This is a smaller post since 1) I wasn’t able to finish my updates to the other yellow (print) dress I was going to include in this post and 2) I (luckily) didn’t have to do much to this one!

So this dress is what has gotten me interested in 1920s style, in terms of actually wearing it, not just admiring it from afar on perfectly willowy, old Hollywood starlets.  I have been fairly convinced that this style makes me look  like a sack of potatoes but when I saw this in Clever Nettle’s shop I knew it had to be mine!  I think this dress works on my frame because it’s short, sleeveless and pretty simple in design. Anything fussier wouldn’t do.

When I got this dress, I also knew it was the perfect place to apply these beautiful antique sequined stars, few of the little things I collected while shopping for wedding stuff last summer.  (They never actually made it into the wedding but I figured they’ll find their purpose eventually.)  And they go so perfectly with this little sequined bag I found a while ago too.

These stars are fragile; the backing is paper.  To make them more sturdy I glued felt to the back (I used Tacky Glue):

Instead of sewing I pinned the stars onto dress - very gingerly as the fabric is, sadly, frail in some areas.  I have a bunch of really tiny sequined stars too which might be cute applied to the shoes!

Oh, and there’s a cape!  To wear in a mad caper?

I wore this ensemble once to a gallery opening (with different shoes though - seafoam green t-strap sandals from Seychelles and a lacy cream-colored, embroidered cardigan) and it’s already one of my favorites.  In fact, I was so inspired I’m working on an emerald green georgette ’20s dress as we speak!

I have this habit of buying vintage for a bargain (because pieces are damaged, ill-fitting, etc.) and taking forever to getting around to making repairs and thus wearing said items.  But I’ve made the commitment to change this bad habit into a good one and I’m working my way through my to do pile. This is the first post of my vintage dress parade and I’ll detail the fixes and tweaks I’ve made for each one.  I’ll try to remember to include “before” shots next time, hee hee.

The above late 1930s or early ’40s dress was quite the steal as it was falling apart in various places, had a motley crew of ugly buttons and was an unflattering mid-calf length.  My fixes:

• Changed the buttons to clear glass ones with faceted edges; I figured this would work well both in the light-colored printed (and flocked!) fabric as well as the navy blue organdy.  (My camera died before I could get any close up shots.)
• Added bust darts for a better fit.
• Trimmed the flutter sleeves for a little bit more modern look.  (I felt like I would fly away before I narrowed them down!)
• Hemmed the skirt by a few inches.  Each tier in the skirt was a little bit wider (taller?) than the proceeding one, from waist to hem.  Instead of hemming just the bottom tier (and messing up the sequence) or hemming each tier (too much work!), I hemmed the second navy blue tier to match the width of the first one.  This way there is still some order/design to the width of the tiers.
• Used the piece I trimmed off the skirt and turned it into a sash (original belt was missing).  I can see here that the sash could stand to be shortened (that’s the beauty of taking photos of your projects - you see things you might miss in the mirror!).
• Made other minor repairs like loose seams, wonky tiers, etc.

Next: I love wearing this ’50s dress.  I found it soon after seeing (500) Days of Summer and thought it looked like something Zooey’s character might wear.  I bought a pale grey-blue crinoline just for this dress.  I’m also wearing the same pale blue slip I’m wearing under the dress above.  I considered going dark but then you wouldn’t be able to see the print on the sheer fabric very well.  Anyway, here’s what I did:

• Removed the sleeves: this dress had half sleeves with quick and dirty hems that were not so great.  Since I don’t like fixing/sewing sleeves I just took them off and finished the openings by simply folding under the edges (which doesn’t always work due to the curves but luckily it did in this case).
• Let the waist out: the wearer before me had a tiny waist and had taken it in in several spots around the ruched waist panel.
• Hemmed the skirt. (I will almost always do this!)
• Repaired little holes and opened seams.
• (I thought about pinning on that dark blue rose that I’m holding at the waist along with a ribbon sash but the flower is a bit dark and I think the dress looks nice unadorned.)

Hope you enjoyed this little dress tour!

(By the way, thanks for the Lucy love from the last post - it made her blush!)

It’s a perfectly dreary, drizzly day; not good for photo-taking but just right for hot chocolate (which I’ve already had) and split pea soup (which I plan to make for lunch).  Regardless, I snapped this photo of my latest creation, a rag doll named Lucy!

Drafting a pattern for this doll has been a surprisingly slow process.  It was important to me to make this doll from scratch and while I felt like I was reinventing the wheel at times, it’s satisfying to finally get the proportions down.  My doll-making supplies box is full of forlorn and random limbs, which is both a little creepy and amusing.  But finally something just clicked and I drew up these plans rather quickly.

And the hair is completely experimental - how does it look?  It’s a mohair/silk blend yarn from Rowan. And painting on fabric - did you know?  It’s FUN.

Like with my Leda softie pattern, I’ve looked to old-fashioned dolls for inspiration.  Lucy looks like something you’d find in an old chest in the attic, amidst bone china teacups, lace collars and tattered school primers.

I think Lucy needs friends now, don’t you?

Happy Thursday dears!

The lovely Kathleen, over at Australia’s Cleo magazine, contacted me a couple of months ago to contribute to an article about beginning sewing.  Of course, I was delighted!  And I just love how sewing is becoming a more desired skill and I firmly believe anyone with a little patience can learn to sew up at least something simple like an a-line skirt or tote bag.  Anyway, I just received my very own copy in the mail (Thanks, Kathleen!) and I couldn’t wait to share it with you.

The article, “Sew Easy” (in the May 2010 issue), outlines some basic tools, tips for buying a sewing machine and getting started, and a glossary of terms that may be unfamiliar to a beginner.  I must admit it’s a thrill to see one’s name in print and I can’t help but be amused (in a good way) by my quotes in the article such as “Read the pattern instructions before you begin ’so there won’t be any surprises once you’re in the thick of it’…”  Heehee!

And for those of you stopping by after reading the article (Hi!), you might be interested in these links as they are mentioned in Cleo:

» My Handkerchief Dress (to be continued)
» My Wedding Dress

Hope you all have a super weekend!  I very much hope to be productive (sewing and painting-wise) but also rest up from a hectic work week.  Any fun plans?