Inspirational Quote

A Setback Can Be the Best Prologue for a Great Comeback.

This is my version of:  A setback is a setup for a comeback.

If nothing else, it gives you a chance to take a breath, reassess, and make a new plan. 

One of my inspirations:  Dara Torres, the comeback kid woman.

In Praise of Other Blogs - My Two Butterflies

I've found another wonderful blog ... my two butterflies by Jennifer Brasher.  She refashions, upcycles and, generally, seems to enjoy life.  Here are links to some of her posts, in case you ever need a little inspiration:

Christmas Wreath with Fabric Flowers

Her tutorial is simple and clear.

Red and Pink Floral Top

 Embellished Cut Out Pullover 

Pullover with Fabric Flower Detail Inspired by Anthropologie

Also check out her:

Anthropologie Inspired Cardigan Refashion 

Boden Inspired Cardigan Refashion

Great Tutorials

30 Days for 30 Dollars




Okay, you get the point.

Thanks for your great ideas and blogging Jennifer.

Happy Sewing!

Nothing Last Forever - Great Sewing Blogs No Longer Posting

In an ongoing effort to organize and simplify my life, I decided to go through the blogs I'm following and retire from my list any that have not posted in over a year.  I was sad to see that some inspiring bloggers are not longer blogging.  I understand that life changes and I hope all of these bloggers are moving on and up to better things.

In an effort not to lose the links to some great posts, I am listing the retired blogs here and a few examples of postings.  I do hope they do not disappear into cyberspace.

Charlie's Sewing Vintage

Cici Speaks

Designer on a Budget

 Inspired by Anthropologie Corsage Tutorial

Five Guineas - Vintage Sewing

Vintage Poppies Blouse
1950's Economy Design E47

                with

Some Notes on Pattern Alterations




Houston Crafter - Not a lot of post but some cute blogs on sewing for children.

Romantic History Historical Clothing

International Blogs and Websites

Patterns and Online Resources

and she is still blogging on Romantic History

Sew Vintage Patterns (If You Can't Find It, Make It!)

Sewing Success sewing Blog

The Costume Blog

                                             Purple Renaissance Bride's Maid Gown

The Dart and the Hem

The Historical Sewing Blog

1800 White Gauze Gown

The Pin Curl Diaries

1940s Overalls - Simplicity 3322







The Vintage Traveler - Old Blog
New blog can be found here.

Very Prairie - A Fashion Sewing Blog

Wardrobe Refashion
The founder of this blog has her own blog:  Nikki Shell 

Does anyone know where "My Renaissance, Georgian, Colonial and Victorian Garb" has gone?  Its address use to be: http://www.noblegarb.com.

Happy Sewing!

La Belle Epoque, Edwardian and WWI Eras ... Sewing Inspiration from Photos and Portraits Past

Another sleepless night; I started surfing for inspiration and found some great photographs and portraits. Though the details are not always as clear as the ads from these eras, I love seeing the women and fashions against the backdrops of the times.





<-- c. 1902 Princess Irene of Hesse from Ann Lauren's blog.












c. 1902 Winifred Duchess of Portland. The collar of her dress looks as if it was inspired by the Elizabethan Era. I wonder what it was made of. It looks so delicate. -->











<-- c. 1905 Portrait of Maria of Romania. I think this gown looks so romantic and relatively comfortable, considering the era.











c. 1908 Mrs. George Jay Gould with her maid. Even the servants of the day seemed to take care and time with their own hair. How did they find the time? -->








^ c. 1910 Les Createurs de La Mode - 9 Salon de Vente - Doucet from Edwardian Era.







<-- c. 1910 Deux Createurs de La Mode, also from Edwardian Era. Please check this site. There are great images on it.










c. 1910's Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger. -->
















<-- c. 1913
















c. 1914 Princess Irina of Russia in her Wedding Gown. -->














<-- c. 1915 Quilted Silk on Chiffon Dress from the Library of Congress Bain Collection. This is another terrific resource.















c. 1915 Mrs James McCresap and Bridesmaids from the NYPL Digital Gallery. I wonder why the bride looks so sad. -->





^ c. 1916 Mrs. Edsel Ford and Bridesmaids. Also from the NYPL Digital Gallery.






c. 1916 Dresses by the Dennison Manufacturing Company from the NYPL Digital Gallery. -->





I hope you've found some inspiration too!

If you like this post, please take a look at my other posts on these eras.

Sewing Inspiration - Flappers and a Little Reality Check ... the 1920's

I think you've seen from past posts that I love the fashion of the late Edwardian and Bell Epoque eras. However, I also know that my sewing skills are not yet up to some of the intricacies these fashions requires. And, I'm not sure I'm ready to wear a corset yet. :) Fast forwarding a few years, I land in the 1920's, time of the flapper, of simpler silhouettes, higher hemlines, greater freedom of movement and the "One Hour Dress."

I'm not sure I'll ever make a wearable dress in one hour, but I do believe that I can make something lovely inspired by this era given a few more hours. Here is one look I would love recreate.

Clara Bow in the 1920's - Check out the great boots.

I'm sure you can find this photo all over the net but I happened to find it on the San Francisco Podcast, Sparkle Tack.

Anna Pavlova in a Garden in the 1920's.

Girls just want to have fun! I love the variations in the details, fabrics and necklines. And, check out the hats. The photo comes from a post on Flatrock.org with the unfortunate title: "Condemned to Be Virgins: The 2,000,000 Women Robbed by the War." I like mine better.

Pictorial Review from Summer 1925. These styles are so simple and sleek with small details and wonderful fabrics. I don't think these are "One Hour" dresses but I could see myself making one in three or four hours. I think I have a pattern or two similar to these. I'll take a look and post photos when I find them.

If you are tempted to try the 'One Hour Dress", please check out the SewMarm's video tutorial. Here is the link to part one of the six part tutorial.

You should also look at Dragonfly Formals' take on the one hour dress. She has three examples which show how you can put your personal touch on the dress. Her use of beads really lift the designs and seem to fit perfectly with the era.

Ok, before signing off, I just had to indulge in a little eye candy:

This beautiful dress has the simple lines I've been talking about but the beautiful beadwork makes it a bit magical. I found this photo on a blog called 100 Years of Fashion.

Here's one more beauty, this one by Norman Hartnell (1924). It's beadwork and embroidery have an Asian influence. This may be more of an 100 Hour Dress.

Have you sewn anything of or inspired by this era. I would love to see you creations and hear your adventures. Feel free to send your links and photos.

Happy Sewing!

If You Love the Fashions of the 1900's and 1910's ... or, Thank You Wilhelmina

I wasn't planning to write an inspiration post tonight but then I found that the wonderful Wilhelmina of Wilhelmina's Antique Fashion has posted a 1900's and 1910's post for me. This was such a sweet and unexpected little gift.

Please check out her blog if you haven't discovered it already. She chooses lovely photos and often includes detailed close-ups, which are great for research. BTW, she covers fashion from 1200 to 1959 so she has a little something for just about everyone intrested in vintage fashion and vintage sewing.

Wedding Gown c. 1907 from Wilhelmina's blog.

Inspired by the photos on her post, I want to share with you and her a few gowns I love from the Antique and Vintage Dress Gallery. They have many museum quality fashions and they include many detailed photos of each outfit.

This is just a little tease:

A Beer of Paris gown from 1905. This is one of two photos of the gown on the original owner. Notice that she is posing on a lion's hide rug. When you see the gown as it is now, notice how the sleeves have been altered and the bodice embellished a bit. Perhaps she had the dress "updated".





This gorgeous gown from 1910 was made for Madame de Bittencourt for a Regency Era costume ball. It's great to see the Edwardian interpretation. Please check out the embroidery and rhinestone embellishments.




<--- A pink assymetrical evening gown with beautiful lace and beading.




This La Femme Chic gown from 1917 is another gown inspired by a past era - "Celtic" or "Medievil." --->

There are many more beautiful fashions on this site, dating from as early as 1750, but I am tired and must get some sleep.

Sweet dreams.

Edwardian Era and La Belle Epoque - Sewing Inspiration

Though I'm a long way from tackling an outfit from this wonderful era, it is hot and rainy today and I need a little inspiration. So off I go into cysperspace, circa 1910's ...

Beaded Cotton Gauze Dress, c. 1914 - 1916. This was posted at the Past Perfect Vintage Blog. As I was searching for inspiration, I saw that this post from 2008, which happened to be posted on the day after a rainy day.

Gowns of Queen Maud of Norway, c. 1910 - 1913.

Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown on her wedding day, 1912. I found this photo and a brief bio of this wonderful woman on the Mulatto Diaries blog.

Olga Nicolaevna Romanov, c. 1913. -->

Tea Gown, c. 1910's from The Great Basin Costume Society blog.

A 1912 Ball Gown also shown on The Great Basin Costume Society blog.

Irene Castle in a Tea Gown, c. 1914.

The Tunic Dress, c. 1912. You can see more photos and a detailed description of this dress at the FIDM Museum Blog.

<-- Worth Gown, c. 1907 - 1910.

The wonderful Dreamstress posted these on her blog from the Brooklyn Museum Collection. Click on the link to see the other great photos she has posted.

Worth Gown, c. 1910.-->

Actually, the Dreamstress is the perfect conclusion to my search for inspiration on a rainy day. If you love this era, you should check out the making of her Luna Moth Gown, inspired by this era.

I hope you've enjoyed this little stroll into vintage wonderland. These are only a handful of the beautiful fashions from this era. I do feel inspired and have set a new goal for myself:

To sew a gown inspired by this era to wear on New Year's Eve 2011.

That gives me a little less than a year-and-a-half to develop the skills to make the gown and to develop enough socials skills to be invited to the kind of party where I can wear it. (hehehe)

For now, it's time to back up my computer and do some house work.

I'd love to see your inspiration photos or your sewing projects.

Happy Sewing!

How to Make a Sloper ... Vintage Sewing

Last night was a long one for me. Since sleep was allusive, I decided to check out some of the sewing blogs I like and I found a great entry on Sew Craftful's blog titled "How to Make a Sloper." Callie, who is Sew Craftful, offers a lot of great advice and instructions.

I agree with Callie that making a sloper is essential for getting a great fit with vintage patterns. However, I also believe this holds true for sewing with contemporary patterns as well. Though a time consuming project, initially, I believe it is worth it. I'm not sure I will make a sloper as my first project, but I will make it one of my early projects ... maybe third or fourth. The only reason for waiting is that I believe my first two or three projects may be simpler garments then the sloper will be.

Here are some additional entries on the Sew Craftful site, which should be helpful to the beginning or returning sewer/seamstress:

How to Take Body Measurements
How to Take Measurements Hints and Suggestions
How to Make a Basic Pattern
How to Make a Pattern from an Original Garment
How to Pick a Starter Vintage Sewing Pattern -- These guidelines may be helpful those who want to start with a contemporary pattern as well.
How to Compare a Basic to a Commercial Pattern
The Benefits of Working with a Muslin Mock Up or Test Pattern