Inspirations.

  Yesterday I was looking through the channels and one of my favorite movies was playing ....

 

         
        That's right! Pleasantville! I have loved this movie ever since it first came out in 1998 and it never gets old for me to watch. It is a great blend of comedy and drama while it shows how life really was portrayed in the 1950's! Women did the housework, men went to work, children were to be seen and not heard, and people seemed to pretend like inapropriate behavior didn't happen. What do I love about this movie most of all? The fashion of course!! When I really sat down and thought about it this was my first exposure to vintage fashion and I have been in love with it ever since. The sweater sets, shirt dresses, accessories, and (eventually) the colors were all beautiful to me! Here are a few of my favorites from the film.

Loving these sweater sets!

How adorable is Reese in this top?

This shot is beautiful from her florally dress to her plaid umbrella!

Perfection!

This is quite possibly my favorite shot in the whole film. This closeup of her bright pink bubble gum and perfect pin-curled hair is just gorgeous!

        I realized that this movie is one of my biggest inspirations for vintage sewing. I have wanted to wear those great dresses and skirts ever since! I am just sad that it took me so long to really start sewing. If I had started at 11 I can just imagine the things I would be able to make by now! I think I can safely say that this movie piqued my interest in 1998 and has held it ever since! What is your earliest memory of inspiration? Was it a movie? An Ad?

       With that being said I have started another project! I have started printing and piecing together my "1958 Ladies Party Dress" That you can find here Ladies 1958 Party Dress I have seen quite a few versions of this dress floating around out there but my favorite image of it is this version   At Edelweiss Patterns' Blog. Her cupcake dress is so beautiful and inspiring that I just have to try it out. So far printing and putting the pattern together has gone alright and I think it will be incredibly easy to work with :) I have chosen to work with a light heather grey polka dot cotton and a baby pink broadcloth for (possibly) a removable collar and belt/cumberbund.

                                               

           I am hoping to get started on sewing it tomorrow depending on how warm it gets here. I have a great space upstairs for my crafting but the air does not work as well up there so it gets a little toasty if it gets higher than 85 outside! Hopefully it will resemble something like this when it is done and not a total mess!

This woman is so seriously talented! Check her out at  Edelweiss Patterns

      As always! Thanks for reading. Stay cool, Stay sassy, and stay classy! 

Success! Finally!!

Holy cow!!!
Making a good version of this dress has taken me a billion years. Between fitting problems, life, and just making silly mistakes it has taken me about a month to finally create a wearable, well-fitting version that I am happy with :)

check it out!

I used the same Retro-Butterick as seen in my post below and a fun polka-dotted cotton I picked up at Hancock's Fabric on sale. You have absolutely no idea how nerve-wracking it was cutting into this pretty fabric knowing that it was a good possibility I was about to have a complete disaster on my "crafty" hands!That being said, I still had a lot of fitting issues due to my body shape even after making my initial muslin bodice. I thought that I had the fit just right but having lost some weight since my last post it simply did not occur to me to re-measure myself. This didn't cause a huge amount of issues but it caused the waist and armholes of my adjusted pattern to be too big. So once I got the bodice sewed together and tried on I realized it was way too baggie in some areas. To fix most of the problem I simply took the side seams in by about an inch :)

I also had to make a few adjustments to the neckline because when I initially sewed it the scoop neck was far too baggy and just not figure flattering for me. I cut a small curved section out, added a few tucked stitches and Voila! it is now a sweetheart neckline. The fit of the bodice overall still isn't quite perfect but it is definitely wearable :)

                                                                   

I used the "invisible" stitch along the hemline, neckline, and armholes. It was time consuming but so worth it when looking at my final product. (I know..I know..I should have lined and used facings but I feel like that just would have made this light summer dress too bulky!) I am also rather proud of this zipper I put it. I managed to almost not screw it up. :)




This is one of those projects that I definitely struggled with quite a bit! But after a few candy bars, some Firefly, and determination 8 hours later I had this retro-inspired finished dress that I couldn't be more proud of!

So just remember: Stay focused, have fun, take a few deep breaths and get creative!!

The Dress that almost was.....

So this is going to be a story about how I thought that I knew what I was doing while sewing my first official dress! I thought I had it down...picked out my pattern...my material (just some polished cotton that I picked up at a 2nd hand store for super cheap) got my sewing machine ready to go and I was all set right?

Oh How Wrong I Was.

I used this retro butterick pattern B5478 and cut out the size 18 based on my measurements.

When I started this project I was very confident that this dress would turn out perfect..and to be honest the process of sewing really didn't give me any problems. I cut everything out (even altered the shape of the neckline slightly) used tailor's tacks to help me ensure that my darts would be even and put it all together. I basted...cut...sewed and put it all together. Below is how the skirt looked before I attached it to the bodice. It is a lovely full circle skirt and the fabric is so lightweight it swishes very easily.

Well this should be a super happy ending shouldn't it?? Well it was wonderful ...until I put on the final product...I thought the fit was off in earlier fittings because the zipper wasn't in and I found out how wrong I was when I put it on. I didn't get any pictures of me in the dress because it is just kind of embarrassing but when I went to zip up the side zipper it went up without a hitch until I hit my full bust.

(picture of completed dress...the best I could get while not wearing it)

(altered the neckline slightly)

(To date this is The Best Zipper that I have installed! I hardly screwed it up at all!)

I did not realize that I needed to do a full bust measurement! How did I not realize this when my full bust measurement is 8 inches larger than my upper bust? To be honest I have no idea! I just kind of assumed that since it was the right size everywhere else that I would be fine. Well ...needless to say it is back to the drawing board....literally!

In Conclusion

In regards to the dress I am calling "Strawberry Fields" As I cannot wear it I am gifting it to a friend of mine who the dress will fit once I alter it a little. As for my future dress...well I have altered the pattern pieces ...made a muslin...and am getting ready for crack number two!

(This is an example of one of the bodice pieces that I added width to... I also had to adjust the bust dart with the help of my Gertie Book and a video by professor pincushion on youtube I think that I did it correctly)

(This is the best picture of the muslin that I could get while taking one handed pictures...please excuse the hint of belly at the bottom)

I have picked out a beautiful Olive Green cotton to use for this new dress and am hoping to finish it up within the week. Thanks for reading about my fitting dilemma. This is a good lesson for me to learn...take it slowly...try it on as I go...and because of my bust make sure that I do a trial fitting first!!

First Vintage Inspired Sewing Project.

Hey all! this is my first official blog post so that is kind of exciting for me! Vintage sewing for me is a lot of things all rolled into one. Firstly it helps me create/alter clothing to fit my body type the right way...I am a bigger gal as you will see in my posts to come. Second, it has helped give me a sense of confidence in myself...knowing that I've made that...people are complimenting this or that and it is just nice to say "Thank you...I made it! (I suppose that's tooting my own horn a little but ...hey...everyone is entitled to do it) And lastly, it helps me to not sweat the small things. No matter how many times I have to adjust the fit, grab the seam ripper, or having a mega-estrogen filled moment while crying over a zipper (I was devastated! ) I don't give up on it, I keep going and that is something that I've been able to apply to other areas of my life. 

Now that you have a little background on me this is the first vintage inspired item of clothing that I made. It is my first drafted Drindl skirt that I made out of a vintage Laura Ashley bedsheet that I thrifted a few weeks ago. It is the one on the far left in the photo below. (Also i picked all of this vintage material up at a second hand store for super cheap! I am a bit of a bargain shopper so when It was only 7.50 for all of it I nearly jumped for joy)

I am absolutely in love with the soft little pink flowers and how they just pop against the ivory background. This skirt took me probably a total of 3 - 4 hours overall to finish...I am pretty happy with it..the only thing that I may adjust is the length of the hem...I was hoping it would hit right at the knee but once putting it on it hits me just below the knee. Which is just fine but I am only 5'2" so at times skirts that are below the knee tend to overwhelm me. The skirt also lacks a little OOMPH! despite all the gathering so I am planning on creating a petticoat to wear underneath of it in the near future :) The pictures aren't great its a very overcast day here in Iowa and so the lighting is very off.  Any comments, or suggestions or anything of the sort are welcome! :) I was also feeling adventurous the night before and actually wet-set my hair for the very first time! This picture was taken at the end of a 9 hour work day and the curls were still intact I was amazed.

This photo is just a close up of the waistband. It was actually trim at the end of the sheet and I cut it and refashioned it as the waistband :)

Thank you for reading...feel free to leave comments, suggestions, or anything else that crosses your mind. Keep it fun, not too serious, and remember to believe in yourself!