Evening gown inspiration

After our shopping odyssey to the button wonderland, the girls and I got to talking about the annual gala that our University Student Council hosts every year. None of us has ever been to that classy affair and we came to the conclusion, that this year is the last chance to participate in it. We've all spent a hefty amount of time educating ourselves and are finally close to graduating (it takes usually at least 5 years to get a master's degree in a Finnish university, just so you know). So when the gala is held next november we'll be there! And you know what that means! Evening gowns! I do have one in my closet but since the vintage pieces I've seen are so stunning, I thought I'd give one ago. I thought I'd make a long post about all the possible patterns I might use and the colours and fabrics. But now it seems I've found all of them already, in one day! I know I should think more about the fact that there's 6 months to the gala, and I might change my mind, but still, what can you do when you find something you just love, eh?

The deep green satin I bought yesterday started the whole thing, and late last night I started to picture the perfect dress for that fabric. If only I could draw then I could show what I pictured, but luckily I don't have to since today I found that exact pattern from Etsy! I was looking for a blouse pattern, when I stumbled into this wonderful late 30's pattern. It's a daydress but by lengthening the skirt it will become the dress for me! Here it is:

The neckline and the drapes along the waistline makes this perfect! Just picture it floorlength in deep dark green satin with a sparkling broche, or in chiffon with a satin slip under it, kind of  like the view B in this:

 And hair done like the ever graceful Rita Hayworth:

I can't wait for the pattern come so I can start with muslin!

If you wondered what ever happend to the blouse pattern I was looking for, then ehem, I ended up buying yet another dress pattern... But I reasoned this with the patterns multifunctionality. The bodice part will work as a blouse pattern, as long as I lengthen it a bit. Great reasoning, right? (lol)

It seems that my blog has doubled its readers in a day! Thank you so much! I'm already thinking of hosting a give-a-way when the time is right to thank you properly.

***

Kerrankin on aihetta juhlaan ja juhlapuvun ompeluun! Sovin muutaman ystävän kanssa, että tänä vuonna osallistumme ylioppilaskunnan vuosijuhlaan! Samalla voin siis ommella itselleni juhlamekon 30-luvun kaavan mukaan! Juhlat on vasta marraskuussa, mutta kaava ja kangaskin on jo hankittuna. Täytyy siis vain toivoa, etten muuta mieltäni liian monta kertaa ennen sitä.

My first blog award and some new patterns!

I was so surprised and delighted when Annabelle from Annabellepumps told me that she'd nominated me for the Liebster Award! Thank you so much Annabelle! The award goes to new bloggers and their blogs that have less than 300 followers.This way they get word out to people to go and check their blogs out. I too have a few blogs that I think deserve this honor hands down and here they are:

Annabelle herself is on my list even though she already got the award. But there's no harm in prizes when you can make dresses like this.

You should definitely go and see Liz's blog at Zilredloh. She has made a bunch of beautiful clothing sewing and knitting. I fell totally in love with this vintage knit she just finished up. I can't believe it's her first one!

I'd also like to nominate Marie from A Sewing Odyssey for her inspiring blog. How I would love to get my hands on her fabric stash, just take a look at these.

And to top this great day I have these wonderful patterns to show you that came yesterday. I do feel a bit sorry for the mailman for having to carry all this to my door, but he did make me oh so happy!

A basic 60's shirt dress. You can never have too many of these, right?

The peplum and the scalloped collar made this absolutely irresistible.

This is my favorite one and the one I was most anxious to get! A definite number in my fall wardrobe, once I get the hang of bound buttonholes, that is.

And these came too. The belt buckle is from the 30's, I only have to figure out how to make it in to a belt. Don't you think that the embroidery would go great with some dark coloured velvet creation?

And finally a little peak at my ongoing project:

Have a great day my lovely readers!

***

Sain ihka ensimmäisen blogipalkinnon tänään! Mahtavaa! Sain myös suunniteltua käyttöä eilen tulleille uusille kaavoille.

Quick post on another grey day

It's grey and rainy again. I had a terrible desire to just stay at home and do some schoolwork and sewing. Luckily though, I found myself without coffee (catastrophy!) and so I stepped out for a nice walk to town. And as I came to the river (I live right by the Aura River) I was greeted by running water! Just a few days ago the river had ice cover and now it's all melted away! How I love spring! Anyway, I carried on and went to get the buttons (and some zippers) from the fabric store. I came home and found a brown envelope on my door step. Inside were these lovely vintage buttons I ordered just last week, now how quick was that! I got these from LillianOlive  that carries a large array of buttons of all sorts. I'll definitely go there again! I already know where I'll use the brown buttons, but the others will have to wait for a suitable project.

Look how wonderful! Heather had added those little pink buttons in the parcel as well, how sweet!

And I finished the Pink Sweetness Dress! I'll post more pictures on that tomorrow.

Seven little buttons all finally sewn.

Grading a wiggle skirt

I got one of the Etsy patterns I've been waiting for yesterday and since it's been a grey day weatherwise I thought I'd skip getting the blasted buttons (you know of what I'm talking about lol). The pattern I got is a classic 60's wiggle dress. Wiggle dresses are something that I remember always wanting to wear (the other is an Edwardian dress). A wiggle has been in my dreams, but I haven't been able to find a ready-made because of my shape. I can't count all the times I've spent drooling over some sheath dress to only notice that if the bodice fits the bottom won't. And vice versa. And to have a friend who can fit into any sheath or wiggle she pleases has made me a teensy bit cross with the ready-made dresses. How lucky then that I've found the world of vintage sewing! I now have wiggle dress patterns and the resources and means to make them mine!

The new wiggle.

The problem that I have with fitting in sheaths or wiggle dresses is that I have a relatively small waist compared to my hips. I'm also a bit pear shaped, so buying patterns by bust size doesn't equal a fitting bottom part pattern. This was my first try in grading a bottom piece and it turned out okay. I think the bottom could fit even better if I took out a few more centimeters of the sides, but for a first wiggle (and a wiggle walk!) a little room is fine by me. I did the muslin as neatly as I could, cause I'm planning on maybe making a wiggle dress for my graduation (when ever that day comes). So I thought it was a good idea to rehearse the whole thing all the way through in cotton (I have a nice thrifted lavender satin waiting in the stash for the fancy wiggle).

The pattern I started out with had a bodice one size smaller than mine, so I knew that the bottom wouldn't fit me at any will without alterations. I measured the skirt pieces and checked the room that the pattern had in the hip area. I then compared that measurement to my own hip measure and figured the amount that needed to be added. On the first muslin the skirt was way too big. I noticed that I only needed to make additions in width to the back piece and none to the front (this was a kind of bittersweet moment lol). Because I'd used a fabric I didn't want to waist (and cause I was feeling lazy) I took the extra centimetres from the centre front of the skirt. I than had to move the pleats too but for me this was nothing compared with having to take the whole skirt down. So the skirt now has one seam more than the pattern, but since this is a muslin, I don't really mind it. Because I wasn't so sure if the grading was accurate I didn't take pictures of the grading process. So here's a miniature version on paper (Gertie does these and I love them!) of the changes I did on the back piece of the skirt (I apologize in advance for the poor English on the paper bits, oh brother..). The changes are only to the back piece of the pattern, but I think the same goes for the front parts as well. Also, this grading changes only the hip measurement, the waist stays the same. I figured this grading style on my own while rummaging through my head for some basic pattern alterations I've seen and read about, so if you know of a better way to do this, please do let me know!

First, trace your pattern on another paper, you'll need the original later! Measure the distance from your waist to your hips' widest part, for me this is 25 cm from the natural waistline. Mark that distance on your pattern. If your making changes on both the back and front pieces, measure the distance for the patterns separately, as the distance may vary at the back than at the front. The line is illustrated here with the broken line. The left side of the pattern is centre front, the right the side seamline.

Cut along the grain line arrow almost to the top of the pattern, but don't cut it all the way. You can stop at the seamline if your patten has a separate cutting line. Be sure not to cut into the darts.

Add the needed amount of hip ease to the marked line. For me this was 4 cm. Add the amount by parting the pattern pieces 4 cm (for me) at the marked line. Secure the opening, I used scotch tape and a piece of pattern paper.

After you've widened the hips you'll see that the hem is now too wide for a wiggle skirt. We need to make it wiggle!

The opening of the slash would need to be 4 cm (for me) to keep the skirt in its original form. Because we can't take the measure from the slash, we'll take it from the sideseam instead. To know how much needs to be taken away, measure the gap in the hemline. Substract 4 (for me) from that number. The result is the amount you'll need to take away from the sideseamline. Measure the amount (7 cm for me) from the sideseam and mark it.

The new broken line shows the new sideseam. It starts at about the point where you added the hip measure and stops at the hemline where you made the substraction. Cut the extra off but without any sharp corners at the hip. Remember to make new seam allowances to your new sideseam!

After this you'll need to straighten the hemline. Draw a new hemline in a right-angle from the centre back line and matching the sideseam. Cut the extra off.

 Now you need the original pattern by your side. You'll need to draw a new waistline and replace the noches so that they match the front skirt pattern.

 Place the new pattern on top of the old one. Trace the notches from the old pattern to the new one and draw the waistline along the waistline of the original pattern piece.

 And now youre done! The hip has been widened and the patten has been made in to a wiggle once more! Hurraa!

I didn't make any changes to the bodice pieces, although next time I'll propably add another 1 or 2 cm of length for a more comfortable fit. I've found that with vintage patterns I can go down a size in fitted bodices and more on loose bodices because the seam allowances are bigger than I'm used to. I usually sew with a 1 cm allowance, when the patterns suggest 1,5 cm. So I get room from that difference to my bodice pieces. 

***

Tämän sateisen ja harmaan päivän ohjelmana oli uuden mekon kaavojen muokkaus. Kapeahelmaiset mekot ovat aina olleet minulle hankalia, koska niiden malli ei valmisvaatteissa ainakaan salli kurveja, ei sitten ollenkaan. Koska itselläni on suhteellisen kapea vyötärö verrattuna lanteisiin, on sopivien kotelomekkojen ostaminen mahdotonta. Onneksi kaavoja muokkaamalla nämäkin mekot ovat nyt käden ulottuvilla! Teen ajan salliessa tekemistäni muutoksista myös suomenkielisen version.

Thrifted March (and some fabric shopping)

Until I discovered the wonderful of sewing and vintage clothing I wasn't much of a thrifter. I remember that we did go to jumble sales and thrift stores every weekend when I was a child. But for some reason that faded away when I moved on my own. I guess I thought that there just wasn't any good thrift stores about, at least at a walking distance (this for me means 5km). And there really aren't that many in here, but now I've found at least one that always has something to offer, the Salvation Army Thrift Store. There is another thrift store in the centre (the UFF Thrift Store) but it's way too expensive to be one in my opinion. There's also a big thrift store on the other side of town, but since it's such a long way away, I haven't really bothered to go there.  Since the vintage scene has become a bit of a fashion thingy lately there are new vintage stores popping out here and there. They are (at least for now) the only places besides the web that I've found vintage sewing patterns.

The reason I thrift is basically to find affordable fabrics. And it's also an environmentally friendly way to sew, I think. I always look through the linens and curtains. Some stores also have a big pile of abandoned fabric pieces and buttons and buckles. Here are some that I've found this month.

A big pile of buckles. Think of all the belts I'll be able to make! They're on some thrifted lavender satin that I'm thinking of making into this:

Metallic buttons. I just had to have these, they were so lovely:

Leather buttons! Do I need to say more?!:

 

The pattern here is thrifted but the fabric I found at the sale section of the fabric store. It's really light and sweet but I think I have to underline it with some white cotton:

This is a lovely sheer cotton piece that I found for 1 euro! I saw the film "Glorious 39" last week and have been dreaming about the yellow dress that Anne wore at the picnic.This fabric combined with some more yellow cotton would be ideal for this look. The film is filled with stunning pieces, I would gladly take them all home, but for now this would do:

Today I rummaged around the children's section in the thrift store and found these two duvet covers that fould make great shirts: 

Then there was this candy striped cotton that was a sale find. I'm thinking of making this into this:

And since it's always nice to daydream of being a classy lady with gloves I bought a pair of lace beige ones for 1 euro:

I also got some yellow lining and a deep forest green chiffon that will go to my stash for now. Some of the thrifted fabrics are already made into a dress, like the McCall dress. Hopefully the next one will be a success too.

***

Pelastusarmeijasta on tullut se paikka, josta aina löytää jotain uutta ja ihanaa ompeluja varten. Maaliskuun saaliiden jälkeen tarvikkeita on taas muutamia ihanan kevyitä kesämekkoja varten!