Vintage Pattern Love

I bought a vintage pattern from a thrift store recently after finding out that my other pattern didn't work out :( It was ripped and the seller didn't want to send it on good conscience, but was very sweet about the whole thing. These things happen. I figured if I purchased a pattern that gave me a nice fitted bodice, I could do several things with it. I could add a band and a circle skirt and tah dah!: fifties dress. I could also do a peplum top since those are all the rage now, but I think my hips are a little too hippy for that.

Cutting out the pattern was fairly simple, and I traced it onto some sturdier paper afterwards. I don't want to handle something this old too often, especially if it works!

The muslin on the dress form looked nice enough, with fancy darts and tucks (I have worked with darts, but I've never done tucks before) but I could tell right away it was too big. I tried it on and it was just a size too large, so I turned to Colette Sewing Handbook for a lesson on adjusting patterns.

Adjusting a pattern is not the easiest thing ever, I have learned, but I have made too many clothes that didn't fit right because I didn't test or adjust the pattern. If I'm going to spend some good money on fabric, I don't want to waste it.

Do it right, and do it once!

Once I got started and figured out what I was doing, it was not that bad, just time consuming. (Though, to keep it in perspective, much less time consuming than starting over!) I slimmed the pattern by a quarter of an inch all over, as it was just a hair too big for me, brought in the darts and tucks, and brought out the hips a little bit.

The result was a second muslin that fit wonderfully! Time to commit to the real deal!

I worked with this cotton lawn from Lisette that featured popsicles and ice cream. A perfect fabric for summer, for teaching, and for giggles. I like clothes with a sense of humor. My favorite dress to teach in is covered in cats.

For my first foray into vintage clothing, pattern adjusting, darts and tucks together, and installing an invisible zipper, I feel fantastic about the results!! I feel very Mad Men in this top, especially paired with my favorite circle skirt from the Limited. I'd love to get a nice grey skirt together to go with it--I think the black may be a little harsh, but other colors might be too matchy-matchy.

Or should I go blue skirt? Mad Men ladies match pretty well. Let me know what you think!

Welcome August

Well kids, it's that time of year again. Summer is winding down and school is starting up again, earlier for us teachers than students. I have had an absolute blast this summer but I'm so ready to get back into school. My friends ask "oooo you're going back to school soon. Is that a sore subject? Should we not talk about it yet?" with wincing faces like they're ready to apologize. "No!" I tell them, "I'm so excited!" I need routine and structure in my life... I need to work! And I can't wait to meet this year's students and get to know them. I've had so much fun teaching so far and I'm looking forward to continuing the journey.

So how did I do with my summer? Well, here's the list!

Some notes: Storyteller is appropriately halfway crossed off. That man lived a long life. Movies at the Park is just going to go off the list altogether next year. We never seem to get out there (mostly because it's Mr. Kopf's poker night and that is sacred). Expand my horizons happened in ways other than taking an online class (I'm saving that for the fall). Finished WIPs included the college tshirt quilt, but not the quilt I was really planning on finishing, and not the washi either... Judge me!

With the start of school quickly approaching (we start this Thursday!) I've been sequestering myself in my craft room, sewing non-stop! I call this "binge-sewing," and it has resulted in a backlog of posts and fun photos. While I'm busy setting up my classroom and attending meetings, I'll be posting these entries, so it will appear that I'm still living in the summer just a little bit longer. 

Here's a sneak peek of what I've been up to!

Dresses for Libby

I often wear my homemade clothes to school, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes I just get a compliment, to which I can proudly respond, "yeah I made it." Sometimes, in the instance of my Miss Honey Dress, I got a lot of questions during the school day "oh my gosh did you make that?" "Cute dress, I bet you made it!" to which I asked my fellow teachers "should I be sad that so many people recognize this as homemade?" to which I answered myself "maybe."

Now I have been there long enough (and taught that sewing class...) that I have a reputation for making my own clothes. It's really nice to have a student ask if I made my skirt and get to respond "No, Loft handled this one," while thinking "Oh my goodness you think I have the patience for this many pleats?! Bless you child!" I sometimes wish I could hand out house points like in Harry Potter when students do things like this, but that might just inspire a lot of sucking up... grades are enough.

Libby is a former student (all grown up and graduated!) and a sewing enthusiast herself. When she asked if I could make her clothes this summer, we both giggled about how fun that would be, but can you believe it--it actually happened! Libby wanted a couple of 60's inspired shift dresses and picked out some pretty 60's inspired fabric to match.

The flower print is a boat neck featuring some cute white piping. The pink shift dress has a three quarter sleeve and a scoop neck. Excellent choices by Libby.

Is she not the cutest thing you ever did see?! She's like a tiny Audrey Hepburn, so I think the dresses are a nice fit to her sense of style. 

We had a couple fittings just to make sure it was all going well--it felt very Project Runway--and had a lot of fun designing the outfits together. In fact, I watched a lot (and I mean a lot) of Project Runway while I was sewing.

I've been looking forward to this blog post but at the same time, I'm so sad it's over! Libby will have to model for me again sometime. My cats really like her, after all.