1943!

And here it is: My dress from the magazine Beyer's Mode from the summer of 1943! The fifth item for this year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge (I didn't pledge a specific number of projects this year, but in the past two years five was the target number. So, I am doing pretty well when it comes to vintage sewing).

I have talked about the magazine, the pattern and my alterations in earlier posts. I didn't mention before that this dress is supposed to have thin shoulder pads which you can make using the pattern piece from another dress pattern from the same magazine. I didn't make the shoulder pad. The shoulders don't look too high or too wide (and I know my shoulders are just a little bit on the square side for some patterns) so I only found out about the pads when the dress was almost finished and I read the four, very short, lines of instructions printed on the pattern sheet. 
Of course, small shoulder pads might give the dress a more full-on 1940's silhouette but to me, it is much more wearable without.

And even without that added shoulder shaping, I was actually surprised at how closely the end result resembles that little drawing. Fashion drawings are notorious for giving an idealized image which may have nothing to do with the real item of clothing. Illustration ladies tend to be so tall, thin and curved that no real person can hope to live up to their example. It is one of the great issues for anyone who is starting to sew: You pick your pattern based on those nice pictures and get disappointed by the results again and again (I am among those who would recommend beginners to start with patterns illustrated with photographs but for vintage patterns, that is often not an option).

I've never worn a dress with such a bloused bodice before so I didn't really know what to expect. I was afraid it would make me look to bulky up top (even with my small bust size!) but the toile already told me this one doesn't. And if you belt the dress (like you're supposed to do) that wide top really helps to give the impression of a tiny waist. To allow the blousing to work well, I made a complicated side closure for this dress: There is an invisible zipper in skirt part and a snap placket in the top. 
Oh, and the original design has pockets. I love pockets as much as the next girl but I decided against adding them in this dress. Double welt pockets in a fairly slim fitting skirt in linen seemed rather risky AND I didn't think their position, pretty much directly over the wearer's groin, would be very flattering. 

The fabrics I chose both came from my stash: the yoke (which is cut in one with the sleeves, even though the illustration suggests an inserted sleeve) and collar are made from the mystery blend I bought for my 1929 dress and for the rest of the dress I used a blue/purple linen which I think I bought in the summer of 2014. Being linen, it does crease easily but it is also very comfortable in warm weather. 

Oh, and of course, like we all do, I tried the dress on as soon as I possibly could during construction. And doing I wasn't so sure about the style... 
There is something I always slightly worry about with color-blocked designs. Star Trek uniform. I loved Star Trek as teenager, still do when I happen to watch it again. However, that doesn't mean I want to look like I am on my way to a fan convention on any random day. It is one of the reasons why I've always stayed away from black clothes with colourful yokes.
In this case, I hadn't really thought about it when sewing or when picking fabric. And there it was... Without the belt, this dress really reminds me of the uniform worn in the first four seasons of Deep Space Nine (and in Star Trek Voyager). The command colours...
When the dress was finished and I tried it with a belt, the similarity was a lot less. I don't think I have a problem with it at all. This would only remind a proper "trekkie" of a Star Trek uniform and I'm fine with that ;)

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!

More 1956

The little casual suit from Beyer's Junge Mode from 1956 is finished! It stayed on my sewing table in an almost completed state for a week because I was hoping to find some nice buttons for it. Something contrasting, like in the picture. Maybe silver-coloured but light enough in weight so they wouldn't pull too much on my fairly thin fabric... I didn't find any and went with black plastic instead. 

In the magazine, this picture is part of a spread about summer fun in and near the water, so I really felt that it belonged outdoors. Of course, it should actually be worn on the sunny-yet-windswept shores of a lake, while you are getting a small sailboat ready for a day on the water (I'm not a boat person, but I have seen scenes like this). Instead, I took pictures on my tiny balcony where the light is never quite what I'd like. 

Anyway, I made toiles for both trousers and jacket. I ended up taking the trousers in by an amount which is basically one dress size (which gives me a useful idea about Beyer's sizing for bottoms). On the jacket, I only took in the sides at the bottom by 1.5 cm, creating a slightly tapered shape which I prefer over all-out boxy. The jacket is supposed to be loose so although I guess I would also fit me if I had sized it down, I'm fine with the straight-from-the-pattern fit. And I like the drop-shoulder look and fit more than I thought I would. 

There is one alteration I had to make though: The jacket didn't have pockets. That, in my opinion, is, quite simply, ridiculous. I added two simple patch pockets.

I made the suit in my go-to summer fabric: a cotton-linen blend in very dark blue with thin stripes in a lighter colour (I have used this stuff for several things in the past. I liked it so much I bought the rest of the bolt last year. More than 12 m of it...). In the magazine, they used a contrasting, white fabric for the collar a facing. It looks nice but I thought the jacket would be more versatile and easier to mix with my normal clothes if I made it all from the same fabric. 

I am pleased with the end result. The cropped trousers have a nice fit. It's a very retro look but not out of my comfort zone. The jacket is so wide that it will be easy to wear over all kinds of tops and I think it should look good with a lot of my trousers and maybe also with pencil skirts. 

Of course, this is also yet another item for my Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge. Although I made two garments here, they share a pattern number so I think I should count this suit as one (not that it really matters because I didn't set myself a specific number of things to sew this year). 

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.  

A pattern question

There's something I would like to ask you all: What kinds of freebie pattern would you like?
You may or may not remember, but when I took the Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge this year, I also promised to share six projects from my vintage collection. So far, I translated one "draft-to-instructions" pattern from Bella magazine. In that case, I picked a stylish dress for a larger size: bust 112. 

For the next patterns, I would like to ask you what you want: More projects like that one in different sizes? And which sizes? Separates? Accessories like cut-and-sew hats or collars and dickeys? Knitting patterns? Or even something for children (I think I even have a boy's pattern or two)?

Just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

1929!

Once upon a time, Easter was considered the perfect moment to wear one's new spring suit, hat or dress. And it makes sense too. A holiday which coincides so perfectly with the beginning of spring (in the northern hemisphere, that is. I don't know if there was a similar tradition about new clothes for autumn in, say, Australia...)

I have never really made anything especially for Easter but it just so happened that today, I did finally finish my new 1929 dress (I also made a dress from a pattern from 1929 back in 2014 but that was a different one, from a different issue of the same magazine).
This new dress was the first thing I started on in January of this year. A first entry for the Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge before the new pledge had even been announced. 
Although I have a fairly considerable collection of 1920's Gracieuse magazines, no dress seemed quite so right as this one, if it weren't a wedding dress...

However, work on it slowed down almost as soon as it had started. I had thought I had a suitable fabric for it but started second-guessing myself. I made a toile which showed the familiar 1920's sack shape. Maybe period-accurate but really a bit too sack-shaped for my taste. I played around with it but ultimately moved on to other projects. 
In the mean time, I kept thinking about a fabric for this dress. And then, a few weeks ago, I found something. This flame-coloured (possibly) viscose/rayon. It seemed to have the right kind of hand for a dress like this and colour which might work for me and it was on sale. I bought it and decided the dress would have to be made now. For a while, I kept looking for some kind of trim to use with it but in the end I just went ahead.

Before I cut the dress pieces from the new fabric, I went back to the muslin and tried to take some decisions about the fit. Initially, I had thought about making a pleat on the horizontal seam to make it sit on my hips. Now, trying it on again, I thought it would be better to just narrow the all the pieces at that point. And then there was the neckline. The cowl-neck had been one of my reasons to choose this pattern but just didn't work. It was drafted like no other cowl-neck I have ever seen (except some in other 1920's and 30's designs from Gracieuse magazine): Basically just a scoop neckline with a lot of extra room in the entire front bodice. It also made the armscyes sit in a rather awkward way. If I pulled those in the right position, the neckline looked sort of like a cowl-neck. 
I toyed with the idea of retro-fitting a more fitted inner bodice layer but I finally came to a much simpler solution: I took out about 10 cm at center front. This meant sacrificing the cowl-neck but fixing the armscye and overall ease issues in one go. The original front bodice was so wide that even with all that width taken out, it is still a bit wider than the back bodice. I narrowed the front skirt pieces by 5 and 7.5 cm (they overlap at the front anyway so that was not really a fitting issue).

Sewing the dress wasn't difficult. I did sin against period accuracy by using my serger, not just to finish the seam allowances but even to make tiny rolled hems on those flouncy skirt pieces and on the decorative sash on the skirt. The very short instructions for this pattern also suggest narrowly hemming the neckline and sleeves but I made facings instead. 

It is finished now and I love it so much more than I had expected! (which is exactly what happened last time...). The alterations I made actually make it fit much more like the illustration suggests. The dress has a fairly loose fit but certainly not so loose that you cannot even see that there is a body in it. 

In fact, at some angles, I think I can really see what this 1920's fashion ideal is all about: Long, elegant, vertical lines...

This feels like a proper start to this year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge, even though it technically is my second finished item. After this, I'll start on a casual 1950's capri suit. The pattern has been tested out, it will work with fabric in my stash so it is all ready to go. 

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. 

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...

eh.... 1950's!

May I present my first finished item for the 2016 Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge? It is not an exciting project by any stretch of the imagination but I think it is something I will wear a lot. 

The pattern comes from a German magazine called Beyer's Junge Mode (the "young fashion" edition of Beyer's Mode) from 1956. For me, there is a clear advantage to sewing from a "young fashion" special. More choice of patterns in my size!
The sizing in German magazines was/is very similar to that in Dutch ones which means the information from the previous post also applies here. As far as Beyer is concerned, I have the smallest of women's sizes. So, that size gets a lot more attention in a magazine which targets an audience under the age of 25... 
This particular magazine includes patterns for bust sizes 84 to 96.

What did I make?

Well, I loved this simple top from the first time I opened the magazine. A simple jersey top with a V-neck at front and back. And in my size! 
I was a bit worried about the jersey though. I always get the impression that vintage jersey was completely different from the modern version. A lot less stretchy, for one. And probably less inclined to be bulky either...
After a bit of stash diving, I found the dark brown cotton pique which I had used to make trousers for climbing before. Fairly thin but strong and not very stretchy AND a super-wide and knitted in the round which made the fabric lay-out for a top only two parts which both had to be cut on the fold a lot less awkward. It is not the most interesting of materials but this was very much a test so that didn't really matter.

I didn't make any alterations to the pattern, I just cut about 4 to 5 cm hem allowance because it seemed quite short. When I started sewing it, I stitched the bust darts at an easy-to-remove long stitch length first because I was fairly sure they would be too high for me. At a first fitting, they looked just fine so I stitched them properly. 
If I understand the instructions correctly, you are supposed to face the neckline and then stitch down the facing. Which is what I did.

It is a rather loose-fitting top, clearly intended only to be worn tucked-in. I actually have the largest size the pattern was made for and I took the body seams in by 1 cm at each side (not the sleeves or the curve to the sleeves though). This only confirms my suspicion about period jersey...
I have plenty of high-waisted skirts and even some trousers so I think I can put a top like this to good use.

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!

Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge 2016

It's here! Earlier this week, Marie and Kerry announced this year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge. I'm usually no good at joining sew-along-like activities but this is a challenge I have really enjoyed for the past two years. So of course, I joined again.

For this year, I, Lauriana, pledge to make at least six items from vintage patterns in my stash (which may include knitting machine projects). I want to focus on exploring new-to-me styles and making things I will really wear (I know those two might contradict each other, but they don't both have to apply to each project). 
Besides that, I think it would be nice to do my bit to spread the love of vintage sewing...
So, I will also try and share six original vintage sewing (or crafting) projects with all of you. Mostly, these will be in the form of translations of those "draft according to these instructions" sewing projects which were so popular in so many of my vintage magazines. However, I have every intention to also turn one pattern from one of those labyrintine tracing sheets into a PDF pattern... in July, when Marie and Kerry present their month of blog posts about the pledge.  

The first project of 2016

Last week, I spent some time putting together my end-of-year post and pinning my Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge pictures to the special competition Pinterest board. Both activities made me think more about the pledge than I had done in a few months. And looking forward to this year's (there will be a Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge this year, Marie has promised as much, but it has not been officially announced yet).

So, I have decided to hit the ground running and start this year with a vintage pattern project. You can see here that I've been tracing...
Yes, it is another make from one of my vintage sewing magazines. As I have mentioned before, the vast majority of vintage patterns I own are on tracing sheets in magazines or in miniature form, like Lutterloh. I think I only own five "regular" vintage patterns in envelopes. And four reproduction ones.

I am making a dress from Gracieuse magazine nr. 16 from 1929 (the magazine was published twice a month so this was second one for August). This dress to be precise:

I'm using the wedding gown pattern. Of course, I will shorten the back of the skirt to un-wedding gown it and I won't be adding lace or making it in white. Other than that, the design of 1920's (or 30's, 40's or 50's) wedding gowns was often not hugely different from that of formal afternoon dresses (it was usually different from evening dresses which tended to show more skin. A proper bridal dress, maybe up to as recent as 1980, was more covered-up). 
You could argue that, with a whole stack of 1920's and 30's Gracieuse magazines at my disposal, I am silly to go for a wedding dress pattern. I suppose I am but it just combines so many features that appeal to me. 

Just look at it. A lot of 1920's dresses have very plain bodices and necklines or rely heavily on separate scarves or surface decoration. This one has a lovely cowl-like neckline. A style which would become much more common in the following years. It has sleek, simple sleeves, asymmetry and an interesting skirt. The overall silhouette is a bit like a robe de style, but without the puffy-ness. 
I would very much like the dress to fit like it is suggested in the drawing: Free and easy but just clinging to the upper hip. Still a real 1920's look, but showing a feminine shape... We shall see.

The pattern pieces look like this. Like all of Gracieuse's cowl necklines, this one is not cut the way you would expect. Instead, it looks like a scoop neck with some extra room. This is also another example of a pattern on which the side seams seem to be set further to the back than we would expect (I noticed the same on the 1929 party dress I made back in 2014. It wasn't there in the 1922 top but that was a kimono sleeve design so it would have been technically tricky to move the side seams. Last year's 1933 gown also had the side seams in the normal place, which you can see here). Here, you can really see the effect in the sleeve pattern piece.  

I'm all set to cut the fabric now. I have some very cheap fabric which should have the right hand for this design so I am considering to just dive straight in. 

Another plan...

Tomorrow, I should be able to finish by 1930's dress. It has been pretty much finished all week but the hemline-to-be had some rather weird length differences as a result of bias hang. So, I left it to hang a bit longer and because it's a full length skirt, I really need help to pin the hemline. So, E can help me on Saturday.

In the mean time, I'm thinking about a next Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge project. On the warm summer days, of which we've had a few so far, I don't really like to wear my dresses and separates with a closely fitted waistline. Too warm. Weather like that suddenly make the short, simple loosely fitted looks of the 1960's seem desirable.

I had a look at my vintage patterns. I hvae some 1960's Frohne books but those are from the early years of the decade and include more 1950's-light shapes than the mod looks I was looking for now. The same is true for the two German Gunther magazines but I still have a small stack of post-1950's Dutch Marions.

Not a huge amount of them, but they do pretty much span the decade.

After some examination, I realized that the "typical 1960's" looks I was after doesn't really come in until 1965 (at least, not in mainstream fashion in the Netherlands). So, the following pictures are all from between 1965 and 1970.

Marion was one of those magazines which included only a few of the designs in each magazine on the pattern sheet (you could get the rest through their mail order service). They must have stopped doing that at some point because my mother subscribed to that magazine around 1990 and it was sort of like Burdastyle magazine and came with patterns for all designs. They didn't until the mid-1970's though. 

And, unfortunately, 1960's Marion had a tendency not to include the most on-trend items...

Anyway, I would prefer a dress which I could make now and wear straight away but of course, I have to work with what I have:

The dress on the left would be an option but the pattern is too large for me, the one on the left would be just a little bit on the small side but it doesn't really appeal to me.

 The middle one is in my size but not very inspiring...

and these options are just too winter-y.

The pattern is for the one on the left. These are prime examples for the craze for topstitching which seems to have returned several times over the decade (and the one after it).

Ehm... Here the pattern in my size is for the blouson top with a choice of culottes or a skirt. I suppose it is very 1960's and not close fitting but I can't see myself wearing that. I like the dress but don't see the point of grading down what is in fact just a basic shift. Grading it down by four sizes...

And then there are trousers... Such a cool suit.

These dresses all look a bit frumpy but I kind of like the diagonal seams and colour blocking at the left.

And more trousers. These are sort of like knickerbockers... What do you think: Could I pull off that look?

In winter, I would love the dress in the middle (but not with the decorations at the sleeve and body seam at exactly the same level)

And then, there are these party dresses. I like the one on the left (which comes with a pattern in more or less my size) despite the scary make-up and facial expression of the model. 

All these are real options but back in the day, you could get some real gems. I thought it would be nice to include a few examples, from the ridiculous to the sublime.

A beach suit with a built-in cape!

I don't even know what to call the outfits on the left page, the coat has to have a colour blocking design to get that giant checkerboard look and I guess the tame suit on the far right is just lost.

 

It's a shift dress party! And there is one very pretentious guest: An Yves Saint-Laurent Mondriaan dress knock-off.

The suit on the right. Yes, it would be a lot less exciting in a plain fabric. But they made it in that block check.

I have to be honest, this last one is not a Marion design. The illustrations belong to an ad for Vlieseline fusible interfacing. Apparently, giant cut-outs at the waistline are the height of fashion and if you have the figure for it, you too can achieve this hot new look if you just buy their product...

So, I know it is a bit of a departure for me but I am really considering a "typical 1960's" dress. I don't think I'll go for the waistline cut-outs though...

I am still finishing other sewing projects but I think I have a favorite already. Do you?