1920s Style

The Great Gatsby and a new season of Boardwalk Empire are inspiring me to go roaring 20s.  As I started looking for patterns I found I wasn't the only one. Miss Crayola Creepy has started The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge.  I'm a bit late so I don't think I will finish by the deadline but I am still inspired to create my own 1920s dress. I will definitely have time to finish before the next season of Boardwalk Empire premiers.

I've found the following vintage knitting patterns that would be fun.

Beaded Knit Scarf

Summerland Sweater on Ravely

1920s dresses seem to be harder to find.  There are a lot of reproduction patterns for other decades but it looks like most patterns come in the typical flapper costume or actual vintage patterns.  Miss Crayola Creepy has a blog post about finding 1920s patterns online.  I think I am going to choose one of the following patterns for purchase from Mrs. Depew Vintage on etsy.  She has some cute patterns from other decades as well.

Tiered One-Piece Dress Pattern

Straight-Line Tunic Pattern

I'll keep you posted on which pattern (or patterns) I choose. Have you found any cute 1920s patterns?

Is it Halloween yet?

I've started prepairing for Halloween!  Now don't think I'm too early, I have holiday rules. 

1. No Halloween decorations before October 1st, and no Christmas decorations before Black Friday.

2. Halloween decorations must be removed the weekend following Halloween and Christmas decorations much be taken down the weekend after New Years.

3. The only exception....The Nightmare Before Christmas.  This is a good movie anytime.

Of course us crafters will have to start crafting much farther out to ensure crafts are done in time for a holiday. Like I previously mentioned I got the Just Cross Stitch Halloween edition.  Irony...I'm using it to make Christmas presents!  Here is the progress.

 

Also on needles is a black lace shawl.  I started this quite some time ago but had it stashed away.  Here is a link to the pattern.

JoAnns recently had a sale on Holiday Fabric so I bought some cute grey fabric with spiders and webs.  I plan on making an A line skirt with this.  Isn't it cute?

I realized all these current projects had a Halloween Theme.  Has anyone else started Holiday projects?

Summer Shorts - Butterick 8170

At the Wicker Park fest a few weekends ago, I noticed a lot of girls had high waisted shorts. That inspired me to use this Butterick pattern 8170 and left over fabric from my red office dress.

When I initially put these shorts together they were a little larger than I wanted.  I figured they were made of cotton and I could throw then in the dryer a littler longer and might shrink a little. They shrank almost too much.  Of course I washed the fabric before I started sewing but this makes me want to wash cotton fabric twice before I sew with it.  Does this happen with anyone else?

The Circle Skirt

This is my new favorite skirt!  Got the instructions from Sew What! Skirts.  Its a little shorter than I wanted but works great with a t-shirt. I already bought more fabric to make another.  It was so easy I finished it up after work on evening.

New Floral Dress - Simplicity 4298

Finished my new floral dress!  Same pattern as the little roses dress, Simplicity 4298 version #5.  I think this fabric worked great for this dress.

While I am happy with the finished project I was intimidated with the belt instructions.  Both dresses I've made look much better with a belt but I just made do with one I already had. After playing around online I found someone else who had the same problem with this pattern.  I found her blog post through Vintage Pattern Wiki.  She illustrated how she created the perfect matching belt for her dresses (both of which are so cute!).  Thank you for posting Aimee.

Historical Fashion

Huzaah! Went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire this weekend.  I wore a dress that my aunt put together about 10 years ago for me.  Here are some pictures of me, my dress and my friend Christine in chain maille.

While I love this dress and have gotten use out of it for the past 10 years (yes, I am a renaissance faire nerd and proud of it!) I can't help but dream of a more elaborate new costume.  I found this pattern at Simplicity and am trying to convice my aunt to help me with it.  It calls for more than 6 yards of home decor weight fabric (which means $$).  I don't think its a project I will be starting soon but I can always dream can't I?

Here are some more pictures from the faire.

Ladies in Waiting, these are the type costumes I would love.

Mmmmm....

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I.

A beautifully dressed Lady I stopped in the street. Another example of a dress I would love to have and wear to the faire one day. 

Simplicity 4298

My next project will be Simplicity 4298 #5.  I used version #2 of this pattern before to make my tan dress with roses (see 60s weekend dress). It was easy to follow and I love the variety that came with this one pattern.  

Although I'm still using a floral fabric its quite different than the other fabric I used. I loved the vintage look of the small roses but I don't usually wear such light colors.  Most of my clothes are black and while I am trying to get away from that I still like dark colors.  This new fabric has a little bit of both.  Its a navy blue background with asian inspired flowers of all colors.  

Now that I've been buying and creating vintage dresses I've notice many bright colors people wore in past decades compared to today.  Even modern colored dresses tend to not be as bright as is decades past.  Although I would like to add more colors I can't help but love wearing black sometimes. 

Collared Red Dress

Here are pictures of my finished red dress from a vintage Simplicity pattern.  Its a great dress to wear the office and I added a black scarf to give it a little more vintage flare.  My friend saw me and asked if I was a stewardess, lol.  I also included a picture of the nice button I found.  It had a little anchor on it, how perfect for a vintage dress!

Simplicity 1924

Here is my next sewing adventure. I found this pattern in a vintage shop in Rockville, Indiana last year. After completing my last dress I'm feeling confident to make another.

For this dress I've decided to use a red cotton. Maybe decided isn't the right word. I have red cotton already purchased in my closet. Originally I bought these 5 yards to make a full circle skirt. After making the doodle below I've decided red would look totally cute in style 1. Plus as a beginner the cotton is easy to work with. Maybe I will even have enough left over to still make the full circle skirt.....or at least an A-line skirt.

I've washed and ironed the fabric and now I just need the time. My friend is getting married out of town so I will be busy with the wedding (I'm in the wedding party). I'm sure I will have cute pictures to share from Florida where the wedding will be. Once I return I'll be starting this cute dress just in time for the May weather!

60s Weekend

I had a 60s weekend. I finished my dress and I couldn't be happier with it! Simplicity 4298, dress #2. There was no date on the pattern but I'm sure its from the early 60s. I kept at it while listening to the Doors on Pandora. Even though I mostly listen to rockabilly and punk I love the Doors.

Saturday night I watched Night of the Living Dead. I had to get some zombies in this weekend now that the Walking Dead season 2 is over.

Just finished this dress today and I'm thinking of wearing it to work tomorrow. We've been so spoiled with the weather this spring in Chicago. Hopefully it will continue to be warm enough so I can show it off.

Now its time to relax before the work week. Looks like Ray is on TV tonight. Guess I'll keep up with the 60s theme!

Rose Colored Sweater

Why is finishing a sweater the hardest part? I have finished knitting pretty much the whole sweater pictured above but have to sew it together and do the finishing touches and it will be ready. As soon as I'm done with this I have a matching dress to sew together.