Vintage Goodies

For a while now I've been admiring vintage style from afar. I just haven't had the courage to take that step and actually buy a vintage pattern - or scarier still, make a vintage piece for myself. But on a recent trip to my mum's place, she gave me some amazing vintage patterns that had belonged to my nan, as well as a few other goodies, and now my only problem is.... which one do I make first?

I had no idea that mum had these stashed away!  Aren't they amazing?  I have already made a special trip to Spotlight to grab some vintage-themed fabric.  Can you guess which dresses these are going to end up as?

Mum also gave me this cool thread holder - my Pop, who was crafty in his own way, actually made this for my Nan.  Mum doesn't use it so she said I could have it. Now I just have to find a spot for it to live on my craft desk.

I also scored these vintage buttons. My sister had been given these by our grandmother when she cleared our her sewing room when they downsized and moved into a little unit a few years back. Although my sister doesn't sew (yet - I'm sure it's only a matter of time!), she is also a creative type and was intending to use them in craft projects, but because she is so wonderful she has shared them with me.

You can see some of my favourites here.

I also scored some assorted fabric scraps. Because you can never have too many scraps! Haha. Well, I can't.

I'm so happy with my vintage treasures!

When good tutes go bad...

I'm almost ashamed to admit that this project was actually supposed to end up like the top in this gorgeous tute here, only in miniature.  I had some lovely purple paisley lawn and really wanted to make it into something floaty and gorgeous for Katherine.

So what went wrong?  Well, despite my daughter's disproportionately small head, it seems that it is still bigger than an adult head in relation to her body and hence I couldn't actually get the neck hole of the finished top over her head.  No biggie.  I cut a little snip in the back, added a bit of a facing there, and put a little button closure in.  The next issue was that the top came up far too short on her body.  See the seamline where the elastic is sitting, just above her hips.  That's where Version 1.0 ended.  Luckily I had some fabric left over, so I made a tube and attached it to the bottom of the top, and then just because I could, I made an elastic casing within the seam allowance to pull it in tighter across her hips.  Of course, then the sleeves looked a bit funny, ending halfway down the top, so I kind of tapered them in to where the waistline was instead. 

So there you have it.  It's not perfect, but I think it's still pretty cute, and Katherine doesn't seem to mind it either. 

Oh, and see those baggy jeans?  They're shop-bought of course, but yes they're supposed to be skinny jeans.  She needed this size for the length but they absolutely swim on her!  Tall and lean - she certainly doesn't get it from me!

My Little Ladybug

My littlest lady is turning two this week and we celebrated yesterday with a ladybug themed party.  We had already decided on a theme, and then I was lucky enough to stumble across a fat quarter of some super cute ladybug patterned faux fur at Spotlight, so I decided to make a little fur vest for the birthday girl.  Of course, the only thing missing then was a red tutu so I made one of those too (too), and then she was set!

Isn't she the cutest bug ever?  Here she is eating cake with her Great-Grandma.

And slipping into a cake-coma.  Sometimes I make this face when I eat cake too.

My sister dressed her girls in red and black, to match the ladybug theme, and so I managed to get some nice photos of Ashy wearing her Oliver + S Secret Agent Trench, finally.  And just between you and me, that grey dress of hers is currently on my "dresses to copy" list for Katherine!

It was a lovely day and we were so lucky to be able to share it with so many of the people we love.  

Happy birthday, my beautiful girl!

      

Just make it up as you go along...

That's what I like to do, sometimes.

After I made the girls dresses the other day, I had some of the fabric left over - from the bottom founce on Ellie's dress.  There wasn't much of it, more than a fat quarter but less than half a metre.  Anyway, I thought I should do something with it rather than put it back in the scrap box.  I really wanted to make it into a skirt but it was an odd shaped piece and I wasn't sure I would get a decent panel out of it.  Also, it's getting quite cold here so I wanted a Wintery-type skirt.  Something lined.

I was able to cut a few rectangles out of it, and piece them together kind of using the technique used in the Oliver + S Hopscotch skirt.  You know, with a flat front and an elasticated back.  I added a faux placket at the front, and some cute vintage buttons.  There is actually no opening at the front of the skirt, I joined it all together.  I used an old sheet for the lining (not the first time either, I have a couple of old sheets that I like to use for lining things - more economical I suppose, and I don't see the big deal in using a boring old sheet if you're not actually going to see the lining of something).  Because the back panel came up short (I didn't have enough length in my original peice of fabric) I cut some smaller strips and made a ruffle for the back. 

You can see what I mean in this photo here, with the ruffle at the back hem.  I think it looks pretty cute actually.

There must have been something interesting in the garden when I was trying to take this shot!  Four year olds are so easily distracted!

 

You can see I was having some difficulty getting my little model to stand still, so here's a photo of the front of the skirt to show you what I did with the faux placket.  I am also pretty happy with the way the plaid matched up in the middle.  Actually, it was just pure luck that it matched, to be honest.

I like it when I actually have the energy to do something a bit creative.  Following a pattern is all well and good, but I think it's these "one-off" projects that I have the most fun with.  They don't always work out the way I expect, but occasionally I will have a little win like this and make something I am really pleased with (and most importantly, something that my daughters are pleased with!).

Me too?

When Katherine was a baby she had so many clothes.  I didn't start making her clothes probably until she was almost 3. I know, all that time wasted!  Before I developed my sewing habit, I had a bit of a shopping habit. And now all of the clothes I bought for Katherine belong to Ellie.  And as if she didn't have enough clothes already, we've picked up a bunch of other hand-me-downs along the way too - from the girls cousins.  Ellie really doesn't need any more clothes, so I don't tend to sew for her, but I think as she is getting older she is realising that Mummy is always making things for big sis and that she might be missing out on something.

I made this dress for Katherine during the week.

The pattern is Butterick 4842, view C (the one in the main picture).  Note that although the pattern calls for a zip I used a single button closure instead because 1) I didn't have a zip on hand, and 2) I hate doing zips!  When I was first cutting the pattern out, I was pleasantly surprised to see there were only 4 pieces.  I thought making this dress would be a piece of cake!   In actual fact I had more drama sewing this than I did with the trench coat I'd made the week before!   It took me three attempts to get the flounces to sit right.  I actually ruined the hem of one so badly I had to cut it out again.  To be fair, I think that the fabric was partly to blame.  It was very slinky and slippery, and it barely even creased when I pressed it so hemming it was a nightmare. But I am happy with the finished product.  

Ellie liked the look of it too. She came out the next morning and saw it hanging on the door knob and said, "pretty dress me too?"  So I made her one that day, out of some left over fabric from this dress I'd made Katherine last year.  I didn't quite have enough for the lower flounce so I used a piece of coordinating fabric and I think it turned out ok.  I have to say that it was so much easier to work with the quilting cotton on the second dress!

The girls were happy to model their new dresses for me today in the lovely sunshine. 

Yes, the sky really was that blue.  It was a gorgeous day today.

I took a bunch of photos and totally forgot that I had actually made Katherine a matching headband for her dress.

We quickly snapped a couple of pictures of the headband, and then the girls got back to doing what they really wanted to do - playing.

The Busy Girl's Spring Trench

Ok, so I know it's still only Autumn (although the frosts in the mornings lately have been trying to trick me into thinking it is Winter). But I saw this fabric at Spotlight on one of my recent jaunts and just had to have it.  It was so bright and busy (just like my girl!) that I knew it would be the perfect fabric for Katherine's Oliver + S Secret Agent Trench.

I made the size 5 for my tall-but-lean 4-and-a-half year old, with some modifications. I was generous with the seam allowance in the sleeves and down the sides of the bodice to help slim it down a bit and I also had to take about an inch off the length of the sleeves. I kept the original length of the skirt and it sits just on the knee. I wasn't overly concerned about the length as I still want it to fit her in the Spring.

I wasn't 100% sold on the pink and white polka-dot buttons.  I did have some red ones I was thinking of using, but in the end I went with the pink ones as they were just such a perfect match for the bias I used to bind the seams with.  Plus the red buttons kind of got lost in the print.  I think I like the pink ones.  They give it a softer look.

I made the bias myself with some quilting cotton I had on hand.  I still have a bunch of it left but I am already thinking up a project to use it on.

I love this pattern - this is the second time I have made it now and I've got a couple more to make yet before I can put it away.  My sister has even put her hand up for one after I made one for my niece.  I even dreamed last night that I made one in a red and white polka dot... now there is a thought!  (Yes, I dream about sewing too, I am sad!)  It was much easier to make the second time around - I sewed it over three nights including making the bias tape and tracing and cutting the pattern. I like that it looks so much more complicated than it is!

A Winter Dress

Last week when I was in Spotlight I grabbed a pack of fat quarters in various purple fabrics. I didn't know what I was going to make with them but they called to me for some reason. And then straight after that I was doing my grocery shop at Aldi and I found a 2-pack of girls basic long sleeved shirts for $8. They were the last pair, a size 3, and purple. I snapped them up, knowing that I could turn them into perfect winter dresses for Katherine.
 

I cut the bottom 2 inches off the shirt and attached a basic three-tiered skirt to it.  The skirt is made from three of the fat quarters.  The offcut from the shirt, I cut into strips and ruffled them to attach to the front of the dress - the lighter shade of purple is off the other shirt in the pack.  I am going to turn it into a dress too, but I haven't decided yet whether to make it the same or do something different with it.  I will have to have a think about it, and keep an eye out for some inspiration.