An unflappable Flapper dress

Every other Saturday I head over to the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre Costume Hire Department to volunteer my time helping people choose the perfect theatrical outfit, and to work on plus-size costumes to expand their existing stock. It was a Saturday such as this, and I had arranged to meet my parents for lunch afterwards when I managed to pour my breakfast all down my front! (Yes, I know - can't take me anywhere!)

Luckily, while I popped my dress in the wash, I tried on a dress from our rails that I'd not tried on before - a red & black 1920's number made by another volunteer. I was really impressed with the fit and the flare in the skirt of the dress and insisted on borrowing the pattern immediately!

The original had been made in a crepe though I was uncertain if I would make mine from the same, and as I needed to have a browse of some sparkly trims for a separate customer's commission anyway, I headed to the Indian and Asian fabric shops. 

As I was only really experimenting with the pattern, I didn't want to spend a great deal on the fabric, but I lucked out with what I found. One of the shops was selling a set of fabrics for making a complete outfit - trousers in plain, tunic in patterned, and sheer fabric for a scarf - all colour co-ordinated and only £5 for a 7 yard bundle! I'll be going there again.

It's quite a light fabric, so my overlocker was needed for every seam to prevent a fraying nightmare. The pattern itself was nicely written out - though I had to be careful with my labelling so as not to get confused by all the skirt gores - good old post-its! 

The red & black version was sleeveless, but with the sheer scarf fabric in my bundle I thought it'd be nice to make the bishop sleeves view that were included in the pattern. I think it makes it a bit more wearable too.

Finally, I couldn't bear not to add a bit of glitter after all the bling-hunting I'd been doing for my sparkly client, so I added just a little trim to the dropped forward shoulder seam above the gathers.

It twirls fantastically on the dance floor and even matches my hair!

Fetch my golfing knickers!

I'm still studying my 1945 tailoring book, though it's seriously hard going! When a friend asked me if I could make him some plus fours for a fancy dress do I jumped at the chance. As it's for fancy dress I don't have to be too worried if it's not perfect, so a great opportunity for me to try with not too much pressure.

The pattern was one that I'd bought over a year ago now, and the instructions consisted of nothing more than a badly scanned envelope from the 1920s! It didn't have any pictures, just 2 paragraphs of badly punctuated text. Needless to say, this was actually quite a challenge for my first pair of men's trousers and the fly is something I'm still not too sure I understand, let alone the crotch guard!

However, they were lined, and had fully working side- and back-pockets, as well as a watch pocket on the front right. I did have to leave the pattern behind towards the end and start improvising, but both I and my friend were really happy with the results - a pair of genuine 1920s plus-fours!