ooobop! review: Burda Style April 2013

Burda April 2013 cover

And so, as I sit, still in the depths of winter, double wrapped for good measure, It’s small wonder that I am less inspired by this month’s Burda than usual.

This is April’s edition for goodness sakes. I should be so eager to set about some fluttery spring makes, but its all too much even for my vivid imagination!

The Holiday section tempts me with a batiste maxi a cute bouclé shift dress and a smart pair of cigarette pants but though the rest are very holidayish they do nothing to float my boat I’m afraid.

favourite holiday fashions

Having said that, I do keep coming back to that little white dress (below right) but would have to invest in some ‘fashion tape’ for modesty reasons!

holiday fashions

The retro section is always a sure fire bet for me and didn’t let me down with this adorable blouse, cute bustier top and equally cutesy dress. I wouldn’t change a thing about the blouse. It was undoubtedly designed with gingham in mind and the dress is a great showcase style for some statement fabric. Always sold on a sweet heart neckline. So flattering.

favourite retro fashions

I don’t dislike the others. I just feel retro is a bit of a loose term for the other garments in this section…

retro fashions

I’m a little bored by the business section. But hey it’s all very ‘fitting’! Some very interesting cuts even if they’re not my thang.

business fashions

That said, the little pink shift dress works well in a lightweight fabric too. Very simple to put together even though its been marked with 3 difficulty circles. Not sure why.

business pink shift dress

There’s a lot of pretty going on with the Plus Fashions. And a bit of an education for me too! I thought it was the lesser endowed that benefitted from an empire line. But no. Check out these delightful visions of ‘womanliness’!

plus fashions

And this one is my favourite. I particularly love the neckline and the slashed sleeves.

favourite plus size dress

An interestingly unusual suggestion for ‘Fathers and Sons’. Said parties in my house just gave me a ‘don’t even go there’ look before I even uttered a word! Shame really, because I think its all very charming!

father son vintage fashion

No further children’s section this month but for all of you crochet fans, there are some really gorgeous projects. I’m so seriously considering digging out those crochet hooks for some of this darling bunting!

crocheted bunting

crochet projectsOr perhaps I ought to consider a crocheted blanky to cover my knees while I work!

I do hope you continue to find these reviews helpful. I must say, in reviewing a lot of the styles grow on me from my first glances. There are always some surprising elements in a Burda pattern. Make no mistake!

Till next time, my lovelies. Happy sewing x

ooobop! review: Burda Style March 2013

burda style Magazine March 2013

If springtime Burda loveliness is what you are after then you should go grab yourself a March issue right now! The cover pic itself says it all. The goodies far outweigh the oddities this month. But as we know, it would be wrong to omit them completely! And no less than 12  ‘easy makes’ included. Great news for those who love a quick-fix project.

First up is Spring Fashion itself. It’s still sub-zero in the UK as far as I’m concerned. It read 2 degrees on the dashboard this afternoon but I’m sure that was a mechanical fault. I couldn’t speak for a frozen face when I got home from the shops! But the following pretties are a good reminder that Spring is on its way. Just feast your eyes.

spring fashions

The cover dress as I’ve already harped on about, was so going to be my first make. But she doth hideth one of those aforementioned oddities behind her back, that I will reveal when we get to the wedding!

I love the floaty dress next to it, second in from the top. The line drawing makes it look like an awkward piece but this lady wears it well and I love the choice of vintagy fabric.

In fact its true to say, I would love to make every piece from this section. I think that would just about get me through springtime… oh how a girl can wish!

If the mag ended there I would be happy but still, there’s more. I’d like to think I was a festival-goer. But I’m not really. Have never managed to dress down with much conviction and that is quite essential really! So these ‘Festival Styles’ don’t grab me as much apart from that little tiered mini skirt. I’ve never owned one but always wanted one. And now I have the know-how so no more excuses! Teamed with some statement tights and a pair of Docs… and Bob’s yer lobster!

festival styles

And here come the Wedding Belles! Not sure I like the strange ‘boob wrap’ on the title page. I can see where they are coming from and all, a kind of romantic Jane Austen empire type-ness I guess. But a little bit odd don’t you think? I do like the casual lacy top meets lacy skirt weddingy or not outfit. Very simple and very pretty. And there we have that odd back of the dress that kind of looks like you might be wearing an apron (top right). I have stared long and hard and tried to make myself like it. I admire the attempt to be a little bit surprising but I don’t want to be surprised that much. I just want a back to the lovely front of that lovely spring cover dress! I guess I’ll have to go figure!

Wedding Belles

But I have singled out a very timely dress from this section. Despite her drinking problem, this lady has provided great inspiration for a prom dress I have been asked to make for my friend’s daughter. I was a bit nervous at the prospect. Still am to be honest. But I am hoping she will like this little beauty, with a shorter skirt of course. Because not only will she look stunning in it, the pattern and the instructions look none too complex!

prom dress idea

Colonial Style features some casual fashions inspired by the Indian colonial style. Comfortable and chic. Now I’m all up for that kind of irony but I think there is more comfort than chic going on here. Do love that little rouched cardi though. And the placement of the buttons on the spicy orange shirt!

pioneer spirit

Vintage Pattern time is always a joy. I love how this one has been perfectly recreated from the 1952 lace blouse. But I wore one of these in the 80s when I was a New Romantic and I’m not sure I’m ready to repeat just yet. But it is very pretty!

vintage blouse pattern

The Plus Fashions really make their mark this month. Very bold, very monochrome and very stylish. Not so cashing in on voluptuousness this time but very strong and impressionable all the same

Plus Fashions

And if you are looking for some funky cool kid stuff, that’s all here too.

kids fashion

There are heaps of other styling ideas and easter crafts that you will have to seek out for yourself but I can’t leave without showing you these two cute ideas. Whomever would have dreamed up a cute carrot cushion? Only Burda! And I’m not hot on crochet – I don’t ever leave banging eggs hanging around long enough to need a hat – but just what joy would these little fellas bring to a breakfast table?!

easter craftsThank you Burda Style, for reminding me there is a Spring. There is a glimmer of warmth on the horizon and of course for these brilliant patterns that will serve to keep me pleasantly occupied in the meantime!

Happy sewing everyone x

ooobop! review: Burda Style February 2013

Burda February 2013

February’s issue opns up with the Land of Dreams, where Bohemian and eastern traditions fuse for some pretty original styling. Not exactly my thing but I do appreciate the sentiment.

However, I’m not entirely sure how the little bouclé skirt suit (top right) fits either category. More Chanel chic. Incidentally, if any newbie sewers are paging in, the skirt to that suit looks super easy to put together with its elastic waist. No tricky zippers going on here!

Oriental fashions

A sophisticated hint of the twenties rings through the Women of the World section. Black and white is always a winner though my wardrobe is more black than white!

The black top on the opening page, top left, is defo one for the list. Very casual chic in silk jersey. You can’t really see from the photo but it has gathered raglan sleeves. A kind of posh black T…. love it!

I would never ever be able to pull off the proper twenties thing though (top right). It would do nothing but to accentuate my sausage shape!

women of the world

My least favourite section (sometimes never even reported) is always the casual section. I am trying so hard to stay away from ‘easy to wear’ casual clothes. I really like how I feel when I dress up properly and ‘leisure’ clothes do nothing for my productivity!

That said. I reeeeaalllly love the shorts from the College Girls title page. I have made a couple of pairs before, but the ones on the opening page have pleats and pockets. Double yay! Might have to try some of these in a wollen/tweedy sort of fabric because lets face it, we’ve got a fair few more months before that UK sun returns to warm our bones!

The striped T she is wearing is a short sleeve version of the posh black long sleeve one, with same gathered raglans. A few of them in the T drawer wouldn’t be a bad idea for summer.

The red zipper jacket, bottom left,  looks great too and I can’t quite work out whether or not I am sold on fabric or style of that red polka dot draped shirt.

The batik dress bottom right is verging a bit on the hippy side but I can see it transformed with use of a large print floral jersey, so long as it had a black background 😉 Would be great to make that assymetric hemline a little more prominent too.

college girl fashion

There are a couple of wowzers in the Urban Safari section too. I don’t think the prints are really me but the dress on the title page looks to be the same style as the red polka dot top above. Great silhouette but I would have to test out that drapey bit on the front to make sure it doesn’t have that maternity factor.

The centre top dress is really lovely. Great shape. And oh boy do I love that maxi dress. I’ve never owned one. And have been hunting for the right one for some time. Was rather hoping it would be suitable for chiffon but I think the only way forward with this one would be with the suggested stretch jersey. No biggie though. I still think it would be gorgeous.

urban safari fashions

Got a bit panicked, flicking from page to page, trying to find the vintage pattern. And it was nowhere to be found in February’s issue. The designer pattern kinda makes up for it. It’s made in stretch crepe satin here and I can well imagine you would turn a few heads if you wore this out for a dinner date.

Burda february 2013 designer dress

The plus fashion section has some sexy wins (as usual) and one major fail! I will let you work that one out for yourself but suffice to say there might be an issue throwing the bouquet!

plus size wedding style

And last but not least some very lovely dress ups for children. The boys waistcoat and pleated trousers are so cool. Oh to have a little boy again. And the little girl dresses are so pretty and victorianaesque! Little Miss Ooobop says that I can make her the one on the bottom left, so long as it is in blue and she can wear her Doc Marten boots with it. No surprises there then!

children wedding style

Well hopefully that brought a little injection of Spring. I sit here in my fur lined slipper socks, vest, jumper and cardi and I’m so not ready to start sewing cottons just yet, I’m still on the wools. Funny isn’t it. Does anyone else feel that way in the winter months? But patterns have been earmarked, virtual fabric shopping has been done and a whole lot of fresh dreams been stored.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, all x

Secret Santa Success!

50s_shirt_peg_bag_x

I know, I know… this still isn’t anything like a tutorial for Roman Blinds.

I’m on it, honestly I am and it will happen, once I’ve get round to drawing some diagrams to accompany the words.

But for now I can reveal the only Christmassy sewing project that I managed to squeeze into my crazy real-life workload. It was a secret Santa gift for my friend at work.

The theme last year was ‘home made’ or ‘charity shop bought’. I made a selection of jams for my boss and she loved them! So when this years theme was decided as ‘red white and gold’ I was determined to make something once again.

As soon as I plucked Ness out of the hat, I knew what I was going to make for her. She recently moved house this year, and was really excited to have a garden for the first time. ‘I will be needing a peg bag and everything’, she said! I had been meaning to make one ever since she came out with that so this was the perfect prompt. She also likes all things 50s, including my blouse so the Norman Hartnell approach to the peg bag was the only way forward!

The two little white buttons with gold bicycles were sourced by Little Miss Ooobop! at a vintage fair last year and have seemingly been waiting patiently for this project!

peg bag buttons

To make the pattern, I drew a template for the back, overall shape and cut 2, one in pin dot and one lining. The front pieces are literally half of the back but allowing a couple of centimeters at the front for overlap.

I used one of my daughter’s child sized Ikea hangers. If I made this again, I would source a lovely wooden hanger so the shoulders are more horizontal and not sloping down.

She was delighted! Though the other partygoers at the opposite end of the table were a little confused. Not sure those young pups even know what a peg bag is! They just thought I’d miscalculated some measurements!

secret santa success

It was hardly a secret though. I was one of two seamstresses at the table and my poker face was rubbish!

I’m winding down from work as from tomorrow – *squeal* – and I’m really hoping to get some sewing action in before I return. Hoping it will curb my usual Christmassy eating frenzy.  Of course, that’s if 21.12.12 doesn’t prove to be the end of the world in which case we will all be eating hats!

The Norman Hartnell telephone blouse

Norman Harnell telephone blouse

I love a 50s style blouse and this pattern was a definite sell the moment I saw it. The pattern itself was a freebie with Woman’s Day (about 55 years ago!) and as luck would have it, the gift supplement was in that Morrisons bag too. Great to see the blouses modelled and photographed. Sometimes those illustrations on the cover of the envelope give a slightly different impression to what they look like in real life! 😉

womans day gift book spread

Norman Hartnell blouse pattern

Norman Hartnell, or “Sir Norman Bishop HartnellKCVO (12 June 1901, London – 8 June 1979, Windsor) was a British fashion designer. Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to HM The Queen 1940, subsequently Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II 1957.”
 
“Although worried that at 46 he was too old for the job, he was commanded by the Queen to create the wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth in 1947 for her marriage to Prince Philip (later the Duke of Edinburgh).[1] With a fashionable sweetheart neckline and a softly folding full skirt it was embroidered with some 10,000 seed-pearls and thousands of white beads. He subsequently became one of the Princesses main designers[2] and so gained a new worldwide younger generation of clients, as the Princess began to take on more duties and visits abroad. The younger Princess Margaret became the obsession of the press and her Hartnell clothes were similarly given huge publicity and received much newsreel coverage.”
 

It’s a worry that he thought he was too old to continue at 46!!!

You can read more about him over at Wikipedia.

Anyhows, I quite fancy ‘a wardrobe of crisp gay blouses’. And if Norman’s are good enough for Queenie, they are good enough for me!

Norman Hartnell telephone shirt

This was on the whole a very simple pattern. I measured off the tissue and figured I could add a bit on the waistline, as I usually do to get a reasonable fit. I made it up in a cotton poly that was semi decent just in case it worked!

But oh no! My measuring skills were unbelievably inaccurate. Either that or I have this illusion that I am the size of a small child!

I considered moving on to another project. But of course that would have been hugely defeatist of me and heaven knows I need to learn to grade a bodice properly so I set about cutting and slashing.

It worked, kind of. Well at least it fits but there are a couple of issues for a blouse so simple.

I think I need to open up on the lines of the hip a bit more. It’s a little snug!

telephone blouse hip

I graded up the sleeve in line with what I had increased on the bodice but there was far too much ease. So I used the original sleeve piece. Still a little too much ease for my liking but that seemed to be solved with the addition of some shoulder pads.  I used the cuffs from the toile for my real one because the dots ran into each other and defeated the object of having cuffs at all!

I have to say, the method suggested for the sleeve cuffs was a bit long-winded and strange. When I do it again I will be cutting on the bias, and attaching in the same way I did to my shorts.

telephone blouse cuffs

The winged-collar effect is not a wing collar at all. It is just the effect of opening up the facings. There is no raised collar stand at the back, just a faced neckline so it is a very flat feature. Next time, I might be inclined to cut the front piece at the start of the inner facing and sew a contrasting colour piece that folds back just to accentuate the shape.

The ‘lapels’ seems substantially smaller than those photographed. Next time I might grade the front and front facing allowance a little, too.

The instructions called for a bias cut strip to finish the back neckline and join the front facings but as luck would have it, the previous owner had cut a ‘back facing’ piece from some newspaper. I checked it against the back piece to make sure it was meant for this pattern. I just had to decrease the depth a bit, otherwise it fitted perfectly. It created a continuous facing too, which is surely a better idea and certainly much neater too. I understitched the adjoining seam, to the point just before it folds back and catch-stitched to the shoulder seams to stop it poking up, willy nilly!

Because the design called for 3 buttons I had an array of odd interesting ones to choose from. My son so kindly remarked that, because the shirt ‘kind of looks quite old, it would be good to use those old fashioned phone buttons’. I am sure he meant that in a good way! 😉

telephone button

So that just about wrapped up my chilly childless Saturday. Amazing what you can achieve in a few hours when the house is vacated. The photographs (care of the wonderful Mr Ooobop!) and the blogging took a little longer… such fun!

So much style and history… in a Morrison’s bag

I thought you might like a look in more detail at that Ebay haul I won in July.

morrisons bag of patterns

Their arrival was a little ungainly to say the least. Not damaged in any way but clearly hurriedly bundled and tied up in… a Morrison’s bag. Not that there’s anything wrong with Morrison’s. But I did have a moment of OMG have I just bought a sack full of rubbish?! Surely these antique patterns deserved a carriage with a little more style!

I gingerly untied the knotted handles. Actually that’s a lie. I completely tore the bag apart because I couldn’t wait a minute more. Was a bit whiffy to say the least! But I can totally forgive the smell, the packaging and the wait.

I think I am still gobsmacked.

For starters, almost all of them are my bust size which means the only alterations will be to the waist and hip. So much less faffing. Even the few that are too small will be worth the adjustments. And I tell no lies when I say that each and every one was a doozy. Most of them unused and uncut.

The first little beauty that caught my eye was this cut out cover of Home Notes. A delight in itself but what was the chance of the patterns for these beauties being inside?

home notes 1939 coverEvery little lovely chance. I had guessed 1940s by the styling but in fact this unused and perfectly preserved pattern is nicely dated October 7th 1939:

four frocks tissue 1939

Love the bit about: “Other sizes… obtainable FREE on application”. Can you imagine that happening nowadays?

I can’t find dates on most of the patterns but all are truly vintage and very beautiful. This is the first I’ve heard of Economy Design patterns. And I feel pretty damned lucky to have landed these lovelies:

Economy design patterns 161, 197, 198
Economy design patterns 161, 197, 198

Next up is a more familiar name, Simplicity. These stylish little numbers have all their pieces in tact, despite the damage to the envelopes. In fact the one on the right had some very interesting accompanying material!

simplicity patterns 3979, 4494, 8488
Simplicity patterns 3979, 4494, 8488

Whoever Mrs Poole was – the name on most of the mail order pattern envelopes – she was a lady of very fine taste with impeccable organisational skills. In the envelope with Simplicity 8488 (above right) there was this cutting:

simplicity suit cuttingGreat to see these vintage patterns in ‘real life’ photos. And it makes me love the ensemble even more! Also inside the envelope (from Readers Digest) was each copied piece of the pattern, traced and labelled with precision onto a 1960s edition of the Daily Express. This is one of the reasons that all these patterns are in such great condition and seemingly unused. Mrs Poole has dutifully copied them and kept the originals factory folded. This has given me a fine source of entertainment too, reading all the snippets of the papers. This one quite topical: “Billie Holmes, 24 year old Hull engineer, won the first Olympic cycling road race trial yesterday – by ONE inch. And this victory, over 96 miles near Chesham, Buckinghamshire, strengthens his claim for Rome spot……”

1960 olympic reference

Thank you Mrs P.

Leach Way Patterns is a new one on me too. Any one heard of these? The dress pattern was still in it’s original mail order envelope which is date stamped 1949, so I might be inclined to date the coat and the suit around that time too. Needless to say, all three in perfect condition.

Leach way patterns, 12536, 12375, 12963
Leach way patterns 12375, 12536, 12963

Weldons is a name I recognise. I have a couple in my collection already and I love how they are always so incredibly stylish and yet a little bit quirky.

Weldons patterns 143 and 151
Weldons patterns 143 and 151

Now I am assuming ‘Womans Day’ was a womans magazine and this was a supplement… correct me if I’m wrong:

womans day gift book
womans day gift book

But even better still, than this cheeky little gift book, the blouses featured on the cover and in centre spread are an exclusive Norman Hartnell pattern and all the appropriate pieces are present and correct in this gorgeous little pattern envelope:

Normal Hartnell blouse patterns
Normal Hartnell blouse patterns

I love this 40s (?) McCalls suit. It is so reminiscent of the suits my grandma used to wear:

McCall 6780
McCall 6780

And who could resist running up a few slips and bloomers for under their vintage dresses?

Style 4469 slips and bloomers
Style 4469 slips and bloomers

Woman’s Realm was defo one of my mum’s reads. So these conjure up a bit of nostalgia. I love the first dress. It’s numbered WR.1. I wonder if that is the first ever dress pattern issued by Woman’s Realm? The middle one is far too small for me in any case but the wedding dress with a few adjustments, I’m sure would be really flattering. I do like an empire waistline.

Womans realm patterns
Womans Realm patterns

Here’s a classy Dior number from Woman’s Journal:

Womans Journal Dior pattern
Womans Journal Dior pattern

There’s a couple of other great coat patterns too. One from Odhams and the other from Woman’s Own magazine. I am thinking of making a coat. Just thinking, for now!!

Odhams and Woman's Own coat patterns
Odhams and Woman’s Own coat patterns

I think Mrs P was too as there were various cuttings of coat images too:

coat newspaper cuttingIt’s amazing that all the pieces seem to be present for these Du Barry patterns. Whatever their pattern envelopes were made of they certainly disintegrate in a big brittlesome way.  But look how Mrs P (I presume) has lovingly recreated the image herself. Don’t you just love the sharpness of these suits and frocks?

Du Barry patterns
Du Barry patterns

I do like a shirtwaist dress and was delighted to find this one from Woman’s Weekly in the bundle. Woman’s Weekly was another of my mum’s reads. I distinctly remember the pink header and the elongated type on the cover:

Woman's Weekly B170
Woman’s Weekly B170

Here’s a smart little dress suit from The People. One day, one day!:

The People 794
The People 794

There was one little girls pattern included in the bundle. I would love my youngest daughter to wear little vintage dresses but I think there is some chance and no chance of that ever happening 🙁

Butterick 9161
Butterick 9161

Most of the other patterns were from Woman magazine. Another of the larger format mags if I rightly remember. And what a fine selection we have here:

Woman patterns
Woman patterns

And imagine how excited I got when this one jumped out at me:

Woman Hardy Amies exclusive pattern
Woman Hardy Amies exclusive pattern

With all supporting cuttings once again:

Hardy Amies cutting

I love the collar and the buttoned hip pockets. Not to mention the self covered buttons all the ways down, ooo… and the self covered belt. How amazing would that be?!
Woman cover

I am soooo making that Hardy Amies number!

And this wrap dress from Woman looks so much more inspirational in the mag too:

Woman 479 wrap dress
Woman 479 wrap dress

wrap dress mag cutting

And, if ever I am going to make a pair of ‘Trews’, it is going to be this pair! I love that they are called ‘trews’. I thought that was a term only used and made up by my mum!

Woman p132 Trews
Woman p132 Trews

Apart from the masses of cuttings that I still have to sift through – believe me, there are stacks of pattern pieces cut out from really old newspapers – the above are without edits, the most amazing collection of patterns ever. Not one duff one among them. Well…. there was this strange one…

Woman p131 hats bed jackets and duck
Woman p131 bed-jacket, bolero, hats and duck

…which has to win the prize of most random pattern ever!!

Vintage pattern treat time!

I know, I know, I know… I have enough patterns to sink a battleship. Well that’s what I’m contantly being told. But it’s not strictly true, is it? I would need quite a few more, actually, to really make that happen! Plus, I haven’t bought any in aaaages!

Truth is, I really (honestly) didn’t have many cool blouse and top patterns. But now I have!!

McCalls 5605 vintage pattern tops

Somplicity 2195 vintage blouse pattern

Simplicity 4606 vintage blouse pattern

I’m hoping these vintage top patterns will transform into a lovely collection of go-to tops for those panic mornings when I’ve come flying out the shower to find an outfit in 5 minutes for work! They all call for polka dots, stripes and gingham and I will find it hard to go outside of those boxes but will have fun trying!

Oh and this little 40s dress was just waiting to be ‘saved’ by me. Would have been plain rude not to!

Advance 3883 40s dress pattern

1940s dress styles are fast becoming my favourite and my best! I love how fitting they are without being too saucy!  I have only made this one to date but it happens to be the most comfortable and flattering dress and always gets lovely compliments. I am currently working on another version in a solid colour and I am also reminded how simple the pattern is too, thank goodness!

What is your favourite era for patterns? Or do you prefer modern ones?

Lady grey retro top

burda top 131 back

I saw the pattern for this top in the May issue of Burda Style (2012) and it made the project list, even usurping the more ‘urgent’ projects! The back as you can see is fabulously buttoned all the way down which I love but have you ever tried buttoning yourself up back to front? I have got better with practice though, and I reckon I could give Houdini a run for his money now!

burda top 131 front

The fabric suggestion was for embroidered batiste. I didn’t have any of that to hand but knew the fabric had to be a little bit interesting to make the front not look so boring! I have a heap load of this white eyelet stuff in my stash. I thought it was cotton but when I did the burn test it proved not! I still thought it would be better dyed. I always feel a bit prim and proper in white! This is the result of using black dye on a not so totally natural white fabric…

eyelet fabric detail

I quite like how it turned out. The dye coverage is uneven, probably only colouring the small amount natural fibre content to get this linen look. And the embroidered detail, which I knew was synthetic, unsurprisingly remained white.

retro top front

I went up a size from my usual, (given the few extra pounds that have decended upon me recently) but to be honest I probably needn’t have done. The style is very boxy even though it has front and bust darts. But it is very cool to wear, perfect for what appears to be our summer (not holding my breath) and perfect for teaming with pencil skirts for work.

retro top front view by wall

So apart from taking it a size smaller the only other alteration I would make is to the neckline. The instructions were to sew the bias binding 1cm past the seamline. This struck me as a bit weird as it would have been easier not to have added a seam allowance in the first place, surely? Anyhows I sewed the bias binding ON the seamline…. afterall isn’t that what a seamline is for? It turned out ok, much like a vintage jewel neckline but I am going to try omitting the seam allowance next time, just to give a little more room to breathe!

ooobop! gypsy top #2

gypsy top frontThere is something quite comforting about visiting an old pattern. I made my first gypsy top almost a year ago and not only have I had great use out of it, it made a great addition to Dorothy’s ensemble too! Once again I used Butterick B4685, Fast and Easy… and indeed it was.

butterick b4685 sewing pattern

I used view D this time but omitted the front lace panel. I did originally include the underbust elastic but when I tried it on, tucked in a skirt, which is mostly how I intend to wear it, I looked a little (more) like the Michelin Man! So out came the elastic, quicker than when it went in!

I used a remnant of cotton gingham that I picked up from Oxfam, and used every last bit of it! So very satisfying especially as I’ve since found that 100% cotton gingham isn’t that easy to get hold of. Well not in a choice of colours. Despite my local plethora of fabric shops, they all stock poly cotton gingham, for the demand of school dresses, apparently. It looks just as pretty for sure but pure cotton feels so much nicer against my skin.

I prefer the sleeves and the simplicity of this style. Its less fussy and so quick to make up. I am going to make a few more, lined up for summer, and my eldest daughter has put an order in for one too.

gypsy top sleeve detail

It also made sense to enter this into Made by Rae’s Spring Top Sewalong 2012, just as I did last time round. Its not nearly up to the standards of most of the beautiful tops over there but I’m liking the annual inspiration of creating a new tops for Spring all the same! You can see this and all the other entries over at Flickr. My entry has been successful so I will keep you posted when it is time to vote! 😉

gypsy top back view

I wore it out to a trip to the Tate Modern yesterday with Mr and Little Miss Ooobop! and I have to say it is perfect gallery wear. It’s always soooo hot and stuffy in the galleries. The artwork made for a choice back drop too!

gypsy top side view

Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter break 🙂

Vintage post: The Wing Collar Blouse

wing collar blouse posting letter

I know, I know… I am meant to be making a jacket! But I have made an amazing discovery! If I embark on a complicated project (like my jacket) and I allow myself to be interrupted by other smaller projects (like a quilt block, a Dorothy dress and this blouse) the smaller projects all get done in really speedy record time due to the over-riding pressure of guilt waves, shooting out from underneath a pile of cut out jacket pieces! Its magic!

wing collar blouse at pub

Its difficult enough for me to stay on track but it’s harder still when one is snared by such inspiration

as this . . .

clash blouse
Clash Blouse by Lady Danbury

This fantastic Clash Blouse was created by Lady Danbury over at Thinking In Shapes and it was a struggle not to rip it off (copy it) completely I can tell you. Red and black is one of my favourite colour combos and that shirt is soooo cool.

So the nearest I could get to it was this…

B556 Butterick pattern

I bought the pattern, Butterick 556, on Etsy. Mainly because I am not as clever and talented enough (yet) to draft a pattern like LD! But also because, believe it or not, considering the hundreds of patterns that insulate my bedroom walls, I didn’t posses a patten anywhere near similar to a wing collar blouse! I’m assuming it’s 1950s. I never can find a date on these vintage ones. Can anyone shed any light?

That ‘over-riding pressure’ convinced me I shouldn’t bother with a toile as the fabric was cheap enough if it didn’t work out. And hey, I only had to add an inch round the waist, (admittedly, after I had put it all together), but I am quite pleased with the end result. Pleased enough to have lined up some more fabric for another! I’m a bit gutted I didn’t incorporate some red piping around the collar and sleeve cuffs to highlight the detail but rest assured I will be doing that with the next one!

sleeve detail

I decided against a machined hem in favour of red binding for a proper vintage finish.

red hem binding

And those lovely heart buttons were part of a birthday gift from my eldest daughter.

Cath kidston heart buttons

That Cath Kidston doesn’t miss a trick, does she?!

wing collar button detail

Initially I mocked the idea of padded shoulders – as much as I love Joanie – but then relented as they do indeed give a more authentic and sharper look. Im sure too that the pattern has accounted for the extra space for a bit of wadding. It certainly looks more structured with them in.

wing collar blouse shoulder

This really is a great pattern. Very simple to follow and a really comfortable and flattering fit. The eight darts… 4 in the front, 4 in the back might have something to do with that!

wing collar blouse profile

I feel a high-waisted pencil skirt coming on now…. ooops I just did… ok just that one, then I promise I’ll carry on with the jacket!!

Photo credits of course to the very lovely Mr Ooobop!