This weekend just gone I cracked on with making the lovely (and not very different from a Swirl) apron dress from McCalls vintage pattern number 2440. As I couldn’t find any teal fabric in my local shop I ordered online, along with some rather expensive, but very pretty, Michael Miller atomic fabric. It was all medium weight cotton and I matched it with my Gutermann Sew All swatch booklet I’d recently purchased online (something rather handy to have if you’re ordering fabric online because it saved me lugging it to the haberdashery, or cutting a swatch off and taking it with me) and popped into Leon’s to pick up some thread. It didn’t take me too long to cut the material which was…
Sewing adventures with a vintage twist
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I decided to subscribe to Sew Today to give it a go and see what it’s all about. I have not been disappointed, there are two very handy articles in the two issues I have received (one on different types of “french” seam, the other about making your own wedding dress…I have an evening gown in mind that is not dissimilar to a wedding dress). The bonus of the sign up is that I get most patterns at half price now I’m a member and I also got to pick two patterns for free. I went for Butterick B5895 and B5882; both Gertie patterns (I am so in love with her blog and creations….and have lurked around her blog watching and reading avidly for some…
Categories: Sewing
I recently purchased this amazing vintage pattern from ebay. It was on buy it no for £8.99, it’s rather more than I’d usually spend but I have been in love with this style of dress for a while now but without the cash to purchase one of my own. It is very much like the classic Swirl wrap dress often available on ebay and etsy but usually costing around £50 – £100 that’s plus postage (and usually tax if it’s coming from America). The lovely ones are always at the higher end of the pricing too, which is why when I saw this pattern I snapped it up immediately. Then there’s Heyday’s version, which again is quite expensive, usually around the £85 mark, unless they’re…
It was my birthday on Sunday (all the threes if you’re a bingo caller) and because my family, in-laws and husband are wonderful I got a new sewing machine and a dressform. As I have mentioned before I’m using my Nana’s old late 50s Singer currently which is amazing but has now come to a point where it’s more frustrating than quirky, getting the tension right is a constant source of annoyance for me and it often starts out fine then drops stitches as I go. I will be keeping hold of it though because it’s beautiful and I love it and I feel all sorts of sentiment about it. I now have a Brother LX17. I have tonight finally managed to get…
Categories: Sewing
My Nana gave me her Knitmaster and all accessories, patterns and cards at the beginning of the year. I have put them to one side knowing I’d pick them up at some point but not knowing when. It was only last night when I started leafing through them that I discovered their full retro potential. As with my sewing patterns I’ve added them to my flickr, created a set and I’ve also put a link in the sidebar; if you click you”ll be directed to them. They are mainly from the early 70s through to the 80s, at a time when my Nana furnished me, my sisters and pretty much the whole of my family with knitted goods. Unfortunately I had to ask Nana…
Categories: Knitting, Knitting Patterns
I have been collecting patterns for a little while now and I thought I’d share them with you. I’ve also put a handy link in the sidebar so if you click there you’ll automatically be transported (via the medium of net webbage) to my flickr account and you’ll be able to see my updated set which I’ll add more patterns to as and when I purchase them. As you can see from the below I generally buy patterns from the late 1950s through to the 1960s. This is mainly due to my obsession with Mad Men. If I could have a wardrobe completely full of carbon copies of the beautiful costumes used in the award winning show I would, and maybe, if this all…
Categories: Sewing, Sewing Patterns
