Grey Days

When I bought this fabric from Arthur Toye over a year ago I imagined making a shirtdress (I was obsessed with them at the time). I don't know what I was thinking. It's a thin, sheer cotton. Luckily, I came to my senses.    

Instead of a shirtdress, I decided to make Eva Dress D 40 5087. I've made it before so it was pretty easy to construct. 

I really like all the gathers this pattern has. They are perfect for the weight of the fabric.

Sorry it's blurry. It was dark. 

I didn't have a grey zip in my stash (I always buy zips from op shops but never seem to have the right colour/length when I need it), so I did a combination of hooks and eyes and snaps. I regret it. They require me to perform acrobatic contortions to get them done up. I don't think I can be bothered taking them out and putting a zip in though.  

Apart from the closure problem, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Scarf: Op shopped
Belt: Op shopped
Tights: A shop in the mall, I think
Shoes: Golden Ponies
Dress: Eva Dress D 40 5087

I started a facebook page for the blog. I'll probably post stuff that doesn't warrant a blog post like what I'm going to be sewing next.  

Eva Dress D40-5087

Even though I haven't been posting much, I've been sewing a lot. I have about 10 sewing projects that I haven't got around to blogging about. I thought I'd start with something I finished a couple of days ago. It's also my entry into the EvaDress Pattern Contest.

The pattern is EvaDress D40-5087, an afternoon dress from 1940. I'm not entirely sure what an afternoon dress is but regardless I wore this the whole day anyway.  

Trying not to squint just looks like I'm glaring

I liked the colour of the middle dress on the pattern envelope so I used a green wax print cotton. The pattern instructions were minimal (as most 40s patterns seem to be), but once I deciphered the diagrams it was pretty straightforward.  

You can see the gathering, shoulder yoke and puff sleeves a bit better in this picture. The instructions call for stiffening in the sleeves to make them stand up but I didn't use any because the wax print cotton stays up on its own. I'm not usually a massive fan of puff sleeves but I love these ones. Maybe it's because they are quite high, they look less little girl and more bomb girl.

I really like this dress. I'm already planning on making a more winter appropriate version with three quarter sleeves. 

Wonky seams

These stockings always seem to provoke a reaction from people. I usually get asked at least once when I wear them whether they are tattooed on.

Shoes: Brumby
Stockings: Online somewhere, I can't remember exactly where
Scarf: Op shopped
Belt: Op shopped
Dress: I made it

Bomb Girls

Pictures from Reelz

 Bomb Girls is a Canadian tv show set in the 1940s. It follows four women working in a munitions factory building bombs during World War II. It aired in Canada in January this year and, by some minor miracle, they played it in New Zealand recently. Usually it takes ages for new shows to be played here, if they do at all.



The clothes are gorgeous and it was worth watching for that alone, but, surprisingly, I loved the storylines and characters too. I find period dramas a bit hit and miss. Sometimes I love the clothes but hate the characters (e.g. Mad Men), or I love the clothes but just can't summon up the energy to care about the characters and storylines (e.g. the new version of Upstairs Downstairs). I don't dislike them all (I love Downton Abbey), but I would rather watch a show with interesting and likeable characters that doesn't have amazing costumes, than a boring show with pretty clothes.

I love Vera's coral coloured shirt dress

 The first season of Bomb Girls was only six episodes long but they're making another season. The show isn't perfect, but it did make me cry a few times and laugh quite a lot. I genuinely like the characters and I can't wait to see what happens to them next season. I also love that a show is telling the stories of what women did during the war. Women in munitions factories put their lives at risk making bombs and it seems like their actions are rarely remembered.   

I would wear all of these clothes, even Marco's

I read that there was some criticism of Kate's (second from the left) dress for not being historically accurate because it was too short, but I got the impression that was deliberate. I think it was meant to show that she was still wearing the clothes she had as a young teenager, which makes sense if you watch the show. 

Picture from amatteroftiming

 Bonus picture of Betty and Kate dancing because they are adorable and I ship them.

Paisley Rayon

This dress was really hard to take a photo of because it's pale, and I'm pale, and the house was dark because it was raining outside.

I made the dress from Eva Dress pattern D40-359. I think this is the oldest pattern I've ever made. It's a reproduction of a pattern from 1940.  

The fabric is a 1940s or 50s rayon from Unearthed in Wellington. It has a paisley pattern and then these abstract bow (or maybe flower?) shapes. I'm not normally a fan of synthetics but rayon feels really nice, and it's only a semi-synthetic.

I only just had enough fabric. Even though I had about 4 metres length, like lots of vintage fabrics, the width was really small. It was a total pain in the arse to cut out because it's really slippery. It was kind of hard to sew too. This is why I usually stick to nice, stable, mid weight cottons. So much easier to sew.     

I'm not totally sold on this dress. I love the fabric print and the drape but there's just something about it that I'm not sure about. Maybe it's the colour? Pale colours do not suit me at all. Or maybe it's the shape around the waist? The gathers make it way more droopy than the pattern envelope looks.  I dunno. Maybe it will grow on me.