Apr. 18 - Apr. 22, The Week in Patterning 18

It's been a whirlwind week around here.
First, in sewing from EvaDress Patterns news, the 1935 summer dress continued as I completed bound buttonhole facings. A quick product plug here: I show one of the back facing seam allowances 'taped' with deni fuse sheer interfacing by Gail Patrice. The interfacing comes pre-cut 3-yards long at 60" wide in black or white. I created my own straight 3/8" stay tape from my white deni fuse in order to stabilize the back edges of the dress.

You also see how the belt is attached to the dress. In lieu of cutting a fabric belt, I chose double-face silk satin ribbon which I will likely tie at center front. The belt attachment is unique and I think throws some sewers. Each end of the belt is sewn into the facing/back edge of both right and left sides, yet the right belt section threads through a vertical buttonhole created in the back left side. The belt from the right back side is also folded away from the back edge and top-stitched along its center (not yet done in photo) for about an inch in order to accommodate the way the back left side laps the back right side:


Lastly, I will launch my new web site the end of this coming week-yay! The site will have features everyone expects in search capabilities and multiple payment methods. This also means by May 8, you will see my blog post entries from the new web site homepage (as indicated below, can't miss that BIG red arrow)! I am not sure yet how I will handle all the entries I have made to date from this address, but when I have that figured, I will fill you in.
...and I am still wearing my kitchen apron from dinner prep!

Mar. 28 - Apr. 1, The Week in Patterning 15

This board highlights bound buttonhole details I put to use on my 1935 Beach Dress:


I outlined my photos with text and illustrations from Dressmaking Made Easy, by The McCall Pattern Company, 1946. I have a couple additional tips I recommend when working with the binding of each buttonhole you are welcome to access via pdf here.  Click image to get larger views:

More 40's and 50's multi-size patterns are yet on their way this year to include these two! My work continued on each this week, expecting to have the 50's halter/bodice pattern tested and ready to go by April's end. It will be some time before I have the junior size blouses pattern tested out and ready for issue, but I will announce here:



This week's work will involve hand-drafting more originals to add to my multi-size line later this and into next year. As well, you get the hint by now that my work is not linear as I must toggle between different projects. Expect to see more progress on my 1869 sheer dress and the 1935 beach dress!

Jan. 11 - Jan. 15, The week in Patterning - 4

First in this week's storyboard, 'new' vintage patterns arrived this week! They are from a generous customer going through a family member's life-long belongings. These are just two and note they (as are more from this collection) are in sizes ranging 38 to 44 bust. I will post more about the complete set of originals as I continue to check each one. So far, I am sure I will add each one of these to my multi-size line.
This storyboard also includes a step back to the late-1930's as I complete the revisions to this blouse pattern I originally issued in sizes 32 to 42 bust. In addition to revising this pattern, I am adding sizes 44 and 46 bust. It will be ready for release late this coming week! Below left, is a silk matelasse sample I sewed from this pattern with the short, pleated sleeve.

Also in week 1, I gave a finishing detail of the cotton bobbinet Vogue 1935 Tucked Blouse (worn over the low-backed 1932 slip). It is now complete with vintage 'West Germany' crystal buttons and all!

Dec. 21 – Dec. 24, The Week in Patterning - 1

This is a new section featuring what I have been up to by-the-week for lack of posting much online. I gleaned inspiration for posting more often this way from Ann Wood Handmade. Each entry will be posted in storyboard fashion (click images for larger version). Please enjoy and Happiest of New Years' to you!

I consider a couple of current sewing projects as a lead-up to this Christmas. I machine-tucked the bobbinet blouse December 2014 when first experimenting with circa 1935 Vogue’s pattern 6969 (which had been a gift to me earlier in the year). This week was devoted to wrapping seams, securing the MANY thread ends off each pleat and roll-hemming edges.
The blouse came from the drapes off the bobbinet gown I created from circa 1935 Vogue’s Couturier design 371 in 2011. The cotton bobbinet is perfect for this blouse! I will post the complete blouse the week of Jan. 4.
This blouse pattern is currently available in its original size (34" bust), yet I will work the blouse up in multiple sizes between other pattern deadlines the first half of 2016.



The second project is a sheer waist (also in progress) I created from our 1860 Polonaise Pattern released in 2013. The waist is meant to go under my Swiss waist I created last December (shown over a borrowed blouse). The completed waist will be shared the week of Jan. 11.
I wear the waist(s) for Living History interpretation at our Sharlot Hall Museum. January is devoted to handwork for me, which means I take the Spanish Jacket and continue to add to the soutache motif!
I received a request for the Swiss Waist in pattern form and I have a great deal to offer this year, so I will see how I do this year as far as tucking it in between pattern deadlines!

My 2016 Make it with Wool

This is the first of a series detailing my three-piece 2016 Make it with Wool entry.
In an effort to present wool as unexpectedly fresh and light, I am creating Vogue's 1949 Kimono Blouse from pattern 6970 with large draped collar in sand-colored superfine gabardine.  This wool gabardine has such a subtle sheen due to its ultra-fine weave, it's nearly satin!  Having this lustrous fabric is exciting as I think this ensemble should 'sparkle' in places.


The second piece is the 1944 wrap Skirt originally by McCall.  I sewed it in a lightly woven Pendleton with Fleur de Lis and paisley figures in charcoal tones:

The detail below the pattern front shows the Hong Kong seams wrapped in silk habotai with which I also lined the skirt in a dark navy.
I first spotted this Pendleton at the 2014 MiWW state final and thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in wool!  I did not win the piece (it was the gratis piece for that year from Pendleton Woolen Mills), but I did track 1-1/2 yards of it down and knew just what to do!  I used the fabric's woven border at the hem and the drape of the left faced section of the skirt went perfectly with Gail Patrice deni-fuse interfacing.




The idea is that the blouse and skirt are soft, sculptured pieces.

As for the color scheme, I am following a palette of colors I enjoyed on Stinson Beach four years ago.  The charcoal of the skirt and the sand of the gabardine both match colors on each end of the mussel shells I picked up from the beach.  I wanted to pull deep blue out of the charcoal woven for some reason (perhaps that seashell's strong influence on me?) so lining it in navy was so suitable.
That said, enter the otherwise 'blue' aspect of the project; the corselet.
I am accessorizing the blouse and skirt with a Tunisian crocheted corselet.  The pattern is from Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2004 (seen here).  To satisfy the competition's requirement of wool content, I chose Madeline Tosh Merino Light for this piece.  The variegated blues in the merino stitched corselet make up the range of blues through the center of the sea shells.
I had made a Tunisian stitched corset in Alchemy's bamboo 8 years ago, only wider than the version I am now doing.  With the large blouse collar and the fact that I am short-waist-ed, I did not want to be engulfed in the wider original version of the stitched corset.

I understand the history of the Tunisian Simple Stitch to be murky, yet the idea of the dense stitch for warm sailor sweaters or Sontag's in the 1800's is clear.  I say this is 'Not your mother's afghan stitch' because as a kid in the 70's, I remember the sunburst-patterned afghan in gold, almond and yellow swathed over couch at any given time.  I like the idea that Tunisian-stitched items started out as very pragmatic, then leaped to one of THE hand stitches in 1970's throws and now has come back as wearable art.
As I like to play on paradox, my concept in the merino-stitched piece dictates what is thought of as a very dense, grid stitch becomes so light and de-materialized is almost ethereal in a very structural corselet!  The wool becomes translucent when crocheted over spiral steel dressmaking bones and the grid stitch pattern opens up when stretched around the midriff.


As in my submission last year, I explored different graphic scales between each piece.  I mentioned how smooth the gabardine blouse is and made a step up to the grainy weave in the Pendleton skirt.  The final transition takes place in the pixilated stitches of the corset, being the piece which separates the blouse and skirt.

More construction details coming up in the next post!

La Petite Mode EvaDress

La Petite Mode EvaDress is a newly begun series of 1/3 scale models sewn from EvaDress Patterns.  The models demonstrate viable high fashion which was originally available to the home sewer of early- to mid-20th century via commercial patterns.
I gleaned inspiration from Le Théâtre de la Mode.  As well, The House of Dior drew inspiration from the same exhibit in creating Le Petit Théâtre Dior.
La Petite Mode EvaDress models are based on 1/3 size from vintage patterns which fit 36" bust, 30" waist and 39" hip.


From Vogue's 1944 Frock pattern 8046:






From Vogue's 1944 Dinner Suit pattern 3162:








More models will be added over time, so stay tuned to this show!

Construction Details - E30-5918, 1931 Evening Gown with Diagonal Seams

I have had questions about the way the strap on this gown is applied.  Essentially, the strap is smocked with three lines of shirring before the back bodice strap portion is twisted, brought under the top shoulder edge of A, and stitched as a lapped seam. This is not exactly something that contemporary sewers are used to doing, so I worked a quick muslin version showing the steps:


Shows A, the Bodice Front with top edge turned under 3/8". The pen marks indicate where the first two rows of running stitches will be made:

Wrong side of A with top edge turned under 3/8":

I modified this example a bit by running the first row of long stitches very close to fold of turned edge. Then I ran subsequent lines of long stitches 3/8" apart. The large O is the match point '2' between the front and back strap.

Example shows size 40 bust, so the lines of gathers are drawn to 1-7/8" per chart given in the instructions. A third row of gathering stitched is then sewn in.

Gathered shoulder edge of B, Bodice Back. Flat bias finishes both neck and armseye edges of B and as for A:

The shoulder strap of B is twisted two times toward the neck and the turned edge of 'A' laps over 'B' with match points in place. Top-stitch through all layers. Shows full shirred effect in 3 rows of stitching the pattern originally calls for:

Additionally, this pattern was originally made for the petite figure (note half sizes given in yardage chart) and labeled as a 'half size' pattern.  Regular pattern sizes were made for women of a standard height of 5'7" to 5'8" whereas half size patterns were for those 5'3" to 5'4" tall.  The difference between this and the women's regular size is, according to The McCall Pattern Co. in that 3-4" difference as follows:
1" shorter in the waist
2-3" shorter in the skirt
1" shorter in a full-length sleeve
1-2" larger around the hip
1" larger around the waistline

1929 Coat with Pin Tucks and Godets: Godet Lining Tip

I treated the godet lining pieces the same as for the coat wool godets as far as turning a silk organza facing at the very top portion.  There is one big difference in that I stitched that facing down each side as shown (click on images for larger view):


This is so that I can make complete points out of the top of each godet so I may get crisp, secure turnings at that difficult juncture.  As you see, I clipped into the seam allowance so I may stitch the rest of the godets down each side by machine.  This also could have been done on the coat wool, but I felt I had better control of the turnings doing them by hand (as posted here) since the wool is so bulky.


Stitching down from the clipped seam allowance (which is at the bottom of the organza facing) when sewing the godet lining to the coat lining:


...and sewing the opposite edge of the godet to the lining from the clipped seam allowance (clip is not visible from this side, but its position is indicated by blue pin):


A view of the godet lining stitched into place from the wrong side, relative to the organza facing:


Godets are turned and pressed in place and ready to be hand-stitched along the edges turned with the organza facing:

1929 Coat with Pin Tucks and Godets: Hem Bias and Pin Tuck the Lining

Whenever possible, I like to keep bulk to a minimum in my sewing.  So, I am finishing my coat hem with a bias self-facing (click on images for larger view):
I am using fusible interfacing in just the hem of the coat.

A 2" hem is given in the coat pattern, yet I shortened the pattern below the waistline so I can use just a 1/2" allowance at the bottom to turn the bias facing I will sew.  I cut fusible interfacing on the bias about 3" wide so I can place it with the contours of the bottom edge of the coat.  I also pieced it so it goes behind the seam allowances of the coat.

Here, the bias interfacing is pieced and overlapped 1/2":


The coat hem is now ready to be turned and pressed to fell the bias to the wrong side of the coat.  On that note, I move to the inside of the coat.  I will pin tuck and assemble the brocade lining the same as for the coat.

1929 Coat with Pin Tucks and Godets: Stitch the Godets on and Trimming the Scarf Collar

Per the previous post about sewing this coat, I emphasized the process of facing the top edge of each godet to ready them for stitching to the coat.  Here, you see I am stitching the godet with the top edges turned in with the organza facing (click on images for a larger view:

After getting that seam in, I then clipped into the godet seam allowance just below my organza facing and stitched the top godet edges in place by hand.  this is better illustrated in the process for the lining godets, see November 17 post above.

When I turn the godet to stitch other side down the godet opening, I clipped into the seam allowance at an angle to fit the machine as far up as possible (not shown).
The free section of the top edge on the godet is to be invisibly hand-tacked to the coat, making sure to catch each folded corner of the top in.

When it came to cutting the faux fur trim for my scarf collar, I opted to cut it in one piece which would wrap over the top seam of the scarf rather than be sewn into that seam to reduce lines and bulk.  The advantage in this is also in cases where real fur pelt is used to reduce stitching and piecing.  Notice I faced the faux fur trim along the inside vertical edge only.  It is then turned right side out and with raw edges matching, hand basted to the fur layer (click image for a larger view):


I then hand basted the faced trim to the right side of the scarf so its edges will be caught in with the stitching of the scarf ends (click image for a larger view:


Alternately, the fur trim could be cut and seamed into the scarf (having cut the scarf fabric away with seam allowances included), but I like the idea of having the wool behind the trim for weight.  It swings round so well!

Help with the 1929 Ensemble Skirt

I have revised the instructions for this ensemble skirt to include the following.  Feel free to download the pdf here:

1929 Coat with Pin Tucks and Godets: Sewing Godets

I have all my loose threads secured onto the wrong side of each coat piece.  So before I stitch the coat seams together, I will put the godets on first.
I applied a stay as a technique I like to use when sewing fabric with a turned corner  I also use this method when stitching a lapped seam onto another fabric.  I prefer to use silk organza as it compacts so well when folded and pressed.  It really makes for a clean and non-bulky application.

I cut a piece of scrap organza to fit over the points at the top of each godet (click image for a larger view):


I turned my machine stitch length down 10 per inch so the stitches will be fine enough to make the inside corner secure and crisp.  Using the seam allowance given (1/2"), stitch the organza to the right side of the godet along the top edge where the top corners of the godet will be sewn to the coat.  I did the stitches in scrap thread of different colors so they show up easily (click image for a larger view):


Clip through both layers to the inside corner at marking, trim near seam allowance, turn and press the seam allowances toward the organza facing (click image for a larger view):

Shows the organza facing turned and pressed to the wrong side of godet (click image for a larger view):

Shows the organza facing turned and pressed from the right side of godet (click image for a larger view):


The godets are now ready to be stitched to the coat!

Detail of making small stitches at the top of the godet where the edge is made with the organza facing. Be sure to catch the godet only in the organza side of the seam taking care not to grab the wool side.(click image for a larger view):

1929 Coat with Pin Tucks and Godets: This is a great day to do competition sewing!

This is the first of a series I will post when working up my 2013 Make It With Wool submission.

I am sewing the 1929 German Coat with Pin Tucks and Godets in melton.


I will line it with a contrasting silk brocade with a deco pattern in it.

First photo shows the back cut and marked with tailor tacks.  I recommend marking the pin tuck lines at 4 to 5 inch intervals.


As I fold the melton to make each pin tuck, I am being very careful to keep each thread marking in the edge as I fold all the length of the back.  This is a 16-18 oz. 70% wool/mohair/cashmere with 30% nylon blend, so the stability of the weave is great for making really crisp tucks.  The arrow shows the start point for sewing the pin tucks.  This is also the location of the stitching detail photo below.


The Gütermann silk thread makes for beautiful stitching!  Just a few loose threads to sew in.


As for the coat front:

Stitch the bust dart from the wrong side of fabric:


After stitching the bust dart, get the machine needle just on the point of the dart (on the right side of fabric) so the line of stitching falls below it.


Stitching the tuck just above the bust dart on the coat right front. Here, I have lifted the feed dog and I am about to make my pivot for stitching the tuck down the length of the coat.


Here, I turned the fabric before setting the feed dog down and stitching that vertical tuck.


Have yet to sew threads to the wrong side (note I left my thread tail a little above that bust dart, I will take that extra stitch out so it will not pucker when I secure my threads). Also have yet to press this set of tucks.