• Black and Purple 1940s •

It's so nice to have a new way to wear my black dress! A friend of mine got married this past weekend, and I needed a special outfit to wear. I had started a dark teal rayon 1930s dress, but I just wasn't having fun with it at all, so I decided to go with something easier. 

I bought this purple fabric (polyester satin-backed shantung) probably a year ago, with the intention of making it into a regency ball gown. Yeah. Yikes. Even I, who am not a fabric snob by any means, just couldn't do such an abominable thing. Using it for a 1940s garment is still rather unethical, but at least it's a little more appropriate. 

In any case, after searching high and low for something remotely appropriate to make, and seemingly ruling out everything I came across, I finally decided to make a bolero! I used Simplicity 1578, a pattern from 1945.

I made a mockup of it first out of some cotton I had in the stash, but never really expected it to fit. I was already planning on listing it in my Etsy shop. Well, to my great surprise and happiness, the Etsy shop did not and is not going to get a glimpse of it! It fit beautifully, and I just loved it. Unfortunately, I haven't a thing to wear it with, but I'm still quite content to hang onto it until I do. 

Meanwhile, I could get to work on the real bolero!

I really didn't feel like facing the bodice all the way around, so I decided to line it instead. And rather than having the same fabric showing on the revers, I used the back (satin) side of the fabric. It gives it a really neat look; just different enough to be contrasting, but not blatantly shiny. And, it was a breeze to sew it together! The hardest part about the whole bolero is clipping all those curves!

I had two buttons leftover from my 1950s Floral Dress that were perfect to accent the revers. Plus, I can take them off and switch them out with something more "fun" when I make a dress out of the remaining 3+ yards of this purple fabric! Yay! 

This rhinestone necklace is my new favorite. I had gazed at it for probably a year and a half, every time we went to the local antique shop, but never felt like asking to get in the cabinet to actually look at it. I finally did last week, however, and I am so glad!! It fits perfectly, looks beautiful, and only cost $6. 

Since my bolero is lined with the reverse side of the same fabric, I thought it qualified rather well for this month's HSM!

The Challenge: #10 - Sewing Secrets

Fabric: 1 3/4 yards of polyester satin-backed shantung

Pattern: Vintage Simplicity 1578

Year: 1945

Notions: Thread and buttons

How historically accurate is it? 50%, if that, because of the polyester fabric. But the lining, the pattern used and the bias-faced sleeves make it a little more acceptable. ;)

Hours to complete: 4-5

First worn: Last Friday, to a wedding.

Total cost: I can't for the life of me remember how much the fabric was...so, I have no idea! 

because you just *have* to be silly sometimes....

This purse is also one of my favorites! It's such a neat size and shape, and that satiny stripe on the front is gorgeous. One can never have too many vintage purses!! :)

It was a lovely wedding! It was wonderful to see Hannah and Josh get married, AND I caught the bouquet, so...it was a VERY good day. ;)

• Grandma's Wedding Suit....Almost •

Whew! I am alive! I didn't vanish! It just seemed like it! :) We've been ridiculously busy of late, and I got hooked on the Bronte sister's books, so I'm afraid I spent my hours of leisure reading instead of blogging. Whoops. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I already read them all, so I'm back to blogging again. ;)

In any case, I am two-thirds done with Grandma's wedding suit! Yay!! I had started the skirt last month, but it ended catastrophically, so I had to buy more fabric and start over. That experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth, which is probably why I took this long to try again! This time it went very well, I'm glad to say, and both the blouse and skirt were very easy, one-day projects.

(Please pardon the detestable-quality picture! That's what happens when you take pictures in the basement, in the evening, and your subjects are starkly opposite dark and light colors. And you're a bad photographer.)

I LOVE this lace! I used a rayon-poly blend from Field's Fabrics for the main blouse fabric (Simplicity 3688, incidentally), and a gorgeous lace from JoAnn for the overlay on the yoke. I originally thought I could machine-baste the lace onto the yoke using the walking foot, but that ended up being a very bad idea! It skewed, caught up on the foot, and was pretty much a terrible mess. So I ended up hand-basting the two pieces together, and that worked great! The rest of the blouse was a cinch.

As for the skirt, I don't have any decent pictures of the entire garment, so I'll have to leave you in suspicion. I'm quite happy with how it came out, especially that side opening! It seemed to work so much better to have the zipper end at the waist rather than at the top of the waistband.  

The fabric is a lovely brown and tan-striped cotton, which is not only beautiful, but the name of it is "Chocolat," so I really can't help loving it. ;)

I realize that Grandma's suit was without a doubt made of wool, but since I found no appropriate wool, this cotton worked out just fine.

A nice view of her whole suit, and even a glimpse of the skirt!

The suit is what I'm absolutely, positively dreading. The idea of having to fit it just so, and all the upper collars, under collars, over collars, inside collars, outside collars, (okay, maybe there aren't quite that many!) is just not sounding fun at all. But I won't let myself wear the rest of the outfit until the suit is made, so that should provide some incentive! Hopefully it will come together a lot more easily than I am picturing!

Meanwhile, I'm very excitedly preparing for an 1812 reenactment next month. This will be the very first historical reenactment-type event I've ever been to, so it promises to be a very fun day!! I took the opportunity to do a little revamping of my calico regency gown; I took the lace off the hem, remade the sleevebands, made undersleeves, and added some much-needed hooks and eyes at the back. Thanks to Lily's recommendation of making the sleevebands wider and more fitted, they came out great and fit perfectly with the undersleeves. Thanks, Lily!! :)

^ Part of the reason why we've been so busy lately! ^ 

We were blessed with a wonderful tomato crop from our garden, (which isn't even very big!), and were able to can 54 quarts of tomatoes, and 20 quarts of salsa. It is so wonderful to see a full pantry again! :) Praise the Lord for such a wonderful crop!!

Last but not least, thank you all SO much for your lovely, encouraging, sweet comments on every single post. I appreciate you all so very much! You're the best!! :)

100 Years Early • HSM #8

This just doesn't look like Grandma's wedding suit, does it? Or maybe she was just a lot older than she liked to admit? ;)

Nope. The truth of the matter is, I just wasn't in a 1940s-suit-making mood. So what happened? On a whim, I pulled out some fabric and started cutting. And just several days later, I have a not-too-far-from-completion 1840s dress. 

I, for one, am excited!! :)

I used a brown cotton floral fabric I had in the stash (only 6 yards!), and managed to get the whole dress out of it, with enough leftover for plenty of piping. I did end up going back and buying a little more of the fabric, though so I can make a matching pelerine.

Yummy! Cartridge pleats!

The bodice is made from Simplicity 1818, with an altered neckline, and a back hook-and-eye opening rather than a button-front. The seams are piped with 1/8" cording, and the lower edge of the bodice will be as well once it is finished.

I have to finish the cuffs, the lower edge of the bodice, sew on hooks and eyes, sew the bodice to the skirt and hem it. But all things considered, that's not a whole left lot to do!

Unfortunately, we don't have any photographs of our ancestors going back as far as the 1840s (the earliest is 1903); but then, I don't picture a whole lot of photographing going on in Norwegian farms in the 1840s, so it's pretty understandable!

In any case, this is still my HSM entry for the month, even though there's no photographic evidence of it being something that one of my ancestors wore. 

The Challenge: Heirlooms and Heritage

Fabric: 6 yards of cotton plus muslin for the lining and hem

Year: 1845

Notions: Hooks and eyes (tons), cording, thread

How historically accurate is it? 85-90%, perhaps? The inner seams are sewn by machine, and the raw edges...gulp...serged (don't throw too many rotten tomatoes!), but all stitching visible from the outside is done by hand. 

 Hours to Complete: 15-18, when it's all said and done.

First Worn: Not yet, unless putting it on Thelma Lou counts! ;)

Total cost: $80+

I just can't wait to finish it and wear it!! Dresses like this are SO much fun to wear. And the bonus is, I get to wear my gorgeous AD Renoirs again! :)

Luckily for me, next months HSM challenge is brown, so Grandma's wedding suit can become a reality and still count for the HSM. Yay!

• Accessorizing My 1930s Dress •

A couple of weeks ago, Lily of Mode de Lis posted about her 1930s pocket tutorial. To say I loved it would have been an understatement!! It's so cute, and the absolute perfect addition to pretty much any '30s dress. It occurred to me that my 1930s dress needed just such an addition! I liked how it looked without the pocket, and yet it really needed an extra dose of '30s goodness.

So, I made a pocket! The tutorial is very easy to follow, and it couldn't be easier to make!

This was quite the revamp of my dress; I needed to take some extra length out of the back since it was a little bit too long in the waist. I unpicked the seam and basted it up several different times before I got it to be the right length. I ended up taking the skirt up 2 inches in the back! Goodness! And the amazing part is, it didn't effect the hem. 

So now, not only is my dress cuter, but it actually fits right! No more pesky reaching-behind-the-back-to-adjust-the-belt! I'm so happy to finally have this be the super-comfortable, wear-it-every-single-day kind of dress.

I wear my crocheted collar from the Clarks ONT Fashions pattern book with the dress. And I'm actually currently crocheting the cape from that same pattern book to wear with this outfit.

So I guess you might end up being stuck seeing this dress a third time! 

;)

This pocket happens to qualify for this month's HSM!

The Challenge: Accessorize

Fabric: Leftover cotton from my dress, plus 1/8 yard navy blue cotton for the contrast

Pattern: Pocket Tutorial by Mode de Lis on the Penny Rose Fabrics Blog

Year: 1929-30

Notions: Thread

How historically accurate is it? 100%

Hours to complete: 15 minutes

First worn: Last week to church

Total cost: $1.17

Thanks ever so much to the amazing Lily for coming up with this adorable pocket tutorial! It's a definite keeper, and I can't wait to use it again!

Stashbusting • 1940s Belted Blouse

Volume II of the Woman's Home Companion will be up next Friday, but today I needed to post my Historical Sew Monthly project! The challenge for this month is stashbusting, but unfortunately, my stash is not very prolific since I haven't been sewing for years on end! While others have bins full of stashed fabric, I seem to sew almost as much as I buy. I suppose that could be looked at as a good thing to the un-knowing soul, but to a seamstress it is rather unfortunate. I have a feeling the stash will grow to a more wholesome size as the months go by, so I can take comfort in that thought! ;)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we found some vintage patterns at a recent trek to the antique shop. I just loved the style of this blouse, and was so excited to make it! The pattern is a cinch to make, and the style looks great in these fabrics. There's just one problem; it looks terrible on me.

There is a silver lining to this cloud, however, because it happens to look beautiful on my mom! I was a little disappointed about it at first, but I really don't mind. I've never been able to pull of the belted-blouse look, so it wasn't a great shock. And now, my mom has a new blouse! Yay! :)

I have had both of these fabrics for ages; I bought the blue for a dress, originally, but it was back in the days of my sewing ignorance, so it never came into being. 

Instead, I made a regency apron (which also fits my mom better than me....what's up with that?), a housecleaning/nursery apron, and still had enough leftover to make the accents on this blouse. I love the two fabrics together, and the contrast is just perfect on the blouse.

The pattern features a yoke that is topstitched onto the front and back bodice. I am becoming quite a fan of that method of sewing seams. It's rather nifty, in my opinion!

The back bodice has slight gathers at the shoulders on each side, and the front bodice has a dart extending down from the shoulder. It's a very comfortable, well-fitting design (if it's your style).

As for the skirt; it is a variation of McCall 6993, with a waistband instead of the detailed yoke. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit either. I was still learning about making skirts when I made it last year, so I made it with a couple of inches of ease at the waist. Not a very good idea. At all. If I was diligent and industrious, I would remake it. Ahem.

Apparently I should have titled this post "The Outfit That Doesn't Fit Me"! ;) 

The Challenge: Stashbusting

Fabric: Two coordinating cottons, purchased at JoAnn

Pattern: Vintage Hollywood Pattern 926

Year: 1941-5

Notions: Thread, buttons

How historically accurate is it? Perfectly, aside from the serging on seams

Hours to complete: 5-6

First worn: Around the house last week! 

Total cost: $20