Kitty-A-Go-Go 60's Shift Dress

It's getting close to the end of the year and I'm only just getting around to fulfilling my Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge. To kick things off I've got a new stage outfit I made with my bandmate and fellow seamstress for our 60's garage group Catzilla. We used Simplicity 3833 which is a vintage reproduction of a 1960's shift dress.

This pattern was a breeze! I cut a size 10 which fit me straight out of the packet. All I had to do was shorten the skirt (a 60's go go dress can never be too short!) and the skirt was a bit too flared for my liking so I tweaked it a little at the side seams.

The bodice is made from fabric we bought in Japan some time ago and has cute little cat heads on it. Of course we then had to carry on with the cat theme and added giant cat head pockets to the skirt.

The cat fabric is actually a cream colour rather than white and the only matching fabric to be found was a linen which turned out fine but it does crease quite easily.

I'm really pleased with how this dress turned out, it was super easy to sew and I think the contrasting black and white panels worked a treat.

The full outfit as it should be worn - with it's matching other half

More vintage pledge pattern posts (try saying that really fast!) coming soon.

Blogging Vacation

Oh boy, it's been such a long time since my last blog post - if only I'd been on holiday for all that time!(it was only 3 weeks of it sadly). Life has been pretty hectic since I got back so not much time for blogging or even much sewing for that matter.

I'm pleased to say that I packed quite a number of me made garments to wear which was really nice and I whipped up a couple of new things to take with me just before I left.

I used a mixture of Gertie patterns to make these highwaisted shorts. In her new book "Gertie Sews Vintage Casual" she has a pattern for cigarette pants that she converts to shorts. I didn't really have the time or inclination to toile the pants and then adapt them so I took Butterick 5895 which I had already made before and applied the changes to that which was really just shortening them and widening the legs slightly.

I also whipped up this denim skirt using Vogue 8603 which I've made a few times before so it was quick and easy. This is such a comfortable, versatile skirt that I wore constantly. This is the best photo I have of it - but you get the idea.

I had an amazing time on my trip to the US - it was mostly holiday (with a little bit of work) but I also managed to fit in a few sewing related activities - yay!

In New York I got to meet up with the lovely Sonja from Ginger Makes. We didn't get to go fabric shop together but Sonja very kindly gave me a list of her favourite stores in the Garment District which was just as well because I really would not have known where to start otherwise. Even with the list I was totally overwhelmed by every store that I went into and only came away with one piece of fabric in the end. I still enjoyed the experience though and next time I'll know what to expect.

My last stop was Hawaii which is one place I wasn't really expecting to do much shopping but I did discover Waikiki's Fabric Mart. This store had lots of lovely craft fabric and oriental prints but really, being in Hawaii it just didn't seem right to be looking at anything other than the amazing selection of Hawaiian prints that they had on offer - for me, it was like Christmas!

I did have to be a little restrained as our suitcases were getting close to bursting point by this stage but but I think I did pretty well and came away very happy with my purchases. I love holiday fabric shopping, it's like having a wearable souvenir to bring back those great memories.

Now, to dust off my sewing machine ...

Frankenflamingos

It was a dreary October night, the rain smashed against the window pane and the occasional lightening flash brightened up the gloomy, candlelit room, exposing the mighty creation before me. I had taken one part Simplicity 2512 and another part New Look 6002, unleashed them on a flock of unsuspecting flamingos and lo and behold, my Frankenpattern was born ...

The flamingos were captured on a field trip to the Goldhawk Road in London with my accomplices Marylou and Nicole Needles. I knew right away that they would be perfect for a tiki dress and my search began for a suitable pattern. You can imagine my excitement when I came across New Look 6002 with it’s perfect specimen of a bodice in view C, but wait, the skirt would not do, I had to find the ideal companion to complete my vision!

I turned to my trusted accomplice Nicole for guidance - she had used the Simplicity 2512 Cynthia Rowley skirt to make her beautiful tiki mash up dress - that was the answer! All I had to do was track down the now out of print pattern and bring my cunning plan to fruition. 

At last a copy was acquired and I set about bringing my creation to life. It was just a case of fitting a skirt to another bodice, surely it would be simple? Alas, it wasn’t as easy as I thought. If I didn’t want my dress to end up looking like some grotesque monster from a nineteenth century gothic novel, I would have to toile and toile again. 

Deep into the night I toiled away, a little tuck here and a little tweak there, until she was just right. 

And now, my work is done!

For more details please see my notes on Pattern Review and check out some of the other wonderful creations that have been conjured up for the Frankenpattern Contest - and don't forget to vote!

Polka Dots and Bows - Outfit Along 2014

I did it - I made the deadline for the 2014 Outfit Along! I can't quite believe I knitted a cardigan in 2 months - OK, it does only have short sleeves BUT I was on holidays for 3 weeks without much knitting time so technically it only took me 7 weeks to complete :) Considering I still haven't finished a cardi I started over a year ago, that's pretty good going for me.

Let's start with the knitting part - I made Andi Satterlund's Myrna. For a beginner knitter I thought it would be a great help to do the knit along part with blog posts from the actual designer of the pattern, for instance I would not have had a clue how to join the front and back sections had it not been for Andi's post. There were other new to me skills that Andi did posts on such as short rows and picking up stitches which explained the concept really well and for the details on how to do these, I referred to You Tube or my good old fashioned knitting books (Knit Step by Step by Vikki Haffenden & Frederica Patmore and Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch books - great instructions with pictures for knitting newbies). Also the Ravelry forum is a great source of help and inspiration - some of those knitters are amazing and always happy to offer advice.

I made the Small size and pretty much stuck with the pattern except that I didn't do the keyhole at the back. The only thing that didn't quite work out for me was the waist - my binding off was a bit too tight, I need to find a more stretchy bind off in the future or make sure I do it really loosely.

To complete my outfit I made a pencil skirt using New Look 6003 which is a pattern I've made before so I based the measurements on a skirt I made previously. Unfortunately I didn't take into account that the previous skirt had a bit more give in the fabric so my waist band has turned out a bit tighter than I would have liked. Good incentive to lose those extra holiday pounds - ha ha. The fabric was a border print with large bows and I used the smaller bows which were on the other edge of the fabric to make the button band. And yes, my shoes have bows too!

Big thanks to Andi of Untangling Knots and Lladybird's Lauren for hosting this Outfit Along, it's been a really fun challenge. Lauren did some really detailed posts on sewing Simplicity 1803. I didn't make it this time around but this pattern is in my stash and I'll definitely be referring to her blog posts when I do get around to making it. 

All in all I'm really pleased with how my outfit turned out. Despite the tight waist band I love the skirt fabric and the cardigan goes with it perfectly. Be sure to check out some of the great finished outfits on the Ravelry thread.