Confession time...

Fellow sewing blogger Tanit-Isis has an interesting statement on her blog (it is written under her profile picture): "Sewing is what I do when I'm cheating on all my other hobbies..."
Nice, isn't it? I don't know how demanding her other hobbies are but for me, sewing was the undisputed first hobby for many years. I didn't bring any sewing with when on holiday and I could sometimes get distracted by machine knitting but overall I was pretty faithful. That is, until some point between now and about two years ago when a sport started to get in the way. I have never been the sporty type but I did really fall hard for sport-climbing (no pun intended).

Now, I also have a more demanding job than before, and my transformation into a climber is still going on. Lately, I have had even less time to sew because I have found something which combines my love for making things with my love for climbing: I'm learning to be a route setter at my local climbing hall!
For the uninitiated, route setters are the people who screw the plastic holds to the wall in artificial climbing areas. Each route is set in one colour and there are different levels of difficulty. And the routes are changed regularly (in this place, a route stays on the wall for about 6 months, unless there is something wrong with it and it taken down sooner). I've set six routes so far and apart from the first one, they are all still on the walls. And I feel like learning with each new one...

This is the card I made for the latest addition:

This blog's namesake! (and for those of you in the know: Here in the Netherlands, climbing halls use the French grading system. So this route would be something like a 6 in IUAA and a 5.10a in the USA) At this climbing hall, route setters do not only get to name the climbing routes they created, they also get to design a card for it. The card should include the route's name and grade but the design is completely up to one's own choices. Right from the start, I thought it would be nice to try and stick with vintage fashion as a theme for mine...

Oh, and please don't be too worried. I might cheating on my sewing hobby but I will never leave it. In fact, I have a new pair of 1940's style jeans to show you tomorrow.  

Sewing Bee chatter

Oops, that was a long time without posting! I've been quite busy lately, although part of it was for fun (a weekend of rock climbing in the Ardennes!). Even too busy for sewing... After finishing that 1943 dress, I didn't do anything related to my personal sewing until today! 

Anyway, I did have a chance to watch this week's episode of the Great British Sewing Bee. Are you watching that too? If you are but running a bit behind, don't worry, there are no real spoilers in this post. And I am just in time to write about it, one day before the new episode...

This week was international week. A new topic for this show and it turned out to be an interesting one (they are expanding their horizons anyway, last week was lingerie week, another first). It also made me think of things I have seen in museums and on real people, things I have researched and some fabric in my stash. 

The pattern challenge was to make a Chinese style top, referred to in the program as a "qipao". I don't think that is correct, as far as I know the term qipao always refers to a dress (a dress which is also known as "cheongsam" or, according to Wikipedia, in English as "Mandarin gown". I thought the English name was "Shanghai dress"). 
The last time I was at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, I also had a good look at all the textiles in displays about the history, culture and art of different countries. In the section about China, they also showed the development of the qipao from a long, loose dress to the body hugging garment we know today. 

I only took pictures of two of the dresses. This one is from the early 20th century and shows an in-between shape. Although this qipao will fit closely over the wearer's body and legs, it still has kimono sleeves which mean a looser fit at the upper body. 

This one is a modern creation by a female Chinese designer (I didn't write down the name...). I think it is quite clever and interesting. A theory about the development of the qipao suggests that it was a hybrid of western and traditional Chinese women's dresses and yet, here in Europe, it is now seen as a quintessentially Chinese garment. This dress seems to play with those ideas: The shape references both the qipao, the little black dress and even a ladies' suit. The material is black lace (a western material) over off-white silk but the the designs incorporated in the lace are those of traditional Chinese brocades (especially that dragon on the chest). 

I've never tried making a qipao myself. I think they are beautiful but it is always tricky to make and wear a garment which is associated with another place and not make it look costume-y. The combination of that side zipper and the diagonal, curved overlap looked complicated though!

And then there was the made-to-measure challenge: West African inspired dresses made from African wax print fabric! 
Now, that is a material I have worked with. Most recently in last year's 1966 dress. I can actually buy some fabric like this at my local market and I'm always intrigued by the sheer variety of the the designs. Way back in 2009 (pre-blog but on Burdastyle) I bought a piece of this material in a design I liked.

I made this skirt from it. As lovely as this fabric may be, it is not something a pale Dutch girl like me can wear all-over (I thought some of the models on the Bee had the same problem). I did wonder a little bit about me wearing this West African style material but when my neighbour, who comes from that part of the world, complimented me on it, that settled the matter for me. 
The design on my fabric is large and random. Those big diagonal lines go across the entire width of the fabric and lengthwise, the repeat takes more than a meter. Whenever I sew (and I still have more of it because you buy this stuff in set amounts, of 4 meters if I remember correctly)  with this, I think about which part of the design to use where, not about pattern matching. 
I would still like to find another wax print in more muted colours so I could make a dress (but there's not much chance of that. Printers making this stuff know their target market and customers look great in bright colours). And this episode of the GBSB made me think of making a very different kind of skirt from the fabric I have. Something with a lot of fit-and-flare.

Oh, by the way, who else thought it was probably a good thing they didn't do this particular challenge last year? Chinello would have crushed this one! 
And I really liked the background story of the fabric. I would have sworn I had written a blog post about that as well a couple of years ago but I can't find it. It was pretty much the same story though: How this style of fabric developed in response to early global trade. The only thing they didn't tell on tv was that there is still one Dutch company printing this fabric for the West African market: Vlisco. I wondered if the fashion clips they showed of ladies wearing these prints came from Vlisco. The aesthetic looked very similar to their advertising. 

I liked the dresses the contestants made although I thought compared to the real thing they actually seemed a bit eh... tame. I was puzzled about the focus on peplums. To my knowledge, peplums are just one option in West African dresses. Just very fitted is also an option. And so are very full skirts. And the basic every-day look is a loose dress (like the ones you could see in the bit about the African saleswomen). 
Oh, and that criticism Patrick had on the ruffle, about how it created to much bulk on the tummy? I'm no expert but I think he is showing his roots there. Isn't one of the beauties of West African fashion its ability to celebrate the female form in all shapes and sizes? That pre-occupation with flat tummies doesn't seem to fit in with that. 

Tomorrow's episode will be all about the 1960's. The preview showed the kind of  vintage sewing machines I have worked on in M's studio and some rather extreme fabrics. I'm looking forward to it!  
       

Still thinking about the dress...

The 1929 dress, that is. Do you even remember it? It was the very first thing I was sewing this year but I didn't get very far with it.

Yes of course the dress had a, probably perfectly period accurate, too loose shape but I think I can deal with that. The real problem is still fabric. I always struggle to find good (and affordable) fabrics for styles from the 1920's and 30's. It just seems like all those dresses were designed for the finest of silks and wools. Even if I could still find those fabrics, they would be out of my budget. Even rayon/viscose is often hard to find. 

In this case, I was very surprised by how much I liked the colour I used for the toile. I didn't think about it when I cut into that stuff but that pale grass green really looked good on me. Just a pity that the fabric is a bit too transparent and I've used almost all of it.

I've been on the look-out for a fabric for this dress for the past month and my choices seem to be limited. One thing which appeals to me is a very drapey viscose velvet but there are only a few colours on offer right now (there will be more choice again in autumn...): Bright purple, deep dark aubergine, dark green, dark blue, very bright blue and yellow. 
I can't wear yellow, the bright blue really is too electrically bright, the bright purple just seems wrong for the period, the dark green is too christmas-y and the dark blue would be too severe. I kind of like the aubergine but doubt how flattering this colour would be on me. And whether or not any of these offerings would be anywhere near period accurate. I am not looking for a perfect match here, just for something which would not have been completely out of place back in the day.

So, I didn't buy any fabric but I did do a quick search on Pinterest for colour pictures of 1920's dresses. Of course, such a search mostly yields gorgeous examples which were made by the era's great designers and now live in museum collections. It does give some idea of possible colours though. 

My vague idea that pale colours were popular at the time proved kind of true. Especially part wear often came in pale hues but it was not all white.

There were really three kinds of colours I really liked. Three which I saw a couple of times: Pale greens (like that green I used before), mid blues/turquoise and burnt orange. 
Fabrics, it seems were often velvets and light silks (often not in shiny varieties). 

These are shades which could look good with my colouration and I can imagine this dress design in them. So, I guess I will have to look for some nice, drapey fabric in a colour like this. That velvet in the right colour would be really good... I can find stretch velvet in at least that blue but I really worry about how that would behave.
And I think I should consider some trim after all...

New considerations...

I haven't been sewing or blogging quite as much as usual lately. Partly, that happened just because I've been busy with other things but there is another reason too. 
I'm second-guessing some of the plans I announced earlier. Obviously, there turned out to be other wardrobe needs than just pretty vintage style dresses, but that is always to be expected.

The real issue which slows me down at the moment is this: I have been rock climbing occasionally for a few years but since about April of this year, I'm more serious about it. As in: I'm at the climbing hall two or three times each week. For climbing or bouldering. 
I'm really enjoying it and I am getting better. I hope to learn lead climbing in spring. 

However, all this sporting activity is not without effect. It was not a problem that the few pairs of trousers which had become too tight last year now fit again... But there are also some t-shirts on which the shoulder seam looks a bit short now and some other clothes feel a bit tight across the back. 
Fortunately, all my favorite dresses still fit. For how long is the question. It is to be expected that more climbing will give me stronger muscles in general and in my arms and shoulders in particular. 
Of course I can make new slopers to fit the new, more sporty, me but it seems too early to do that. 
And then there is the matter of style. Over the past years, I have pretty much perfected a look which suits my proportions (at least, I think so) but new muscles could make a real change there. Will my signature blend of 1950's and contemporary fashion still work then? 
Only time will tell...

Choices, choices...

In fact, my 1930's dress is finally finished. It isn't perfect at all but it's better than it was and to be honest, I'm tired of fussing with it. Now, I just have to take proper pictures of it.

In the mean time, I'm considering other things. I still have some black stretch cotton in my stash which could make a nice tapered pencil skirt. And how about a pair of culottes or a cute 1950's blouse (to wear with the skirt and culottes ;) ). Separates are nice and practical... but dresses tend to claim center stage!

I'm loving my 1966 dress so that has opened up a whole new genre of dresses for me. It won't surprise you that I'm eyeing up other options from my 1960's Marion magazines now.

In fact, I have already traced the pattern for the dress on the left. It's very simple: Just two pattern pieces and facings. I haven't found any trim but there are other options: Interesting fabric, added design details. I wanted to use purple linen first but I think I will try black cotton with big red flowers first.

And then, there are my usual 1950's options...
I've said I was going to make this dress for two years now:

I guess I should get started on it before summer is over. I have a great fabric: narrow orange and white stripes, but I'm not 100% sure. Will I be able to make the stripes on the bodice look so perfectly horizontal? Where did they hide the darts? And should I really make another shirt dress? 
I love shirt dresses so that shouldn't be a problem...

And yet, there are other lovely examples of striped dresses. Some simple, some complicated. Some shirt dresses, some other options. Some which would require the use of big, clear stripes, others which would look great in my fabric...

I don't know yet. There is yet another 1950's dress I'm thinking about too... 

Those hips!

I decided to squeeze in one more dress before I start with real spring sewing. 

This dress. 
Don't you think it's just my kind of dress? Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm a devoted fan of stick out pockets. And of hip-enhancing design features in general. I've made regular pockets with flaps on the hip, several kinds of stick-out pockets, in skirts, a coat and dresses and even the occasional design with crazy wide draped shapes in that area...
I love wearing all those things I don't think it would be a bit much to add one more. After all, this one will be entirely different again.

And that made me think... 
As a teenager, when I was starting to get interested in fashion, I quickly learned that the family pear shape (yes, it's a family thing. I have a sister, a mother, two aunts and the pictures of my grandmother in her younger years to prove it) was a bit of an obstacle. No dress ever fitted properly and I was lucky that the rise on trousers and skirts was getting lower just then.
When I started sewing for myself on a regular basis, that helped. But still, fit was an important reason to sign up for pattern making lessons. Pattern making combined with an increasing interest in vintage fashion settled it: I love my hips.

Over the past few years, I had the opportunity to find out how a random selection of other women in this country feel about this subject.
A twenty-year-old who was doing work experience with designer-friend M while I was helping to get the collection finished that she preferred "a bit of a belly" over "a fat ass"... I did point out that, if nothing else, there are medical reasons to disagree with that.
She was hardly alone with that opinion though. When working in bridal stores, I often had to change the way I held a dress around a shopping bride-to-be. I would usually make a point of drawing in the dresses at the waist, to get as ideal a shape as possible from them. At least, I would until the customer started complaining the dress made her hips look fat. 
It was hard to believe for me, but many a modern woman prefers her torso to look like an as-thin-as-possible rectangle...

It kind of makes sense to blame fashion. After all, ever since the mid-1990's the ideal body has been "thin". Every once in a while, fashion glossies will mention that "curves are back" but usually that just means some designers have used corset-like details and a model with a B cup has been spotted on the runways. 
You don't have to be a fashion history geek to know that fashionable "ideal" silhouettes changed a lot more over the decades before that. 
Clothing technology, global manufacturing, branding and the way we shop has changed enormously over that time but the ideal body shape... Not so much.
And what's more: Bodies have changed. It's tempting to think that individual body shape is a given but that's only partly true. What you wear can influence your shape too. Especially if you wear it while growing up. How many women under 30 do you know who don't have a 'hip dent' at the point where the waistband of low-rise jeans hits? And how many over 35 who do? 

Whether it's for fashion, out of convenience or simply because there doesn't seem to be another option many of us are messing up our hips. 
It's not as bad as squeezing in your ribcage which was also fashionable for a long time but still... 
I guess what I'm curious about is this: It's that obvious someone like me, a seamstress who loves 1950's looks would be willing to embrace a body shape that isn't in tune with 'normal' fashion but how about you? 

Choices, choices...

Yesterday, I cut the fabric for my dress. For the outside, that is. Such beautiful, soft luscious wool... 
Early this morning, I cut the bodice lining: A thin smooth black cotton which I also used as an inner layer on the bodice of my plaid dress. I think I will prefer this to using lining fabric. That is usually fine for skirts and coat and jackets but I really don't like its worn directly on my skin. Cotton may not slide as easily over other fabrics as lining material or silk but it won't have to in the bodice. And in the other dress, I never have issues with this cotton sticking to my bra. 

So, one question remains: What about the skirt? 
I first thought about using some blue/black silk-like fabric from my stash but that is actually really nice and when I held it in my hands I started dreaming about making a nice, flowing late 1920's or early 1930's dress from it... I might have just enough for that but certainly not after I've cut a lining for this skirt.
Then, I looked in the lining drawer. There is not enough regular black lining (acetate) left but I could buy some tomorrow. There is this stuff though:

Thin silk satin in a very bright blue/turquoise colour (the colour in the picture is surprisingly accurate this time). It's so bright and so shiny that I'm not sure I would feel comfortable wearing, say, a top made from this stuff. And bright contrast linings were sometimes used for black dresses. 
In which case I would just have to decide how to use it: In a wide skirt like this, I would normally let the lining hang loose so it wouldn't hinder the drape of the skirt. But this fabric doesn't look particularly nice on the wrong side, so how should I put it in? Just for the record: I'm not going to leave it so long that it will stick out from under skirt. Oh, and I'm not sure how well the wrong side will perform at keeping the skirt away from my stockings. 
Of course, I could buy new black lining tomorrow. It's just always difficult to get something which is not too nasty and not too expensive (I know there are great lining fabrics out there. I would love to Bremsilk for coats and Venezia for everything else but those cost as much as any nice fashion fabric and are simply not in my budget at the moment).
And the vintage option would be not to line the skirt and to wear a slip or a petticoat. Which might be made from that blue stuff. Or from something black. 
Any advice or opinions?

Just checking in

Ok, this is not what I had planned. Despite ending last week with a not very serious but energy draining cold (which I then, unfortunately, passed on to E), my 1965 Frohne dress was almost finished on Saturday. But just when I was doing the last bit of topstitching, the thread got stuck somewhere around the bobbin. This is annoying but it can happen. So, I switched the machine off, cut off the bits of thread attached to the dress, took the bobbin out and carefully pulled free the rogue bit. So far so good. Then, I wanted to put the bobbin back in. It wouldn't go in. Despite not having used a great deal of force, it seemed like I had dislodged the housing for the bobbin. 
That was on Saturday, late in the afternoon, so the only thing to do was to make an appointment at the sewing machine store at the earliest possible moment. Tuesday.

With my poor sewing machine out of action, I have started on a new project on the knitting machine. It's coming along nicely but I don't have anything to show yet.
I should have taken pictures of my 1965 dress (it's only missing a bit of topstitching under the left arm) but winter is really starting to set in now and the last two days were of that depressing kind on which it doesn't seem to get light at all. So, not the best time for taking pictures.

Hopefully, there will be a quick return of daylight, energy and a functioning sewing machine. 
For now, I'll leave you with one of the more unexpected images which I found while taking pictures (last week or so, when the light was better) for my Pinterest boards:

Yes, it's a lady from 1951 wearing an elegant knitted suit but look at that CUTE KITTEN!!

An update

I haven't done much this week. It's partly because of the heat and my still-in-recovery sewing mojo and partly because of this (my apologies for the terrible bathroom-mirror selfie):

I had dental surgery on Tuesday. It wasn't anything major. They just removed an inflammation at the root of a molar. It doesn't exactly hurt but it is kind of annoying and it feels like the healing conspires with the weather to sap the energy I'd like to have for doing things... It took me about a day to realize that fighting it wasn't going to help. So now, I'm just laying low and waiting for it to get better.

There are some small things I have been doing this week which I could show you. With more information about all of them to come later.

First of all, there has been some sewing. I started on Sunday on a new little thing to wear in hot weather. The fabric is blue/grey crepe left over from last summer's drapey jumpsuit. I thought it would be a quick little project, but I only finished it this morning. I'll model it when the swelling on my jaw has disappeared.

Then, I bought things. It has been a while since I bought patterns or pattern making books but this week, I bought both.

First up was this envelope containing two patterns from 1963. They are from the pattern catalogue Regina which was published four times a year (if I remember correctly). I own several issues of the magazine but had never seen the patterns for sale. This weekend, one seller put several of them on Marktplaats (Dutch Ebay). Most were too large for me and there was one in my size which I didn't like but I had to have this cute dress. The suit is a maternity pattern but it might be easy to adapt for normal wear. 
They were in the same envelope which I think means they were originally purchased at the same time. And which was why they were now sold as one lot. And they weren't expensive. They are unprinted patterns with sparse instructions. If you're interested, this link should take you to the remaining patterns on the seller's page.

Then, a couple of days later, I found this book.

The title translates as A Second Skin and it's a book on pattern making for lingerie. It is, in fact, the book M uses in her lingerie workshop which I took years ago. The writer is Margreet van Dam who is the designer behind the Merckwaerdigh lingerie patterns, which may be familiar to Dutch readers, or those of you who have bought lingerie supplies from Dutch webshops. It's not a thick book and it doesn't give you a ton of drafts for different kinds of lingerie. Rather, it focusses on how to draft well-fitting 'sloper' versions and giving you the tools to develop your own designs from those. I like that in a pattern making  book.
I had been looking for this book before but it seems that it has only had two print runs in 1998 so it's not easy to find. And now I have my own copy and in mint condition, no less.

And I've been 'shopping the stash', the pattern and magazine stash, that is. 

I decided now would be good time to get close and personal with the Gracieuses from the 1920's (I had already looked through the other half from the 1930's). They are old, strange, fragile and intriguing.

And I had another look at some pattern envelopes which had come from the same box and re-discovered (I thought I hadn't opened these before but a look at the original post about this vintage pattern haul taught me otherwise) what they are. Glorious dresses and suits from, I would guess, the late 1930's. There are no dates, no sizes and no more instructions than what you can see on the sheets of paper with the drawings but they look quite fabulous anyway.

I'm considering all the patterns I mentioned in this post for the Vintage Pattern Pledge (which I didn't forget about, although I didn't make anything for it yet), but more about that later...

Let's call it research...

Do you remember my post about this Zara jumpsuit, a little over a month ago? 
Well, a week later I looked at it in the store but it was Saturday afternoon and there was a big queue for the changing rooms, so I didn't try it on. I did find out that the fold was only in the trouser part and that there were hidden buttons to hold the overlap/fold in place.

Yesterday, I was in town and had a bit of time, so I wandered into the store again. With the summer sale already in full swing, I had no idea whether or not the jumpsuit would even still be there.
The white one wasn't. There was, however, a black viscose/rayon  crepe jumpsuit (with FSC logo. I've never seen that on clothing or fabric before but it makes sense because viscose is made from wood pulp). And it was fairly quiet on Wednesday morning...

So, I tried it on. I used to do this kind of 'research' more often. Trying out different styles before committing lots of sewing time some new shape. Seeing what I could learn from how they made things in RTW.
I'm not too keen on the look. I'm over my disappointment about the length. It's fine. And I still really like that fold/overlap trick. The fold is only in that one leg, by the way. There is a waist seam, which is a bit below my natural waist. That makes sense if you're supposed to let it hang like this, or to tie it more closely and let the top blouse over. 
It's just too baggy overall for my taste. I like my clothes to be at least semi-fitted somewhere. If I wasn't so used to making all my own clothes I might have been less critical though.

And this is the bit of 'inside information' I was wondering about: One trouser leg has a bit of overlap cut on and the top attaches to it, like it would in a normal wrap garment. The other leg has the extra space of the fold. The top on that side is the exact mirror image of the other one, so there is a bit in the center of the trousers which has no top attached to it. There are two small buttons with which you can close the overlap/fold. I've seen trousers with this kind of fold closure before (last year, when I was thinking about how to make something like  it, I saw a pair in another RTW store, Cora Kemperman) but not it a jumpsuit. It's a clever design.

P.S. I felt a bit weird taking photos like this, wondering if I was doing something illegal. However, I know a lot of people shop like that anyway, sharing the choices available with friends or looking for cheaper versions of the items they like. And I even know that some 'designers' buy garments in stores, take them apart and then trace them for patterns. 

The summer of '14

There is a generally accepted bit of fashion theory which states that, for many reasons, people don't dress as similar today as they did back in, say, the 1950's. Back then, it says, the dictates of Paris and other fashion capitals were consistent and dominant and the general public just had to follow, all be it at a safe distance. Now, the looks on the street form the main inspiration for many designers and they offer such a varied view that there is bound to be something for everyone, every season. And with clothes being comparatively cheaper and living standards higher, a much larger percentage of the population has the chance to play this game of fashion.

There is some truth to the theory, but I think as much could be said against it. 
Last weekend, sitting on a sunny terrace next to one of central The Hague's busiest shopping streets, I had a good chance to study the people passing by. And I think I've been able to identify the 'key looks of the season'. No matter what the fashion magazines may say, these are the first truly summer-y days and this is what women were wearing:
All these pictures come from the H&M website. I've used them as examples to illustrate each look although I have little doubt I've seen some of these actual designs. I picked these neither to promote the store, nor to say anything against it.

First of all: Short shorts. Usually not elegantly styled with a jacket, like in this picture but worn simply with a t-shirt or tank top or with a more loose fitting top. And I don't think they're called hot pants, although they are of that length. About 80% of all the shorts worn were jeans cut-offs, like in the picture. Many with the pocket bags hanging out, which I think looks terrible. Back in the olden days, we made our own cut-offs by simply cutting the legs of our old jeans short. I suspect most ladies who were wearer this look last weekend bought their jeans shorts, frayed hems and all. After all, they may be fitted but they're nowhere near as tight as their usual skinny jeans. 
As worn on the street, this really is a great casual look for the young and skinny on a hot summer's day. Of course, with careful selection and styling, it is possible to deviate from each of the points I've just stated, but not from all four of them.

Secondly, and going in a different direction: the maxi dress. Like the short shorts, the maxi dress has been a summer favorite for a while and exists in many different versions. But now, one clear favorite appeared: A full length jersey dress with the shaping of a tank top at the top. It can be in plain black or in one of those hard to describe pastels (sort of like mint green, or like salmon but not quite as sweet) or it can have stripes. It can be fairly fitted or be essentially a straight shape. Side slit(s) optional. 
Another easy-breezy piece which can be quite casual but could be worn in more situations than the aforementioned shorts. Easier to wear as well. And these seemed to be worn by women of between, roughly, 12 and 45. 
There is one danger with this dress: Being made of jersey, it is, of course, quite stretchy. This seems to invite some people to buy it at least two sizes too small. Which causes their dresses to look like sausage casings.

Number three: I don't think these have a special name but they are loose fitting trousers, usually made from viscose/rayon or polyester, and they typically have some form of elasticated waistband and tapered legs. They already appeared in larger numbers earlier in spring but of course, the non-sticky varieties make good summer wear too. Wild prints are popular with young women but there are similar shapes in plain black and other less eye-catching hues as well.
On a warm summer's day, these are usually worn with fitted t-shirts or tank tops. The only thing that really surprises me about the more 'trendy' versions is the often very low rise. I would like the waistband of, well anything really, to hit at least above the widest point of my hip. You know, so that gravity with help keep my trousers or skirt on.

This fourth item is kind of related to the previous two: the maxi skirt. It's often made in a similar way (those gathers) and from similar materials as the trousers above although you won't see it in those busy prints. These skirts are worn in plain colours, most often the not-quite-pastels I mentioned before. They may be the successor to last year's hi-low skirts. And given the choice, I really prefer these.

There is a fifth 'key item' which I didn't find at H&M. It's a sort of cross-breed of items number three and four: loose fitting, stretch waisted trousers with straight legs (sometimes with drawstrings at the bottom) in plain fabrics. Very much like the skirt, but you can ride a bicycle wearing one (always an important consideration in the Netherlands). 
The really interesting thing about this 'look' is that it really seems to be for everyone. This is an item which might as well be worn by a 14-year-old as by a 50-year-old. And it was. 
That makes it an unexpected and, I would guess, quite welcome addition to a fashion landscape which is often, and often correctly, criticized for only dressing the young and/or skinny.

And what was I wearing, amid this parade of summer 2014 street fashion? Well, I didn't join in. I wore this dress:

A 1950's inspired cotton dress which I made way back in 2010 (picture is from the original blog post. This was clearly before I started working in bridal... I made a lot of dresses that summer. I didn't have time for that in the years that followed). I still love it and I will continue to wear it. I kind of stuck out though.

And what's your take on 'looks for summer'? Do you try to get new looks for each new season or do you prefer to let your wardrobe slowly evolve with you? And what does this summer look like where you live? Any similarities with The Hague, the Netherlands? Any big differences? Interesting items? Inspiration?

Credit where credit is due...

If you have been reading this blog for a while, my strange love of jumpsuits will be known to you... It should also come as no surprise that, with summer on the way, I am thinking about new warm-weather options...

And I don't think anyone has failed to notice the high number of jumpsuits in stores in the past years. They were mostly there in summer and they're back again. Usually, I don't really like the ones on offer in RTW. Too baggy, too boring, relying too much on stretch or some combination of the above.

However, when I walked past Zara this weekend, I saw one I did like. The garment on the right in this picture is a jumpsuit. On the dummy, it looked like a kind of wrap style. With a collar. And three quarter length, lightly tapered legs. With pockets. And a fold in the trouser part which is obviously part of the opening and provides some interest.
Ehm... Check, check and check. Does it come in other colours than white?

It's been a very long time since I have even remotely considered buying something purely for the look and inspired by the window display.
I didn't have time to enter the store and the thing on though.

Today, I thought it would be fun to blog about it so I decided to try and find the item on the Zara website.

I still loved it in the picture shown above, but then, I went to the product information (which also taught me it doesn't come in any other colours). Well... I don't love it anymore. These pictures actually show the construction details a lot better than the window display did. It's not actually a wrapped garment. That belt is a separate piece. The jumpsuit itself is a wide thing, folded to close. It's not clear whether or not that fold is secured by anything else than the belt (if I made this, there would be hidden buttons but if there aren't the garment would be easier to wear for people with different body shapes). Still clever, still interesting but a bit too loose for my taste. And I thought it had sort of calf length legs but this model is 175 cm (it says so in the information), which is substantially taller than I am and it's ankle length on her.
I may still go and try it on, if I can find a good time and opportunity. It would be nice to study the details of the pattern and construction. 

So there you have it. I really started up my computer today with the idea of writing about a great item in RTW but there's just no stopping the picky pattern nerd with the retro-ish tastes ;)

Just checking in

Ok, last week kind of broke my posting streak... I didn't mean for it to happen but it did anyway.
And although I'm back today, it's not even with a proper post.
I finished the dress I told you about (in fact, I'm wearing it right now) but I just missed my photo opportunity yesterday. Oh well, I will show it to you later.
Maybe it's good because initially, I wasn't that pleased with the way the pleats behaved. And now, I think I've learned to live with them. As you'll see soon.

Today, I thought I'd show you the fabric I bought at the market this morning.
I've never made it a habit to show all my fabric purchases on my blog but this one is interesting because it's a bit out of character for me:

Mystery fibre (but without static cling!) crepe in a muted orange (1,5 meter) and cotton with a nice hand and a kind of 'swirling dots' print which could look 1930's or 1970's depending on its use(3 meters). Normally, prints like this are done on polyester. I'm not really a print kind of girl but finding this stuff in a nice material convinced me to try. As for the crepe, my attention was first caught by a smaller piece in ocher yellow. Which happens to be one of my all-time favorite colours which I shouldn't wear. It makes me look ill. This time I was wise and went for the odd colour I can wear.

You may have noticed I was talking about pieces of fabric... That's right these were cut pieces. 
Because they're back. Once a year, for a few weeks, on two of the four weekly market days, these sellers come and sell big piles of fabric pieces which have been used as sample fabrics for sewing workshops. The good, the bad and the ugly all thrown together. You have to buy the lengths as they are but they're only 1 euro a meter. I've bought some great stuff there in the past (like the boiled wool for my green cape).
Today's offerings were a bit lackluster compared to the previous times but I know they will bring new stock each day they're there. 
So if you happen to be in the area, it's worth checking out. I'm sure they'll be there again next Monday (and probably some other day later this week, I just don't know which one).

P.S. Over the past months, I've realized I have more Dutch readers than I had guessed before. And I know someone visited the market in The Hague on my advice last year.
At the moment, the The Hague market is a bit of a mess. It's in the process of being completely renovated. All the fabric and haberdashery stalls are still there but they're spread all over the half of the market where there are no building works yet. As a result, many can't bring or display all their usual stock. 
So, I've been thinking. In a few months, when the renovation is over and all the sewing-related vendors have settled into their new stalls, would you be interested in me doing a bit of show-and-tell about them? Show what those places look like and what you can best buy where?
Just let me know ;)

Requiem for a coat

There is no point in denying it anymore: My favorite coat is dying.
I made it way back in November 2009, in the first year I had this blog. As such, it was one of the earliest projects to receive the full blogging treatment with posts about the plans for it, the muslin, the construction and the final result (weirdly, that construction posts still gets a lot of hits. Probably by people who googled 'sewing secrets'…).
And ever since, it has been my most worn winter coat.

While the fabric is not particularly thick and warm, the shape really makes up for that. The loose body with the deep-set sleeves allows me to wear just about  anything under it. The generous overlap and tapered body and sleeves are great for keeping out the chill and that small V-neck can quite easily and efficiently be closed off with a scarf.
Its length makes it ideal for both cycling and driving.
And it looks great with any trouser shape I ever wear and with slim skirts as well.

Over a year ago, I already noticed the pilling of the fabric (a rather loosely woven herringbone tweed, so it was never going to be the most durable) in some places. However, I ignored it, deciding that it's OK for tweed to look a bit rough.

I also noticed how the points of the collar were getting bent. It's no surprise really, I cycled a lot in this coat and when I stretch my arms forward, I push against those tips of the collar.
And than, the pocket welts started to sag just the tiniest bit, and the bottom edge was really the only mistake I made with the pattern. It should have been a tiny bit wider and have a hidden closure. Now, with more and more wear, it was showing more and more.
And then, at the beginning of this winter, I noticed a big tear in the lining. I've a new lining for E's coat once but that still looked fine on the outside. It seemed like to much trouble for coat which was, if I was honest, already on the way out.
And yet, I kept wearing it.
For all the practical reasons but also because I've just grown very fond of this coat. I was the first wide, loose coat I made and even one of the first loose garments. A real change in silhouette, a diversification really. 
It just suits me. It's a coat like a warm embrace. A hug and a place to hide when I'm feeling low. A protective cocoon and a statement of confidence at the same time.
I guess I'm writing all this to convince myself it really is time to say goodbye. I have coat fabrics in my stash, and some ideas of what to do with them, but it doesn't feel like any of those could replace my great friend of the garment kind...

The purge

Lately, I noticed I was always in trouble finding the clothes I wanted to wear. And putting them back in the wardrobe after laundry… The closet was just getting too full.

Of course that could mean two things: Either I had too many clothes or not enough closet space. I decided to take a look at all those clothes before committing to either theory…

The truth is I haven't really cleaned out my closet since we bought this one a couple of years ago. I've removed the occasional thing if it was somehow damaged or if I really didn't like the fabric, but that was about it. And when I selected my things to go into this closet, I had a really hard time letting go of anything I had made myself…

I think I'm over that by now. I've been sewing for long enough to have had some changes in style over that time. There were quite a few boot-cut trousers and above-the-knee skirts in there which I just don't love anymore. And, although I'm lucky not to have to deal with big fluctuations in size and shape, my body has changed a bit over time. Both my hips and bust are a bit bigger than they used to be. 

So far, I've cleaned out the shelves and the dresses section. What's in there now fits and I'm either happy with the look or it's useful for day-to-day wear (which means I'm keeping the well fitting boot-cut trousers because I wear them work). I still need to look at the jackets and some skirts. I know there will be some tough decisions there. Some of those are just not 'me' anymore but are made from fabrics I love…

I've kept some things I never really wear but love. The Watteau pleat dress (which may not even fit over my chest anymore) which was such a sewing adventure back in the day and the strapless leather dress (I will wear that. I just need an occasion) which is just too cool to lose. I just can't let practicality rule everything.

I know there are a lot of posts about wardrobe building around this time of year and cleaning out the closet inevitably makes me think along such lines. I've never been much of a planner. For me, it takes the fun out of creating clothing. Having purged my wardrobe of things I don't or shouldn't wear, I can now see more clearly what I need. Trousers I really like and long-sleeve tops mainly. And I love all my shirtwaists.

However, it also shows how futile planning can be. I've loved separates for a long time and now secretly prefer dresses and jumpsuits. My preferred skirt length has increased by almost 20 cm over the past four years… Even if my shape and size would never, ever change I can't plan for that. And bodies do change, inevitably and if not that, than circumstances will.

This is why I won't follow up on this with a umpteen-step plan for my ideal wardrobe. I will keep in mind what I have and what I like when planning a next project. I will keep following my latest style crushes though, and experimenting with patterns and I will try to make all of that somehow work with everyday reality, whichever way that may develop.

Sauvage

Can I interest you in a bit of rant? Or maybe a bit of a lecture?

It's about something I learned while teaching at iFabrica: the teaching of pattern making (here in the Netherlands at least).

My students-for-two-days were both interested in pattern making but where they lived, they could only learn it as a part of a three year course intended for the wannabe professional dress maker. Not an attractive prospect for a hobby seamstress who just wants to make well fitting clothes to her own design for herself.

And one of the ladies who worked at iFabrica had actually done that particular course but told me she didn't feel confident drafting patterns at all. And she had never been taught to make her own designs.

I was surprised at all that. When I wanted to learn pattern making, I found M, here in The Hague. An experienced designer and pattern maker who also taught drafting to small groups of interested amateurs.

My earliest training in drafting patterns was about making slopers to my measurements and then coming up with designs based on those. Of course, I was a very enthusiastic student and got in loads of practice over a relatively short time. The whole thing gave me what I would consider a well-informed can-do attitude towards both designing my own clothes and drafting the patterns for them.

Now, it seems like I've just been very lucky. Most people looking for pattern making lessons are confronted with extensive education programs involving thick books with separate slopers for all kinds of garments (which I don't think you need…). Education focussed on teaching rules rather than on developing insight and building skill. And not targeted at those who just want to expand their options when sewing for themselves.

Apparently, pattern making courses are like that all over the country. 

I kind of knew there were a couple of institutions teaching sewing and pattern making, I didn't know they were so dominant. 

They're like the arcane sisterhood of the Dutch sewing world…

As a heretic savant, I'm wondering if there's anything I could or should do... 

P.S. Of course, I know there's a wealth of information on pattern making to be found both online and in books. However, and I am speaking from personal experience here as well, a bit of real-life teaching makes it much easier to get started.

A fabric problem

It's not a problem really… It's more like an embarrassment of riches…
But, let's explain first. I'm really good at find decent fabric at modest prices and I make the vast majority of my clothes from such fabrics. Whenever a local fabric store has it's annual sale though, I'll try and buy something special. Something I wouldn't normally be able to find. When, over a year ago, the largest local fabric store, Toetenel, was closing down, they held a sale to get rid of all their old stock. Yes, all of it. I didn't even buy much but what I bought was great stuff. Three pieces of wool crepe and three pieces of silk. And ever since, I've been afraid to cut into these. They're just so beautiful and so different from my usual fabrics and if I messed them up, I could never replace them unless I was willing to pay a lot more….

These are the two colored pieces of wool crepe, green and raspberry, two meters each, at 140 cm wide (the third piece is a heavier black crepe). 
They've become 'Holy Grail fabrics'…..
And last week, when I pulled them out of the drawer (which has moth-repellent stuff throughout) to gaze at them lovingly, I noticed a small moth-hole in the green crepe. Of course, I put all these lovely fabrics straight in the freezer to get rid of any remaining creepy crawlies. I did get the message though: if I don't sew with them, I may lose these wonderful fabrics in some other way, which is much, much worse than taking the risk of a garment turning out less-than-fabulous.

So, now I'm trying to decide what to make from the green wool crepe. A dress comes to mind, of course. Lately, vaguely 50's dresses always seem to be the first to come to my mind. 

I thought about copying this dress, from Margriet magazine from 1950. It is described as a 'visiting dress' and it's meant to be made from wool crepe! The pattern diagram is pretty much useless to me because it's for their size 42, which has a 98 cm bust (just over 10 cm more than mine…).

I tried to get close to it by drafting from my trusty sloper. Because I had my doubts, I made a muslin of the bodice.

Bleh. The gathers are there, they just won't behave like I want them to. Even without the weight of a sleeve, the gathers just get pulled open into stupid random 'roominess' far before reaching chest level.
I have drawn up the bodice pieces from the diagram as well and plan to muslin those too, just to see if they're any better. I fear the worst though. Free patterns in magazines are often sloppily made, in the 1950's as much as today.
If I can't make the upper bodice look like it does in the picture, I don't think I'll risk my beautiful crepe on this pattern.

So, I started sketching. A fabric like this would do well in draped or gathered shapes… 

Like this cowl neck with added pleat. I thought about back yoke and a collar and doodled a bit to find an appropriate skirt shape. I sort of settled on the narrow skirt with the gathered section.

I kind of liked that sketch, but not enough, so I tried some variations on the theme. I quickly came up with the idea to change to sleeves from normal to raglan. I think I like that. And I tried out variations on the skirt: pleats instead of gathers, an inserted flared bit etc…
And I considered a pocket. I'd like one, but for wool, this fabric is thin and delicate.

Again, I kind of liked the ideas, but not enough. So, sketched one of my old 'how to use Pattern Magic' ideas. A dress with a 'tying a bow' feature at the side front which does all the shaping. Either, sticking with my usual silhouette, at the waistline, or, in a 1920's inspired way, a bit lower.
I will definitely make a dress like this, but I'm not so sure I should use this fabric…

So, this is where I'm at now. I'm going to study my 1930's and 1940's magazines for inspiration because I think this fabric suits the styles from that era. Hopefully that will help a bit.
And please, weigh in with your insight and recommendations...