1940s – Stacey Stitch

Vintage Lingerie: Historical Patterns and Techniques

Published on March 20, 2014 by Stacey Stitch3 Comments

When I saw this book on Amazon I knew I had to get it. I had a quick scan through the reviews online and decided to purchase.

I adore vintage styled lingerie (total Kiss Me Deadly addict) but it doesn’t come in cheap. If you want quality, you’re most certainly going pay for it.

When it landed through the letterbox with a comforting thud I tumbled downstairs, pulled apart the packaging and gazed and the beautiful front cover.

I was aware of the author, Jill Salen, as my cousin’s (then) girlfriend (now wife) had lent me her fabulous book on corsets a few years ago when I was first foraying into making my own burlesque costumes. While the book was amazing, the thought of making a corset was very daunting and I loved reading through but it was packed up and shipped back to the lovely Sarah (thank you!).

But, I digress….back to Vintage Lingerie: Historical Patterns and Techniques.

I am more than happy with its stylistics. The book is laid out in an easy to read way, spaced out generously (I find books that are “too busy” very confusing due to my dyslexia) and sleek and stylish. It covers 30 pieces from 1890 to 1970 and is set up for each piece as follows:

The first page devoted to a beautiful piece of vintage lingerie, photographed beautifully and simply.
The following page with a description of the year or era, detailing on the fabric, techniques, measurements and embellishments used.
Following this is the scaled down pattern, each reproduced on graph paper for ease of scaling up separately.

While this book as an absolutely beautiful addition to my collection I really should say that it is definitely not aimed at beginners.

There are few (if any) instructions for actually making the garments but it really doesn’t feel daunting to me to consider starting to reproduce any of these items, after all using the internet to find clarity on certain sewing techniques is old hat at this point for me!

There are two comprehensive projects contained in the back on this book, with full detailing and step by step instructions:

A black brassiere (1930s)
A petticoat (1905)

Neither of these grabbed me as items I would really like to crack on with; there were far more gorgeous offerings in the previous pages (corselette or the Dior style longline bra for instance) but I am sure that is just a matter of personal taste.

At the back of the book is a handy chapter about embellishing and finishing techniques such as scalloping, making button loops, fastenings etc.

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for good a resource of vintage lingerie. I have been looking for something like this for a while now and everything else seemed to fall short of the mark.

I can’t wait to get cracking with my first project from this, although I will definitely be making a toile, sewing in a cheap fabric and then making the final in something a little more luxurious!

Oh and I am very tempted to purchase Jill Salen’s next book Vintage Swimwear Patterns: Historical Patterns and Techniques, but that’s for another time when my purse is a little fatter I think!

Stacey Stitch Gets Social & 12 Month Pattern Giveaway

Published on January 27, 2014 by Stacey Stitch6 Comments

You may have noticed I’ve done a little overhauling on the blog recently. Not only do I have a fantastic logo/header thanks to the amazing Lucy Blue and a new layout, I also have those lovely new buttons with links to my social media accounts.

Here they are in button form if you’d like to click and link up:

Vintage Sewing Pattern Give-away

In addition to the little online housekeeping I’ve been doing some at home too.

You may have read my post about my new sewing area.

I decided a couple of weeks back to go through the vintage sewing patterns I have and sort them into things I would make/things I haven’t made/things that aren’t my cup of tea/things I’ve made but wont make again.

As many of these were given to me I would like to return the favour and pass them on to someone who’d like them, so keep your eyes peeled because as of this month I’ll be offering up a different pattern from my collection for one lucky winner in every month in 2014.

January’s is this lovely Economy Design dress, which was the first dress I made when I started sewing a few years back. The give-away will begin on 30th January and end a week after, good luck!

New Pattern Purchases (& Pattern Giveaway)

Published on July 20, 2013 by Stacey Stitch5 Comments

I appear to have somewhat of a pattern buying problem at the moment.

I’ve recent added these beauties to my collection:

And I have also added these two. Tim thinks they’re horrible but I’ll be the one laughing when I’m all snuggled up in winter in a lovely flannel gown!

Giveaway

Can you give the below 2 patterns a good home?

The first is this Simplicity 6197 Bust 44. It was advertised on wrongly on ebay as B34 so I don’t think I’ll use as it’s it’s quite far off my measurements. More details can be found here.

I haven’t checked the pieces but in the original listing it said they were all there.

The second is this repro Vintage Vouge V1072 40s suit pattern. It’s in size DD (12-14-16-18)

It’s brand new and uncut. More details on the pattern and sizing can be found here. As far as I am aware this pattern is now out of print.

When I first started to get into vintage clothes I was very much in love with 40s designs but I’m more partial to late 50s -60s rather than earlier now so I don’t see myself making this up at any point.

If you’d like either of these patterns please comment below (with Simplicity and/or Vogue in the body of the text) by 28th July, follow my blog and I’ll announce the new owners on here on 31st.

I’ll be using a random number generator to pick the winner/s.