McCall’s M7154 1930s reproduction dress pattern is one of the most involved sewing projects I’ve completed. I sewed the dress back in 2017 to wear to my brother’s wedding. You can read the original blog post here. I hadn’t worn the dress since the wedding as the long train at the back makes it impractical for […]
Floral McCall’s M7154 in a Field Read More »
A few months ago, a vintage fashion Instagrammer I follow posted a picture of herself in a ear warmer she had made and I decided I had to have one. I made a search on Ravelry (ear warmer? head warmer? headband?) and managed to stumble on a free pattern by Julie Bierlein for the Portsmouth
Two Knitted Skating Hats Read More »
This is my third and final blog post about my outfit for the Refashioners 2018, which was inspired by Dior’s Bar suit, focusing on the process of refashioning a hat. A number of hats were paired with the Bar suit when it was shown in the 50s, and in photographs since, but I wanted to
Dior Bar Suit – Hat Refashion Read More »
I wanted to go into more detail on the process of creating a Bar suit jacket as part of my contribution to The Refashioners 2018. As mentioned previously, my starting point was a second-hand men’s suit jacket purchased in a local charity shop. The jacket appealed as it seemed to be a nice quality, and
Dior Bar Suit – Jacket Refashion Read More »
When I saw that the theme of the Refashioners this year was ‘Inspired By’, there was only ever one garment I was going to make. I love visiting fashion exhibitions and have lots of fashion reference books, and there are brands (Biba) and decades (30s-40s) that I’m fascinated by, but there are only two actual
Dior Bar Suit for The Refashioners 2018 Read More »
I’m very excited to be sharing my contribution to the Big Vintage Sew-along blogger tour today. Are you taking part? McCall’s have selected twenty McCall’s/Vogue/Butterick vintage patterns, and are donating money from the sale of those patterns to The Eve Appeal gynaecological cancer charity. There’s also a series of events taking place, including an afternoon tea
V2401 for the Big Vintage Sew-along Read More »
I was delighted to be asked to participate as a blogger in the Big Vintage Sew-along, hosted by the McCall Pattern Company. As part of a year-long event, 20 patterns have been selected from the Vintage Vogue, Retro Butterick and McCalls Archive pattern lines. Proceeds from the sales of those 20 patterns will go to the Eve
The Big Vintage Sew-along Read More »
I was really thrilled to be asked by Sew Over It to help pattern test their new pattern the Joan Dress. The version shown here was made using the test version of the pattern. I graded between an 8 at the bust, and 10 at the waist and hips. The design is a vintage-inspired wiggle dress,
Mustard Crepe Joan Dress, Plus Giveaway Read More »
A lazy post this evening, while watching some Orange is the New Black (and possibly Revenge of the Nerds). I picked up these vintage knitting patterns at a recent meeting of my Weavers, Spinners and Dyers guild. The sewing notions included in a couple of photos are courtesy of Maddie; I won them in a
Vintage Knitting Spam Read More »
The library at the university where I work has some interesting books. My especially random find of last week was Barbie Fashion by Sarah Sink Eames, a pictorial catalogue of all Barbie outfit packs made between 1959-1967. Obviously, it was immediately checked out. A quick look at Barbie’s wardrobe from the 60s suggests she’d fit
Barbie – Sewing Blogger Read More »