1940s Advance Bag Pattern

Vintage bag pattern from the 1940s. 

There are 3 different bags in this pattern and I can see bag number 1 somewhere in my future....

Simplicity 6356 Bathing Suit

Simplicity 6356 is a 1974 pattern. You can probably tell by the definate 70s vibe of the wonderful art on the pattern envelope!

It's one of the vintage swimming patterns that I own and hope to make one day.

Maybe even this year, if I pluck up the courage.

Vintage Betty Boop Pattern

This is a vintage Betty Boop sewing pattern I'm planning on tackling soon.

I believe it's from the 50s but couldn't find a date for it. 

(Does anyone have a date for this pattern? Please let me know.)

When finished it makes a 19 inch Betty Boop doll. 

Should be fun!

Linked to:

Annemarie's Haakblog, Homework, The Dedicated House, The Silly Pearl

1940s Vogue Hat And Bag Pattern

Yet another lovely vintage pattern on my #VintagePledge to-sew list.

Vogue 9837 from the 1940s.

I've seen the bag around a lot but not the hat.

I find it quite pretty but it's not something I'd wear. 

Maybe I'll give the hat a miss this time....

Vintage Veil Patterns

Some of my vintage veil patterns. McCall 1490 is from the 1930s, Butterick 3753 is from 1970s and Vogue 9822 from the 1980s.

Aren't they lovely?

Linked to:
The Silly Pearl

Vintage 1940s Vogart Appliques

Beautiful, vibrant, vintage floral applique by Vogart from the 1940s or 1950s with 3 different flowers: blue and pink hydrangeas, colourful tulips and a very big, very pink water lilly.

I got these a couple of years ago from The Last Pixie on etsy and it's taken me this long to get up the nerve to actually contemplate cutting them up and using them.

I get like that with rare vintage items that have a special hold on my heart.

 It's not like you can go out and buy another set to replace them if it turns out that you're not happy with the outcome of your project......

Now I know that I want to make a bag with one or more of these. A big, tote-style bag, something like the bag Marilyn Monroe is holding at the beach in this picture.

This is the back of the Vogart packaging with instructions on how to use the appliques and all sorts of suggestions on what to use them on: towels, wash cloths, dresses, table linens, scarves, doilies, aprons, bedspareds, draperies, blouses.

Personaly, if I didn't have the bag in mind, I'd put them on cushions and give my sofa a spring makeover.

Don't you just love the 1940s bedroom and fashion sketches?

It's great to see how they would probably have been used by women at the time these were being manufactured.

I want to incorporate them in a Vintage Pattern Pledge make, so I'll be searching for an authentic bag pattern to add them to.

The Last Pixie

Linked to:
The Silly Pearl, The Dedicated House, Homework

The Vintage Pattern Pledge 2016

I'm so happy that Marie and Kerry decided to keep the vintage pattern pledge going for 2016!

If you haven't seen/followed it before, the idea is that you join in and take a -public- pledge that will commit you to start sewing or sew more with vintage patterns - or even reproductions of vintage patterns.

This is exactly the kind of motivation and inspiration that I need to stop merely planning to make some of my beloved vintage sewing patterns and actually do it.

Last year was my first time following and I managed to make one of my vintage bag patterns and this 1970s turban.

This year I'm determined to sew through all of these vintage bag patterns , to make a hat and a pair of gloves from some great patterns I will be sharing with you soon and also to make some items from my Women's Institute Of Domestic Arts And  Sciences books.

For all the details head on over to #VintagePledge 2016.

1970s Turban

I finally got round to that vintage turban pattern I'd been longing to make....

The pattern is Simplicity 5772 and the date of publication is 1973.
I was planning on making view 1 but at the last minute I decided on view 2.

I made it in a wonderfully slinky black/gold knit fabric. 
It looks bulkier in the pictures but it's really quite a thin knit with a molten metal, silky kind of feel to it.

The fabric makes it festive enough for the New Year and it's just in time for the end of the Vintage Pattern Pledge! 

I was hoping to get some more vintage sewing done this past year, but time just flew by so quickly without me realizing it.....
I plan to sew lots more of my vintage patterns in 2016 and I will definately be sharing them here.

As for the turban, I love the way it turned out and now that the weather's turned colder, I'm sure I'll be wearing it a lot.

Pinned on: Vintage Pattern Pledge 2015 Competition
Linked to: Annemarie's Haakblog, I Heart Naptime

Vintage Turban Patterns

Simplicity 5572 - 1973 set of turbans pattern

Turbans have long been a fascination of mine. 
I find they have a certain air of glamour and mystery no matter how they are worn.
Maybe because I associate them with the elegant movie stars of old that used to wear them with that glorious siren quality.

Simplicity 5227 - 1963 accessory pack icluding turban

These are the vintage turban patterns currently in my collection. 

They're all 1960s and 1970s patterns, so they're more Elizabeth Taylor than Louise Brooks or Greta Garbo.

Vogue 6121 - 1964 'easy to make' turban styled hats

Simplicity 5572 is the first one on my list but I'd really like to try them all.

McCall's 2379 - 1960s three hats pattern

Linked to:

I Heart Naptime, The Dedicated House, The Silly Pearl, Homework

1940s Bra Sew Along Update

Judging by the snail pace at which I've been proceeding, you could hardly tell just how excited I am about Anna's 1940's bra sew-along......

But after what seemed like an endless bout of illness in the house and some very persistent printer problems, I'm ready to get started.

 First step accomplished: PDF pattern is printed and ready to be cut.

If you want to get your hands on Anna's pattern, you can find it here. There's a great selection of over 100 vintage lingerie patterns in her shop, vintage lingerie notions as well as all sorts of other fabulous vintage patterns.

Sewing Made Easy by Mary Lynch and Dorothy Sara

A while back I promised to share posts of vintage sewing books for anyone who might be interested in the books themselves or just curious to get a glimpse of some vintage-style sewing and fashion.

The New Revised Edition Sewing Made Easy by Mary Lynch and Dorothy Sara, published in 1960 is the very first vintage sewing book that I read and I can't praise it enough!

I'm including all the contents of the book in photos so you can peruse all it offers.

The material it covers is extensive and if you're a novice sewer it's perfect for guiding you along dressmaking, step by step.

It takes you through all the steps needed to make a garment from the getting ready to sew stage which includes buying a pattern, choosing fabric, etc, to all the sewing techniques you will need to put together -a whole range of- garments.

There are styling tips and tricks of the late 1950s - early 1960s included and advice on building a wardrobe according to the particular requirements of the time depending on 

 wether you were a housewife, business woman, teacher, receptionist, salesclerk or hostess.

There's a chapter on taking care of your clothes to make them last longer and look their best, a chapter for remodeling clothes, one for sewing for your family and mending and yet another for making alterations to ready-to-wear clothes.

The chapter on sewing for the home includes how to make curtains, tea-towels, closet accessories, laundry bags and a whole number of fascinating projects for the home.

One of my favourite chapters is the Accessories And Gifts You Can Make one. There's a variety of bags, hats (you can see the turban further down in the photos), dickeys, cuffs, belts, a peplum, slippers and some toys!

Overall, I love this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.

It's just full of wonderful things to make and it gives you all the necessary knowledge of how to make them, all very clearly explained. 

It should be a great book for beginners but also for the more experienced sewer as well as any vintage fashion and/or sewing enthusiast, as it offers all sorts of vintage patterns and instructions for making wonderful vintage items. 

If you're a sewer -of any level- and you've read through the book review, what do you think?

Does it look like a book that has merit at your particular level?

Please share your thoughts.

I'll be posting more vintage sewing book reviews regularly on the blog. 

Please come back for a glimpse of vintage sewing goodness ranging from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Linked to:

I Heart Naptime, Annemarie's Haakblog, The Silly Pearl, The Dedicated House

For The Love Of Vintage Sewing Books

Over the past couple of years I've been on the lookout for vintage sewing books -and I've been fortunate enough to get my hands on some wonderful ones.

The thing I love about them is not just the sewing knowledge they hold and promise to impart but the wonderful vintage world of language and image.

The books I have span from the 1920s to the 1980s and while a lot of what they say may be fundamentally the same, the way in which they say it is very indicative of their particular time.

 The images and illustrations of each are also very distinctly of their time and -to me- endlessly fascinating.

I love to browse vintage sewing books and their contents online when someone kindly shares pictures and opinions on their own copies of these vintage gems. So I decided to add some posts of my own with the hope that others may find it as interesting -and as educational - as I do to look through these slices of sewing and fashion history. 

I've started photographing them and hopefully I'll be posting some reviews regularly on this blog.

NOTE:

If anyone has any old sewing books that they do not need or want any longer and are interested in exchanging them, swapping them or otherwise getting rid of them, I'd love to hear from you.

Linked to:
Homework, Annemarie's Haakblog, I Heart Naptime