Old projects - Part 3

This time it's two light and breezy summer dresses... tent dresses to be exact. I think this might be one of the easiest dress "patterns" I've ever worked with. First of all there is no pattern. ;)

The instructions were in a Finnish ladies magazine from 1959 (Kotiliesi). The article tells that this dress was one of the things featured in an British tv-series for home sewing without patterns that played the year before in British televisin.

I made one using sheer light beige cotton with two toned brown paisley print. I was supprised how well it turned out. Because it's cut on bias, the fit wasn't that bad either. It was easy, but took some time, because of all the hand sewing... I'm not sure anymore, but I think I hand hemmed it.

Once I was at it, I also made another one using linen. It was a bit thicker than the paisley print, so the fit wasn't that flattering. Also, I didn't have enough fabric, so I had to add a ruffle to the hem to make the gress little longer. Not that bad, but not very good either. This time I added adjustable straps because I got thinking I might not be using this dress myself - and I never did.

After the two muslins (that's what these really were) I quite liked the easy design and one day might even try it again.

I've still got the instructions somewhere and maybe I could post them here... if anyone's interested?

Old projects - Part 2

I have this thing... I keep making stuff that I'll never wear. I still don't know how I ended up choosing pale apple green for this dress after I found that nice border print in aqua. Total waste of fabric. I thought about going crazy and using orange (yes, there's orange in the roses if you look closely). Orange is a nice color, it suits me and brightens up my day. With a happy color like that I could have at least used the dress around the house if I was too lazy to dress up properly...

Pale greens and yellows just are not for me. I don't know how I keep forgetting that. Usually it happens with pale apple green - I love that color, but it doesn't work for me in oh so many ways. Bold colors and prints are good, pale pastels will do if it's light blue or right kind of pink, but never ever will I look good in pale green, got it? No, I never do, just keep making the same mistake every few years again and again... I actually even had some orange fabric that I could've used, but decided to take it easy and go with the pale green. Bad choice!

So, I never wanted to wear this dress once I'd finished it. I just felt I was vanishing from sight when I put it on. I thought using black accents would be enough to spice up the paleness and make the dress work for me, but I was wrong. Every time I even tried it on I just started feeling crumpy.

Yes, it's my first and (so far) only version of the famous Walkaway Dress (reissued pattern), originally Butterick 6015, reissued as B4790.

Finished dress had a perfect fit and looked kind of cute, but the color of the overskirt made me sick. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful when someone else wears it... just really not me. I did have to shorten the bodice a bit, but that's the usual alteration I need to make so it really doesn't count. I did notice that the underskirt had the tendency to ride up a bit, so if I'll ever make this again, i'll need to fix that problem somehow.

This story does have a happy ending: Once again I sold the dress to a new happy owner (who looks good in pale green).

Here's a better view of the underskirt. That borderprint was so nice... Good thing I bought plenty! ;)

Old projects - Part 1

I thought I should show you some of my old sewing projects... now that I finally found pictures of some of the lovelies I've already passed on to new owners. This is also a sewing blog, right? ;)

First one is a soft white (with two tone pink roses) linen swing dress with full circle skirt and self fabric belt. I made this about fifteen years ago, got to wear it once or twice, but because those little cap sleeves were just a bit too tight for my strong arms, this never became a favorite of mine. ;) After about ten years I decided I wasn't going to fix the sleeves (and that I'm really not that into pink) and sold it to a very nice lady with smaller arms (Who keeps asking for more - I just haven't had the time to sew for her yet. Sorry!). I made a petticoat to go with the dress for her after she bought it...

I really loved that fabric. The print was just about perfect, even with the pink-factor considered. I made the pattern myself and spent a lot of time on little details like the belt buckle. I loved the (slightly unpractical) combination of boat neckline on the front and very deep v-neckline on the backside. I also made a matching little scarf... I don't know where I got all the energy those days. ;)

What a week!

We've been experiencing warm weather lately here in Finland. If it gets over 30C it's a record around here... and that's happened like three or four times within a week. I couldn't be happier! The heat wave also explains why it's been so quiet in Finnish blogworld lately... all bloggers are out absorbing the light and heat now that we finally have some. ;)

I've been busy enjoying the weather and touring flea markets and thrift stores (and washing windows), and I've actually found some pretty nice stuff touring around the neighbourhood: old cardboard suitcases, nice vanity table (needs a little TLC), nightstand/side table (can't decide which), black suede shoes from 40's, some cute clothes, big bunch of artificial frowers, etc. And I finally got to wear my new 60's/70's tent dress. Look, it's got a big pocket with Eiffel Tower! When I saw it I knew I just had to have it...

I'd really need a pair of Eiffel earrings to go with the dress to make it super kitchy... Something like these (from Distracto Girl).

I also won a giveaway held by the lovely Yesterday Girl and got these cute souvenir goodies from Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in mail two days ago. She was sweet to include that lovely felt brooch too (made it herself!)... :) If you haven't visited her blog yet, you relly should. ;)

Giveaway alert!

Jessica of Chronically Vintage is having the greatest giveaway: a $75 gift certificate from CollectibleSpectacle! I'm super excited. I'm always lookin for "new" vintage frames.

Here are some of her personal favourites for the inspiration:


For those of you who do not need eyeglasses there's also a good variety of vintage sunglasses, so if you haven't entered this giveaway yet, I suggest you do it right now! Hop to it! ;)