Vintage Winter Dressing; 1940's Casual

Its getting colder here, but still haven't had to crack out scarves and coats quite yet. I am classifying this under winter dressing, though I suspect one winter proper hits it won't be worn in this rendition This outfit epitomises my style; vintage styled opshop.

Blouse: cotton, with a striped pattern of orange flowers; opshop
Skirt: blue/green/grey wool A-line skirt handmade; opshop
Cardigan: Kmart
Stockings: black zig zag pattern
Shoes: My long awaited red T strap vintage heels; opshop
Earrings: gold hoop
Necklace: gold locket
Brooch: small gold angel stopping gaping; vintage floral brooch on cardigan

Vintage Winter Dressing; Velvet

Here in Sydney winter is beginning to set in. It is not yet coats and scarves weather, but we are heading there. I have been playing around with my winter wardrobe the last few weeks and it is so much fun. Besides loving the cold weather, I love dressing in layers, and playing around with textures, fabrics, colours and accessories in a way that you really an't do in summer. I wore an outfit the other week that i know I will be able to wear again when it gets colder, but with a different coat and necklace will look completely different.
I have decided to document a lot of my winter outfits for the blog.
My winter dressing staples are as follows:

• purple and teal green colours, though this year i am playing around a bit with red and earth tones
• woolen skirts
• velvets and textures
• coloured stockings
• pashmina scarves
• coats; especially my crushed purple velvet  

Today I got my braces off after 17 months. I had clear ones, and I never felt they impacted my appearance or how I felt about myself, but getting them off made me ten times more confident. I got home and changed immediately into a pencil skirt out of my jeans, and then decided I needed to do something with my hair. I followed Bethany's excellent tutorial and I feel this is the start of my getting a grip on how to do my hair.
 It's amazing how a nice outfit can make you feel fantastic

Blouse; opshop
Jacket; Fletcher Jones, opshop
Skirt; opshop
Headscarf; Mum
Necklace; Grandma
Earrings; taken from Mum's room
Boots; opshop

Sew Dolly Clackett

Hello again, I have been very quiet on the blogging front. Life has been rather busy, but there is a slight sewing backlog i have not gotten around to blogging yet.

Frist up, the Dolly Clackett dress

I  finished my Sew Dolly Clackett dress just in time! Roisin's blog was one of the first i started reading, and she kept on insisting to me in the comments that I did indeed need to buy By Hand London's Anna dress. And oh, I am glad I did. This is my second rendition, the first can be seeMn  here.
When the sew along was announced I knew I had to do an Anna mash up, the perfect Roisin dress. The fabric, which is a daisy print ended up being another op shop doona cover, I think I am becoming rather adept at finding them.

I chose a gathered skirt, and after a very unsuccessful attempt pulling up threads I found this great tutorial. This will be how I gather fabric from now on. Easy, and great results.

I ut the skirt rectangles at 30" long, and gave it a 2" hem. I am very happy with the length.

Congratualtions on your upcoming wedding Roisin, and thankyou for your wonderful sewing inspiration.

Pattern: By Hand London, Anna
Size: 8/12
Adjustments: No adjustment to bodice; replaced pattern skirt with gathered skirt made out of rectangles
Notions: 22inch dark blue invisible zipp
Wear With: red cardigan. I think this is more of a summer dress. I am wearing it today, but after this it might need to be packed away over the colder months
Make Again: Oh yes, this is becoming a TNT pattern for me. I have so many more ideas. Button backed Anna's have been dancing through my head

Blue China Roses Anna Dress

My first Anna dress is finished, and it certainly won't be my last. I love this pattern.

The fabric is from an old doona cover that I found opshopping. And there is enough left over for a smaller project. Doona covers are my new go to for fabric. I have two more waiting to be turned into dresses, and one that shall become cushions. The fit on this is fantastic. It hits perfectly at my very high natural waist. I French seamed everything and hand hemmed it. I get fussy with my finishing. I sewed this up in a few hours, but it has taken about ten days to get it finished. I even finished off the zip by folding under the fabric seam allowance and slip stitching it to the zipper tape. I love the idea of making sure my hand mades are finished off well. 

Pattern: By Hand London, Anna
Size: 8/12
Adjustments: None! I used the V-neck and the midi skirt pattern options
Fabric: Blue china roses doona cover, opshop. 50% cotton, 50% polyester
Notions: 22 inch invisible white zip
Wear with: Pearls! And in winter I can wear a lovely white coat that I found opshopping at the end of last season, haven't got around to wearing it yet
Make Again: Oh yes, I fear i am going to end up like Roisin and make multiple variations of this. I can't wait to experiment with different skirts. 

Anna progress and some notes now I am back at uni

My sewing has been rather sporadic in the last weeks. I have a number of projects nearing completion including another Simplicity 2444, another Mathilde blouse and my first attempt at a blouse.
My most notable one though has been the purchasing of By Hand London's Anna dress.

Here she is, just with skirt panels and neck facing pinned onto my dress form. Do not despair, I have not sewn the split up to my undies. As you can probably see, I am making the midi skirt length with the V-neck. The pattern was a dream to sew, and now it is sitting in my hand sewing bag waiting to be hemmed. I will not talk any more about it now. It truly deserves it's own blog post.

I am back at uni as of this week. It is extremely exciting. However it sadly leaves limited sewing time. I am only at uni three days a week, but the reading is extremely demanding, especially in a medieval history course. Luckily I love it, but I get the feeling I will be indulging in my love of intellectual theory much more than my love of sewing this semester.

I do have a good long list of sewing plans though,and they will be fitted in, just a bit more slowly than they have been in the last few months. i will be doing most of my hand sewing on my commute (when I am not reading that is) My plan is to post on the blog at least once a week, with any sewing progress, or anything else related to vintage living that I am thinking about. And of course as soon as I finish a project it will go straight up.

My dream list for the next months is as follows:

• purple woolen pencil skirt. I am tossing up between using a New Look pattern and pegging it, or buying By Hand London's Charlotte skirt
• Cream satin blouse; vintage pattern. I am making a version of the pattern currently in a floral cotton and it is coming together much smoother than I was expecting. 
• Vintage Vogue 2903 probably in a floral cotton
• Anna dress in green wool. I will have to check if the fabric will work first.
• Sew Dolly Clackett dress
• Green full 1950s skirt to go with a lovely vintage style jacket I already own

Red Retro Dress

This is the first dress I cut out and sewed up, and the second I finished. I actually finished it a few weeks ago, but haven't been able to share it. I wore it once, but in my hurry to finish it, and my unawareness of the importance of correct sewing procedure I had left all seams unfinished. Trust me, trimming and zig zaging each seam after you have completed the entire dress is not fun. I got that done, but only got around to washing it this week, and then finally today I wore it again, and was determined to get photos.

Of course this is one of my Simplicity 2444 dresses. I feel fantastic wearing this pattern. This dress is going to be worn so much. I specifically designed it with the sleeves that length so I will be able to wear it winter and summer. I have a beautiful red wool coat I am dying to wear with it. This dress has actually been in the works for so long, when I first cu it out I was determined to get in a few wears with the red stockings and coat combination. Oh well, there is always this coming winter.

Pattern: Simplicity 2444
Size: 12
Adjustments: I cut the sleeve length between cap and three quarter, at the lengthen/shorten line
Fabric: Cotton from Spotlight. Red, blue and white flowers on an olive green background
Notions: 22 inch invisible red zip. This was my first inserted by machine.
Wear with: Summer it creates it's own outfit, but I do want to find red pumps. Winter; red coat, red stockings, brown boots and a pale blue scarf
Make Again: Yes! I already have

Vintage Cotton Mathilde Blouse

I made my first Mathilde blouse. I am so very excited. I originally bought the pattern to use with some stunning blue floral drapey cotton, and this one was made as my wearable muslin, bu I will be wearing it very much.
I was planning on making my muslin out of an old sheet, but my Mum encouraged me to find some real fabric in case it turned out. I picked this out of my grandma's stash, thinking it wasn't that nice, but now I am in love with the fabric; it's just a very different colour to what I normally wear.
The pintucks took a good while (I now know it is not optional to mark the crease line) and I ha to put it to the side for a few days whilst I worked out how to use the buttonhole foot on my machine, but now it's all sorted. I can do zips and buttons now which is going to expand my repertoire. I made sure I used a green thread for the pintucks and hem. Done in a matching or contrasting colour makes them stand out.

I found it an easy make, bolstered by Tilly's excellent online instructions. I now feel confident enough to make the next one on my own. Oh, and there will be plenty more; short sleeves, gathered, sleeveless. I am even planning on how I can make an Edwardian inspired version with insertion.

Pattern: Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde Blouse
Size: 3
Adjustments: None, followed the pattern exactly
Fabric: Green, orange and pale pink floral; my grandma's stash
Notions: Seven red buttons; grandma's stash
Wear With: Most skirt shapes, either tucked in or out
Make Again: most definitely