Verity Vintage Studio

1940s Red Floral House Dress

My first sewing project of the new year was this house dress, in a cheery repro print fabric from The Timely Tailor that was perfect for a simple pattern from the 1940s - Simplicity 4662. 

 

It was lovely to have a happy project to work on in my newly finished sewing room during the cold first days of January!

 

I've made this pattern twice now, and both times wore it a lot in my everyday rotation, so I know it was a good choice for something useful. 

 

Because it was easy and I had made it before, it was a very quick project and finished up in a few days. I opted to top stitch the hem and sleeves for an extra quick finish.

 

This time I changed up the neckline a little by cutting the collar version of the bodice, but without the collar piece added on (since I prefer no-fuss dresses for everyday wear). This created a little fold back revers, which I accented with buttons. 

 

This decoration also serves to hold it in place so it comes through the wash with the collar held firmly in place.

 

With a print like this, any of the accent colors would be perfect for the buttons. Green? Red? Yellow? I chose these beautiful vintage sky blue buttons, now sold out from The Timely Tailor - aren't the details gorgeous? 

 

Dart tucks on the shoulders are forever my favorites!

 

Such a cheery fabric just brightens the day and lightens the housework. If anyone wants to twin with me, there is still some yardage left here!

I love how authentic it looks. It's fun to see it in my closet now!

1950s Mint Rose Dress

Believe it or not, I've finally caught up with my 2023 sewing! This last piece was a dress I made in November, but as I was working on it, I realized it could work for Christmas if I added some dark green and red accessories, so I saved it to wear Christmas Day (didn't get photos that day though).  

 

I used a large mint green rose print from the same fall fabric line that my Thanksgiving dress was made from. It's such a pretty floral! 

 

Because it is so bold, I chose a simple shirtdress pattern to pair with it. I really should have had more fabric, especially since this is a 1-way print, so I couldn't squeeze out the 3/4 sleeves I wanted.

 

I paired it with dark green accessories here. It would also be cute with white for summer, or amber for autumn. 

 

I had made this pattern before, so it was a pretty simple process, with no hiccups. I'm still sorry I didn't get a longer sleeve length, but short sleeves makes it more suitable for most of the year, so I suppose it's no real loss!

 

Isn't this basket purse cute? It's modern (found at a thrift store long ago), but works perfectly well for vintage. I love finding these cross-over styles that stand the test of time. 

 

I don't have a lot that works with this hat, but it's a unique shape and color so I was glad to give it an outing.

 

It was nice to have my Christmas dress done well ahead of time this year, and also to have it generic enough that I can wear it other times of the year! I am always drawn to holiday novelty prints, but get very little actual wear out of them since the season is only a few months. This time I was a little more practical. :-) 

 

That's a wrap on my 2023 sewing, now that we are 1 1/2 months into 2024! I'm excited to start sharing my backlog of January sewing now. 

 

12 Days of Valentines - Easy Heart Napkins

Poppie Cotton is hosting a fun 12 Days of Valentines freebies event, and I'm happy to be included. I want to show you how to make simple quick & easy heart napkins, a sweet way to dress up your table for Valentine's or any other event!

 

Disposable napkins are great for convenience, but for a dressy table (or even just to save money and waste) washable cloth napkins are such an upgrade! And they are so easy to make, even for beginners! 

 

Let's pull out our supplies. You will need:

-1 18" square piece of fabric per napkin (I'm using Berries & Blooms background here by Poppie Cotton)

-misc. pink and red fabric for hearts (can use charm squares, or just scraps!)

-heart cookie cutter, stencil, or cut your own heart template

-pencil or pen

-sewing machine, scissors, iron, pins

 

I chose to cut out my own heart template since I didn't have a cookie cutter the size I wanted.

 

Narrowly hem all 4 sides of the napkin square with matching thread.

 

Now you can play around and decide how many hearts, and where to place them! Stack two sizes?

 

Just do 1 in 1 corner? or 2 in alternate corners?

 

1 in each corner? or maybe alternate sizes all the way around?

Each of these would give a different look!

 

Once you decide on how many hearts and where to put them, time to pull out all your pink and red scraps!

 

Trace your hearts on the backs of the fabric you choose.

 

Cut out the hearts. Don't worry if the edge isn't perfectly smooth.

 

Pin them in place on the hemmed napkin.

 

Stitch around the raw edge with a dense zig-zag stitch, starting at the point and working slowly around the curves.

Test out your stitch first on a scrap to make sure it's wide and dense enough to securely cover a raw edge.

 

All done!

 

Repeat with any other hearts for as many napkins as desired! I chose to use coordinating fabric for hearts on 2 opposite corners. 

 

The fun thing about using different fabrics for each heart means that depending on how I fold the napkin, I can have 2 different looks. This pink gingham and the strawberries are on the same napkin.

 

Of course, this is easily customizable. Most dinner napkins are 18-20" square, and 18" is a great size because you can get it out of a fat quarter, or 4 per yard of fabric. But you could make them larger or smaller depending on your needs or preference. 12" square is a good size for luncheon or tea tables.

 

You can also use any other simple shape and applique the same way. No special tools or scary fusible required!

 

One fun alternate way to make these is to use a statement print as the napkin fabric instead...

 

...and applique hearts cut from vintage embroidered textiles!

 

I think this would be especially fun for tea party or birthday party napkins.

 

I hope that inspired you to do some holiday crafting! Something practical yet pretty that you can make in 15 minutes...what's not to love? :-)