All Buttoned Up

Wow, thank you all for your wonderful comments on my last post; I am truly overwhelmed! And welcome to all of my new followers; I usually do like to welcome people by name, but as the number of followers to my little blog has basically doubled in the last two weeks, I will just have to extend a heartfelt, "Welcome, all!"

And now, on to what I've been working on. Well, one of the things that I've been working on; I am one of those people who has a huge pile of garments in various stages of completion. It's terrible, I know, but I just can't seem to stop myself! I made this dress with some beautiful burgundy crepe (okay, crepe-like fabric; I have no idea what it is made out of...but it was $1.00 per yard!) accented with a satin floral.



I made it specifically to match these beautiful gloves, which I got from ebay. The burgundy trim around the top of one of the gloves was missing, and there were a few other issues with them; of course, even though I have no knowledge of knitting, crocheting, or tatting (I think the trim was tatted, but I'm not too familiar with it), I was SURE that I could fix them. Someday, this over-confidence in my crafting abilities will be my downfall, but I've been lucky so far! I basically just tied a series of tiny knots with embroidery thread, trying to make it look as similar as possible to the existing trim on the other glove.



I made the dress using this pattern, with a few alterations, of course!



I made it with detachable long sleeves, because anytime I have an opportunity to make something wearable year-round, I'm all over it! Since it has been 100+ degrees here lately, you'll just have to wait until it cools off a little bit to see the sleeves! I also wanted to incorporate the scarf into the dress a bit more. Since this is one of those dresses in which one side of buttons is simply sewn on (no buttonholes), I sewed the scarf under the buttons, draped it around the back, and brought it back through the dress, letting it hang at the side.



Here's the back. I let the scarf drape down and then tacked it in place on the shoulders.



I don't have a huge collection of vintage buttons, so the ones that I used on this dress were chosen solely for the fact that I had twelve of them. They started out a lovely shade of yellow-green, and I spray-painted them cream to match the scarf. Since they are metal, I hoped that it would work; I cleaned them, painted them, and sealed them. So far, so good...no chips!

These are the same shoes from my last post, but in brown; I love them so much that I am basically just alternating between the two pairs! And, of course, my new favorite hat.



I really like the way that it turned out, especially the way the scarf mimics a cap sleeve on one side. What do you think?

P.S. If you liked that altered sweater from my last post, you will love what is coming up next!!

Knits, Part One

I'm always so jealous when I see those lovely 1930s knits that I have, so far, not been able to get my hands on. Baroness Von Vintage seems to have an unending collection of beautiful vintage knits, including this one, which makes me especially covetous. I'm also ridiculously envious of those who know how to knit and can make themselves reproduction garments from vintage patterns. Here is a wonderful sweater recently knitted by Jennie of "The Life and Times of a Vintage Obsessive", and here is another one expertly made by Tickety Boo Tupney. I would love to learn how to knit and crochet, but even "Knitting For Dummies" is apparently too advanced for me! Since I haven't been able to learn yet, I have been putting my sewing skills to good use by altering. I have found that '80s knits are often good candidates for this, as many of the style features are similar to '30s knits: pointelle and crochet accents, chevrons, colorblock, leg o'mutton sleeves, etc. The fit is usually way off, though, as everything was so blousy during that time (how well I remember it). Here is a sweater that I recently altered:



Here's how it started out. I originally removed the sleeves intending to move up the shoulders a few inches, but once I had them off, I really liked the way they looked on their own. Of course, I made another sweater using the sleeves, as they were the feature that prompted me to purchase the original in the first place. It's just too darn hot to get any pictures of that one now!



The jabot is made from the ends of some old crochet gloves. The fingers and palm sections were filled with holes, but the ends were still intact, so I just cut them off, sewed them together, and wove them through the holes in the top of the sweater.



I took it in by about 6 inches around. I also shortened it by cutting off the waistband, trimming off about 5 inches, and sewing the waistband back on. I don't have a serger, so I use the zigzag stitch on my sewing machine to alter knits. The gloves are vintage from ebay, and I blogged about making the skirt here. The shoes are brand new; I have them in brown, too. Sorry they're not very visible; it's been so hot here that my husband has not been in the mood to mow the lawn as often as he should!



This is my new favorite hat. I found the original at Goodwill for $2.00. It was huge; my husband tried it on, and it was even too big for his large head. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it before I started cutting it up, but here is one that I took after I cut the crown off.



It was originally a fedora of sorts; you can see how the crown was shaped. After I cut off the crown, I shaved about two inches off of the bottom. I then got it wet and shaped it so that it would be more rounded on the top. After it had dried, I sewed two tucks lengthwise across the top of the crown. Since the hat was so big to begin with, I was able to put three pleats in the brim. I then sewed the crown and brim back together, trimmed it with some vintage ribbon and a vintage mother-of-pearl buckle, and finished it off with grosgrain ribbon on the inside.



I love it so much! When I wore it to the Farmer's Market, an elderly man approached me and said, "My mother had a hat just like that in 1934." How great is that?!



I've got many more altered knits to show, so stay tuned!

I'm Back, And A Blog Award!!

Well, as terrible as I am about blogging regularly (has it really been a month?!), I am even worse when it comes to reading and commenting on my favorite blogs. It seems that I was given a Liebster Blog award, which is for blogs with fewer than 300 followers, by Lauren Hairston a few months ago, and I've just discovered it! Check out her blog; one of my favorite regular features is her "Dinner and a Movie" posts, in which she summarizes and reviews a classic movie, and then cooks up a yummy-looking dish to accompany it! Thanks so much for the award, Lauren, and I'm sorry that it took me so long to acknowledge it! I have also been tagged by her to list 10 of my favorite things, so here we go:

1. Favorite food: Although handfuls of Almond M&Ms are what get me through the day with my sanity intact (taking care of a two year-old is stressful, okay?!), I'd say that my favorite food is Thai food, specifically Pad Thai.

2. Favorite Movie: I have so many, mostly because I think that comparing films from different genres is like comparing apples to oranges, so I have a favorite from each! I'll just list a few: favorite classic movie: "Bringing Up Baby"; favorite musical: "1776"; favorite romantic comedy: "French Kiss". My all-time favorite is probably "Far and Away". Any movie that has the words "epic romance" in the trailer is on my list.

3. Favorite TV show: My favorite TV show is a little-known Canadian-made western from the early '90s called "Lonesome Dove: The Series". It's based on the Larry McMurtry characters but not on the books, and was canceled after only two seasons. The first season (my favorite) is a little cheesy and Hallmark-channelish, and the second season is much more gritty; it's like an early version of "Deadwood", but without all of the profanity. My favorite character is Col. Clay Mosby, a transplanted Virginian scarred by the war, who is played by a pre-"Will&Grace" Eric McCormack. Here's a clip from YouTube (he's the one kneeling behind the bar). You can also spot Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet) being used as a human shield:




4. Favorite Architectural Style: Craftsman. Luckily, I live in my dream house! This is the only picture that I can find of the inside right now, and it's from Christmas (ignore the baby).




5. Favorite Book: Jane Eyre. I also have a secret fondness for trashy romance novels (only the historical ones; that makes them historical fiction, right?! Let's say yes).

6. Favorite. Post. Ever. This Easter one from Debi of my Happy Sewing Place. This might be the funniest thing that I have ever seen.

7. Favorite Author: Oscar Wilde

8. Favorite Singer: Annette Hanshaw. Also Sebastian Bach (Skid Row). I mean, he was on Broadway too, so I don't need to be embarrassed about this one, right?!

9. Favorite Flower: Hydrangea

10. Favorite Song: "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins. Any song that could be classified as a "power ballad" will definitely be on one of my mix tapes. Oh yes, I still listen to my mix tapes.


So, now that you know more about me than you ever wanted to know, I will pass this award on to some other bloggers! There are so many great blogs out there with fewer than 300 followers; way too many to list here. At first, I tried to omit the blogs to which I have given an award previously, but in the process of going over them again, I decided that I just couldn't do it; all of these blogs are great!

The Deco Devotee
Sailing Over a Cardboard Sea
The Life and Times of a Vintage Obsessive
The Vintage Knitter
The Ziegfeld Boudoir
My Pretty Baby Cried She Was A Bird
The Swing of Things
Tickety Boo Tupney
Porcelina's World
Vintage in a Modern World
A Passion for Vintage Textiles
The Butterfly Balcony


Thanks again for the award, Lauren! And thanks to all of you for your lovely comments on my (infrequent) posts! I have so many things to show, but I just can't seem to get any good photos of them. I've borrowed my mother's good camera, so if the temperature outside would just fall below 95 degrees, I should be able to get something to show you!

Also, welcome to my newest followers: Dakota, The Vintage Knitter, Katia, Spinnakersu, Living Vintage, Linda, Chelsea, Carol, WanderlustPixieDust, Evie Graham, TwilaTee, Jess, Andrea, Lauren, Charlotte, Lisa, Diary of a Vintage Modiste, Anne Toft, GreenPea, Black Opal, K Boulton, Teresa Liao, Temporary Cat, and Chris Simich. Whew!!


Edited to add: I just noticed that I have given this award to a few blogs that Lauren had already passed it along to. Gah!! Please don't feel that you have to acknowledge it twice (or at all, if awards aren't your thing!); sorry about that, Lauren! This is what happens when you take three weeks to write a post; you stay up really late one night determined to finally get it finished, and you make a lot of mistakes! Maybe I'll just stick to outfit posts from now on...

...and Summer is Back!

Even though I was wearing my coat again last Saturday, it was in the 80s today ...but since I finished this nice, cool summer dress just in time, I didn't mind one bit! Again, the pictures are not good; my sister is in Florida for the week (lucky!), so I convinced my husband to take a few photos. I also loaned her my camera for her trip, so these are some more camera phone shots...sorry about that!
I made this one out of some sheer red and white polka-dot fabric accented with some sheer cream. I sort of flew blind on this one, using pieces of different patterns and just sort of draping and adding things until I got what I wanted. I can definitely tell the difference in fit as opposed to dresses that I've made with actual patterns; I'm probably not quite skilled enough to do this yet...but I think that it turned out all right!



I gave it an asymmetrical ruffled collar to accentuate the asymmetrical closing, although looking at it now I wonder if I shouldn't have reversed the long and short sides of the collar. It's sort of visually heavy all on that one side, but I wanted to be sure that the collar didn't cover up any of those great buttons! The hat is the same one that I made to match this skirt, I just took out the brown feather and added a red one. I love this hat pattern; being able to switch out the accent pieces makes it so versatile, and I just love the way it looks. This one and the navy one made from the same pattern get almost constant wear.



The buttons and buckle are a vintage set; hopefully you can see how beautifully designed they are in this picture:



I really need to start doing bound buttonholes; they add so much, but I just can't seem to make myself take the time do do them! By the time I get to that point in a project, I am already eyeing the next one on the list, and have probably even started cutting out some pattern pieces. Terrible!

It's Winter Again!

Well, after over a month of 70-80 degree weather, the past two days have inexplicably been in the 40s and 50s! I'm not too upset about it, though; it means that I can wear the coat that I have just finished!


Sorry about the blurry photos; my husband was taking them as we were both attempting to keep our toddler corralled on the porch! The coat was another huge piece of clothing that I found at the Salvation Army. It was monstrous, but it is a beautiful color of green, and you can't buy wool fabric as cheaply as you can buy a discarded wool coat! Of course, I didn't take a picture of it before I started cutting it up; I'm just too impatient! It was so large that it required extensive alterations: I moved the shoulders up three inches on each side, and ended up taking seven inches out of the body of the coat. I made the belt out of some of that extra fabric, and found the perfect vintage green and tan buckle in my stash to go with it. I also put three parallel tucks down the length of each sleeve; hopefully you can see them in the pictures. I found the tan faux fur at a local fabric shop and made the collar and cuffs.



I used some more extra fabric to embellish the hat, which is not quite finished; I started working on it this winter, but I put it away because the weather turned warm. I still need to put a wire in the brim and finish the edges, but I made it to match the coat, so I wanted to wear it while I had the chance!




I made the covered buttons from some green satin that was left over from a dress that I made a few months ago. It just happened to be the exact same color of green, and I am actually wearing it under the coat in these pictures, but it was just too cold and rainy to get any pictures of it. They're coming, though!



I have been wanting a coat like this for as long as I can remember; I'm just sad that I won't get to really wear it until next year!


More fun with editing!!

Another Outfit Post!

Thanks so much, everyone, for your wonderful comments on my last post! I was so disappointed in the quality of the photos when I was posting them, because they looked so good small on the phone display! Unfortunately, the next few posts will be the same; my sister was here for a while, so I did a couple of costume changes! Here is the next one (the quality in these is even worse; I had to lighten them up quite a bit so that the pleats would be visible):




It is made from a thick navy material that has a subtle herringbone pattern. It is actually a dark navy; hence the lightening-up. The shirt is a bright yellow pointelle shirt that I bought a long time ago; I love the scalloped collar and sleeves. Here is a shot of the side, and also of my awesome vintage navy oxfords!







The material is so thick that I stitched the fronts and the backs of the pleats so that they would lie flat. It looked like a mermaid skirt for a while! I was inspired by this pattern, which broke my heart when it got away from me:



I made it by altering this '80s pattern (view B), in order to make the side-skirt come to a point instead of being strait across above the pleats:



I made the hat using this pattern again. Since I can't knit, I made it using a navy sweater. I just cut the pattern pieces out of the sweater and sewed it up. It really worked wonderfully; I have basically been wearing it nonstop, and since the bow is interchangeable, I can wear it with many different things.



I actually made that particular bow to match another dress that we also photographed that day, so you'll see it again in my next post! You'll also see the skirt paired with some tops that I have recently finished, and hopefully we will get some better-quality pictures of it next time, when we will use a real camera!


Finally, I would like to welcome my newest followers: Andrea, Gabriella, Fran, Iz bakinog ormara, The Ziegfeld Boudoir, Nuranar, and Sewn_Seabee ( I hope that I haven't missed anyone)! Wow, I never thought that 30 people would actually be interested in seeing my small corner of the world!

New Skirt and New Look!

I decided that I needed to do something about the (poor) quality of my pictures. After studying many vintage advertisements and pattern envelopes, I came to the conclusion that the main issue with my photos is that they look too pose-y. In most, if not all, of the images I saw, the models were not looking at the camera, and almost never were they smiling. They were usually holding books or golf clubs or looking at something in the distance; in other words, the photos had the look of stylized candid shots. Or more accurately, candid shots in which the models seemed to be saying, "Oh, you just captured a perfect image of my outfit, but I was so busy looking at this tennis racket that I didn't even notice." Ha ha! My favorites featured interesting camera angles and stark contrast of shadows and light. Here are some examples:



When I started this blog, my main goal with the pictures was to simply get an image of my outfits. But as I have looked at more and more vintage pictures, and also at other bloggers' lovely images, I have wanted to not only show the clothes, but also to show them in a visually pleasing way . To that end, I decided that I needed a different photographer. My husband has the ability to take good-quality pictures, but he doesn't have the patience to do so while watching a 22 month-old at the same time. He also doesn't see the need for anything other than a good, plain, serviceable, picture...he's an engineer; what else can I say? :) So, I asked my sister to come over and take some pictures. She was a drama major...perfect! Unfortunately, the battery in the camera was dead when she arrived, so we used my camera phone. Poor planning on my part, with the result that the quality of the pictures may not have improved much (that's why the tweed looks funny and the lighting is bad)! Still, I think that it's an improvement, at least. Let me know what you think; about the outfit and the photos!

Here are our attempts to capture my latest project: a green flannel and tweed skirt:



I didn't make the blouse, but I altered it. I cut a strip off the bottom to make some covered buttons, and I added three buttonholes at the top. Three! Everything is so low-cut nowadays...

I made the skirt using this pattern:


The pattern is very interesting; the back and sides are made in one piece, so that there is no side seam below the hip. It is supposed to close with snaps, but I hate sewing snaps, so I added buttons (fabric-covered, of course!) instead.



It looks great with the cape that I made for this outfit, too:



I even have enough tweed left to make a blazer, but I'm too excited about summer clothes right now, so that will have to be first on the list for fall! I also played around with editing the pictures for the first time, and I think that this one is my favorite:



In this one, the model seems to be saying, "Oh, you just captured a perfect image of my outfit, but I was so busy looking at this baby that I didn't even notice." Hee hee