Getting the Right Fit with Contemporary and Vintage Patterns

I decided to organize some of the great tutorials I've found on using and altering vintage patterns for easy access and thought I would share them with you. There are so many terrific blogs and tutorials. This is not all that are available but will serve as a bit of a cheat sheet for me. This way, hopefully, I wont have to stop the middle of sewing and spend a half hour trying to find the answer online. I can just take five minutes and look it up on my own blog ... Well, that's the plan.

eHow has a number of good articles on sewing, these are for working with patterns:
How To Alter Sewing Patterns
How to Make a Paper Sewing Pattern

Sewing Vintage: Three Essential Alterations for Vintage Patterns - This tutorial focuses on 40's and 50's patterns but has tips which can be useful for other eras as well. I believe the author is Gertie. She also gives one or two tips for updating a vintage pattern.

This is a short but valuable tutorial from the American Duchess: Sizing Up Vintage Patterns for Modern Wear.

I like this article on It's Sew Karren's site, which "How to Take Sewing Measurements and Pattern Fitting Measurements." It includes a conversion table for fabric measurements and a simple description of the measurements needed to determine your correct pattern size, whether contemporary or vintage.

Gertie wrote a an article for Burda Style, Marking Unprinted Patterns with a photographic tutorial on her blog.

"Drafting Patterns for Women's Pants" is a tutorial on Leena's website. This site's tuturorials are for use with PatternMaker Drafting Software but some of the instructions and tips are applicable to hand drafting.

I've posted lists of tutorials before; here are links to my past postings.

How to Make a Sloper ... Vintage Sewing - It includes more links to tutorials on taking measurements, working with and making patterns.

More on Slopers and Muslins
Sewing Tutorials ... Pattern Alterations, Techniques, Fabric, etc
Making Time for Sewing - Stretch Knit and Bias Tape Tutorials
A few Tutorials on Piping

Please feel free to suggest other tutorials you think might help me and the rest of the sewing blogger community.

Happy Sewing!

Giveaways in Blogland ... Check these out!

I just found out a won my first giveaway from Lisette at What Would Nancy Drew Wear? It's such a great feeling and I'm really looking forward to receiving the two remnant pieces. I'm planning to use them to make accent pipining.

So, in the spirit of passing on the good fortune, here are some giveaways you should check out:

Long & Winding Bobbin - Vintage Patterns Giveaway
Miss Dandy - $25.00 gift certificate Giveaway
Fireflies & Jelly Beans - Jewelry Giveaway

Good Luck!

P.S. I know there are lots of great tutorials in cyberspace but I want to share three on piping that I like:

How to Make Your Own Piping from Warehouse Fabrics
Sewing 101: Piping from Design Sponge
How to Sew Piping Into Your Bag from U*Handbag

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!

Making Time for Sewing - Stretch Knit and Bias Tape Tutorials

My organizing is taking longer than I thought, though I have managed to organize my notions. That was a real treat. I had no idea how much I have. At this point, the only things I may need to buy for my stretch knit top are needles.

It looks like I will not be ready to sew until next weekend, so I thought I'd take a little time to search out tutorials, which may be useful to me in making my stretch knit top. I am treating myself as a beginner since it has been so long since I have made anything. Through my search, my respect for the online sewing community has expanded enormously. I am so grateful to the many seamstresses and home sewers who are sharing their knowledge.

Here are the tutorials I found:

A Primer on Sewing Knits from Threads Magazine

Sewing with Knits from Patterns by Figgy's

From TeachSew.com -
Sewing with Knit Fabrics
Cutting out a Pattern Using Knit Fabric
Shoulder Seams
Knit Neckline - Sewing "In-the-Round"
Inserting Arms using Knit Fabrics
Finishing Knit Top

Tips for Working with Knits & Mock-Coverstitch Tutorial from Sew, Mama Sew!

Knit Neckline from The Sewing Divas

How to Make Bias Tape from Collette Patterns

From Amanda's Adventures in Sewing
Bias Seam Tutorial
Bias Tape Covered Seam Tutorial
Bias Tape Finish for Necklines and Armholes

Sew Your Own Ribbing Fabric from The Sewing Divas

I hope you find these helpful too. And, please stop by these sites and blogs to see what they are up to now.

Happy Sewing!

Simplicity Sewing Patterns - 40% Off Sale

I just found on another sewing blog a notice of a 40% off sale on Simplicity Patterns - thank you, Diary of a Sewing Fanatic. The sale is only until Friday, May 28th and doesn't include It's Sew Easy and New Look.

The promo code is: BLOGPS40. Enter it when you check out.

You can use this link to Simplicity or just go to the site yourself to shop.

Happy shopping and sewing.

More on Slopers and Muslins

This is just a quick note to let you know about another link I found on slopers. This on is on the Threads Magazine webiste. The article is called "Drape a Skirt Sloper." This is a very clear and detailed tutorial.

Another tutorial on this site, which looks invaluable for creating a good custom fit is "Get the Right Armhole, Fit the Bodice." Not only does it offer good tips on fitting for your body type - with illustrations, it also walks you through applying these tips to making a well-fitting bodice muslin.

I hope these help.

Happy Sewing!

Sewing ... Preparing to Sew

I started sewing when I was about seven. My Grandmother taught me on her 1923 Singer ... just a straight stitch, not even a back stitch or zig zag. I loved it from the start. I was a kid who bounced off walls when I wasn't hanging upside down in trees or spinning on my head on the living room floor. The concept of me being able to sit quietly in front of a sewing machine for hours was pretty farfetched ... but I did.

In middle school I started sewing in the high school's costume shop and by the time I was in college I was being paid to work in the iniversity's costume shop. I also made various pieces of clothing for my personal wardrobe, including a prom dress and two other gowns. The last thing I worked on was a gown for a Moliere play. Then life quicked in: I got an internship and a job to support it, began working on my career, and so on ... It's been more than fifteen years since I've sewn a thing.

I've been thinking about returning to sewing for a long while but there have always been barriers ... not enough space in my apartment, not enough time, no sewing machine ...

Now, fate/luck/coincidence is at work and pushing me towards what I want to be doing. As I was standing on my front stoop talking to a neighbor, a man from the building next door put a sewing machine out for trash pick-up. I asked him if it worked. He said it did but he didn't sew and didn't know anything about it. Turns out it's a vintage Singer Dressmaker 2402 with all metal parts and very heavy. There were a few presser feet and bobbins in the case but no cams or manuals. It's in decent condition and I now have a recent sewing machine.

Next, I found some fabric in my mom's attic while looking for the Christmas ornaments. It's fabric I bought a long while ago but never got to use. And, I still like it.

More recently, another neighbor was moving and had a piece of 2'x4.5' 1/4" plywood that she was going to throw out. Eureka, I had found a cutting board which can be covered in paper or cloth easily as needed.

I've been collecting patterns over the last few years so what's stopping me? Just me.

Goals for the week:
1) Create a sewing and crafting space in my apartment.
2) Choose a pattern for my first project.

I'm actually getting exited about this.

Some of the blogs and sites that are motivating and inspiring me:

Amanda's Adventures in Sewing - great how-to advice
Diary of a Sewing Fanatic
Lower Your Presser Foot
Sew Retro
The Fashionable Past - Vintage Photos, Patterns, How-To & more
Zip Zip's Vintage Sewing - great how-to advice

I hope all of your projects are happy and successful!