#SewVintageSeptember - Simplicity 6804 - 1985 blouse sewing pattern PART 3

I have finally got my modelled photos of the blouse I made for #SewVintageSpetember.  It is Spring here and we have had some lovely days and today when I planned to wear my new top to get photos it is cold and blustery and winter is back!  So the photoshoot was done and then back into winter clothes afterwards. (boo!)

So not many words but photos ...

The obligatory shot of the back (with the wind whipping up my hair!)

Tea anyone?

Ciao for now...

#SewVintageSeptember - Simplicity 6804 - 1985 blouse sewing pattern PART 2

 I have finished the 1985 vintage blouse started last post - Simplicity 6804 from 1985.

Notes on the make - 

• I made it two sizes smaller than the pattern sizing indicated on the pattern.  No finished measurements were given on the pattern so I flat measured at bust height and determined my preferred size from that.
• I shortened the pattern by 3 inches.
• I didn't love the way the shirt tail hem was finished.  Front and back finished separately then side seams sewn.  To get it all to match you need to mark the start of the side seam / start of the hem curve better than I did.  I had to fudge it a bit.

Other than that I am pretty happy with it and of course the weather has got too cool to want to wear a short sleeve blouse so modelled photos will come later.

So not much more to say, here are the photos...

Front shoulder yoke gathers...

Back shoulder yoke gathers... gathers for miles...

I did not have green buttons but had fun with the thread instead...

So I live in hope I will get modelled shots some time.  If you are on the hunt for your own vintage pattern or just love looking at them then please check out my Etsy shop for vintage and OOP patterns - SusysSewingEphemera.

I think the Wardrobe Contest on PatternReview.com will be my next sewing challenge...

Ciao for now kittens...

#SewVintageSeptember - Simplicity 6804 - 1985 blouse sewing pattern PART 1

On instagram I happened upon  a new challenge running for September that really caught my attention, SewVintageSeptember.  As I said last post I would love to sew a 1960's vintage frock and my interest in vintage has really piqued since I opened an Etsy shop selling vintage and out of print patterns.

I wanted to be involved but did not have a 60's frock pattern lined up yet so checked though my stash (including my shop) and pulled a pattern from my shop.  It is Simplicity 6804 from 1985.

The description of the pattern reads: Top-stitched shirt gathered to yoke has front button closing and notched collar. V.1 has bias bands on pocket and sleeves. V.2 has pockets and flaps, tunic length. V.3 with shirt tail hem has extended shoulders and long sleeves tapered to wrist. (Wrong side of fabric shows when sleeves are rolled up.)

I had a fabric that reflected the View 1 picture.  A printed polyester bought from Super Cheap Fabrics.

I love playing with a plaid and this pattern has all the grain line markings so you can lay certain pieces on the bias.  I chose to sew View 1 but with View 3's shirt tail hem.

The final bust measurement was not listed on the pattern like I am used to from current patterns, so I flat measured the pattern pieces at bust level to work out how much ease was in the pattern.  Well, as you would expect from this style of 80's pattern, there is heaps of ease.  I did sew my own clothes in the 80's (and bought a lot as I had my first real job) and do remember wearing some very loose / baggy tops but I think that suited me in that era and I was slim so they hung in the right kind of way.  Now that kind of ease is not the look anymore and I am not the young slim girl I was then, I decided to go with less ease and cut the pattern on the line two sizes down from the size indicated by my bust measurement. I also shortened the top by a full 3 inches.

I am taking my time and spent yesterday afternoon cutting and prepping. This afternoon I started sewing and thought I would get further through the make than I did but the pattern has quite a  bit of detail and I am enjoying that.  First up is the pocket.  If you could see a close up of the cover photo of V1. it looks like there is just a bias cut tab only where the pocket is but I realised they had pattern matched the pocket to make that top pocket band stand out.  I do enjoy a good pattern matching challenge!  The fabric being a polyester does not press so well so took me longer to put this together than it should have and it is not as precise as it could have been working with a natural fibre but I am happy with the outcome.

Pinned...

then sewn...

The front and back pieces are both gathered onto the yoke and I considered using the burrito method to make the yoke but with the difficulty of telling front from back in this fabric and with three lots of gathering I decided to use the method used in the pattern which gives an enclosed yoke but requires hand stitching to attach the yoke facing to the shoulder seams.  I am quite happy to hand sew but if you don't like it, look up the burrito method and it can be made entirely with machine sewing while still giving the lovely enclosed yoke finish.

So this is how far I got today...

Obviously I am blogging a current make.  While I did promise to blog some of my recent previous makes, this challenge got me excited and I also wanted to provide more detail while I made this shirt.

I also want to tell you about the sale I am having in my Etsy shop in line with this challenge.  All the vintage clothing patterns are 20% off over this week-end so you can perhaps find a pattern to join the challenge too.  Otherwise please feel free to jump over to my shop link to look at the lovely vintage pattern covers!  I love the cover art of vintage patterns, don't you?

Link to shop - SusysSewingEphemera.etsy.com  I rarely do a sale in this shop so this is your chance to get a bargain and hopefully sew a vintage item too.

Next up I will show the finished shirt, Ciao for now, kittens....

Pussy bow blouse - Ottobre 05-2015-13

My wardrobe needs more woven tops.  I made a ton of tees a while back but have very few dressier tops. I also do not have enough tops with full length sleeves.  I tend to favour 3/4 sleeves and while they look lovely, they don't work in the middle of a cold, windy winter.

So I went through my Ottobre mags and this is the one I found that appealed to me.  I like the pussy bow as it makes a nice change from a collar.  I also like the soft gathers from the front yoke and the sleeves with a bit of fullness for drama.

In the stash I found a piece of georgette (I think?). It would be a polyester but has a nice drape and weight.  The print is a bit darker than I normally go for but I really liked it when I saw it.  I bought it at East Coast fabrics last year.  The only issue with the busy print is that it is hard to see the details of the bow.

The only alteration I made to the pattern was that I did not make plackets and the narrow buttoned cuffs.  I thought it would be difficult to make the narrow cuff in this fabric so I decided to keep it simple and just sewed a casing at the sleeve-end and inserted narrow elastic.  I quite like the effect.

Pretty proud of the pattern matching across the blouse and the sleeves.

This photo of the shirt was taken before I had made the buttonholes.  I used very small black buttons to blend in with the shirt as I didn't want the buttons to detract from the bow.

The bad news was that my automatic buttonhole failed and would not complete the last return row and last bar tack.  <insert sad face>  So the shirt sat idling while my machine was in the shop (for far too long!)  As the length of the visit away lengthened, I asked a friend if I could use her machine to complete the buttonholes so did end up finishing it and have worn it weekly since then.

I did borrow a sewing machine during this time.  This sewing machine my mother bought in the early 60's.  We cleaned and oiled it and it was quite usable for straight stitch but I could not get the zigzag stitch to balance properly so I am thinking I might take it in for a service soon.  It is really a very fancy machine, which I did not realise when I learned to sew on it when I was 14.  It has all the cogs needed to make a tonne of different stitches and will wind a bobbin while you keep sewing!

I have downloaded the manual for this machine as the manual that my Mum gave me was for a slightly different model.  If I spend some time going through that I might get the stitch balance fixed.

I have a dream to make a frock for myself from a 60's pattern.  A 1960's machine and a 1960s pattern for this 1960's baby.  I like it.  

Ciao kittens, more soon...

For Caity

A confession - not sewing but shopping. I bought this dress a few months ago. I spied it first on this site - Couture Allure and fell in love - then noticed it was my size - fate!

However it did seem a bit extravagant so I tried to ignore the call. Then my DH came home and told me we were sponsoring a table at a Race Day so - Woo hoo! - that was all the excuse I needed (and with some encouragement from DH and Caity) I bought it - which seemed a great extravagance at the time. Since then I have looked at the price of RTW dress-ups and found I did quite well. Especially considering I think this has 'value' - vintage 60's, hand beaded and custom made (not for me but someone of a very similar size!)

So here you are Caity - the photo!! We had a great day - all the better for having a fab dress to wear!

2008 Sewing year in review part 2

The second half of the year was much more successful than the first half of the year.

The first photo collage is a bit of a mixed bag. I love the Jalie twist top but what was I thinking when I made the cougar top? The next one in the top row is BWOF 07-2008-118B which I quite liked and have worn around the house but the back neckline didn't really work for me. I have since read a review outlining how to fix this problem, but I don't think I could be bothered to make another one.

The bottom row shows another more successful Jalie twist top and then Burda wof 06-2008-109 (top) which I love to wear casually and shorts McCalls 5391 - too big!

Next is dresses ... all winners this time! The first is Burda wof 04-2008-116 - only worn twice but I love it each time I wear it. The green dress (McCalls 5039) is made from silk with a silk slip (a New Look pattern) which I have worn twice as well and love also. The brown cotton spot dress is McCalls 5576 and has been worn quite a few times.The second row is Vogue 6343 - a 1960's vintage pattern which I have worn heaps as a lovely casual summer cotton dress (it has been quite hot this year) and then my last outfit for 2008, Simplicity 3833 a reproduction 1960 pattern which I have worn once but love!

Last but not least is my entry to the Endless Combinations contest. All of these have been worn multiple times except the HP tie top. It wasn't a big favorite when I made it and I feel it is more suitable for the office. I haven't been at work much lately but I am sure I will wear it when I go back.

Overall, as this is the start of my return to clothes sewing I am quite happy. I have through the year learnt how to-

• tissue fit & fit as you go (Palmer Pletsch) and am still working on improving this.
• check patterns for size and ease before cutting out!
• press and use pressing tools to give a more professional finish
• better choose fabrics & patterns ( and I am sure this will remain a continual challenge)
• how to make a faux welt pocket!
• fit pants - however I am not sure how I will go without a PP teacher helping me!

Other than that this year I have lost weight and toned up so I feel a lot better in my clothes - that is why belts have been re-introduced to my wardrobe (geeze - even shoes fit better!)

In 2009 for sewing I plan to -

• improve my fitting skills
• learn to line a garment more confidently
• do buttonholes (why do they scare me so much?)
• in general make garments that require a greater level of difficulty
• make more vintage patterns
• enter some more contests on Pattern Review

From a personal point of view I hope to increase my volunteer work. First up I will start visiting the blood bank on a regular basis and then when I see how much time work will allow me, I may take up some other volunteer activity (meals on wheels or community care transport perhaps).

I hope 2009 is a great time for everyone and I look forward to seeing what other sewists are doing this year!

Vogue bag

Recently I have made two bags from Vogue 7354. The first one was given to my good friend Caity before her holiday with her family. The second is made for another friend but I have been organised enough this time to take some photos of it.

The bags have been made with a beautiful (what I believe to be) silk velvet which was given to me in a box of vintage fabrics. It is really soft and shiny - beautiful to touch. The fabric piece has some little holes in it so it is perfect for cutting the small pieces required for this bag. The lining is silk - in this case blue silk leftover from another project and in Caity's bag it was red silk. The red silk was purchased as it was one of Caity's favourite colours until she dyed her hair pink! The bag is interfaced with silk organza I picked up from a remnant table.

Here is a photo of the bag. The nap looks more pronounced in this photo than it looks in real life. You can just see the blue silk lining in the inside of the handle.

Here is a photo of me with the bag to give you an idea of the size - perfect for your essentials - phone, keys, some money and a handkerchief. Best of all, you can hang it on your wrist when you have one hand holding a glass of bubbly and the other with yummy finger food in it...

I love this little bag and plan to make more. The one I want for myself will have a gold-yellow silk lining but I haven't found the fabric yet!

The pattern is simple and reasonably quick to make and makes a lovely bag with these sumptuous fabrics!

I hope the recipients love them as much as I have loved making the bags!

Dressember

I needed a break from sewing coordinating items so I got caught up making this dress ...

It is from this pattern a 1960 Vogue pattern I recently purchased off ebay.

My friend Caity gave me some fabric from her stash (this was purchased in the eighties) and it seemed to all come together to make this dress. I love the fit of this dress it has french darts in the front and darts in the back as well as a centre front and center back seam. This is a piccie of the back of the dress...

I need to put some fake tan on my back to cover all that white skin.

I simplified the making of the dress by not using the facings but instead used purchased bias binding to finish the neckline and armholes. I also used an invisible zipper in the CB seam. I finsihed the hem with bias binding or would have lost too much length.

I really enjoyed making this dress and I really love the fit of it. I wore this to a Xmas BBQ recently and it was lovely to wear in our warm summer weather. I look forward to making another one in a more evening-type fabric as the dress is actually intended as evening wear.

Vintage

I have recently purchased these two vintage paterns from ebay. I have always wanted to try making (and wearing) a vintage dress, so AF (after Finland) I think I will do M4524 - the narrow skirt pattern. I love the pockets and the collar line and (hopefully) it won't be too hard to make. It still seems to need a surprising amount of fabric however! The best part of these patterns is that they are not too far off my size so I amhoping I don't need to make too many alterations!