My Completed Vintage Swimsuit!

So for those of you who have been reading my blog for a little while, you will remember my posts about sewing a vintage swimsuit and coat from an original vintage pattern.  If you want to catch up you can find the posts here and here.

And then there was my post earlier in the week about the photo shoots for my sewing projects...

When you combine these together you get this post!

So here is the original pattern envelope:

And here is my version - featuring me!

Please excuse my dodgy photoshop cutting out!  I really like this idea so I'm going to invest in a proper background setup so I won't have to cut myself out in future.  And I also avoided the temptation to shave a few kilos off, or make my waist smaller!

The garment itself is great - I love wearing it around the house when its warm, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the matching jacket!  For me it is a win/win.  However I would not swim in it.

Not sure on your opinion, but I think that cotton is not my favourite fabric for swimwear, unless the garment uses elastic.  The only elastic in this swimsuit is in the legs, and thats not going to help me if it wants to fall down when wet is it!

I'd appreciate some feedback on my pattern envelope recreation idea now that you've seen it.

Until next time!

Beccie

If I was a mad scientist...

So what happens when you take this fabulous 1950s swimwear pattern,

And mash it together with the pattern that made this gorgeous dress?

You get the Frankenstein Dress!!! MUA-HA-HA-HA
(thats mad scientist laughter if you couldn't work it out)

Please excuse the photographs and the dodgy modelling. I was in a hurry to get to work

I'm surprised at how long this dress took me to put together (ie. not long) and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Sure, it has its 'special' qualities, but what home made dress doesn't! I like the neckline with the fold-back bits, and the shape of the bodice. And who doesn't like a full skirt and petticoat!

I did have fairly good encouragement to get it done quickly. Its my soon-to-be-Mother-In-Law's birthday today and the whole family is going out to dinner and I wanted something new to wear. Queue the crazy inspiration, extra caffeine and late night sewing!

I've also had a go at two rolls in my hair (instead of three) and I like the way they look too.

Anyway, just thought I would share.

Beccie
xxx

A coat for a swimsuit...???

Only in the 1950s!!!

Last week I talked about the vintage swimsuit I was sewing (you can read about it here) and this week I wanted to update you all in the progress of the coat!

Its done!!! (apart from the hand sewing... boo!)

This is how it looks without the belt to cinch in the waist:

Please ignore the lack of buttons - thats part of the hand sewing yet to be done.

Also note Stella in the background. She is bored and would prefer to be out walking.

I love the way it looks! I love the contrast of the parrot fabric on the plain red! It looks even better with the waist cinched in:


How divine is it!

Here is a close-up of the buttons and the belt buckle:

I bought the buttons in Spotlight. They are coconut (I think) and have been lacquered with a glittery gloss finish. I bought the belt buckle over the phone from this amazing button shop in Newtown, Sydney. The lady was really friendly and described a few buckles to me and she and I picked this one, and while it doesnt go exactly with the buttons, its much better than some crappy plastic belt buckle.

So now all that remains is to do the hand sewing (sigh!). I still want to do a fun photo-shoot up at the pool with this creation. Hopefully the weather will warm up and I will get that done this week!

Have a great week!

Beccie
xx

A New Year and a New Challenge!

First of all I must apologise for not blogging about anything recently. Christmas really seemed to dominate all of my sewing time, so I didn't make anything new or noteworthy. But now that Christmas and New Years is over its back to it!

Last year I purchased this fabulous true vintage bathing suit pattern from etsy (how good is etsy!)


Now I think this pattern is DIVINE! Look at that adorable plaid swimsuit, and the matching coat! Who wears a coat to the beach!?!

And the other wonderful thing about this pattern is that its actually for my size! I'm so used to having to alter patterns to fit that it was a real pleasure to just skip that step entirely. There were a couple of surprises with this one though - first off was the fact that only one pattern piece had been cut out and used, and it was the shorts portion of the bathing suit... odd I thought, until I contemplated it further and realised that they make a really simple pair of sweet comfy ladies boxer shorts! I may make myself a few!

The second was this:


In amongst all the neatly folded tissue paper was a pink piece - and it was an advertisement for this competition to win a two week trip to Paris! If only I could still enter!!! The cute thing about the compeition was that you could only take the prize of the trip to Paris if you were over 20, if you were aged between 12 and 19 they gave you a trip to Hollywood or New York for a week instead. The other thing to note is the cash value of the prize pool - the total value of the 113 prizes they were giving away was over $7,000. My how times have changed!!

But honestly, how darling is this illustration:


I had decided to sew this bathing suit from some fabulous fabric I found at my local fabric store. It is a dark red with palm fronds and macaws all over it - so kitsch I just loved it! I bought heaps of it so I'll be making a dress from it too. I also bought a plain cotton fabric in the same dark red colour. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it before I cut it all up. Sorry about that.

Once again, my little puppy Stella was there to give me moral support. She is pictured next to a plastic bin a friend bought for me that has a schnauzer on it - and to be honest, it looks a lot like her, dont you think???


Anyway the pattern worked up really easily and quickly which is totally not what I was expecting! There were a few fit issues where I needed to run a couple of seams in a bit, but after a few hours I had this:


Now its not finished just yet. I need to put a hook and eye on the back above the zipper, put the elastic in the short legs, and handstitch the lining to the waist seam. But its pretty much what its going to look like when it is finished, and I'm REALLY happy with it!

I've started sewing the coat, which is made from the plain red fabric (same as the fold back bit on the top of the bodice) with the parrot fabric for the pockets, cuffs, belt, and button plackets (?). Its going to look adorable, and so sweet as a complete outfit! And while I'm not going to swim in it (I, like my fiance's daughter, struggle with the idea of swimming in something that isnt lycra) I am going to parade around the pool in it!!!

But the pattern has also inspired me. Like the person who just made shorts, I think I'm going to use the bodice pattern to make a dress. Look at the photo above and forget about the shorts, and instead imagine a gored skirt.... I think it will look fabulous!!!

When I've finished the coat I will blog again - but before I do that I may take someone to the pool with me to do a quick photo shoot so you can get the full effect.

Thanks for reading

Beccie