Vintage Pattern Pledge 2016

This year I'm once again joining the Vintage Pattern Pledge hosted by Marie and Kerry - I love vintage patterns and I have quite a few, but I need a gentle prod to actually sew from them rather than just drooling over them.

Last year my pledge was to sew up at least 4 of my vintage or reproduction sewing patterns, but 3 is all I managed - a 1940s dress, a 60s cape, and an 80s top:

It doesn't sound like much, does it!

However, there were two more "half" garments; vintage dresses I started and didn't complete.  So this year my first priority is to finish these two off before they become proper UFOs (unfinished objects):

Vogue 8974

McCall 6581

I've already sewn up an 80s midi skirt for our continuing summer weather, so that's going on my list too:

Vogue 1387 (John Anthony)

And my daughter has put in a request for me to sew her this next dress - I downsized a size 12 copy of this pattern for a dress for her a couple of years ago, and she still loves the style:

Judging by my efforts last year that's probably going to be plenty, but I want to add an extra challenge for myself, should I find myself with loads of time and energy on my hands.


I have two small boxes of very special vintage patterns, patterns from anywhere from the 1920s to the 1960s, that I really should think about sewing.  Here are a few of my favourites:

Simplicity 2647

Simplicity 2844

McCall 7023

McCall 7260

Vogue 100 Ronald Peterson

Vogue 1556 Yves Saint Laurent

Putting it all together, here's my pledge:


I, Gabrielle of UpSewLate, pledge to sew at least one more vintage midi skirt from an 80s pattern, to finish sewing the two vintage dresses I started last year, and to sew my daughter the 1970s dress she's requested. And as an extra challenge, I'll aim to sew at least one of the vintage patterns I normally just drool over.  

And I'll be back soon with a modern bit of sewing that my son graciously photographed for me today.



Happy sewing



- Gabrielle xx

Fruit Break: 1970s Cotton Dress

While I was going through my stash trying to decide what I could bear to part with for my upcoming giveaway, I came across a metre of this interesting, fruity cotton seersucker. I recall buying it a few years ago from Lincraft, mentally earmarking it for a dress for my daughter - but then I forgot.  So I decided to make hay while the sun shone - and while a metre was still enough - and whip up a shoulder-friendly 6 year old's dress.

I used a cute little pattern that I assume I must have come across in a second hand store a while back as lately I'm not coming across too many patterns I particularly like. The 70s silhouette doesn't appeal to me for myself (not sure why not - when I see it on other people I like it!) but I love it for kids. The pattern is a size 12 though, so I had to grade it down to a size 6.  By "grade" I mean that I placed it against the Burda dress pattern that I recently muslined (see, it was worth it!) and re-drew the pattern so that the shoulders, armholes, chest width etc aligned.

I added side seam pockets, an essential for a play dress, and kept as much length as I could with the constraints of my single metre of fabric. A ruffle on the bottom would have made it better too...

If you come across this pattern and decide to make it, the pattern instructions don't seem fantastic. I followed them to start with, but the steps they describe give an unnecessarily messy finish on the inside (not photographed) - the seams where I was doing what I was told are not concealed between bodice and facing as I think they should be. It's annoying, but then this is just a kids dress that will probably get trashed over summer :).

The shoulder ruffle was very popular in the 70s: I know I used to wear this shape of dress when I was knee high to a grasshopper or thereabouts. Cotton seersucker was pretty popular too. So I think this little dress will be joining a couple of vintage sewing challenges, just like my 1940s dress (TMS and Fall for Cotton).


See you soon

     Gabrielle x

Vogue 9441 (OOP)

Vogue 9441 is a pattern I think I came across in my local op shop. The pattern's not a spectacular-looking thing, but I thought the green version ("C") might be a reasonable basic shirt, and although I know the sizing has changed since the 70s the shirt was described as "loose-fitting".  When I'm sewing I usually start with a 12, and I assumed that a loose 70s shirt might be like a normal shirt these days... I didn't bother with a muslin, and I only checked the dimensions of the pattern pieces in a pretty desultory manner.

Interestingly the sizing just felt 'off' for me. Maybe women in the 70s were expected to have thin upper arms and narrow shoulders, but this shirt felt restrictive around these areas when basted together, so I sewed narrower seams to add some more room. I think it looks really nice hanging from a tree, even when not completely finished - because I love the striped summery Japanese cotton from Tessuti ...

 

but when it's on, it looks terrible - certainly not at all loose-fitting:

 

 not even when disguised by a child in a car!

Pattern Modifications:
The band down the shirt front goes rather low, so instead I made it just as long as I thought it would need to be to get on and off.  But in a slapdash way I slashed a little too far down the centre front. This is why I've had to expose the lower edges of the band rather than neatly stitch together, turn inside out and top stitch in place.

I also left off the pocket from the left front because I didn't think my thin cotton would cope with the strain of a pocket.

Comments on the pattern:
I tried to follow the pattern step by step but I should have studied it more thoroughly before sewing; if I had I would've used a different approach on the neck band.  Not that this makes any difference to the fit, which is the real issue. Anyway, the pattern has the right side of the collar sewn into the wrong side of the shirt before you pin the basted edge of collar over the seam (on the outside of the shirt), baste, stitch close to edge, and finally topstitch.  I would have preferred to attach the collar to the shirt the other way around so I could finish up hand sewing the edge of the collar to the shirt on the inside of the shirt.

So here's the question. I've hemmed the edges and sewn down the collar, so all that's left to do are cuffs and closures - but is this shirt worth finishing? I think it would fit my sister-in-law, but would she want it?