The SEWsterhood of the Travelling Pattern : My Dress

There has been an amazing response to this idea of a travelling pattern - I think the list is in the mid 70s now!  I've made my version, so soon the journey will begin.

But first - I better fill you in on my dress.

I have made this pattern (and blogged about it) once before.  You can read the final post for that dress here  but even then I didn't make it as per the instructions.  That time I made it a false button front.  This time I decided to have it button all the way from top to bottom, with the buttons exposed - so different to both versions of the pattern.

Here is the fabric I chose:

A fabulous vintage cotton with asian inspired  pictures and lanterns.  The colour struck me as perfect for a warm summers day - blue can be so cooling!

The other thing I wanted to add was some decorative piping.  I picked the (surprise surprise) violet colour from the fabric and made up my own piping.  Its so easy, and such a great way to decorate your clothes.

I added piping along the edges of the shoulder/sleeve piece first, and put the bodice together.  (By the way, I made new bodice front and back pieces with a 40" bust which will travel with the pattern).

I REALLY LOVE the way that the bias looks on this bodice!  It really highlights the design element of the shoulder/sleeve piece!

After adding the facing to the bodice, I moved on to putting the skirt together - and don't you love it when this happens without any planning!?!

By some amazing coincidence my skirt fronts lined up perfectly!!!  Same can't be said for the skirt sides or back, but I almost didn't have enough fabric to make the dress at all, so I wasn't going to worry about matching the pattern at the seams.  Got to love a happy coincidence though!

Anyway, I added more piping to the waist and sewed the skirt to the bodice.

All that was left was to do the machine button holes and sew on the buttons.  I used the spacing of the button markings on the bodice pattern pieces to mark where to put the button holes on the skirt.  And instead of putting a button on the waist, I put a trouser hook and eye.

And then for extra credit, I made a matching head scarf!  Cause why not!!

So there you go!  That is my version of the Travelling Pattern!  So I bet you all want to know who's up next... that person is:

Naomi Chambers

Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA

Naomi, I will be in contact shortly.  Remember that the Sewsterhood needs you to down tools on your other projects and make this one up as soon as you can.  Take lots of photos, write me a story for a blog post, and add your hints, tips, and whatever else you'd like to the notebook.  Only when you've finished are you to send the pattern on.

The journey begins!

Beccie
xxx

The Sherbet Birdie Candifornia Pool Party!

A couple of months ago Sasha from Sherbet Birdie announced that she was going to have a pool party!  An excuse for all the pinups to get together in a fun, social, supporting environment.... WITH INFLATABLES!!!

Of course I had to go!  And so did a friend of mine - MsKatt, who decided to fly up from Tasmania.

First things first - what to wear?  I had recently impulse-purchased a new Esther Williams swimsuit with a kitschy-cute lobster print on it... hmmmm... LOBSTERS!!!  ALL THE LOBSTERS!!!

So I started hunting around to find suitable fabrics, trims, and bits to make my outfit insanely awesome!  I found chiffon and ric-rac and fringe to make a fabulous cover-up, a cheap necklace and some resin lobsters to make an amazing necklace, and a hat form and a large rubber lobster to create a crowning glory or a headpiece.

And then of course I left it all to the last minute....apart from the necklace, which was a good thing.

When the lobsters arrived they were red.  I tried to paint them orange with nail polish, but it bubbled.  I tried to take the nail polish off with remover... and this happened.

Well, I had to soak them in nail polish remover, and scrub them with a nail brush to get them to this point, but you get the idea.  So after about a hundred coats of nail polish they looked more like this.

I had purchased a necklace with tassels from good old Target - a bit of a lucky find, because it was just the right colour!

I removed a few tassels and added the lobsters and then didn't do anything, and all of a sudden it was the day before the event, I was tired and *cough* hungover *cough* and hadn't finished my cover-up or my hat!

Luckily, MsKatt had arrived early, and she's a wizard with a glue-gun, so I set her to work with all my hat bits while I sewed the cover-up.

The plan was to copy one I had purchased from Target (again - I swear its the only modern shop I buy things in!), but when I laid it out on the fabric I noticed there was set in sleeves...

...which, frankly, scared me.  Set in sleeves in chiffon isn't something I would take on when I was with it, let alone when I was a bit under the weather.  So I decided kimono sleeves were the way to go!

I flattened the sleeves at the underarm and created a fold  near the shoulder, and cut from the point of the shoulder down to the cuff.

Then I cut the fronts, and sewed them together.  It went quite well!  I had to sew carefully because chiffon really is a shifty little bugger!

Then came the trims.  The only orange fringe I was able to find was on eBay, and there was only 1.9 metres of it which turned out not to be enough.  I sewed it on the bottom of the cover up...

... and then sewed ric-rac to the arm cuffs.  Not really what I wanted, but I didn't have much choice at this point!

I then sewed a rolled-ish hem up the fronts, and the neckline and it was DONE!

MsKatt (we decided her pinup name should be Miss Gina Gluegun) was still sitting on the floor gluing like a demon.

My cheap glue gun makes ribbit sounds like a frog (which caused much hilarity) but still manages to do a good job when wielded by a master glue-gunner!

Thankfully that was my outfit sorted!  The following day was the pool party!

Can I say that arriving at a public pool dressed like this does take courage.

Especially considering we had to walk through a large public park to get to the public pool!  But once inside we were surrounded by women who appreciated my over the top outfit, and we set about enjoying ourselves!

We may or may not have smuggled in alcohol to drink out of our plastic coconuts...

I got to spend some long awaited quality time with Miss Lucy Topp (Sherbet Birdie's most magnificent makeup artist).  She is one of my soul sisters, I love her.

Then I headed for the pool.  It was a pool party after all!

I don't think there was a single woman there that got her face wet!  Or her hair!!  hahaha!!!

Its MsKatt over a sea of inflatable donuts and cupcakes!

We had our own lifeguard, but I must say that the rest of them seemed to come to our corner of the pool quite a bit.  I wonder why!?!

These are the two ladies who are responsible for this wonderful day - Miss Sasha (right) and Sorelle.  Such an amazing concept ladies.  Such a wonderful way to bring like minded women together in an environment that creates and rekindles friendships without the need for competition.  Viva la revolution!

I can't wait for the next one!

Beccie
xxx

A Pretty Dress for a Day at the Cricket

Every year my husband attends the 5 day cricket test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.  Day three of the test is Ladies Day, also called the Pink Day, because the idea is that everyone wears pink and donates to the McGrath Foundation - a breast cancer charity.

I like to make an outfit every year for this special day.  Last year I made one, and had my own tea party because I wasn't well enough to attend the day (you can read about it here).  This year I wasn't really sure if I'd be going, but I thought I'd make a dress anyway.

I had recently purchased some amazing vintage rayon fabric, and some of it was pink with the best novelty print of ladies wearing fabulous hats.

I had also recently received some reproduction patterns from Eva Dress (if you haven't looked at their website, you should!).  This dress pattern seemed like just the thing to wear on a hot summer's day.

My fabric, being vintage, was narrow, and by the yardage chart on the pattern, I didn't have enough, but only just.  Sigh!  I started out by laying my fabric out on the floor and seeing if I could make the pattern pieces fit.

Its like a giant jigsaw puzzle!  It took me quite a few goes to find something that worked.  I even tried the layouts included with the pattern - and I never do that!  I eventually found the winning combination, and it meant having a seam in the sleeve.  And I couldn't match the pattern either, so I just hoped that the fullness would hide it all.

Construction of this dress is so amazingly straight-forward!  Almost too simple - and I started to worry that without darts at the waist, it would look like a potato sack.

But the response on my facebook page was to trust the pattern and keep going.  Apparently a lot of 40s dresses look like sacks on hangers but look magical on.  I own lots - how had I never noticed!!!  And worst comes to worst I could add darts in when it was all finished anyway...

The last big decision was the bow.

To bow or not to bow.  That was the question.

The dress sat on my headless helper for a good week and a half while I tried to make a decision.  Eventually I realised that it was part of the pattern for a reason, so I should make it and pin it on and then see what I thought.

The decision was a resounding YES!  Without it the dress seemed unfinished, but with it, it sang.

So I finished off the hand sewing and wore it to the cricket!

Steve is a member of the SCG IX, which is a special club within a club for members that play cricket for the SCG.  Each year we have a special area - and this year it was a fabulous white summerhouse with a view of a big screen and right by a bar.  The only thing it was missing was a jacuzzi!!!  It was a lovely place to sit, and I felt lovely and glamorous all day!

Yes, I did actually watch some cricket...  I didn't just socialise.

Its lovely to see so many people get involved for this cause too - I didn't see one person NOT wearing pink, and so many people go to a great deal of effort with their outfits.  I met the son of a friend who was really my kind of person - I mean, just look at his hat!

I had a great day, and this dress ticked all the boxes - pretty and elegant, easy to sew, and comfortable to wear.  I can see at least two more of these in my future!

How about you?  Tempted to sew yourself one?

Beccie
xxx

Announcing Another Sew-Along!!!

When my last sew-along finished, there was much talk in the Swirl Facebook group about holding another one.  It didn't take much to convince me - I had had as much fun as everyone else I think!  (By the way, if you want to have a look at the round-up post you can find it here).  Rather than doing it all on my own, this time I decided to team up with Decades of Style, an online vintage reproduction company specialising in patterns from the 1920s through to the 1950s.

I don't know if you've looked at their website, but I remember the first time I did I wanted to buy just about every pattern.  Let me tell you, narrowing it down to just one pattern for this sew-along was nigh on impossible!

After much debating with myself, I chose this gorgeous 1930s capelet pattern:

Look at it!  It doesn't get much more elegant than that!

The good thing with this pattern, is that it will work for both sides of the globe.  For those of you who are currently in winter, you can make it in wool suiting or even wool coating!  For those who are currently in summer, you can make it in a lighter fabric like cotton or silk for a summer evening cover up.

Here is a vintage example I have dreamed of recreating since I first saw it.  This one was sold by FabGabs on Etsy:

So this is what I'm aiming to do with mine.  And yes, I am going to tell you all the adjustments I make so you can do it too!

And the best thing is that Janet from Decades of Style is giving my lovely participants a 20% discount on the pattern!!!  All you need to do is use the code CAPE20 when you check out.  The code is valid from now until the end of January.

Now, Janet also told me that international postage (she is based in the US) is quite pricey.  For the price of posting one pattern, Janet can post up to 100 patterns.  So I figure you have two options:

1. Buy a bunch of patterns to try (I did - I ended up buying 4); or
2. Team up with some other sewers in your country and buy together and share the shipping!

The Facebook group (which is now called Sew Retro Rose's Lovely Ladies) will be talking and sharing about this pattern too (amongst other stuff sewing and non-sewing related - they are a friendly bunch!) so if you would like to join, please comment below with your email address and I will send you an email invitation to join.  This group would be the perfect place to meet other people in your country that you could share shipping with.  If you aren't comfortable with leaving your email in the comment, please send me an email at sewretrorose (at) gmail dot com.

This sew-along won't start until the 1st of February to give everyone time to get the pattern and their fabric.  Please note its important with this one to make a muslin, so make sure you have something lying around that you can follow my first post with (that will be all about making your muslin).

Here is another link to the pattern.

I hope you like my choice of pattern, and that you are going to join me on this sew-along!

Beccie
xxx

The SEWsterhood of the Travelling Pattern.

Do you remember that movie from 2005, where four young girls stay in touch by passing around a magical pair of jeans that fits each of them perfectly???

It might have been a good movie - it might have been a rubbish movie.  I have no idea cause I've never seen it.  Girly movies like this one really aren't my thing.

I was talking to a lady on facebook last night about long-distance shared clothing, when I struck upon the idea of doing the same thing with a pattern.  One vintage pattern travels around the world and everyone makes the same dress, but uses their own creativity in choosing fabrics and maybe slightly modifying the dress for them.

So we are going to do it.

With this pattern.

I've picked this one for a few reasons:

• Its not overly complicated, so beginner sewers can join in too.
• Its a decent size to grade up or down from.
• It offers possibilities for customisation (patch pockets, in-seam pockets, piping, bias etc)
• It will work in different types of fabric.

So I'm going to set down some rules.

1. Look after the pattern!  Its got a long way to travel, so be gentle with it!!
2. When it gets to you, you need to sew it.  There are other people waiting to play, so hop to it!
3. Get your model on!  We all want to see what you've made, so pose for a few photos.  These need to be emailed to me with a bit of a story so I can write a blog post to update the Sewsterhood on where the pattern is.  If you have a blog, do a post on it and I can link back to your blog as well!
4. Make some notes in the Journal.  This pattern is traveling with its own diary - please write an entry (or a few) - you could pass on any hints for the future sewers, or just write a story.
5. Put it in the Mail.  When you are finished I will give you the address for the next participant so you can send the pattern on its journey.  What you received with the pattern needs to stay with the pattern.

If you draft any special pieces for your dress, it would also be nice if these go with the pattern with some brief instructions.  But this is optional.  

I'm hoping that now that you have read this, you will want to join in.  I will be making a list (with my name at the top) of the Sewsterhood of the Travelling Pattern - to get on it just send an email to sewretrorose(at)gmail(dot)com.  I will be making the list in the same order as I receive emails.  Each blog post I write will say who is getting the pattern next, but I will also send an email to you so you know its on its way.

Join the Sewsterhood!!!

Beccie
xxx

Hi everyone!  After an amazing response I'm sad to say that I'm closing the list for the travelling pattern.  Thank you for everyone that has joined in!

Swirl Sew-along : The Final Post!

Its been a couple of weeks now since I posted the final instructional post for the Swirl Sewalong.  And in that time all the girls have been working their little hearts out to get their dresses finished.  Not everyone made it (life sometimes just gets in the way no matter what we do!) but I hope they still post the photos in the group when they do finish, so I get to see how fabulous they all look.  Everyone has done so well, and I'm so happy that everyone enjoyed my first Sewalong!!!

So here are all the finished dresses!

But because its my blog, we are going to start with me...

Abigail Roberts

 Amber Stivers-Anders

Amy Jansen-Leen

Angela Wicentowich

 Anna Travierso

Claire Gittens

 Daisy Vernimmen

Doris Colerano-Romann

 Esther Hayes

Esther Albantow

 
Eszter Molnar

 Imogheena Farandel

Irene Kwinten

Jane Hassall

Jane gets points for being first in with her Swirl photos!

Jane Parker

 Janine Roberts

Janine showed off and made two!

Jo Brody

Johanna Taggart

Johanna bought this fabulous fabric from me, and I love that she's used a rose shaped button!

 Kacy Burchfield

Katherine McRae

Kelly Dearman

 Leisa Franklin

Loran Watkins

 

Loran also showed off and made two!

 Lynn Potts

Shermy Freeman

 Shermy is too adorable for words!

Mary Mayo

Pamela Smith

 Petra Iriska

Rachael Coutts

Sandra Cox

Sandra wore her Swirl for the first time at Disneyworld!!!  AND made her husband a matching vest!!!

Siobhan Smith

Zoe and Sue Chakos
 

The mother daughter sewing team of the group!

Susan Earlam

Susie-Marie Woods

 I love this photo so much!

Tina Roneklint

Didn't everyone do an amazing job!!!  I love them all so much!!!  Thank you to everyone for making this such a wonderful first experience for me.  I hope you all come back for the next one!!!

Beccie
xxx