New Vintage Clothes!!

I recently went back up to Reading over Easter weekend, and bought home a few more clothes to repair & sell! Here are a few that will be up for sale on Ebay very soon!!

I have also sold a mustache pillow on Etsy & have been commissioned to make some cushion covers which should be exciting! It's nice to make something besides clothes after a while! 

Recycled Paisley Print Dress

A few months ago my mum was clearing out the loft and came across a stash of old fabric/curtains that she said I could have. Among them was a patchwork blanket with this cotton print as the backing. I immediately unpicked it and stored it away knowing that I would make a dress with it at some point. Fast forward to present day, and as I was browsing Burdastyle for inspiration & ideas, I came across the latest creation from Iro Iro and was determined to try out the square sleeves for myself, so I pulled out this paisley print and set to work! 

The bodice is a basic shape with princess seams, I was first of all going to include a zipper at the back, but change my mind and decided to have an elastic waist (hence why there is a centre back seam). The sleeves were incredibly easy to do, the only thing that I would advise others is to make sure you measure your armhole correctly otherwise you'll end up having sleeves that don't fit! The skirt as I said has an elastic waist, and would have included pockets, but I totally forgot! 

I wore this on Good Friday while visiting my Mum, and was perfect for the incredibly hot weather we're having in the UK at the moment, as it is quite thin and very airy! I will definitely be making something like this again, especially if this weather continues!

Happy Easter Weekend!

In The Navy....

Another weekend, another dress finished! This time it was the turn of some navy cotton which has cute little white squares all over it. I knew I wanted to make another dress using this, but this time I decided to make it sleeveless for a change. The bodice is lined with left over black cotton, it has a centre zipper, and the skirt is slightly pleated. I'm looking forward to wearing this to work with my yellow cardigan & tan belt!

Finished Project!

I managed to finish my tulip print dress last night, and I have to say once again I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I altered the neckline slightly from the pattern to a more rounded neck, added a peter pan collar all the way round which gives it a nice retro feel. I shortened the sleeves, and the hem to make it easier to wear for the summer too!

I was playing around with my camera while I was sewing, so here's a few spare snaps I had

I've also nearly finished another dress, in navy using the same basic pattern but this time sleeveless and with a pleated skirt. I've only the zipper and the hem left to do so will post again once that's done! Another productive sewing week!

Happy Weekend!

New Projects!

My tulip bodice dress is almost finished, I just need to shorten the length a bit, and sew in the zipper! 

BUT I have quite a large & demanding new project in front of me...... I've decided that I'm going to attempt at making my wedding dress!! *eek*

A couple of weekends ago as I was rummaging through my vintage clothing stock, I came across a dress that was the perfect embodiment of what I had in my mind for my wedding dress, I knew I had to try it on & it fit like a glove! (a sign from the gods) 

I should probably mention that I have already commissioned someone to make my dress and have already bought fabric which is in her hands as we speak! But I couldn't help myself when I saw this! So, I've come to the conclusion that I will be having 2 made, and then decide closer to the time! I'm so indecisive! 

This is what I will be restoring:

Front

Back

I knew I wanted more of simple evening dress rather than a big puffy gown, and I had in my head an image of a 30's/40's inspired shape. I also knew I wanted capped sleeves, and for it to be lace! I couldn't believe it when I saw it sitting there on a rail! 

There is a bit of work to be done though, the dress is obviously see through and only reaches just above my ankles, whereas I wanted it to be on the floor. There are also a few problem areas with the lace for example, there used to be a series of poppers going up part of the side

This will have to sewn up which should be pretty simple to do. I also found some green (of all colours!) stitching on the lace, so i'm guessing whoever owned it before me had a strange dress sense?! I've removed the stitching, but it had obviously been there a while as there were green marks where the stitching had been. I hand washed the garment and now the green seems to have faded to a light blue?!

My camera didn't pick this up very well, but it is there! 

The sleeves and the neckline will need replacing as there a series of small holes dotted around (either moth bites, or cigarette burns?) 

So I'm going to have to remove it, make a pattern and replace, the back of the dress will need fastenings. I'll probably use buttons, maybe pearl ones? This is going to be my biggest challenge as I've never re-created a pattern before, and it's kind of crucial to the dress!

To solve the problem of showing my underwear off to everyone, I'm also going to be making a slip from this recently bought pattern

I'm going to make it floor length, but as soon as the slip hits just above my knees, it will be made of lace to blend in with the dress, and hopefully solve my length problem?! Has anyone else ever done this? Do you reckon it'll work?!

So I have roughly 5 1/2 months to make this a reality, and I really hope this works out as it seems such a shame to let a beautiful vintage dress like this not get a walk down the aisle.

First Bike Ride!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous in Portsmouth today, Alex & I couldn't resist taking our bikes out for a spin! We live right by the sea-front, so naturally we went cycling by the beach..

I have also started making a new dress from a familiar pattern, just with a few changes!

Top Left Version

Sleeves

Bodice

The rest should be finished by tomorrow, which will then give me time to concentrate on making a new skirt with the houndstooth fabric I bought last week!

Mother's Day

So in the U.K it was Mother's Day last Sunday, and to celebrate I drove back to the town I grew up in to spend it with my family. My mum, step-dad, sister, my niece (& her friend) & I all went to a place called Whiteways Lodge which is a national park, full of trails & paths through the woods. I remembered my camera and managed to take some shots!

My niece (right) & her friend climbing a tree

We took a trail which led to a large clearing, which was due to them cutting down a large group of trees, plus we also found this strange device, which we decided was probably some kind of bridge?!

I also managed to get a few shots of my new dress which I wore for the first time! You can see much of the detail as I had a jacket on, but you get the idea!!

New Items For Sale!!

After my trip to Reading last weekend I have brought back some new stock which I'm currently in the middle of cataloguing and repairing! This item is up for sale on Ebay right now!

£30 ono

and these will be very soon....