The Promise of Summer!

This dress is exactly what I needed now. No, not because I can actually wear it right away - for summer hasn't arrived yet where I live (Vienna). Indeed, it is so cold that I almost made a fire yesterday evening. But this dress has a promise, a hope, and even a special purpose for warmer weather. I will be wearing it for my next opening night - it will be on July 18th, a summer festival, and I shall be twirling in it like in the photo at the end of the post. Summer HAS to arrive until then!

I did not make this from scratch. My aunt gave it to me and it looked like this:

The London Coat

Another coat?! Yes, another coat!

It's not like I need more coats. But coats are good. Coats are comfy, cozy and make winter more enjoyable. And for whatever reason, coats inspire me. Or how would you say it the other way around... when I see other garments, they often inspire me to turn them into coats. It might be strange, but that's the way it is.

What would you have made from this great 60's number?

Shoe Shortage! Making Soles for House Shoes

Finally, here comes my next post about learning how to make shoes! In case you have missed my previous ones, I am using this great old booklet from around the time of the first world war, it's German and called "Die Schuhnot", which can be translated to "Shoe Shortage".

Upon great request from my YouTube subscribers, it can now be downloaded as a pdf file from the side bar on my blog!

The booklet is in German, but I am going through everything, step by step, so you can also just follow my blog and you won't miss a thing, I promise!
I am also going by a second booklet, from around the same time, which is almost identical, except for a few extra things, which I am also including in my posts.

Original Vintage Refashion!

Yes, I promised a new free pattern, and I am almost ready with it. But first I had to fit in my monthly contribution to the refashion co-op! After last months huge success with the 9 shirts off his back, I wasn't sure whether I was going to be able to live up to the expectations for my next project... :-) But how about this - an original 1943 Refashion project?

I own a few German pattern magazines from the 40's and they feature a one-page refashioning section! They certainly had to use all the resources they could get their hands on. In this example, they suggest using an old long-sleeve blouse on which the collar, buttons, underarms and cuffs are torn up and turn it into this cute short-sleeve version, for which you can cut away all the problematic areas...

1950's Hand-Sewn Leather Gloves

As you might already know, I have been away from my home and my sewing machine for a great part in the past two months. While I used some of my spare time improving my drawing skills, I also made sure I always had a little hand-sewing project along. This was one of those:

I know, I know: We are all ready for summer, but when I started them, it was still chilly. And it seemed like too much fun to pass up...

I found the pattern in one of my 1950's magazines:

...and the Winner is...!

Well it's about time I announce the winner of my "vote and win"!

The "Vintage-Inspired, Modern Style" Design Challenge!

Well well, wasn't this contest right up my alley!?

BurdaStyle has organized a contest, see rules and information HERE. We were to take an existing pattern and make our own variation from it. There were plenty of different patterns to choose from, amongst them four vintage patterns free of charge! The one that jumped right at me upon very first glance was the "Slip-On Jumper Dress".

Click HERE to get to all the patterns, though I don't know if they stay available after the deadline on March 12th 2012.

The 1938 Dress: Tutorial Snap Button Closure

Here it is, the last post about the making of my 1938 dress, and what you see in the picture below is the side with the button closure:

Nice, right? Actually so much better than a zipper!

Normally, I would have opted for a zipper, for whatever reason. I guess I would have found it too much of a hassle to sew snap buttons and I am more familiar with sewing zippers. However, my decision to look up this technique also had to do with my mission of using up my stash/notions/whatever-clusters (I have TONS of snap buttons, but NEVER the right zipper at hand), as well as kneeling myself deeper into the real reason why I sew vintage - to LEARN stuff...

The 1938 Dress: Making the skirt

On we go, today, we are making and adding the skirt!

This is not a real tutorial post, but I wanted to show you how this pattern works. I find it quite interesting, as there is a bunch of gathering right in the center front of the skirt, which adds nice width, while keeping the silhouette narrow from front and back. I actually sewed a vintage pattern with this kind of skirt before, but I altered it back then, because I couldn't imagine that this bunching up right between my legs would work out... :-) This time, I went for it, and I like the result!

The 1938 Dress: Finished! Vote and Win!

If you are here to vote and win, just scroll down to the second half of the post! :-))

So this is the finished dress from my 1938 magazine:

The 1938 Dress: Tutorial basting and setting in Sleeves

Here we go, today I'll show you how I first basted in, then set in the sleeves I so nicely prepared yesterday. I'll also explain the whole point of basting sleeves a bit later in the post:

Again, I am using the book from 1935 as a reference. It is a fairly small book, but there is so much information in it!

 This illustration is our reference for the basting:

The 1938 Dress: Tutorial Preparing Sleeves

 Today: Applying the stripes and preparing the sleeves!

It's funny, even though I am going at an extremely slow pace, reading up every stitch I make in my vintage sewing book and stopping to take pictures after each move, I feel like I am moving along nicely!
Gone are the days where I thought I could finish a dress in one evening, here are the slow-paced precision days! :-)

I'll first show you how I applied the velvet stripes, but you can just scroll down to get to the sleeves if that's what you stopped by for...

The 1938 Dress: Tutorial Built-up Neckline

Dear Readers: Happy 2012!

I want to apologize for my long absence, but really, it was for the better. And I don't only mean for the better of myself, but for you, too ;-)
The blogging got quite stressful, because I couldn't keep up with my own ideas and instead of enjoying my hobby, it became pressure. So I stepped back, thought about where I wanted to go with this blog - and came back.
Well, I will bring you even more information. I will not merely "show and tell" what I've sewn, but I will provide you with more details - things I am learning along the way, techniques I am picking up, patterns I'm creating. Maybe less posts in total, but the posts will be filled with information that hopefully inspire you and give you useful information.
I promise to try and make better pictures (it's difficult with the low-light winter season...), answer questions (as always!) and only write when I feel like it. I can't promise that my fingernails will always be perfectly manicured, but hey, my priorities lie elsewhere ;-)

The beginning of my 2012 blogging is this 1938 dress I have had on my list FOREVER. I was just going to sew it up and show you, but what's the point? As you might know, vintage instructions are usually minimal and say little more than: put it together. In this instance for example, it says to leave the left side open within the marks and prepare it for snap-button closure. But how exactly is a snap-button closure done? Well, here enters my 1935 sewing book!

It has a lovely signature from the previous owner that says 1958, but the copyright of the book is 1935, so a match made in heaven. And while I first only planned to give you the snap button tutorial, I decided we'll go top to bottom.


So let's get to it!
This dress features a gorgeous built-up neckline which is achieved with a slit and facing.

Me-Made-Mittwoch #13

Deutsch: Grau

English: Green

Bei Me-Made-Mittwoch tragen die Teilnehmerinnen jeden Mittwoch ein selbst-geschneidertes Kleidungsstück (oder auch Accessoire). Die Idee und Organisation stammt von Catherine von Cat-und-Kascha, und Neueinsteigerinnen sind jederzeit willkommen! Einfach auf ihrem schönen Blog den Button abholen und Euren Link hinzufügen bei Mister Linky auf ihrer Seite.
Diese Woche seht ihr HIER, was die anderen Teilnehmerinnen heute Schönes tragen.

"Mittwoch" is German for Wednesday, so the participants wear a self-made garment or accessory every Wednesday. Catherine from Cat-und-Kascha is organizing it and you are welcome to join us anytime! Just go over to her blog to grab the button and add your link at Mister Linky on her site!

HERE you see the outfits from this weeks participants.

Was ich heute trage (noch etwas müde und ungeschminkt...):

My outfit today (still a bit tired looking...):

Dieses Leinenkleid ist das wohl "erfolgreichste" Stück in meinem BurdaStyle studio. Ich habe es vor ca. einem Jahr nach einem Schnittmuster von 1935 geschneidert. Die Taschen habe ich dazu-gedichtet, den Ausschnitt etwas tiefer gesetzt, sonst blieb es ziemlich original.

I made this linen dress about a year ago from a pattern from 1935. It is probably the most "successful" garment in my BurdyStyle studio. I added the pockets and made the neckline a bit lower - other than that it is pretty much original. 

Ich habe übrigens auch die gestreifte Jacke genäht, sowie das dritte Kleid von links mit Jacke, alles zu finden in meinem BurdaStyle studio. Sicherlich werde ich es auch in Kürze beim Me-Made-Mittwoch vorstellen, jetzt passt es wieder zur Jahreszeit. (Den Mantel ganz rechts habe ich auch genäht, in einer Winter-Version mit Änderungen, HIER).

I also made the striped jacket and the third dress from the left with jacket. You can find it all in my BurdaStyle studio. I will surely soon present it at Me-Made-Mittwoch, now that the season is right... (I also made the coat on the right, in a winter version with some alterations, HERE).

Nun noch eine Vorankündigung: Ich habe dieses wunderbare Booklet erstanden - vermutlich aus den 1940'er Jahren! Nun lerne ich also, selber Schuhe herzustellen! Bereits habe ich mit geflochtenen Sohlen begonnen und werde vermutlich heute noch den ersten Post dazu schreiben.

A little Preview: I got this wonderful booklet - problably from the 1940's - about how to make your own shoes! I have already started braiding/sewing my first set of soles and will write a first post very soon, probably later today.

My 10 Piece Travel Set: 9 down, 1 to go!

Wow, I am actually getting closer! These are my pieces number 8 and 9 for my ten piece fall/winter/spring travel set! I have already presented them on my dress form in the last post, but here they come, modeled by me:

I have already presented the skirt, too, with a full how-to/tutorial HERE, in case you are interested. It features half-circle pockets and a visible zip in the back:

But my biggest pride at the moment is this shirt:

Me-Made-Mittwoch #12, hot off the sewing machine!

English speaking visitors welcome! Please scroll to the green textblocks!

Das ist meine Mittwochs Kleidung heute:

This is my outfit today:

Vielleicht langweilt Euch der rote Rock schon - ich habe ihn letzten Mittwoch schon gezeigt (aber  nicht getragen) und Euch auf das Tutorial dafür aufmerksam gemacht. Aber um den Rock geht es ja auch gar nicht, sondern um dieses Shirt:

You might be tired of this skirt already, as you might have seen it last Wednesday and in my tutorial already, but it's all about this shirt:

Ich habe es gerade eben fertig genäht und bin super glücklich damit. Ich nenne es das "süss wie seine Knöpfe-Shirt" (klingt VIEL besser auf Englisch). Es vereint viele meiner Lieblings-Details: Vintage Knöpfe, einen Peter Pan-Kragen, diese kleinen Ärmel, die auf Englisch Cap-Sleeves heissen und deren deutscher Name mir nicht einfällt (ich zähle auf Euch!), und Biesen. Ich habe es selber entworfen und das Schnittmuster hergestellt (*stolz*) und bin sogar mit meiner Ausführung zufrieden. Danke Euch allen für die ermutigenden Worte letzte Woche, die Overlock betreffend. Ich habe ein Buch bestellt und glaube bereits Fortschritte gemacht zu haben, obwohl ich bis jetzt erst das Inhaltsverzeichnis las :-). Hier noch eine Nahaufnahme:

I just finished it minutes before posting it here and I am actually really excited about it. I call it the "cute as its buttons shirt" (vintage buttons) and it features many of the little things I love: pleats, cap sleeves and a peter pan collar. 

I drafted it myself (*proud*), and I am even happy about my execution. Thank you all for your kind words about serging last week! I ordered a book about it and feel like I have made progress already, even though I have only read the table of contents so far :-). Here is a close up:

Natürlich werde ich Euch auch noch zeigen, wie es getragen aussieht. Dieses Top verdient einen separaten Post, denn es gehört auch zu meinem berühmt-berüchtigten 10-teiligen Herbst/Winter/Frühling Reiseset. Dort präsentiere ich es dann auch mit den Hosen, Shorts etc. Hoffentlich komme ich morgen schon dazu.

I will show you how it looks on me when I write the actual post about it. It deserves an extra post because it is also part of my 10 piece fall/winter/spring travel set. I should get around to it tomorrow, hopefully.

Schönen Mittwoch euch allen - wer auch mitmachen will, hier geht's zu Cat-und-Kascha.

Und HIER findet ihr die anderen Mittwochs-Kleider!

Happy Wednesday everyone - if you want to join the fun and wear me-made-outfits (uhm- I guess that would be you-made outfits then...) every Wednesday, go to Cat-und-Kascha. And check out the other great outfits today HERE!

Me-Made-Mittwoch #10!

Here is one of my "Classics". The blouse and skirt are both from a travel set from 1953. You can read a little more about it HERE on this blog, or a little more about it in my BurdaStyle studio HERE. They are both made of fancy silk fabrics and a treat to wear. The pattern for the sunhat comes from the June 2009 issue of ANNA. As much as I have fallen in love with hats, I'm not sure I will wear it today. I like the shape, but not the fabric I used. It is too "country-side" for the city :-) I think I will make it again in about a dozen solid colors though.
I took the picture yesterday evening, and yes, of course I ironed the skirt today before putting it on...

Cat-and-Kascha came up with this idea, and you can join us anytime!
And if you want to see the other me-made-Mittwoch outfits (Mittwoch = Wednesday), click HERE.
Have a lovely Wednesday everyone! I will be terribly busy again, but I am looking forward to visiting your blogposts this evening!

My 1938 Coat: RTW Tailoring sew-a-long - FINALE!

May I introduce to you:

This is the coat I made for the RTW-Sew-along that Sherry from Pattern-Scissors-Cloth was posting. It was an AMAZING sewalong and I cannot give her enough credit for it. This is probably the most precisely constructed/sewn garment I have made so far. And that coming from a pattern from 1938 really means something. I have written two previous posts:

First: RTW-Sew-along THE MUSLIN - where I wrote about some fitting issues
And: RTW-Sew-along ALMOST THERE - where I wrote about the things that I learned and all I had left to choose were buttons.
From the original illustration it seemed like they were using Chinese Frog buttons:

Source: Deutsche Moden-Zeitung, Heft 25, 1938

First of all, thanks to everybody for your input here and on the Flickr group! I really appreciated it and it helped me decide! I first toyed with the idea of making my own. I found some instructions, especially for the button part, but I worried about it a lot. I find buttons can easily make or break a garment, and as I was already liking my coat a lot at that point, I didn't want to risk anything by putting on scraggly little hand-made crooked frogy things. (If this is all you see from this post now, click on the "read more" sign below. It's small and I like to point it out...)

Me-Made-Mittwoch #8!

Today with only a few words, because I'm in a morning-hurry...
A jacket from a 30's-pattern, more information about it here, and a me-made necklace.

Also, Cat asked us to show our fabric stashes. Until recently, this wouldn't have been possible for me - a big box was under the bed, one in the hallway, some in my guestroom etc. Now it is all in clear plastic boxes to the left and right of my guest bed:

 

In the hanging Ikea thingy I have some fabric rolled up that is already set for projects, along with notions in the drawers. It still all needs more organizing, but I am getting there.
Have a lovely Wednesday! Here are the other participants outfits.

Amazing Fleamarket Finds...

As promised, I am posting some pictures of things I found at the fleamarket on Saturday. But don't worry, I'm not doing this to make you jealous or anything - you will actually profit from some of my finds, I promise!
I'll go in the order of how I found them...
First, this amazingly beautiful collar, hand-embroidery of it's most accurate kind, in best condition...

Black velvet, gold embroidery with different sized beads. I don't know how old it is. I am not sure whether I will keep this for myself or sell it in my shop... Yes, you heard me right, I am planning on opening a little shop....

Then, oh WOW, these two beauties (as always, click on the images to enlarge):

They were quite pricey, but I had to have them. I don't really know how old they are, I can only guess (30's?). They are hand-colored and I have now framed them and made sure the edges don't tear any more. I really feel like making these costumes some day... The first one says (the original is in French, I'm translating):

Queen of Flowers: Bodice in shape of calyx made of green silk, the top is cut in strips. The very voluminous sleeves and skirt are composed entirely from rose-colored organza petals.

The second one:

The Spring: Straight bodice made out of rose-colored "pongé" (a light weight fabric, a silk/wool mix). Skirt simulating a flower, from petals cut out of two different tones of yellow organza. Garland and trail made of flowers.

Corrections are welcome...
There's more! Click on that little "read more" button below to do just that!