Flour Power

When I went out for dinner last week the menu said cauliflour instead of cauliflower (New Zealanders tend to pronounce flower like flour anyway). This led to a discussion about the correct spelling of cauliflower and of course everyone pulled out their phones to check. I love old clothes, but new technology is pretty great too. Speaking of old clothes, this 1950's dress is new (to me, at least).  

It was hot and windy, and I was really tired so the pictures aren't that great.  

Thanks for all your comments about my new job. I bought the dress with my first paycheck. It was there when I got home from work today so I had to try it on. 

So hot I'm not even wearing tights

Dress: Trademe

Shoes: Golden Ponies 

Beware of the Leopard

I started a full time job this week and the dress code requires 'corporate' wear. I've been at uni for the last five years where I could wear whatever weird and wonderful things I liked. Somehow I don't think full skirted 50's dresses in novelty and floral prints would be considered appropriately corporate at my new job. This pretty much cuts out my whole wardrobe. I thought I better make some work clothes, still vintage style, of course. 

For my first piece of corporate attire, I used Simplicity 4987 from the early 60s. I made a full skirted version of this pattern pretty recently in a lemon print. I wanted to use a black stretch cotton that's been in my stash for ages but it seemed a bit boring by itself.  

Leopard print makes everything more exciting (in my opinion, at least) so I used it for the neckline trim. The leopard print fabric is the tiny scraps left over from this jacket. There wasn't much there but I'd always planned to make some cuffs or something out of it so I kept it.

I added a couple of patch pockets with leopard print trim to the front of the skirt too. 

I've seen vintage dresses with angled pocket welt pocket flaps and wanted to create a similar effect with the patch pockets by placing them on at an angle. 

I'm pleased with the way it turned out. It's appropriate for work but still fits in with my usual vintage style.

Dress: Simplicity 4987
Belt: Op shopped
Shoes (which you can't see): Mischief Shoes

McCall's 8813 Progress

I've almost finished the jacket part of the suit I'm making. It's taken me quite a while because of all the hand sewing. I hand sewed the whole lining in place. This is an experience I'm not that keen to repeat because it took forever.  

The lining is the leftovers from some fabric I used before to line a jacket. I love fancy printed linings. It's not actually lining fabric so it's really nice and soft. It originally cost me just over $1 a metre, but I'm going to call it free since it was leftover from another project.

The flaps look like they be pockets but they're just decorative. I stitched them down with a few hand stitches because they were flapping all over the place. 

Just ignore the fact that it doesn't fit the mannequin. It's smaller than me. I have a few little things left to do on the jacket, like pressing and stitching down the collar, and then I'm done.

After that, I have the skirt to do. I'm using Simplicity 3581, view 3. It should go together much quicker than the jacket.

What I'm Sewing

I don't generally post pictures of things that I'm in the middle of sewing. Mostly because, in my rush to finish something, I forget to take photos. The project I'm working on at the moment, a suit, is pretty labour intensive and slow. Since most of the detail is inside, I thought I'd take some pictures of the inner workings before they get covered up by the lining.

I'm using McCall's 8813 for the jacket. I bought the pattern without the envelope, so the only picture is the black and white one on the instruction sheet. I can't find any info about when the pattern dates from, but the next pattern number up (McCall's 8814) is from 1952, so it's probably from around then.

I don't love the straight skirt in the McCall's pattern. It seems like an unflattering shape and length, and I don't like the seam down the front. I'm thinking of using a pencil skirt pattern like the one above that I recently op shopped.

The white thread is just basting holding the buttonholes closed

This is the jacket so far. I'm using a dark green wool that I got from trademe. Because good wool fabric is almost impossible to buy here (in a country where there are more sheep than people), I ended up buying a secondhand roll that had 16 metres on it. This was way cheaper than buying one of the nasty wool blend (20% wool, 80% polyester, 100% likely to start pilling if you so much as look at it) fabrics that you can get new.

I couldn't find any in my huge stash that went with the wool, so I made some covered buttons using this old kit that I op shopped. They required lots of bashing with the hammer because the fabric is so thick. I have to say, bashing things with a hammer is quite therapeutic. 

  

The colour came out funny, but they are the same green as the jacket. 

This is the inside. The front and hip pieces are interfaced with hair canvas. Hair canvas feels gross, but it's traditional in tailoring, and the pattern says to use it. It helps things hold their shape. Cotton tape is used along the armholes and the front seams and bias tape along the waistline to strengthen them.

 I still have quite a bit to go on the jacket before I start on the skirt. It's a lot of work, but I'm actually enjoying all the handsewing.