Vintage Vogue blouse patterns.

I've been reading quite a few sewing blogs recently and am always drawn to the vintage inspired or made from vintage patterns clothes.  We spent last Saturday wandering around the old part of Bern and called in at the flea market that's held down by the river Aare (It's held from May through October on every 3rd Saturday of the month in the Mattenquartier).  While I was having my turn to nose around (the kids were playing at a play park nearby) I spied a paper bag filled with vintage Vogue sewing patterns mostly from the 50's and 60s, with a few from the 70s.  In my rudimentary German I enquired how much they were and was told 1CHF each!  After looking through I picked out the following four:

I think I'm mostly in need of tops and I'm looking forward to making these (I'm thinking the dress will be redrafted into a top).  I've been drawn to clothes with feminine details recently - so pintucks, bows, ruffles etc, so hopefully these will help me to expand my wardrobe in a positive and wearable way. 

I've never sewn with a vintage pattern before - but intend to trace them before using them.  I'm really excited and curious to try them.  Now, where's that sewing machine - yep... still at the repair shop :-(

Wearing what I make - McCalls 3247

Next up in my going through my me made but not worn wardrobe is this top:

 It is McCall's 3247, and it looks like I made view C in Xsm.  It also looks like I made some alterations on the inside with the addition of some support at the front by extending the front facing and adding some elastic to sit under the bust.

I don't think I've ever really warn this - I think it seemed like a good idea to make at the time when I was living in the sultry south of the US, but really backless tops aren't my thing.  I still like the necklines and may at some point revisit some of this pattern, but most likely not the backs.

This top has now become this:

I'm going to cut up the bits to help with salvaging 2544 - the plan is to add some side panels along the seam lines and also a border around the bottom edge to make it a bit longer and hopefully make the addition of the panels look as if they're a design feature rather than me fudging it so that it will fit.

Wearing what I make - Vogue 2544

I was reading some blogs this morning including this blog post by Jennifer Lauren about making the most of your handmade wardrobe.  It made me think about what I'd said in my last post about joining in Me Made May in 2015 and why I don't wear most of the things I've sewn in the past.

I made quite a lot of clothes during University and when I was living in the US, but then it slowed down in 2003 when I moved back to the UK - I'm definitely feeling the urge to get sewing clothes again at the moment (frustrated by the lack of sewing machine while it's still in being serviced) and this blog post made me really think about what I should be sewing and what I have been sewing in the past.

I had a quick trawl through my me made wardrobe and have taken a picture of (nearly) everything with the intention of going through each item, trying it on and figuring out why I don't wear it.

First up is this shirt:

It's Vogue pattern 2544 by designer Anne Klein.  I made view B in a size 10, which is described as:  Shirt, has collar and collar band.  French seams.  Fitted, short sleeves with mock bands.

 

I remember being pretty pleased with it when I made it, as I like the colour of the fabric and was pretty chuffed with the detail of the shirt and its finish with the French seams and button band.

Why don't I wear it?  Basically it's too small - I burst out of it in the front.  I think I'm going to have a go at the side seams and see if there's anything I can do to make it bigger, but as it's been made with French seams and I'm most likely to have cut off any seam allowance as part of making them I doubt there's much room for alterations.  Shame really.

Scrolls

There's been a disappointing amount of sewing going on here - my machine is still in at the service place, apparently they've been at some large fair and so nothing has happened :-( .   I've had some time to peruse the internet to find some other things that I might like to make and had a few ideas of how to use up some stash - hopefully more on them to come when I get my machine back.  I've also been looking at some of the me made may 14 challenge posts and am starting to think that I should do this next year... let's see what I think when next May comes aorund.

I have managed to finish my holiday knitting - a pair of socks that were meant to be for my MiL for Christmas - I had great intentions of them being her size but managed to knit them my size instead.  Next pair I'll manage to get bigger.

They're on ravelry here.  They're the scroll socks from More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. 

I hope my sewing machine comes soon...

Ottobre Pintuck tunic

Before I get going with sewing my Vietnamese fabric I need to get my sewing machine serviced.  I bought it when I was at University - so nearly 20 years ago and have never done anything to it apart from clean the lint out.  I think it must have got banged a bit in one of the many moves and also been used a fair amount so at the moment the tension won't behave for anything apart from a straight stitch - this is fine to a point, but the next project I've started on is the JJ blouse from Burda Patterns so will need to do buttonholes.  I also plan to put pintucks on either side of the centre front instead of ruffles and am wanting to use my pintuck foot - although this uses only a straight stitch I can't get it to work - so a service is what we need.

Anyway, before we went away on holiday I finished up a top using a pattern from Ottobre 5/2008 magazine.  I think it's called the pintuck tunic - I say "think" as I have a copy of thte magazine in Finnish, in which it is called Chambray tunika ja pilkullinen viskoositunika.  It was pretty easy to sew up even without being able to understand the instructions.

 I used some IKEA fabric David brought back from a work trip to Sweden a couple of years ago.  It's a pretty big print, but I think having the yoke at the front and back breaks up the pattern a bit.

 

 The pintucks are quite subtle - I did them without my pintuck foot - but add a bit of feminine detail.

The pattern called for a zip at the back, there didn't seem to be a need so I didn't put one in - but did leave the back yoke to mix the pattern up a bit again.  I didn't make any alterations (apart from omitting the zip).  I finished the inside using mock french seams, which I'm really pleased with. 

Vietnamese fabric

We've been away in Vietnam for a couple of weeks.  We had a great time and saw lots of interesting things - we spent one week in Hanoi dodging scooters and doing a couple of trips to see some temples and Halong Bay and another week at the beach.

One place we went in Hanoi was to Chợ Hôm - the fabric market.  What a crazy place - I didn't take any photos but found this blog post, which really show's what it's all about.  The only thing she doesn't mention are the loos - Frances came with me (along with my sister-in-law) and of course Frances needed to go - they were pretty rudimentary.  An open drain with foot places for weeing and then cubicals with actual loos for #2s.  Frances did very well coping.  Anyway, back to the fabric:

These are what I bought - I got 2m of each as I don't really know what each is going to be used for.  Current thoughts:

• Top is silk (not from Chợ Hôm, but from a tourist shop on the way to Halong Bay) which I think might become a top, although it's really nice - so am going to have to think about it a bit.
• Next is what Frances picked out - pink and sparkly!  We're thinking of a mermaid tail - probably along the lines of this one.
• The check is probably going to become a shirt for David.  I'm thinking of getting this pattern. 
• Then a couple of tops from the red cotton and the white broderie anglais.
• The last is some linen with a broderie anglais design which I think might become a simple dress. 

So, that's the thoughts so far - let's see what actually transpires!

Absolutely A-Line

My current sewing has meant that I've been doing some for Frances too - who can't resist making a dress for a 4 year old that refuses to wear anything other than dresses?  This phase seems to have been going on for quite some time, but I'm sure it won't last forever.  Anyway, I've got a book called Absolutely A-Line by Wendi Gratz.  It's basically a pattern for an A-line dress with 26 different ideas of versions to make.   I've made it a few times for Frances, the latest of which is here:

While I've been looking through my fabric stash recently, thinking what I can make, Frances saw this material and really liked it.  I think it came from my Nanna's shop (she used to have a Haberdashery shop in N. London) and has sat around for years (she sold the shop in the late 80s to give you an idea how long!).  My thought was to try to make her a maxi dress.  I made the bodice part as per the pattern and then just left the rest of the fabric uncut, gathered it onto the bodice and hemmed it.

Easy peasy and one happy girl.