Sewing, vintage

1920s kimono negligee

I won a prize in the 2017 Designin’ December challenge for this Dior knockoff, the prize being two PDFs from the Vintage Pattern Lending Library. I chose the 1920s hat (made here ) and also this rather fabulous kimono pattern. I had some silk that I bought in India picked out to make this kimono, but […]

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handknitting, Knitting, vintage

Vogue giant cable knit sweater

Seemingly a long, long time ago I decided to knit Mark a new jumper from some locally grown and spun yarn that I bought at Bilby Yarns in Willagee. I loved the cream colour with grey undertones and thought that a vintage cabled jumper would provide that Aran feel and be warm to wear as […]

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Sewing, vintage, vintage pledge

Home Journal 1930s dress

I’ve had this 1930s pattern for a long time and couldn’t imagine ever making it, but tah dah, with a bit of pattern modifying and help from Sarah of Workspace Fashion and Design School, I’ve done it! The pattern is Home Journal 4463 and calls for a 34 inch bust, which I don’t have, although […]

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Sewing, vintage, vintage pledge

Three decades spring trench

The Sewalongs and Sewing Contests Facebook group is currently running a competition and trench coats are part of it. I had no intention of participating in this as (a) I’m an admin and ineligible for a prize, and (b) couldn’t face making a trench coat, but somehow I got swept up into the general excitement […]

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Sewing, vintage, vintage pledge

McCall’s 7045: another jacket

I have my two wool jackets (here and here) which I use instead of fleece jackets, but I wanted one which wasn’t quite as warm and even more casual, so I had a burrow in my stash and came up with a piece of bamboo knit leftover from two pairs of tracksuit pants, and a […]

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Sewing, vintage, vintage pledge

1930s beach romper

“What?” I hear you say “beach rompers at her age?” and you would be correct, I am possibly mutton dressing as lamb, but I possibly don’t care, I love these! They are, of course, the Decades of Style, 1930s Beach Romper, which I kept looking at and not buying, and then came the sale last year […]

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Sewing, vintage, vintage pledge

Mondrian dress

I’ve been wanting a Mondrian dress since the late 1960s and have been looking for an affordable original dress pattern for a few years now, and even bought the Great British Sewing Bee book because it had the pattern in it. However, I was quite disappointed that it isn’t a very sophisticated pattern and seems to […]

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Sewing, vintage, vintage pledge

1930s Capelet

When I was preparing my Vintage Pledge, I wanted to practice the Decades of Style 1930s Capelet before I cut into the silk velvet so I made this one – from a curtain which I got free at REmida, and I lined it with some hot pink pongee from Fabulous Fabrics. That collar is supposed to sit up or down, not […]

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Sewing, vintage, vintage pledge

A modern twist on the 1937 dress

Whilst I was making the Lutterloh dress for my vintage pledge, I made another one out of ponte, which gave it a completely different look and feel. I really wanted to highlight the lovely lines of the dress and so I needed to use contrasting fabric. I was tempted to put a collar on this one, but […]

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Sewing, vintage

A maxi skirt for wintery days

I made the maxi skirt version of Vogue 1524 from the 1970s, and so this forms part of my vintage pledge. This is the same pattern as my  blue skirt but for some reason it’s much bigger in the waist. The pattern calls for the skirt to be very gently gathered into the waistband, and I […]

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