Verity Vintage Studio

1950s Maple Leaf Thanksgiving Dress

I have been in quite a sewing mood lately, and have been whizzing through my pile of fall projects quickly before it's time to sew for Christmas. My Thanksgiving dress was my latest fall finish - and though delayed by my whole family getting sick with a nasty flu right before Thanksgiving, I did get it finished in time to wear that Sunday, which is when we ended up having our family celebration. 

 

I loved the soft aquas in the fabric line Shades of Autumn by Riley Blake Designs, and knew it would be a good novelty print for fall - plus be a good color for me, which is hard to find with fall fabrics!

 

I knew I wanted a 1950s dress in it, with some contrast in the plaid fabric. After sorting through my patterns I settled on this one from the late '50s or possibly early '60s. It was just what I wanted and even had a good contrast detail so I didn't have to draft my own. 

 

The construction was quite interesting. I actually had to follow the pattern for this one! They had me construct the entire front and entire back, then sew it together on the side seams. I'm not exactly sure why they did it that way, but I figured I might learn something new and followed it as written. 

 

I do prefer adding collar and facings while flat, but thankfully it worked out pretty well. This is the only time I've done a stand-up circle collar quite like this, and it was unusual to stitch, but I really like how it looks. 

 

The skirt band and bow I did in the plaid, drafting my own bow since I didn't have enough fabric to use the bow pattern piece. I don't usually go for metallic threads in my quilting cotton, but I liked the plaid a lot. A little shimmer makes it more holiday-ish.

 

I also added a little plaid piping on the sleeves to trim them. 

 

I knew I wanted to emphasize the gold threads in the plaid, and luckily found the perfect buttons in my gold button stash - and had exactly the right amount for the space on the dress. 

 

I had to sew the buttonholes with my regular foot, and while it's more complicated than using a buttonhole foot, it works quite well!

 

This is perhaps the first time I have successfully done a partial-lapped front opening like this, so I was very happy with that accomplishment! Usually it looks ok on the outside but is butchered on the inside. :-) 

I styled it with a 1950s hat, my gold Aerosoles heels, modern elastic belt (since my post baby waist still prefers such things...) and added midcentury gloves and suitcase for these photos.

 

I just love the soft cream and aqua colors, and the large maple leaf print. This is definitely one of my favorite fall dresses, and my only regret is that I made it late enough in the season that I likely won't wear it again this year. 

Pastel Pumpkin Runner for Moonbeam Dreams Blog Tour

It's my turn on the blog tour for the new Poppie Cotton fabric line called Moonbeam Dreams. It is not what I would normally be drawn to, so I was surprised at how much I ended up loving this fabric once I saw it in person, and how much I enjoyed sewing with it!

 

I was in the mood for fall sewing, and this is a lovely autumnal line with some of my favorite cooler-toned fall colors. It took me a while to settle on a project, but eventually I decided on a pumpkin table runner to be finished before Thanksgiving. 

 

Our Thanksgiving Day dinners usually end up with so much food on the table there isn't much room for decorations, but I still love a festive touch, so a table runner is perfect. 

 

The next problem was settling on a pumpkin block that I liked, since I'm not generally a fan of them. I ended up loving this free tutorial by Woodberry Way, and quickly made 6 of those big pumpkin blocks out of my 6 favorite pinks, adapting them to join side to side as a runner.

 

My temporary sewing station in action!

 

It ended up as a very long table runner, so it will only really fit my table when it's fully extended. But that's ok! This was the closest I could get to a photo of the whole thing.

 

The pumpkins were made with a little bit of improv piecing - my first ever attempt. It was rather enjoyable!

 

I quilted it with my walking foot, with an all-over wavy grid that I could do freeform without taking the time for markings. It's a very forgiving quilting design that still gives great texture. 

 

Then the extra hand quilting touch was done in a burnt gold size 10 crochet thread. I used a bowl to draw one curve on each side, and then drew the other by eye. Of course they aren't all uniform - but then, neither are real pumpkins uniform! And I am also NOT a perfectionist. :-) 

 

The colors go together so well! I love the dusty blues and pinks and golds, the florals and moths and stars.

 

Since I only used a selection of fabrics in this runner, I also whipped together a large zipper pouch, just for fun. I still have some fabric left, so maybe I can come up with something else fun to make. The green moth print is a favorite, and would be perfect for fussy cutting!

 

I'm looking forward to using this on our Thanksgiving table next week. In the meantime, follow Poppie Cotton on Instagram to see all the pretty makes using this lovely fabric line!

 

1950s Ditsy House Dress

I'm trying to catch up with my finished projects, so you get 2 blog posts this week! This time it's a house dress I made for myself with some 1930s repro quilting cotton and a 1950s pattern.

 

I haven't sewed for myself in a while, so it was fun to be back at the familiar tasks of sewing darts and matching skirt seams.

 

The print is small and busy, so I wanted something fairly simple and pulled from my stash a pattern I haven't made before. 

This straight-skirted 1950s pattern features inset pockets and a collar band. The cutaway pocket detail (which was pretty much the only pattern detail) got completely lost in the print, so after some thought I added a bit of trim.

 

The trim also pulls out the navy blue dots in the print, which I wanted to accentuate since the yellow-green flowers are not a good color for me. 

 

I hoped the trim wouldn't make it look too apron-like, but after it was finished I decided that it was the right call. 

 

I always enjoy making a pattern with sleeves cut with the bodice, since it's quicker and I don't have to set sleeves. They are also more comfortable to wear since they allow more range of motion - but I also don't like how they look as much, so it's kind of a love-hate relationship. :-) 

 

I know the buttons are spaced pretty close together for this style of dress, but when I do a button-front dress I'm always afraid of it gaping in spots, so this was my solution. 

 

Also I have to document that this is the very first time I've made buttonholes with just a regular foot on the machine, and it is very freeing to know it's possible, if slightly more complicated!

 

For some reason the print reminds me of my great-grandmother who lived with us for a time when I was a girl. I'm glad to have it off my shelf and in my closet.

 

Even if I don't make this pattern again, it was a fun sew to break through the long drought of no dressmaking and getting bored with the options that fit me in my closet, so I will enjoy pairing it with a cardigan this fall.

 

 

1950s Girl's "Dandelion Dress"

Fall project finish!

I actually made this dress several months ago, but it still needed a sash - and I didn't get around to spending 10 minutes making the sash until this week, so here it finally is. We snapped pictures on a mild November day, taking advantage of all the crispy leaves on the ground.

 

I loved the pattern I used for my oldest daughter's Easter dress this year, and wanted to use it again before she outgrows it. This time I did the top section of the skirt in the contrast color too, and love the color blocking!

 

These two fabrics go so well together. They are from a cute quilting line last year called On the Wind, by Riley Blake Designs. I loved the dancing dandelion print, and though there were a lot of options for contrast, for some reason the yellow argyle spoke to me to be paired with it.

 

Since I had made this pattern before, it was a quick project. I omitted the trim, so all the interest is just in the fabric. As before, I changed it to button all the way down the back.

 

I also added the tie sash on top instead of the side belts, and of course a little patch pocket since this child adores all the pockets.

 

She is growing so fast and is hard on her clothes, since she loves to be active outside as much as possible - so it was high time to get this off my stack and into her closet!

 

(I know I've been showing a lot of girl clothes and quilt projects lately, but there are definitely some more fun vintage dresses for me coming up! I'm in a sewing mood right now, and completing a bunch of things as fast as I can, so stay tuned! :-)