Decisions - How will it work?

Having resolved to make my wardrobe work better for me this year and I've now evaluated what I actually have to work with, it's decision time.  If I want this to work I must consider what I like in terms of what kind of styles suit me that I like and also the types of fabrics and colours I feel comfortable wearing.

  

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I like styles that are easy to wear.  This doesn't mean it has to be sloppy but it does have to be comfortable.  I like fitted and semi-fitted styles; styles that skim the body without being too tight nor too loose.  I love trousers and absolutely adore vintage styles, particularly dresses.  I also like skirts and tops but I'm not so inclined to wear them.  Being short-waisted they tend to make me look out of proportion.  Dresses are much better as they give an uninterrupted line making me look taller.

What about fabrics and colour?  Well, this is something I know and am very definite about.  I don't like stiff fabrics nor bulky or shiny fabrics, to my eye they just make me look fat and I feel uncomfortable when I wear them.  I like natural fibres but I'm happy to wear fabrics blended with polyester.  What about colours...  I've previously written about the colours that suit me here.  Luckily these are the colours I like to wear, they always have been.  (I think we are all drawn to colours that suit us instinctively.)  Then we have prints versus plains?  I love prints!  Particularly geometric prints however, recently I've taken a liking to florals.   I'm drawn to prints whenever I enter a shop.   My wardrobe and fabric stash are testament to this but I need plain solid colours to make things work together better.  This is one thing I need to give priority to.

Thinking about how to make the best of this evaluation I have come up with a list of criteria I need to consider each time I want to add new garments/items to my existing wardrobe which is, in no particular order:-

• It must be comfortable
• More plains than prints
• It must work with other items in my wardrobe
• Does the style suit my figure
• Is it 'glamourous'
• It must fit well

So where do I start?  Do I start with something that I really need to fill a gap, or something I want?  Obviously I should start with an item I need but then I'm not necessarily rational like that.  We'll see...

During my wardrobe overhaul it became very obvious that I don't  have many dresses, in fact only a couple that I actually wear and only one that I like.  Recently I've been wanting more dresses so keeping in mind that I want to glam myself up I've decided I need to add/replace a few.  Using my criteria as a guide I've chosen a lovely vintage dress from 1948 - Simplicity 2617, to start implementing my plan.  As it's summer I will be making the short sleeve style.

Now I know I said more plains than prints, but this pretty navy and white print was already in my stash and I think it will look lovely made up as this dress.   (I promise I will make something in a plain colour next time.  Really I will.  I promise.)  Working still with my criteria, I have at least three cardigans that will work with this fabric.  I've already cut it out and hope to sew it up this weekend.

Do you have any criteria for adding garments to you wardrobe?  Or, do you add things because you like them without giving any thought to how they work with the rest of your wardrobe like I've been doing?

Fall for Cotton: Red and White Vintage Blouse

Fall For Cotton:  The challenge was to sew a vintage pattern or a vintage inspired design from any decade in the 1920's through the 1970's using only 100% cotton fabric.

The Pattern:  Simplicity 4750 from 1943.  I had recently purchased this pattern when the sewalong was announced so it was the ideal choice.   I think the print on this fabric is so cute and it was the perfect match for this blouse.  The decision was made - that was the easy part!

The pattern instructions were interesting but it was easy to make.  I decided to use plain white for the facing which opens out to be the collar.  I used red buttons and added a piping accent.

I have doubts about how often I will actually wear it.  There are some issues with it that I feel uncomfortable wearing.  It has these little tucks/pleats in the waist area which makes it so blouse-y that I really don't quite know how to fix and still keep it era appropriate. 

Yes, I know it's vintage and the style is what was worn at the time but there is way too much fabric for my liking.  Any suggestions?

Left untucked it looks like a nurses uniform hehehe!

I enjoyed using the vintage pattern and making this blouse.  If I can resolve the back fabric problem it will be a great little blouse to have in my wardrobe.

Thanks to Rochelle and Tasha for hosting this sewalong!  It was fun and I enjoyed seeing what other participants have made.

Finally, some normalcy in my life

Hello everyone.  I thought I'd pop in and let you all know that I'm still here.  Even though I have nothing really to show you right now I hope to soon.  Things have been very hectic here for the last couple of months, what with selling our house in Melbourne and having to empty out the remainder of our contents along with starting a new job and getting my head around the training  and all that goes with it - whoa, my head is still spinning!  it left little time for any sewing.

However, on the weekend I did manage to get into my sewing room, though I didn't really achieve much. :(  I stitched the collar onto a blouse I had started making about two years ago that I found when clearing out the old house.  (Stashbusting?  Mmmm... not sure that it can be counted as Stashbusting, but I'm going to anyway.  Well I will when I finish it.)  I did however, make a bit of progress in cleaning up the mess that seemed to have multiplied while I wasn't looking, so feeling much better about that.

During my clean up I was putting away some patterns that were sitting on my sewing table and came across the pattern I was going to make for the Sew for Victory challenge and it left me feeling completely ripped off disappointed that I wasn't able to finish due to an injury when I remembered seeing this on Instagram.

Now I'm feeling so much better and really excited because Rochelle and Tasha have just announced they are hosting 'Fall For Cotton' - A vintage sewing challenge for the cotton lover and I AM soooo in.  Being a lover of the 1940s and especially WWII fashion, and... well... everything 1940s this sewing challenge is right up my alley perfect for me.

I had decided recently that I needed to add some shirts and blouses to my wardrobe and I already had a 1940s pattern in mind, Simplicity 4750, when they made the announcement so the choice of pattern was easy.  I'm planning on making view 3, the white one.  I just wasn't planning to make it straight away, after all it is winter here so I'm not in need of a short sleeve blouse for a while yet.  I haven't chosen my fabric yet, although I have plenty of cotton fabrics in my stash to choose from, I just can't decide if I want a plain or a print.  I'm tempted to make both but don't think I'll find the time to do two before the end of September - we'll see.  One thing is for sure tho', this time I AM going to finish. 

Is anyone else joining in the Fall for Cotton challenge?

On finishing, I will say that I haven't been completely slack.  I've managed to get in a little knitting.  It's much easier to pick up and get a few rows done in five minutes than it is to make a little space in a messy sewing room.  I'm making a vintage cardigan - not sure what year it is but I'm thinking it's 1940's.  A pattern I picked up from a secondhand bookstore.

What are you crafting at the moment?

Oooh...1940s my favourite decade

With my ever growing infatuation obsession with the 1940s I've been wanting to try out some vintage patterns.  I've got a few that were my mother's, I've collected a few from thrift stores, ebay, etsy, etc and I have several reproduction patterns all waiting for me to make a decision on which will be the first to join my wardrobe.   My last post showed that I decided to play it safe with a very classic style skirt which wouldn't make me feel self conscious to wear a vintage outfit.  I really want to start including vintage outfits into my daily life like so many others most of them much younger that me, that I read about in our wonderful blogging community.    Yeah, I know, I'm not 20 anymore and I have the greatest fear of looking like 'mutton dressed as lamb'.  I feel there is a real stigma with people wearing clothing that is not modern and contemporary but my love of these vintage styles is slowly taking over my life and ya know what, I don't care anymore.

When I saw that Rochelle over at Lucky Lucille is hosting Sew for victory! A 40s Sewing Challenge I thought what an opportunity to indulge in this all consuming love of 1940's.

I decided that I will make a dress for this sewalong.  I've narrowed it down to a couple of dresses and now I just have to decide which one.

Sense and Sensibility's A 1940s "Swing" Dress.  I love wrap styles, they're so flattering.

Butterick 1411, View A; this is another one of my Mother's dresses.  Isn't the collar cute?

A reproduction; Vogue V8728.  This is the first reproduction pattern I ever bought and I haven't made it yet.

Australian Home Journal pattern #5963  - the green dress.  I love the faux collar on this one.

Another Australian Home Journal pattern #5966 - the red one.  I like the interesting line on the bodice/midriff and the shirring details.

They're all so nice, it's hard to choose.  I think I'm favouring either the Swing dress or the Butterick.  Which one would you choose?

In the jar - a vintage skirt

One item down, eleven to go!  Yes, my Sewlutions commitment to make at least one item per month is actually achieving the desired effect.  To get me sewing again.  Made in a navy Bengaline Suiting fabric which I've had in my stash for about six months, my first make for 2013 is finished.  I finished it a week ago and I'm only just getting round to posting about it now.

I really shouldn't do that wash'n'wear look with my hair - terrible!

The pattern; a simple 6 gore vintage skirt pattern that was my mothers.  I'm not sure what the vintage is, but I think it's around late 1940s or 1950s.   I'd love it if anyone can tell me.  It's Australian Home Journal pattern #12158.

Having never used a vintage pattern before I found it to be a very interesting experience.  Never doubting for a moment, I opened the packet and found all four pattern pieces inside and in very good condition.  There were slight tears in the edges of all pieces as you would expect considering its age and a piece of tape mending a little tear in one.  What surprised me was the fact that there were no instructions just the layout diagram on the envelope which as you can see on the left, is very faded.  Now, I know that the free patterns you get with the magazine have the instructions in the magazine but I think this is a purchased one.  Meeh... I don't need instructions, it's a six gore skirt and I've made them before.  It'll be easy.

Luckily I read the packet first as it turned out that seam allowances were NOT included.  The pattern is an unmarked pattern so I'm like, where's the straight grain?  The two center panels are on the fold, not a problem.  Guess I'll just eyeball the other two pieces.  I think I got it right because the skirt hangs well as you can see.

I chose this pattern because it has no waistband and being short in the waist this is my best option for skirts.  My biggest problem with no waistband and no instructions was how should I finish the waist.  I remembered that mum had often used petersham (the real stuff, not the grosgrain ribbon often used nowadays) when I was young, so I decided to try that.  Well, that was stupid!!  With the zipper in the side, I had been taught the correct way to insert it was to do a lapped zip.  So I did.  Turns out it's almost impossible to finish the petersham on the inside at the zip opening and anyway it was sooo... scratchy I ripped it out removed it and made a facing, which by the way is not finished well inside at the zipper either, but at least it doesn't scratch me.

Knowing that vintage patterns are less roomy than modern ones I didn't trim the seam allowances in case it was a bit tight leaving me with plenty of room to let it out.  The sizing on the pattern fitted me perfectly and being the lazy person I am I left those seam allowances in :)  The only alteration I made was to shorten the length by approximately 10cm then I took a 2cm hem which wasn't allowed for.   Because of the new length I styled it with a modern t-shirt and cardigan instead of going for a vintage look.  If I make this skirt again I will insert an invisible zipper and make a longer length to style it in a more vintage way.


Details:
Skirt; Australian Home Journal # 12158
T-shirt; Target - years ago
Cardigan; Target also years old.