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!
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!
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!
…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 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! 😉
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?
Gorgeous and flattering…
Claire McCardell images
from a February 1959 pattern catalogue in my collection. Almost a year after her death, her designs were still going strong…
I am definitely pleased that the weather in Canberra is changing- Spring literally is in the air- its almost like a different scent, the light changes this time of year… free of Winter the options for our weekends broaden. I can barely wait. Today could only be described as glorious. It was a gorgeous day actually. My husband and I made it to a little cafe in Canberra called Elk and Pea (in Braddon)- thumbs up, but do book ahead! The interior reminded me of the industrialised decor that is so popular in the cafes near Venice Beach in LA. It was a great feeling to head to the pool for an hour with my son and then some home to listen to them playing ball together in the garden. Life is made of those simple, magic pleasures. I felt so grateful to be alive.
Anyway back to my passion with vintage fashion… Having read a 1940s LIFE magazine article that has me now quite interested in other designers of the era including Carolyn Schnurer and Tina Leser, vintage style resort wear is definitely on my mind! And nothing is so classic as the halter- or as synonymous with the 1950’s, thanks largely to Miss Monroe!
1950s style… eternal
Luscious red- 7454 made up in an early 1950s pattern book (Onondaga silk advertisement)… LOVE the cloth covered buttons…
Below is a 50s Vogue Pattern Book image of 7375 (featured in Vogue’s New Book for Better Sewing– don’t you love the old illustrations in these old pattern books. Art in and of themselves. I actually do have this pattern but making Claire McCardell’s wrap dress pattern is more appealing at the moment. Additionally, whilst I have the book, I misplaced it when we moved house last year. Very annoying… I had really wanted to use the book as a reference. Fortunately, I had made a back up on CD (so I could read it on my iPad using “SPLASHTOP”)… but its probably a little lower on the to do list, especially give it is totally backless… That said, I imagine it would be very quick to make!
There is something so alluring and flattering about the empire line… I like patterns that have a straightforward empire line and those that have a midriff waistline.
Pretty McCall 8437- 1940s glamourarama!
Below are a few examples of patterns that feature pretty midriffs with gathered bust lines… I really think this style is so classic. These appearances were in the 1940s, 1950s and 1970s…
Whilst McCall 8437 is made up as an evening dress I think the shorter length in cotton would also be fabulous for a Summer dress in cotton- I particularly like the subtle slit at the back. The zipper is in the side seam and the instructions advocate the use of grosgrain ribbon for a waistline stay. I have actually started to make this in the pineapple cotton of my last post (to go with the bolero)… most of the bodice pieces have been sewn or basted but I will wait to do the side seams and fully attach the midriff until I can do a proper fitting with a view to finishing it by New Years Eve. Who knows what the second pregnancy will do to my waistline! A small price to pay for a bundle of joy… I will also wait to cut the skirt (but the fabric is all ready and waiting). One modification I will be making is to line the midriff.
If you like this pattern I would recommend it because the instructions are actually pretty good, with notes for sheers (ie hand rolled hems) and velvet… the pattern includes a slip pattern. I think this a gem that will be staying in my collection!
I don’t own this Claire McCardell Spadea 707 (the image is from one of my Spadea catalogues) but it is similar to another McCardell pattern I have and top be honest, there were a few “knock offs” of this Style made by some of the mainstream pattern companies that borrowed many elements odf this dress, so keeping my eye out for them on ebay and etsy…
The flutter sleeve variation on this 1970s Style pattern is a pretty variation too….
When my son has a night at his grandmother’s the hours I get to myself are precious- and yet I am torn between domestic drudgery (ie the need to get the house cleaned and vacuumed etc) and to sew or progress my projects. This morning will be a bit of both.. and as with all my projects this one is coming along incrementally.
Not the best photo but you get the idea- the dress beneath the bolero has just been used as a prop fopr this snap but it is a Tina Leser Original hostess dress from the 1950s that I fell in love with
Retro style pineapple design on Japanese poplin
The bolero on the mannequin has been adapted from the bolero in SPADEA 1055 by Claire McCardell (late 40s/ early 50s design)? An example of the original dress produced by McCardell can be seen here. I lengthened the sleeve a bit and instead of making it in something soft and drapey I have made it in a retro style poplin that I sourced locally but loved, (by and large I like Japanese made cottons).
As you can see the bolero isn’t meant to meet in the middle and has piping and a spaghetti strap at the waist. I am still thinking about whether I take the same path with this bolero… it is unfinished, but I do see it being worn over a dress in same fabric or a white tshirt and skirt. In the short term, I plan to use it as a quasi bad-jacket at the hospital after little one is born.
Here is another 1950s bolero I have on my to sew list, for this Summer or next- this one does make an appearance in my 1957 Advance catalogue so i can date it pretty accurately.
Talmack for Advance- a tie-at-back bolero
I appreciate the photos here aren’t marvellous and I would typically show whole pattern images and snaps from my catalogues. However, after I recently found a professional and well known vintage pattern seller was using images from my blog to sell her patterns- WITHOUT acknowledgement I was a bit surprised. I recognised my own work immediately. I was even more surprised (and disgusted) when she said the images were her own and maybe I was “mistaken”. All I wanted was an acknowledgement of the source. Every other image on the page was watermarked except that one.
So blogger beware. The image in question, was of a Givenchy dress (McCalls 3625)I posted about a couple of years ago. Same angle, same lighting, same page blemishes, just cropped. Cropping someone’s work doesn’t make it your own… I suppose I was just surprised that someone would do that, put it on their sales website and argue it was theirs… without shame. Fortunately, I do believe in karma. AND I will never buy anything from their online store. So very vintage or not.
So fellow bloggers… maybe watermarking every single image is the only way to go?
Its unfortunate, but until I have the time to watermark images from my catalogues, I cant share them here… sorry fellow sewists!
Anyway, what do you think of the humble 50s bolero? I think they have a place in my wardrobe! Especially with out harsh Aussie sun.
Twinkle Sparkle Shine 