Sorry Guys Who Voted for the Silver Brocade (new indie band name?), I went with the nude lace at the end. But the silver might be used for the same pattern again at some point.
Simplicity 4744: Work in Progress
Category Archives: 1950s
Decisions, decisions
Simplicity 4774.
There’s a semi-formal (what exactly does this dress code mean for women?) work event coming up that I need to sew for. Trying to decide on whether to go for the silver textured brocade or nude lace. I have a little under two weeks to finish this. My colleague who sits next to me said something like, “Have you seen Project Runway? They finish everything in a day.” So we’ll this. This is supposed to be a masked (?) semi-formal event too so we’ll see how it goes.
Silver (it looks brown here but it is silver) textured brocade. I’ve been hoarding this fabric for over 3 years, easily.
Nude lace with silver embroidery. Closeup of hem.
Cigarette Pants, Self-Drafted
Front view, #1.
Sweater: thrifted
Pants: self-drafted, homemade
Blouse: Daffy’s, from many years ago,
Necklace: homemade
Leopard platform stilettos: thrifted
Front view, #2.
Front view, #3.
Side view.
Closeup view.
+ + +
These pants were inspired by Midge Daniels. After my pants-fitting debacle a few weeks ago, I finally decided to draft my own.
Fabric used: medium-weight cotton sateen, with 1% stretch
Construction notes: I used my skirt sloper to draft these pants. I drafted these to sit at the natural waist with no ease and used fabric with 1% stretch. I made my muslin with stretch fabric and made my final version with cotton sateen. I used an invisible zipper on the side.
Beta-testing notes: I’ve already worn these pants out and about and they’re very comfy. Will definitely make again, either in more cotton sateen or brushed wool corduroy.
Parade of Pant Muslins, Part 2
Pants drafting.
I know I said I’d use my last franken-pattern as a base, but I still didn’t have enough confidence in it to cut into my stretch good black brushed wool corduroy or my cotton sateen. I had such a hard time with Clover that I thought I would just draft my own pants.
Since I was going to be using a stretch fabric, I drafted these to my measurements with no ease. I used a white fabric with similar stretch properties as my muslin. I think this is my most successful pants muslin yet.
Front view.
Side view.
Almost back view.
Sitting view.
Edit: I actually finished these pants using cotton sateen and tested the live version yesterday and it held up pretty well. More photos to come.
Sewing Inspiration: Midge Daniels in Mad Men
Midge Daniels in Mad Men, wearing the Most Awesome Cigarette Pants Ever.
Photo credit: Tom and Lorenzo
I’m new to this whole watching TV thing so I only started watching Mad Men last week, and it’s amazing. I’m more into the 40s style-wise and thought watching something that took place in the early 60s would feel too modern, but I find the early styles very inspirational. I know about it through the style blogs but haven’t seen the series, and I like it more than I thought I would. This show might push up my favorite fashion era from 1942-1945 to 1942-1950s.
Some of my favorite things I’ve seen from this show are the sheath dresses, pencil skirts, straight skirts, brooches, cardigans, and cigarette pants. Trousers from the 40s get a lot of wear but feel a little bit too formal for weekends, so I definitely want to make a pair of cigarette pants.
I’ve made high-waisted pants before, but I always feel like the fit was a little bit off. My TNT high-waisted 40s-style trousers are great, but definitely not cigarette pants.
I’m going to be trying out Clover by Colette Patterns to see if this will by my TNT pattern. Failing that, maybe a franken-pattern of Wearing History trousers and Simplicity 4886?
Wool Pencil Skirt, self-drafted
Skirt: basic pencil skirt, self-drafted
Blouse: Sencha with modified neckline, self-made
Accessories: Bracelet, faux confetti lucite
Shoes: ?
Channeling my best Elizabeth Taylor.
I set my hair a little differently than usual so it’s super poofy (and more 50s-seeming) here.
Back vent detail. Skirt wrinkles easily apparently.
Lining/basic construction shot.
Hand-stitching by the zipper area.
Closeup of faux confetti lucite bracelet.
I drafted this pencil skirt out of my bodice block. I definitely don’t have enough winter skirts and wanted to make some basic pieces. This one was made from men’s suiting and lined with polyester/cotton.
This was a really boring project to make. The pieces were so simple and brown is not really a very alluring color to look at, but it’s a good neutral and it will probably get a lot of use this winter. I also did a lot more hand-sewing than usual and is my first try at fully lining a skirt.
Techniques learned:
- drafting a pencil skirt from your sloper
- drafting a lining based on the skirt pattern
- drafted a back vent instead of a slit
- importance of slow sewing (lots of hand-sewing, fully-lined)
Project notes: This was my first project at lining a skirt entirely. I stitched the lining by the zipper area by hand, but I want to find a better way to attach the lining. I will probably finish the entire lining entirely by machine next time. I used French seams on lining hem and drafted the lining pieces based off of the skirt piece.
I pegged the bottom and though I made two muslins before starting, the skirt was still way too large (probably from working with wool?) when I was done.
I originally did a blind hem stitch by machine at the bottom, then realized the blind hem wasn’t so invisible and took it apart and hand-stitched the hem. I used a brown invisible zipper that I had in the back of my closet.
I also noticed that this version of Sencha is comfortable and goes with everything, but I rarely wear it since I think it looks “too fancy”. Must remedy that soon.
Synopsis: This was a really boring project to make and not so much fun to do (like most basic pieces) but it will probably get a lot of wear this winter.
Future Projects: Sewing Patterns, from 50s-70s does 40s
I got these patterns over the summer and only had a chance to talk about them now.
McCall’s 4589 skirt, circa 1970s. Could easily pass for 40s.
Butterick 4104, another 70s does 50s romper.
Simplicity 2331, circa 1950s. Love the sailor details.
Simplicity 3882. I definitely need more versatile blouses.Basic Dress, 1940s Inspired, Self-Drafted
I definitely like drafting my own dresses. It’s very freeing to work from your own sketch, and be able to change it up as you go along. I’m starting with my basic bodice block and changing it to have French cap sleeves. I have no idea whether I’ll graft on a simple four-gore skirt yet or a full skirt. I’ll probably muslin the entire dress first to see how it looks before I decide.
I know it looks like a five-year old drew it, but I can’t sketch to save my life.
Directions for drafting a cap sleeve pattern.
Drafting the cap sleeve.
Simplicity 3000: Finally Finished
Smurfette (my dressform), modeling the finished product.
Closeup of the finished frog closure.
I finally finished Simplicity 3000. At some point this project stopped being enjoyable and just became a burden. I wanted to finish it just because it had some potential, but the process was far from fun. I still need to take proper photos with it.
Simplicity 3000: Progress So Far
This is the pattern I’m working with.
This is my first time doing piping.
Inserting an invisible zipper using painter’s tape as a guide.
Simplicity 3000 so far has been very difficult to work with. This is my second time working with brocade, and it is very slippery. It unravels very easily also and is very delicate. I’m using a smaller needle and silk pins just in case, but it doesn’t seem to be helping.