Final garment for my #VintagePledge 2016

Just squeaking in with my last garment before the big Vintage Pattern Pledge 2016 deadline at midnight tonight! Strangely this was the first thing I sewed up for my pledge but ends up being the last one I blog about as it took me ages to find the right buttons. So, I've met my pledge to sew up three garments using vintage patterns. The final pattern is a reprint of Simplicity2154 from the 1960s. Not a decade that I sew from as I seem to naturally gravitate towards the 1980's. This has also resulted in a very plain garment but as I'm increasingly realising, I need quite a few of those in my wardrobe too and I've been sewing up quite a few plain tops but you'll see those in 2017.

The fabric is a rather scratchy boiled wool that I bought in a sale at John Lewis about a year ago, so I can't remember how much I paid for it. It has a slight stretch to it although there's no lycra in it. I think there could be some polyester in it.

I like this pattern. I made some alterations to it by adding some length to the sleeves and body. I also added some width across the back and added darts from the back shoulder seams. I added too much width and the back is too broad. It's still wearable. I did a full bust adjustment that worked well.

I overlocked most seams and finished the sleeve and body hems by overlocking the edge, then turning up and machining the hems using a twin needle. I like the double row of stitching. It adds an interesting detail to an otherwise very plain top.

The button and buttonhole bands are really well thought through. You use 3/4" or 1" wide satin ribbon which has just the right amount of softness to cope with the soft fabric but acts as a solid base to sew the buttonholes and buttons. You sew the edge of the ribbon to the right side of the fabric and turn it to the inside. Then you topstitch the other edge of the ribbon to secure it, tucking the ends in and hand stitching them to secure them. Very neat and I'll be stealing that idea in the future! The ribbon finish looks really good if your cardigan flaps open.

It took me ages to find the right buttons. they have to fit within the width of the button/buttonhole bands and look 'right' with the cardigan. eventually I found these square ones in the right colour.

I'm not so sure if I'll wear this though, the wool is just a bit too scratchy for me, something I didn't realise until I was taking the photos for this blog post. There are also 'self-inflicted' fit problems but they aren't too bad. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy sewing this up. A lot of the time I don't follow pattern instructions and do my own thing but I was good this time and followed them. I enjoyed learning about the ribbon finish for the buttons/buttonhole bands and really liked the finish of them. I think this is really a wearable muslin and I've learnt lots. It's good to be challenged and to learn new things and this pattern did that.

So, it's Hogmanay in my part of the world and so much of an important celebration in Scotland that our public holidays are 1st and 2nd January. I'm staying at home and welcoming the holiday as we've had a house guest for a week so now they've gone we're enjoying having the place to ourselves again. Having said that, there will be quiet feasting and drinking over the next few days! So wherever you are in the world and whatever you're doing, I wish you all a happy, healthy 2017 (or in Scots dialect- 'Lang may yer lum reek'!).

Too cool for School!

Ah people, I've been looking forward to writing this post for a while! This is my second make for the Vintage Pattern Pledge organised by Marie from The Stitching Odyssey and Kerry from Kestrel Makes. So, it's a skirt. But not just any skirt. This is another 'Blast from the Past' pattern, one that I owned when it was first released, re-found it on EBay and sewn it up again. Why the post title? Well the first time I sewed this beauty up was as my school skirt! So, get comfy everyone, and I'll tell you the story of my old school skirt. First we have to go back in time to the glory days of 1980....

I grew fairly tall when a young lass and my mum despaired of finding a school skirt that we both felt was long enough (and decent enough!). So, after trying on umpteen skirts, she asked if I wanted to sew a school skirt. Yep! So we went shopping in Carlisle and bought this pattern Style 3092.

My mum said I could have a wrap skirt but not a skirt with a split. Looks like a wrap skirt, doesn't it? We also bought some black needle cord fabric, the zip and black lining.  Later, at home nearly 30 miles from Carlisle, I started cutting out the paper pattern only to discover it was a 'mock' wrap skirt and it did indeed have....the forbidden split! However, I received special  dispensation to go ahead and sew it up but I was warned not to make the split too high. Hand on heart, I did not know this pattern had a split until I was home. Just wanted to make that clear! I loved the finished skirt and loved wearing it at school. Nobody else had one like it!

So, here's my favourite bit, what was happening in the most important part of my life (music obviously!) in 1980? I know you're all holding your breath wondering what I was dancing to at school discos back in the day. Well, I was a big fan of Madness and the first vinyl single I ever bought was 'Baggy Trousers'. Even today I am word perfect for the lyrics of this song. Proud to say! Ska was a big thing at school and other bands like The Specials, Bad Manners, The Jam were also on the turntables and we had varying degrees of success at dancing to this music! Disco was still on the school disco turntables too...remember Kelly Marie and Feels like I'm in love (please, please you've GOT to watch this video...it's brilliant...the hair, the make up...the dancers...soooooo 1980!). Mind you, I do remember piling on the green eye-shadow myself for school discos. What about Blondie and The Tide is High? My mum made me walk into the nearest record shop to buy this single for her. The Nolans with 'I'm in the mood for dancing'? Classics. Every one of them!

So, back to the sewing in 2016. This is a fairly simple pattern, with the back cut on the fold, the front has a left thigh seam and split and the waistband is simply a rectangle. I didn't have to make many alterations at all to this pattern, I just added some length to it but can't remember how much as it was a few months ago. The tricky thing is with cutting out the pattern. You have to cut the front pieces on a single layer of fabric and you have to make sure the pieces are the correct way up. I confess I did try making this pattern at the start of the year but accidentally flipped one of the front pieces over. Undo-able mistake! I threw that mess away.

The outer fabric is a non-stretch dark-ish 100% cotton denim bought from Edinburgh Fabrics. I used an 8" jeans zip and some cream cupro lining bought from John Lewis (which at £12 a metre was more expensive than the £10 a metre denim but totally worth it). The pattern was not lined but I just adapted the skirt pieces to make the lining. I used a jeans button I already had and topstitched using black thread. To finish the skirt hem I used some 1" tan and black tiger print ribbon I bought last year from Edinburgh Fabrics during a blogger meet-up in Edinburgh organised by Helen from Grosgrain Green. I knew I'd find a use for it someday! I like using little souvenirs in my sewing.

The verdict? I like this skirt, I don't love it but then again I took it on holiday to Prague and Vienna and wore it a couple of days so it has been a success. The rectangular waistband is not a great fit on me and a bit baggy. The skirt is quite loose, especially in the front and I wonder of that's due to the front seam. I like the off centre split but I think I'm still getting used to the longer length. Will I make it again? I'm not sure but I'd need to make some changes to the pattern if I did. But I did enjoy making it and wearing it on holiday, just need to incorporate it in my everyday wardrobe now!

Vintage Sewing Pattern guest blogger!

This post has previously appeared on Kerry's blog, Kestrel Makes, as part of the Vintage Pattern Pledge month of July #vpjuly guest blogger extravaganza! Well, that's what I'm calling it, anyway. I was totally astounded at being asked! Anyhow, it lets me ramble on about my favourite vintage decade for sewing patterns, the 1980s.

One day I was just browsing through Ebay, as you do, when I came across a sewing pattern I’d used as a young sewist in the 1980s. I just had to buy it! I’ve found and bought other sewing patterns that I bought and sewed in the 1980s and this has led to me developing a love for 1980s sewing patterns. Perhaps this could be a new sub-category of the Vintage Pattern Pledge, ‘Blast from the Past’…patterns you’ve previously owned, sewn and re-discovered!

This particular pattern is Style 4824 with a copyright date of 1986. There are collar and sleeve or sleeveless options so it’s quite a versatile pattern. The first and only time I sewed it, I made View 2 in a rust coloured poly-cotton fabric that I also used for the self-covered buttons. The shirt did actually work well in a poly-cotton and I wore for quite a few years.

These 1980’s patterns make me think back to what was happening and what I was doing at that time. It was quite a decade of change for me growing up then. In 1986 I was in art college and having quite frankly, a rare old time. I remember going along to weekly art college discos wearing what I thought was a very cool combo of Doc Martens and (very) mini-skirts, dancing along to a varied and eclectic range of music, including The Communards ‘Don’t leave me this way’, Doctor and the Medics ‘Spirit in the sky’ and Farley Jackmaster Funk with ‘Love can’t turn around’. Alongside this chart music they also played much cooler non-chart stuff too, especially James Brown, Louis Prima and Stevie Wonder. What can I say? I was young! It was the 1980s!

So, back to the sewing in 2016. One thing about using vintage patterns is that sometimes they have been used before. This one had. The descriptions said the size 10 had been cut out but the cut off bits were there. They were…but not all of them! I pieced all the bits together that I could and did a ‘best guess-timate’ of the missing bits, which seemed to work out fine, thank goodness. Just something to be aware of but it’s all part of the charm and sometimes challenge of sewing used vintage patterns!

I cut out the size 14 and added 2 inches to the body length. I also did a 2 inch FBA. Next time I make this, and there will be a next time as this is a lovely fitting garment, I would add an inch or more to the length of the sleeves, they’re just a tiny bit shorter than I’d like. I’d also add some width to the sleeves as they are a shade too fitted for my liking (I blame my swimmer’s arms!).

The fabric is a John Kaldor print 100% polyester bought from John Lewis in Edinburgh. This was quite a risky purchase. I like the mix of subtle grey stripes in the background but yellow….that’s not a colour I’d put near my face but sometimes a ‘diluted risk’ is worth taking. I think it’s worked well in this case. Yellow and grey…a very 1980s colour combination too!

I was very surprised at how challenging this shirt pattern was, much more than I expected or remembered it to be. The shawl collar with its back neck seam and the gathered front is tricky to sew and get right. I have a new respect and admiration for the sewing skills of ‘young me’ in tackling such a deceptively complicated garment! 

I wanted to make a more challenging pattern from my surprisingly favourite decade of the 1980’s (who’d have thought!), something just a bit different from the batwing sleeved tops I absolutely love, adore and can’t get enough of. This ‘Blast from the past’ has certainly lived up to that…and there’s another Vintage Pattern Pledge ‘Blast from the past’ from 1980 coming up soon on my blog. Love the music from that year!

Vintage Pledge 2016

I've pledged again! I thoroughly enjoyed last year's pledge of sewing 3 vintage patterns so I've made the same pledge this year. Well, slightly different as I actually said '...at least 3 patterns...' so there's a bit of leeway!

I really like browsing through the sewing patterns in Etsy and Ebay and love coming across patterns that I remember my mum having in her sewing collection in the 1970s. Last year's surprise for me was finding sewing patterns I had bought and made in the 1980s. And I still liked them enough to buy them and sew them up again - here's one pattern I made twice here and here. I still can't quite face 1990s patterns and styles though!

Have you signed up for this year's Vintage Pledge?