Ice Cream Sundae

I managed to finish my latest 1950s style dress in time for my birthday celebrations! It's the same dress I mentioned in my previous 'Drafty' post. I was really pleased with the cute little cap sleeves - the printed polycotton was just the right stiffness for it and although I was right about the pattern matching being a bit of a nightmare (horizontal bands of pattern), it was just about possible.

The drafting process wasn't too hard, though it took a while to get the sections to be gathered just right, I was really pleased with the fit of the final piece.

I really didn't have a great deal of fabric to work with, and I used every spare inch that I could while keeping the stripes level.

The sweetheart neckline was created with a centre front gathering, and the whole of the upper front panel was faced with the same fabric. The back was faced with an interfaced crescent. I decided to insert a side zip rather than a centre back one in order to keep smooth lines.

Sadly for the blog photos my friends decided to cover me with tacky birthday badges and a sash at the very start of the evening! (Bless 'em!)

Drafty....

Once all the festivities of Yuletide had calmed down I sat down to some long evenings of drafting. There's a few things on the pad at the moment, including my everlasting pursuit of the 'perfect' french knicker pattern. I'm getting close, but lots of Christmas cheer has made for a bit of a fluctuating waistline which is slowing things down a bit!

I'm also working on yet another 50's style dress, this one with small cap sleeves and a gathered sweetheart neckline. I've got some fabric in mind for this which is a bit on the pink side and might turn into a bit of a pattern-matching nightmare, but will look super cut if it all goes well.

I've also done a pattern for a friend who wanted a yoked blouse with bishops sleeves with a capped top which I can't wait to see. I was so annoyed with myself when I found out I'd drafted it to the waist and not the hip, but it's (hopefully!) easily fixed and I won't make that mistake again!

I'm still working on my tailoring skills too, though it's a slow process! I'm still ploughing through the 1945 tailoring book I found, though I'm having to stop and google every 5 minutes as the language is occasionally foreign to me! I've made some 1940's trousers for me though which I'll get some pictures up of soon.

Happy belated New Year! xxx

Dammit Janet

This was my very precise Janet Weiss outfit worn to see Rocky Horror in December. The pink dress was made from a 50's tennis dress pattern that I'd bought at a vintage fair a year or so ago. Cardigan is Primarni :)

The pattern was my first truly vintage pattern and didn't have any instructions or printed pattern pieces. Just pieces of tissue paper with variously sized holes punched in. It took me a while to figure it all out, not least because the previous owner had for some completely unknown reason chopped off the shoulder parts of the front pieces! There was some very creative cutting but it came out rather nicely.

I rounded the collar to match the shape of the dress in the film and added a belt. Both were made of pink gingham but sadly I couldn't get a 'Janet' necklace in the time I had.

I even had just enough time to knock together the white lace-trimmed split slip she wears underneath, which was lucky as I realised once I started walking around in it that I really could have gotten away with adding another button!

I even curled my hair and abandoned my signature red lipstick. I looked worryingly wholesome! Baby pink is not a colour I wear much, though I have got the perfect outfit should anyone wish to take me on a date to a milkshake bar...