Finished Project: Butterick 9973

So a day later than normally scheduled, here's my finished plaid dress inspired by Peggy Olson.

I've been attempting to re-create this dress -

but I decided to leave the buttons out as they're just not worth it for this dress I think. However as you can see I did make the bow to hide my terribly matched plaid stripes!

The weather this week has been unseasonably warm, but as luck would have it when it came around to Saturday it had disappeared, typical! This did not deter me from having the photos taken in our lovely garden though.

The dress itself came out nicely although I had to cut roughly 2 or so inches from the hem as it came to my calves, although depicted as knee length on the cover?! This in turn made the kick pleat a lot shorter too, so that's something to remember for next time.

The neckline is also a little loose so I could probably do with shortening the bodice a little maybe?

I was also a little unsure of exactly when I would wear this, as it's not exactly a subtle print? But after looking over this pictures I think it would make a perfect work dress. I like it with my grey tights, and I have a green cardigan that would suit it too.

So that's it! Mad Men Challenge accepted and executed X2! I can't wait to see what everyone else has made. Thanks again Julia Bobbin for setting it up!

Butterick 9973: In Progress

As promised here are a few snaps of the dress in progress..

Ok so moment of truth, matching up the stripes was quite hard for me, especially as I didn't have a ton of fabric to work with, plus the skirt is gathered at the sides. Look at the waist line! Oh dear :(

Luckily I do have enough fabric left over to make a bow to cover the front like Peggy's!

All that's left is to shorten the length to just below the knee & hem.

Butterick 9973

So I have a confession.... I couldn't help myself!! I decided to take another stab at re-creating an outfit from Mad Men. After making my Peggy Olson skirt, as much as I LOVE it, I kind of felt like I should hang my head in shame at not being more creative with the challenge.

Bad seamstress.

So to make up for it I decided to try and create this dress..

For this I'm using Butterick 9973 which is from the 1960's and comes with a basic scoop-neck bodice and a choice of either a gathered or fitted skirt. 

Naturally, I'm using the fitted skirt, and the sleeves too.



To make this similar to Peggy's dress I'm using some plaid rayon that I got off Ebay. I will warn you now, I'm not really used to working with stripes in such a big way. Because of my serious lack of attention & inexperience I may have got some of the stripes slightly off from matching. But hey, you gotta start somewhere right?

So this isn't in the same colour scheme as Peggy's but you get the idea. I'll post some more photos of the dress in progress on Weds so you can all laugh! :)

Finished Project: Mad Men Challenge

Happy Friday Ladies! Another week coming to an end, another finished project under my belt!
This week saw me take on the Mad Men Challenge set by Julia Bobbin.
After much I thought I decided upon an outfit worn by Peggy Olson as discussed here.

Using Vogue 5308's bottom pieces I made this skirt using some wool that my mum gave me.
It was quite fun to sew, and the inverted pleats were simple to make, the hardest part was getting them to lie flat! They still need a bit more pressing really!

The top was actually bought from a thrift store and I still can't get over how similar it is to Peggy's except mine has ruffles too, and doesn't have sleeves.

This was a nice simple project to put together, and I almost feel like I wimped out a bit for this challenge as everyone else seems to be tackling dresses. Hey ho.



I'm so excited to see what everyone else has been working on! If you're participating good luck with the rest of your sewing & I can't wait to see the finished pieces!

Mad Men Challenge: Midweek Update

So as revealed on Mondays post, I'm currently making this outfit featured in season 3.

It's going very well at the moment, but alas I have no photos to show you of it in progress as I keep forgetting to take photos!

The trickiest part so far has been the condition of the fabric. It's been tucked away in a loft for god knows how many years, and as such parts of the fabric are not in the best condition. I've had to re-cut the back centre 3 times so far as everytime I unfold it I keep finding holes!

Luckily I found a piece that was hole free, otherwise I would have run out of fabric!

So as I'm lacking in photos today, I thought I would share some other images of Peggy's outfits throughout the series that I'm particularly fond of...

All images sourced here

Mad Men Challenge

Where do I start?! The wonderfully talented Julia Bobbin set a challenge for us sewing bloggers to recreate an outfit from the iconic TV series Mad Men. I have had so many ideas for this challenge my brain started to hurt. I already knew that I wanted to recreate a Peggy Olson outfit, and I also knew that I had to be as practical as I could and try and use up my stash rather than buying more fabric/patterns (as tempting as it is!).

Before I reveal the 'winner' take a look at the runner ups...

Seeing them all lined up together it all looks a bit dark & dreary doesn't it?!

After scanning through stills of episodes on the inspirational site Tom & Lorenzo I finally decided on an outfit that not only is very bright and vivid, but is also an outfit that Peggy herself has two of her most defining moments in.

It first features in Season 3 Episode 3 'My Old Kentucky Home' when she is having to work at the office on the weekend. With her are Paul & Smitty, who decide to invite a college friend over who also happens to deal pot. Peggy decides to get high with the boys, and as such finds herself incredibly productive & creative while the boys become eventually comatose.

It is also the outfit from Season 3 Episode 13 'Shut The Door. Have A Seat' in which Dons visits Peggy at her home to tell her how much he needs her, and how valuable she is to him. He gives her what she has been craving, recognition.

To recreate this outfit I already have a top extremely similar to Peggys which was thrifted a few months ago. For the skirt I am using the bottom from Vogue 5308 (1961 according to vintage patterns wiki) which features the inverted pleats.

I will be making this in some wool that my mum gave to me when cleaning out the loft which isn't the exact same colour as Peggys, but does feature a lovely plaid pattern (or is it houndstooth?)

So there it is! What will you be making?