Finally finished- the 1940s cherry delight dress!

Made partially on my Singer 99 and partially on my Singer 221 featherweight, this dress is finally finished and I have to confess, it is one of my favourites so far… a classic style full of sweetness! It feels like this took ages to do, but I had to do it incrementally as with all my sewing projects.

Vintage sewing machine lovers note: the buttons were done with my SINGER buttonholer attachment (I love love love this gadget)! With my elna SU, I had to do “manual” buttonholes, the sewing machine attachment makes it all so fast! I mean, really, really fast!

The fabric was purchased at Spotlight when I was pregnant with my little girl (she is two in October, so I am pretty sure they wouldn’t stock it anymore). The pattern is 1940s, Simplicity. Whenever I come across those vintage/ retro hangers )(which I recollect well enough from my own childhood) I snap them up… so fun!

Hope everyone else is sewing up a storm also!

My sewing week in pictures

With the arrival of my “new” Singer buttonholer from the Us (coolest sewing gadget ever)? I have been making lots of progress!

Inspiration can always be found in my vintage Montgomery Ward catalogues!

Enough leftover Hawaiian fabric is going into a shirt for my son… Will be a fun one for the beach in a few weeks!

To tuck or not to tuck…

Trying to figure out your Singer tucker attachment? These extracts from “Machine Sewing” a manual for home economics teachers (1930) might help… (is anyone else there as smitten with old school sewing attachments)?

I am actually longing to make this tailored dress…. Sewing machine attachments like tuckers are novel time savers!

For SINGER sewing machine enthusiasts I am also posting this attachment list from the book, in case you are hunting down accessories for your machine.

Happy sewing!

Loving my bias binder

Bebarfald Bluebird sewing machine… Sewing Efficiency

A few pages on attachments for Bebarfald Bluebird fans… Sewing Efficiency is actually useful for anyone interested in sewing machine attachments, the application is essentially the same… Let me warn you some of the seam binding techniques are not that easy (on my Singer at least). Anybody use a Bluebird? Do you love it? What’s your favourite accessory?

So pretty!

Love love the image above..  I want to do that!

Love love ruffles… Best attachment ever! This is my Greist ruffler attachment for low shank machines… Works great on the Elna Su but probably not the best fit for my Singer 99…

These are my feet for the Singer 99 at present. The adjustable hemmer seen on the bottom left is my favourite gadget at the moment.

It’s super easy to use when you get the hang of it…

I will move into singer featherweight Territory soon… I have just found one…. My birthday is later in the year but it will make a great pressies from hubbie.

Happy sewing!

Baby doll on my mind…

Sewing time has been very limited of late.. But I am determined to finish a baby doll nightie by this Sunday… Here is the pattern, the liberty lawn and trim…

Who doesn’t love a baby doll nightie???

Here is some more late 50s to early 70s inspiration from my collection of patterns and catalogues… Enjoy!

A new special addition at Vanessa Loves Vintage on etsy

Its Australia day weekend here in Aus and it feels like I have spent most of the day “working”… Many years ago I chanced upon an elderly seamstress and acquired a number of items from her own collection of vintage patterns. You know, pretty Australian Home Journals from the 40s and 50s, a gorgeous 40s Vogue Counter Catalogue from 1947 (it was the first of a number of treasured volumes) and a very special dressmaking book from the 1950s, designed for the home seamstress who wanted to draft their own patterns. I feel such a bond with other seamstresses…  Especially those who worked through the years of austerity during World War II- who doesn’t admire thrift, talented workmanship, the skill to make something from nothing in such times? At the time it seemed very dear but I knew from all the gorgeous designs I was going to treasure it… forever! The book was similar to Lutterloh and imagine how wonderful to know it is out of copyright and in the public domain.

So its taken me a while to reproduce it, but I FINALLY added it to my etsy store as an ebook today. For 225 pretty patterns including evening gowns, halter dresses, lingerie and childrens wear, I think its a value buy!

Anyway, here is the eye candy… All of these designs are in the book. The book shows you how to draft each corresponding pattern piece. It does assume a healthy knowledge of garment construction. I wish I had the figure for some of those Claire McCardell style bathing suits!!!

Everyone loves a vintage apron… (A work in progress)!

…not least of all because they are relatively quick sewing projects that can be worn frequently… I don’t have enough so thought Mccall 1279, which first became available in the 1940s was a great choice… And I so love ruffles. This pattern was sold by Mccalls well into the late 50s, a testament to its popularity. Here is the work in progress. I was going re-make it sans bows but you can see the overlap creates a slight pucker so it’s a necessary design detail. For anyone else making this, I added a small square of iron on interfacing to each corner of the slit (wrong side) to reinforce it. Still deciding about lace trim on the ruffle… The pink version on the top right is so girly… Yes, I also used my beloved ruffler foot. The fabric is a cotton floral by Riley Blake. I hope to finish it before tomorrow night, weekend activities permitting. Will definitely make my little girl one in the next few years in a smaller size so we can match! As was fashionable in the 50s… Super easy pattern to draft for a little one, just use one of your little girls skirts to get an idea of the width and depth you want.

Vintage apron patterns, featured in Mccalls catalogue November ’57

Vintage patterns eye candy…  And info for anyone trying to date their apron pattern… The image on the top right is McCalls 2184, the model looks a bit like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, doesn’t she? I think it shows the “Audrey effect”.

I definitely need a cobbler… I would walk through the house cleaning up and collecting toy cars in my pockets! 😉

A tale of two bodices, Butterick 1953

Two fabulous patterns featured in my Butterick store catalogue, February 1953… Love these designs, took ages to find them both! So feminine, so pretty. So very Dior inspired?