Monday, February 24, 2014

Sew in Love... A Vintage Vanity Does Halter Top Video Tutorials!



Hello lovely readers!
Recently I was delighted to find that the very talented Jennifer of A Vintage Vanity on Youtube has done a full video tutorial series on sewing Depew #1006 - one of my vintage pattern reproductions!

The "So Sew Vintage" series of 5 video posts walks you through printing and taping together the pattern, grading the pattern (if necessary) to another size using the included pattern grading instructions, mocking up a muslin and adjusting the fit, interfacing the final pattern pieces and sewing them together, and adding buttons/ buttonholes to the finished blouse.

Jennifer, a self-proclaimed Geek (geeks unite!) chose to make her halter top out of Dr. Who-themed Tardis fabric, which, in my opinion, is unsurpassed in its epic-ness. 

The posts are very in-depth and so entertainingly presented that a complete beginner would have very little trouble sewing this blouse right up!

If you're not interested in sewing this blouse for yourself, you might want to check out the "A Vintage Vanity" Youtube channel anyways for amazing vintage fashion, DIY, makeup and hair tutorials and vlogging!
You can also follow A Vintage Vanity on Facebook.

If you are interested in giving this pattern a try, below is the complete tutorial set!

Happy sewing!


Part 1: Printing and taping together your pattern.




Tip: every printer is different and occasionally marins might be a hair off. If you find while taping the pattern pages together that the lines aren't matching up perfectly, give the perimiter of the pattern piece itself a little snip to free it from the paper around it. This can make it much easier to line up the pattern lines as necessary.

Part 2: Grading the pattern pieces.





Part 3: Mocking up the sewing pattern for a test fit.





Part 4: Interfacing and sewing the pieces together.





Part 5: Adding buttons and buttonholes - and the big reveal!




A huge thanks to Jennifer for taking the time to put together such a fantastic tutorial series! I can't wait to see the next sewing project you take on!


Sunday, February 16, 2014

My Favorite 1920's Teddies... and a free sewing pattern!

The 1920's brought us some truly wonderful fashion revelations, my favorite being the loose-fitting dress and less constricting undergarments to accompany them. Lingerie also got so much easier to sew with little to no boning, fewer seams, and simpler designs!

The best part of this, in my humble opinion, was the advent of the Chemise (also known as the teddy or cami-knickers). It could often be sewn from two squares of fabric and was a great way to reuse fabric to make dainty things.

Original 1920's lingerie patterns are nearly impossible to find. In fact, they're practically the holy grail to lingerie pattern collectors like myself. Teddy patterns from the 1920s are the rarest of all. If you do a Google search you'll find hardly any at all. Sad Face.

I have quite a few in my collection though and I thought I would share.

McCall 5124 1920s Step-in Combination Chemise Camiknickers.

McCall 4487 Mid-1920s Ladies' and Misses' Step-in Chemise.


McCall 5818 late 1920s Step-in Combination is available as a reproduction pattern here.
These beauties are so lovely and when they do rarely crop up, they are often quite expensive (and rightly so!). This makes getting your hands on that 1920s look rather hard and one must often turn to reproduction sewing pattern companies like mine to find something to substitute for an original.

But today, I thought I would skip all that and just give you a free pattern!



This is a digital PDF copy of an insanely easy sewing method for a lovely set of step-in combination teddies from 1926. The pattern for two different versions was originally published for the newspaper column of a "Fashion Expert". This pattern would also make an amazing little neglige for when you need one in a hurry.

I have digitally enhanced the images but the instructions are the exact wording used by the original designer. The grammar and writing style tells me that the "Fashion Expert" was most likely a French woman writing in English and the way she expresses herself is so charming!

It is not necessary to print this pattern. The "Pattern" given is a very easy-to-follow set of instructions for cutting and draping a certain measurement of fabric with several drawings and diagrams.
This is a great way to use up some of those vintage scarves hiding in your closet, or a nice length of silk you haven't found a purpose for yet.

Happy Sewing, mes cheris!


Sunday, February 2, 2014

Weekend Eye Candy: Pictorial Review from March of 1927.

Hello lovely readers! I have a busy Sunday ahead of me which includes cleaning my house like a mad woman in anticipation of company, and cheering on my favorite football team during the Super Bowl.
But before I do any of those things, I thought I'd share some awfully pretty things with you.

For your weekend viewing pleasure, I have pictures of Pictorial Review's Printed Patterns booklet, advertising all of the yummy patterns one could acquire in March of 1927.

So without further ado (since I have to go paint my nails blue and orange to show some team spirit) here they are!




I would wear all four of the dresses above in a heartbeat, wouldn't you?





I love the monogrammed blouse up in the right corner above. What a great idea!



And swoon, you know I'm all about the lingerie... but especially, THAT ROBE!




Sigh... a girl just can't have too many 1920's patterns, can she?

Happy weekend,







P.S. If you get a moment, check out our new sponsor Floradora Presents!