My happy sewing place...

Almost Done!

2012-01-29T22:17:00.000Z

I'm almost done with my birthday dress suit. I really love it. I just need to hem the dress and the jacket and attach the last of the buttons which I'll do tomorrow after work. My goal is to post the outfit photos before my birthday month is over!!

Here's a sneaky peek:

You can check out the pattern I used (a 1937 McCall pattern) here...

My esteemed sewing assistant, Echo, was very helpful during the dress construction phase:

YAY! I'm super excited. My sewing mojo got a major upswing after the Crafters' Ceilidh meet-up--and I'm sewing non-stop!

What are you working on at the moment?

Special Day

2012-01-27T21:33:00.000Z

Today is my Pa's birthday. Happy Birthday to the best Dad ever! I love you and wish I was there to celebrate with you!

Mission McCall Monday: 9111 to 9120

2012-01-23T22:09:00.001Z

Thanks for all the comments on the last post! It was so much fun to meet-up with everyone in Edinburgh and to even hear of some plans for future visits to the city!

Back to Mission McCall Mondays and today we are covering patterns 9111 to 9120 from 1937.

I'm missing the image for 9111 so first up is McCall 9112 for these fabulous culottes:

I must say that I really adore the fit of these culottes and the two small pockets on the hip line!

Next is McCall 9113:

I really like the detail of the gathered yoke and the potential for using piping and other trims.

McCall 9114 is another great dress pattern:

Though I think I might like McCall 9115 best:

Check out that great collar. I actually really like the idea of making a striped collar for a plain dress. hmmmm....

McCall 9116 is for a classic blouse pattern:

I think I just saw this pattern not too long ago on Etsy!

McCall 9117 is the only two-piece pattern in this bunch:

The blouse of the dress looks very similar to the earlier McCall 9116! I just love the swing type jacket and how it mimics the pleats in the skirt.

McCall 9118 is one of the few boy's patterns:

Love the wee suit and argyle socks!

Rounding out this week's Mission McCall Monday is pattern 9119 for another great dress:

Which one is your favourite this week? I think I'm going with 9112 and 9115.

Missing images so far: 9011, 9012, 9013, 9017, 9040, 9041, 9050, 9062, 9073, 9082, 9088, 9106, 9110, 9111 and 9120. If you want to contribute to the Mission McCall--just email me the images or pattern covers and I'll update them in the Vintage Pattern Wiki. myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com.

Crafters' Ceilidh OR The Perfect Day

2012-01-22T13:09:00.002Z

Crafters' Ceilidh Group Photo, From L to R: Kerry, Karen, Winnie, Rachel L., Kari, Roo, Carolyn, Amanda, So-Ha, Kiran, Rachel, Debi B., Kristen, Franca, Alana, me, Hannah, Katie and Melizza. Not pictured: Clare, Anneleen, Tom and Cat.

Wow, oh wow! Yesterday was the Crafters' Ceilidh--or the most perfect day ever! Twenty-three of us met up in Edinburgh, Scotland for a jam-packed day of chatting and shopping. It was so much fun!

The preparations began last month in earnest when Kristen, Kerry and I met-up and decided it would be great to hold a fabulous meet-up in Scotland! Full credit for the idea goes to Dibs who's been wanting to come up to Scotland for some time (Dibs, we missed you so much!!!). We had several planning meetings and after phone calls, emails and even crafting we sat anxiously waiting in Frederick's Coffee House for the first folks to arrive from all over the UK!

Photos: 1. Kristen, Kerry and I chatting, photo by Roo; 2. Clare, Alana, Debi B. and Anneleen chatting away, 3. Karen and Winnie, photo by Karen.

We started out the day chatting and mingling as folks arrived and grabbing some food and caffeine for what would be a whirlwind trip around Edinburgh!

We walked through Prince's Street Gardens and took a group photo at one of the most picturesque vantage points in the city:

David was our lovely photographer and yes, we did bring a Scottish flag (teehee).

We walked first to the Grassmarket area and had fun at W. Armstrong and Sons vintage store, K1 Yarns Knitting Boutique and Fabhatrix. We then ventured onto three fabrics stores: Edinburgh Fabrics, Mandors and the Cloth Shop.

Karen looking gleefully at some fabric with Winnie and Amanda contemplating fabric choices.

Rachel and I in the Cloth Shop

1. Rachel explaining what could be made with the fabulous 80's patterns, 2. some of the many goodies up for grabs, 3. Rachel L. showing a really beautiful gown pattern--can you believe no one wanted to take it home...that is except for me..*rubbing hands together*

We then headed to the soon-to-be-opened Sewing Bee Cafe--Edinburgh's first sewing space! The lovely Kal gave us an introduction to the Cafe and generously hosted us in her space for our pattern/fabric/yarn swap. We had so much fun and hilarity ensued with a contest for the funniest cover art of patterns in the giveaway.

We then headed to the Voodoo Rooms for a wonderful group dinner where we were joined by Tom and Cat.

It was such a fabulous day! Thank you to everyone for coming and for those that weren't able to come at the last minute due to illness or injury (Kate, Donna, Jane and Dibs), we're hoping to have many more meet-ups!

And did I hear a rumour at my dinner table that there is a desire for our next meet-up to be in Bath???....hmmm...what are the chances?

1907 McCall Pattern Leaflet

2012-01-19T19:47:00.000Z

Lauren from Wearing History sent me this fabulous leaflet she found in a 1907 McCall's magazine to share with all of you. It gives details on what all the notches and holes stand for in the early unprinted McCall patterns. What a find! Thanks Lauren!!

Preparing for the Crafters' Ceilidh Meet-Up

2012-01-18T07:56:00.001Z

I'm so excited for this upcoming weekend! I wanted to do a post about what to expect at the Crafters' Ceilidh meet-up. Those who are coming will be receiving an email soon with all the details but I thought I do a little showcase piece on some of my favourite sewing related offerings in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. Now, it's no Goldhawk Road or Garment District....but we've got a few Aladdin's Caves with hidden treasures. I know I am horrible at spur of the moment shopping and prefer to plot and plan a little before my fabric and sewing related excursions--so I thought I thought I'd share some photos to get your creative ideas flowing!

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know that I love Edinburgh Fabrics (they don't have a website). They have everything: consistent offerings, great quality and excellent prices. I've made many of my garments from fabric bought at Edinburgh Fabrics. Here are a few of my favourite things:

Fun Buttons photo credit: Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons

Edinburgh Fabrics is small and jam packed with goodies. I always find something new every time I visit. Some of my favourite things they offer includes amazing British wool (at good prices approx. £15-20/mtr), crepe back satin in virtually every colour, fun buttons (including rhinestone vintage looking buttons), loads of trim, beautiful Chinese brocade fabrics, great linings and some beautiful netting (think petticoats) in nice muted colours. Edinburgh Fabrics is family run and I think you will love it!

We also have a store called the Cloth Shop (run by Remnant Kings):

Photos from Remnant Kings Website

Looking for home furnishing fabrics, fun stretch tartan fabric or funky prints? The cloth shop is a great store. I never know what I'm going to find but I always love having a look! They also have accessories such as shoulder pads, etc.

And last but not least in the fabric store category is Mandors Edinburgh:

Mandors Store photo credit: rovingreporterseca

They have their flagship store in Glasgow but have a two-floor shop in Edinburgh. The basement holds the quilting cottons and furnishing fabrics and the ground floor is dedicated to dressmaking fabrics. Let me tell you...they have an A-MAZING wool selection. Mandors is know for their colour coordinated stores and it is so fun to browse their amazing offering. There is a huge range in prices from bargain bin half-priced fabric to Alpaca and Wool coating going for £50/mtr. It just so happens our visit will coincide with their winter sale....hmmmmm

But wait....there's more.

Fancy knitting? K1 Yarns Knitting Boutique is a cute little shop with some very nice yarns. They also have a short stack of wool fabric and batik print fabric in the store (though it's a bit on the pricey end).

Do you have an embroidery project or are you thinking of starting one? Well....the Grassmarket Embroidery Shop (again no website) is the equivalent of handwork heaven. Every colour of floss, embroidery canvases and fabrics, speciality kits....

Do you love vintage?

Photo credits: Gloves and hats photos from La Poubelle Verte, Cashmere sweaters photo from Rosie and Gracie Vintage.

Armstrongs and Sons is THE place in Scotland for vintage clothing. Some of my favourite things include their vintage hats, gloves and of course, cashmere jumpers/sweaters. They also have vintage patterns and fabrics. Every time I've gone, I've walked away with some fabric at a fabulous price (in December I came away with three yards each of two separate wools!!) Plus, the store is such a fun experience--it's packed from floor to ceiling with pretty things.

I'm currently checking to see if any of these places will give us discounts.

What else? Bring your camera and plan for cold weather.....of course, you do realise we are all totally crazy for planning a meet-up in January in Scotland?? heheheh. The high is expected to be 6 degrees Celsius with light rain and wind--so bundle up. You don't have to wear a me-made creation, unless of course you have made a coat recently.....

We'll probably do a bit of traveling by bus around the city (Edinburgh buses are fantastic)--so plan to bring £3.20 in exact change to purchase a day ticket. Unlike other buses in Scotland, the Lothian buses do not give change so you have to have the exact fare.

If you have fabric, patterns, yarn or other crafty stuff that you're not using--bring it with you and put it in our swap!

More details on the actual meet-up location and other logistics will be sent soon! I can't wait for Saturday!!

I'm in Sew Magazine!

2012-01-16T22:42:00.000Z

I'm so excited! The lovely Mary Jane who blogs over at Mary Jane Makes interviewed me for a piece she was writing on sewing with vintage patterns for Sew Magazine.

I am SO EXCITED! How neat is that?? You may recognise in the photo that I'm wearing my very first sewn garment--the 1940's DuBarry pattern blouse. A big thanks to Rachel for letting me know she had seen the article. I'm picking up a couple of copies at the train station tomorrow! Thanks so much Mary Jane!

A Look Inside Early McCall Patterns: 1910's to 1930's

2012-01-15T19:34:00.000Z

Today I thought we would take a look inside some early McCall patterns to see how the patterns themselves evolved over time.

I want to give a special thank you to Lauren from Wearing History (a fellow McCall pattern lover) as she helped me put together some of the information for this post and kindly contributed several pictures!

Here's what a pattern piece from a 1910 McCall pattern looks like:

Photo credit: Lauren from Wearing History

Notice how it's unprinted but does include notches and circle and triangle holes? That's the guide for different construction techniques such as darts, etc.

The earliest McCall pattern I have is from the 1920's. Here's a look inside at both the instructions and the sleeve pattern piece:

A few things I noticed right away with this 20's pattern is that the instructions (called 'Printo Gravure') are printed on the same tissue paper as the pattern. You'll also notice that the sleeve pattern piece has a pictorial guide on it on how to alter the sleeve for special measurements. I've only seen this on 1920's patterns but I really like it. In the last picture above you can see that the instructions contain a lot of real photos including how to make a bound buttonhole (in photos as opposed to drawings).

The other great part about McCall patterns in general (I've seen this on a lot of their patterns) is that they number the order the seams should be joined directly onto the pattern (see the photo below):

This helps tremendously. If you have experience in sewing, you can put together even an early McCall pattern without instructions because so much is already printed on the pattern pieces.

The McCall Pattern Company was one of the first to produce printed patterns. Below is an image from the patent they filed through the United States Patent Office for the printed paper pattern. It was filed in 1920 and granted in 1921. Which means it would have expired in 1939 (which is also around the same time Simplicity started printing on their patterns). You can read the entire patent application online here.

McCall also had a patent for their specific pattern instructions (the numbered seams) which was granted in 1925 (Butterick had a patent on pattern instructions that was issued in 1916 and this explains why McCall Pattern Company had to do a separate patent for their instructions):

The McCall Company went further and patented a very detailed printed paper pattern in which details of each part of the pattern are clearly marked. The patent was issued in 1934. Here is the patent drawing:

You may recall that I've made a cape from a 1935 pattern (which is just after they got the detailed printed pattern patent):

Here's what the pattern piece looks like:

It includes very detailed instructions printed on the pattern for the lining, placement of buttons, pockets, order of seams to be joined as well as facing, seam allowance, etc. Everything you need to know is right on the pattern!

I'm just loving this month and the chance to delve into the history of my favourite pattern company!
What about you? Have you sewn with an early McCall pattern? Or with an early unprinted pattern?

Sew Grateful Week--Rescheduled for February

2012-01-11T23:15:00.002Z

January is sure flying by! I've decided to reschedule the Sew Grateful Week to the first full week in February to give us all some more prep time. There's been little sewing around these parts as I am completely re-organising my sewing room at the moment. It's almost done and it is so much better!

You may recall from the first Sew Grateful Week that the idea is to use fabric, pattern, book or other item that was given to you in a giveaway or as a present from a family member or friend and to showcase that project on your blog during the Sew Grateful Week. Haven't received any material sewing items lately? That doesn't matter --we can be sew grateful for the time people put into organising sew-alongs, tutorials, etc. Why not jump in and participate in that sew-along you missed or make something from that tutorial you've been thinking about? Even if you don't get around to finishing a project, maybe spend some time blogging about what you're grateful for in relation to your hobby and the sewing community?

I hope you'll join in for the Sew Grateful Week in February! Button coming soon... Now I just need to figure out which lovely gift to sew!!

In other news, have you heard about the "Vintage-Inspired, Modern Style Design Challenge" hosted by BurdaStyle? It sounds really fun. You basically take one of the patterns from the 'Vintage Notions' book (a book that my Dad got for me that I absolutely love), or a pattern from Amy Barickman's other lines and update it for your style. You then post it as a project on BurdaStyle and they do some judging and award some amazing prizes! The U.S. winner gets one of these 160th anniversary limited edition Singer machines:

Unfortunately, the international winner doesn't get one of those but they still get some cash and neat other swag. I am SO IN!

Anyways, check out all the details here...

Like I said before, I just adore the Vintage Notions book and I'm looking forward to trying out some of the projects and adding my own unique twist!

Or why not join the U.F.O. (i.e. Unfinished Objects) Party that Marina from Frabjous Couture is hosting? I just organised all my UFOs today and I could definitely use a party to get those finished!

Another exciting challenge is the 'Sew Colette' Sew-along, which is hosted by two of my favourite ladies--Sarah from Rhinestones and Telephones and Erin from Miss Crayola Creepy.

They are planning to sew all the patterns from the book (one a month). It sounds fantastic! I am happy to say that I've just joined the rest of you. I just got my book in the mail today!!! A birthday gift! YAY!

My, my....I best get a move on and finish tidying up this sewing room!

Mission McCall Mondays: 9100-9110

2012-01-09T23:06:00.001Z

My regular 'Mission McCall Mondays' post series seems especially appropriate this month! For those of you new to the series, my goal is to update the Vintage Pattern Wiki so that it's complete for all McCall patterns from mid 1936-1940. I am admittedly behind in uploading these to the Wiki but I know I'll get there soon. All of the patterns this week are from 1937. The pattern envelopes were uploaded into the pattern Wiki by VintageMartini.com--a great online pattern seller. The other images (alas just the images not the patterns) are from my own collection.

We start off this week with a pattern already in the Wiki, McCall 9100:

I really love this pattern between the double collar, the neat rows of buttons up the front to the interesting sleeve details, I think it's just perfect!

Next up this week is an image from my own collection for McCall 9101:

Here's where I get sucked in by amazing drawings. How cute is this number in the stripes? I just love it when there is an option for stripes to be cut out going multiple ways! And if you can see in the lower right hand corner, this pattern comes with a little swing jacket too! Perfect for the beach.

9102 is for a classic boxy men's shirt pattern:

I find the button placket/front yoke really interesting on this pattern.

Next up is an adorable two-piece tunic dress, McCall 9103:

Pictured in a beautiful lace overlay with an adorable bow. I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of tight 1930's sleeves and this one has great sleeves!

The 9104 dress pattern is also already in the Vintage Pattern Wiki:

I see this type of collar a lot on the 1936 and 1937 dresses. I really love how it buttons in the back. It almost looks like the back is also a blouse front!

Onto our first gown this week, McCall 9105:

It may be hard to tell from the photo but the lace gown has an adorable peter pan collar. Isn't the back great? Super sexy yet subtle.

I've found no image for the 1930's McCall 9106 (though I did find tons for the 1950's McCall's 9106) so it will be added to my missing images list.

I do have an image for McCall 9107:

This dress has an interesting design feature in that it appears as if the middle of the dress can be done in contrasting fabric and topstitched down the sides??

I really like the next dress, McCall 9108:

I think what I like best about the dress is the clever use of the print material with the lace trim. Here's a close-up of the pattern back:

I think having the lace peak out like this in the back is such a great idea!

The last pattern image this week is McCall 9109 (with a bonus McCall 9060 image on the right):

This one is not my favourite--though the sleeve shape is interesting.

Ok, so which one(s) do you like best? I think my three favourite (in order) are 9108, 9100 and 9105.

Missing images so far: 9011, 9012, 9013, 9017, 9040, 9041, 9050, 9062, 9073, 9082, 9088, 9106 and 9110. If you want to contribute to the Mission McCall--just email me the images or pattern covers and I'll update them in the Vintage Pattern Wiki. myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com.

Preparing for the Crafters' Ceilidh Meet-up

2012-01-08T19:08:00.000Z

Today Kerry, Kristen and I got together and did some planning and prepping for the Crafters' Ceilidh Meet-up later this month.

We're just wrapping up some of the details--more to come but I can promise you it will be a fun day!

Thank You- You Are Amazing!

2012-01-08T11:48:00.000Z

Thank you all for the sweet birthday congratulations! It made me so happy reading through all your comments and well wishes! I had a fabulous day ..(more pictures to come later)...

I wanted to share a really fun video that Oona put together that I think you will enjoy (I know I did!):

hahahaha! Isn't that great? We sure do know how to bust a move :) Happy Sunday everyone!

A note from David

2012-01-07T11:41:00.000Z

Hey, all.
This is David, Debi's partner.
We've awakened to an uncharacteristically-sunny morning in Edinburgh, a wonderful start to the day.

Please join me in wishing Debi a very Happy Birthday.

Thank you all for your continued interest and support of Debi's sewing hobby (fascination, obsession...). Your interactions have inspired, instructed, and encouraged her to pursue it with all her characteristic joy and passion, and it has made her incredibly happy.

Happy New Year, and here's to wonderful things in 2012!

Warm regards,
David

McCall's in the 1910's

2012-01-07T08:00:00.002Z

Photo credit: Magazine cover by Coles Phillips [1880-1927], scan via American Art Archives

As we embark on the year that commemorates the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the titanic, there will be lots of looking back at Edwardian times. I thought I would put together a post of some lovely scans from McCall's magazines of the 1910's. Hope you enjoy!

Photo Credits: 1. August 1910 McCall's Magazine via Christine592 on Flickr (also known by the blog Vintage 123), 2. Winter 1913 McCall's Magazine via Clothes Circuit, 3. April 1914 McCall fashion plate via Vintage Fan Girl

Photo Credits: 4. March 1914 McCall's Magazine fashion plate via Christine592 on flickr, 5. 1915 McCall's Magazine fashion plate via the NYPL Digital Gallery

Photo Credits: 6. 1916 McCall's Magazine fashion plate from Iowa State University Library Special Collections via Old Rags ,7. April 1917 McCall's Magazine fashion plate via Christine592 on Flickr, 8. January 1918 McCall's Magazine fashion plate via Christine592 on Flickr.

More 1910's McCall's resources:

Scans from the August and December 1917 McCall's Magazines from Vintage 123.

A story from the April 1916 McCall's Magazine on auto-camping across the United States from The Vintage Traveler (a fabulous blog and fellow vintage pattern lover!) Lizzie explains ... From Coast to Coast, A Nine-Thousand-Mile Vacation for Two for $350. The story is the first person account of Beatrice Backus and her teacher husband’s decision to drive from Massachusetts to San Francisco during his summer break. In 1916 the automobile was still relatively new, and many parts of the country did not have any paved roads. There was no highway system, no AAA, no reliable maps for many places. But that did not stop these intrepid travelers who decided to auto-camp their way across the country and back.

Scans from the May 1913 McCall's Magazine that this lucky blogger found at a garage sale!!

Scans from the December 1911 McCall's Magazine from Clearly Vintage.

Breaking News: More Information on James McCall

2012-01-06T19:35:00.001Z

I am so excited! Mikhaela who blogs over at Polka Dot Overload and her mom, Beryl (who by the way has a really amazing site that includes loads of three dimensional Google Earth models she has made of literary landmarks and other notable places!!) have been amazing genealogy detectives! Through a search on ancestry.com, Mikhaela's mum was able to find out more about the founder of the McCall Pattern Company.

James McCall was born in 1823 and was 47 when he started the McCall Pattern Company. He was married to Laura S. McCall who was five years younger than him. They had a daughter, Fannie M. McCall and what I find really fascinating is that Mrs. McCall had Fannie when she was 40 years old (James was 45--so it was two years before he started the McCall Pattern Company that they had their only child).

They lived at 9 West 42nd Street. Yup, that's right across the street now from Bryant Park and the NY Public Library (NYPL). Back in the 1880s, the spot where the NYPL is now was a large water reservoir. Here is a picture of what James McCall's view would have been (this is the corner of 5th Avenue and 42nd street) in the 1880's:

Photo credit: NYPL Collection via Daytonian in Manhattan's blog post on the Croton Reservoir

This photo shows what would have been around the corner from him (1885-1939). He lived right next to that first building on the left with the cool windows (down 42nd street in the direction that the arrow is pointing).

Photo credit: Wittemann Collection via Photographium.com (from this post)

Here is a photo of 5th avenue looking South (McCall's residence would have been down the street to the right--in the direction the arrow is pointing). That fancy looking castle like building on the left was
Rutgers Female College:

Photo credit: NYPL via Sepia Town: From Here to Then (a neat interactive map)

Wow! He lived in what was then (and still is) a very desirable part of town. James and Laura had two servants living with them at the 1880 census named Mary Griffin and Kate Doyle. So it seems that the McCall's did quite well for themselves within the first decade after he founded his pattern company.

Number 9 on 42nd Street still exists but you'll never guess what it is now (or maybe you will)....

It's the building in the middle...which is now a Chipotle Mexican Grill (photo from Google Earth).

Sigh. Well, the next time I'm in NYC, I may have to have a taco in his honour. Double sigh.

A super big thank you to Mikhaela and her mom for finding out more information about Mr. McCall and his family!

Who Was James McCall?

2012-01-06T07:00:00.001Z

No idea! I find it astonishing that we know so little about the man who started the McCall Pattern Company in 1870 who is the founding father of the modern McCall Corporation.

Here's what we do know....

He was Scottish,

He was a tailor in Scotland by profession,

As an answer to your question, Molly....He was born in Scotland and immigrated to New York City (I've seen some accounts say shortly before he started the McCall Pattern Company--so the company is American but started by a Scotsman),

While in NYC, he worked as an agent for the English pattern company called 'the Royal Chart'

He was married (though we do not know if he was married in Scotland or the United States),

He died in the United States (I am presuming this), and

His widow, Mrs. McCall, co-ran the McCall Pattern Company for a limited time after he died (though I find no reference of her name anywhere).

That's surprisingly little information about a man who made significant contributions to the home sewing industry!

Well, I figured since I am in Scotland, I could do a little research--however, given so little information, it is difficult to know where to start.

So, I've contacted the General Register Office for Scotland. They are the the main source of family history records in Scotland. You see, they've got this initiative called the Famous Scots Archives:

According to the General Register's website,

Records of every person who has grown up to be a 'Famous Scot', from Mary Queen of Scots to Sir Walter Scott, are archived in the Centre. Our Famous Scots Archive gives a snapshot of some of the men and women who have shaped the history of Scotland, the United Kingdom and further afield, together with the references to the relevant entries in the registers. Amongst our priceless archives are Rob Roy's birth records, Mary Queen of Scots' second marriage certificate and the death certificate of James Keir Hardie, founder of the Labour Party. The archive is sub-divided into generic subject headings. To access these pages, click on... this link: Famous Scots Archive. Use our Contact page if you have a suggestion about a Famous Scots whose profile you'd like us to add to these web pages.

So following their suggestion, I have contacted them to add James McCall to their web pages. I really want to know more about the man behind my favourite pattern company! Why don't you join me and contact the General Register via their contact page and suggest that they add James McCall, the founder of the McCall Pattern Company to their website of Famous Scots? It would be great to know a bit more about this piece of history from folks that have all the resources available to research it!!

EvaDress 2012 Vintage Pattern Contest

2012-01-05T18:41:00.000Z

It's on! Xandra just announced the 2012 EvaDress Pattern Contest which will start at midnight EST on the 15th of January.

The Details:
There are four categories for which one may sew and each entrant is welcome to submit as many projects as desired within each category. Each entry will be judged according to quality of construction (as best we can tell online!) and creativity.

The BIG theme for this year's contest is completing that project you have always wanted to do:

Category 1~Any EvaDress pattern garment project that you have only thought about doing, but never took on. When you submit in this category, tell us why you only dreamed about doing the project and never made it. For example, perhaps your technical or pattern grading skills just weren't there yet.

Category 2~Any EvaDress pattern garment project you started some time ago and have been meaning to finish. It doesn't matter if it has been years (hey, it happens) or weeks, when you submit in this category you need to tell us why you didn't finish it until now.

NOTE: Category 2 is exempt from the pre-January 15, 2012 contest start date for obvious reasons, but if you are entering in this category, you are not to pick that project up and continue it until 12 a.m. January 15, 2012.

Category 3~Best use of pattern in its original form = Any garment for men, women or children created devoutly from the pattern (that is, with no changes to the design, although grading or alteration to the pattern for proper fit or length is a must).

This is the category I won last year (thanks to all your votes) for the Katherine Hepburn frock:

Category 4~Best use of pattern as adapted for contemporary-wear = Any garment for men, women, children created from an EvaDress pattern that has been modified for a more updated look (design changes allowed). One may not use pattern pieces from pattern companies other than EvaDress but, may incorporate pieces from an original vintage pattern, if desired.

No purchase necessary to enter (one may use from one's EvaDress pattern stash).

The winners will be voted by all participating EvaDress customers, fellow entrants and members (followers) of the EvaDress blog.

$100 of EvaDress patterns will be awarded to the winners of each category plus free shipping (international included). Isn't that generous??? The awards (in the form of EvaDress gift certificates) are redeemable for up to one year from March 15, 2012 (the contest ending date).

Projects are to be started no sooner than 12 a.m. EST on January 15, 2012 (with the exception of Category 2-see note above) and the contest will close for submissions at 12 a.m. EST on March 15, 2012. Voting will take place from 12 a.m. EST on March 16, 2012 until 12 a.m. EST on March 26, 2012.

Visit the EvaDress blog for more details on how to enter your submission! Are you going to do it??

The Queen of Fashion

2012-01-05T13:36:00.000Z

Photo via Tom Folio

McCall patterns have a fascinating history. The McCall Pattern Company was started in 1870 by a Scotsman. Starting in 1873 until 1884 he published a short four-page leaflet called "The Queen" to advertise his patterns. I've found references to two different taglines both "The Queen: Illustrated Magazine of Fashion" and "The Queen: Illustrating McCall's Bazaar Glove-Fitting Patterns". I haven't been able to find any image scans from these earliest publications.

Photo via Digital Changeling

From 1884 to 1897 he began publishing these leaflets under the name 'The Queen of Fashion'. In 1897 the name changed to 'McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion' and that tagline remained on the magazines until the spring of 1911 when they dropped the tagline on the magazine covers.

Photo via Digital Changeling

The Queen of Fashion magazine and the subsequent McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion extended the publication length (from 4 pages to approximately 15). Each magazine included a colour cover and another black and white inside cover and pages detailing the fashions of the times and the McCall patterns available for purchase (such as the photo above).

Photo via what-i-found

One or more colour fashion plates (like the one above) were also included in the magazines. I'm not sure if these colour fashion plates appeared in the Queen of Fashion magazines or only started in the McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion.

Want to see more? Check out these amazing resources for McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion

Fashion plate of a purple princess gown from the October 1899 McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion via Vintage123.

Full scans of the August and November 1899 McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion via designmosaic on Squidoo

Fashion plate scans from the May 1901 McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion via what-i-found (if you don't already know Tina's blog--definitely check it out. She's got some amazing posts from her vintage finds).

Scans from the August 1902 McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion via what-i-found.
Covers of McCall's Magazines from 1902 until 1936 at MagazineArt.org.

The complete June 1905 McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion magazine at Digital Changeling (along with other fully scanned period resources).

Scans from the August 1907 McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion magazine via Christina592 on Flickr.

Scans from the September 1907 McCall's Magazine: The Queen of Fashion magazine (and more scans here) at what-i-found

I'll be covering more on the evolution of McCall's magazines and patterns up until the end of the 1930's this week. Please contact me (myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com) if you have any additional resources or knowledge of these early McCall magazines and patterns!

Information Sources:

McCall Pattern Company via Cemetarian.com
The Kentucky Edition 'Commercial Branding: Then and Now"
MagazineArt.org
McCall's magazines via BookRags

Pattern Giveaway Winner + What I'm Working On

2012-01-04T17:30:00.000Z

Thank you everyone for your feedback on my new blog layout!! I was able to make the blog layout narrower, hopefully that solves the problem of having to scroll. Let me know how it looks from your end!

Giveaway Winner
I'm very happy to announce the randomly chosen giveaway winner for the 1950's Butterick pattern is...

Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons!

Congrats! I can't wait to see what you make with it!!

What I'm Working On
For this first week in the Month of McCall, I'm working on a dress suit from 1937:

I haven't gotten very far but hope to make some headway on it today! What are you working on?

New Changes to the Blog

2012-01-04T00:59:00.008Z

I am so excited! I've spent some time making a bunch of changes to my blog!

First off, you may notice that I now have a left sidebar with a photo linking you to all of my sewing projects by decade. I am so delighted about this. I hemmed and hawed about adding tabs at the top and found it really frustrating. I think this is much, much better!

Along the left side bar you'll find my projects by decade but also the challenges I am participating in and the other blogs I contribute to! I still want to add BurdaStyle and Pattern Review (maybe after I have contributed more to them...lol)

On the right side bar, I've added the option to follow the blog via email, changed the 'about me' text, and added blog categories.

I've also changed the size of the font (am I the only one that likes a larger font to read on screen?) and the style of font for the headers.

Lastly, I've added a bit at the bottom so that you can link and share posts.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the changes. It took a lot of time but is well worth it as I can now finally find things on my own blog! lol.

How do the changes look from your end? Anything else you would change?

Crafters' Ceilidh: The Survey

2012-01-03T17:14:00.000Z

Just a quick note about the Crafters' Ceilidh meet-up on January 21st. We have quite a group going and have sent out a survey to those who are on the mailing list. We wanted to get a feel for what everyone wants to do so that we can plan the perfect day, and as such, the survey is a gauge of possible activities.

If you have not received the email and are interested in attending, do comment or email me (myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com) and Kristen , Kerry and I will make sure you are added.

Please complete the survey by January 7th so that we can get planning - We're very excited!

What's in store for January 2012...

2012-01-01T14:28:00.000Z

I hope you all had a lovely time ringing in the New Year! I can't believe it's now officially 2012!!

I wanted to share some of the fun things I've got planned for this first month of the year.

Signature Styles: Learning More About Vintage Patterns
First, you all know how much I LOVE vintage patterns. Well, I've decided to apply some of my sleuthing/research skills to finding out more about vintage patterns this year. To start off, this month will be dedicated to my favourite (so far) vintage pattern company: McCall (or McCall's) patterns!! So this will be the Month of McCall. I am so excited. I hope to dig out some lovely McCall patterns from different decades and to link to your McCall/'s projects as well.

Sew Grateful Week: January 16-22
Were you blessed during the holidays? Is there a gift, tutorial or sew along that you are especially grateful for but haven't had the chance to tackle? Mark your calendars because there will be another Sew Grateful Week from January 16-22! Join me in using an item of fabric, pattern, book or other item that was given to you in a giveaway or as a present from a family member or friend and showcase your project on your blog during the week of January 16th. At the end of that week and the beginning of the next week, I'll do several round-up posts showcasing everyone's projects.

I had so much during the last Sew Grateful Week. My only problem will be picking just one project! I'm hoping to make this a quarterly challenge with the next Sew Grateful week later in the spring (April??) I'll also get a new button up for everyone this week.

The Crafters' Ceilidh: January 21
I'm so excited to be co-hosting an exciting meet-up in Edinburgh later this month.

So far, we've got just under 30 people planning to attend. It will be a fabulous time to catch up with each other, check out the local fabric/yarn/vintage goods and explore this lovely city. If you want to attend, be sure to send me your email (send it to myhappysewingplace{at}googlemail{dot}com) so that I can include you on the logistics mailing list. Expect more planning news coming towards the end of this week and early next week!

Updating my Creative Spaces

Part of this month will also be dedicated to updating my creative spaces: both my sewing room and the blog. My sewing room is not really working for me at the moment, so I'm looking forward to moving things around a bit and organising the space better. I hope to post some before and after shots.

Also, I can't wait to spend some time updating the blog with features that I think will make a big difference in terms of grouping similar posts together and finding past posts. Look out for categories by decade (1930's, 1940's, etc.) as well as organisation by challenges (Sewing through the Decades, Sew Grateful, etc.) I'm excited to start a bit of New Year's cleaning and organising!

What about you? What have you got planned for January?

Edinburgh's Hogmanay Celebrations

2011-12-31T19:23:00.001Z

Last night, David and I participated in the Torchlight Procession which opens the annual Edinburgh's Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) celebrations. A bunch of people dressed as vikings alongside Scottish highlanders dragging a viking warship (which is later burnt), led what they are saying was a 15,000+ strong crowd all carrying flaming torches through the city of Edinburgh. It started at the historic High Street (Royal Mile) and wound through Princes Street and up to the ancient Edinburgh meeting ground Calton Hill.

It was amazing to see so many lights!

Scotland has perhaps one of the richest celebrations of New Year's Eve, spanning three days--they even have their own name for it--Hogmanay. According to RampantScotland.com:

It may not be widely known but Christmas was not celebrated as a festival and virtually banned in Scotland for around 400 years, from the end of the 17th century to the 1950s. The reason for this has its roots in the Protestant Reformation when the Kirk portrayed Christmas as a Popish or Catholic feast and therefore had to be banned. Many Scots had to work over Christmas and their winter solstice holiday was therefore at New Year when family and friends gathered for a party and exchange presents, especially for the children, which came to be called hogmanay.

There are traditions before midnight such as cleaning the house on 31st December (including taking out the ashes from the fire in the days when coal fires were common). There is also the superstition to clear all your debts before "the bells" at midnight.

Immediately after midnight it is traditional to sing Robert Burns' "For Auld Lang Syne". Burns claimed it was based on an earlier fragment and certainly the tune was in print over 80 years before he published his version in 1788.
"Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and auld lang syne
For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o kindness yet, for auld lang syne."

An integral part of the Hogmanay partying, which continues very much today, is to welcome friends and strangers, with warm hospitality and of course a kiss to wish everyone a Guid New Year. The underlying belief is to clear out the vestiges of the old year, have a clean break and welcome in a young, New Year on a happy note.

Here's a photo (from Edinburgh City Guide) of the viking ship being burnt on Calton Hill:

Here's a short video we took (sorry it's a bit dark):

Have a Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2012!

2011: A year of sewing in pictures

2011-12-30T16:47:00.000Z

Here's a look back at 2011 in pictures...

Centre photo: David and I on Valentine's Day. Other photos: 1. The 'Coco Inspired' blouse, 2 & 3. 'Art Deco Love' dress and jacket, 4. A '1950's Gathered Skirt', 5. 'Fake Bunny Love' jacket, 6. 'The Sleuthing Cape', 7 & 8. 'We Were Made for Each Other' blouse and skirt gown, 9. 'Everybody Loves Parfait' purple pinafore, 10. The 'Groovy Spring' sheath dress, 11 & 12. The 'Shades of Purple' poncho and pants, 13 & 14. The 'Promenade Suit' jacket and skirt and 15. Burdastyle 'Polka Dot Surprise' dress.

Centre Photo: David and I recreating a scene from 'The 39 Steps' Hitchcock movie. Other photos: 16. The 'Whippin' Something Up' apron, 17. The 'Almost Easter' dress, 18. The 'Serenity' gown, 19. The 'Royal Wedding' dress and hat, 20. The 'Paddington Goes to Scotland' dress, 21. The 'Kitten' dress, 22. The 'Union Jack Peek-a-Boo' hooded dress, 23. The 'Raspberry Sorbet' dress, 24 & 25. The 'Faux Wrap Blouse' and skirt, 26. 'Faux Wrap Blouse No. 2', 27. The 'Lady of the Lake' dress, 28. The 'Singin' in the Rain' jacket refashion, 29. The 'Now or Never' halter top, UFO. The 'Chocolate and Wine' dress, 30 & 31. The 'Watch Your Back' dress, 32. The 'Harbour Lights' dress, 33 & 34. The 'Ring of Fire' dress, 35 & 36. The 'Pretty Pendrell' blouse and 'Mrs. Peacock' skirt, 37. The 'Angels' culottes, 38. The 'Tribute' skirt.

Photos: 39. The '99 Luftballoons' dress, 40. The 'Great Gatsby Affair' dress, 41. The 'Going Green' trousers, 42. The 'Razzle Dazzle' blouse, 43. The 'Around the World in 21 Days' dress, 44. The 'C'moooooon Poil!' swing jacket, 45. The 'Highland Ghost Pyjamas', 46. The 'Vitameatavegamin' blouse, 47. The 'Midcentury Madness' dress, 48. The 'Kitten' skirt, 49. The 'Bow Sweater', 50. The 'Revisiting My First Dress' collar and cuffs, 51. The 'Hawk's Eye View' dress, 52. The 'Pumpkin' dress, 53. The 'Déjà Vu' skirt, 54. The 'Scarlett O'Hara' dress, 55. The 'Starting with the Fabric' blouse, 56 & 57. The 'Deco the Halls' tunic and dress, 58. The 'Celebration' dress.

Phew! I get tired just looking at all these photos :) The neat thing is how much each outfit embodies the time and place where it was made. So many great memories all captured in sewing!! Which is your favourite? What about you? What has been your favourite thing you've made this year?

I finished the Sew Weekly challenge!!

2011-12-29T21:07:00.002Z

I can't believe I made it! I just finished my last Sew Weekly challenge outfit! It's been a crazy ride and many days I wasn't sure I would make it but.... I officially made it through a whole year of sewing weekly!

This week, in celebration, I thought it was the perfect time to use the pattern I received from the lovely Trish through the Sew Weekly Sewing Circle pattern swap organised by the amazing Kat.

This is the lovely package I got in the swap. It included an adorable 1950's dress pattern (Butterick 8132), a vintage tea towel (not pictured) and some lovely buttons including two large coconut buttons:

It's such a lovely pattern and was a dream to sew up. I used some more of the red velvet curtains I used for the ruffled collars and cuffs from last week's outfit. I took the advice of several commenters on my Scarlett O'Hara dress and ended up pressing the velvet on top of another piece of velvet and it worked like a charm. Thank you!

The dress has three panels in the front and three in the back. The sleeves are cut in one with the dress so it's really quick to sew up. I absolutely adore this velvet fabric. It feels like a cotton velvet but it is fairly lightweight and a dream to sew with. The lining of the curtain is actually fused to the velvet--so it acts as a underlining of sorts. I changed my needle to a size 11 to work with this fabric and found that was perfect.

This dress has lots of hand sewing... I hand picked the zipper and also hand basted the white bow trim before sewing it on. The part that took the longest on this dress was the hem! It required loads of fitting and adjusting of the hem, not to mention that pressing velvet is a slow process. Since the fabric is a bit thicker and the dress is quite full, I ended up hand basting gathering stitches on the hem. Then I drew those up and sewed seam binding over the edge before hand hemming the dress. I think the hem alone took about 3 hours!

Last Giveaway of 2011
As has been the tradition around these parts, I am offering up this pattern for another sewist to give it a shot! It's really a great pattern. It's a size B32 but since it has princess seam lines and so many panels, it is really easy to grade up by adding just a small amount extra to the seam allowances and it doesn't loose it's shape.

As with other giveaways, this is open to my readers everywhere. Just leave a comment on this post answering the question: Which outfit that I've made this year has been your favourite? I can't wait to hear which ones you liked best!!

The giveaway will close at midnight on January 2nd and I'll pick the winner by random.

Here's to another year of sewing! Thank you all for your lovely comments and support!!

xoxoxo Debi

Deco the halls: My 1933 tunic dress

2011-12-23T16:57:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of posts lately--it's been a bit crazy round these parts! I wanted to share my newly made holiday outfit. I've been wanting to make this outfit forever and am so happy I had to the chance to do it this week!

It's based on a 1933 reproduction pattern from the Vintage Pattern Lending Library:

This dress features a camisole attached skirt which flares slightly at the side seams. The over-tunic may be made in full length or in a shorter, cut-away style. Cuffs and collar offer two options, one in a deep pleated style, the other with a tightly gathered stand up ruffle. I, of course, chose the ruffled version!

Here's the tunic and the underdress:

I used the same fabric for the tunic that I used to sew up my Mother's Day inspired 'Kitten' dress and the underskirt was sewn from the same black flannel that I used to make the 'Promenade' suit. I used another set of velvet curtains in my stash to make the collar and cuffs.

The underdress closes with a side zipper. Here I styled it with a belt from my stash and in the warmer summer months it could probably be worn as a dress by itself. It's very comfortable and I like that I can keep this underdress and then make up lots of different tunics to go with it!

The collar was super easy to sew up and I found this velvet curtain much smoother and easier to sew with than the velvet curtain I used a few weeks ago to create my 'Scarlett O'Hara' dress. Plus I have extra fabric left that I definitely want to make into a dress or part of a suit! The cuffs were much harder to sew into place due to the many layers of fabric and such a small wrist opening. I could only sew part of it on the machine and ended up finishing the rest by hand.

The tunic fabric is a very loose weave tweed. I found Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Guide on google books and read her advice on using fusible interfacing on the seam allowances to provide a bit of stability. It worked like a charm (though I wish I had used black interfacing rather than white--not because it shows through but just for aesthetic appeal). I am now going to bind the edges over the interfacing to make it look a bit nicer. That should take care of any fraying!

The tunic just wraps around and is held in place by a belt and several strategically placed snaps. The pattern doesn't actually call for snaps but given that my tunic fabric is quite lightweight and my ruffles are a bit heavier--it was evident I needed a few extra closures

Here's some photos out and about at the Edinburgh Christmas Market:

Look, I'm in a snow globe :)

How sad does the snowman look in the first picture (lol)? I just had to give him a hug to cheer him up! When I met up with Kerry and Kristen a couple of weeks ago, we visited the Edinburgh Christmas market and spied this snowglobe. It's been my mission ever since to take one of my outfit photos in the snowglobe. So I'm really happy that I was able to stop by there last night to take these photos.

One of my favourite things about this outfit is that David said it reminded him of his absolute favourite art nouveau print:

Overall, the tunic dress is very comfortable and I just love how luxurious the velvet ruffles feel!

Phew! That was a bit of sewing this week! David and I are looking forward to enjoying some quite time together with our two kitties for the rest of the month. What are your plans for the remainder of 2011?

David and I are wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!

*'Deco the Halls': a title I borrowed from one of my favourite deco ladies: The Vintage Baronness!

Tailoring Book Giveaway Winner

2011-12-18T10:30:00.001Z

The winner of the 1960's tailoring book is.....

Tawny who blogs over at The L-T experience. As Tawny describes it "a goofy, ridiculous, sometimes messy stories about Terry, Tawny, Logan and Lane (Team L-T). Seen, reported on and enhanced by Tawny"--a really fun family blog.

Tawny says:

I would love to learn more about shaping the perfect collar. I'm still pretty average at it.

Collars are high on my list too! Congrats to Tawny and thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway!

Giveaways Galore--but hurry!

2011-12-16T14:07:00.001Z

This is just a handful of the many, many giveaways happening at the moment--all compiled in one place, the Sew, Mama, Sew blog. You must check it out. There are almost 300 giveaways open internationally for sewing supplies alone!! There's probably at least 500 giveaways linked up to the site already! Other categories include handmade accessories, handmade bags, kids items, etc. Definitely head on over to the website and click the links of the giveaways you want to enter...I've probably entered 40 or so already. The great part is that you find some amazing blogs in the process too. But don't delay. All the giveaways end today (the 16th) at 5pm PST (1am on the 17th GMT time).

The 'starting with the fabric' blouse...

2011-12-14T07:43:00.000Z

This week's Sew Weekly theme had me in a sheer panic. The theme was 'patternless'....eep! If you've been following my blog for awhile, you'll know that I am a total vintage pattern geek. I ~~obsess over~~ love them. I could seriously look at them for ages. I always start with the pattern. I'm actually the same way with cooking. David can just waltz into the kitchen and cook up a fabulous meal with whatever we have in the fridge. I'm creative in different ways...the um, planning way. lol.

This week I decided the fabric needed to guide me. What better inspiration could I have for this week than the very Ms. Mena herself? Or lore specifically a small piece of fabric that I picked up with Mena when I was in San Fransisco. In fact, I passed over the fabric originally. Mena has eagle eyes when it comes to spotting good deals and AMAZING fabric. She brought this lovely flowered blue fabric over to me and said 'I bet there's enough to make a blouse' out of this! BINGO. And so I have.

What I am about to describe to you is me breaking ALL the sewing rules. I didn't drape anything on a mannequin that I carefully measured. I didn't draw out a paper pattern with a funky shaped clear ruler (btw. I totally don't know how to use those things!). Yours truly held the fabric up to herself and stuck some pins in it, took measurements and just cut the fabric out. I know, I know. I can hear you gasping. I then proceeded to add two bust darts and pin fit the top together.

I topped it off with matching bias binding on the sleeves and neck.

Now don't get me wrong. I do want to learn proper draping and would love to draft up some really neat designs--however, it was not this week. I think for something any more in-depth I would need a lot more time! I am pleased with my simple shell blouse and I know I'll get lots of wear out of it as it goes perfectly with my 1941 high waisted trousers.

I must say that this whole experience has given me a new found respect for folks like Sarai and Tasia who make their own patterns! What about you? Pattern first or fabric first? Do you like to create your own designs or are you a pattern lover like me?

My déjà vu skirt

2011-12-11T11:00:00.000Z

There must be a glitch in the matrix because this is definitely a déjà vu skirt (btw I just love the matrix--1st one definitely the best)! Right....back to the subject at hand....

I've done a pencil skirt before--back when the days were long and there was sunlight aplenty (and before our camera started adding horizontal lines on all our pictures--have you noticed that? It drives me crazy). The previous pencil skirt was also in in a colourful wool fabric...

This time I used Simplicity 2154, a reissued vintage pattern:

How cute is this pattern?? It includes a classic pencil skirt, an amazing blouse and a jacket! I've really enjoyed the Simplicity reissued patterns (I've made trousers from a Simplicity reissue twice and a blouse from that same pattern). I only had enough fabric for the skirt from this pattern. Well, that's not really true. You see, you may recognise this fabric....

Whatever possessed me from making a poncho out of some fabulous wool? You should really stop me when I get ideas like that (granted I probably didn't post about it until it was finished....) I think ponchos only work in sunny locations where there is no wind. In Scotland, they are impossible to wear. A bit like this photo...

So, I've chopped up the poncho and am going to make a matching vest for my pencil skirt!! It's a bit funny that I'm refashioning my own creations! teeheee.

This wool is quite lovely and was an amazing charity shop find (about 2.5 metres). It's nice and thick. I didn't line the skirt--though I just saw Sunni's tutorial for lining a skirt with a vent, which I might just try out!

I inserted a hand picked zipper--one of my favourite methods for inserting zippers on wool fabric (as the handpicked stitches just disappear!)

I don't think I can ever have enough pencil skirts. They are so versatile. I plan on building a mini-wardrobe around this wool fabric much like I did with the Mrs. Peacock skirt.

Have you ever refashioned your own sewn garments? It's oddly fun!

Tailoring book giveaway

2011-12-10T16:39:00.002Z

The lovely Lynette from Thinking in Shapes emailed me the other day saying that she had a great tailoring book and was wondering if I would be interested in hosting a giveaway. OH YES, said I. Books on sewing? Love them. Books on Tailoring?? Love them with a cherry on top!

One of the things that I was most impressed with when I met Gertie in September was how much she delved into sewing books and resource materials. After that meeting, I made a little promise to myself that I would have more of a student's approach to sewing--trying to learn as much as possible. One of the things I really want to do is consult with more vintage sewing books....of which this is one!

Before we talk about the book in question, I just wanted to mention Lynette's blog called Thinking in Shapes. Lynette opened a tailoring shop when she was twenty-one. On her blog she says:

I worked all the time for a while, then I sold the business. Now I spend most of my time designing, sewing, and being a real wife, all my favorite things.

Lynette sells her creations in her shop called Lady Danburry--most of it made from vintage fabrics:

So a big thank you to Lynette for generously sharing this book with others who love to sew!

The book is called 'How to tailor: A handbook for home tailoring' by Phyllis W. Schwebke first published in 1960 and again in 1965.

The book has lots of useful information on different tailoring projects. I just love the picture below:

See the coat in the upper left corner? It's called the 'clutch' coat. How great is that? If you've been wanting to make an early 60's suit--this is the book for you!

It also includes detailed information on altering sewing patterns for various adjustments!

Enter the Giveaway:
Lynette is happy to ship the book anywhere in the world so this is open to everyone. Simply leave a comment on this post answering the question "With regards to tailoring, what is one thing you would like to learn or what technique would you like to get better at doing?" Leave your comment by midnight (London time) the 17th of December for a chance to win. Thanks again Lynette for the generous giveaway!

Save the date: Scotland meet-up details

2011-12-08T17:13:00.001Z

SAVE the date! It's official, we are planning a Scotland meet-up of sewists, knitters and crafters in January. This is open to everyone--you don't have to be a blogger to attend.

Date: Saturday the 21st of January, 2012

Time: 11:00am start time until 5:30pm. And then why not stay on and join us for dinner and drinks if you can?

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Activities: We'll start by getting to know each other over a lunchtime nibble and then depending on how many people there are, we may split into groups according to interests (i.e. fabric shopping, yarn shops, vintage shops, etc.) We'll meet back up for a pattern/fabric/yarn swap and more merriment.

Join Us! Let one of your co-hosts (me, Kristen and/or Kerry) know that you are interested in attending and we'll make sure you are on the mailing list for important logistical information. Either leave a comment here or email me at: myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com.

YAY! Can't wait! Feel free to grab one of the buttons (thanks to Kristen for making these) and pass the word around!

Sew Grateful Highlights: Reflections, Projects and Giveaways

2011-12-07T19:30:00.000Z

This post is a long time a-coming! Thank you everyone for participating in the Sew Grateful challenge--it was great to see your projects, participate in (and even win--woot, woot!) the giveaways and read your reflection posts! Here's the second installment of the Sew Grateful Challenge highlights:

Reflection Posts

To all those who inspire and give(away) from Beau Baby: A lovely post from Suzanne about all the things she's grateful for from the sewing community. Check out this post to see a recap of some of her projects including a wonderful bombshell dress.

Sew Grateful from Happy Little Seamstress: A lovely short post from Evie about her sewing machine that was a gift from her mom and her sister.

So far...from OonaBalloona: A walk down memory lane...I just love this post where Oona reviews the process of making her past 21 creations as part of the Sew Weekly feature.

Projects

Hello Lover Bag from Reana Louise over at Curves, Patterns and Pins.

Reana Louise created this amazing bag using japanese cotton (the same used for her Welcome Spring dress) and thick, luscious cotton-sateen. The best part? She didn't use a pattern but just created shape that she liked with a rounded edge. The Sew Grateful bit is that the seams on this bag are serged and she is so thankful for all the advice she received from her readers on serging. She even included an awesome graph (I so love graphs :) Isn't this bag the best?
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Sew Thankful Pillow from Mommy en France who blogs over at the Two little cabbages and cie

Mommy en France made up this adorable pillow from a quilting square that her mother gave her last summer. It was a leftover from a quilt her mother had made for her cousin about 20 years ago. Inspired by the challenge, Mommy en France took out the square, chose a contrasting, but harmonious, second piece of calico, and whipped up a very basic pillow case. I just love seeing things being passed on in families--what a wonderful piece of tradition!
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Sew Grateful Quilt from Seeks over at Seek Speak

At the end of summer, M is for Make hosted a giveaway for a fat 16th of Storybook fabric from Birch Fabrics that Seeks (who blogs over at Seek Speak) won. Seeks immediately thought of making a quilt. So she made the quilt for her niece from the material she won in the giveaway. How sweet! I know she will love those adorable fabrics.
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Collaboration Shrug from Steph over at 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World

This is the shrug that 3 bloggers made. It’s a very fine, airy New Zealand merino/ viscose blend. Leimomi brought it with her to Australia as a gift when she visited Steph who blogs over at 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World. Steph immediately thought it would make a good shrug and remembered Tanit-Isis’ 1950′s shrug pattern available as a download. It's perfect as a shrug and it's conception really does embody the spirit of the sewing community!
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iwannahula skirt from Oona who blogs over at Oonaballoona

Ms. Oonaballoona decided to make a project using a pattern she received during the pattern swap at our NY meetup extravaganza. The fantastic pattern swap portion happened per Lisette's suggestion, and this pattern is from Lisette's very own contribution to the pattern swap. Isn't this skirt a-mazing? You've done us proud Oona!!
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Thanksgiving Apron from Stacie Thinks She Can:

Stacie got this pretty lace trim from Project Angel Kisses. She ingeniously added it to the neckline of her recent apron project (despite protests from the sewing machine). I just love the detail it adds!
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Sublime Stitching Babe from Amy at Sew Well:

You may remember the Sublime Stitching giveaway that Tilly of Tilly and the Buttons hosted. Well, Amy won that giveaway and Sublime Stitching sent her a large canvas bag and a set of the Beach Babes embroidery patterns. She had never done any detailed embroidery before, just the eyes and noses for some animal blankets, so this gift enabled her to venture into new sewing territory and don't you agree her first beach babe is amazing? I just love it!
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The 80 Year Old Burda Skirt from Janine at Interrupted Sutures:

Janine gives us some stats on this beautiful skirt: fabric = at least 40 years old, buttons = 30 years old, pattern = 6 years old and the lining fabric = 4 years. Only the zip and thread were new. Janine was given the pink linen (along with various other dress and craft and home dec fabrics ) from her (ex) neighbour when she moved. The neighbour told her it came from her own mother`s stash and she can remember it from when she was quite young. What a wonderful way to appreciate the gift of this amazing fabric!
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Dead Simple Quilt by Unconventional Katie

This sew grateful quilt is in honour of Lynne at Lily's Quilts for hosting a quilt-a-long and also to Cindy at Fluffy Sheep Quilting for hosting a weekly free motion quilting practice, which is what Katie did before tackling this quilt. Don't these colours look great together? Great job, Katie!
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Apron Dress by Hana at Marmota's Dress Diaries

Hana made this apron dress from gingham-ish print that she got from a friend's mother (She also got fabric to make the pale green 1970 dress, and several other projects). The bias binding is the infamous Very Pink Poplin of Doom, also a gift. So, an apron dress you say? It is inspired by the Colette Patterns - namely their Crepe dress, using this free pattern by Lekala and modified by Hana. Brilliant idea--and two of my favourite colours together!
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The Sew Grateful Dress: Vintage Simplicity 4908 by Alana at Lazy Stitching

Alana from Lazy Stitching just made a super duper fabulous Sew Grateful dress. She made it with one of two vintage patterns that she won in a blogiversary giveaway from Amy of Sewing Through the Motions. Check out Alan's post to see how she combined this Simplicity pattern with the Sewaholic Pendrell blouse and the Burdastyle's Jenny Pencil Skirt. Ingenious and absolutely stunning!
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Projects in Progress: Sew Grateful by Diane at Marguerite Designs

This Sew Grateful project in progress is from Diane who blogs over at Marguerite Designs. She's using a Burda sewing pattern which she received as part of a worldwide pattern swap organised by Kat from the Sew Weekly Sewing Circle. She's making the red, satiny fabric (see photo) which she found at a nearby fabric for an insanely cheap price. The best bit? Guess where she is going to wear this dress? To see a live performance of the Strictly Come Dancing tour! How fun is that??
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Giveaways

My First Pattern Giveaway by Jane over at Passing All Understanding

Jane from Passing all Understanding is doing her first pattern giveaway! And what a giveaway!!! She has eight patterns up for grabs and she'll choose two seamstresses who will each get to choose two patterns! She'll send them free to anyone in the U.S. The giveaway is open until midnight December 11th. Click here to enter.
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Sunny Day Gray Skirt Giveaway by Lavender over at Threadsquare

Lavender is giving away an amazingly constructed, beautiful skirt. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Contest is open until December 7, 2011, 23:59 EST (that's TONIGHT). Here are the flat measurements (double the waist/hip) of the skirt:

waist – 13.5 ” / 34.29 cm
hip – 19.5″ / 49.53 cm
length – 26″ / 66 cm

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That concludes the round-up of Sew Grateful Challenge projects, reflections and giveaways! I hope I captured everyone's projects. This was so much fun to do and as someone (Vicki, I think?) suggested, we should do this again!!! So here we go.....How about a post-holiday Sew Grateful Challenge? Mark your calendars for the week of January 16th. I already have some fun ideas for projects I want to complete! How about you?

My Scarlett O'Hara Dress

2011-12-05T08:00:00.002Z

I just love the scene in Gone with the Wind when Scarlett rips down the velvet curtains and makes a wonderful dress. I've gathered inspiration from Scarlett O'Hara this week (though I've made my dress out of choice not necessity) and have tackled a pair of old velvet curtains in my stash to turn them into a dress using the pattern McCall 3456 from 1939.

I got a pair of these curtains for relatively cheap (as far as velvet curtains go--only £10). The slightly creepy thing is that I met the man who grew up with these curtains in his house. He was the one selling them and he talked about how great it was to have these velvet curtains growing up and how they kept the place warm. He seemed very interested to hear (and not in the least way upset) that I planned to use them as fabric. In fact, part of me wants to go back and visit him to see if he recognises the curtains! How weird would it be to see someone walking around in your childhood curtains? hahaha! Well, for being so old--they were in remarkable condition. I used the majority of both curtains and cut the curtains in one with the lining (to act as underlining since the back of the velvet wasn't very soft).

I originally dry cleaned the curtains but also tested out a large swatch on the cold wool cycle of the washer and it came out fine (nap was still super soft). So that's how I'm thinking of taking care of the dress in the future.

This dress pattern was hailed in the December McCall's magazine as the hottest trend for necklace dresses (i.e. they look great as a backdrop with some serious bling!) Even looking at the pattern cover, it looks like velvet!!

This dress is also really interesting because it has gathers at the side seams in addition to the interesting yoke gathers. Also the waist line dips in the back--extending the back buttons! I haven't made a matching belt yet, though I have cut out the fabric. I think I will finish it. I find it interesting that the pattern envelope has the figure wearing the belt with the buckle at the back! I can see how this would give a nice smooth line in the front--I'll have to give it a try!

I'm quite pleased with how the dress turned out. I was a bit concerned that perhaps the fabric would be too thick but it was absolutely fine. The neat bit about using the thicker fabric is that the lapped seams making it look like cording was applied to all the seams--I really like that detail.

The dress closes down the back with 9 buttons (the pattern calls for 10 but I only had 9 self-covered buttons). Covering the buttons took almost 2 hours--this fabric is thick and so it's really hard to get the snap backs on these buttons. In fact, I don't think the buttons will last and I need to think of some alternatives. I really like how the self-covered buttons look but the fabric is just too thick. There's been some good suggestions over at my Sew Weekly post on how I might be able to solve this. One suggestion was to try and put in a side zipper and leave the buttons as decorative but try to secure the caps on them a bit better. Another idea was to recover the buttons with a matching print fabric (that's thinner). I'm almost wondering if a nice silk fabric in the exact same colour might work--I could always make a matching belt to the buttons. What do you think?

The only bad thing about working with velvet is ironing!! Arrrgghhh. I followed the instructions and kept the iron upright and put a press cloth over it and gently rubbed the fabric against the iron. I found this good for seams but it didn't work so well for getting wrinkles out. I think I need to get a velvet pressing board for the best results! In the meantime, I'll try to use another piece of velvet (right sides together) and gently steam the wrinkles.

If ironing is my least favourite part of working with velvet then my FAVOURITE part is the feel of velvet! I just love running my hands across the fabric. So soft!! I really want to try this pattern in silk velvet. Wouldn't that be dreamy (and probably so much easier to work with)?

What do you think? Do you think I would have made Scarlett O'Hara proud? Have you ever worked with velvet? What about velvet curtains??

Scotland meet-up

2011-12-04T10:57:00.000Z

I had the best time yesterday! I was able to meet up with Kerry from Kestrel Finds and Makes and Kristen of KristenMakes.

We had such a delightful day starting out with tea at the The Dome in Edinburgh. It is such a beautiful building right in the heart of Edinburgh--and it was completely decked out for the holidays. They even had the smell of cinnamon wafting in the air!!

After our delicious tea (complete with sandwiches, scones and cakes), we headed to K1 Yarns Knitting Boutique. They had the cutest knitted loch ness monster and castle in their store window! After that we headed over to the vintage megastore Armstrong & Sons where I passed on some overly priced patterns but did come home with some underpriced yardage of wool!!

We ambled through the Grassmarket area visiting several cute accessories and antique stores. Then we visited one of my favourite window shopping stores 'Fabhatrix'. Someday when I've saved up enough money, I'd love to get a bespoke 20's or 30's style hat made for me! Then we went to a new to me store--the Grassmarket Embroidery Shop! Such a fantastic resource for everything related to embroidery!

After that we headed over to the Edinburgh Christmas Market--where Prince's Street Gardens is turned into a winter wonderland complete with rides, christmas stalls and mulled wine!

The three of us were talking about hosting another Scotland crafters meet-up on Saturday the 14th of January! We are calling it the Crafters' Ceilidh. We would love for you to join us! We are hoping to include a pattern/fabric/yarn swap, visits to local fabric and yarn stores and lots of sewing/knitting related blethering! Let me know if you are interested in coming and if Edinburgh or Glasgow is your preferred host city. We are hoping we can also entice a few of you from down south and across the water to come and join us as well!

The 1912 Project

2011-12-02T20:22:00.001Z

Oh my deary! Where has the time gone? Sorry I've been MIA this week--between attending a conference, two work events and my latest sewing project--my regular blog posts have suffered! I do want to share a quick post with you all about a fantastic project going on over at the Vintage Pattern Lending Library called 'The 1912 Project'.

This next April marks 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic! There are lots of titanic-era inspired historic events happening next spring. The Vintage Pattern Lending Library will be transcribing patterns, graphics and information from ALL the 1912 editions of La Mode Illustree – a beautiful French fashion journal of the period – with the goal of making all of the patterns from the entire year available.

If you love to sew, and are intrigued by the 1912 era – you can help! The Library is looking for test sewers willing to post to the blog their experiences and photos in working with these vintage patterns. If you already have a blog, all you need to do is post there and send them a cross link to the entry. In return the Library will send you copies of the patterns to sew from as they are transcribed from the journals!

For an information package about the project – you can email direct to vpll.librarian@gmail.com

Here's two of the first patterns available:

Oooh...I do love the blouse pattern!

I'm definitely going to participate as this is a time period I haven't really explored yet! What about you? Do you want to try it out too?

{Ness Lovelies} Sadie bag and Ness discount!

2011-11-28T12:27:00.000Z

This is the last Ness 'Bag of the Week' post. It's been loads of fun to review their bags and a big thank you again to the folks at Ness for letting me borrow some samples to play with in these posts! Today, I'm delighted to review the 'Sadie' bag in the Tourmaline tartan (a nice mix of green and blue).

I'm wearing my blue 1967 me-made mod dress. It's just the right colour of blue to match the beautiful tartan!

Here's a close-up of the bag. I just love the purple accents and the Ness tag! It's a great size bag with two separate sides with a button closure. It also comes in the lovely burgundy and pink tartan called 'Almandine' (the same tartan used in the Laya bag I reviewed)

We had some left-over sparklers from Bonfire Night and considering that it gets dark just before 4pm--they are perfect for adding a nice glow to the evening!

I just wanted to let you all know that Ness is currently offering a 15% off discount on all items (of orders £50 or more) on their website! Enter code XM4S at check-out! They are also offering a 'Mix and Match' offer if you buy any combination of bag and wallet to get an additional 10% off (on top of the 15%). If you've been thinking about getting any Ness presents (for others or for yourself) for the holidays, now's the best time with so many good deals!

Sew Grateful Challenge: Giveaways and Tutorials

2011-11-27T16:33:00.001Z

I'm just loving the Sew Grateful Challenge! It's so much fun reading about how various bits from the sewing community (be it a fee pattern, tutorial, fabric, etc) is incorporated into our sewing projects! I wanted to do two highlights posts to showcase all the wonderful Sew Grateful Challenge participants! This post will showcase some amazing giveaways and sewing tutorials!

Sew Grateful Tutorials:

The first tutorial comes from Beau Baby. I just adore Suzanne's blog! For her Sew Grateful challenge she put together an outfit for her daughter based on the book 'Little Blue and Little Yellow' by Leo Lionni. She self-drafted the white hooded fleece romper and appliqued the little blue and little yellow dots. She also made matching blue leggings using the "Sleeping Johns" pattern from the book Growing Up Sew Liberated, which she won in a Burdastyle.com giveaway. And an added bonus is that she illustrates how to draft a hood pattern to add to any simple garment with a normal neckhole! YAY! I'll definitely be using this tutorial in the future!

Suzanne is not alone in creating amazing tutorials! Ms. Oonaballoona offers up the 'Double Agent Dress' Tutorial. Using stretch jersey and three pattern pieces that Oona shows you how to make--you can have a fabulous dress that can be worn in loads of ways! I just love it!

And to show how awesome our sewing community is, The Girl with the Star Spangled Heart used Oona's very own tutorial to sew up her Sew Grateful challenge! She made the 'Double Agent Dress' from black jersey! I am just loving the one-shouldered look! Check out her post on making the dress here...

You are both inspiring me to make this dress!

Sew Grateful Giveaways
I'm delighted that the Sew Grateful week is inspiring giveaways! What better way to show your appreciation than to give something back to the online sewing community? Check out these lovely giveaways...

Seeks over at the Seek Speak is hosting a fabulous giveaway to give thanks to her readers! She is celebrating her 200th post! I just love Seeks' blog!! She posts a lot of really fun projects and has an amazing resource section on her blog for novice sewers. Up for grabs in her giveaway is this adorable nightgown/robe uncut pattern from Simplicity in a size 16-18 (large) AND 4 yards worth of this amazing geometric patterned fabric! The giveaway is open until the 1st of December and is open to everyone, everywhere!

Kat over at Modern Vintage Cupcakes is also hosting a fantastic giveaway! You may have seen Kat's creations over at the Sew Weekly. Kat is also the mastermind behind two global pattern/notions swaps--such a lovely way to share something special with others in the sewing community! The giveaway consists of a pattern pouch pocket, about 3 metres of blue lace/hem binding (depending on what you want to use it for), and a cute little belt buckle and the reader's choice of patterns: either Simplicity 8830 from 1970, in size 10 (bust size 32.5″) or Butterick 3037 from the early 1980′s, in size 12 (bust size 34″). The giveaway is open until the 2nd of December to everyone, everywhere. Enter the giveaway here.

Lastly, the lovely Oona is also hosting a giveaway for the Bacciami dress from Shabby Apple! The giveaway is open to U.S. readers, but hurry, it ends tomorrow (the 28th of November). Enter for a chance to win the dress here...

I'm super excited about this next giveaway hosted by Amy who blogs over at Diana and Me. Back in the spring I hosted a giveaway for several metres of purple corduroy fabric that I had used to make my Colette Parfait pinafore. Amy won the fabric and look at the fabulous skirt she just made!!! It gets better--there's still some fabric left!! So Amy is hosting a giveaway for the 1+ metres of purple corduroy fabric left! It's a sisterhood of the traveling fabric!! Stop by Amy's blog and enter the giveaway here. The giveaway is open until the 4th of December!

While we are talking about giveaways, have you heard about coordinated giveaway day hosted by Sew, Mama, Sew? Mark your calendars for the 12 of December (a Monday) and host a giveaway on your blog. Starting at 6am PST on the 12th, you can submit your link and thumbnail photo on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog for your giveaway!

Stay tuned for more highlights from the Sew Grateful week. I'll be posting the projects and reflections posts on Tuesday--so there's still time to finish your project. Just send me a link and I'll include it! Thank you everyone for participating--it's been really fun to see your posts!

My 'Pumpkin Pie' Dress

2011-11-26T17:29:00.000Z

Rain, rain, go away!!! Well if I can't go outside to frolic in the leaves then I'll just add a leafy border to my inside shots :) I've been wanting to make more 50's style pencil-skirt dresses as they are so easy to wear and hence my latest creation the 'pumpkin pie' dress in honour of my favourite autumn dish!

I made this dress out of a 'mystery' fabric that I bought a couple of years ago when I was visiting a JoAnn's fabric store in the States. The fabric followed me to Scotland. It feels a bit like wool but it irons like some sort of synthetic! So it's probably a wool blend.

The fabric is a nice light pumpkin orange with flecks of grey, mustard, white and black.

This dress is actually view B of the Style Print pattern I used to make my 'Mid-century Madness' dress. I just love this pattern (which is making its way over to giveaway winner Megan!) The dress features a side zipper closure and also a button-up front (which is good because it's still difficult to get on and off!), short plain sleeves, a collar that is in one piece with the front facing and a softly pleated skirt with a faux vent in the back.

I ended up using some vintage buttons that I got as a gift (that remind me of yummy chocolate treats!)

This dress is perfect for layering under cardigans (one of the reasons I did the short-sleeved version) and is just the right length! YAY! Another office dress that can translate to evenings and weekends!

What are you working on at the moment? I'm working on a McCall pattern from the year 1939 at the moment! I am prepping my fabric and hope to cut it out today!

Giveaway winners

2011-11-25T20:44:00.001Z

I had so much fun during my blogiversary week and it was so lovely reading all your comments!
Now comes the fun part--announcing the giveaway winners! All of the winners were randomly chosen....so here we go....

1. The Paraders Vintage: The winner of the $50 gift certificate to The Parader's Vintage etsy store is.....KittyMeow who blogs over at Kitty's Drawings. I just love her blog--she sews up fantastic vintage outfits and takes her pictures with her kitty in the background! Congrats KittyMeow! Also good news for everyone else, The Parader's Vintage are having a 20% off sale on everything in their store until Monday!

2. EvaDress Pattern: The winner of her choice of patterns from EvaDress is....Stephanie Lynn from the Girl with the Star-Spangled Heart! Congrats Stephanie! Seeing as we are kindred spirits with vintage sewing--I know you'll really enjoy the EvaDress pattern!

3. BurdaStyle Pattern: The winner of her choice of downloadable BurdaStyle pattern is...Annabelle from Annabellebumps! Annabelle just finished her Colette Fall Palette Challenge by sewing another amazing 1940's skirt!

4. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern: The winner of the Butterick pattern that has traveled around the globe will get to go to another continent!! That's right...this pattern started out with Adey in Singapore, came to me in Scotland, is going to Oona in NYC and from there will go to.....Vicki from Vickikatemakes! Welcome to the sisterhood :)

5. Custom Couture Book: The winner of their own copy of Custom Couture: 32 Easy Ways to Transform your Wardrobe with Needle and Thread is.... Zannukene from Estonia! Congrats! I can't wait to see your refashions!

6. A Fashionable Stitch: The winner of the $25 gift certificate to A Fashionable Stitch is...Lisa Kate who blogs over at Sparkle is my Crack, a blog dedicated to sparkling make-up! Have fun with your gift certificate. Sunni's shop is wonderful!

If you won one of the giveaways, get in touch with me at myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com so we can figure out mailing logistics!

A toast to all the winners!

This was such a fun way to celebrate my blogiversary!

Sew Grateful Challenge

2011-11-24T07:55:00.000Z

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Just a quick reminder that I've got the 'Sew Grateful' challenge going on this week.

Join me in using an item of fabric, pattern, book or other item that was given to you in a giveaway or as a present from a family member or friend and showcase your project on your blog this week. This is a great time to get around to using that amazing pattern you won in a giveaway, or that lovely fabric someone gave you--even those buttons or special notions that you've received! Haven't received any material sewing items lately? That doesn't matter either--we can be sew grateful for the time people put into organising sew-alongs, tutorials, etc. Why not jump in and participate in that sew-along you missed or make something from that tutorial you've been thinking about? Even if you don't get around to finishing a project, maybe spend some time blogging about what you're grateful for in relation to your hobby and the sewing community?

You can grab the button from this post (or email me and I'll send you the picture).

I'm planning on doing two highlights post this weekend of everyone's Sew Grateful posts! So drop me a comment if you've done a post for the challenge and I'll be sure to include it!

Have a fabulous day!

Check out my guest post

2011-11-22T19:06:00.000Z

Check out my guest post over at Sarah's blog Rhinestones and Telephones. Stop by and leave a comment. I'd love to hear your thoughts on how it was when you first started blogging and if you feel you have a blogging cohort?

{Blogiversary Week} A recap of the week

2011-11-21T08:00:00.003Z

Thank you all for making my blogiversary week so memorable! I read each and every comment and loved hearing your stories and reading your comments! Like the Oban (city in Scotland) fireworks display for Bonfire Night—my blogiversary week was over too quickly!!

Here’s a recap from the week:

Projects
Well, I managed to only get three of five planned projects done during the week! Seems I was a little ambitious given my hectic work week but I am super happy with what I did get done:

‘My First Dress Revisited’

‘The Hawk’s Eye View Dress”

‘The Bow Sweater”

Reflections
It was great having a dedicated space to reflect on the last year of sewing! Here's a recap of my reflection posts this week:

It’s my blogiversary: Highlights I share the ups and downs of my second year of sewing. I also reflected on a few memorable sewing projects.

From 12 to 45 in 12 Months: A Reflection on Sewing Weekly In this reflection, I shared my thoughts on this year's challenge of sewing weekly and how much I feel I've grown as a seamstress and how instrumental the online sewing community has been for me this past year!

From 1 to 59: The Year of Meet-ups Recollections of lovely blogger/sewist meet-ups that I was lucky enough to participate in this last year.

Supporting Independent and Local Bussinesses A reflection on some of the amazing independent sewing and local businesses I've been able to support and/or work with.

What’s Next A reflection on what I'm itching to do next!

Giveaways

EvaDress pattern giveaway (closed)

Burdastyle pattern giveaway (closed)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern giveaway (closed)

Custom Couture Book giveaway (open until the end of Monday the 21st)

A Fashionable Stitch giveaway (open until the end of Wednesday the 23rd)

I'll announce the winners from the giveaways this next week!

Thank you all for such a wonderful week! xoxoxoxo

{Blogiversary Week} What's Next?

2011-11-20T23:21:00.000Z

It seems best to end my blogiversary week by thinking ahead....what do I want to focus on in my third year of sewing/blogging?

Following my Whim

I'm quite looking forward to going with the flow next year and working on projects that get me excited and that strike my fancy at any given moment. This year has been very structured and it has been exactly what I needed and wanted. This past year allowed me to explore lots of different styles and time periods. I have loads of ideas and projects I want to do (and a growing pattern and fabric stash) and I'm excited to see when certain projects will come to the forefront this next year!

Despite my desire to follow my whim next year....there's also a few things I know for certain I want to do...

Put my house in order

Quite literally...my sewing room is a HOT MESS! (lol). I look forward to using some of my creativity and time to sort out a space that will allow my creativity to flourish! I feel a bit cramped and disorganised and I know I am not using my space wisely. Time to draw some inspiration from other creative ladies and get the place to be exactly how I would imagine my creative space to be.

The other thing? My blog....oh deary, I can't find anything on my blog. First up is to go back and tag all my posts (I've started already) and to create menus so that my blog is a bit more searchable. It's a bit sad when I have to go to the Sew Weekly archives to figure out when I made a certain garment so that I can then find it on my blog! I have lots of other fun ideas for the blog but those are the first steps. I realise I need to learn a bit more about computers and design and look forward to exploring that new (to me) territory.

Big(ger) Projects

I am very much itching to delve into some BIG projects! All I can think about are suits, suits and more suits, tailoring, gowns, embroidery, etc! All the things I haven't had the time to really explore this year. I look forward to taking my time and going DEEPER into projects (hello Gertie's Bombshell course!) My posts may look a bit different next year as the pace slows down a bit. The upside is that I'm looking forward to sharing more of the process with all of you and learning from you all DURING the process (as opposed to after a garment is finished)!! That will be so much fun! I do plan to have several mini-challenges throughout the year (much like this week has been) just to keep that different kind of challenge going!

Regular Features

Sew Country Chick did ask me this last week if I was going to participate in the Sew Weekly next year. The answer is yes but only as a regular column contributor (monthly?) For that feature, I am planning on taking modern patterns and giving them a vintage twist! I also look forward to occassionally completing the weekly challenges as a Sew Weekly Circle community member.

I'm also still planning on completing my Sewing through the Decades challenge. I'm making blouse/jackets/tops from each year from 1931 to 1949. I've completed several projects already but look forward to picking that back up again!

Three new things I would love to focus on for sure next year:

Vintage office attire (did I already mention my current obsession with suits?)
Inspiration from classic movies--I'd love to sew up a few iconic movie outfits
Vintage patterns--I really want to explore different brands of vintage patterns across various decades

Becoming More Involved
There are several online communities that I would like to spend more time contributing to, namely:

Pattern Review
BurdaStyle
Sew Weekly Sewing Circle
Sew Retro

I'd like to also do more through my Facebook page!

I'm happy to say that despite a hectic year, I have even more energy and enthusiasm for my next year of sewing and blogging!

Thanks again for making my blogiversary week so special!! Here's to another year of friendship and creativity!!! xoxoxoxo

{Blogiversary} Supporting Independent and Local Businesses

2011-11-20T16:24:00.001Z

One of the best parts of this year has been seeing members of our own sewing community start or expand their sewing businesses! In addition, I've been able to connect with and support one of my favourite Scottish small businesses.

Here's a little recap of everyone I've worked with or supported over the past year:

Reproduction Pattern Businesses:
I just love repro patterns. For someone who enjoys sewing 30's and 40's patterns, repro patterns are a great way to have access to very rare patterns that would cost an arm and leg to otherwise acquire. Earlier in the year, I put together a list of sources for acquiring 30's and 40's patterns and listed several repro pattern sellers. During the past year, I've had the chance to sew with patterns from Wearing History, EvaDress and Vintage Fashion Library.

1934 Wearing History repro gown that I made for Valentine's Day

Two outfits sewn from EvaDress repro patterns (1933 Butterick Repro pattern based on an early Katherine Hepburn movie and a 1931 suit pattern)

1932 gown repro pattern from Vintage Fashion Library

I've also hosted Wearing History and EvaDress pattern giveaways and I hope to work with this 1933 Vintage Pattern Lending Library pattern before the year is out!

Independent Pattern Companies
I've just loved seeing how both Colette and Sewaholic patterns have grown over the past year. It's fantastic that both Tasia and Sarai are also active bloggers! I love that and I hope to use more of their patterns before the end of this year and definitely into next year! This past year I made a Pendrell blouse and worked with Tasia to host a Sewaholic patterns giveaway and also had the chance to sew up the Parfait dress from Colette!

My Purple Parfait Pinafore (say that ten times fast!!) made with the Parfait Colette pattern.

Etsy Sellers
I buy quite a few patterns from etsy and really enjoy interacting with the sellers! One seller that I bought and made up two patterns from was Miss Betty's Attic. She kindly offered my readers a discount to her pattern shop!

1950's Patio dress and 1941 Sailor dress made from patterns from Miss Betty's Attic.

Another thing that Etsy is great for is finding high quality vintage items! I had the opportunity to work with The Paraders Vintage to host a giveaway to their etsy store. Both the ladies behind this business are fantastic and they are going to be launching their own online store soon!

Local Businesses
One of the most exciting collaborations for me is being able to work with Ness, a Scottish company that focuses on using tartan and tweeds in fun and fashionable ways! I've been a huge fan of Ness since I've moved to Scotland. You might say that I had a bit of a crush on them! In my first year of sewing, I actually built a sewing plan around the colour palette of two pairs of Ness shoes and my Ness jacket. One of the highlights of the year was meeeting the people behind Ness in person. They are so lovely and I'm just so excited to be a Ness ambassador as I truly love their products and their vision and the fact that they are a small company doing exciting things in Scotland!

Giving the Ness 'Azure' bag (this week's "Bag of the Week") a test run while grocery shopping in our local South Asian food store! I've paired my Ness 'Brooke' sweater with my very first me-made skirt!

Ness is currently offering my readers 15% off all items (of orders £50 or more) on their website! Enter code XM4S at check-out! They are also offering a 'Mix & Match' offer if you buy any combination of bag and wallet to get an additional 10% off (on top of the 15%). If you've been thinking about getting any Ness presents for the holidays, definitely do it while it's discounted!!

Another fabulous local UK company that I had the chance to work with this year was Fancy Moon: Purveyor of Fine Fabrics. It was so lovely of them to host a giveaway on my blog! I just adore their fabric!

My 'Midcentury Madness' dress made from Fabric from Fancy Moon.

The Giveaway

One of the new independent online sewing stores that I haven't hosted a giveaway for is A Fashionable Stitch! Many of you know Sunni from her blog and the store! I've used several of Sunni's belt kits for my dresses including my 1941 sailor dress and my 1950's halter and skirt outfit. I just adore Sunni (she is so lovely), I am in awe of her projects and I just love her store! She stocks so many things that are hard to find (belt kits, horsehair braid, tailor's tape, wrist pincushions). Sunni is very graciously offering one lucky reader a $25 gift certificate to A Fashionable Stitch for them to get whatever they like!

This giveaway is open to all my readers anywhere in the world. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me what you would get from Sunni's store with the gift certificate. Enter your comment by midnight (London time) on Wednesday the 23rd of November for a chance to win the $25 gift certificate to A Fashionable Stitch.

Thanks so much Sunni for your lovely generosity! And a big thank you to all the independent businesswomen in the sewing community--you are all such inspirations!

{Blogiversary Week} The Bow Sweater

2011-11-19T18:23:00.001Z

I'm really excited to share my newly refashioned sweater. I'm especially happy because I made it to match my Mrs. Peacock skirt and my teal Pendrell blouse!

Awhile back (ok, too far back), the folks at Sixth & Spring Books sent me the book Custom Couture to review. I feel like in order to properly review I need to do one of the projects from the book. This book includes 32 refashion projects. While flipping through I saw this picture for the 'Folk Cardigan':

I had a matching black sweater in my closet (except mine was a turtleneck sweater) that was earmarked for the local charity shop. It's an older sweater (a hand-me down from my sister) and it lacks a bit of shape to look flattering as a main layer. Plus, the fibers from the cable knit are starting to stretch--just enough that it's slightly see-through. So as a main layer you'd have to wear something black underneath. When I saw this project in the book I got really excited because the sweater is a perfect candidate to become a refashioned cardigan. Cardigans come in super handy in scotland--so I decided to try it out.

First, I marked the centre front of the sweater. This was very easy because as a cable knit it was perfectly symmetrical. I also marked and cut around the turtle neck. The next step was to make binding and sew it around the newly cut openings.

I decided to use some left over fabric from my Mrs. Peacock skirt. It was really easy to sew the binding on and since the sweater is black--you can see any stitching.

There were a few parts of the book's instructions that I found confusing. There are a few illustrations included and that was good because it made it very clear but I felt that some of the sections of text could have been clearer. The illustrations for making the bow were clear but since I was using tweed, I had to adjust the stated measurements to accommodate the thicker fabric.

There's also some very interesting refashions in the book. Some that I don't think I'd ever do--they are just not my style but I could see that maybe some people could pull it off?? This sweater refashion with bows on the arms is one good example. I'm not exactly sure what look they are going for or if the refashion is even better than the original (lol):

Despite a few projects like that, there are some real gems in this book, including a few really neat ways to refashion tank tops! All templates are included at the back of the book as well.

Lots of the projects are simple and are things I wouldn't have thought of. It helped me to look at my wardrobe in a new way and to use some of their ideas to think about what I could do to change up items that are no longer working for me.

I am very happy with my sweater refashion and I love that it automatically completes this outfit for autumn/winter! Makes me want to go out and find more sweaters in charity shops to make matching cardigans for all my me-made outfits!!!

The Giveaway

I'm hosting a giveaway to win a copy of Custom Couture. This giveaway is open to all my readers anywhere in the world. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me about any garments in your closet that are candidates for refashioning. Is there something you don't want to get rid of but that's not really working for you in it's current state? Enter your comment by midnight (London time) on Monday the 21st of November for a chance to win a copy of Custom Couture by Helene Le Berre.

Don't forget to enter the Paraders Vintage Giveaway!

2011-11-18T18:06:00.001Z

I've really enjoyed reading all the comments on my blogiversary posts--they are all so lovely! Thank you so much! I'm taking a little break today from the blogiversary festivities--but will be back with some new projects tomorrow. In the meantime, I wanted to remind everyone about the fabulous giveaway I am hosting to the Vintage Paraders etsy store!

Enter the giveaway here for a $50 gift certificate to this fabulous online vintage store...but hurry, the giveaway ends tomorrow (Saturday) night!

{Blogiversary Week} From 1 to 59: The Year of Meet-ups

2011-11-17T16:06:00.001Z

One of the best parts of this last year has been all the fabulous people I have met both online and in person!

Eight months into my first year of sewing/blogging, I had the chance to meet up with one of my favourite bloggers, Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons. It was the first time for both us meeting someone from the blogosphere. I was very nervous but Tilly is so lovely and we had so much fun.

During this second year of sewing/blogging, I've had the chance to meet-up with 59 people! WOWZA! I just love it! It's so much fun to be able to connect in person. My first set of meet-ups this last year happened on the same weekend. First, I was able to meet the lovely Solvi who blogs over delfinese and Kristen from Kristenmakes. Kristen lives in Edinburgh and it was so great to meet her (and we've met up subsequently--though Kristen, we should do it again soon!) and Solvi came over to Edinburgh from Sweden!

I just love the picture below of the three of us bent over a pattern box at a local vintage store:

The following day, I was super excited to hang out with Sofia and Jen. Sofia is an amazing seamstress, which must be a family trait because she just so happens to be Tasia the Sewaholic's sister. Sofia and Jen were touring around Europe and were in Scotland for a couple of days and I was super happy to be able to show them around one of my favourite towns--St. Andrews.

Just a little over a month later, I had the chance to meet-up with Elise who blogs at Chez Napier
while she was vacationing in Scotland:

We went to my favourite fabric store (Edinburgh Fabrics--and where I love to take people) and then out for a cup of coffee! I was even one of the first people to find out that Elise was pregnant! I kept it a secret and I can't wait until the baby comes--I just might have to send him/her a little something from Scotland :)

Later that very same week was the Blogger Meet-up of the Century in London. This was the most epic blogger meet-up I've been to yet! It involved 1 fashionable exhibit at the V and A museum, 10-12 fabric stores, 38 + sewists, 1 bar and a six hour train journey (on which I finished my dress that I wore to the meet-up! lol). It was so big, I didn't even have a chance to properly meet everyone! I had so much fun and I hear there might be another London meet-up this next spring organised by Tilly and Zoe from So Zo... Though this time I'm definitely spending the night in London so that I can spend more time with everyone!

Look at all of us chatting away when our two big groups met up at Goldhawk Road Station at the exact same time:

This was my first ever large-scale meet-up and I just *might* be addicted. I got to meet the ladies who blog at: Did you Make That?, Charlotte and Victoria from the Sew Weekly Sewing Circle, Beebee's Vintage Dress, Sew Far Sew Good, Heart's Cottage Vintage Sewing, House of Pinheiro, Marguerite Designs , The Reel McCoy , Space Craft , MagpieMimi, Diana and Me,The Needle Diaries,Tuppence Ha'Penny Vintage, Midnight Betty’s, How To Use Your Time, So Zo, Tilly and the Buttons, Dibs and The Machine,Scruffy Badger, Miss P, Made In Oxford, All Style and All Substance, Catherine Daze, Pimp My Curtains, A Sewing Odyssey, Oobop, Blondon Daze, Pin Cushion Treats, Handmade By Freya, Tea and Crumpets Vintage , Little Miss Twitchy, Cyberdaze, Handmade Jane, Eugenia’s (fabulous) world of fashion, Molly and Mango. I hope I didn't miss anyone on from that meet-up! Like I said, it was huge!

In early June, I got to meet Jane who blogs over at Daisy Donut before she set out on a wonderful European cruise. I was also able to set Ted off on his excellent adventures across the UK to help Jane Jane fundraise for the Macmillan Cancer Support charity.

Just a few months ago I was able to coordinate visiting my family in the States with meeting lots of people! First off, I was so thrilled to be able to meet Mena, Christine, Shannon and Xandra at the Gatsby Summer Afternoon event in California! What a treat that was--we all got dressed up in our me-made 30's dresses and Mena had a lovely picnic spread and lunch for us!

Mena also took me fabric shopping and to some of her favourite local stores the following day! It was great to meet Mena and see the woman behind The Sew Weekly!

On this trip, I also got to meet the lovely Solanah from Vixen Vintage who just so happens to live in the same part of the world as my family! Solanah and I spent a Saturday going to some amazing estate and garage sales!

I was hoping to meet-up with Sarai from Colette patterns as well on this trip but I ended up canceling our arranged meet-up so that I could spend some time with my Grandma. I'm hoping I can catch Sarai again in the near future as it would be loads of fun to meet her and Caitlin and to get a peak at their creative space!

Later in that trip, I was able to stop in NYC to co-host with the amazing Oonaballoona, Meg the Grand and Mena another EPIC meet-up. I had been wanting to meet Oona and Meg since I started interacting with them on the Sew Weekly community site! I knew I would be flying through NYC on my way back to Scotland, so I seized the opportunity and emailed Oona about my plans! Several emails, blog posts, and a youtube video later and we had quite a gathering in the big apple!

At the meet-up, I got to meet Vicki, daughter fish, Cindy, Mena (in another city!), Oona, Meg, Lisette, Nettie, Marina, Puu and Peter. We started with a sangria lunch, exchanged patterns, shopped our hearts out, went to dinner and then Oona, Meg, Mena and I continued onto a super secret venue that involved colour-coordinated dresses. Needless to say I had a blast! Why can't every day be like a fabulous blogger meet-up day?

As if it couldn't get any better...Oona and I also had the chance to take a class with the one and only Gertie. The class was amazing and SO MUCH FUN! I highly recommend taking a class with Gertie if you ever find yourself in NYC!

Fast forward to this very last week and my most recent meet-up with Miss Katie who blogs over at The Little Red Squirrel. We had so much fun shopping and gabbing up a storm! It was lovely!

Phew! What a social year, eh? I just love meeting fellow sewists and have been so delighted to meet everyone this year! I'm looking forward to many more social gatherings next year!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern Giveaway
What better way to celebrate all the fabulous people I've met this last year than to host a pattern giveaway! This is not just any pattern--but a traveling pattern! This lovely Butterick re-issue pattern from which you can make a sheath dress, full overskirt, sash and cape in sizes B30-34 (just a note that the size 34 has been cut out but the other sizes are still included)!

I originally got this pattern in a swap back in February with Adey from the Sew Convert. She made lovely hot pink dress and a 1950's Sabrina inspired cape from the pattern. I made this pattern up into a teal dress for my meet-up with Oona, Meg and Mena. Oona very kindly even let me use Kenny for some last minute sewing! I ended up leaving a few of the pattern pieces at Oona's place. So I'm sending the pattern to Oona who is going to make her own delicious version but at the same time will send the pattern along to one lucky winner! We hope you'll keep the tradition going and send it along to someone else. It would be great to document where this pattern goes in the next year!

To enter:
This giveaway is open to all my readers anywhere in the world. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me about your most memorable meet-up! If you haven't had any meet-ups, let me know who would you most like to meet? I can't wait to hear your stories. Enter your comment by midnight (London time) on Saturday the 19th for a chance to win 'the sisterhood of the traveling pattern'.

{Blogiversary Week} From 12 to 45 in 12 months: A Reflection on Sewing Weekly

2011-11-16T20:23:00.001Z

Source: Diane & Me who got this from the theaudacityofcolor.com via Amy on Pinterest

I saw this quote by a journalist over at the blog Diane & Me a couple of weeks ago and it really struck a cord in terms of reflecting on The Sew Weekly challenge I embarked on 11 months ago.

But let me start at the beginning...back in December 2010 the lovely Mena from The Sew Weekly blog put up a post looking for contributors to a year-long challenge that entailed sewing a garment/outfit every week. I had been following Mena's blog for quite some time and just loved all her creations! She asked for interested people to send her an email. Well, I did. I equate it to signing up to run a marathon if you've never done one before. You're not quite sure what you're in for and once you start training you think "Can I do this?" But you've already signed up so you just jump right in!!

Before I joined the Sew Weekly I had sewn 12 garments TOTAL in 12 months--most of them separates. I don't think it started to dawn on me how much more I would need to sew to meet the challenges until I started! A few of the co-contributors (Adey and Veronica--I'm looking at you!) commented that the Sew Weekly would help them slow down a bit! Fabulous Adey had sewn 46 garments in 7 months before the Sew Weekly and the lovely Veronica had done several sew one thing a day for a whole month challenges! Eeep!

Well, I am happy to report that I was able to keep up (for the most part--a few skipped challenges here and there and a few, ahem, slightly unfinished garments) but man, I was not expecting the incredibly positive impact sewing weekly would have on my life.

I don't know why, but I tend to veer towards complicated and challenging patterns. In fact, you might even say that I seek out unusual patterns with really neat details (that oh, require a lot of time)! One of the biggest challenges for me has been to marry my sewing style with producing weekly outputs within a specific theme. Therein lies one of the greatest benefits of this last year--using patterns that wouldn't have normally been high on my sewing list! Some of my favourite creations have been from these patterns that I wouldn't have normally prioritised within my sewing plan (examples include my 1933 Butterick Katherine Hepburn Repro dress; my BurdaStyle dress and matching 1941 apron; my 'Raspberry Sorbet' dress; my "Purple Parfait" pinafore; my 'Fake Bunny Love' jacket). The weekly themes have helped me step outside my comfort zone and try some different decades and styles.

One of the things I have truly loved about the sewing weekly challenge is the sewing community that has grown up around it! Getting to meet other sewists has been so inspirational! Seeing everyone's interpretation of each week's theme has really fueled my creativity! I just love it!

Photocredit: [1] Ms. Oonaballoona, [2] Marguerite Designs

Another groundbreaking revelation about Sewing Weekly for me has been that in order to make it happen, sewing has to be given equal status to other areas of my life. Earlier in the year, the lovely Tilly from Tilly and the Buttons asked me to do a guest post on sewing productivity. For that post, I thought really long and hard about how Sewing Weekly has changed some of my inner thoughts and habits. Here's what I wrote back in May that still resonates as I reflect back over six more months of sewing weekly:

Now the thing that I’ve found useful with the Sew Weekly that I didn’t have on my own — is a deadline! Ok, I know what you are saying… I have deadlines in my day job; I don’t want or need deadlines with my hobby… Ok, hear me out with this one. You know how they say that the way to create a new habit is by doing the same action over and over again (consistently) until it’s just second nature? I think the same is true with sewing. Having a structure that is consistent helps to get the ball rolling until it seems much easier to get into the rhythm. I think this is especially true with sewists. Just from the type of blogs I read, I notice that we tend to be the type of people that have lots of demands on our attention and time (we’re passionate about many things in our life - from our children, to our jobs, to our social life, etc.). With this increased pressure on time and attention there is likely to also be procrastination - especially by those that want to succeed with sewing the most.

I’m the worst with procrastination. Due to everything going on, if it’s not something that’s immediately due it tends to take the backseat. What I love about a deadline is that sewing is forced to take equal status with other areas of my life. And why shouldn’t it?? Why should I relegate the thing I love most to the very last? I once read somewhere that we only procrastinate about those things that have value to us. Interesting thought, no?

Which brings me around full circle to the quote at the beginning of this post:

It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close the gap and your work will be as good as your ambitions.

I've gotten so much sewing experience this past year. Not all my projects have been perfectly constructed but let me tell you, I am SO EXCITED for this next year to really explore my sewing and dive into some ambitious projects that without this foundation might have been overwhelming! It's been an amazing journey this last year--with highs and lows and I am incredibly grateful for it. Thanks for sharing it with me!!

{Blogiversary Week} The 'Hawk's Eye View' Dress

2011-11-15T10:54:00.004Z

My new dress is from the BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook that I got for free as part of the Sew Weekly challenge this week! I'm so curious if any of you have sewn with BurdaStyle patterns? This is only my second dress and it's something I'd like to do more!

The book includes five patterns: a dress, a skirt, a blouse, a coat and a handbag. In addition to these five base patterns, there are countless variations on each pattern (2 variations for each pattern with detailed instructions and up to 30 different photos of variations of the pattern from BurdaStyle readers!). I choose to use the basic dress pattern as my inspiration and starting point!

Similar to the BurdaStyle magazines, the patterns are printed on the same page. The book has two patterns to each big sheet of paper. Below is the skirt and bag pattern (each one in a different colour):

You're supposed to trace off the pattern. Unless, of course, you can't find your tracing paper and you know you're not going to use the bag pattern (or the flounce on the dress) in which case you can cut the pattern directly!

I wanted a bit of a mod look but with a longer hemline, so I took the basic collar line of the dress pattern (which is very 60's!) and didn't cut out the keyhole or ruffle bit for the dress. I also knew that I wanted to have different fabric on top and bottom--to create an illusion of separates!

One of the dress variations in the book is from our beloved Casey (of Casey's Elegant Musings)! I really like her variation and hope to go back at some point in the future to make it! For that pattern there is a great illustration of how to self-draft front and back facings for the dress. The fabric I was using for the bodice is a delicious Japanese Kokka lightweight gauze fabric. It's slightly see-through on its own so I ended up underlining the entire bodice with white cotton. The original dress design has instructions for lining the entire dress, but since I was only underlining the bodice, I used Casey's instructions for creating the facings!

I also had a bit of fun hemming the dress with some matching red bias tape:

I handpicked the zipper using Tasia's tutorial (switching thread colours between the top and the skirt). I used a 22 inch zipper, which runs down the back of the dress. The gauze fabric is great because you can't even see the handpicked stitches:

We trekked up to Arthur's Seat yesterday for these photos. It's has such an amazing view over the city and I just love the look of the volcanic rocks!

We saw some amazing Harris Hawks on the hill! They were moving too fast for us to catch them on our camera. Apparently, there's been a hawk that escaped from the nearby Holyrood Palace that now lives on the hill!

Here's what they look like close-up (photo from Free Photos):

I can just hear you now...'Debi, don't you live in Scotland? Doesn't it get cold there?' Why yes, it does! I would never wear a sleeveless dress this time of the year....without a jacket. Actually, this dress is perfect for layering to get a suit effect! In fact, this is how I was wearing it at work yesterday--with a nice wool jacket (from....guess where? You're right....it's from Ness). This was the first item I bought from their autumn/winter line and I wear it nearly every week! I must say that I have also been eyeing a certain Burda cape pattern that I think would look delicious in this navy twill (with red piping?) to go with this dress for a bit of variation!! I can't decide if I will make the Burda pattern or use a delicious vintage cape pattern??

I do love the Ness jacket (it's called the 'Laura' jacket in Garnet) because it's got elbow patches!! I must remember to put those on my own sewing projects--they are so nice!

I really like the shape of the dress and can see so many different variations!!

Giveaway
I'm offering up reader's choice of one BurdaStyle downloadable pattern. This giveaway is open to all my readers anywhere in the world. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and talk to me about your thoughts/experiences on sewing with BurdaStyle patterns (downloadable, from the magazine or the Burda patterns). I definitely want to learn more about these patterns. Enter your comment by midnight (London time) on Saturday the 19th for a chance to win a BurdaStyle downloadable pattern (it comes as a pdf that you print off, tape together and use).

{Blogiversary Week} Revisiting my First Dress

2011-11-14T22:12:00.001Z

My very first sewing project and my very first blogging post was about this dress...

This pattern said 'Simple to Make' and got me all giddy because it had detachable collars and cuffs! Well, they lied about the simply made bit and they kind of lied about how "detachable" the collars and cuffs were. But I digress...

This dress has spanned two American cities, two countries and four addresses. I finally finished the dress two years ago and it didn't fit!! Luckily, my amazing readers helped me pinpoint the problem(s) and nearly a year later, I started refitting the dress to this:

This was one year ago. I wore this dress when I met my first other sewing blogger in person.

Well, two years later I figured it was time to get onto the 'detachable' collars and cuffs! I decided to go with green since it's in my autumn palette:

I adjusted the collar so that the pointy bit didn't sit so high up. I really like the green with this dress:

Hmmm...maybe I'll do another collar at my 3 year blogiversary? I could make it a tradition to keep revisiting this dress!

Giveaway:
One of my very first giveaways was to EvaDress patterns--an amazing reproduction online pattern site. I had the opportunity to meet the lovely Xandra from EvaDress at the Gatsby Summer Afternoon and she is SO LOVELY! So I thought I would revisit that first giveaway again by offering up reader's choice of their favourite pattern from EvaDress!

This giveaway is open to all my readers anywhere in the world. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and let me know what was the very first thing you ever started sewing (finished or unfinished). I can't wait to hear your stories! Enter your comment by midnight (London time) on Saturday the 19th for a chance to win an EvaDress pattern.

It's my blogiversary!!!

2011-11-14T11:52:00.000Z

2 years ago on this very day, I started sewing in earnest and tracking my thoughts/progress on this blog. Over the past year, I've really seen myself grow both in sewing and blogging and I've met so many wonderful people along the way. So I've decided to celebrate this last year's journey through a blogiversary week! Over five days, I'll share some new projects, some reflections and of course, giveaways!

This first reflection post will be a sort of 'highlights' stroll down memory lane to rediscover the fun, the inspiration and the tough moments along the way. I'm taking the format and categories I used for my first blogiversary post (this may become a tradition??) to share some of the highlights of this past year!

Project I am the most Proud Of:

Without a doubt the project I am most proud of and that I really see as a turning point in my sewing was my dress sewn from the 1933 Butterick reproduction pattern from EvaDress. This was the second challenge I completed for the Sew Weekly and really highlighted: 1) how much I love early 30's patterns, 2) how much I love wool, and 3) that I can tackle any pattern no matter how difficult it looks! This one was actually fairly easy to sew up (another reason I love early 30's patterns--really great details that are brilliantly drafted). I'm also super proud of this dress because I won the EvaDress contest for 'Best Use of Pattern in its Original Form' despite stiff competition.

Hardest Moment:
The hardest moment of this past year has to have been the March to May time period when I was working like crazy (hello two jobs), participating in the Sew Weekly and had just found out that we had to move! Talk about crazy intense! Luckily, things have slowed down a bit (I can hear David laughing about this one--maybe it's just that I've gotten better at getting things done with so much going on??? lol.)

Ideas that Didn't Pan Out:
Sewing whilst travelling! That's my answer to this one! I had grand plans to finish a load of outfits when I was visiting my family and travelling around the states. Let me just say that it sounds so much easier. In the end, I made what I needed to and took some much needed time to relax and see family and friends!

Project I Would Most Like to Redo:

The two projects from this last year that I'd most like to redo (or finish in one case!) is the 1950's 'Patio Dress' and my 1940's 'Chocolate and Wine' dress. The Patio Dress has some serious gathering issues and I'm actually not quite sure I like the colour combo. Maybe a teal and white like the pattern envelope would be much nicer? The 'Chocolate and Wine' dress I definitely want to finish and since it has long sleeves would be perfect for winter! You may recall that I had a big hurdle with button loops on this dress. I received so many helpful comments on my Sew Weekly post that I'm sure I can go back and confidently tackle those darn loops :)

Easiest Project:

The easiest project was also the most last minute project! It was this gathered 1950's style skirt which I made using Gertie's tutorial.

Quickest Project:

The quickest project(s) was making two faux wrap blouses out of pillowcases! You can check out my tutorial here. I had never thought of making something using a pillowcase--so it was fun to be a bit creative and now I am always on the lookout for fun fabrics to refashion!

Piece of Clothing I Wear the Most:

Ok, this is a toss up but I think I'm going to have to go with my 1940 hooded dress. I absolutely LOVE this dress. It's the perfect weight for Scotland (made out of medium-weight gabardine) and the great part is that I can wear it as a jacket/coat or as a dress! Though it was really funny coming through security on my way back to Scotland from the States when the security screener asked me to take off my coat! Erm...it's a dress! At which point, he looked very sheepish and said, 'oh sorry'!!!

Most Surprising Project:

Without a doubt, the most surprising project was my 1943 'Raspberry Sorbet' McCall dress! I very much underestimated this pattern! It's one of my favourites and I hope to make more versions--the style looks understated on the pattern cover (at least for me...lol.) and I just love how classy the design looks!

Scariest Moment:
No truly scary sewing moments this last year (thank goodness!) though I did get a bit of the stomach butterflies right before three big blogger meet-ups! I had the wonderful opportunity to meet several of my favourite bloggers/sewists in London, NYC and San Francisco!  More on those fabulous meet-ups in another post later this week!

Wow--it's fun to reflect on this past year of sewing!   Stay tuned later today as I revisit my very first dress!!

Won't you join me in being Sew Grateful?

2011-11-13T20:54:00.002Z

One of the things I really love about the online sewing community is how generous everyone is! There are so many giveaways, tutorials, sew-alongs, pattern and fabric swaps. I thought it would be great to have a little challenge to show our gratitude for these things. Hence, the 'Sew Grateful Challenge'. As you may know, Thanksgiving is in two weeks in the United States (Nov. 24th). It's a great holiday for celebrating and remembering to be thankful for everything we have and for our community of friends and family.

The Sew Grateful Challenge
Join me in using an item of fabric, pattern, book or other item that was given to you in a giveaway or as a present from a family member or friend and showcase your project on your blog during the week of November 21st. This is a great time to get around to using that amazing pattern you won in a giveaway, or that lovely fabric someone gave you--even those buttons or special notions that you've received! Haven't received any material sewing items lately? That doesn't matter either--we can be sew grateful for the time people put into organising sew-alongs, tutorials, etc. Why not jump in and participate in that sew-along you missed or make something from that tutorial you've been thinking about? Even if you don't get around to finishing a project, maybe spend some time blogging about what you're grateful for in relation to your hobby and the sewing community?

Feel free to grab the button and let me know if you'll be participating! I'd love to do a highlights post at the end of the week!

Readers, I don't know if I say it often enough but I really am so thankful for all of your support and lovely comments every week! Thank you so much!!

Fabric and pattern giveaway winners...

2011-11-13T12:44:00.001Z

It's time for the results of two giveaways! Thank you everyone for entering both giveaways! And a big thank you to Fancy Moon : Purveyor of Fine Fabrics for their generous offer of 2 metres of fabric!

Fabric Giveaway Winner

First up, the Fancy Moon Fabric giveaway....the winner is Stephanie who lives in Vienna and blogs over at The Naked Seamstress. Stephanie mentioned that she likes the floral fabrics and will make a vintage inspired dress out of the fabric!

I just love these two...

Peacock Lane Green Bouquet by Michael Miller

Flower Sugar Ribbon Blue Cotton Dress Fabric by Lecien

Pattern Giveaway Winner:
Next up is the giveaway for Style Print 1283:

And the randomly chosen winner is:

... Megan who just started blogging over at Megan and the (sewing) machine. Megan said:

I'd love to get this pattern, if I win! I've been wanting to do a shirtwaist dress for a little while, and this one looks like it would be a lovely way to dip into this style.

YAY! Congrats winners! If you didn't win...don't despair...I have lots more exciting giveaways coming up in November! xoxoxoxo

{Ness Lovelies} The Alex bag & the Pendrell blouse

2011-11-11T10:17:00.001Z

I've been wearing my Pendrell teal silk blouse a lot! One of my favourite colours to wear it with is purple and when I saw the Ness 'Alex' bag, I knew it was a match made in heaven.

The trousers are also from Ness but many moons ago. They are 100% wool and I just love the heathered purple colour. I think this would be a great colour for some high waisted trousers too!

It's still absolutely beautiful in Scotland. Though the leaves are rapidly dropping at this point and I think it's only a couple of weeks now until they are completely bare! We are still getting lovely sunny days which makes up for it!

I think this is my favourite bag so far that I've reviewed. Maybe it's because it's in the new 'Crush' tartan, which I adore. Maybe it's because it is just the right size. Or maybe it's because it's because of the classy shape. All I can say is that I really love it! In fact, I'll be taking advantage of the promotional offer this week--not for myself--but for a certain friend who may be having a birthday this weekend. But I'm not telling if she's getting this one or the lovely red version.

There's only two bags left in the series! Which Ness bag has been your favourite so far? The Krystal, Andrea, Laya or this one-- the Alex bag?

Miss Katie and I

2011-11-10T08:35:00.000Z

On Tuesday I got to meet Miss Katie who blogs over at The Little Red Squirrel. To say that I wish Miss Katie lived in Edinburgh would be an understatement! We had SO MUCH fun! We started our afternoon at Edinburgh Fabrics. It was great fun to see all the new fabrics. Of course we ended up on the wool aisle (my favourite) and we both walked away with a few goodies.

I opted for a light purple silk:

And Miss Katie got some amazing wool! We then ventured over to the Armstrong & Sons vintage store to look at all their lovelies. And believe it or not, I found nearly 4 yards of delicious wool for £10 (clapping hands in delight):

We then stopped in a charity shop (photo above) and then grabbed a cappuccino and hot chocolate and gabbed away like best friends! It was splendid! Thanks Miss Katie!

While we were doing that, this is what little Ebi was up to:

Awww...Happiness is warm patch of sunlight!

The 'Kitten' Skirt

2011-11-09T10:23:00.000Z

Ok....so we had some fun with the photos this week. The theme over at the Sew Weekly was Pin-Up inspired outfits! I immediately thought of making a colourful gathered skirt and wearing it with a peasant blouse like this Elvgren pin-up art:

Photo credit: Sushigirl-94's photobucket

I originally bought this fabric on my recent trip to the States for the 'Rose in Spanish Harlem' theme but I ended up making another dress for that theme and this poor fabric lay untouched until now. I just adore the bright design and thought it would go perfectly with a peasant blouse I already have (alas, I did not make the peasant blouse but it comes from my absolute favourite Scottish store, Ness).

I always knew that I wanted to use this fabric for a 1950's gathered skirt. The design on the fabric is perfect for this and I used the skirt from McCall's 8947. This pattern is delicious and I do have enough fabric to make the matching bolero and to make the vest from a contrasting fabric!

This skirt took a bit longer than anticipated because I wanted to make sure to match the design across the four panels of fabric.

Then I got to the waistband and originally it's about half of the size that it is now. However, I had cut one of the designs so that it was right in the middle of the waistband pattern piece and decided that it would look better with the whole design showing. So I ended up making it twice as big and cutting a new piece to face the waistband.

I had the chance to meet the lovely Miss Katie yesterday who blogs over at The Little Red Squirrel (more pictures coming soon on that meet-up). We had so much fun going to the fabric store during lunch. I told her about the plans for taking pictures with our kitties for this challenge and she suggested I wrap them with a bow! Awwww....so cute! Unfortunately, one of our cats didn't want to play and only Ebi is in the photos--she's such a sweetie!

We had fun playing with the photos! A big thank you to David for taking the photos and playing with them in photoshop and also to Mena who played around with my photos on the Sew Weekly post to get a pin-up effect!

Just a quick reminder about two giveaways I'm hosting at the moment: the Fancy Moon Fabric giveaway (they have this exact fabric) and the amazing Paraders Vintage giveaway for $50 to their online store!

The Paraders Vintage Giveaway!!!

2011-11-08T08:02:00.001Z

I am really, really happy to announce that the lovely Anna and Rachael from the online shop 'The Paraders Vintage' are hosting a $50 giveaway!!! The Paraders Vintage, an online vintage shop and blog, aims to provide a modern mix of lovely dresses and charming accessories.

Here's a bit more about the shop from Rachael:

Hello! I'm Rachael, creator of The Paraders - the online vintage shop of Chicago. The Paraders is full of wearable vintage from the 20s through the 80s that makes a girl look lovely and feel lovely too! Our blog compliments the shop style with "dating vintage clothing" posts, vintage buying and styling tips, and my adventures through and aside from the shop. As our shop expands into a full-blown independent website over the next month, please stay in touch with the Paraders to hear all about what it takes to jump from Etsy into a bigger, scarier market. Also, stay tuned for our Paraders s/s 2012 dress collection! Thanks so much for listening and have a wonderful day!

Here are a few of my favourites from their lovely vintage shop:

1930s dress Lanvin adaptation:

I've never seen such an exquisite dress! I love, love, love the colours and texture!

60s coat medium large:

Wow--I just love this orange colour--perfect for autumn and winter.

1940s jacket large - 40s navy blue angled military war jacket:

I just love the double collar, the interesting pocket details and the buttons on this 40's jacket!

60s dress set xs / teal woolen skirt jacket blue 1960s:

You know how much I love teal! This set is so perfect! I could see making a lot of matching blouses!

60s dress set small:

This dress reminds me so much of Betty draper! I love the bow on the top!

The Giveaway:

This giveaway is for $50 to The Paraders Vintage online store and is open to readers everywhere. To enter you must be a follower of The Paraders Blog. Just leave a comment on this post by Saturday the 19th of November about which item you like best in The Paraders Vintage store.

Optional other entries include (for up to a total of four entries):

2. Follow The Paraders on Twitter
3. Like The Paraders on Facebook
4. Join The Paraders newsletter

Let me know if you've done any of these extra entries in the comments section! And because Anna and Rachael are so lovely, their giving all my readers 20% of their vintage store for the duration of the giveaway! Just use the code HAPPYSEWING at check-out! Huzzah!

Mission McCall Mondays: Missing Images 9000-9086

2011-11-07T08:32:00.000Z

Welcome back to my regular 'Mission McCall Mondays' post series! For those of you new to the series, my goal is to update the Vintage Pattern Wiki so that it's complete for all McCall patterns from mid 1936-1940. This week, I'm happy to post a few of the previously missing images from pattern numbers 9000 to 9086. A big thank you to Lauren from Wearing History for sending these my way!

You may notice that McCall patterns started using these same numbers again for their patterns in the 1950's. So how do you tell if your pattern is from the late 30's/early 40's? It will be called 'McCall' patterns as they didn't add the apostrophe 's until the very end of the 40's (when it was called 'McCall's').

We start off first with two lovely coat patterns, 9003 and 9014. I must say that I adore both of them but there is something about 9014 that is capturing my imagination. I just love the dramatic sleeves and collar on that coat!

Next up is 9008, a great fur-trimmed tunic dress. I just love the matching fur hat!

Wow--9009 is a showstopper! What a unique design. I am dying to see how this would look on a real person as it's very elegant! I just adore the shape of the sleeves.

Ok, 9030 is so classy....I just love the neat buttons on this dress and the lines of the bodice.

9048 is definitely one of my favourites of the lot. I just love that collar detail!

Awwwww...I love bow dresses. This one is super cute with the addition of the patch pockets!

Which one is your favourite this week? I think I'm going with the blue and black coat (9014).

Missing images so far: 9011, 9012, 9013, 9017, 9040, 9041, 9050, 9062, 9073, 9082 and 9088. If you want to contribute to the Mission McCall--just email me the images or pattern covers and I'll update them in the Vintage Pattern Wiki. myhappysewingplace[at]googlemail[dot]com.

1950's pattern giveaway

2011-11-06T08:00:00.001Z

Keeping in the tradition of the weekly pattern giveaways, up for grab this week is my idea of the perfect 1950's shirtwaist dress pattern, Style Print 1283. This is my first time sewing with a Style Print pattern (the same company produces 'Style' and 'Economy Design' patterns) and I am in LOVE. Ok, I didn't think it was possible to have a new pattern company obsession--but I do!

The trouble is that I can't find anything about the company, except that it was a British company. I think it must have started in the 40's (I can't find any earlier images of patterns) and I have a pattern from the 80's that is a Style pattern. Not sure if it is still around. Do you know anything about the pattern company?

The Giveaway
This giveaway is open to everyone. Just leave a comment on this post by midnight (London time) on Friday the 11th of November for one entry.

You can also do a blog post on this giveaway, tweet about it or put it on facebook for an additional entry for each method (up to four entries total). Just come back and leave me a comment that you've done all those. I'll randomly pick a winner on Saturday. It would be great if you could leave me some way of contacting you in your comment!

The only restrictions of the giveaway is that if you've already won a pattern in these weekly giveaways, you are not eligible for this giveaway. The other restriction is that if you win, that you do not sell this pattern. Keep it for as long as you want and once you are done--pass it along to someone else!

Thank you everyone for your lovely on my shirtwaist dress--I love it so much! I can't wait to make more!! Happy Sunday! xoxoxo

{Ness Lovelies} Bag End

2011-11-05T13:55:00.001Z

Let me introduce you to Laya--she's a doll. What a beautiful pink satchel (she also comes in a lovely green tweed)! She's the Ness 'Bag of the Week' (1/2 price!!). Laya and I went to the park this week...

I just can't get over how beautiful the trees are at this time of the year. It's quite majestic.

Laya brought a few of my favourite friends to the park! Do you recognise that cover?

Not sure if I ever mentioned that David and I are HUGE fans of Tolkien. My beloved copy of the Hobbit has a poem that David wrote for me in 2003 in Elvish!!!

May 2003

This book is a gift to thee, fair Snowgoose. A star shone on the hour of our first meeting.

~David

I just love the illustrations in this edition of the Hobbit. The Misty Mountains looking West from the Eyrie towards Goblin Gate.

I hope you're enjoying these Ness 'Bag of the Week' posts as much as I am! A big thank you to the team at Ness for letting me play at styling some of their sample bags (and for having such great promotions)!!

Sweater: thrifted

Skirt: thrifted

Shoes: thrifted

Handbag: Ness

What about you? If you could fill this bag with your favourite books, what would they be?

Fancy Moon Fabric Giveaway

2011-11-04T08:46:00.001Z

I mentioned yesterday that Fancy Moon: Purveyor of Fine Fabrics is offering one lucky reader 2 metres (approx. 2.2 yards) of their choice of fabric! Fancy Moon is a fantastic online fabric store with a wide variety of dressmaking and interior design fabrics. With the launch of their new website, Fancy Moon are now selling Fat Quarters alongside metreage. It's one of many new features on their stylish and super-slick, ultra secure new website which was launched in mid September with a fresh clean look, large photographs (YAY!), concise product information and an easy-to-navigate format, giving customers a smooth-sailing cruise through over 600 dazzling fabrics, sewing patterns and notions.

The lovely Nancy from Fancy Moon sent me the fabric I used for my 1950's shirtwaist dress and it was a really great high-quality cotton and the print was just perfect for recreating the 1950's look! In addition to high-quality and Japanese cottons, Fancy Moon also has corduroy, cotton lawn, gauze, double gauze and interior fabrics!

I'm now on the look-out for more fabulous fabric to make additional 1950's shirtwaist dresses (and maybe a circle skirt) and these are some of my top picks:

While I probably wouldn't make a shirtwaist dress out of the airplane fabric below, wouldn't it be perfect in some sort of 1940's outfit (maybe as a blouse with a coordinating blue skirt)?

Does this fabric look familiar? I actually bought some of this fabric when I went to California! I'm so glad I know where to get more because it's A-MAZING. The red is so vibrant!

I'm dying to make a shirtwaist out of some adorable kitten fabric, with a contrasting collar and maybe contrasting trim at the bottom? Check out these adorable kitten fabrics:

To Enter the Giveaway:
Take a look at the Fancy Moon website and leave a comment below saying your ideas on which fabric you'd choose and, if you like, what you'd make with it. The closing date is Friday the 11th of November at midnight GMT. I'll pick the winner at random and post the results on the following Saturday! The giveaway is open internationally. A big thank you to Fancy Moon for opening the giveway to readers everywhere!

For additional entries, you can:

Blog about the giveaway and come back and leave a link to your blog entry in the comments;
Tweet about the giveaway and let me know you've done that in the comments;
Write a note/status message on your Facebook page about the giveaway. Again, just come back here and leave a comment letting me know you've done that!

That's for a total of up to four entries! Woot, woot!! Don't forget to leave your email if it's not attached to your blogger profile so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck everyone!!

My 'Mid-century Madness' Dress

2011-11-03T08:51:00.000Z

I am SO excited to show you my latest sewing project--a 1950's shirtwaist dress! I don't know why it has taken me so long to sew up one of these 1950's classic pieces--but now I'm hooked (and hence the title 'Mid-century Madness'). I feel like I could easily make a 100 of these dresses in every single adorable printed fabric and never get tired!!

I was super lucky to be contacted by an amazing UK online shop called Fancy Moon to host a fabric giveaway on my blog (scroll to the end of the post to read more!) and also to get some fabric myself to review! I had so much fun perusing the retro prints they have online and when I came across the 'Nutmeg Seeds Orange' print from Robert Kaufman (they also have this exact print in green) -I knew it would be perfect for this challenge! It's 100% cotton and crisp enough for this shirtwaist dress but soft enough to gently hold all those skirt gathers!

I was very excited when I found some buttons in my stash that went perfectly with the fabric. These are vintage buttons that I got from the lovely Sofia when she came to visit. I used three buttons instead of two because these are a bit smaller than what I think the pattern calls for.

I used a pattern I got in the Sew Weekly UK meet-up pattern swap. It's the lovely Style Print 1283 pattern that Charlotte brought to the meet-up. This is my first time using a Style Print pattern. On the back of the pattern it reads "Style Patterns Ltd: An entirely BritishProduction" (emphasis orginal)! The pattern paper is a bit thicker than normal tissue pattern paper--which I found easier to work with.

You can wear the collar up (like in the pattern photo) or down. I really like how the collar was constructed as it's all one piece with the front facing with a smaller undercollar piece. I did use fairly strong interfacing to get that crisp collar look!

I am on the look-out for more Style Print patterns. I found the fit to be really good and the instructions were very clear. I did muslin the bodice because it's the first time I've used these patterns. I ended up adding an extra 1/4 inch to each of the side (I was paranoid of the dreaded gaping front) and lengthened the waist front and back by about 1/4 inch. I also took about 2 inches off the skirt length.

A super big thank-you to David who woke up (after only 3 hours of sleep) to walk with me to the park in the wee hours of the morning to take some photos before work (our tripod is broken). Isn't that sweet? It's nearly impossible to get daytime photos now that the sun sets at 4:30pm! sigh.

The leaves are all turning colours and we did notice one of the trees had lost nearly all of it's leaves. We are well into autumn now with winter hanging on the air.

I love how even without a petticoat, the dress still has that full skirt 50's look! Though I bet it would look adorable with a couple of petticoats. I've been wanting to get some after the series on petticoats that Solanah had on her blog.

So, what is this about a giveaway I hear you say? That's right! Tomorrow, I'll be hosting a giveaway for reader's choice of 2 metres of Fancy Moon fabric. Nancy over at Fancy Moon is so nice that she's opened the giveaway to readers everywhere! YAY! Check back tomorrow to enter yourself in the giveaway!

I'll also be hosting a giveaway this weekend for this Style Print pattern. It's definitely a gem.

The Ghost Goes West

2011-11-01T22:22:00.002Z

Over the weekend, David and I watched 'A Ghost Goes West', a hilarious story set in Scotland and the US that was made in 1935.

It features Robert Donat (who also starred in The 39 Steps) and Jean Parker. It's about Glourie Castle in Scotland (which as far as I can tell is fictious) which is haunted by Murdoch Glourie. An American (Jean Parker) comes to Scotland and convinces her father to buy the dilapidated castle from the last Glourie descendent (Robert Donat). He sells it to them (as he is in quite a bit of debt) only to find out that they plan to take it apart stone by stone and reconstruct it in Florida. Hilarity ensues when the ghost of the castle goes with them. It's a fantastic and funny story and apparently was a big hit in the UK--ranking as top movie in 1936!

Below are some stills from the movie of the beautiful outfits that Jean Parker and Everley Gregg wear. This time period is really one of my favourites for fashion--so glamorous.

The "Vitameatavegamin" blouse

2011-10-29T09:00:00.002+01:00

Hello friends, I'm your Vitameatavegamin girl.

Are you tired, run - down, listless? Do you poop out at parties? Are you unpopular?

The answer to all your problems is in this little bottle. VITAMEATAVEGAMIN.

Vitameatavegamin contains Vitamins, Meat, Vegetables, and Minerals.

Yes, with Vitameatavegamin, you can spoon your way to health. All you do is take a great big tablespoonful after every meal. Mmmmmm.... It's so tasty, too! Tastes just like candy!

So why don't you join all the thousands of happy peppy people and get a great big bottle of Vitameatavegamin tomorrow!

Thats Vita-meata-vegamin! (hiccup)

If you haven't seen this episode of I Love Lucy, you really should watch it! It's the funniest episode ever and what I decided to base my outfit on this week.

Instead of making a traditional 50's shirtwaist dress, I decided to use up some delightful brushed cotton baby houndstooth fabric that I won in a giveaway many moons ago! I revisited DuBarry 5327 which was my very first blouse I ever made AND I made another version of this blouse as my very first Sew Weekly Challenge (my Coco Chanel inspired blouse).

The blouse features a cute pleated sleeve, two buttons, tucks at the waist (which means it's great with high waisted trousers and other 40's styles) and gathers at the yoke front and back.

Instead of making the blouse collar white, like Lucy's (and like Veronica's version of the I Love Lucy dress), I opted for a darker navy blue to match my 1940 skirt (which I'm wearing here) and my matching 1941 high waisted trousers, all of these are from the same piece of lightweight wool that I found in a charity shop (YAY!)

I'm thinking of making matching sleeve cuffs in the navy wool. I wasn't too sure about it at first (I don't want it to look like a bowling shirt. lol.) I also don't want to do the traditional 50's flared cuffs because I'll most likely be wearing this with some sort of cardigan. What do you think?

Also, I think I was channeling Lucy in more ways than one this week--do you notice my big oops with the blouse? I think I sewed the sleeves on backwards! hahahhahahaha.

As Lucy would say:

Do you pop out at parties? Are you unpoopular? Drink a BIG bottle of vigeameatavegin....this stuff....tastes just like candy!

I did have loads of fun taking these photos! David made the label for the bottle and all the signs and tried to direct me in making silly faces (lol).

I also had fun doing my hair up in a vaguely 50's style (it's a bit too long for some of the 50's looks). I really like how it turned out! I curled up some of my hair to look like fringe/bangs and held it in place with bobby pins.

I love Lucy, don't you? What a gal!

{Ness Lovelies} 1940's Inspired

2011-10-26T08:14:00.000+01:00

I'd thought I would revisit two of my staple me-made items this week! The blouse is the very first garment I made as part of the Sew Weekly challenge! Actually, come to think of it--another iteration of this blouse was also the very first sewing garment I ever made! The skirt is from a 1940 McCall pattern and I absolutely love the lines.

I paired the outfit with Ness's Bag of the Week: the Andrea bag (on sale this week). This handbag is definitely 1940's inspired and also comes in a tartan of Autumn colours called 'Russet'. I just love the size and the classic look of the handbag. Of course, the red strap is such a nice touch! Last month I picked up several belts from an estate sale when I met up with Solanah from Vixen Vintage and this red one is one of my favourites and matches the handbag strap perfectly!

This pagoda was set up as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and it's still at the Fringe headquarters, called The Hub. Visitors to The Hub during the Festival were given their own wishing ribbon to hang from the Pagoda, which was designed by Edinburgh artist, Rachel George. Also during the festival an exhibition of work by local school pupils inspired by eastern art and traditions accompanied the pagoda.

I just love how all the ribbons float in the wind. I hope all the wishes have come true!

The Hub is in an old church--they've converted it into a really neat gathering space with a cafe.

The Hub also happens to be right across from the main Ness store on the Royal Mile! I went in to see the new Henriette shoes in person. ack. Love them!!! I'm definitely saving up for a pair of the teal ones!

Blouse: Made by me from a 1943 pattern

Skirt: Made by me from a 1940 pattern

Belt: Thrifted

Shoes: Ration Fashions on Etsy

Handbag: Ness

FO: The Highland ghost pyjamas...

2011-10-25T07:00:00.001+01:00

I had fun telling the story of my latest creation--flannel pyjama bottoms through scary halloween photoboards! For a less ghoulish write-up of the construction, click here. Hope you enjoy!

One spooky bat, two spooky bats, three spooky bats! waaahaaahaaahhaaa!