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Children's Carnival Costumes

January 27, 2014, 1:31 am
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I know, this is mainly a blog about vintage sewing and all related things, but I am also a "modern" sewer for my children and for those of my customers. There is one thing I have never really done before: costume sewing. I made a kilt for my little son and a Scottish inspired medieval skirt for my daughter and me last summer for the Highland Games. But I had not so much opportunities, as the examples for those garments didn't allow too much room for my own imagination and fantasy.

So when my husband told me it would be nice to attend at the annual masquerade parade for carnival this year, it was quite a challenge, as carnival in my region is very early. OMG, it's so soon after Christmas! I had to hurry to chose the costumes and order the materials. My daughter, as usual recently, wanted to be a princess or an elf, and as my little son has not yet an opinion of his own (not to mention that he still doesn't talk), I decided to make toadstool costumes for both. For my daughter a kind of toadstool princess, and my son would be a sweet little toadstool boy.

I had no pattern, so I took some inspiration from the internet and created some simple base garments which could be "upgraded" into mushrooms.
I used mainly fleece to make the costumes warm and cozy. First I made an overall for my son with some appliques on the lower part, so it looked like grass growing up his legs. There is even a lucky shamrock on his bottom. Both, the toadstool and the shamrock, are symbols for good luck in my country, and my son's name is Irish, so it's perfect. The overall was large enough to wear several layers of underwear, as temperatures are still very cold here, and we even had some snowfalls during the night.

My daughter absolutely wanted a skirt. She's very girly currently, and she likes ballet, so I decided to make her a tutu. I cut strips of white and red tulle and knotted them on an elastic band. It looked really poofy in the end, and she was totally in love with her new skirt from the first moment on...

The biggest challenge was the hats. My son's hat had to be smaller, so it would not disturb him while sitting in the pram, but her's should be large to keep the proportions of a real mushroom. I didn't use a finished polka dot fleece, as I wanted to look the pattern more natural and irregular, so I had to cut lots of white "dots" and sew them on the red fabric. After stuffing my daughter's hat, I tried it myself on and realised it was too heavy. My husband had a brilliant idea, and we used an inflatable swimming ring as stuffing.

The parade should be held on Sunday shortly after midday, but on Saturday afternoon I realised I had forgotten  two important things: the crown for the princess and the bags for the confetti. For the bags I used a red fleece with withe polka-dots which I sew to a base of very thick crafting felt. I cut the crown from the same material in yellow to create a crown. I added a velcro closure, so the crown could be stored flat while not in use. As I am a very crafty person, I also had some nice rhinestones in different shapes and colours at home which I sewed on the crown.

We had a lot of fun during the parade and afterwards at the children's carnival party. There was even a contest for the best costume, and my children won the first place, but unfortunately we had left earlier as the little ones were too tired, so we didn't win the award. 
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Treasures from the Past - Vintage 1950s Sewing Magazines

February 2, 2014, 1:02 am
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Being a vintage collector makes your live sometimes very difficult. I see so many patterns and vintage sewing magazines I would like to save!


Recently, I was very heroic and brave and saved some treasures. Vintage sewing magazines from the early 1950s. They are all from Germany. So far, so good.

The best thing:

They all still have their pattern sheets.

One magazine was mainly a "good housekeeping magazine". Lots of interesting and sometimes funny adds. (Breast enhancing pills seemed to be quite "en vogue" then... Made me smile, as some things maybe never will change.) Some adds were for products that still exist or used to exist when I was a little girl. Still remember some slogans from the TV spots.


Prym is still a very renowned maker of haberdashery products in Europe. They probably were most famous for their sew-on pressing buttons.


Look at the dresses. There are so many I would like to sew right away!


Sometimes there are patterns for the fuller-figured women. They are so nice, really!



Look at the darling children's patterns!


I'm in love in this blouse. made of organdy or voile, it would look amazing - even without the embroidery.

And this particular Burda sewing magazine is just the cherry on top. I grew up and learned sewing with  the Burda magazine. My mom still has loads of those from the late 1960s to the 1990s. I really had to have this one! It's amazing, and I will write about it later in a separate post.


Hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I do.
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Goodbye, Shirley Temple

February 12, 2014, 2:06 am
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Yesterday, Shirley Temple passed away. She was 85.



I thought back to some movies starring her I saw when I was a child. I guess no other children I knew then watched such movies. I was so out-of-fashion. And maybe I still am. :)





She was famous even here in Switzerland. I have to admit, though, that I always have a strange feeling about all the non-Swiss Heidi movies out there. It's like if we Swiss people would make a Pocahontas movie... 

Nonetheless, she was a very cute Heidi, any maybe she influenced the image that many elderly persons have of that storybook character. I remember how older people looked at me or even caressed my very blond curls (hated it!) and called "Oh, she looks like a Heidi!" - strange enough that my sister's name is Heidi. Needless to say that I always felt a wee bit silly. 


Shirley was what we call one of the first, if not the first ever, child star in movie history. She had such a sweet face, a little bit cheeky sometimes, and blond curls. She could pose, sing and dance. Growing up, she became a pretty woman, the hair became darker. Blond little girls are always fascinating to adults. I was a very blond curly girl as well, so I know what I'm talking about. It's the same with kitties and puppies. They grow up to become dogs and cats and are not so super cute anymore to most people.




















Having been "trained" to be a star it was probably not very easy to deal with a new situation, becoming less attractive to the audience, getting less offers as an actor. But still, as a young woman, she inspires me, mainly from a fashion and style point of view. I love these photos, I think she was a very handsome person.





 I don't have to point out that I'm in love with this hat...


Looking at these pictures, I realise that my interest for vintage clothing is not limited to women's outfits, but it's also wonderful to see all the gorgeous little girl's dresses of those times.




There's a lot of inspiration for any sewing mom like me.


Polka dots and hair bows....


Puffed sleeves and short skirts, buttons and trims.


Peter Pan collars.


And appliques.


And bows.


Look at the cherries, the cherries! Wonderful dress!


This romper is simply amazing.


Kind of a sailor collar combined with a peasant-style dress...


And then, of course, there's always a hat that catches my eye. I love this one particularly, as it's a Scottish inspired hat in a garrison style... Have to find a pattern and make one real soon!



Of course, when my daughter yesterday in the news saw Shirley with all the lovely dresses, she screamed with delight and said she wanted a dress like these. She was so amazed by this dancing little girl with her sweet poofy or long flowing dresses...




But I prefer to make her this one instead. Red polka dots, red trims, and a huge petticoat! 


There are a lot of nice ideas for the big girls too.... Checked shirt-dresses...


A skirt with her initials on it - amazing! Aw, and how much I would like to have the shoes....


This is what looks to me like one of those tropical inspired halter dresses that were "en vogue" then.


A wonderful late 1940s, early 1950s dress.


And a gorgeous 1940s two-piece suit. With hat. And purse. And gloves. Makes me happy just looking at this one.

And, after all, she was a mother too. 


1957
Growing out of a childhood as a movie star, I think this is the most amazing "role" she could get. People may remember her as the little girl who was a star, but to her family she was mother, wife, grandmother, great-grandmother.



Need more info about Shirley temple? Read here.
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A Night at the Oscars - Dresses worn by the Best Actresses 1929 - 1961

March 5, 2014, 8:07 am
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I didn't watch the Oscars... I used to when I was younger and had no children and a job in an office that allowed me to recover during work... I have too little sleep anyway currently, but when I saw this wonderful graph showing the dresses of the wonderful actresses that have won an Academy Awards since 1929, I was curious to find out how the gowns looked like on the photos, and how the ladies were styled...



Douglas Fairbanks presenting the very first Oscar to Janet Gaynor in 1929. Quite simple outfit.


Mary Pickford 1930.



Marie Dressler 1931. I guess back then the award was a rather solemn event, without much publicity.



Helen Hayes 1932.



The top graph is not absolutely correct. In 1935, despite receiving an Academy Award nomination for her performance, Claudette Colbert decided not to attend the ceremony (feeling confident that she would not win) and instead planned to take a cross-country railroad trip. When she was unexpectedly named the winner, studio chief Harry Cohn sent someone to "drag her off" the train (which fortunately had not yet left the station) and take her to the ceremony. Colbert arrived wearing a two-piece traveling suit. The Oscar was given by lovely Shirley Temple.



Bette Davis 1936.



Austrian-born Luise Rainer 1937.



And 1938 Luise Rainer again. Very elegant and simply dress in a typical late 1930s style.
Luise Rinser, born 1910, is still living. She is the oldest still living Academy Award winner and was the first actress to win the Oscar consecutively.





Bette Davis 1939. The feathers forming the neckline of the dress are wonderful, dramatic and  breezy the same. Pictured with Spencer Tracy. 

Vivien Leigh, amazingly beautiful as ever, wore this lovely flowered dress in 1940:



To my surprise, it had cut-outs above the waist. And it was probably red, not grey as pictured in the scheme on top!



Ginger Rogers 1941: Swoon, I would have appreciated a kiss by Jimmy Stewart as well...




Joan Fontaine 1942.



Ah, a kiss by super-duper Mr. Cooper himself...
And she is wearing some kind of snood or fascinator, something that looks very much like a Spanish or Mexican mantilla. Quite fashionable those days.

Greer Garson 1943. Simple two-piece suit adorned with lacy ruffles.



Jennifer Jones 1944.



Wearing fur was not yet a gut issue...


Ingrid Bergmann 1945.


By this picture you can say she was rather tall. I guess she was, compared to other actresses, a rather impressive person.


I love her hair. (Here she is talking to Jennifer Jones. Look at the lovely fascinator hat!)


Wonderful photo - I think she was a very kind and natural person.

1946 winner Joan Crawford did not attend to the awards, due to sickness (as she said). But still she knew how to have her scene. Gorgeous robe and nightgown, perfect hairstyle. I wish I looked like this when I'm sick.



War was over, and the dresses became more elegant and fuller.


Olivia de Havilland 1947 (she was Joan Fontaine's sister and would win a second Oscar in 1950). I would die to find a fabric like this with flowers only on one part of the material. Are these printed, painted or embroidered?



Loretta Young 1948. What a gorgeous dress! The colour is outstanding, and the whole styling of Loretta is just glamorous...




There even was a matching bolero. Well, there usually must have been, but this one really looks great! Look at the coral flower detail - bold, but amazing


Jane Wyman 1949. Wonderful plain evening dress.


1950, there's Olivia de Havilland again.




And again Jimmy Stewart. (Life is not fair.)

Shirley Boothe 1953. I love that printed sheer fabric, even if there is no colour photograph of it.
Sometimes I wish there was a collection of all those dresses, so we vintage addicts could go to see them...





1954: Unforgettable Audrey Hepburn. What an outstandingly lovely person, inside and outside.





This was one of the few dresses in those times of an Oscar winning actress we know the designer of. The cream lace short dress was made by Audrey's favourite designer and friend Hubert Givenchy, and didn't she look amazing in this rather simple yet special little dress? But then, she always did, and I have to stop myself from getting too talkative about this subject... 

But to be honest: even all those "unknown" makers of the previous dresses had so much style and talent. Compared to some dresses that can be seen today...


Grace Kelly 1955.



Kissed by charming Marlon Brando. Swoon...


Silly woman. Why didn't she kiss Mr. Holden?


 1958 Joanne Woodward. 


With Oscar and Paul Newman.


With Paul Newman.


And agin with Paul Newman. Some girls have all the luck...


Susan Hayward 1959. Simple yet elegant. Black is a classic that never goes out of fashion.



French actress Simone Signoret 1960. I like the swiss dotted tulle covering the whole dress and forming the shoulder "straps". A rather simple outfit, only little jewelry, but she looked so beautiful.




Elizabeth Taylor 1961. I like the dress, even though yellow is not my favourite color, but the hairstyle is definitely not my taste.


Does anybody know why Katherine Hepburn, one of the most remarkable women and actresses of the past century, never attended to any of the awards, even though she won 4 times? What a pity. I admire her style, and I'm sure she would have looked gorgeous.

You may wonder why I limit my choice only until the early 1960s... Well, to be homiest, I don't like the fashion that followed too much. There always nice designs from the 60s and later, but I definitely prefer the earlier decades. 

Just to show you why...

Diane Keaton, 1978. Wonderful actress, still today I love her, but - this "dress" is, well, a good example of what I do NOT like about the 70s...



Or Sissy Spacek 1981 (pictured with young Robert de Niro). Never in my life would I wear such a thing. 


Geraldine Page 1986. Was she wearing draperies?



I know, it's unfair to make such comments about those outfits today, as it must have been fashionable back then, but growing up in the 70s and 80s, I still have to shake my head when I look how we were dressed. 



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The Happy Housewife

March 6, 2014, 1:19 am
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No, this is most probably NOT how it will look like some years from now, on a distant Christmas, with my two perfectly educated kids assisting their perfect mother to serve a perfect meal...

I am a modern housewife. Means: I am not don't want to be perfect.

I love my kids. They're the world to me. I love my husband. He's so understanding and patient. (Oh yes, he really has to be patient with me, I admit.)
I make a lot of extra things for my family. We have a garden that makes a terrible lot of work for me. But it's for the benefit if all. My kids can play outside, they can yell and run, be happy, be kids.
From early summer to late autumn I produce syrups, chutneys and marmalades made from seasonal fruits, mostly from our garden. Elderflowers and -berries, rhubarb, strawberries, black currant, pumpkins, apples, prunes, onions... Perfect as gifts for Christmas.
If there is a special event, I sometimes work day and night to create special outfits, to make last-minute homemade gifts for newborns and other children.


But I'm not perfect. When it comes to housework, I'm a rather desperate case. I like to cook, but I don't stand up at 5 a.m. to prepare home-made pasta like my mother-in-law does.


That's probably me. I don't like to clean, but I do, as I prefer to live in a clean place.
But we will never live in a place as shiny as this one pictured here:


And that's how the kitchen is looking when my husband prepared a meal. But I wouldn't look as amused as the lady in the drawing.


Tidying up is the most difficult thing for me to do, as I am a rather chaotic creative person.


Looking at 1950s illustrations of perfect housewives doing a perfect job for their perfect families in perfect little homes in a perfect way, always with a perfect smile and looking - just perfect, makes me feel - not so perfect. But human and just like any average woman, not like a domestic goddess.

But still I LOVE such illustrations, as they show a variety of clothing from those times, especially lots of aprons. I didn't like aprons when I was younger, but I think vintage aprons are so adorable!


Yes, I love my husband for doing the hoovering (I hate hoovering! makes my backbone ache...) and for his understanding. Sometimes he comes home, and the dinner is not yet finished, but our daughter's new dress is. Oh yes, I am a very happy housewife!







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New: Vintage Jewelry In My Etsy Shop

March 20, 2014, 3:02 am
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For those who love to shop on Etsy or to browse vintage stuff to get inspired, I have added some treasures of my own private collection to my Etsy shop. You can find many downloadable vintage instructions for hats, bags and some clothing, as well as high quality millinery raffia trim for your own hat creations.

As a vintage collector I sometimes buy more than I need for myself, just to make high shipping fees paying off, and there are - in rare cases - items that just don't  suit me. (I guess this happens to us all.) As my collection is growing, but our home is not, I decided to part with some of my beloved pieces. Have a look. I only sell what I personally love and  all pieces are in good or even excellent condition. There are also some very lovely dead stock jewelry items from a warehouse that closed down at the end of the 1940s. Vintage jewelry in mint condition! I am happy I can share some of them with you. Thank you for looking at my shop!


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Pattern and Fabric Acquisitions

April 14, 2014, 12:30 am
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In Switzerland, spring has arrived with huge steps. Usually, we can expect our first roses to bloom at the end of May, but when I check the plants in our garden, I think we will have roses already in April. Nonetheless, my appetite for sewing is not very much "spring-like"... Even though I have lost 9 kilos (each child gave me some extra-pounds I never got rid of...), I still am rather undecided if I should wear bright colours or not.

However, when it comes to buying fabric for vintage sewing projects, we can't be too picky. I have unfortunately not such lucky hand for exceptional finds like Beccie from Sew Retro Rose (check out her blog, she IS talented and inspiring!), but I was very happy I found this lovely vintage fabric on ebay some days ago. (For once an extremely helpful seller that showed the fabric draped on a model, so you could see not only the dimensions of the print, but also how a finishes garment could look like. I wish all sellers would be so thoughtful.)


When it arrived last Saturday, I was positively surprised. I have been disappointed before when I bought vintage fabrics, but this one is really amazing. It's a rayon fabric from the 1940s in a silvery grey, imitating the structure of shantung silk.


It's rather wide for a vintage fabric, measuring 41 inches, and I have 3.5 yards of it. This would enable me to make a late 1940s dress with a fuller skirt, so this pattern came to my mind. I have a weak spot for asymmetrical dresses, and I think the pattern would pair lovely with the fabric. I love the loosely rendered flowers, the shimmering texture and the discreet grey colour. The fabric has a wonderful drape. I will have to check if it it's suitable for this pattern, but it will be definitely that kind of dress style for this fabric.


And I bought 3 vintage Scottie dog cabochons! I just love Scotties, if I could I probably would have such a dog. Whenever I find vintage jewelry or supplies featuring this cute guy, I can't resist. So I didn't  mind buying the whole lot of them. I will make a brooch for myself and sell the others in my shop. They are in mint condition, just as if they were made yesterday, and probably were produced in occupied Japan. Did I ever mention that I am fascinated by Japanese stuff? I love Kanzashi flowers, Japanese fabrics, gardens, etc. (No, I don't like sushi. I'm not particularly fond of fish, and I don't eat raw meat, so why on earth should I eat raw fish?)

This topic leads me to my next purchase and a possible project.


I bought this wonderful Japanese inspired cotton fabric with a lovely koi carp print, and when I bought it I knew it will be a 1940s dress. And I found a wonderful pattern for it! I'm not yet decided if I should chose the version with short or with long sleeves. But no matter which, I think the koi carps will look great with such a dress!

The only question is: which project should I make first?
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From Switzerland's Countryside to.... the Kentucky Derby!

April 29, 2014, 2:49 am
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Picture: Karen Morris Millinery
As some of you may know, I have a weak spot for many things, and one of this spots is all about hats! In my shop on Etsy I have some high quality millinery materials available, mostly raffia braids that are produced in a manufactory nearby to where I'm living.




Straw hats used to be part of the traditional costumes that were worn by many people in the 19th century. There were different types, depending from the region, the social status of a person (and how rich they were, of course), the occupation, and if it was a holiday or just a working day... As a historian (yes, that's me, no joke) I can assure you that in those time by the type of costume a person was wearing you could tell pretty everything about her or his status.

A girl from the Wehntal, my "valley," in her costume with a typical straw hat with dried and artificial flowers, and the clothes were mainly made of linen and wool, or later cotton.
Another girl's costume from here, but for higher holidays (it was called "Sonntags-Tracht", which means "sunday's costume", and it was usually made of finer and more expensive fabrics such as silk for the apron and the black bonnet).
Switzerland was an agricultural country, it is still in some small parts, but straw was an affordable material and perfect for hats. Later, straw was replaced by raffia, which had different qualities and became very common for sunhats in the mid-century.

In some regions of my country there was a proper "hat industry" that produced the typical hats for a certain region. But as the rural occupation vanished, so did the costumes. And the hat makers.



My maternal grandmother and my mom as a child still wore costumes for special occasions, as they lived in the Bernese Oberland, a region that is still very rural and traditional.

To please my international reader's appetite for Swiss clichés: Sunday's costume, Canton Bern. The costume for adults was the same. The jewelry on the female's corset was made of filigree silver flowers. There were materials like velvet and silk, and the bonnet was made of velvet and horsehair lace.

But my paternal grandmother wouldn't even have thought about it, as she thought herself to be a modern (as modern as one could be back in the 40s and 50s) woman with "no dirts on her hands". And as fashion changed, and as traditions and farming vanished, hat makers and the whole millinery industry vanished as well. There are only a few manufacturers left, and even if there are still people wearing costumes and the appropriate hats, it's a very small percentage.

Sunday costume from the Canton Aargau, with a typical straw hat.
Women's costume from the Wehntal, Zurich, my region. It looks pretty much the same as a dirndl, a fitted bodice, a fuller skirt, an apron.

Hats were also worn this way. This is a beautiful example for a very thin straw trim used on this traditional accessory.

And in the nearby Black Forest (Germany), straw hats are bases for the amazing red pompons for this still very common costume.
But there is this manufactory left, and they produce the most beautiful materials, crinol (horsehair) and braided raffia and straw in amazing colours. I was very happy I found them, and as I planned to make some hats for my vintage outfits, I ordered some of those wonderful braids. However, I never came around to realise those plans, and so I put the braids in my shop. Especially, as I had to order the whole skein. What else can you do with so much yardage of raffia braid if you only need a 4 or 5 yards?

A nice customer who was attending a millinery course ordered some of the braids and made her first attempts with this wonderful material.


But the most amazing thing happened when a talented hat artist from the USA bought pretty much of my raffia braids. I asked her if she could show me one of the finished pieces once she used the braids, but I was not too hopeful, as I know too well how easily one can forget to get back to the seller. (Argh, I promised so many vintage fabric sellers to show them the pictures of my finished dresses...) I was hoping to get a link to her homepage, but the lady - Karen Morris - was so nice and wrote me such a kind message, including the pictures of her hat creation with "my" raffia braid.

Picture: Karen Morris Millinery

Picture: Karen Morris Millinery
The hat was a custom order for a lady who needed a hat for the Kentucky derby, and I feel very excited about the idea that something that came from my place will be at that special event. I grew up near the racecourse, and as a child I used to climb over the fences to see the horses. I hope the customer will feel as gorgeous as the hat looks like, it's an amazing piece of millinery art. I am happy I could contribute a tiny part to it. And I LOVE the red and pink combination!

Here are the links to Karen's Facebook page. I used her pictures with her friendly permission, thanks.
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The Nursery Wrap Dress - Reloaded

May 12, 2014, 9:18 am
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As I honestly dislike Mother's Day (despite being now mother of the two most wonderful kids), my husband and me began a new tradition some years ago to avoid later that the kids buy silly gifts when they're older. So each Saturday before Mother's Day, we go to a plant nursery or a special gardeners' event, depending on the weather and the things we intend to buy. And we get us something lovely for our garden, a rose, special tomato seedlings or other vegetable rarities and seeds, or, as this year, a dwarf apple tree and a crabapple. (We ended up with 3 more roses and a new clematis as well...) I think by doing this, we all benefit of this special day, there's something for us all to see, and we spend usually a great time with our little family.

Exactly 3 years ago I made a wrap dress after a probably later 1950s pattern. With its kimono sleeves and worn without a petticoat it looks surpsingly like late 1940s. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which pattern it was. My pattern collection then was only very small, but my daughter, who was 2 years old then, destroyed some of the tissue paper pieces and I put them aside to fix it, but somehow I mislaid the pattern and  - well, it must be somewhere in my tiny and terribly crammed studio.

Anyway, I wore the dress only once, as I was unsure about the accessories to wear with it. I didn't have suitable shoes then, and I felt this was not the right way to wear this garment. Even though I was not yet into vintage sewing so much as today, I had chosen a reproduction fabric of a print from the 30s or 40s, from a shop that unfortunately has closed down in the meantime. It's a medium-weight black cotton, maybe slightly heavier than average medium weight fabrics, but still a nice quality.  It has almost filigree white flowers and butterflies on it, just perfect for a gardener like me.

The occasion I wore it to was for a trip we made to a rose breeder's nursery called "Landhaus Ettenbühl" (or here), just across the border in Southern Germany. If you happen to live somewhere in my area, it's worth visiting especially in early June, as they have a huge park full of roses and other plants, and a lovely restaurant. It must have been around my birthday, as it's the time of year when roses bloom for the first time and abundantly. I remember it was a splendid day, we had our little daughter with us, and it got very warm. A black dress probably wasn't the best choice, but cotton is always much more comfortable than many other materials. I was very proud of my home-sewn dress, and my beautiful daughter looked lovely in her sweet white dress, so we got some compliments from mostly elderly people.

Well, I guess I looked very silly somehow...

This year it was a little bit different! After losing some of my extra-weight I had put on with each pregnancy, I was finally able to wear the dress again. I styled my hair properly, which is always the most difficult part when I prepare for going out. (I have terribly fizzy curls.) I had authentic 40s celluloid jewelry that looks like carved bone. A pair of gorgeous and very comfortable wooden clogs. A 40s purse with a wonderful "carved" plastic handle. I really enjoyed the dress and felt entirely "vintage styled". (Many people, mostly of my age and younger, stared at me - I realised again that Switzerland is not the best place for vintage lovers.) The weather was fantastic, it was a lovely sunny day, and my husband took some pictures of me and the kids.

This is me (obviously) with my lovely kids

I'm not used to be photographed and I usually don't like it, so please do not mind my silly face. Unfortunately we forgot the close-ups, as our daughter fell and hurt. She cried for about half an hour, and our son cried with her (he's very empathic), so we could be hard all over the nursery...

Dress pattern: most likely late 1950s wrap dress
Fabric: printed reproduction cotton fabric from the USA
Shoes: Swedish wooden clogs "Ally" in black by Moheda Toffeln, the best ever! They ship worldwide. 
Purse: vintage 1940s corde crochet purse with carved plastic frame
Clamper: vintage 1940s faux carved bone celluloid from Ebay
Earrings: vintage 1940s faux carved bone celluloid from Etsy
Watch: vintage 1940s watch from Ebay
Glasses: H&M (men's department)
And in case you would like to know: Lipstick is "Russian Red" by Mac, my favourite ever...
Location: Garten-Center Meier 
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Almost a Vintage Scottish Pipers Skirt

May 15, 2014, 10:03 am
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When I say "almost", it's just because this skirt isn't really vintage. Well, but it IS, somehow. The fabric is a true vintage fabric from the 1950s. I spotted it when I was browsing Etsy for vintage border fabrics. Most of them were unaffordable for my small budget. Or they were too short to make a decent full skirt. First I was thinking about flowers, something not too bright, and certainly not on a white background. (I always feel fat when I wear white...)

But then I was hit by this beauty, it was really love at first sight. You may wonder, but Scotland is my favourite country. It' not just my preferred travel destination, it's a deep love I feel for this particular place on earth for it's history and culture and it's inhabitants. I used to travel there several times when I was much younger and always felt like coming home. If I had not married my husband, I probably would have left Switzerland to live there. Breed sheep. Grow turnips. Knit sweaters. Make whisky. Something like that.

Anyway, I have a good live here, I have a lovely husband and two marvelous kids. (I guess I mentioned it before.) But sometimes I'm a little bit homesick. And then I need something to comfort myself. Instead of drinking myself with a good bottle of single malt (believe me, I have a few!), I buy items that are Scottish. So I had to have that fabric. It was certainly a little bit more expensive than what I planned to spend on a border print, but then, it was just gorgeous. A truly Scottish-themed border print, vintage, unique! And despite the ecru background - well, at least there's some green and black on it, two of my favourite colours... The seller was delighted to hear I was going to make a full skirt. I think, it would have been a pity to cut this beauty.

When it arrived I was amazed how crisp it was. I would say it is a kind of pipeline, as the crispness remained after washing. It has some small greyish spots that didn't wash out, but I think this is part of this skirt's history, and it vanishes mostly in the fullness of the skirt.
The pipers and drummers are just fantastic! Have you ever seen a band of pipers and drummer perform? Of course they are in full gear. (I guess at this point I should admit that I think men in kilts are very attractive.) There are sketches of monuments etc., tiny drums and bagpipes, coaches, pedestrians with umbrellas (come-on, the weather is NOT that bad in Scotland...). The selvedges are done so well I was thinking about leaving them unhemmed to keep as much of the dotted border as possible. But then, after asking an expert, I decided to take it up one inch. The skirt would fall nicer than without hem.


I was uncertain about the pattern for this skirt. I didn't want just an average gathered or pleated skirt. And I knew I would make a black waistband, as I didn't want to waist some of the border print fabric to make the band of the same material, keeping as many of "my pipers" and making the skirt as full as possible!



Finally I found this pattern I had bought on Etsy for only a few dollars as the instructions were missing. It's a Butterick 7617 in size 12 from 1956. The same year as my wedding gown!

The skirt is made of a very long part that has several darts along the waist. The spaces between the darts are gathered. I made pleats instead, except for the front part so the belly would look a little bit flatter.





I took the lower part of the bodice pattern to create a pointed waistband.





I'm not sure if it would have turned out better by gathering the fabric, maybe I will undo the waistband and try it out, but I needed something to wear last tuesday for an event so I definitely HAD to finish the skirt.

That's how the print joins in the back middle seam. One drummer has 3 arms and is also a piper. How weird is that? But at least I didn't have to cut away the poor guy. :-)

I decided to sew in the zipper only in the skirt, not the waistband, and to close the band with some buttons. Mainly because a white zipper would be too visible in the black waistband, and buttons could be moved, just in case I lost or added some weight. Of course I had some black vintage buttons.

True vintage buttons. I bought them on Etsy.


After all I'm quite happy with the skirt. It's certainly a unique piece, and it's absolutely me.


Vintage and Scottish. My son was fascinated by the pipers and drummers. While the skirt was still put on my dummy (her name is Kunigunde), he was walking around and around pointing at each of the kilted men. Priceless!

Sorry about the blurry pictures. We have currently such a bad weather here in Switzerland... I will post very soon some better shots of me wearing the skirts with a petticoat. Promised!
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Vintage Playsuit Sew Along - Styles

May 19, 2014, 12:06 am
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1954 playsuit

I was very excited when I read that Stephanie Lynn from the Girl with the Star-Spangled Heart was planning a sew along for a vintage play suit. For such a long time I wanted to sew a playsuit for me, but never had time or the right "occasion". I was afraid to participate, as last time I wanted to be part of a sew along, I broke my toe, so I really didn't have any chance to make my planned dress. And it's still unfinished, sadly...

This time will be hopefully different. I have some time to chose the patterns and materials, and I hope that I will also have time enough to tidy up my studio a little bit before starting this project, as it currently looks a little bit - uhm, well, messy untidy.

I will not write about the playsuit as a typical garment of the 1930s until the 1960s. Sewing vintage, everyone runs in a playsuit pattern sooner or later. I have some in my collection as well, not many, as most of them are incredibly expensive. Most of the patterns available consist of a one- or two-piece suit, the latter could be with a short skirt or short pants, and usually the outfit could be completed by a blouse, a bolero, or a jacket, and a loner and wider skirt. Of course the length and fullness of the skirt changed a lot in the course of the decades, as did the rest of this iconic garment. On the other hand, there were always many different styles of fashion at the same time. Obviously, it will be very difficult to make a choice. In the end, I guess, I will build my own playsuit set from different patterns, according to my liking.

So I will have to plan carefully, what type of playsuit I would like to sew. Should I make a one-piece short suit or some short pants with a halter top? Both will certainly be accomplished by a matching skirt, but I guess the latter version would offer more possibilities. With the short pants, I could wear a halter top, a bustier, a blouse. Made from the same material or a matching contrasting fabric.

Let's start with the "under garment". A two-piece playsuit would be best, but should I make shorts or a short skirt? Well, not THAT short, I don't want to expose my legs too much. And then, my belly should be covered, after all, I'm a mother of two, and I would like to keep some decency.

Love MM's pants...
...but definitely too short for me!




Different styles of tops




A detail I love here about this pattern is the buttoned bolero and the wrapped band of the long skirt.

The pattern on the left has a gorgeous halter top, and I was happy to see that longer pants like these "pedal pushers" were an option for playsuit sets as well.

























A knotted blouse or an asymmetrical halter top? A skirt with darts, pleats or a gathered one? How full? It will certainly be a buttoned skirt, as for me, the sense of a skirt to wear over the playsuit as such is to change your "sporty beach outfit" in a decent day dress, so there's no way to display a bare leg.

There are countless possibilities...! I will certainly have a close look at my pattern collection to get some more ideas.
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Vintage Playsuit Sew Along - Pattern Inspration from my Collection

May 20, 2014, 3:20 am
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As I pointed out in my last post about my first attempts to get some ideas about the planned VPSA, it will take some time to prepare this project, as it consists of several garments that should not only suit my measurements and meet my needs, but should also make a matching set in the end.

So I had a look at my collection of patterns. I have this one-piece playsuit or swimsuit, but the longer I'm thinking about it, the more I'm convinced that a two-piece suit would be better for me.



This pattern, Advance 6742 (circa 1954) makes a gorgeous set, however, the bloomers will definitely not come into consideration. The top is fantastic, summery, but still decent enough to be wearable in town or for lunch. I think I would make the front buttons as a fake closure and insert a zipper, as button closures on fitted garments tend to look always a little bit, well, not fitted...
Also the skirt in its shorter version is fine, however, I would prefer a buttoned skirt for the longer version, or a wrap skirt.




This Butterick 6535 would be a nice pattern for the pants, they come along in two lengths. The bustier as an addition to a top that shows less skin... I could wear it on the beach. (If we manage to go to a holiday to Italy, for example...) If I have time and enough material (which is still not chosen), I will definitely make this cute bustier, would look certainly great on the beach.



This gorgeous Simplicity 3160 from 1950 offers another pattern for short pants and a full long skirt. Also the sleeveless blouse would be an option... Both patterns are size 14, so I would have to upsize them anyway for the pants.


I think I bought this 1950s Simplicity 1125 mainly because of the skirt and the top - not even realising that it's actually a playsuit set. It was also rather cheap, and looking at the prices asked for playsuit patterns - an excellent buy! I still think the top is great, as well as the wonderful wrap skirt, but also the pants would be worth thinking about. (Ah, yes, and again upsizing is necessary...)


The view 2 top of this pattern (it's a Simplicity 3891 from the 1950s) would look great, depending from the material I will use, and it's also simple to make!


This 1957 Simplicity 2072 dress pattern is not a typical playsuit set, but I will have to check the pants. And of course, a bolero would be a nice option!


Late 1950s Simplicity 3427 has a nice pattern for short pants and a lovely top. I certainly would not make the coat, but I love the striped and plain fabric combination!


I guess I have enough patterns to make short pants. And some nice options for halter tops and blouses. (I have not checked my separate blouse patterns so far...)
Anyway, I will certainly have to decide weather I would like to make a full skirt or a wide and long wrap skirt, so the playsuit set would look definitely more 50s. Or if I should, for a more 1940s style, make this wrapped front skirt from my 1944 Hollywood 1356 pattern with cascade at the left side front and the tied belt that looks very much like a sarong skirt. Just chose the right fabric, such as a tiki or Hawaiian fabric. More questions...


Here are two more options for wide skirts. View 2 from Advance 6327 would be great for a very summery look, choosing two contrasting colours...



Then I remembered my vintage sewing magazines from the very early 1950s. And I had a slight idea that there could be a playsuit pattern as well. But there's not only one, but several of them and so many ideas!


The top left design is fabulous! I love the skirt, the slightly longer pants, the blouse... Would definitely call for one of my tropical fabrics or something with a large floral print, combined with summery solid colours. Could be accomplished by the striped bustier and short pants on the right.






Dealing with the multiple pattern sheet is not such an issue - that's how I made my very first clothes back in the late 1980s when I was a teenage girl, so I guess I can handle it still.

There's plenty of inspiration from my own patterns. I must admit, I was a little bit tempted to have a quick look around Etsy or so, just in case there was THE pattern I was looking for. But then, as my collection has been growing over the past few years and still does, I think I will limit myself to what I already have. I'm pretty sure it will take a long time to chose all the patterns for my playsuit set even that way.








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Vintage Scottish Skirt Out

May 29, 2014, 5:27 am
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I promised when I finished my skirt made from a 1950s vintage fabric with a lovely Scottish pipers and drummers print to show you later some pictures when I wear it. It was made for a special event, and as usual there was no time to make some pictures before, during or after.



Today, Ascension Day, it's a public holiday in Switzerland and my husband has a day off. As the weather was sunny in the morning, we decided to go to the Zurich airport which is a 10 minutes drive from our place away. There's a huge terrace for visitors and you can show your kids all the things that are happening. Even if they don't yet understand (like our son) or don't are too much interested (like our daughter), there are some attractions for kids that are fun for them.

This is my family. My 3 treasures.

Is there a better place than an airport where people leave for their travel destinations to wear this Scottish themed skirt? Scotland is my favourite country one of my favourite countries, so we hoped to take some nice pictures there.

In the end is was rather difficult. Wearing vintage is a bit of a dare in Switzerland. People stare. Always. Mostly women wearing leggings. I let them stare, but being photographed is intimidating anyway for me. So I thought it would be nicer and more relaxing to make some photographs in our garden, as it's in full bloom currently.

So here you go.




I am wearing a petticoat, but it's not very full, and I will have to try how it looks with another one.
The waistband is a little bit on the wide side, and unfortunately it's even made of a poplin that has some stretch to it (totally not-vintage, I know, but it was the only fabric that matched the black of the skirt and the fabric weight). As I still would like to lose 3 or 4 kilos, I maybe will have to make it a little bit smaller later. Until then I feel quite good with the skirt, even with the petticoat. A little bit "poofy", especially as the skirt is white.

Looking at the pictures now I think I will cut my hair by some centimeters... And I realise wearing this kind of skirt I look smaller somehow. Is this normal?

Ok, I can't pose, but I can make silly faces...


A detail I love particularly is my 1940s celluloid jewelry. The earrings have roses, and the clamper even has some orchids on it! As you may guess from my garden, I love flowers. 

skirt: made by me after this pattern
fabric: vintage fabric form the 1950s found on Etsy
peasant top: off-the shelf
shoes: Swedish clogs from Moheda toffelen (my favourites, veeeery comfortable!)
jewelry: true 1940s celluloid jewelry from Ebay / Etsy
lipstick: Russian Red by Mac







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New Skirt Project For My Birthday and A Gift

May 31, 2014, 1:54 am
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I don't like being celebrated on my birthday, but I love to make treats to myself. Yes, I'm a big girl now and it has become kind of a tradition to spoil myself on that occasion.

First of all, I plan to make a new skirt. I need new clothes as I lost weight (guess I mentioned it), and there's a gorgeous fabric I have in my stash that is perfect for summer. So I want to have that garment ready when summer is here. The fabric always was a little bit on the more expensive side, until I finally found a seller on Etsy that had it on sale.

It's "Frida's Garden". I guess I never wrote that in my youth (haha, I'm getting older!) I had a soft spot for Mexican culture and food, and I guess I somehow still have, even if not so much for the food anymore. This fabric is so gorgeous!


I bought 4 yards, knowing it should be enough to make a lovely full skirt. I was very happy when I got my order, as the seller sent quite a few inches more (how generous!), but I knew it was going to be difficult as it's a large-scale print. This is not the easiest fabric to deal with if you want the finished garment to look really nice.

I chose Simplicity 3033 from 1949 for the skirt. However, when I wanted to prepare my stuff for cutting, I found that my measuring tape was destroyed by my little son...



The pattern was still in factory folds. I think this is always one of the most amazing moments, unfolding  such pattern pieces that have been untouched for so long... Like opening Tutankhamun's coffin. Or almost. (Ah, the historian in me...)


I spent almost 2 hours placing the pattern peaces on the fabric and moving them around, again and again.

Finally, after discussing it with my husband, I decided not to make the pockets as shown for view 1 on the pattern envelope, but to rather chose the other style without. That made it easier and I finally could cut the fabric.

Now the pieces are ready and I almost can't wait to sew. And I still have some fabric left to make a halter top or a bolero to go with the skirt. However, we have still some garden projects to finish today and some laundry to wash. And tomorrow it's my mother-in-law's birthday, so we will be out. Argh, bad timing.

Finally, I would like to share a picture of another vintage fabric I found on Etsy some days ago. Yes, right, that's my own gift to myself, and it arrived so super-fast! I love border prints, but they're not easy to find, or they're incredibly expensive. I was lucky to find this one, it was affordable for my rather small budget. And it was in decent black and cream, colours that match well with others and are always nice to wear. A wonderful 1950s or even older cotton... The lace border looks like an applique, but it's only printed.


I'm looking forward to show you the finished skirt. In the meantime, while working in the garden and doing the laundry, I can think about the final decisions for the VPSA. 

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Vintage Playsuit Sew Along - Fabric Inspiration

June 3, 2014, 12:58 am
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Stripes are always nice - perfect for that nautical look!
Large florals for a summery flair


Border prints! 
And Hawaiian prints for a perfect tropical look! 




Looking at photos, pattern envelopes and drawings in sewing magazines as in my previous post can provide you with loads of ideas about the materials and patterns that could be used on a playsuit set. Of course, as a vintage lover and historian, I have a small "collection" of true vintage fabrics, but I guess for a play dress that is made of several garments as a short suit, a skirt, a top just need some more yardage than an "average" vintage dress. And not knowing if I will love to wear that playsuit, I'm not really sure if it's worth using my treasures for it.

So I decided to look through my fabric stash. There are some fabrics that are out of print since years, like this gorgeous Japanese Hawaiian print in navy and white. Just for that extra bit of summer feeling on a playsuit... Just like one of those amazing Alfred Shaheen Hawaiian dresses from the 1950s I adore. And not just a dress, but a whole playsuit set!

I have a re-print of a Shaheen fabric, but I would like to use it one a proper Hawaiian dress and not for the playsuit set.

Or shall I make a rather tropical suit, but in decent colours? One that could be worn even in not-so-tropical Switzerland without being ridiculous?




These two-toned fabrics have a rather classical Hawaiian look, even though the green one is more in a damask style, but pine-apples are so typical for Hawaii, but then, this is too much Aloha for my project. 

Shall I go for this one? But it doesn't drape as nice as I would like for the skirt.



Or I could use this one. Making a full skirt and pair it with solid short pants and halter top in green or teal. Or even purple.


I guess it will be either this one or the following. They both have a summery look without looking too tropical and they offer many possibilities to be combined with solids. Besides that, they are both of the right quality, not too soft, not too stiff, not too thick or thin...



Did I ever mention I have troubles taking decisions?

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Share in Style Announcement

June 4, 2014, 5:11 am
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Yesterday I was asked by my lovely friend Rosy from Sewingadicta if I would like to be her partner in "Share in Style". I had seen her wonderful contributions to those projects a few times, but had no idea what it was about really. Not before she asked me.

Just a few words about Rosy. Rosy is living on a beautiful Spanish island and she is an amazingly skilled sewer and very talented crafter. She even does hand-painting on fabrics that are made into dresses, and she makes her own hats - isn't that wonderful? (I have a vague suspect she's a master of the art, and I guess it's about time I ask her to find out. Her creations are amazing, and she makes the drafts for many of her dresses by her own! I like the fact that she proofs that women beyond 40 can look absolutely splendid. Wearing vintage inspired items is not only for twenty-something year old, but also for mature women.) So being her partner would certainly be not only a huge honour, but also lots of fun.

Now, I would have said "yes" in a heartbeat, if it had not been for the motto of the next "Share in Style" project: Gold.

I would have to lie if I said I disliked gold. Gold is my favorite materials - on jewelry. I think it has something to do with my Celtic ancestors that adored gold over any other material. (Yes, in Switzerland, we had Celtic tribes as well, the Helvetii in my region, only that they melted away to submerge with the Romans, but this is just the historian in me that goes wild once more...) I love the buttery look of pure gold.

Source

But gold on clothing? An absolute no-go. As you may know, I'm a curly red-haired, and it would simply look too exaggerated on me. I once bought in what I recall a fashion frenzy a golden lamé shirt for Christmas. Believe me: I never wore it. I had it in my wardrobe for about  two years, feeling guilty about the purchase, and then I gave it away to some charity shop.

Now, as dear Rosy came up with the question and I always love a good challenge, I had a look at my stash to get some idea if a participation for that obviously rather delicate motto would still be possible.

Guess what I found? Not only one, but two authentic vintage fabrics that had golden accents on them. (I have a few more, modern ones from Japan.)


The first one is an amazing barkcloth I bought on Etsy, and compared to other bark cloths it was almost ridiculously cheap very inexpensive. For a stay-at-home mom of two little ones - I have no proper income - it was a lucky find! It is 5 yards long, and it has the most adorable pink flower sprigs on a decent grey background and golden splatters all over the fabric. The fabric is from the 1950s, and even after such a long time and having been laundered after I got it, the print, including the olden accents, looks so gorgeous. And I'm absolutely in love with the "rough" structure of the material!

However, as it's a barkcloth - therefore rare - and also suitable for a less summery project, so I would like to save it for a different project.


The other fabric is an Asian inspired turquoise dress cut print, also from the 1950s. It seemed to be new, newer used nor laundered when it arrived. Still so beautiful after so many decades!

Dress cuts were pre-cut pieces of about 5 yards length that could be bought back in those times to make a dress. This makes sense, as most patterns of the 1950s require 5 yards of material.


The aqua blue background features white flowers and oriental lanterns in shades of purple and blue. The motives are highlighted with metallic gold.


It still had this paper tag pinned to the selvage...

I bought this fabric because of it's Oriental touch, not being sure what to make of it, and certainly not because of the golden accents that require the right pattern to avoid being too tawdry. I guess this will be a lovely material to create something nice. Otherwise it will be in my stash for another 60 years...

So I agreed to join this "Share in Style" with Rosy. I even think I have some lush gold jewelry to accomplish my outfit once it's finished.

Wish me luck I make in time. I still have to sew a pair of bermuda shorts for my husband's upcoming birthday!

If you're interested to participate, there are only very little "rules". Create your outfit from "off-the-rack" clothes or by making it yourself, have fun and share it with other that love to dress in a special way. Doesn't have to be vintage. :-) Just check Rosy's post about the guidelines.


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Share In Style "Gold" - Turquoise & Gold Assam Tea Dress

June 21, 2014, 12:02 am
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Golden sunshine in the morning - perfect for my dress with golden accents

In my previous post I wrote about the "Share In Style" project I was invited to by dear Rosy. I wanted something Asian or Oriental inspired. The lanterns and flowers on my fabric looked somehow like that, and the name of the fabric (printed on the selvage) said something like "Geisha". In my previous post you can see the golden accents on the fabric much better.



My pattern, Simplicity 4087 from 1952, was till in factory folds that came in a rather large size 20, but I though it would be easier to downgrade it slightly than to enlarge it. (Wrong - I'm not good at adjusting patterns, neither this or the other way.) The oblique wrap front and the collar remind slightly of Asian dresses with frog closures and mandarin collars, but I didn't want the dress to look too much like a Chinese cheongsam. Now it's a rather "Oriental" dress in tea dress length.

I should NOT cut my fabrics in the late evening after a hard work's day... I made a small mistake, but I guess most people will not notice. :-) In the end, I even like it better this way.




I made the facings of bodice and skirt and the side pockets in a contrasting colour, and that the facings would just show a tiny bit. I love this tiny detail.




But I didn't have any matching buttons. I have a lot of buttons, but they had either the wrong colour or the wrong size. I decided not to lose too much time searching around and make some fabric covered buttons instead. You can't go wrong with them. 100% matching. Doing this, I thought I could make a fabric covered belt buckle as well, as I knew I didn't have a matching one. To be honest, I didn't wear belts very often when I was younger, but they are an absolute must when it comes to vintage dresses! And this one is even reversible! While I was looking through my buttons I found a pack of turquoise seam binding from the 1950s - and in the perfect colour.



The shoes are authentic ballerinas (if there is such a thing like "authentic" ballerinas...), made by Porselli in Milan. They also make the ballet shoes for the dancers at the famous La Scala opera house which is right next to their shop. (And they also have tutus for little girls and all that stuff that makes you want to dance...) However, today I wished I had bought a golden pair as well...

I chose a golden tan vintage hat and goldtone vintage earrings made from brass. They also have a small amber rhinestone that looks lovely with the hat and the golden accents on the fabric. In the end I forgot to take my purse with me for the pictures... But I had a lot of golden morning sunshine!


Yes, side seam pockets! I had to overcome my phobia...


Just as a footnote: the flags on the pole are from Switzerland (I'm Swiss) and Italy (my husband is Italian). Mostly it's the Swiss flag only. My husband is insisting on doing that, even though he lives here as a foreigner. The night before, there were two games for the world championship in football (soccer), and both Italy and Switzerland played. (Haha, and both lost...)



I should have "photoshopped" the wrinkles... ;-)

I got my dress finished very late somewhere between Friday and Saturday. Well, it WAS Saturday already, but it was worth working late. I definitely will make and wear more dresses again.

I love the traditional afternoon tea as it's custom in many countries, especially in GB. And I love tea! So, now I'm just waiting for an invitation to an afternoon tea. :-)



And here are the pictures of what the lovely and talented Rosy made for the "Share In Style". Isn't that dress wonderful? Just a golden ray of sunshine on a wonderful sunny day. I love the fabric that has a vintage vibe! She is very photogenic and is blessed with beautiful locations on her Spanish island to take those marvelous pictures. Isn't that gorgeous?






I love the buttons!


Rosy created this lovely collage of both of us in a similar pose with our dresses. Thanks! Of course she does much better, I guess she has far more experience than me - I usually get embarrassed when being photographed, and it will take some time to get used to pose in a decent way without making funny faces.


Pattern: Simplicity 4087 (size 20, adjusted)
Fabric: true vintage cotton print by Avon, "Geisha"
Belt buckle: upcycled vintage fabric covered buckle
Hat: vintage hat bought on Ebay
Earrings: true vintage screw-backs bought on Etsy
Shoes: Porselli, Milan

The dress is worn with a petticoat.

Photography by my husband

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Vintage Play Suit, Ready To Go Out

July 9, 2014, 12:15 am
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As you could read in some of my previous posts here, I was joining a sew along for a vintage play suit. Usually, such sew alongs are too complicated to join in. There's always coming something in between. A freezer frozen solid, kids with chicken pox, a broken toe... I could write books.

But this sew along was different. We plan to go on holiday in Italy, my husband's country. So I was very excited about the idea, and as I am in desperate need of some decent pieces for my wardrobe, I was planning to sew some clothes anyway. The sew along just came in time! I am the kind of person that needs a little bit of extra-pressure to keep a project going on (you certainly do NOT want to know how many UFOs I have...), so I was happy to join.

Creating a play suit set offers countless possibilities, in the end I just had to decide for one pattern for a skirt, short pants, a bra and a halter top or blouse. And the fabrics of course.

I chose a simple buttoned skirt from a German 1951 sewing magazine. They had lots of play suit options in there!





However, I lengthened my skirt, and I made is with pleats instead of gathering it. I wanted to use some of my vintage buttons, but I didn't have enough of the same style. (I love brown, but I wonder why I do have only so little brown buttons...) I found some rectangular, almost square horn buttons I bought about 10 years ago at a flea market, they are all handmade and differ slightly in size and shape. So even being not properly vintage, they somehow seemed to be a nice choice.


From another German sewing magazine of the same year, I took the pattern for the trousers, as they came along in a bigger size there. I planned to use a remnant piece, but in the end I had to order some more again as it was not enough. I absolutely wanted to have the red pants! They would be perfect, especially under the patterned skirt.


I also planned in the beginning to make the pattern of the striped bra, but after I copied the pattern (which is rather demanding, look at the pattern sheet!), I realised that bra would probably not fit me very well. Despite having breast-fed my two children for quite some time, I still belong to the species of small-busted gals. I needed something more cheating"shaping", so after trying to alter the pattern I threw my muslin away and then decided to give a try to the beach bustier from Mrs. Depew. Anna has lots of very special patterns available as downloads. However, in the end I made so many alterations, that not much was left of the original pattern. And it still didn't fit. Despite having fed both my kids, I'm still rather small-busted not particularly full-busted. So another muslin flew to to bin. I will do that again later. It makes no sense to lose so much time when you are in a hurry to finish a project.


As I really wanted some interchangeable pieces for this set as possible, I also made a cotton knit top to wear with the skirt. On a holiday in Italy, in certain places it is necessary to be dressed in a decent way. (And I completely agree, it's just not appropriate to enter a public location in town when you're wearing a beach outfit.) Easy to make (I have an almost antique serger machine I use for my kids' stuff micro-business), comfy to wear, and looking always neat. I do have some of those peasant blouses I bought off the shelf, but most of them have huge midriffs, or they become larger with each washing, so I decided to make my own better fitting design. I simply made a traditional peasant blouse to add some fullness to the bust (remember - small-busted gal) and made a more or less tubular lower part below the bust. That's it. This is some kind of prototype, so with some minor adjustments I will get a really decent and not so usual looking peasant top. And yes, I usually do NOT mix patterned materials, but ginghams are synonymous for summer, and gingham is probably the only pattern that goes well with many flower patterns.


So this is how my set looks like on Kunigunde. Unfortunately, she isn't able to wear pants, and I am far to embarrassed to expose my entire legs or my chubby belly on my blog. I leave this to younger and slimmer girls... :-) And as it's raining since days, I was not able to pose outside or make decent indoor pictures. And, worst of all, my mom broke her hip and we spent a lot of time in the hospital, and as I still have some holiday wardrobe projects on my table, I really have to postpone that. You will have to wait until we are on holiday. I promise to post about the fort day out of my playsuit set.

I admit, I am not a person who love to lie on the beach (I dislike being exposed to the sun, however, it can't be avoided when you doing as much garden work as I do), but it's certainly a "must have" for any vintage wearer, and as it's so versatile, it doesn't have to be worn on the beach necessarily. Wear it for the cocktails on early evening, or for a nice summer day on your holidays when you're in town!


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Vintage Slacks

July 26, 2014, 6:39 am
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Ignore my silliness. We stayed at some friends' place and had a good time...
As a mother of two little ones, I can't always wear dresses and skirts, and most trousers that are available off-the-rack don't fit me. Or are terrible. Or both. High-waisted pants are mostly available in larger or so-called "short" sizes for elderly, rather short women. And as the waists of trousers got lower and lower during the past years, and I constantly feel cold around my kidneys, I somehow felt I was getting too old for such things. You can guess that buying pants is a nightmare.

I never thought that, after leaving the 1980s fashion nightmares behind me, I would gladly opt for high-waisted trousers again. But… I always liked the wide-legged trousers Marlene Dietrich used to wear. (This reminds me that I should write a post about her.) Of course they would look different on me, as I'm not that slim, but still, it's a style I love and that will always look very neat and decent. Even if I don't do swing dancing or that kind of cool stuff. (I can't dance at all, I'm unfortunately born with two left legs.)

I bought this wonderful pattern from Eva Dress Patterns. It's a reproduction of Simplicity 3322. The patterns costa little bit, but they're worth it, as they offer some very nice and searched-after patterns in excellent quality. Some come along as multiple-size patterns, like this one.


For many of the patterns there are also pictures of finished projects, so it's really helpful to have a closer look at the entire site.

As a non-native English speaker (even though I am used to talk, write and read in English since 20 years), I didn't know what "slacks" are - until I found that pattern.

I was looking for something exactly like this! I am not sure how I would look in an overall, but the trousers are definitely worth giving a try! 


Since years I had a large piece of a inexpensive poly-cotton gabardine in my stash that I bought for about $10 per meter. I think I bought it about 10 years or more ago to make a trench coat. Of course I never made it. The fabric was still there, looking at me reproachfully each time I opened the shelf. It's a nice tan or dark-beige colour, making it perfect for cooler summer days, spring and autumn, as it has a lightly heavier drape.

After our 1.5 hours drive, the trouser look a little bit wrinkled... 


The colour is certainly not my first choice, even though I think it's not bad and can be spiced up with some top or blouse in a lovely colour or pattern, but I would have liked something that looked like denim or at least a blue fabric to be incorporated in my summer (holiday) wardrobe. Blue, especially combined with red and white, always makes me feel like holiday at the sea. But for now this has to do it. I chose some wooden buttons I bought from a warehouse that closed down many years ago, so I guess they are somehow vintage too...

They are super comfy and were easy to sew (haha, no small bust to deal with this time!!!), and I hope they will be a valuable garment. However, as you can see on the last picture, from my hips downward they are far too baggy and I look much bigger than I am (my bottom IS NOT that fat, at least I hope so), soI will try to make my next pair in a smaller size and look how they turn out.

I am wearing the self-designed peasant knit top I posted already here…

And yes, I definitely look very silly on the pictures. I was standing by this column and my lovely husband said, let's take some pics of your trousers for the blog (how well-educated is he?). I was in a very cheerful mood being with friends and relatives - hehe, maybe too cheerful...

But look what I bought and what arrived yesterday - perfect for summer, especially as we had to cancel our summer holidays! Flamingo cocktail sticks! Aren't they great?



Pattern: Eva Dress Pattern, Vintage Slacks
Fabric: cotton poly gabardine
Peasant top: me-made pattern, organic cotton knit in red gingham by Lillestoff
Lipstick: MAC, Russian Red
Earrings: fruit salad, NOS vintage bought on Ebay
Shoes: pink Moheda Toffeln from Sweden
Toy octopus: not ours...



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Share In Style "Flowers" - Faux Flower Border Print (Swiss National Day Dress)

August 3, 2014, 11:00 pm
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My today's post is rather long. And in two languages… :-)

When I read that one of the upcoming editions of #bloggersharingstyle would be about flowers, I was most happy to join. One of the best themes! I love flowers, flower fabrics, flower jewelry - what else could you expect from a sewer that grows more than 100 different roses in her garden?

This time I was joined by the talented and lovely Anne of Beswingtes Allerlei as my partner. I found her blog a while ago when I was looking for other vintage sewers (sewing vintage in Switzerland is terribly lonesome), and I really love her style and her sewing. Like me, she has a soft spot for hats. And she seems to have lost of vintage jewelry to match her outfits. She is more into the 1940s than I currently am, but I have lots of projects from that era on my table or in my mind, so I read her posts with growing interest.

Als ich das Motto für das kommende "Share In Style" vernahm, war ich überglücklich. Blumen - das beste Thema! Ich liebe Blumen in jeder Form. Was sonst ist bei jemandem zu erwarten, wo über 100 verschiedene Rosen im Garten wachsen?


Diesmal war Anne meine Partnerin. Ich finde ihren Blog toll, vor allem weil sie ein bisschen mehr 1940er Sachen näht als ich derzeit, was sich bei mir aber in den kommenden Wochen hoffentlich noch ändern wird.


It's a fact that vintage fabrics in sufficient length are difficult to find, and if you find them, some are in a poor condition or very expensive, or both, and you just get a sad rag for lots of money. Ever harder to come by are border print fabrics, of all fabrics that are most amazing to create lovely full vintage style skirts!

Vintage Stoffe sind schwierig zu finden. Viele sind in armseliger Verfassung, oder sehr teuer, oder  gleich beides, so dass man oft teure Lumpen kauft. Noch seltener zu finden sind Stoffe mit Bordüren-Drucken, die für Vintage-Mode und besonders schöne Sommer-Röcke hervorragend geeignet wären.

Recently I came across this lovely modern border print by Timeless Treasures featuring several borders of lovely red geraniums.

Dann stiess ich auf diesen schönen modernen Stoff…




Why not creating  my own border fabric? The colour range of the geranium print would make it easy. A solid black fabric to complete the "faux border" look should not be too difficult to find. 

If the mountain won't come to the prophet, the prophet must go to the mountain.

Weshalb nicht meinen eigenen Bordüren-Stoff kreieren? Mit einem schwarzen Uni-Stoff als Ergänzung?


Wenn der Berg nicht zum Propheten kommt….

So I cut two borders - the print is lengthwise, along the selvage - and stitched them to the solid black fabric. Black, however, is not always black. I mean it IS black, but in a different "nuance", as we say. So the two blacks were different, and I wanted to add some red piping between the two fabrics.

Ich schnitt zwei Bordüren-Streifen und plante, sie an schwarzen Stoff zu nähen. Aber Schwarz ist nicht immer Schwarz. Rotes Paspel-Band sollte Abhilfe schaffen!
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However, I had to remove the cord from the piping - it made the skirt so stiff that it would have looked rather like an oversized teapot cozier than a skirt. Nonetheless, it looks nice like that as well. And it still makes the skirt a little bit fuller, even without petticoat!

Letztlich musste ich die Kordel des Paspelndes entfernen (was blieb war das "Schrägband") - es hätte den Rock unheimlich steif werden lassen und ich hätte darin wie ein überdimensionaler Teekannen-Wärmer ausgeschaut. Der Rock wirkt auch so noch relativ "voll", selbst ohne Petticoat.

I had ordered 1.5 yards, so the skirt is almost 3 yards wide in circumference. For the start I didn't want to use a particular skirt pattern. A pleated skirt is a pleated skirt. Just maths. And some sewing. But I was lucky: in my pattern collection there was a vintage pattern (Simplicity 1700 from 1956) for a pleated skirt that had, when upgraded to my size, exactly the same circumference as my skirt, therefore I knew more or less how deep the pleats should be. So less maths. Happy face.

Zuerst wollte ich aus den fast 3 Yards Rockumfang ohne Muster einen Faltenrock machen. Ist ja nicht so ein Ding. Dazu muss man nur rechnen können (was auf mich nicht wirklich zutrifft…). Und nähen. Doch dann fand ich dieses Muster, das meinen Massen insofern entsprach, dass ich nichts mehr rechnen musste, ausser ein paar Anpassungen, da mein Rock statt der einzelnen rückwärtigen Mittelnaht zwei Seitennähte hat. Aber immerhin ersparte ich mir etwas Rechnerei...


The only problem was that my skirt had two side seams, not a single back seam, so I had to re-arrange the pleats. They are pleated in two different "directions", so they meet in the middle back and front.


And I used a green zipper! I didn't have a black one, and I kind of loved the idea of having this secret colourful detail that is there, even though it's not visible and hidden in the pleats…

Mein Reissverschluss ist grün - das sieht natürlich wegen der Falten niemand, macht mir aber trotzdem Freude, so als "kleines spezielles Detail"...

I had still two borders left to make a matching top - making it a dress. I used this pattern here from one of my vintage sewing magazines from 1953:

Ich hatte noch zwei Bordüren-Streifen übrig, um ein passendes Top draus zu machen, und versuchte mich an einem Schnitt aus einem Modemagazin von 1953:

I chose the one with the square neckline, but made it without collar and added a  lining along the neck and front.


The magazine is missing its cover, but there are tons of the most amazing patterns in it!
Without collar it looks a dirndl style top. The red piping is definitely nice, but was a nightmare to sew. The overlapping fronts are closed with buttons. Vintage glass buttons! I was so happy I could use some of my treasures for this project. However, they are not my first choice, and when I was searching for my vintage red button earrings for the pictures, I found some more vintage black buttons that would have been a better choice. Maybe I will change them later. (Reminds me that buttons should not be stored with jewelry…)

Ohne Kargen sieht es ein wenig aus wie ein Dirndl-Oberteil. Das rote Paspelnd sieht zwar hübsch aus, war aber ein Alptraum zum Verarbeiten. Die überlappenden Vorderteile werden mit Knöpfen verschlossen. Mit Glas-Knöpfen aus den 1940ern! Ich war total happy, dass ich die aus meinem Fundus verabreden konnte, auch wenn sie von der Musterung her nicht so meine erste Wahl waren. Jedenfalls fand ich noch mehr, die gepasst hätten, als ich später meinen roten Ohrschmuck für die Fotoaufnahmen suchte. Vielleicht werde ich das später noch ändern. (Und ich muss mich unbedingt daran erinnern, dass ich Knöpfe definitiv NICHT mit meinem Vintage-Schmuck aufbewahren sollte….)


If you have a close look, you will probably notice that the fabric pattern of the front wrap  meets exactly with the pattern of the other front part. This was sheer coincidence, but I'm extremely proud of it.

And, oh, I made a matching red belt with a red vintage belt buckle! 

Das Muster der überlappenden Vorderteile ergänzt sich nahezu perfekt. Purer Zufall. Trotzdem bin ich stolz auf den Effekt. Auch ein blindes Huhn legt mal ein Ei. Oder so…


Und ein passender Gürtel dazu - selbst genäht mit einer Schliesse aus den 40ern oder 50ern!



My dress was ready to wear on August 1st - Swiss National Day!

Und das Kleid wurde genau zu unserm Nationalfeiertag fertig, dem 1. August!


Many people in Switzerland grow geraniums on their window benches and balconies in summer. Often smiled at and being mocked as "square" and typical for a rural and small-burgeois lifestyle, it is, at least for me, a must-have each summer. They bloom constantly and don't mind being without water for some days (perfect for me). 

In meinem Land haben viele Leute im Sommer Geranien vor den Fenstern oder auf Balkonen. Oft werden diese Blumen als etwas kleinkariert und spiessig angesehen, ich aber muss sie jeden Sommer um unser Haus herum haben. Sie blühen unermüdlich und nehmen es einem nicht übel, wenn sie mal ein paar Tage kein Wasser haben (wie praktisch für mich). 





I have a lovely red hat from the 1950s that is perfect for this outfit. The veil is still intact! And - best of all things - it is covered with lots of delicate silk flowers… Flowers on my dress, flowers on my hat…

Der hübsche Hut aus den 50ern passt prima zu meinem Kleid. Der Schleier ist noch vollständig intakt! Er ist besetzt mit ganz vielen zarten Seidenblumen… Ganz wie mein Kleid, blumenübersät.



Don't look too closely at my hair. I had a bad hair day. In fact, most of the days are bad hair days for me. Having a good hair day is an exception…

Schaut einfach nicht zu sehr auf mein Haar. Ein "bad hair day". Eigentlich wie immer. Ein "good hair day" ist die Ausnahme...

I had also planned and cut a lovely vintage style purse from the rest of the border print fabric, but then the weather forecast changed quite drastically, so we had to take the pictures a day earlier than expected and the purse was not finished.

Eigentlich hatte ich noch eine passende Handtasche aus dem Geranien-Stoff in Arbeit, aber dann änderte sich das Wetter schnell und wir mussten unsern Foto-Termin rasch vorverlegen, so dass die Tasche unvollendet blieb (kommt später noch).



I'm quite happy how the dress turned out,  it's comfortable to wear, despite the very fitted top, and both patterns were a perfect match for that fabric.

Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit dem Kleid, das sehr bequem zu tragen ist, obwohl das Oberteil so auf Figur gearbeitet ist. Ich finde auch, Schnitte und Stoff passen prima zueinander.

And here are the pictures of Anne's outfit for this edition of "Share In Style" - she is wearing a totally beautiful vintage blouse she bought on a flea market. I love the blouse, those lovely classical flower prints are so adorable and wonderful to combine with your vintage look. And look at the gorgeous furniture Anne has in her living room - totally stylish and a perfect match with her outfit - everything, including the amazing shoes, in that beautiful brown and beige color range. 

Hier zwei Bilder von Anne zum heutigen "Share In Style" mit einer wunderschönen Vintage-Bluse vom Flohmarkt. Diese Blumenstoffe aus den 40ern und 50ern finde ich wundervoll zum Kombinieren. Und schaut mal was für ein tolles Möbel Anne im Wohnzimmer hat, sogar farblich passend zum Outfit, einschliesslich der hinreissenden Schuhe!




Please have a look at Anne's blog too, and a heartfelt thank you to her for joining me this edition of "Share In Style"!

Schaut doch bitte auch auf Anne's Blog vorbei, die zum Thema "Blumen" etwas Besonderes bereit hat! Ganz lieben Dank an sie, dass sie für diese Ausgabe vom SIS meine Partnerin war.

Skirt: me-made after Simplicity 1700
Top: me-made, pattern from a 1953 German sewing magazine
Fabric: Timeless Treasures, bought on Etsy
Belt: me-made with a vintage buckle (bought on Etsy)
Buttons: vintage, bought on Etsy
Earrings: vintage, bought on Etsy
Shoes: plateau sling-backs, bought about 8 years ago, but they are still in great shape and great to wear
Hat: vintage silky flower and veil hat from the 1950's, bought on Ebay
Sunglasses: vintage repro, no idea where from…

In case you didn't notice, I'm an avid Etsy-an. :-)

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