Verity Vintage Studio

Girl's 1950s Jumper Dress

Today is my slot on the blog tour for Sweet Tooth, a new retro fabric line by Poppie Cotton. It is a Halloween fabric line, and though I don't celebrate Halloween at all, I thought this little kitty print was adorable and instantly knew it would make a perfect novelty print 1950s dress for one of my girls. 

 

It was hard to choose which pattern to pair with it and I debated over 3 different ones...but I finally settled on this adorable jumper dress that I'd copied from my sister-in-law years ago.

 

It turned out to be super fast and easy! I put the whole thing together in an hour or two. It was lovely to have no buttonholes or sleeves to set. :-)

 

You cut double the amount of top pieces and use them as facing, so the bodice inside is nice and tidy, and the V front has no troublesome facing pieces. 

 

I lengthened the skirt as much as I could fit on the width of my fabric, and it still ends up just below the knee - but for an everyday dress for an active girl, that works fine!

 

It's a circle skirt, so I opted to turn up and top stitch a narrow hem.

 

I definitely hope to make this pattern again. Think how cute it would be in wool plaid for the winter! But meanwhile this adorable kitty print is perfect for summer and fall...and since this girl needed some everyday clothes, it was quite a timely sew for me despite the fall fabric! 

She loves it a lot and calls it her "ginger dress". :-) 

1950s Teal Floral House Dress

I'm finally catching up with my burst of spring sewing! This time it's a classic 1950s house dress.

 

I used a dreamy teal floral repro quilting cotton from The Timely Tailor, and this vintage pattern I got from the UK years ago. Turns out it had extremely little instructions and no diagrams, so I was basically on my own. Thankfully I'd made some dresses in a similar style before.

 

Even still, I don't think I did the inserted pockets right, because they don't lay correctly. After these photos I ended up sewing another button on the pockets to keep them in place (they wouldn't hold much anyway!)

 

The skirt has a nice flare even though I took some width out of it to fit on my fabric.

 

I used an off-white contrast for the collar and cuffs, and decided to add a little embroidery just for fun. it makes a nice finishing touch, but it definitely added some time to an otherwise quick project. 

 

The buttons are the larger size vintage white glass ones also from The Timely Tailor, from the era that the pattern is. It's fun to match things that belong together. :-) 

 

I really like the raglan sleeves. Sometimes I don't like how they look on me, but these look fine and are definitely more comfortable than set-in sleeves, besides the assembly short cut.

 

Since I've made it, it has already gotten a lot of regular wear. I hope this inspires you to do some fun house dresses for spring!

 

Nature Sings Blog Tour - Quilt, Apron, and an Easter Dress!

I have been anticipating for months sewing with the upcoming Poppie Cotton collection called Nature Sings. Finally the time arrived, I completed 3 out of 4 of my project ideas for it, and today I'm going to share them all for my slot on the blog tour!

 

The fabric was so pretty, I had a hard time narrowing it down to what I did make. Such dreamy florals and a pretty color scheme. It's not quite my usual style, but when I had it in my hands I was struck by how pretty it was. 

 

One thing I knew was that I was going to do a dress for my 4 year old in the purple bird print, and I ended up making it in time for her to wear for Easter.

 

I used a more modern (but still classic) McCall's pattern, and did a contrasting bodice in the gingham. I couldn't figure out how to do the collar since I didn't have enough bird fabric for it, and more gingham didn't look right on top of the gingham bodice. I feared adding yet another print would make it too busy, but I think it works for a little girl's dress! I was able to squeeze the collar out of one of my fat quarter pieces.

 

It's such a cute sailor collar style. I really like how it looks with the square back and tapered fronts. 

 

I added a touch of bird fabric to the sleeves to tie that in, and then when she tried it on I realized the skirt was pretty short, so I ended up lengthening it with a strip of the gingham since I was out of bird fabric. It all worked together quite well, and she loves it! 

 

You can see how cute her Easter outfit was, with the little pink vintage bonnet. :-)

 

As usual, when I make a garment, I want to also make something quilty so I can play with all the rest of the fabrics I didn't use. This time I was struck by a photo of a kit by Shabby Fabrics for a rag quilt. I had never seen a rag quilt that wasn't just basic squares or strips, and was quite intrigued by the fact that you can also do this with basic patchwork, in a slightly more elaborate design. 

 

I made up my own pattern, inspired by the photo, and scaling it to fit with the fabric I had to work with. 

 

I used a floral flannel from JoAnn for the backing, and a pink solid flannel for the center layer. The last time I made a rag quilt I used batting for the center, and I really liked using flannel instead. It still has quite a nice drape and weight like a regular batted quilt does, but the triple layers fringe better, and they were easier to stack and stitch. 

 

It was very nice to finish the piecing and then go straight to binding with a nice finished back - no basting or quilting an unwieldy quilt sandwich! I usually gravitate toward traditional quilt making, but when I do a quilt-as-you-go project like this it's refreshing for a change. 

 

It makes such a pretty, sturdy, spring-colored throw blanket!

 

My 3rd and final project with this fabric was an apron. The large scale floral in blue just begged to be made into an apron, so I made up my own pattern, using 1/2 yard of the blue, trimmed with lavender gingham. 

 

The gathered top is so flattering! I was very pleased with how it turned out, especially when paired with the wide waistband. 

 

A gathered pocket with a wide gingham band pulls it all together. I will probably try this idea again with some tweaks, but for not having a pattern I quite like the finished product. 

 

So there are my 3 most recent projects - I was sewing up quite a storm there for a few weeks! 

 

I hope you've been following along with all the other gorgeous projects made from this fabric! It never ceases to amaze me how many different looks can be created from the same fabric, depending on the individual taste of the creator. There's always so much inspiration in these blog tours, and I'm delighted to be a part of it. 

1930s Pink & Blue Spring Dress

I made this 1930s dress months ago, and got photos of it soon after in the early spring. It's now a lot more lush and green here, but it took me this long to blog about it. :-)

 

I've had this pattern for maybe 5 years...I finally got around to trying it, and really liked it. It's harder to get a good fit on the styles that include an inset belt, but this one turned out pretty nice. 

 

It was a good pairing for this lovely Liberty art deco repro print from The Timely Tailor. I just love the pink and blue combo of this fabric, and the leaves combined with geometrics - so typical of the 1930s!

 

Contrast and buttons were pulled from my stash. It took a while for me to settle on a contrast color for the collar, but I'm happy with this choice. I ended up adding it to the cuffs too, after deciding that the sleeves needed a little extra pop.

 

The skirt has stitched down pleats, which still show up pretty nicely with this print.

 

It was slightly more complicated than some of the patterns I've been making lately, but still went pretty smoothly. 

 

I had had some dark red cherries pinned to this vintage straw hat, which I liked, but did a little refresh this time by pinning on a vintage pink corsage instead - and it's a perfect match in color and style for this outfit. I think these flowers might have to live on his hat now for a while. 

 

I have long had my eye on this fabric, and am just delighted to have it in my closet now!

1940s Floral Easter Suit

I'm jumping ahead on my to-blog-about project queue to show you my Easter suit, since it is the week after Easter. 

 

I've had this pattern on my list to make for a while. Those details are just gorgeous! And I decided it would be a good match with this favorite repro floral print from The Timely Tailor, which I could make in time to wear for Easter Sunday. 

 

(I wanted to get photos outside since we have lovely green hills right now, but it was TERRIBLY windy on Easter, so it was back to my trusty indoor photo spot!)

I do really love the fabric, and how fresh and spring-ish it looks. It's the perfect shade of seafoam, and daisies are always a classic.

 

I didn't want long sleeves for this suit, so I substituted a 3/4 sleeve with scallop hem, and while I like how it looks, I think it wasn't quite the right match. Ah well!

 

Actually, as you can see from some of these photos, despite a lot of tweaking, I still didn't get a good fit on the jacket. And also, there is a very narrow window of weather that works here for wearing long sleeves in the spring, yet I want to wear the fabric more often than that since it's so pretty...

BUT that gave me the idea for making a short sleeve jacket also, so I end up with a mix-and-match outfit that I can wear into the summer. So stay tuned for that later!

 

Meanwhile, despite the imperfect fit, it really does have strong 1940s vibes. Shoulder pads help with the suit silhouette, and the front dart detail is my favorite!

 

I wore a smaller hat to church, but since it was my Easter outfit, I swapped it out for one of my largest hats for these photos. And naturally a basket brooch seemed the right jewelry choice, given the day.

 

I wished for pink shoes, but lacking those I went with pink accessories and chose my favorite brown spectators from American Duchess for a classic WWII era look.

 

Actually, I think this suit pattern probably dates just past the war, since the skirt and lapel length are longer. Still it works! And it gave lots of festive-spring vibes without all the 1950s floof, which I generally gravitate toward for Easter. :-) 

1950s Blue Spring Suit

Often little prints don't catch my attention, since usually they are the wrong scale for garments - or adult garments at least. But for some reason I just really liked this little ditsy print from last fall's Lori Holt collection called Home Town, for Riley Blake Designs. I stashed some away and a few months later decided what I wanted to do with it...here is the result. 

 

Back when I first started sewing with vintage patterns, I made an outfit using this 1950s pattern and some vintage drapes I had picked up at a yard sale (wish I had them now!). It was a stretch for my skill level for the time, and I remember it as being one of the times that began to open my eyes to the reward of taking pains with my sewing. As a result it turned out very nice, instead of my usual early sloppy jobs. 

 

When I lost weight I had to pass it on, but revisited the top pattern years later as the base for my wedding dress jacket. Now it was time to make it again, this time a simpler version in quilting cotton as a spring suit. 

 

I really had to squeeze to get everything on, and the skirt is less full than it ought to be. There are a lot of pieces here, and I remembered again why I gravitate towards simple dresses that have less pieces! 

 

Thankfully it wasn't that challenging since I had made it twice before; just more time consuming. 

 

The V back is a fun feature, but you really have to keep your skirt straight because it will be noticeable if that back seam drifts to one side or the other!

 

I also love the scallop detail on the 3/4 sleeves. 

 

It has a very unique neck. I'm not sure I've ever done another pattern like this, where you face it and then fold and pleat and top stitch it in place to make that detail. 

 

I was happy to finally find a good fit for this card of 5 vintage butterscotch colored buttons that was in my stash for years!

 

I like how season-transitional it is, perfect for early spring. It's a pain to iron, but enjoyable to wear!

 

Early Easter Projects with Finding Wonder Fabric

Today I get to show you what I made with some of the happiest spring fabric around! It's my slot on the Finding Wonder blog tour hosted by Poppie Cotton to promote their new fabric line, and honestly, it was just my style. So much so that I had to make TWO projects with it, and thoroughly enjoyed each stitch on each project!

 

It has just the cutest retro prints (obviously right up my alley!), and a lovely color range. The prints work well for baby and/or girly projects, but without being super infantile, so they are quite versatile.

 

I'm not often a big yellow girl, but the yellows in this line were definitely some of my favorites! 

 

I looked forward to sewing with it for months, and then when the time finally arrived I had my projects all planned out. First up, I used this adorable 1930s vintage toddler dress pattern to make a dress for my 1 year old. 

 

I chose the blue bird medallion print and accented it with the pink star, which also stretched my amount of fabric enough to make the dress feasible.

 

Of course there had to be pockets! She is a big fan of pockets. 

 

It is a loose A shape dress that slips over the head, and the sash fits it at the waist. It was nice to need neither buttonholes or a zipper on this one. I also like how doing the sleeves in a contrast show their unique construction. 

 

Plus it's very breezy and cool, so really perfect for the warm spring weather we have been having already. It would be a great summer sundress pattern, so I may make it again before she grows out of the pattern size.

This one I will save for Easter (nice to be ahead on my Easter sewing!), but took photos for this blog post before I put it away for a few weeks. 

 

As always, though, a garment doesn't use enough of my favorite prints so I like to make something quilty in order to get a chance to play with more of them. One of my ideas stashed away was this chunky Dresden quilt by The Crafty Quilter. It was the perfect pairing for this fabric!

 

Making only 4 large Dresdens meant they worked up very fast, and then I just top stitched around the edge onto a 17" square of fabric. After that it was easy to add basic sashing and borders, so it was a very quick quilt top.

 

I fussy cut some of the bird medallions for the centers, of course!

 

Since it worked up so fast, I decided to take the time to hand quilt it. I had about two weeks, and I worked at it pretty diligently - and made my goal, finishing it the day before I had to get photos. (It actually was a good lesson to me that even though hand quilting is a slower finish, it doesn't have to take an age - if I am diligent. :-)

 

I used a heart stencil for the Dresden corners, and a diamond scallop border; otherwise just let the Dresdens guide the quilting, so there was less marking. 

 

It was really fun to make, especially during the gray days of February. Quilting on my sofa corner with such cheery fabrics under the needle was a great mood booster; and because I kept at it, I didn't have time to grow tired of it. (Hooray for the motivation of deadlines!)

 

These are the quilting tools I used. The thimble is by Dritz, and my favorite of the quilting thimbles I've tried - it's cool, comfy, doesn't slip, and absolutely SAVES my fingertips! And after some frustration with my thread knotting mid-stitch, I remembered my trusty beeswax, which helps tremendously with minimizing thread tangles. 

 

I debated doing a scrappy binding, but ended up deciding to save my fabric for something more fun and use more of the pink star. But I think it would have been cute with a scrappy binding too!

 

Anyway, now I have both a little Easter dress and an Easter-ish quilt to enjoy!

But as always, you need to check out the other makers on this blog tour, since there is SO much creativity and cuteness to be seen. 

 

Monday, March 4	http://www.creamcraftgoods.com/	Karen Pratt
Wednesday, March 6	http://neverlandstitches.blogspot.com/	Lisa Jo Girodat
Friday, March 8	Website: http://blueribbondesigns.com	Belinda Karls-Nace
Monday, March 11	theredfeedsack.blogspot.com	Dori Troutman
Wednesday, March 13	https://www.sewmariana.com/	Mariana
Friday, March 15	http://www.abrightcorner.com/	Andy Knowlton
Monday, March 18	@elliebugmakes	Ellie Bug
Wednesday, March 20	https://verityvintagestudio.typepad.com/my-blog/	Kristen Clay
Friday, March 22	@arabesquescissors	Ali Phillips

 

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? :-)

1940s Brown & Blue Set

I'm still catching up with getting my 2023 sewing photographed. I had a burst of sewing in late November and December, which I'm still working through - so here is one of my outfits originally intended for autumn, which turned out so pretty!

 

I had gotten 2 yards in each color of this cute Lori Holt print from her fall 2023 line called Home Town, and knew I wanted to make something color-block with it. The question is should be be a skirt and blouse set, or a dress incorporating both colors? I ended up doing the 2 piece idea because I could use a brown skirt.

 

I used a sweet vintage mail order pattern that I got recently from Midvale Cottage, for a 1940s 2 piece outfit. I really liked the belt element, since I fluctuate sizes so much that it's nice to have a way to adjust the waist, and I'd been wanting to make something with it - this is the perfect pairing!

 

The skirt is quite a basic 1940s A line skirt and went together super fast. The blouse is also easy, but has a few cute details in the form of the tie belt inserted, and the little ruffle addition. 

 

I chose to use the brown for the ruffle to make it more of a coordinating set, and cut it narrower than the pattern called for. I wasn't sure about the idea initially, but I ended up liking it! I also opted to add ruffle on the sleeve, and do topstitching in brown thread (perhaps less a design choice than a convenience since then I didn't have to change thread. :-) 

 

I'm sure it will get a lot of wear once the weather turns warmer! I often gravitate towards 1930s and 1950s sewing, but there is just something so satisfying about the simple, trim styles of WWII.

 

I paired it with my often-worn favorite 1940s vintage brown heels and hat. The gloves and bow pin are also most likely from the same decade.

 

I think the buttons likely date later, but they were the perfect matching shade of brown.

 

I'd like to try making this again, maybe in a floral, without the ruffle - just to see how different it can look. Meanwhile I'm enjoying having this mix-and-match outfit in my closet!

Strawberry Time: 1940s Novelty Apron in Poppie Cotton's Promise Me Fabric

It may not be strawberry season at the moment, but it's always strawberry FABRIC season! 

 

Today's my day on the Poppie Cotton Promise Me blog tour, and I picked just my favorite print to showcase with a fun 1940s novelty apron. 

 

I think I got this pattern along with several others in a lot, and I thought the "deck of cards" shapes were super fun, especially the diamond one, so that's what I chose to pair with this  pretty fabric. That heart one is on my list to make at some point too.

 

The pattern calls for ribbon to edge the diamond and do the neck tie, but I chose to make my own out of a coordinating pink print. 

 

The ruffle took up quite a bit of fabric, but still overall it was an economical design, and quick to make. 

 

I like how the ribbon finishes the edge, decorates, and also looks like it runs up around the neck. In reality the neck piece and bow is a separate piece.

 

It was funny - when I was cutting it out I didn't notice that it was a one-way print until I was already part way through sewing it - but luckily I had accidentally gotten all the pieces oriented right side up anyway! Whew.

 

Isn't it a perfect match to my vintage strawberry canisters??

 

It's a fun, simple design for an apron, and I will enjoy wearing it as I cook! It's hard to go wrong with pink and strawberries. :-)