A Lovely Civil War Evening Gown

I started this dress over a year ago. I was really excited about it - I knew it was going to turn out just lovely, but then life happened, as it tends to do, and the dress got put aside, for another time. Finally, a few days ago, that other time rolled around. I remember about the dress, managed to find it, among my unfinished projects, and realized that it was a lot closer to completion that I had remembered. It didn't take long to finish it up, and I had a lot of fun. It was one of those projects that turned out just like I had hoped it would - maybe even better. It is made of an iridescent lilac taffeta, trimmed with blue binding and white rosettes. I love the tabs on the skirt and the adorable puffy sleeves! It's too bad I don't have anywhere to wear this dress. I decided to put it up for sale on Ebay. You can find the listing at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330866253431 I made this dress from Simplicity pattern 2881. 

The Sailor Dress

My latest project - a sailor dress! I love the way it turned out. I used Simplicity pattern 1882. The material is a linen with embroidered anchors, and I used a red cotton trim, and red piping. This pattern is so easy to put together, and I love the vintage look!

Ladies 1912 Blouse, part 2

....and here's the finished blouse, complete with buttons.

Ladies 1912 Blouse

After taking a break from sewing for an archaeological dig in Israel (tons of fun, by the way!) I'm back at it again, and almost finished with the 1912 ladies blouse. This pattern didn't come with instructions, so it was a bit interesting figuring it out - it's not like any other blouse pattern I've ever sewn! I had a friend over one evening, and we spread out the pattern on the floor to mull over. Thanks to her brilliance, I was able to grasp the concept of the arm seam - there is one continuous seam that goes up the the side of the blouse, under the armhole, and down the sleeve. It was really quite simple once I understood it - simply slash the fabric where marked on the pattern piece, and starting either at the bottom of the side seam, or the end of the sleeve, sew until you reach the corner, miter the corner, sew until you reach the next corner, miter that corner, and sew to the end. One other difficulty that I had with this pattern was that the cuff pattern piece is missing, but it wasn't too hard to make a cuff piece. It seems that I had a bit of trouble with the pleats, but I did those before I left for Israel, and I forgot to take notes, so by now I've forgotten what the trouble was with them. All I have left to do is put on buttons - you'd think that with almost two gallons of vintage buttons, I'd be able to find some that would work, but no, so it's off to JoAnns I go! I had a lot of fun with this pattern, and I really like the end result - I think it's really cute! I might even add it to my real life wardrobe instead of relegating it to my costume bin!

Pattern Review Checklist:

1.  Pattern Description: Ladies Blouse
2.  Pattern Sizing: I didn’t change the sizing, since it was my size, and sure enough, it fits me just right.
3.  Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it? Yes, almost exactly.
4. Were the instructions easy to follow? There were no instructions.
5. What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It was a bit challenging to sew this without instructions, but I love the way it turned out!
6. Fabric Used: Cotton
7. Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None.
8. Would you recommend this pattern to others? Absolutely!
9. Conclusion: This was a fun project that turned out really well.

VPLL Checklist

1.  Pattern Name: 0219 Blouse
2. Sewer’s Skill Level: Intermediate
3. Pattern Rating: 1-Not a Fan, 2 – So-So, 3 – Good/Average, 4-Better than Average, 5-I LOVED IT! and why? This is an unusual pattern in terms of construction, but it worked really well.
4. What skill level would someone need to sew this pattern and why? Intermediate to advanced, due to the unusual pattern.
5. Were the instructions easy to follow? If not, what needs to be changed? No instructions.
6. How was the fit/sizing?  Did it correspond to what you thought? Yes, it turned out just how I thought it would.
7. Did you make any pattern alterations? If so, what alterations did you make? Where they fit or design alterations? No alterations.

Ladies 1912 Skirt part 2

The skirt went together very nicely. The instructions for joining the scalloped side to the front didn’t make sense to me, so I just did what made sense to me. First I rolled a narrow hem on the edge of the skirt front, on the right side of the fabric. Then I tried on the skirt, and marked how far it needed to overlap. For me, the edge of the skirt front came right to the edge of the facing on the scalloped side. I blind-stitched the layers together below the mark on the pattern. I put a hook and eye at the top of the skirt, and a snap at the tip of each of the top three scallop point. When I sewed on the decorative buttons, I sewed them through all of the layers, but I found that the points still flopped a bit, so I tacked each one down at the tip. It’s been a fun project, and I’m looking forward to my next VPLL 1912 project!

Pattern Review Checklist:

1. Pattern Description: 1912 Ladies Skirt
2. Pattern Sizing: 34” waist
3. Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing it? Yes.
4. Were the instructions easy to follow? Most of the instructions made sense.
5. What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the way it used binding on the pointed scallops to add detail.
6. Fabric Used: Cotton Twill
7. Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I took it in slightly to fit me.
8. Would you recommend this pattern to others? Yes.
9. Conclusion: It was a fun pattern to make, and turned out very nicely.

VPLL Checklist

1. Pattern Name: Ladies Skirt #0200
2. Sewer’s Skill Level: Intermediate
3. Pattern Rating: 1-Not a Fan, 2 – So-So, 3 – Good/Average, 4-Better than Average, 5-I LOVED IT! and why? It turned out very nice for the amount of work it required.
4. What skill level would someone need to sew this pattern and why? Intermediate, to be able to do the binding correctly. I wasn’t able to get it as nice as I would have liked.
5. Were the instructions easy to follow? If not, what needs to be changed? Most of the instructions were easy to follow. The only step that confused me was joining the scalloped side to the front.
6. How was the fit/sizing? Did it correspond to what you thought? Yes, it turned out how I thought it would.
7. Did you make any pattern alterations? If so, what alterations did you make? Where they fit or design alterations? I made slight fit alterations.
8. Other notes: It might be nice for the pattern instructions to include tips on correctly turning all the corners on the bias binding.

Ladies 1912 Skirt

My next project for the VPLL 1912 project is the Ladies Skirt, pattern # 0200. Since I used up my brown linen on my last project, I opted for a nice taupe cotton, brass colored buttons, and red trim for a splash of color. I adjusted the pattern to my size by pinching in a bit at the top of each pattern piece, but leaving the full width at the bottom, since I like full skirts. More to come.....

The Reproduction of a Vintage Dress, Part 2

The fabric I chose was a lovely brown linen that I had recently added to my stash with another project in mind. Since the linen seemed perfect for this project, I decided to use something else for my other project. I knew I should make a muslin to test my pattern, but I was feeling pretty confident, and I was a bit impatient to get going on my dress, so I just dove in, and cut my fabric. As I sewed the dress, I discovered a few adjustments that needed to be made to the pattern, but thankfully, nothing serious enough to ruin my first attempt! I’d never done scallops before, and the turned out a little rough…I’ll have to work on that. I think the buttons camouflaged the imperfections a bit. The original grey dress had fur pom-poms on the bow, and my brother informed me that they were mink. I called several local taxidermists to see if I could get some mink scraps, but to no avail. I ended up settling for muskrat, otherwise known as “poor man’s mink”. The self-covered belt was a bit of a challenge – I couldn’t find a kit, so I had to make it up on my own, but I think it turned out nice. All in all, I think my pattern-making project has been a success! The finished dress looks very vintage – in fact, I’m tempted to show it to a friend of mine, who’s an expert in vintage clothing, and see if he thinks it’s original!