Sewing Cigarette Pants with BooBoo Kitty Couture

While planning for my Bedford Cigarette Pants, I contacted the lovely Aislinn of BooBoo Kitty Couture (BBKC) to see if she had any tips. BBKC offers made-to-measure dressmaking services, with fashions inspired by the 1940s and 1950s.  I have long admired her gorgeous cigarette pants, and I knew she would be a wealth of knowledge!

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1. What types of cigarette pants do you make for your customers?

All the clothing I make for customers is made to order so I make a wide range. Ranging from semi-lose cigarette pants, with no stretch so they look more authentic. To skin tight capri pants for a sexy rockabilly bad girl look!

2. Why do you love wearing cigarette pants? Do you have a favorite style icon that wore them?

I love love love wearing cigarette pants. There are far too many icons to mention. Jayne Mansfield in her sexy leopard print, or Audry Hepburn in the film Funny Face wearing plain black ones for a simple yet chic Beatnik style. And of course Marilyn Monroe. Check out my pinterst board.

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3. How do you go about tailoring your cigarette pants to each customer?

I draft the pattern to fit their hips fist and then bring in the waist using darts. Some people have large hip to waist ratio and others small. Those who have high waist to hip ratio I put four drafts at the front, those with small hip to waist ratio, I only can fit two darts at the front.

4. I found the front rise to be particularly challenging. How do you get a snug fit while leaving enough room to sit?!

I much prefer to use fabric with stretch. But I don’t think I have had any problem with the rise being too tight when sitting as the fabric has stretch. I have made pants without stretch but these aren’t as tight on the hips to allow ease when sitting. There is a fine fine balance when fitting pants without stretch, no room for error in fit.

5. What fabric do you recommend for this style of pant?

Medium weight with STRETCH!!

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6. Describe some of the construction details of your pants.

Fixed interfaced waist band, darts at front and back, over locked seams. I also double stitch all seams as I would die if the pants ever split!! Side zipper, hand sewn waist band inside. Trouser clip. Slits at the hem for ease of movement.

7. Do you have any other tips?

Lots of fittings. My pattern is based on a vintage pattern, but has been adapted over the years and no longer resembles the vintage one at all!

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Thank you so much, Aislinn! I am definitely using a stretch fabric next time around. And for those of you in the UK, you can contact Aislinn to enroll in sewing courses taught by her in her studio in Nottingham. She creates some truly beautiful tailored garments, well beyond just cigarette pants, so there's much to learn from her! And I hear there's afternoon tea at a vintage tea shop with the class, too! All us gals across the pond will just have to be jealous.

Bedford Cigarette Pants

These pants are my own design, made out of a wool gabardine. They are a classic cigarette pant style, meaning a slim fit pant. I actually made these just before Christmas, and I have worn them constantly! It's such an easy, casual vintage look. You might even remember seeing the original sketch for them back in November.

To make the pattern, I started with my pants sloper, sewed a muslin, and then tried them on inside-out. Then my pattern making instructor pinned excess fabric, I'd sew along that line, and we'd repeat the process again. I did that over and over until I got a fit that I liked. Then I transferred all my markings to the pattern.

This wool gabardine doesn't have any stretch to it, so I made them a bit looser cigarette pant. I think I can do a slimmer fit even still, and intend to with a stretchy fabric. Although these pants were field tested during the holidays, and I am happy to report that I was able to comfortably wear them even after Christmas dinner.

I used ban roll in the waistband for the first time, and gollies, I love it! I purchased it on a suggestion from The Lost Art of Tailoring by Gentleman Jim. It adds stiffness which keeps your waistband from wrinkling as you wear it throughout the day. I highly recommend it! I wish I had found it earlier.

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The waistband closes with one of those heavy-duty pants hook and eyes, and then there's an invisible zipper at the left side seam. I find I prefer the side zip over the back zip for this style of pant as it's more comfortable and has less fitting issues.

While I was plotting and scheming for the Bedford Cigarette Pants, I interviewed Aislinn of BooBoo Kitty Couture, who sews the most sensational made-to-measure cigarette pants. So stay tuned for that interview on Thursday! I got the dirt! You know, the poop, scoop, skinny, the haps, the dillio, the 4-11. ("Pushing Daisies reference anyone?!)

Floral-Embroidered Coco

Have you seen Tilly and the Button's Coco pattern yet? It's a great knit tee, with lots of opportunities for customization. For this one, I hand-embroidered flowers on a purple interlock knit.

I've never sewn with knit before, and knowing Tilly's great instructions and attention to detail, I knew this would be a great way to dive in! It was so easy to sew this top, and very quick to make. This is a size 5 sewn with no fit adjustments, although I did shorten the sleeves. You know I live in Texas, right?  It fits almost perfectly, except a small forward-shoulder adjustment I plan to make on future versions (ho ho, there will be more, just you wait).

The interlock knit is so soft and cozy. I used stay tape to stabilize the shoulder seams and neckline, and I plan to try ribbon next. The stay tape is a bit scratchy. I sewed all my seams with a serger (although Tilly has instructions even if you don't have a serger), and then the top stitching is done with a zig zag stitch.

I typically wear my shirts tucked in with skirts or high-waisted pants, but I wanted to show you the nice curve of the tee, so I snapped a few photos with jeans. There's vents on either side near the hem to give it some extra flair. I might try taking these out for my next version, as I have my own natural built-in flair, if you know what I mean.

Hand-Embroidered Flower

If you follow me on Instagram, you got a peek of this while it was in work (as well as my next embroidery project for another Coco!). I LOVE this detail and am so happy with how it turned out. Look at how happy I am. It's just bursting out of me! 

Oh, yeah. You wanted to see the embroidery up close. My camera is going a bit wibbly wobbly and fuzzy sometimes right now, so this was the best I could manage on a zoom.

I found the template for this lovely flower from The Makery. 

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I followed the exact same steps from my tutorial- embellish a dress with cross stitch. You iron-on transfer the pattern, apply interfacing to stabilize the area, and then I used a satin stitch for the actual embroidery. Isn't it great fun?!

Butterick 8404: My Dapper Day Dress

Sigh. Today is the last of the Dapper Day posts! At least I have a very fun dress to show you, with lots of interesting construction details. That lessens the blow a bit, don't you think? This beauty is Butterick 8408, a 1958 pattern. I look almost exactly like the pattern envelope!

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I couldn't find a pattern for this one in my size, which happens from time-to-time with vintage, so I ended up purchasing one a size down and figured I could grade up. Oh, what a chore that ended up being! 

I followed a Threads tutorial on grading, which was incredibly helpful, then did my regular pattern adjustments, then tweaked a bit more after the first muslin. In the end, I think I over-fit a bit as the bodice is bigger than it needs to be. It's still a great dress, and at least I had plenty of room for all those Mickey ice cream bars and Dole whip. 

The material is linen, and it feels so nice and sews great. I was worried about the red bleeding into the white when I washed it, but I used a tip from a fabric shop owner I learned last year. Put salt into your washing machine! It helps the colors stay put. It worked beautifully.

Construction Surprises

A Zipper in a Dart?!

I had two things that surprised me a bit on this dress when I was sewing it. The first was the zipper insertion. Remember this picture form my inspiration post? I was showing how much skirt there was to gather in the bodice. 

Well, there are no side seams on this skirt. There are 2 seams that actually sit up at the front of the skirt, I suppose because it could be more full that way. The zipper is actually inserted into a dart that's way up by Oxford's head in the picture above (see that triangle?). You create a placket so there's a nice clean finish, and then insert the zip just like you normally would into the dart/placket area. Funny, huh? 

A Belt Instead of Trim

The second surprise was the bow and trim at the waist. The trim at the neckline is acting like a decorative facing (is that at thing?). So it clean finishes your neckline while also providing you with the trim. The trim at the center is just top stitched on. The trim at the waist is actually a belt, which I was not expecting. 

I used 2 snaps to connect it together, and I quickly realized upon wearing it I should have used hooks instead. Snaps just can't withstand the pressure of you getting up and down and sitting all day. A good lesson! 

The belt works a lot better than the trim at the waist, as I didn't have to navigate matching trim there with the zipper. I don't think I would repeat the construction of the skirt, though. I love the fullness, especially with a petticoat (I have one on in these photos), but it was a bit fussy for my tastes. I think you could easily reposition those seams from the front to the side and keep the fullness. I couldn't resist trying out the technique, though! 

The End

And that's a wrap for Dapper Day posts! I so hope I'll be able to attend again in the future. It was such a magical day, and the preparation for it really stretched my sewing skills. I got to work on fitting someone other than myself and adapting a pattern I drafted to them, as well as a couple of interesting vintage sewing techniques. 

I leave you with a quintessential picture with Cinderella's Castle and Mickey and Minnie behind me. If I close my eyes, I'm almost back there… 

The Marfa Dress for Andi

For Dapper Day, my friend Andi said she wanted me to make her The Marfa Dress, a pattern I designed and drafted in my pattern making class. It features six darts at the neckline, cap sleeves, and a full skirt. It looked sensational on her! She borrowed the hat from me, a great find from Poppycock Vintage. 

I started with a sloper made to Andi's measurements, and we worked on the fit of that first. She has sloping shoulders and a broad back (I later figured out), and it took me a bit to sort out how to fit her. I'm not used to fitting anyone but me! Then I did the design work on sloper to make it a Marfa, and we did another test muslin just to check that nothing got out of whack. All told, we did 3 muslins. I am so pleased with the result! 

I don't sew for others often as I find it rather stressful, but this was such a fun project to work on. Andi is one of those great friends that listens to me gab on about sewing all the time, and I knew she would enjoy the process just as much as the finished product. That took a lot of the burden off of me. It was also so marvelous to hear her exclamations of joy. A dress that fits properly, without any fussing or covering up wonky bits! She was delighted, and I with her.

The fabric is a lovely textured rayon crepe from Hart's Fabric in Santa Cruz, CA. It sews up just beautifully and feels so nice to wear (my Marfa is made out of the same material in green). The bodice is lined in a  rayon as well, in a deep royal blue and hand-stitched down. The hem is also hand stitched.  It closes with a lapped zipper. 

A smashing success, if I do say so myself! Want to see more of the Marfa dress?

• See my Marfa Dress in green
• Look at original design sketches
• Learn how I created the darts at the neckline

Just one more Dapper Day post to go! My dress, sewn from a 1958 pattern.

Dapper Day!

I hardly know where to begin! Dapper Day was beyond magical. It was a Disney and vintage-lover's dream. Today I'll tell you a bit about the day itself, and then soon I'll be posting up construction details and more photos of each of our dresses. 

We began our day with the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. It's a 5-hour backstage tour that takes you through a lot of history of the park as well as down into the underground system (called utilidor) that cast members use to get around the park. Andi and I have both been to the park several times, and it was really thrilling to get a deeper look behind the show. It was absolutely wonderful, and I highly recommend it.

As a result of the tour, we ended up getting into the park before it even opened. I practically cried with the excitement of it. We snapped a few photos before the park was overflowing with people, and there were a lot of people! A new parade debuted for the first time in about 12 years on Dapper Day, and boy it was crowded.

Our dresses turned out so wonderfully! I can't wait to show you them up close. I was tickled pink when people would accidentally mistake us for cast members. It made me feel like I was part of creating the magic for people that day! 

The first Dapper Day event was meeting at the Liberty Square Riverboat for a dandy ride. I can't imagine what it was like for people in the square, seeing this boat full of vintage-styled folks. It was stupendous to walk up to.

One couple even dressed up in black and white makeup. And they wore it all day! 

We also had a dashing ride on the carousel, another great sight to see. There was even a group of dapper men that sang along to the Aladdin songs as we rode round and round.

We finished the evening with after dapper drinks at the Grand Floridian, which is by far my favorite hotel on the property. My family stayed there for one evening three years ago when we went, and it holds some really special memories for me. There was a jazz band playing, and Andi and I ended up getting dinner at the garden cafe.

It was the perfect ending to the perfect day. Stay tuned Thursday to see all the sewing details of Andi's blue dress! 

Dapper Day Sewing

It's almost time…!

Have you heard of Disney's Dapper Day? It's a stupendous day of dressing up in your finest at Disney and enjoying the park with others that are equally dressed to the nines. There are some special activities in the park as well as events afterwards like a jazz evening at the Grand Floridian. I'll be attending at Walt Disney World this weekend with my friend Andi.

Guys, I can hardly contain myself. This is a magical combination of things I hold very dear - Disney and vintage! Can you just imagine walking down main street, dressed in your vintage best? It gives me tingles! I've been busily sewing dresses for the two of us, and thought I would give you a peek today!

Dapper for Me 

I'm making Butterick 8408 for me, a pattern from 1958. My dress will be almost identical to the one on the right. Look at those bows! I also love that the pattern says "Magic to Make" at the bottom right. BECAUSE I'LL BE WEARING IT AT THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH!

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I decided on linen for my fabric. I know it wrinkles terribly, but I love sewing with it and it's so comfortable to wear. I choose a deep red, and it looks lovely. 

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The pattern has some interesting construction details like a zipper inserted in a dart that I'll share more with you later. The skirt is also extremely full! Look at this! That's the actual skirt, already cut and sewn together just waiting to be gathered. Oxford demonstrates scale for you.

Dapper for Andi 

Andi told me that she wanted me to sew her The Marfa dress, which was one of the dresses I designed in my pattern making class. I was so honored that she picked one of my designs! That's a good friend. It has six darts at the neckline, cap sleeves, and a full skirt. 

Me in The Marfa Dress

We started our designs in class with slopers we purchased (see more about the process I used for buying a sloper), so I took Andi's measurements and ordered her a custom one. We fit that, and then I did the design work to make it a Marfa. 

For her fabric, I'm using the same textured rayon I used for mine, this time in a royal blue. 

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Plus, we've been scheming and plotting all sorts of accessories to wear, like the 1950s white gloves you see above! Squeee!!! I simply cannot wait. Now if I can just get over the truly horrendous stomach virus that has plagued me for a few days! Fingers crossed. If I have to live on crackers and gatorade for four days in the parks, so be it! To Dapper Day I go! 

Follow me on Instagram to see my Dapper Day as it happens!