Category: dresses

Simplicity 3968 – Toile

This is Simplicity 3968, a pinafore (jumper) dress pattern from 1952. You may guess that I bought it solely because of the hilariously large pockets, and of course you’d be absolutely right!

I plan to wear it for work, over the top of my smart TM Lewin shirts. I needed the fit to be right, so I pulled out some plain polycotton fabric and made a test version. The added complication was that this pattern doesn’t actually exist in a size that’s quite big enough for me (a 1952 size 18 being significantly smaller than a modern one), so I had to make some alterations as I was going along.

Simplicity 3968 - toile

I’m very pleased to say that it’s come out really well! All the pieces fitted back together once I’d finished fiddling about with them, which is always a good start. The main change I need to make is to balance the front of the bodice, between the darts, so that the waist seam sits flat instead of curving upwards. The next challenge will come when I have to put in the zip at the side. The skirt panels are on the bias at the side seams, so there’s potential for it all pulling out of shape and going horribly wrong. I think a little bit of seam binding at that point, or perhaps a small facing, might help everything to stay in place.

Now I just need to decide on the perfect fabric. I have a few lightweight options in the stash, but nothing heavier. I know it’s supposed to be nearly summer, but somehow this lovely Harris Tweed from Merchant & Mills, or an organic cotton corduroy, seem much more appropriate than a shirt weight cotton right now.

Psychedelic Dress

Psychedelic Dress

This is a test-run of Kwik Sew 3472, a simple jersey dress. It also has options for a knee-length version, a scoop neck and short sleeves. The fabric, I promise you, isn’t anywhere near as loud as it looks in this photo! In real life the colours are much more muted and dusky. I figured that any mistakes I made on this first try wouldn’t show up too badly against this very swirly pattern, but thankfully it seems to have come out pretty well! I think the only change I might make is to shorten it a bit, but I’ll wear it first and see how it goes.

I have nine metres of organic cotton jersey on order, ready to make three more of these – two black, and one purple. That should give me a basic work wardrobe that goes with most of my existing shoes and accessories. My fibromyalgia’s playing me up quite badly at the moment, which is seriously limiting what I can comfortably wear. Separates give me stomach ache. Anything that isn’t soft enough makes me itch. And frankly I need every scrap of my brain power to be working for me through the tiredness, not fighting against my uncomfortable clothes.

I realise this all sounds very dramatic, but unfortunately it just seems to be a fact of life for me now. Wearing uncomfortable clothes causes pain, which causes fatigue, and life’s too short to be exhausted because my stupid jeans gave me a blister. I’m sad and angry about it, because it seems as though I’m going to have to get rid of about 80% of my current wardrobe, including a lot of things that I’ve made for myself over the years. The thought of sending it all off to the charity shop makes me utterly furious that my body has decided to do this to me.

But hey, let’s look on the bright side. I get to make a whole new wardrobe of the softest organic cotton dresses.

Also, I have one really nice picture that Paul took of me at the Frome Steampunk Extravaganza. I’ll show you that one soon.

Simplicity 3042

Simplicity 3042

Yes, I’m still here, just about. The last few weeks at work have been somewhat stressful, and I’ve spent a lot more time out of the Shed than I normally prefer, so things have been a bit quiet on the sewing front.

So, this is Simplicity 3042, a pattern from the late 1950s or early 1960s, in a Slenderette size 18½. Not my Holy Grail sewing pattern, because I wanted to make a test version in a size that should theoretically be absolutely perfect for me, so I could make the relevant alterations without too much guesswork.

Simplicity 3042

So, on the plus side, the fit of a Simplicity Slenderette size 18½ is indeed absolutely perfect! I didn’t make a single alteration to the pattern, the waist is in the right place (and the right size), and the length is spot on too.

On the minus side, I don’t really like this fabric now it’s a dress (maybe Paul was right about it looking like a sofa?), and there are quite a lot of mistakes that happened when I thought I already knew how to make a dress and so didn’t read the instructions properly.

Simplicity 3042

To begin with, I simply didn’t read the instructions for the front facing. That had implications for the collar, which now looks nothing like the illustration. I didn’t bother to unpick that, because I don’t plan to walk around with the pattern envelope pinned to my chest, so I don’t think it matters too much. Annoying, though.

The skirt, on the other hand… I knew I was going to need to make alterations to the pleats, because the side front/back panel piece was slightly larger than the fabric I had left… because I didn’t follow the layout given with the pattern. On top of that I somehow managed to sew the skirt to the top in such a way that it didn’t fasten properly, so I unpicked the waist seam and started again. I thought I’d done really well to get it to all fit back together again… and then I noticed that the left front (as you wear it, so on the right in the picture) has three pleats in the skirt, while the right front only has two. I also didn’t turn the binding of the skirt placket to the inside, so a) you can see it, and b) the skirt front doesn’t sit quite right.

Simplicity 3042

I am quite pleased with these cufflinks though. Two pairs of covered buttons, linked together by several strands of thread that’s covered with a simple buttonhole stitch. Now I just need to make the eight buttonholes in the french cuffs to fasten them through. Sadly I think that’s going to have to wait until tomorrow. The amount of hand sewing I can do in one day is gradually getting less and less. Making seven covered buttons and the three buttonholes in the front of the dress is all that I can manage for now.

This dress will be worn, mainly because I don’t want to waste four metres of fabric and two days’ work. I have a pink v-necked pullover that will go nicely over the top, and enough wool to knit a pink cardigan too. I’m also waiting for the arrival of another pattern, Simplicity 4838, which is a pinafore (jumper) dress.

Simplicity 4838

I’d planned to make a couple of these in wool or suiting fabrics, to wear over my smart shirts for work. Conveniently, it will also cover up the botched centre front of the dress I’ve just made, and lessen the impact of the sofa-like fabric. I think I even have some dusky green suiting which will go perfectly.

Next time, I might even read the instructions, too.

Simplicity 2184 – it’s here!

Patterns from HoneymoonBus

Wow, that was quick. It took less than ten days for my PERFECT PATTERN to reach me, all the way from Canada! Bless her, Zoe from HoneymoonBus had already sent me a lovely convo via Etsy, to say thank you for mentioning her on my blog, and to let me know that she’d included a little gift. I didn’t know it was going to be a second pattern! That one’s Simplicity 3224, a sundress from 1950 with the options of fantastically enormous pockets and a matching bolero jacket. Fantastic! That one doesn’t have its original envelope, but thanks to The Magic of the Internet I’ve been able to track one down, so I can see how much fabric I’ll need to make it.

And just look at this simply gorgeous promotional needle case from Sunbeam Bread:

Vintage needle case

Isn’t it a beauty? Almost completely intact, you can just see where a couple of needles are missing from the right-hand green panel. On the back is a little paragraph explaining that adding vitamins to bread doesn’t affect its taste or texture, and reassuring us that it’s the best way of staying healthy.

The Pattern!

And here’s the pattern itself! I’m really pleased that Simplicity patterns were printed ones by the 1950s, as unprinted dress patterns tend to confuse me a bit. This one seems to have been made up as a short-sleeved blouse – the long sleeve and skirt pieces remain uncut. The previous owner had also done exactly what I was going to do, which is to take about an inch out of the bodice length to make it smaller – her original folds are still in place!

Once I’ve given all the pieces a gentle smoothing with the iron, I’ll trace them to keep the original safe for future use. I also need to make a few alterations, and it’ll be much better for me to scribble all over a new brown paper pattern than on this original one.

I popped into town yesterday to buy some frog fastenings and sequin trim to finish off my velvet cape, but both were out of stock and I had to order them in. Now I don’t feel so bad about putting the coat to one side while I start work on these lovely dresses!

Oh, and the reason I ended up buying from HoneymoonBus, rather than one of the many other vintage pattern sellers out there? Her Etsy store is arranged by size. I appreciate that if you’re looking for a pattern from a particular decade, that might be a bit annoying. But I’ve spent so many hours looking at vintage pattern sites, finding something I like, and discovering it’s too small, that to be able to go a place where I could just look in one section and find something in my own size was such a relief! So thanks again to Zoe, I can’t wait to get sewing!

Simplicity 2184: Vintage dress pattern holy grail!

Well, it’s taken me almost five years to find it, but here it is – my vintage dress pattern holy grail, in the form of Simplicity 2184.

Raglan sleeves. Short and long sleeve options. FRENCH CUFFS. Convertible collar. In a size that I don’t have to re-draft too much. HALLELUIA! All I need to do is add pockets in the side seams (and 3″ to the waist) and it will be PERFECT! It even still includes the embroidery transfers for the monogram. *swoons*

It’s probably just as well that I need to wait for it to arrive all the way from Canada (I bought it on Etsy, from HoneymoonBus), hopefully that will ensure that I’ve calmed down a little bit by the time it arrives. I’ve already mentally sewn it in about 153 different fabric combinations, and thrown out every other item of clothing in my wardrobe. I need to slow down.

I posted the link on Facebook, and several people were somewhat boggled by the term “Slenderette”. Thankfully a friend discovered that Gertie (whose blog I am now reading obsessively) had contacted Simplicity to find out what on earth. Apparently the term was used for patterns that were specifically designed to make you look more slender. Not that this is going to work for me, as I’m going to have to let out the waist by at least three inches to make the dress fit – or invest in some fairly serious underwear.

Yes, underwear is still an ongoing issue. This stupid annoying fibromyalgia thing that I’ve got going on means that wearing a bra is absolutely excruciating, so I haven’t done it for the best part of a year. (And the Fashion Police didn’t arrest me or anything! It’s been a revelation!) Those “secret support” vests – sorry – camisoles with a soft bra hidden inside are a bit better, but they still have a constricting band of elastic around the body, so they’re not ideal. I did make a lovely soft teddy from bamboo fabric, but there were some issues with the fit (which is why I haven’t blogged about it yet), and Paul said it looked “like Victorian underwear – in a bad way”. Clearly some improvement needed there!

I keep looking at Kiss Me Deadly, whose vintage-inspired underwear would be perfect underneath this type of dress. But sadly their pretty things are outside the realms of my budget at the moment (anybody want to buy me a Vargas dress? Go on, you know you want to!), and I’m not 100% certain that my body will tolerate being squished by powernet all day.

So perhaps while I’m waiting for this pattern to arrive and fill me with wonder and glee, I should concentrate on doing some experiments with underwear. I’ve only made a couple of bras since I went on LCF’s Structured Lingerie course, and that was two years ago. Now I really want to do their Lingerie Workshop, but again, budget, and the courses take place in the school holidays, which is when I tend to be doing extra hours at work. Hey ho.

In the meantime, I’ve been reading blogs such as Ohhh Lulu, and reading my 1970s and 1980s lingerie-sewing books, in the hope that these might encourage me to get over my terrible fear of wasting fabric, and actually cut something out. I think now’s the time!

New dress, new jacket

Untitled

I made Simplicity 1755 to wear to a wedding. Then I realised I didn’t have a smart little jacket to wear with it, so I thought I’d better make one. This is a short bolero hoody, with long bell sleeves. (I drafted the pattern myself.) I couldn’t get any bias binding to match, and I didn’t have time to make any with the left over fabric from the dress, so I bought the least-clashing colour and went with that. What you can’t see in these pictures is the machine embroidery that I added over the top. I thought it would help to tone down the very pale lilac, so there are little leaves embroidered all over the binding. Definitely a finishing touch that I’m going to use again, I’m really pleased with it.

Untitled

Here I am, looking wistful in a gazebo. As you do. No matter how hard he tries, Paul just doesn’t seem able to take a decent photo of me, so you’ll often find me staring away from the camera looking a bit grumpy. (Any suggestions that perhaps I’m just not very photogenic will be met with derision. And then crying.)

I’m pleased with the dress, but my lack of a 1950s-style well-defined waist does make it look a bit frumpy. I do need to change the collar though. As you can see, the hook and eye kept coming undone, and that made my brooch wonky, which annoyed me all day. I’m wearing a huge floofy petticoat in these pictures, but I took that off half way through the reception because it was just too damned big and annoying. I have a very low tolerance for uncomfortable clothes, so anything that I have to fiddle with or which makes a nuisance of itself will very quickly be consigned to the charity shop pile. (Or the boot of the car, in the case of the petticoat.)

I will make another of these dresses though, just with a slight alteration to the front neck. And I’ll definitely be making more of these little jackets. The only change I need to make to this one is the hooks and eyes on the front. I think I’ve sewn the eyes on back-to-front (I didn’t realise it mattered!), and the jacket won’t stay closed. But once I’ve sorted out the fastening, I want to make another one with narrower sleeves, and one with a printed cotton lining, and a longer one with pockets, and a fancy one with needle felting… I have a lot of plans for this design!

Simplicity 1755

Simplicity 1755

This is Simplicity 1755, my new favourite dress. Fifties-inspired style? Check. Pockets? Check. Raglan sleeves? Check. Pretty collar? Check. Perfect!

Well, sort of.

Although the dress itself has come out lovely, the pattern leaves a fair bit to be desired. To begin with, the instructions for the button loops and sleeves are wrong. Somebody’s had a little centimetres versus inches confusion, because the instructions say to cut the button loops 2cm long, when they actually need to measure 5cm – about 2 inches. And the instructions for the placement of the button loop are wrong as well. In the end I decided to abandon the loops completely, and used a couple of sparkly buttons on each sleeve to hold the cuffs in place.

Simplicity 1755

I also added a couple of sparkly buttons on the back of the collar, because the pattern didn’t seem quite right there either. The instructions call for hooks and eyes to close the two halves of the collar together at the back, but the pattern pieces simply aren’t the right shape for that to happen. So, the sparkly buttons are holding the back of the collar down to the dress, to stop the corners from flying away.

Simplicity 1755

I’m pretty pleased with the invisible zip, considering it’s only the second one I’ve ever put in. It gaps a little bit at the waist, but the belt covers it, and all the seams match which is good. The waist isn’t terribly defined for a 1950s-inspired dress, but that’s because I had to grade it from a size 16 at the top to a size 20 at the waist to make it fit. I only hope that doesn’t make it look too frumpy, but the most important thing for me is that it’s comfortable.

The fabric is an organic cotton and bamboo mix, in heather and heather splash spot. I’ve used this bamboo fabric before, and it’s fantastically soft and luxurious. Bit crinkly though, so I foresee a fair bit of ironing in my future.

I’ll definitely be making this dress again, probably with a couple of modifications. The pockets are a little on the small side, so I’ll replace those with my own pocket pattern. I also have a shirt pattern with the most fantastically enormous raglan sleeves, and I can definitely imagine a long sleeved version of this dress. In fact, I may have just ordered three metres of this lovely stripy bamboo/cotton, to go with the leftover plain purple… perfect!

The Lorax meets Simplicity 1755

This is Simplicity 1755, which I had every intention of beginning to sew this morning. I want to wear it to a wedding next month, and my extra hours at work are continuing, so I need to get a move on in any spare time that I do have. The illustration to the right shows roughly how it will look in the lovely organic cotton and bamboo fabrics that I bought a little while ago.

This morning I received a comment on my post about making a Dr Seuss dress, which sidetracked me a little bit into thinking how good Simplicity 1755 would look in a combination of novelty print fabrics. A little look on eQuilter revealed that lots of Dr Seuss prints are still available…

…as are several Beatles prints – although Sea of Holes is sadly gone.

But I’m trying ever so hard to only buy organic or recycled or ethically produced fabric for the clothes that I make for myself, so I was just about to sigh wistfully and close my browser when I noticed something exciting.

The Lorax prints are all on organic cotton!

Wouldn’t this dress look absolutely amazing in a Lorax print?!

And by “absolutely amazing” you know, of course, that I mean “utterly ridiculous”. In a good way.

A further search reveals that eQuilter actually has hundreds of organic cotton fabrics, which is fantastic! Of course there’s then the issue of the airmiles involved in shipping them over from America, but at least there’s only one journey, from their country of origin to me, and the same applies to the (mostly) Indian fabrics I buy.

Uh-oh.

If Simplicity 1755 goes together easily, and it’s comfortable to wear, I can feel a fabric shopping spree coming on…

Spotty cotton & bamboo

Organic cotton & bamboo

Here’s my latest order from my lovely organic cotton people. Three metres each of spotty and plain organic cotton and bamboo blend. Isn’t it lovely? It’s in the washing machine at the moment, and I’m expecting it to be super soft when it comes out. The almost-matching thread’s organic too, and I’m planning to buy a lot more of this in future.

When the pattern eventually turns up in the UK, I’m going to turn it into Simplicity 1755. I might have let out a little squeal when I saw this dress. It’s everything I usually look for in a vintage pattern – cute collar, raglan sleeves, full skirt, pockets… but in a modern size, which means I don’t have to wear terrifying underwear or spend days re-drafting the pattern only to discover that it still doesn’t fit. Marvellous!

The sample swatches are Texweave, which is a lovely heavyweight woven fabric, perfect for coats or upholstery, and Super Jersey, which is another cotton/bamboo blend. It really does feel super too, so soft, and with just enough elastane to make sure it doesn’t go baggy. I can feel some lovely soft pyjamas coming on, or perhaps a vest or two.

I have a lovely big tin full of their fabric samples now – every time they bring out something new I send off for the samples straight away. This means that any time I want to go fabric shopping, I can simply pull down the tin and look at all the little squares. Much easier than just picking something at random from the website and hoping for the best!

Summer dress three…

Panelled dress - front

Inspired by the dress I made last week, Vogue 1301, I made another one today. I drafted the pattern myself, using the Cochenille Garment Designer software, and made alterations as I went along. I forgot to lessen the amount of ease included, so the armholes are still a bit big, but overall I’m really pleased with this one.

As you can see, the seams are overlocked on the outside, making it super quick and easy to put together. The pockets look a bit high on the mannequin, but my waist sits higher than hers, so they’re actually in the perfect place for my hands.

Panelled dress - back

The belt is my usual 2″ sash, nice and long to make a bigger bow. The neck and arms are bound with vintage cotton bias binding. The fabric’s a cotton lawn from Fabric Land, and I think I have enough left over to make another dress!

The first priority is to make some kind of petticoat to go underneath. I’ve just ordered a 1970s lingerie book, having seen the gorgeous pictures on Miss Peelpants’ blog. I can’t wait to make some pretty things when that arrives. In the meantime I can wear the purple petticoat that goes with my my Phase Eight dress, which should make this one safe to wear for work.