Verity Vintage Studio

1950s Floral Flannel Blouse

My first sewing project of 2019 was a fairly quick one. A while ago, JoAnn had a big sale on their cotton flannel prints. While it says right on the selvedge that it's meant for children's sleepwear, I saw no reason why I couldn't use it for something else. And this bold floral print was just too pretty to pass up!

 

I got a blouse length (2 yards) of it, confident that even with the one way design I would be able to fit a blouse out of it.

 

I used a pattern I used last year for my pink polka dot dress makeover. I had really liked the construction of it and the way it fit. This time was even easier since I'd made it before.

I did swap out the sleeves for 3/4 sleeves from a different pattern - AND I managed to get them set in smoothly, so that's a big win!

 

I also chose the tie neck option. That was the most challenging part of construction since it was quite confusing to figure out which way to cut the ties so that the flowers wouldn't end up upside down. 

 

I ended up cutting 3 ties and being able to use two of them. There wasn't much fabric left, so thankfully I didn't need to cut more!

Though I was initially worried that the flannel would make the ties too bulky, but they tie and lay beautifully. I think they show up better in real life than in these pictures where the tie blends in to the background fabric. I really like bows at the neckline like this! I should make another version in plain white to wear under suit jackets.

 

The vintage glass buttons matched perfectly - I've had them in my stash for ages, and the blue/white combo was exactly the right color to go with the print. 

 

It's such a cozy, soft blouse. Comfortable and much warmer for cold winter days than a regular cotton fabric. I'm worried that it won't end up lasting with a lot of wear and washing, but since it's just a cold weather blouse, hopefully I can make it last through a few winters.

 

It was a fun, quick project to start out the year with!

Sewing Recap for 2018

It's that time again! After making sure (almost) all my sewing projects were photographed and put on the blog, I always enjoy rounding them up for a year-end post, where I can look at them all in one place and see progress or spot repetition.

 

This year featured a lot of variety, which I like! There are classic 1930s silhouettes, WWII era dresses, and a few full-skirted 1950s styles.

 

1940s novelty print umbrella dress, 1950s Easter dress

 

I also made several projects from the late '30s/early '40s, which is not surprising since it's a favorite fashion era of mine.

  

sage green copycat dress, Christmas dress

 

Lots of color variety shows up - browns, blues, purple, gray, black, teal, red, pink, gold, and more - including an unheard-of yellow dress! I always thought I couldn't wear yellow.

Green was a major theme this year as well.

1930s yellow 2 piece

  

1940s house dress, late '30s rayon dress

 

While a lot of these photos are backyard shots, I did have fun photographing this New Look dress at a castle! I definitely want to  continue seizing better photo opportunities when possible.

 

I used a variety of fabrics as well. While a lot of these are quilting cottons or rayon suiting - no surprise since those are my favorite types of fabric - I also made projects using cotton twill, linen, lighter rayon and cotton weights, satin, chiffon, wool blend, corduroy, and even polyester knit of all things!

 

gray plaid dress, gingerbread skirt

 

I was fairly good about keeping away from fabric sales... With a few exceptions, I didn't buy much fabric this year. And a lot of the new fabric I did get was from a local thrift store at very cheap prices. While that still adds to my shelves, it doesn't cost much money, so that's at least a partial win. :-) But more than half of my projects this year were major stash busters or used fabric I already had.

 

1940s almost sailor dress, 1950s sweater dress

 

I made another hat!

 

Last year one of my goals was to be varied in color choices and experiment more with trims. I definitely met both those goals. While I have a lot to perfect yet with my embellishment skills, at least I've made a start! From regular applied lace trim to lace insertion, attempts at soutache, freehand embroidery, beads, top stitched bands, and self appliqué, this year's roundup shows a lot more creativity with embellishment than previous years. I really love it!

 

 

I also tried 3 way color blocking for the first time.

1940s 4th of July dress

 

Another goal was to make several 2 piece outfits, or mix-and-match 3 piece sets. This goal I also certainly met! I made quite a few 2 and 3 piece outfits this year, of various kinds.

 

1930s dress, skirt, and jacket

1940s twill summer suit

 

1930s gold linen dress & jacket

 

I also was more creative with styling and photographing the mix-and-match sets to demonstrate their versatility.

 

1940s pinstriped summer suit

 

One of my 2 piece outfits was a remake from an earlier dress that was poorly constructed and no longer fit me. Remaking is very rewarding, and takes less time, usually, than starting from scratch. I have a whole drawer full of pieces to repurpose or remake, so I should do more of that!

 

My final goal was to make at least one nice, time-consuming garment with hand work like beading. That would have to be almost my last make - my Christmas dress. It featured by far the most elaborate decorations, with hand applied soutache, embroidery, and beads. Yet decorating the yoke still took only 1 extra day, so not quite as time consuming as I had envisioned.

 

 

Still, it's nice to see how most of my goals were met or exceeded! A very encouraging start for the upcoming year.

Of course, not all of these turned out perfectly. Several have major fit issues, or flaws that are hidden or disguised. But overall, it was quite a profitable year of sewing. Some are definitely favorites, and I was very pleased with how most of them turned out.

 

1940s purple print dress, 1950s black rayon dress

 

Some of them I only wore once or twice; others I continue to wear a lot! Some of them have gone downhill with frequent washing and wearing, depending on the fabric quality. It's always interesting to see which sewing projects I actually end up wearing the most.

 

1930s house dress, New Look house dress

 

Most of these I used new patterns for, with a few repeats from earlier years. But I only made one pattern twice for myself this year.

 

1940s Vogue pattern in plum wool, in gray gingham rayon

 

A few unexpected things happened this year in the sewing realm. For one, I made a half dozen commissioned dresses for other people. First time sewing for customers.

  

Some of my commissioned garments.

 

I pieced a quilt top! And I've always hated quilting! I would NEVER have dreamed I'd tackle and enjoy a quilt. The quilt is not completed yet so it's not quite a finished project, but almost all the sewing part is done, so I have to include it. 

  

 

And I have to mention my newest sewing friend - a vintage Singer Rocketeer in an original cabinet, which I found at an antique store and happily brought home. It makes the hours I spend at the machine much more enjoyable!

 

I don't really have any special sewing goals this year, except the general ones of continuing the trends already started, and more experimenting with embellishments. Several of my projects were made from vintage fabrics, and I would really like to sew more with vintage fabric in the future. I have some nice pieces that need to be given new life - and the quality is just so much more satisfactory.

 

classic white blouse, 1940s dotted Swiss dress

1940s asymmetrical skirt

 

I knew I had sewn a lot this year...some months I was finishing a project a week. Yet even I am surprised at the final numbers for my personal projects! 8 1930s makes, 13 1940s, 2 New Look styles, and 6 1950s were added to my closet. Since 7 of those were 2 or 3 pieces, that adds up even more!

  

1940s brown rayon dress, 1950s formal outfit

 

One sort of related goal for this winter is to finish getting my sewing space the way I want it. My sewing room is at one end of my bedroom, but I have some ideas for making it prettier and more practical. I was also given a vintage knitting machine which I would love to learn how to use to make vintage style sweaters!

Otherwise, I intend to relax and see what the new year brings. There are always brand new ideas crowding to the forefront of my sewing queue, but I certainly hope to finally give life to some long-awaited projects and favorite hoarded fabric too. I always try to improve my modeling and styling, and intend to master my hairstyles this coming year.

2019 may not be as productive, but that's ok. Sometimes there are higher priorities and the threads of hobbies need to be dropped for a while. Sewing, like life, goes through seasons. The important thing is to take what comes and enjoy the process.

My Christmas Eve 1950s Formal

My final project in 2018 was completed the week before Christmas. My family always does a dress-up High Tea for Christmas Eve, and I have very few formal things that fit me and I can nurse in. So I decided to make a gown inspired by one I have long admired, worn by Grace Kelly.

 

While hers looks like a dress, and does not open down the front, I chose to make my version a 2 piece, and used a late 1950s wrap blouse pattern that had the same overall style lines as the Grace Kelly bodice.

 

First I made a trial in cotton to make sure it would fit, stay shut, and be something I could nurse in. Also to make sure I could make it! I followed the instructions very carefully, since it was very different from making a normal blouse.

I ended up tweaking the final version enough that I don't know if I will wear the cotton trial, but the 2nd version worked out pretty well. The blouse crosses in the front and the ends fasten in the back.

 

The midnight blue satin I used was darker than I wanted, since ideally I would have liked to match the flowers in the skirt, but I was determined to make this project completely from the stash and the satin was the only thing I had that was suitable.

 

The skirt's under layer is off white linen - again, the only fabric the right color that I had - and the overskirt is a gorgeous floral chiffon which I bought a few months ago, along with a lot of other formal deadstock fabric, from the auction of a local formal/bridal wear business that was going out of business and liquidating their warehouse stock. The large print is so pretty and very 1950s!

 

I had intended to make a circle skirt, but I didn't have enough linen, so changed my plans at the last minute and went with a very full formal skirt pattern I have, from the late 1940s. It was already the right length, which meant less pattern adjusting for me. I decided to go ankle length instead of floor length for practicality. It is still plenty full when worn over a crinoline, and has a lovely drape and swish when I walk.

 

This was the first time I've done an overlay on a skirt, so I had to do some research to figure out how to insert the zipper. Originally I did it wrong and had to redo part of the zipper seam, but otherwise it came together easily - once I had cut out and pieced the chiffon.

The 1940s skirt pattern had a center front and back seam. I didn't want a center seam on the chiffon, so I sewed the linen skirt pieces together first, then used them as the pattern for the chiffon so I could cut it all in one piece. But each skirt half was too wide for the chiffon, so I had to piece a bit on one side. Hopefully it's not too noticeable in all the fullness.

 

Otherwise the skirt was pretty basic. I followed the picture and made sure the overlay was hemmed an inch or so below the underskirt. I was very grateful for my rolled hem feature on my serger! The chiffon would have been horrible to hem any other way, but as it was it only took a few minutes to zip around it after I'd done the measuring to mark where the hem needed to be.

 

The overall look I think really does resemble the Grace Kelly dress, and I'm happy with its simple elegance. Of course I can wear the pieces separately if desired.

 

I kept accessories simple. Vintage 1950s earrings, pearl and silver bracelet, (on Christmas Eve I also added a silver corsage on my shoulder) and these formal heels from Golden Age Hollywood, which I snagged on holiday sale. They have metal eyelets, which I don't consider historically accurate, but otherwise the style is perfect for 1930s-1950s outfits. 

 

I love the toe detail! The silver leather isn't too metallic, but I probably will still only wear them for high dress and holidays.

Incidentally, their slick leather soles made posing on ice and snow rather...challenging! :-)

 

The outfit felt very dressy, yet was comfortable to wear for an evening of fine dining and singing carols. I'm happy I had the inspiration, the right fabric, and took the time to create it.

True Vintage: Rescued Gray 1950s Suit

I have one final sewing project from 2018 to show you before I do my year's recap, but since I haven't gotten photos of it yet, this week I want to share another lovely vintage suit from the 1950s.

 

I went from having only one vintage suit to owning 3 or 4 in just a few weeks, thanks to an antique shopping trip - and winning this suit on eBay. I got it for a very good price since it needed some TLC. One button was coming apart, and the skirt zipper was broken, with part of the side seam also separated.

 

The button I more or less fixed with some glue, but the zipper was easily something I could do with all my sewing experience. I just used my seam ripper to take out the broken one, and used a short vintage gray metal zipper in my stash to replace it. It took a few tries since it's a lapped zipper and I'm not used to sewing lapped zippers, but I figured it out! And of course I forgot to take before and after photos...

 

My other adventure with this suit was washing it by hand. I read up on washing vintage suits first, and there is so much varied opinion on if it's wise to do or not...but I finally decided that I hadn't paid much for it and wasn't going to spend the money to dry clean it, so it if it wouldn't wash then there was no big loss. I tried the skirt first, and the fabric behaved well, so next was the jacket - more nerve wracking because of those beautiful details!

 

Actually, the wool gabardine was just fine in the water. It was the jacket lining that didn't come out the same. It went from a silky lining to having a crepe texture, but it was good enough to wear, so I called it a success. The jacket smelled much fresher, some of the slight sweat stains at the neck came out, and the water was quite dirty when I was finished, so I'm glad to get all that gunk out of it.

 

It's the most beautiful woven gray and white fabric with such lovely drape and smoothness. The suit has simple lines - there is a tiny slit at the bottom of the skirt on each side, and the jacket has princess panels in the back. It's a tiny bit too tight for me, so I probably should move the buttons over an inch.

 

The jacket has has the pretty details, and I just love them! The double covered buttons are unique. I'm especially delighted to find a suit that fits me and has some special detailing for such a low price.

 

It's a perfect neutral color suitable for several seasons and many accessory colors. I tend to pair blue and gray together, so my accessories were navy this time, but I added a touch of color with this colorful patchwork embroidered purse that was gifted to me. It's so pretty!

 

Everything I am wearing is vintage, from approximately the same era, so I felt very 1950s appropriate!

I've said before that though I enjoy sewing my own clothes, there's something special about wearing actual vintage pieces. All the better when I can use my sewing skills to rescue an outfit that well deserves rescuing. :-)