Sewing in the Forties

Hey everyone,

I've just come across this short film by Simplicity from 1948. If you have a spare 20 minutes I heartily recommend getting yourself a cuppa and enjoying the sewing adventures of Betty. Some of the language is amazingly twee and outdated but the fashions are still current and being re-worked by designers the world over even now. I think this is a real gem and the sewing techniques and tips are current even now.
Happy viewing!

 

Simplicity wrap skirt

 Happy Sunday one and all,

I trust you've all had suitably fab and relaxing weekends. After drinking more tea that should be humanly possible this morning, whilst listening to my vinyl Vera Lynn album (my new theme song is It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow) and reading trashy home mags, I finally launched myself into the day.

After a slight delay I finished my Simplicity 7352 wrap skirt and I have to say I'm pretty darn happy with it. My variations to the pattern included:

• making the skirt reversible by adding a contrasting fabric but I kept the yokes the same on both sides
• I added several inches length to the ties since those suckers are always far too short for my liking
• I top stitched the whole thing 1/8 inch which took a while but was worth  it

 

The very cute sewing themed fabric

I also toyed with the idea of adding a pocket at the side seam which would have probably been ok but having tried it on I'm glad I didn't as I fear it might have messed with the nice A-line effect.

All in all this was a super simple and straightforward make. I highly recommend it because the cut is really flattering on 99.9% of the population and is a classic style. It's quite similar to a modern pattern called the Miette doing the rounds at the moment by the lovely and talented Tilly of Tilly and the Buttons but mine is 37 years old!

Some of you may be thinking 'I don't know if a wrap skirt is for me. Don't those leave you with countless opportunities for unintentional knicker exposure'? I confess I also had these worries but they have been banished after trying this baby on. The back panels are of a very generous width meaning there's plenty to 'wrap around' if you know what I mean. If you were feeling particularly nervous about it though one solution could be the placement of a discreet press stud on the inside of the flap and outside of the skirt. A word of warning though, this can affect the drape of your skirt so you may want to get the help of a friend to place it carefully. You'd also need to do this before sewing the two sides together if it's reversible.

So, that's the end of my sewing adventures for another week. I hope you all have a great week ahead!

What's on the sewing table?

Hello one and all!
After my hiatus I am back and ready for a season of cosy, fireside activities. I'm not going to lie, I had a freaking amazing holiday. It was beyond lovely to spend some quality time with my folks in a place that wasn't one of our respective homes. We were all forced to chill out and relax and, as it turned out for Mum anyway, buy a whole lot of shoes (don't ask).

After a fab time in Hawaii I jetted over to LA (I love how that sounds) to see my best pal of all time and soul sister par excellence. I can't begin to describe how good for my soul it was being with someone who just gets me. After a few days together I felt like my old self again, that would be the best version of myself - great friends just bring that out in you don't they?

Anyway enough gushing. I'm now back in bonnie Scotland and there's been a definite Autumnal shift in the weather and the days are drawing in. This means two things. The first is that I need to get the garden 'put away' as my gardening guru Aunt would say. I am hoping to tackle the bulk of that work on Sunday. This also means factoring my interloping chook who not only has stayed on but who I am now trying to integrate with my two existing chookies. More to the point, Francois as I had named him, may in fact now be Francine. All the suspiciously cockerel-shaped tail feathers have disappeared and he is looking more and more like a she. Who knows but I feel responsible for the blighter now so we're all one big happy family from now on.

The second thing is the return big style of some crafts that are perfect for the fire side. I'm talking about crochet. In the spirit of the season I picked up Niki Trench's book Cute and Easy Crochet. I really like this book, it is full of projects I'm reasonably confident I can not only start, but finish (not always the case with craft books). I decided to tackle the chunky shell scarf but instead of using chunky wool I went for a teal 100% Shetland style wool and I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming along. It'll look better finished and pressed so I'll keep you posted. I'd forgotten how many odd looks crocheting in public can attract but it's a nice diversion on boring public transport journeys.

I've also been stitching a super sweet 1976 Simplicity wrap skirt pattern, with one or two hacks to make it more my style. I'll post a couple of pics of the finished article shortly. My skirt is the one with the ultra stylish pointed yoke (which required a moderate number of swear words to finish) and ties around the front. To say I found the greatest sewing-themed fabric ever to use on this project would be an understatement and pics will follow.

I also found myself lurking around eBay the other night when I happened on a couple of auctions for fab patterns finishing imminently. I bid and won both for the bargain price of £0.99 each! Result! Both are Simplicity patterns from 1967 and are from the Jiffy range, meaning they have only a few pieces and should be pretty speedy to whip up. I can't wait to get started!

So, I hope you have fulfilling projects to keep you distracted over the coming months. Apparently this winter coming is supposed to be a doozy and not in the good way so plenty of projects will be needed to see us all through.