Sewing Patterns New and Old

I thought I would change the mood a little with this post and cover another of my great loves, sewing clothing!  Unlike quilting I am not as confident in my skills as a seamstress; however, I will say I know how to read a pattern and I know what works and doesn't work for me.  All that said, I just love looking, collecting and working with fashion patterns!  I'm especially interested in the vintage variety which, depending on the era can present their own problems.  There might be outdated terminology, the pattern may require unobtainable fabric (have you ever tried looking for a high quality double knit without breaking the bank), or it may be completely unprinted.  With vintage patterns it's kind of like a box of chocolate... you never know what you're gonna to get!

When deciding whether to invest (because I like to think I'm not only spending money but I'm "investing" my potential time and effort) in a pattern, particularly one that is vintage, I usually look at three things: is the style one I can pull off in this era, is the pattern my size or close enough, and how many pattern pieces are there.

As I've aged my style has gotten more conservative.  Probably not as much as others but it is for me.  So for example, if I'm looking at a suit I don't want one with puffy sleeves or super winged lapels decked out in rick rack because I'm going to look out of place in a business setting (at least I think I will); however, a sensible suit with "appropriate" sized lapels and interesting detailing like an inset belt would be okay for me.  The size of a pattern is important, of course, and especially so for me because I'm still learning how to apply just the right fit for my body.  I'm actually pretty lucky because my measurements work well with a commercial size 16 from the 1930s and 40s.  That starts to become a bit of a problem when working with patterns from the mid to late 50s and then next to impossible when you get into the 60s.  You see, the waists get smaller and smaller even though the breast stay the same.  The only thing I can think of that would create this phenomenon is the infamous girdle (or as they now call them Spanx)!  Lastly, I always look at how many pattern pieces there are because typically that means it's going to be too complicated for me.  Now I know patterns come in all shapes and sizes and a seemingly simple pattern can be complicated because of the construction techniques required, but this is my own little quirk, so please just bare with me.  Like a child and their security blanket fewer pattern pieces is mine!

Okay, enough of me rambling let's get on with the pictures!  Here are a few examples of my work:

Forwhatever reason I had a great desire to make a romper for myself.  It's not particularly conservative, especially if you see it on me, but I love it and I love wearing it around the house!  I guess I'm a pinup girl at heart.  The pattern is from the EvaDress Patterns company.  They redraft original patterns from the 1800s to the 1950s and make them available in different sizes.  This playsuit pattern is from the 1940s and unfortunately is no longer available; however, they do have another overall pattern.

The front of this playsuit is not very interesting honestly.  It does look nice when you have it on though, and besides I didn't get this pattern for it's front view.

  

It's the back that makes this outfit!  I love the belt detail and although it really is a pain in the caboose to button and unbutton whenever nature calls, I can't deny how cute they are!  I even made the buttons myself and they match the pockets and facings.  EvaDress patterns are pretty easy to follow, most of the patterns are already resized for you, and they have a beautiful selection.  Best of all, if you have any questions they reply quickly and are very courteous!

I have to say I was very proud of myself when I completed this skirt.  Not only were there quite a number of pattern pieces but certain parts of the construction was kind of like putting together drunkard's path (a type of quilt pattern).  That said, the instructions were clear, it was fun to put together and easy to change a couple of things to make it my own.  For instance, I changed the sized of the buttons because I wanted to use the metal type found on jeans.  The pattern actually called for a larger size but I think it worked out just fine.  

The Colette Pattern company is a small independent firm with innovative designs inspired by vintage styles.  The instructions are straightforward and come as a booklet, which is awesome because they don't take up your work space and you don't have to worry about them tearing!  I wish all the pattern companies did the instructions this way.  The fabric used for this skirt may look like velvet or velour but it's really cordless corduroy.  It was pretty easy to work with but I probably needed a sturdier needle for my machine because sometimes the fabric got rather thick.  I actually purchased this fabric online, which is something I often do and I will talk about those "adventures" in a later post.

I decided to be daring and use an animal print for the lining of this skirt.  For those who know me I'm sure they'll wonder what possessed me but I actually love the affect (even though I used it for this project I still don't like animal prints!).

The last two pictures are of a work-in-progress.  While my first examples were of patterns remade or designed by current companies, my last example is from an actually vintage pattern.  It's a  McCall's pattern from the 1950s and its simplistic  details are eloquently marvelous!

Pictured on the left is the front view of the dress.  I love working with circle skirt patterns from the 50s; however, I can only do it when there's a fabric sale because (if you've ever made one of these) it eats up a lot of fabric.  I think this one took about 5 1/2 yards and it still needed more because of the one directional pattern (or nap) on the fabric.  I fixed the problem to my satisfaction, but it's amazing how uneconomical sewing can be these days.  Thank goodness for the mini-skirt!!!!  I took a long break from working on this project but I really want to wear this dress in the summer so I'm sure you'll see it again in the coming weeks...

Well I hope you enjoyed this little stroll down the "sewing brick road".  Make sure to check out the companies I mentioned in this post because they really are gems!  Thanks again for stopping by and keep checking back because we are adding new things all the time!