retro – Stacey Stitch

Help me choose a pattern (aka being indecisive sucks)

Published on February 22, 2015February 22, 2015 by Stacey Stitch11 Comments

Well as you know we’re in the new house, all is unpacked and yesterday we had our nearest and dearest over for a housewarming. So lovely to have our friends over and the next generation ( not star trek – just our mates awesome kids).

Now the dust has settled I’m in the mood to SEW!

I took a little trip out to my local John Lewis last week and picket up this gorgeous fabric for half price but now I’m stuck on what to make with it.

A dress? Yes, but which one?

These are the three I have to choose from:

(View 1)

(also considering making the coat in the heavy gold satin I brought back from Vegas)

(with sleeves)

I’m favouring the Simplicity or Vogue at the moment, the Butterick is gorgeous but it’s quite a similar shape to other dresses I’ve made in the last year and I’d like to try something different.

Any feedback/help in making my mind up will be appreciated. What would you make?

Christmas Sewing, Embroidery and a Double Craft Book Giveaway!

Published on November 24, 2014November 24, 2014 by Stacey Stitch18 Comments

Hello there!

Apologies for the silence the last couple of months but my work load has been off the charts both in my full time job and my copy writing freelancing, but the good news is I am now free to sew and craft!

First off, I have picked the gorgeous fabric for my dress and riffled through my vintage patterns to find this stunning late 50s dress.

I’ll be making the pencil dress version, I would love to make the overskirt but I think it’s a little too fussy for the works christmas do.

The fabric is a gorgeous retro christmas pattern and the gold is metallic so shines beautifully under the light.

Only worry is matching the pattern but I have a good 4 metres so fingers crossed it wont be too much trouble, any advice gratefully received though – please comment below!

Secondly, I purchased the fabulous Doodle Stitching: The Holiday Motif Collection, which is just AMAZING. I can’t recommend enough to any Christmas crafters out there!

I have already traced some patterns for the tablecloth and napkins I’m working on for Christmas day. Updates to follow soon!

Thirdly, and finally, I am giving away two Christmas craft books this year:

Fa la la la Felt and Make Me, I’m Yours: Christmas – to enter simply comment below, or retweet the below tweet.

The winner will be announced on 1st December, giveaway closes on the 30th November midday (UK time)!

All Sewn Up: Butterick B6031 Patterns By Gertie: The Slip

Published on September 27, 2014 by Stacey Stitch2 Comments

I thought it was time I pushed myself away from the cotton and towards something a little slinkier, so when I saw Gertie was starting a slip sew along back in February I thought I’d give it a go. The massively underestimated my time so I only got around to it this week.

I opted for purchasing one of Gerties slip packs from Etsy as I thought it would save me a lot of traipsing about or online searching for the little bits and bobs and of course I went for yellow.

Yellow is my favourite colour because it’s the colour of sunshine, how can you NOT like yellow?

The main material is micro jersey fabric (poly/spandex blend) and the lace is stretch. I decided that I’d go for a contrasting yellow cotton while sewing as I like the effect it has on it, give it a little cheat style decoration. I missed the bows off because I didn’t really like them all that much, and much prefer the slip all plain Jane.

So off I set. The pattern was relatively easy to sew up and I was surprised at how easy it was considering all of the stretch in all of the fabrics. This would have taken me a day to complete if I’d had a whole day but it took me several nights and half a day in the end and I am very pleased with the result.

The only problems I had were with:

Double sewing the dart on the bust. One side, if you look really close up, doesn’t look as neat as the other, I had a bit of an incident with the slippy fabric but trying to go as slow as possible on the other side was fine. So less speed required from me in future.

The straps; it took my dyslexic brain a while to figure out which way round the straps were sewn once the extending fastening pieces were threaded through, I got there in the end though and this is the finished result.

Next up on my sewing table are the pants (we say that up north, rather than knickers, or panties across the pond).

New Pattern Heaven: Mad Men (Trudy & Betty)

Published on May 23, 2014May 23, 2014 by Stacey Stitch2 Comments

Don’t you just LOVE IT when you find a pattern that you have been looking for? For a while now I’ve been coveting Trudy Campbell’s gorgeous peach evening dress with the gold and pearl trim and the collars and cuffs, so when I saw this pattern on ebay I almost jumped out of my seat, it’s as close a match as I’ve found anywhere and I cannot wait to get cracking on it!

At the same time this beautiful coat pattern showed up and I snapped it up without a second though, it’s very Betty. It looks an awful lot like the cream number she wears in her riding outfit and I think it would look great for a smarter ensemble or something a little more casual.

This all leads me on to a thought. Do you have someone in mind when you search for vintage patterns, or do you just go for what grabs you? Do you have inspiration boards on Pinterest? If so link me up in the comments below and I’ll follow you!

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME – 7 DAYS TO GO!

Votes are super tight and only the top three go through so if you haven’t voted and you likes this blog please give me five minutes of your time and see how to vote below.

Please vote for me in the NVAs as I’ve been nominated under the Best Vintage Fashion/Lifestyle Blog category. Voting is open throughout May and it’s a simple click to select Stacey Stitch and then enter your email address to confirm the vote (you wont be spammed). Clicking on the photo or links above should take you straight to the website. It’ll only take a few minutes of your time if you have it spare! Thank you!

Butterick B5895: The Gertie Capris – 3 Different Ways

Published on May 5, 2014 by Stacey Stitch11 Comments

You probably all sat there thinking “c’mawn…where’s the sewing?!” lately didn’t you?

Well, I have indeed been Sewing for Vegas as I promised a few weeks back, it’s just been terrible weather here and combined with Timothy working away, and out of town visits to friends and family, I haven’t been able to get some photos until now.

So where did I start? 4 metres of stretch slub denim going for a song on ebay. Perfect, I thought, this will be a good foundation for my day wear when I’m pounding the pavement and looking at the wonders the strip has to offer.

So I got out my Gertie capri pattern and cut out the pieces (in a bigger size than my test pattern a few months ago) and got to sewing. I found the tips over at Handmade Jane’s blog on denim sewing tips a great help and before you knew it (and in a day) I had a pair of denim capris.

Following this I decided to make up another pair for shorts, because it’s an easily to chop some length off a pattern, and the day after voila! A pair of high waisted denim shorts to be roaming about in.

Then I got all cocky with myself and made the decision to adapt the pattern and make a skirt.

Now, this might not seem like a lot of bother for some readers of this blog but I have never attempted anything like this.

I made the adjustment to the front parts of the pattern, ensuring I took the seam allowance off the centre as this would be placed on the fold.

I made a few other adjustments to the back side of the legs to taper in more and made a toile with some stretch cotton, before using that toile to cut the pieces of denim for the final skirt.

I have to say I’m so happy with how it all turned out and now I have my day wear for Vegas.

I just have to find something for my top half as however liberal Vegas may be I’m sure they don’t want me flouncing about topless in the streets.

So what’s next? Well, I’ve been joining in on Gertie’s slip sew along as I have never sewn any undercrackers or used that type of slinky material.

I am also starting my Gerties Sew Retro Bombshell Dress class on Craftsy to make my birthday dress for Vegas. So much to do and only 30 days to go!

If you liked this blog please vote for me in the NVA as I’ve been nominated under the Best Vintage Fashion/Lifestyle Blog category. Voting is open throughout May and it’s a simple click to select Stacey Stitch and then enter your email address to confirm the vote. Clicking on the photo or links above should take you straight to the website. It’ll only take a few minutes of your time if you have it spare! Thank you!