That Downton Dress - III

I continue to work on the Downton Dress.  All the hems have been very time consuming, but they continue to progress, and the results are very satisfying! Now I'm beginning to think about the embellishments.  The front of the dress has a draped belt and it needs clasps.  The woman I'm making the dress for bought gorgeous 1920's clasps on Etsy.  These are the real deal, and look as thought they were made for this dress!

Evening dresses in the era were often beaded and embellished.  The print on this dress is quite ornamental itself, but I purchased some other embellishments which will match nicely with the clasps.

One thing I'd like to do is put a single rhinestone on each point of the handkerchief hem, along with three bugle beads.  The larger piece will be on the back of the dress to stabilize the v-back.

This is a fun project, and one that I hope will yield stunning results!  Thanks for checking in!

p.s.  Any thoughts on the new logo?

Franken-Tunic, Part II

When last we met, the tunic was looking pretty much just like what it is: two men's shirts sewn together.  So I decided to alter the sleeves and the neckline.

I added some pretty button covers, but you could just as easily change the buttons altogether.

Then I added a beaded applique medallion I had in my stores.

Here's the full effect:

It could have been altered or cropped more to be more fitted for those with that hourglass figure. Personally, I'm kinda shaped like a box, so I opted to leave that part alone.  I plan to wear it with jeans!

Thanks for coming by to see the end result.  Let me know what you think, and what you might have done differently!

Dress Progress

Working on Simplicity 2249 today!  I completed the front of the dress.  The piping came out cute on the top.

Here's a shot of the entire bodice.

I plan on using these garage sale buttons along that front tab of the dress.

I'm planning on doing the back, sides, and finishing on Monday... but we'll see!  The weather is incredible right now and I want to take advantage of that as well.

Oh, here's a close-up of my garage sale earrings, too.  Won't they look nice with that lavender outfit I just finished?  I meant to include that pic yesterday and somehow omitted it.

Yard Sale Booty

Fridays are my yard sale day.  I can drive around the area going to sale after sale, just browsing and enjoying myself.  Not much in today's haul, I'm afraid.  Two yardsticks...

Some pretty antique hankies...

A small bag of bias tape, piping and ribbon...

12 cards of buttons...

An antique bottle for a friend... it says Cramer's Kidney Cure on it.  I bought it for a friend who has kidney disease.  I also got a cute pair of costume earrings that will go with my lavendar suit dress, and this book.

The book is full of the former owner's cuttings from other books and papers...mostly poetry, so it will be fun to go through.  That's all folks!  Did you find anything cool this week?

Completed Project: Upcycle Blouse

I completed the upcycled blouse yesterday, and today I'm going to wear it out to lunch with a friend!  I'm pleased with how it came out.  One thing I forgot to show you in the "before" pictures was that the original dress had a placket of functional buttons up the front.  I liked the faux pearl buttons, so I decided to incorporate this element into the top.

I made the button placket the center front of the top, but I made it non-functional by stitching the placket closed.  It gives the illusion of a button-up blouse, but it can't gap in embarrassing places!

I really need to get a camera with a timer and a tripod so I can take pictures of myself in my creations.  It's a cloudy day, so here's a poorly lit mirror shot just to show that the blouse fits!

Anyway, another project completed!  I'm excited to wear my new blouse.  I like how light and airy the rayon fabric feels, and I like the fact that an outdated dress was saved from the landfill.  Please let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see used in an upcycle!

Completed Project: Burda 8995

As scheduled, I completed the short jacket to go with my sixties sheath dress, Burda 8995.  The jacket came out really great, and it complements the dress nicely.  I chose some really cool buttons for the back of the jacket.

Sorry for the wrinkles.  I got excited and started taking pictures before the final press!  So, here's the dress with the jacket.

But my favorite is the back view!

Anyway, I hope you like it!  I'm thinking that this jacket would go nicely with a few of my other dresses as well.  Do you mix and match your outfits, or if something is meant for one outfit do you keep everything matched together?

Lessons From the Past - Suit Salvage!

So, one of my birthday presents to myself was Make and Mend for Victory which was published in 1942 by the Spool Cotton Company.  Chapter 5a deals with converting a men's suit to a woman's suit!  If you've ever been confusied about turning one garment into another, this chapter is for you.

In the chapter, old men's suits were converted to women's suits using three contemporary patterns of the day, Hollywood 949, Advance 2997, and Vogue 9137.  Prior to thinking about the pattern or the layout, one needs to acquire an old men's suit, too worn for daily wear, as is, but in goo enough condition to warrent a restyle.  For instance, severely worn cuffs on sleeves and pants might make the suit look too tacky for your man to wear, but if the main of the suit is in good condition, you're in business!  What?  Your man doesn't wear suits?  No problem!  Head on down to your thrift store and look for a larger sized men's suit.  These can often be had for a few dollars, when the wool suiting would cost scads if new!

Next, clean the suit in whatever manner you plan to use for your finished garment.  This will assure pre-shrinking, as well as give you nice clean fabric to work with.

Next, become best friends with your seam ripper and take the entire garment apart.  Save those buttons, and any detailing you think you can use.  Press all of the pieces flat for a proper layout.  Your pattern is laid out on the pieces as in this example (using Hollywood 949):

As you can see, the women's pattern fits into the pieces salvaged from the man's suit!  The sew your pattern as you normally would, you Goddess of Ecological Reuse!

Linked to:  Frugally Sustainable, The Thrifty Home

Skirt Progress

My Edwardian skirt progresses.  I found a sueded cream fabric to use as a facing for the scallops.  The picture above shows the joining process.  I really like the result.  On the other hand, those buttons were giving me fits!  I had no idea the buttons wouldn't practically snap themselves together!  Now maybe I was doing something wrong, or maybe my fabric was too thick, but this was not easy.

And, I don't think they came out that great...however, I have 12 little buttons for the side of my skirt.  Have any of you ever used one of these kits?  How were your results?

Hopefully I will finish this tomorrow.  Please come back to see how this came out!  Thanks!

Edwardian Skirt Update

I am working on this lovely Edwardian Skirt from Vintage Pattern Lending Library.  I'm planning to pair it with my Armistice Blouse.  I fell in love with this skirt the second I saw it.  Of course, there's nothing to all the straight sewing, but that cute little scalloped edge detail on the left side of the skirt is taking some machinations, let me tell you. 

This one is going to take a little longer than planned, probably going into next week.  I want to do self fabric covered buttons, and I'm considering some possible details for the binding on the scallops.  Please, if any of you have done this skirt, please do leave a comment and give me any advice you have!

Instead of completing this little gem by tomorrow, I think I'll do a little refashioning tomorrow so that I can chock up an accomplishment for the week.  I couldn't let a week go by without finishing something!

Economics of Sewing - Part 2

Last time we talked about free and low cost options for acquiring sewing patterns.  Today, let's look at interesting sources for low cost sewing fabrics, trims and notions.
   
I don't need to tell you that full priced fabrics are very expensive.  My first suggestion here is something that many of us shy away from:  harvesting fabric from items that no longer fit, or that were never garments in the first place.  Did any of you see Blast from the Past, starring Alicia Silverstone and Brendan Fraser?  One of my favorite scenes takes place on Brendan Fraser's character's birthday.  Having lived in a fallout shelter for the past thirty years, his family is running out of nearly everything.  As a present, his mom, played by the awesome Sissy Spacek, makes him a new sports jacket from old curtains.  Now, it looks quite unconventional, but it was made with love (see below) - and who wants to look strictly conventional anyway!  Dated drapes become a new dress, and old round table cloth is a new circle skirt, and an oversized dress can provide the fabric for a new blouse.  In this instance I'm not talking about item restyling, but actually using item number one's fabric to make item number two. Of course, thrift and consignment shops are a bountiful source of these "harvested" fabrics, as are yard and estate sales.  Basically, anyplace where you can see the condition of the fabric you plan to harvest, can be a great source, if the price is right!

While we're on the subject of harvesting, don't forget that this can also be a great source for notions and trims.  My grandmother, raising her family during the depression, saved everything!  Even the buttonhole twist from one coat's buttons to use on another.  Having learned from the master, when I take apart an article of clothing that I intend to either refashion or simply harvest fabric from, I always take off any reusable trims, buttons, and even zippers.  While you may not want to reuse a zipper for a high wear garment, you might want to use one in a fitting muslin rather than using a brand new one!

 
If you want more traditional yard goods, but want to pay a lower price, you have many options, including some of the ones we've already mentioned, those thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales and estate sales also sometimes have uncut yardage which can be purchased at a fraction of what would be asked in a traditional fabric store.  Just this past weekend, Sue from Sewin' Steady scored a huge box of fabrics and notions for just $11! Of course, those traditional stores do have sales and extensive couponing programs which can help considerably at the register.  Online shopping is another great option here.  Many traditional fabric stores have an online presence, and coupons will usually apply to online purchases as well.  Also, many of these stores will have swatching services so that you can see what you're getting before making a commitment.  Additionally, one can obtain fabrics on Craig's List, eBay, Etsy, Freecycle.  By definition, what is offered on Freecycle is free, but when using the other sites, it helps to have a sense of what the same fabric would go for in a variety of different settings.  In other words, comparison shopping is required if you are going to come up with a bargain.

Thanks for reading this little series.  Please comment and let me know if you have other favorite sources for low cost fabrics.

Linked to The Thrift Home.

Completed Project: An Upcycle UFO

I began this project last summer.  It was planned to be the first tutorial on my blog, but life intervened and I had to put the project aside.  Looking through the stash for the next UFO, I came upon everything to do the project, all in one bag, so I took that as a message that this should be this week's project.  It's a simple T shirt upcycle.  First, find a T shirt that you do not wish to wear as is.  The T shirt certainly does not need to be new, but it should be in good condition.

Cut the torso off the shirt just below the armpits.

Put aside the part with the arms (We'll do something with that later!).  Next, decide how you would like to embellish your top.  I had some old lace curtains in the attic, so I harvested a nice lace ruffle to go around the circumference of the T.

Next, I added some white satin ribbon for straps.  I cut the ends of the ribbon, and finished them with fray check.

Next, I sewed the lace curtain ruffle and the ribbons to the unfinished end of the T shirt tube.  Once this was completed, it seemed to need a bit of color, so I got out some fabric flowers I had leftover from one of my daughter's tutus.  You can find these in the wedding aisle at big box fabric stores and some craft stores.  I also had some organza ribbon on hand, and a tiny button.

And there you have it, a cute summer top, upcycled from a T shirt, an old curtain, and some random embellishments on hand in the sewing room. 

I hope you like it!  With another UFO down, and the Titanic anniversary looming, I think I'll do some Edwardian sewing!  Any thoughts?

Buttoning Things Up

Having worked all morning on it, the lining is in, tacked, hemmed, and generally looking good.  Or, at least I hope its looking good.  The jacket still needs some final pressing and the buttons and buttonholes.

Which is what led me to my button stash.  Modest I suppose, compared to my fabric stash(es), it's still always confusing to pick buttons for a project.  With the sailor dress, I really did not already have in my stash, the button that was needed for that project, but with this jacket, I was pretty sure I had something that would work.  That being said, it was more work than I anticipated to choose!

First I sorted a little by size and general appearance.  "The One" needed to be about an inch in diameter in order to be seen, but not so big as to steal the show.

Some were too brown for a grey suit, some were too bright.  I finally settled on these, a 7/8ths inch faux tortoise shell set.  I hope to finish this one tomorrow, but we'll see what the day brings!