, snowy weather. I grew up in Texas, but moved to Florida in my early twenties and was there for the better part of a decade. While I'm tring to put together a fall/winter wardrobe, I can't help but dream of light cotton dresses and seersucker playsuits. So I've put together a list of adorable playsuits that I'd love to add to my wardrobe.

 

Simplicity 3583A

I just love the cute capri length overalls in this one. Find this one for sale here in a size 15!

 

 

Butterick 6161

Great shirtwaist dress from for the cover up in this one. Would be a great transition suit from beach to dinner by the water! Find this great pattern from 1952 here!

 

 

Advance 8636 

Loving this 1958 pattern. The little cover up is to adorable and the great halter look on view 1 is cute! Find this pattern for sale here in a size 14!

 

 

Simplicity 1621A

Such a cute peasant top style with a little midriff showing! Adorable bubble shorts/bloomers too! This pattern is for sale here in size 16!

 

 

Vogue 6029 

Lots of cute pieces in this pattern from 1947. Loving the shrug and the bra top. Very versatile. Let me know if you come across this one for sale!

 

 

Advance 4147 

Super cute top on this one. Love this all the way around! Get this one for size 14 for sale from Mrs. Depew!

 

So there you have it. A few summery suits to daydream about. Have a wonderful day!

Swirl Progress and Update!

As I mentioned in this previous post, I'm doing a Swirl Dress Sew-Along with Beccie from Sew Retro Rose. We're up to step four now and the bodice is put together and almost complete! It's so exciting getting to watch this vintage dress come together and share the progress with so many other like-minded ladies from all over the world!

 

*Disclaimer - Please excuse the photo quality and colors.I was snapping pictures with my phone while working on the various steps and some of them came out with good color and others did not for whatever reason. :)
 

 

I started the cutting process last weekend and got all of the pieces cut and pressed. The beauty about doing a sew-along is that you know the process, from start to finish, is going to take some time, so there is no rush to get to the finished product, it's all about enjoying the act of sewing.

 

 

Once all of my pieces were cut, I messed around with colors and buttons and trim. I settled on this nice hot pink to match a button I found that had a swirl on it. Reminiscent of the original Swirl dress buttons! To me it was a match made in heaven.

 

Having settled on a contrast color, I started out planning to use ric-rac as a trim and came across this hot pink cotton in my stash and it was just what I needed. I really like the look of the color bars against the blue.

 

 

I got started on the pockets and played around with a few different trim ideas, I lined the pockets in the hot pink for the fun of it. I attached and removed the trim several times before settling on the final trim.

   

 

I'm really happy with the final look. I did a two toned belt with the blue cherry blossoms on the outside and the hot pink inside. This should be interesting when tied.

 

The sew-along is going so well so far and it's very nice chatting with everyone and seeing all the progress being made.  Thanks for following along! If you are a fan of Instagram, you can see all the wonderful Swirls in progress with the hashtag #Swirlalong!!

Happy Halloween!

 

Happy Halloween, witches and ghouls! Halloween is by far one of my favorite holidays. Especially now that I have children of my own. My 4 year old son decided last night that he wanted to go trick or treating tonight, and he hasn't shown any interest in the holiday up until this point. So, of course, we went out late last night to let him pick out a costume. He decided on a vampire, so I'm excited to see him all dressed up. My little one is only 8 months old so she will be wearing her pink skeleton sleeper with a pink beanie to keep her head warm as it will be very chilly tonight.

 

I decided to look into some vintage costume patterns while working this morning and came up with a few to spark your creativity.

 

Advance 709

A fantastic Disney Peter Pan costume from 1953. You can get this pattern here!

 

 

Simplicity 4069

 

A Colonial dress costume from 1952. Full gathered skirt with hip pannier and other accessories. You can find this pattern for sale here!

 

Butterick 6596

 

Angel and Clown costumes and Choir Robes pattern from 1953. You can find the 1959-1960 reprint of this pattern for sale here!

 

Simplicity 4073

 

I adore this pattern. This is a pattern from 1952, for a child's bunny, cat and penguin costume. How freaking cute are they? You can find this pattern here!

 

Well, I wish you all a very happy halloween. I hope that you get more treats than tricks and I hope that you see lots of little ghouls and goblins tonight and make them smile.

 





Vintage Patterns and Inspiration

So while wandering around on the net today I stumbled across the Vintage Pattern Wikia... Do you know of this? The Wikia is a collection of patterns 25 years old or older. According to the Wikia they "are working to create one location online where people can go to browse through vintage patterns from the 1980s and older and share information about them."

 

I have not yet sewn anything from a vintage pattern, but am amassing quite a collection of vintage reproductions from The Big Four. I'd love to get my hands on some of the vintage patterns and hopefully will one day. For now I can just dream about them, right? 

 

As I was searching through the Wikia today, I came across several that sparked my imagination and got me planning some future projects.

 

Simplicity 1153

I adore this pattern for several reasons. The first being that it would be possible to create a large part of one's wardrobe with only this pattern, because of the seperates. The second thing I love about this pattern is the neckline on the top. I love the look of the crossover top. As a nursing mother to an 8 month old baby girl, wearing vintage can be difficult because it's not really breastfeeding friendly, but this would make it possible to nurse during my lunch break and pump while at work, without having to undress down to my knickers. You can find this pattern for sale here!

 

McCalls 3602

 

Another great set of seperates. This one even includes shorts and a pencil skirt! What a great wardrobe starter! You can find this pattern for sale here!

 

Simplicity 3512

 

This is a very nice pattern. I love the button front on the dress, again nursing friendly, always a plus. I love the sweetheart neckline and princess seams on the dress. The coordinating bolero in both short sleeve and 3/4 length, and sash really complete the emsemble! This would be perfect for a night out or for the office (with the bolero of course). You can find this pattern for sale here!

 

Butterick 6119A

 

Oh My Golly, look at this one. I'm so in love with the buttons on the back! How totally adorable. I don't even know how much I love this pattern. It's going on my wish list. You can find it for sale here!

 

So there's a bit of inspiration for you today. Get out there and make something fabulous!



Sew Retro Rose Swirl Sew-Along!

Yep, I'm going to be participating in this sew-along starting October 29th!

 

Sew Retro Rose Swirl Sew-Along

 

We'll be making this dress!

 

Beccie from Sew Retro Rose has been kind enough to grade this pattern for all sizes and for a small charge of $6 you can get a PDF copy of the pattern in your size and sew-along with us also!

 

This is the fabric I'll be using for this project, I got it on sale at JoAnn's for $2.49 a yard!! I'm so excited to be involved in this. There is a huge group of lovely ladies from all over the world working on this project together. This will be my 3rd vintage project, and I need to get the red and navy dress finished before the 29th gets here!

 

So I know it's not much of an update but it's exciting all the same.