Does it already feel like spring where you are? Here in the Netherlands, we had a couple of nice days in March but the rest of that month was miserable. It seems to be warming up now though.
As you may know, I'm not really into planning my sewing. Of course, I have a long list in my head of things I would like to make. And if wardrobe needs make themselves felt, the items to meet those will jump the queue. But I don't try and commit myself to certain goals. For me, that takes too much of the fun out of my sewing. Which can make things complicated. Some things I love in theory end up spending a LOT of time on that mental list...
There are a couple of those which beg for attention again this spring.
There's the striped dress with the pleated tiers. I've got fabric and buttons and the pattern shouldn't be difficult. The only thing holding me back (apart from, so far, the weather) is the fear of having too many shirt dresses. Which might be silly because I love them.
Then, there's the idea of a spring suit. In vintage magazines, they always suggest that ladies carefully pick out a stylish suit for the warmer month and wear it for the first time on Easter day. I like the idea but I don't have summer-weight wool in my stash (and let's not even start about silk suiting) and I rather doubt I would have much of a chance to wear such a thing.
However, since last autumn, I have a fabric in my stash that might be suitable. It's linen but a bit heavier than usual and in a grey and black herringbone weave. It would be cool to wear but looks like a sporty wool fabric. Not very summer-y but I'm not sure I care too much about that (not for every single item I make, that is). I've been turning the idea around in my head for a while. All the most sophisticated 1950's style suits have narrow skirts but this fabric is linen so it would crease rather noticeably. And I'd like my spring suit to have some kind of extra interesting feature.
And then I remembered this from my Pinterest board. I found this picture of a grey jersey suit by Pierre Balmain in the magazine Margriet from 7 October 1950 (this was a weekly). According to the text, the panel on the skirt can either be worn as a simple, straight wrap-over or draped and pinned into the jacket pocket like this. I'm not so sure I could get that to work (I've often wondered about 1950's jersey. It's often treated like a woven. Here, some stretch would help with that drape but I wouldn't like to make that clean-cut collar and those pockets in a spongey, stretchy material like that) but I just love the look like this. And because all of the drama is actually in the skirt, I could make a much tamer pair of trousers to wear with the jacket for a very different look.
And then, there is my continued interest in draped and gathered 1940's styles. I have found some fabrics which should work for that.
Now, I'll just have to decide between this dress from EvaDress (a shorter, daytime version), a design from my late 1940's Lutterloh book, something (even more risky) from my issues of the magazine La Femme Elegante from the late 1930's or drafting my own using one of these two Studio Faro tutorials. Oh, or giving the two repro Vogue patterns I bought years ago another chance. I tried one years ago and it didn't work out but maybe I should just have sized it down...
And all but one of the options would even count towards my Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge.
Speaking of which... If you take part in pledge or follow the posts about it, you've probably already seen this: Marie published the stash interview with yours truly on her blog yesterday.
These interviews with participants are a new feature in the blog posts about this year's pledge and I was more than happy to take part.
Reading blogs about (vintage) sewing, I sometimes get the impression that we all seem to be sewing with vintage patterns from the same, mostly American, companies (with the notable exception of the Lutterloh system). While this makes a lot of sense for American seamstresses and bloggers, it doesn't really for anyone who lives in a country which, back in the day, hardly imported those and instead produced its own patterns.
Maybe it's my inner history geek taking over, but I love the designs and the social history I find in the magazines in my collection.
I more than understand a stash like mine isn't for everyone. You have to be willing to do some very careful tracing. And be able to sew with little to no instruction. But I love it and I hope you will enjoy this little look in the stash.
Of course, I will continue to share the contents of one magazine or another, every once in a while.
When I first tried these on, I felt a bit silly about my earlier post. The look of these is barely boot-cut.
I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on the interesting and insightful comments though. It's nice to read about other people's preferences, practices and theories about their clothes. I enjoy trying out different styles and shapes but I tend to stick with a couple of things which (I think) work for me. Like the rise.
These trousers are fairly basic, based on my sloper, with the usual jeans features and the fit adjusted for the stretch denim. I used topstitching thread (which my sewing machine doesn't really like) for the flat felled seams and on the pocket edges and fly. There's really not a lot to say about these jeans. I think I'll enjoy wearing them though.
I have enough fabric left over for another pair but I may first go back to some other trouser styles.
I hate it when this happens. Yes, I know I'm showing you a ugly picture, taken with the aid of a cell phone picture and a dirty mirror but it makes the point.
This is my lovely new orange skirt. Ever since I made it, I've loved the look, the fit everything (except the slightly restricting hemline).
Yesterday, I washed it. I was a bit alarmed when I took it out of the washing machine and hung it on the line to dry. The lining was longer than the skirt. I reassured myself that some fabrics behave weirdly when they're wet. Surely, drying and ironing would fix this?
I ironed the skirt this morning. That helped a bit but, as you can see, not enough. It shrunk. Mostly in length although I think it got a bit tighter as well.
And this time I really think it shouldn't have happened. Three years ago, when I had just bought this fabric, I made a cute little skirt without pre-treating it in any way (I know many of you may pre-wash all fabrics but my pattern making teacher always taught me it's unnecessary for most and sometimes even causes grain line problems). It was lovely but it shrunk to an unwearable degree in its first laundry cycle.
So, when I made this new orange skirt, I took care to pre-wash the fabric. Twice, at 40 degrees, knowing that I wash normal clothes a 30. And then, I made my new skirt. That should have worked but it didn't.
It's not even the first time this has happened to me this year (although it has hardly ever happened before. Only with two pieces of jersey which hadn't been washed before). My self-drafted green crepe 1930's style dress underwent the same fate....
That fabric was pre-treated as well, but shrunk anyway. About equally in length and width, in that case. I can still get into it but it's snug now. It should still be wearable if I re-set the zipper (which now has a strange bulge because it didn't shrink).
I hated that little incident because this was one of my 'holy grail' fabrics and I had agonized endlessly over what to make of it. On the other hand, it was less bad because despite all the hard work, I never really loved that dress and didn't wear it a lot. I regret to say this about such a lovely fabric but this dress won't really be missed.
That's why I despise the fate of my skirt even more. This was a much cheaper fabric and a quicker make but I loved that skirt. I kept thinking of new combinations to wear it in. It was all set to be one of my most eye-catching and hard-working separates.
I haven't decided what to do now. The skirt is still on my ironing board in the sewing room, mocking me. I could just hem that lining a bit shorter, the zipper doesn't look bad and the fit is a bit more snug but not really anything to worry about... BUT this was made to be my perfect-fitting narrow skirt and I loved it as such. I don't think I want an OK parody of it. I think I still have enough fabric left to make it again. I could do that and have it dry-cleaned in the future...
Before going on to pick out a 1940's design with pleating or gathers, I stopped considered if there was item of clothing I needed...
And well, I could do with a spring jacket (although it's still wintercoat weather at the moment and a pair of jeans.
So, I'm making jeans now. The fabric is a darker version of the stretch stuff I used for my skinny jeans so, again, I'm going for a fitted variety.
In this case, I'm going for a more classic design: scoop pockets at the front, normal back yoke and patch pockets at the back and a curved waistband, the top of which should hit at the natural waist. And, after some consideration, I cut the legs with a slight flare from the knee.
I've worn boot-cut jeans for most of my life. By the time they were really disappearing from stores, I had started making my own. It was only when I got some experience with pattern making that I even tried out other styles. And yet, the boot-cut remained my default shape until about two years ago. There is a pattern I drafted which I made no less than four times... Those were my usual work-trousers too. Which is probably one of the reasons I got tired of the look. I haven't made new flares in the past two years. I've made just about any other trouser shape I could imagine though.
I'm trying again now. I have enough of this fabric for two pairs of jeans and I would like those two to be different from each other. And, with stretch denim like this, it makes sense that both with will be close fitting at the top (which is also a good idea because the fabric turned out to be a bit narrow). I think the other pair will be skinny again but for these, the mild flare seemed like the obvious choice.
Especially because I'm seeing 1970's styles again in magazines and shop windows... I kind of like that look but I'm not sure it suits me anymore.
Oddly, when I had a look at H&M's website for some RTW jeans to link to, all I could find there were skinny jeans which looked spray-painted on and a few pairs with a 'boyfriend' cut. Despite the fact that I'm sure I've seen flares on display at their stores in town.
Of course, I'm not really worried about being on-trend here. I'm usually far away from RTW trends anyway. I just like to have a wide choice in trouser styles which work for me.
And yet, seeing those 1970's inspired looks was a reason to cut these trousers the way I did. I don't mind a nod towards mainstream trends. And I have to say I'm curious to see whether this will finally be the trend which breaks the dominance of the skinny jeans. Over the past few years, we've seen other styles come and go without ever really making an impact.
By now, my jeans are almost finished and I'm not 100% sure about them yet... We'll have to see when they're really finished.
Do you have a preferred jeans style?
And here is my new robe!
It's a very rainy and cloudy day, so conditions for pictures were far from perfect but at least today, I could ask E to help me with them.
This is my second project for this year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge. As a 1950's design, it doesn't exactly meet my intention to explore new periods of vintage fashion but it was made using a new-to-me pattern system. Lutterloh. I already showed you the pattern and the special ruler in an earlier post, and described how to use it.
It wasn't difficult to use but of course, I didn't really have a clue about the size and fit the resulting pattern would give me. Luckily, this design only has one piece which has to be fitted close to the body, the upper bodice and skirt and loose shapes with gathers at the joining seams.
The fabric I used is a cotton jersey/sweatshirt fabric with a bit of stretch horizontally. I would have liked to give you some clue about how much fabric you need for this design, but I'm afraid my experience won't be of much use: I had four meters of this fabric which was enough, I even had a triangular piece left over. However, this was a tube knit which helped with the lay-out because I could cut pieces on the fold on either side and, most importantly, it was extra wide, about 190 cm wide.
In the picture, there is a frill along the neckline which I didn't make. I'm not a big fan of frills. Instead, I cut a separate facing to finish that neckline. For the closure, I used jersey snaps instead of buttons because they suit this material better. And I only put them in the waist piece, like in the drawing. On the pattern, there are four button positions marked on the waist piece and four on the skirt. I think this looks better and I don't really need a closure on such a full skirt of a garment which is only meant for indoor wear.
To fit the robe, I constructed upper bodice, waist piece and skirt separately, made the gathered bits and pinned the whole thing together. In the pattern, there are darts sort of sketched on the waist pieces (sketched because there are not points or numbers with them). I had marked those on my pattern but because my fabric has stretch, I thought I might get away with fitting the waist pieces at the side seams (which looks more like the illustration anyway...). I took in about 4 cm at each side but I don't really blame the pattern for that. After all, it prescribed darts and it was meant for a non-stretch fabric. I could have fitted closer but I wanted the end result to be comfortable and not too pull at the front closure. And with wide kimono sleeves like this, fitting their bottom edge closely to the body and limit your range of movement.
Those sleeves were the only other thing I changed: I wondered about the 'bulge' shape on the upper arm seam but that is a design feature so I kept it. However, the sleeves (maybe, again, partly due to my fabric choice) were a bit wide at the wrists so I took them in 3 cm on the under arm seam (tapering to nothing at the curve of that seam).
I used fusible interfacing for knit fabrics on all facings and made a simple machine hem. I had cut the skirt pieces with 5 cm extra for the hem (just to be on the safe side) but I ended up cutting off a little more than that and I still have a 5 cm hem. So, as far as I can tell, I have no reason to worry about Lutterloh patterns being too short for me because I'm a bit smaller than their 'standard' size (94 cm bust). Which is a little bit of a surprise to me because the Dutch 1950's patterns I've used where usually intended for slightly shorter ladies (I'm 1.67 which is very average now).
All in all, this is an interesting garment. That huge sweeping skirt gives it a bit of drama even in such a casual fabric. 10-year-old me would have loved something like this to play princess in, although I guess she would have wanted it in pink.
(by the way, they back skirt is pictured without a seam and that is how I cut it. However, it's 160 cm at its widest point so you couldn't cut it like that on the straight grain in a normal fabric. And the front skirt pieces are a lot wider that half of the back so you would even need at least 140 cm wide fabric to cut those on grain)
It's comfortable, oddly elegant and ideal for snuggling up with a good book.
Today, I'd like to share a find from one of my vintage magazines. These pictures belong to a short article (it's really more about the pictures) in the French magazine Elle from 27 February 1958.
As you may know, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel returned to the world of French high fashion during the 1950's. After returning from her self-imposed exile in Switzerland in 1953, she returned to rebuilt the fashion house she had closed down at the beginning of the occupation.
By her own testimony (which is never really to be trusted because Mademoiselle was a notoriously skilled self-promotor) she had to come back because the fashion of the time was so horrible....
In this article, Elle visits Chanel for the presentation of pieces from the new collection for the spring of 1958, presented by Mademoiselle's new "It"-girl Marie-Helene.
This was Chanel's 50th collection and, according to Elle, it looks young and 'now' on the pretty film actress. I find the boots both ladies are wearing really peculiar. I wouldn't really consider those flattering, although they must have been easier to wear than the pointy, spike-heeled pumps fashionable at the time.
These looks are rather nice. They look loose and easy to wear and yet chic. They don't really look 1950's, more 60's (although there was a trend for loose fitting, more straight lined dresses and suits in French high fashion in 1958). I guess that's what makes them 'fashion-forward'.
And on this last page, we get some quintessential Chanel looks: Tweed at upper left, jersey and pockets in the main picture and in both the contrasting edges and costume jewelry.
Today, I've finally started on my first Lutterloh project. I already wanted to sew from these books for last year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge but didn't get round to it.
I know I said that I wanted to sew from my late 1940's book (as part of the Pledge, because I mostly sew 1950's stuff) and I even had a nice, basic, dress picked out but... Well... Some things just want to be made more than others.
I'm making this (on the right):
It's from the 1954 book and in the text, Lutterloh describes it as "a decorative robe for the spoiled taste"... I don't think my version will be that spoiled. I'm making it from a bright mid-blue cotton jersey/sweatshirt fabric (with very little stretch).
I just really like the notion of a robe with a massive skirt.
There is actually a real need for this. I made a robe in coral red toweling last year. It's very nice and I've worn it a lot but I always knew the fabric wasn't of particularly good quality. By now, the seat is pretty worn. So much that it's see-through... So, I obviously need to replace this very nice thing.
I bought this blue fabric with that purpose in mind although at the time, I planned on re-using the pattern I had made for the coral red robe.
Last week, I suddenly remembered this Lutterloh pattern and decided on that instead.
It is my first time working with this system. Lutterloh is a fairly well-know enlarge-to-size system which started in the 1930's (as far as I know) and is still being made.
You get a book with pictures of the designs and at the back of the book are the patterns in miniature, looking like this.
To enlarge them to your own size, you tie a special ruler, which comes with the book, to the end of a tape measure (overlapping the first 8 centimeters). Then, you put the miniature pattern (which I scanned from the book and printed) on a big sheet of paper and tape it down. You prick a pin through the number of your bust measurement (or hip measurement for skirts) on the special ruler and than through the cross in each pattern piece. From there, you can turn it around and match every little line at the edge of the pattern. There's a number at each of them which tells you how many centimeters to add to place a point for your pattern. All you have to do is carefully lay out your tape measure in a straight line and make a dot at that number. Once you've transferred all the points, you can take away the tape measure and the miniature pattern and connect the dots. It wasn't difficult to do but I don't really believe this will magically generate a perfectly fitting pattern for each size and every shape, which is sort of suggested in the introduction.
I was initially worried about waist length (and, in this case, overall length) because I'm at the small end of normal ladies' sizes according to these companies. Frohne was pretty clear about which waist lengths came with which bust sizes and how and where to add or subtract length if you needed to.
However, when I measured myself and the top pattern pieces and held them up against my body, I thought it was going to be OK.
Because of that, I decided not make a muslin. After all, this was also a sale fabric, I know the piece won't be too short and only those waist pieces are closely fitted and those are small and could easily be re-cut if they don't turn out right.
I've cut my fabric and hope I can start sewing later tonight.
