Back in time again!

It's been a while since I shared any vintage goodness here. How could I forget to do that!
I'll try to make it up to you.

Today, I am happy to present an issue of one of my favorite Dutch sewing magazines: Bella, het nieuwe modeblad (= Bella, the new fashion magazine). Bella is a favorite of mine because, unlike many other magazines of the time, it includes all the designs which are printed in the magazine on the pattern sheet. Just in one size each though (I have yet to find multi-size printed patterns pre-dating the mid-1960's).

This is the first (of two) January issue of 1954. I'm not sure this coat with the crazy chest pockets is a Bella design. The covers of Marion always showcase designs readers could make for themselves but Bella is a bit inconsistent with that. 

On the reverse of the cover, we have this "big sister, little sister" feature. The looks for the big sister are in small(ish) lady's sizes.

Then, there are sporty coats for men and children,

and this issue's "four variations to draft from these instructions" feature (I once made a blouse using one of these. It worked way better than I had expected. You can see the blouse itself here. I shared the pattern for it in this post and another one, a dress in a larger size, here).
If you are wondering if there is something wrong with the illustration because the skirt on the dress on the left seems wider than the other ones, there isn't. This pattern includes instructions to turn the skirt form sort-of-pencil to A-line. 

This is another "one pattern" two options feature. It includes two patterns for what is basically the same design in different sizes. They both have a dropped shoulder which can be used on its own or with an added three-quarter length sleeve. 

This spread includes some of the most interesting designs in this issue. You may even have seen it before because I tried out one of these patterns for last year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge. The toile I made of the second dress from the left is still on the dummy in my sewing room. I still don't really know what to do with it. I've just never been able to decide on the right fabric for it.

Then, there are designs for children,

and the inevitable nightwear. Really, it never ceases to amaze me just how often all these vintage magazines feature "lingerie", by which they usually mean pyjama's and nightgowns. Maybe I should try one of these designs some day but... meh. There are so many more interesting things to sew.

And then there is a knitting pattern. And quite a serious one at that. A whole dress, with a full-ish skirt. Did anyone ever really make one of these? It must take forever to knit and surely that skirt would be quite heavy... I really should ask my grandmother.

And after that, on the inside of the back cover, there are the most glamorous designs: Two cocktail dresses with a stole and a bolero. They are supposed to be made from silk with details in georgette, organza or tule.
If only I ever had excuses to wear things like this...

1952!

And here it is: The blouse from this pattern from Bella magazine from 1952!

When I asked, most commenters preferred this multicoloured, kind-of-ethnic print. Some of you thought this type of print was not very 1950's but I think I have seen enough "souvenir-skirts" and embroidered central European peasant blouses in 1950's magazines to think that it isn't far off the mark. And I thought the scale of this print would suit this design better.

As I explained in the previous post, I made the pattern up without any alteration except to the collar and neckline. Even the length of the blouse looked OK when I held up the paper pattern to my body. And it is. Especially if worn in a proper 50's way: Tucked into a high waistband (here made even higher by a wide tie-on belt).
Without tucking in, the blouse is rather loose fitting. The back simple doesn't have waist darts and at the front, the bust darts have been turned to close and their width has made the bottom of the front pattern piece flare out in a kind of A-line shape. If I were making a pattern like this, I might have tried to hide the bust darts in those yoke seams but, of course, that would remove the option of making the blouse without a yoke. 

Interestingly, even when worn loose, the blouse doesn't become a tent. That more fitted back keeps the sides fairly close to the body and allows only the front itself to flare out, as you can see in this picture (the blouse looks better on me than on the dummy).

The sleeves are fine too. The openings may not be very wide but they are wide enough and there is enough ease in the blouse itself to allow me a proper range of movement. 

All in all, I'm pretty impressed. I didn't have very high hopes for this type of pattern. I thought any pattern would have to be simplified very far to allow the reading to draft it according to the very limited instructions. Of course this is a simple design and a simple pattern but all its proportions are right and so is the size. Oh, and it is also my fourth item for this year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge!

Sneak peek

Obviously, this is not how you should see this blouse, but I thought it would be nice to give you a sneak peek anyway. This is the blouse from Bella magazine, made using the pattern I showed here last week. I just followed the instructions and I am not disappointed.

There was only one thing really wrong with the instructions: There is one measurement which is missing, a corner of the front hemline. It is pretty easy to figure out though. Its distance to the edge of the rectangle looks similar to that of the bottom of the sleeve, so I made it the same: 7 cm from the edge. 

Then there was an issue I suspected: A tight neckline. Many vintage patterns have high, tight necklines and this one already looked that way in the drawings. I cut the collar piece from paper and put it around my neck: the full neckline is only 32 cm. I have been told that I have a fairly slender neck and I could only just get the pattern piece around my neck. I would not wear a garment with a neckline like that. The collar size I normally use is 36 cm, so I changed the neckline to allow for that. Like this:

After that, I made a different collar. Even re-sized, I wasn't very keen on that the standing collar with fold-over tips in the original design. Instead, I made a convertible collar. Simple and not out-of-style for the period. 
This type of collar is drafted, and sewn, from center front to center front. It does not touch the front overlap pieces. 

Draw a rectangle with the length of half the neckline measurement and the height you want as the height of the collar. In this case, the height is 7 cm. The collar folds so that is not very high. Then curve up the front edge of the collar piece by 0.5 cm and draw its point.
When sewing, sew up the top edge of the front overlap first, clip the seam allowance to the end of the seam so it can be pressed to the inside while the rest of the neckline seam allowance is still free and then sew on the collar. 

Oh, and because this collar folds back, it also shows more of the front facing than other collar styles. It is best to extend the front facing around the neckline, like this:

Next weekend will be really busy but I hope I will find some time to take pictures of me wearing the blouse. It looks so much better tucked in.

Bits of fabric

Just a quick question: Tomorrow, I hope I will have time to get started on this blouse. 

That yoke looks ideal to use up an odd little off-cut I was given when buying fabric at one of my usual places last summer.

One of these, to be precise, on black. Both are too small to be used on their own but seem big enough for the yoke, collar and cuffs of this blouse.
So, the question is: Which one would you like to see?

1950's blouses

A big "thank you" to those of you who replied to my previous post! And if you didn't but would like to weigh in after all, please do. I read all comments, also those on older posts. 
I am glad I asked because your answers actually surprised me. Both on the Pinterest board of the Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge and on We Sew Retro, I see so many dresses compared to anything else, I assumed you would all refer those. Instead, the votes were clearly in favour of separates and hats. I promise I'll look for a hat pattern in the coming two months (probably a 1930's one...) but today, I have a blouse from the 1950's. It is another one of Bella magazine's "draft-as-instructed" projects and this one is actually in my size so I may just try and make myself one next week. Whether or not I do that, I will give you an  additional little tutorial about making other collars than this really high and tight one (I'm usually not such a big fan of those myself...)

The blouse comes from Bella magazine nr. 16, August II, 1952 and is for ladies with a bust circumference of 88 cm. The editors of the magazine had this to say about it:

Blouse and skirt are especially popular this year and now that the summer is getting towards its end and lots of suits will be worn again, it seemed right to Bella to dedicate the instructed pattern to this.

The designs depicted here all have cut-on sleeves and a standing collar with rounded fold-back corners. Three of them have yokes which allows for interesting design variations. You can see a nice example with stripes used in different directions and it is easy to imagine other variations on this theme. Something similar can be done in a fabric with a check. To make the yoke, its pattern piece should be separated from the front of the blouse. Depending on the thickness of the fabric you can make the yoke in a double layer or make a 4 cm wide front facing in which you make the buttonholes (either way, I would recommend using a lightweight interfacing at that front edge where you will add buttons and buttonholes). The front of the blouse is stitched onto the yoke. Close side-, sleeve- and shoulder seams and add the cuff of a double layer of fabric to the sleeve edge (this double layer remark makes it sound more complicated than it is. It's a normal cuff which means each one consists of two pieces of fabric). Sew on the interfaced collar, sewing the neckline edge between its layers. 

For a more dressy look, you can stitch a pleated strip of fabric in the yoke seam. In this case, the pleated fabric was first basted along the folded-over edge of the yoke which was then stitched onto the front of the blouse. This allows the pleats to fall out. You can also let the pleats fall in by following the order of construction mentioned before. It will look no less lovely (I'm not so sure about that...).

The blouse is also nice in two different fabrics, don't you think? Here you can also see how it can be worn over the skirt with the addition of a knitted waistband. In practice, this will work especially well if you use a wool fabric. Of course, in this case, it is required that you find a perfectly colour match between fabric and yarn. 
To make this blouse, you should use the waistline in the drawing as the bottom of the pattern. For the waistband, cast on 170 stitches and knit 2, purl 2 for a chest circumference of 88 cm (they do not mention a needle size or anything. Most 1950's knitting was done on thin needles though. 2.5 is very common). Knit to a height of 10 cm. Stretch the waistband while sewing it on. 

Then, the blouse can also be made in its simplest form, without a yoke. In that case, you have to make a front overlap of 2 cm along the entire front edge and add a 4 cm cut-on facing that. A big or small bow looks nice under a standing collar like this.

And if you do not plan on removing the jacket of your suit, you might as well make a dickey instead of a blouse. It would save you on sewing and on fabric and you could even make the back from a cheaper material. The dotted lines form the sides of the dickey. The front and back are connected at the waistline by two pieces of elastic of 15 cm long. 

As usual, we didn't mention all the possible variations. So, if you do not quite like any of the options shown here, you can use your imagination to create your own version. Surely, that will give you even more satisfaction!

In this case, it is pretty obvious what each pattern piece is (although just to be sure: the collar is on the left, the cuff on the right).
When drafting the pattern, make the rectangles first and then put in the measurements mentioned along the sides, draw the lines inwards to make the points for the pattern. All measurements are in centimeters and there is no seam allowance included.
Oh, and although the blouse looks quite sleek in the drawings, that is just because it is worn tucked into high waistbands. It has no darts so it is basically a fairly loose-fitting design.  

Bella's

If you follow me on Facebook, you may already have seen my latest vintage pattern purchase: A whole stack of Bella magazines! 

All 24 issues from 1952 and about 15 each from 1951 and 1953, to be precise. I haven't bought any new-to-me patterns in a while but I just happened to check my local auction site in an empty moment and this lot was just too good to let go. Bella is a great sewing magazine because it came with all the patterns, instead of just a few, like Marion. 

Of course, I intend to sew from these magazines, and maybe to try and share some of the "draft according to instructions" projects here. For now though, I am just looking at the pretty pictures and I thought you might like to join in. So, today we have Bella magazine March II 1952: 

This is actually the cover from March I. I just added it because it is so very elegant.

This is the cover from March II. Normally, the illustrations in Bella, both for the cover and inside the magazine, are quite pretty but this one turned out rather unflattering.

The "draft from instructions" project is this time a stylish dress for bust 104 cm. And as usual, there are four different views with the instructions on how to make them from that same pattern.

The next page is titled "Mother's eldest". So: Teenage fashion. In Bella, that can mean either children's sizing (expressed in ages, which can go up to 16) or small women's sizes (which normally start at bust 88 cm but in these teenage features can go as low as 80). Obviously, these two sizing methods have a big overlap but it is not easy to figure out how much because there are no sizing tables included. 
Size-wise, I am actually at the bottom end of the women's sizing table and at the top of the teenage size range. As a result, in some magazines the only patterns in my size are those designed for girls half my age... 
Early 1950's teenage fashion isn't hugely different from the styles made for adult women. Usually just nothing too fussy or formal (which is a shame for me because I am quite a fan of 1950's fancy, formal and fashion-forward)

Then, there are popular dress styles for adults (which are not very different in style to the teenage dresses)

And little girl's stuff: Dresses decorated with smock-work.

Sleek suits and wide short coats.

I do not usually take pictures of the content which is not about sewing but this is quite interesting: Bella's spring contest! They showed these separate bodies and hatted heads in several magazines in a row and readers had to match them correctly. They show styles from 1900 up to the 1950's. Can you imagine a modern-day sewing magazine running a contest which involves fashion history?
And the grand prize? An electric sewing machine! 

And then patterns for the man in one's life! Bella doesn't always include menswear but more often than many other magazines. 
The exact distribution of space in the magazine between men, boys, girls, teenagers and women of various ages and sizes varies from one issue to the other.

And this time, the girls are lucky: Even more dresses for them. Although I guess these are between the earlier little girl stuff and the teenage dresses in size. 

Testing...

Alright, so I still haven't moved passed sewing toiles... I hoped to get some real sewing done today but it just didn't happen. However, I did get pictures of the muslin for that 1950's Bella dress. 

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by it. The skirt has an interesting style: It is only moderately full and cut in six gores with flat pleats at the two front seams. Of course the whole thing looks much more flamboyant in the illustration but I think the real thing comes close, once you take into account the proportions of a real body.

I think the waistline is just a bit too high on me though... I feels a little bit snug at the bottom of my ribcage and is clearly already flaring out at my actual waist. 

And then, there is the bodice style... while I was sewing this, I was a bit concerned that the bust on this pattern might be way higher than mine... And indeed, that curved horizontal seam hits just below the apex of bust, not under the bust like design features like this usually do. 

But that is also how the bodice looks in the drawing... And if the seam was below the bust, that slit neckline would gape... So, maybe that bust seam is a design feature.

As it is, I consider adding the extra bodice length I need above the bust seam, which will bring it down a little but but keep the overall effect it has now. Other that that, the dress looks promising. I just don't know which fabric to use yet.

Vintage progress

Last week, I had a bit of a pattern tracing marathon. After making that simple top from Beyer's Junge Mode, I also traced the patterns for this simple, casual little suit. 

Capri-length trousers and a boxy jacket. A sporty, youthful style in 1956 and still wearable today (maybe not for everyone but I think it will work for me). It is a bit summer-y but it will be spring soon...

And then, moved on to another magazine I haven't really sewn anything from yet (I tried out a dress pattern last year but it was just a bit... meh): Dutch sewing magazine Bella.

From my small stack of Bella's, I picked this lovely dress. It one in the middle. It should be in my size (the one that didn't work was a bit too big) and the princess seams should allow for easy adjustment, if necessary. 
It is actually a real winter dress and I am not sure about fabric yet but I am really curious about this design.

This week, I am sewing up quick muslins for all three garments. With some luck, the sizing in these magazines will be consistent so these will give me an idea about how their other designs might fit me. 

And finally, I had a bit of luck regarding my issue with fabric for the 1920's dress: When I was at the market on Monday, I found this fire-y orange fabric. It has an interesting texture which reminds me a bit of raw silk but it is really drapey. I think it is viscose/rayon, probably blended with polyester. Importantly, it has non of the static cling you usually get with polyester fabrics. Oh, and it was only 1 euro a meter so although it is a bit of a bold choice there is really nothing to loose. 
I am very glad I had a look at those historical dresses. I'm not sure I would have been willing to go with orange otherwise. 
Still, I think I will need some kind of trim on the dress, probably just in a contrasting fabric. From my stash, this blue satin would be best but I have seen another fabric at the market which might be better. A bit darker, slightly more towards turquoise and not shiny... I'm still thinking about it. 

Pattern nr. 1

My sewing for the for 2016 Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge is going nowhere fast... I may have started even before the new pledge was announced but I still haven't found a suitable fabric for that 1920's dress and I didn't start on anything else either. 
However, I also promised to share the vintage pattern love by trying to share patterns and projects from my collection. And this is my first attempt at doing just that. 

This a a "draft according to this diagram" project from sewing magazine Bella. Back in the day, readers could also order this pattern in two sizes from the magazine's mailorder service. 

This particular issue of Bella was the first one for October 1950 (it appeared twice a month). The pattern is a ladies' dress for a bust size of 112 cm.

I think the design is pretty typical for one from Europe in that year: Chique but practical and still fairly modest in its use of fabric. 
The A-line skirt with pleats would have been very useful to the average Dutch lady at the time: It is a skirt in which you can easily ride a bicycle!
Although active resistance to the New Look had died out by spring 1949, many women (at least, according to the magazines which wrote for them) were happy with the overall simpler, narrower and shorter lines of the fashions of 1950. And we shouldn't forget that here in the Netherlands (Bella was a Dutch magazine after all) fabric rationing ended in 1950 and when it did, fabric was still very expensive for most people. 

In Bella, the "draft it yourself" pattern always came in four different looks with a brief explanation on how to adjust the design for each of them. In this case, the different looks are purely based on fabric choice and trim. But hey, surely we can forgive them for that... The dress has fancy pockets!

The drafting and sewing instructions are pretty limited but I will give a translation of what little there is. As for the pattern, I am including the original diagram. 

Here we have a dress which will also dress the less slender lady very well and which can be executed in different ways. The first picture shows you the dress made up in a plain fabric with nice decorative topstitching. The pattern also offers possibilities for the use of a stripe or check in different directions as well as for the use of two different fabrics. We can only give you one example of each of those options but you can imagine the other variations yourself. In the last drawing, the dress is decorated with an embroidered border along the princess seams and the pockets. Of course you could use braid or some other decorative tape for that. 
Made up in a plain fabric without nap you will need for this dress, for a bust size of 112 cm, about 3.25 m of 140 cm wide or 5.50 m of 90 cm wide.
If you wish, you could add a seam at the waistline.

Dutch words in the pattern drawing, from left to right, with my descriptions per pattern piece:

The pattern piece in the top left corner is the center front of the bodice, with the lapel cut on. the fold line is for the lapel. If it is cut along the dotted line labeled "beleg" it forms the facing for that lapel. There is a notch on the lapel which shows where it should meet the collar.
vouw   =   fold
beleg   =   facing
m.v.   =   c.f. (short for center front)

the bottom left piece is the center front skirt. It has a full, waist-to-hem length in the middle but the pocket shape is cut away at its side. The pattern piece also contains a quarter of the front side pleat. 
middenvoor   =   center front
plooi   =   pleat

On the top row, second from the left, there is the side front bodice piece which includes the pocket. The pattern doesn't include separate pocket pieces but they are drawn in here: I think you should only use the outside shape for the front side bodice and draw those two curved pocket pieces separately.
voorzijpand   =   front side pattern piece
zak   =   pocket

Below it, there is the front side skirt, which included three quarters of the pleat.
voorzijbaan   =   front side gore

Then there is the sleeve. It is a shaped sleeve with two elbow darts and markings which suggest that the sleeve head has to be eased in. There is also a notch to indicate where the cuff opening should go.
mouw   =   sleeve

Below that, there are two small pieces. The top one is the cuff. As you can see in the pictures, the finished cuff should have the points sticking out.
manchet   =   cuff

Then, there is the collar. There is a notch which should match the notch on the lapel. Don't be tempted to draw a sharp corner on the bottom edge of the collar. This a not a shirt collar but a notched collar in a slightly simplified version. It's a curve.
kraag   =   collar

The next piece is the side back. This is a full-length piece although you could follow the suggestion in the text and make a waist seam. This pattern piece includes a quarter of the back pleat.
achterzijbaan   =   back side gore

And then, finally, there is the center back piece with three quarters of the pleat.
middenachter   =   center back

And, as mentioned before, the pattern is for the size which (according to Bella) corresponds with a bust measurement of 112 cm. All numbers are for measurements in centimeters. In those cases where there is a number inside and one outside the black rectangle, the one on the outside refers to the distance down from the top corner, the one of the inside to the amount of centimeters inwards from that height.
Take care about marks like the notches and the X-s on the lines where the pleats meet the skirt. 
Oh, and there is no seam allowance included. It is not mentioned anywhere, but I am pretty sure you should cut both the center back piece and the center front skirt on the fold. 

And there is a little bit of instruction about construction (italics for translated text, normal letters for notes from me...):

You connect (which I think just means sew) the pleats and put X on X. With the pleats falling to the inside, sew together the back pieces. 
You sew to facing to the center front piece and make the buttonhole. You attach the pocket pieces (you could also make it as one piece) and stitch them onto the hip piece. Between the pocket and the edge of the hip piece, there should be an edge of 2.5 cm wide (not counting seam allowance) The front side bodice is then  attached to the center front bodice and the skirt (which suggests you should already have sewn the seam inside the pleat, put the pleat in place by matching those X's and sewn the center front waist seam).
Close side and shoulder seams (although I really think you will need something like a side zipper because that front opening is only in the bodice).
The sleeve gets to elbow darts which take up 3 cm of fabric each. The bottom is sandwiched between the two sides of the cuff, starting at the notch. When inserting the sleeve into the bodice, ease in the sleeve head. 
Sandwich the neckline edge between the two halves of the collar (I am translating literally here but I suggest you deal with this "sandwiching" business by simply sewing on the outside cuff or collar to the sleeve or neckline and then pressing in the seam allowance on the inside pieces and then sewing those in place by hand) 
The belt is 104 by 4 cm. It is highly recommended not to add too thick a shoulder pad.   

I know this is not really a simple project to make from such limited information but if you have experience making dresses and collars and cuffs, it is possible. And if you do, please let me know!

Bella 1951

It has been a while since I have shared any random vintage loveliness. So, today I have for you Bella magazine from January 1951:

Bella was a Dutch magazine which was (as far as I know) at least published from the late 1930's to the late 1950's. It is essentially a more glamorous cousin of Marion: It is larger in size, includes news about high fashion AND a tracing sheets with patterns for all the designs in each issue (although still in one size only).

This was the fashion news, with photographs! One design by Jacques Griffe, one by Jean Peton and two by Maison Alwyn (ehm, obviously you don't get patterns for designs in the fashion news...).

Griffe is the only one of those three design houses I am familiar with and this great evening gown is his creation. With pockets and a huge collar!

I also adore the Alwynn creations:

This gloriously draped jersey dress,

a

nd the special suit with fold-back details.

And then, there are the magazine's own designs and this month starts with the most eye-catching ones possible: Wedding gowns. And, on the far right of the page, some pretty great dresses for the mother of the bride.

After that, it is on to more every-day wear: 

Blouses

Every issue includes a pattern which is shown in many variations. This time, it's a dress.

Boy's clothes

Coats and dresses.