The House Coat

I had the day off and was finally able to get a lot of stuff done around the house. I cleaned, I cooked, and I crafted so all-in-all it was a great day. I even got my pattern and thread shelf all pretty (those big binders hold all my 1940s-1970s patterns (some reprints mostly originals)).

I spent a good chunk of the morning trying to understand the proper way to enlarge a pattern, it was very intimidating. But after finally sitting down and doing the math I trace the pattern onto some brown craft paper and got to work. I really did think it was going to be a lot harder than it was but I put the pattern together and then created a mock up of the bodice which fit perfectly the way it should, though I may add another inch into the arms for comfort. women size 12 patterns from the 50s are never meant to fit my body and now I can confidently adjust the sizing. Here is a look at my newly hung project board, definitely glad I got this!

so now I have the bodice mock up done and it is ready for me to jump in and get the full project done. I'm thinking of starting with the lining so that in case I mess up I can just do it all on the inside. :) But I will say, this pattern is in terrifying condition, I've never worked with a more fragile pattern before. I'm just glad I was able to get it traced so if I ever need to make it again I don't have to pull out the 60 year old pieces of pattern tissue. On my next post I'll try to remember to post a picture of the font bodice, it was a mess to pull out of the envelope.

My Next Project: Vintage Butterick 6418 The House Coat

So I'm going to be starting a new project from one of the patterns that I got at Creative Reuse. Vintage pattern Butterick 6418. I have been searching everywhere for a housecoat pattern that I could make that was one with a shape and not just a giant shapeless blob. I've been on this mission ever since I saw this post on Polka Polish. I've been lusting after this coat for a year, her use of floral satin with a fleece lining was so stunning and I knew I had to make one for myself. so now that I've finally tracked down a pattern it's time that I put my hands to work.

Since it's already Spring and we should all be hoping for some kind of warm weather I decided to go with a much brighter floral pattern than She did, and also so that I can feel comfortable wearing it well into Spring and Summer I am going to line it with a flannel back satin. The pattern that I got my hands on is unfortunately a 50s size 12 which is a waist measurement of 25" which I can confidently say I am not. so I am going to do some resizing before I cut any of the satin which won't be a huge deal.

here is a sneak peak at the project!!

Pattern Treasure Trove

I've mentioned before that there is a place in Pittsburgh called "The Center For Creative Reuse" and it is my favorite place to go. Vintage patterns tend to run upwards of $10-15 on a good-day. well at Creative Reuse they were having a sale and I managed to pick up patterns from the early 1950s-1974
 I paid $2 for 20 patterns. so basically I have been building an amazing vintage pattern collection.

my other amazing goodwill find!!

SO i had mentioned in my other goodwill pose that I had another find at the goodwill outlet. well here is my post about it. I don't have a fantastic amount of information about it but i found a 50s/60s blue home mark sewing machine. it runs very smoothly, it was a little confusing to thread at first but once I figured it out it was super quick. The machine, like my other vintage machines, is a little loud and very heavy. but it will look beautiful next to my pink Necchi Super Nova Julia. The best part about this Goodwill find is that it was only around $25.

The only thing I can say though is that the chord is deceptively short. I went to shift the machine a little and the chord popped out of the plug and I had to take a trip to the circuit breaker...oops. But LUCKILY I had a screw driver close and vintage machines have easy to fix wires so I got it all put back together so all is well.

Goodwill Treasures!!

When I say Treasures I really mean treasures! I'll tell you about my favorite find today and once I get more information on it. But my first find has left everyone speechless! so to tell a long story short I was at a goodwill outlet and my mom and I had been there for about 2 hours and we were waiting for one last bin rotation before we left. As they were bringing out the bins I could see a giant pile of tulle in on of them. I was assuming it was a crinoline so and I was searching for one so I figured I would run ahead and grab it. once I got to the pile I picked it up and it was a handmade vintage wedding dress. from the style of the dress, based on neckline, waist line, and the age of the fabric I'm taking a guess that this dress is from around the 1950s.

If anyone has anything different to say about the time period of the dress feel free to enlighten me. but regardless this dress is an amazing find. 

the way Goodwill outlets work is by the weight of things. you put everything on a scale at the end and then they price it from there. Because the dress is made of tulle, chiffon and satin so it weighed enough for this stunning dress to end up being $1.50. 

amazing the things you can find at a goodwill.

Another Project Catch up

Once I graduated and moved back home I started having a lot of free time. So I made Butterick 5603 (B5603)

 I chose to do the middle dress with the double bow in the front and a V back. It took some time to get the lining in place. I ended up do a cotton blend navy blue with white polkadot and it turned out to be adorable. I ended up going down to South Carolina a few weeks ago and it was the perfect temperature to wear it out. I'm beginning to think that I don't like side zippers, this dress is proving that to me. But I've had nothing but compliments on it so I'm happy even if it is a pain to zip up.

Time to play another round of Project Catch up

I'm IFor Christmas I had told my sisters that I would make them something of their choosing. My oldest sister decided on a dress. (i don't remember the pattern but it was a project runway styled one) the dress was VERY simple to put together and I made a mock up that fit her decently but we ended up running into some road blocks. My sister wanted the dress for NYE which I had no problem cranking a dress out in 4 days. so I picked the fabric up and got to work. Its the day of NYE and I was ironing the bodice of the dress when I accidentally melted the synthetic fabric right in the center of the dress. I didn't have enough fabric to re cut the piece so i went back to the store where they didn't have any of the fabric left. so I ended up switching to a peacock brocade, which in all honestly liked better. But under a time crunch I finished an entire dress in 5 hours while sitting back stage at my sisters show. and this is the finished product:

please ignore the rough ironing. But the dress turned out great with only a 5 hour time limit. I just have to fix a couple of little spots but both her and I are happy with the finished product, plus what's better than a dress with pockets as an accent!!

old project

When I say old project I mean old. This project is from back in December, Simplicity 1250 in taffeta. To date this has to be my favorite dress that I've made. The Taffeta was actually a dream to work with and the silver lace was SO simple that I was blown away. I have a few pictures one is a shot from before I hand stitched the buttons on the jacket so it's not perfect and then I have a finished product shot as well. The only issue that I had with the dress was the peplum at the waist. because I adjusted the pattern and did the dress all in one fabric and the jacket without a collar the finishing was a little weird but I ended up using a hem stitch to finish the peplum and just eye-balled the jacket.

The jacket in the finished product was actually one of the most comfortable jackets I have ever made. I was actually a little worried about it being hard to move it but it didn't limit my mobility at all which was wonderful.

but this is one of my favorites, hands down. I have now been searching for every possible excuse to wear it.