Easy Separates

 More kitchen pictures! The weather here has been really cold and rainy - not a fun start for spring but its better than snow. For this look I chose a plain grey skirt and my knitted sweater in this rich butteryscotch color. This is by far my favorite sweater this spring because its warm and goes with pretty much everything. It also matches these shoes pretty darn well. In the world of vintage one of my most favorite things is matching items.

 To top off the look is a simple pearl necklace and a fuzzy critter pin. Some call it a poodle, others a weird cat. To me, it is my fuzzy furry critter pin that just oozes vintage novelty. There is not too much else to say on this outfit but there will be more noteworthy creations up here in the future. I have been busy sewing away both for the sew along and for myself. There are some looks that I am really tickled pink over and I am hoping for some sunny days to get some better garment posts done. Aside from sewing I have also been doing some crafting and shopping. Now more than ever local and small businesses need our support and I have been doing my bit. Over the past few months I had been on the hut for a brown 40s suit and alas I did find one! I found it over at War's End Shop and promptly bought it. Along with the suit, I bought a charming heart shaped compact. Hopefully when they arrive I will be able to do a special post all about them. In addition to the brown suit I found another incredible 40s jacket, also from a small business, that I ordered. It will need some work and I hope it will get here in good time. I have heard numerous rumors about the postal service . . . . Some sources say delays while others hint that there will be no more postal service period. Yikes! Either way, I hope my 1940s suit collection will grow with this addition of an original brown suit and this other jacket.

As far as crafting goes, I made my own Easter decorations this year. I took some cardstock, glue, and some paints and I whipped up my own Easter egg garland. I'm happy how they turned out and may need to make more for the rest of the house. So far I am very thankful the cat has not tried to sample the painted eggs . . . .I am hoping to try to make my own Easter egg tree as well but I am not sure if I will get to that. Being a farmer it is actually business as usual over here. Farmers here were declared as essential not too long ago which means we can keep at our usual work. blueberries know nothing and care not at all for current world events. With that said, I enjoy crafting on occasion as a break from sewing and to get my mind off of things. To get my mind off of things even more I have started a "Victory Garden". I have no idea what the future is going to hold but I intend to not get caught with my pants down (for my international readers its an American expression to be prepared). I made little boxes to start my seeds inside and they are doing well for the most part. Later on I will be moving them outside. I was going to do a flower garden instead but I figured a vegetable garden would be much more practical. I'm actually kind of excited for my "victory garden".

Staying Warm in Spring Time . . . When it Still Feels Like Winter Time. . .

Although it is technically spring it sure does not feel like it. That is why for this outfit I chose some winter separates to stay warm and yet stylish. The skirt was part of a suit and is a thicker navy blue wool with a matching belt. The blouse is a nice heavy cotton in a fun stripe. The hat and coat are a wool and are so classic - they go with everything. Since it was so chilly out I chose tights and then a low heeled shoe for venturing out for a bit of fresh air.

 As far as outfits go this one is pretty casual and there is not too much going on either. I made the blouse from a 1941 Lutterloh pattern and its been a very good winter blouse for me. I do not wear as much as I should so I am going to have to remedy that in the future. The other pieces in this outfit get plenty of wear and someday I am afraid this coat may need to be retired. . .That is how much I wear it! But it is still in pretty good shape and hopefully that day of retirement is a long ways off yet.

Ugh, I am so ready for warmer weather and to rotate my wardrobe. I have a rather small closet so I rotate my spring/ summer clothes and my fall/ winter clothes as I need to. As of now, my fun summery clothes are still neatly folded away in their boxes and I am so looking forward to taking them out and getting them on hangars. Would you like a tour of my spring/ summer wardrobe!? If so do say something any who knows, that may be a post all by itself (and maybe a video too). Anyways, I love my springy clothes way more than my winter ones although I really need to fix that because half the time its really cold here. Well anyways, there is a little garment post for you to enjoy. Take care out there!

Lesson 4 of the Lutterloh Sew Along Master Class

Lesson 4 of our sew along gives you even more variety for a wardrobe in the making. This time, a notched collar blouse that has a shoulder yoke and smart short sleeves ideal for those warmer days. I have chosen to do a blouse for our fourth lesson because now we get to learn some of the finer clothing making skills like setting in sleeves, adding a facing and achieving a good fitting garment as a whole. I figured a blouse would serve as a good stepping stone to the dresses as well because a dress really is a blouse with a skirt slapped on it, isn't it? 

For fabrics, you can do a cotton, a fine wool, a silk, you name it. . .. Let your imagination and needs go wild and choose what will work for you. If you are a beginner, I recommend a good quilters cotton. . .They are rather affordable, come in a variety of colors and prints, and are easy to work with generally. For this blouse, it is illustrated with some lovely embellishment which you could add or omit based on your needs and skill level. For me, I am letting my fabric do the talking and will not be embellishing mine very much beyond maybe some top stitching and some snazzy buttons. If you choose to add some unique embellishment do share so we can grow and be inspired from your creativity! 

Below, the pattern you will need. Our pattern is the bottom half. I included the whole sheet of patterns because some of you expressed interest in the other blouse (the top one). I will only be walking you through the notched collar blouse here.  

To assemble this one, you can start where ever you want but I chose to start by assembling my back pieces first. The lower back was gathered into the yoke and then I top stitched it for added stability. Then I set the back aside and worked on the front. The lower front of the blouse was stitched to the shoulder yoke and then top stitched too. I did not have to ease or gather the shoulder to fit the yoke.  I then stitched the front and back together at the shoulder. 

blouse back wrong side 

blouse back right side 

The collar. I stitched up my upper collar around the edge and then I lined up the center back of the collar to the center back of the blouse. . .I then stitched the collar into place. To finish the blouse front, you will need to make a facing as the patters do not have one for you. I have on FB placed a video tutorial for you for reference on making a facing. Do refer to it if you need it. To apply the facing, sew the facing to the blouse right sides together at the front and then turn. Press. Your blouse front is finished once you add the facing and buttons (or snaps). Sew up the blouse side seams if you have not done so already. 

blouse front with shoulder yoke sewn on 

pinning on the collar . . . . 

collar getting sewn on . . . . 

Sleeves. These sleeves here are plain shirt sleeves. They are illustrated with a cuff but there is no pattern given for cuffs. . .I did not do cuffs for my blouse. For the sleeves, sew the underarm seam up. I did not have to run ease stitches along the sleeve top/ crown but you many want to for fitting ease. To insert the sleeve, line up the underarm seam of the sleeve to the blouse seam. Pin and sew easing the sleeve into the arm hole. This sleeve fits into the arm hole pretty well and really does not need lots of gathers. 

where the seams meet . . . Above is the sleeve under arm seam and 

just below is the blouse side seam 

 There you go! Lesson 4 blouse all done! 

40s Casual with Wool Slacks

As I am sure you have guessed, I am busy as a bee working on the Lutterloh Sew Along Master Class getting the patterns up with images and instructions. Some of you are participating and thank you for doing so! I hope you are learning a great deal and are finding it an enjoyable experience. With that said, I have not had too much time to get up garment posts, even of the items I have made up for the sew along - I am kind of waiting for warmer weather and I am not sure how I want to present my final pieces either . . . .I kind of want to wait until they are all done and do one big reveal.

For a garment post today I have wool slacks! Something really different for you to see because normally I am all about wearing my skirts and stockings. These wool slacks were made years ago and they have gotten a great deal of wear. I am wearing them a lot while working on the Sew Along as they are so very comfy. Paired with them is a knitted top and button down sweater. For some added spunk a novelty jewelry set from Luxulite. I am in love with her jewelry - so much fun and so well made. As you can see, I am keeping things super casual over here today!

My button sweater is from Vivian of Holloway, its the Jenny Cardigan and I love it. Its my new favorite sweater and I now want one in every color. I'm thinking of getting the dark green and dark red one next and I am looking forward to trying out some of their other knitted tops too. I love a good sweater and this one is amazing. I'm impressed that it is a nice thick knit and not a thin cheap one. As for the slacks, I made them years ago from a pattern that was gifted to me by my great aunt. Its a great pattern and one that I have made use of a lot. This pair features a wide waist band, a side button placket and a deep hem too. The wool is a super soft weight and texture - they are just the ideal pant. Hopefully I will get more made up eventually.

Slacks - Made by Me 

Sweater - Vivian of Holloway

Pin and earrings - Luxulite 

Knitted top under sweater - vintage 

shoes - vintage 

50s Style Half Hat Tutorial

As promised, here is a tutorial for how to make a 50s style floral half hat. The supplies to make this hat are so simple and you can use your imagination for decoration or else try to recreate a true vintage hat if you want. These floral half hats were so popular in the 50s that they are almost iconic as the pill box hat. Today I am going to show you how to make one step by step . .  .

Supplies:

• 4 pipe cleaners 
• embroidery floss (I used about 2 skeins)
•  flowers, fruits, ribbons, etc . . . What ever you want for decoration
• glue
• scissors

Instructions:

First, take two pipe cleaners and wrap them with the embroidery floss completely. I wrapped mine to give a nice clean (as in not fuzzy) outline and so that I could potentially sew my trims to the hat. I have originals that used plain pipe cleaner in a color that matched the trims so if you do not want to wrap, then skip this step. For me, I found that the length of the pipe cleaners was sufficient and I did not have to trim any for the outer frame . .. . If you want your hat to reach ear to ear more than mine does then you will need more pipe cleaners to accommodate for that.

Once you have your ends wrapped, tie them together at one end with the third pipe cleaner smooshed in the middle. . .

The outer edges will be the outer frame of your hat and the middle piece you just added will be then zig zagged in the middle to create the rest of the frame. .  .I did not wrap my middle in in floss. I ended up having to use two pipe cleaners for the middle zig zagging to get all the way to the other end. At each point/ angle of the middle I tied it to the outer frame. This zig zag made a sturdy frame for my floral decorations. Once you have your frame, snip the loose strings and add a drop of glue if desired to keep them from getting undone.  . . .  

Now you can decorate!! My floral stems had super long thin wires on them and I used them to my advantage by wrapping them around my frame. . I did not have to sew or glue any trims on. Mine only used floral bits and pieces but someday I may add some netting if I can ever find any that I like. 

There you have it! A tutorial for a 50s style floral half hat. What do you think? If you give this a try do let me know! 

Pretty in Purple

I'm really feeling spring now with the snow quickly melting away. .. . Of course there are some piles here and there but they are diminishing fast. This late 50s suit just sings spring doesn't it? I love that light purple color and its just so pretty and feminine. I really ought to wear it more but I don't have a lot of accessories to go with it. . .I definitely have plenty of white gloves and white hats. Shoes? My ivory peep toes go well with it and so do my spectators and now my two tone oxfords with fringe! I love that fringe on these shoes, so much fun.

Since there is a bit of chill in the air, my can coat does the trick to keep my warm (and yet still stylish). For the sun, my cat eyes with white rims. .. The sunglasses are not vintage but sure do look like don't they?

What's that you said? You love my purple floral half hat? Why thank you! I made it myself. Yes, that is right. . .Since I have a lacking of accessories for this suit, I decided to make one. I had some purple millinery flowers in my stash and I whipped up a 50s inspired half hat to go with the suit. I love this hat and I confess I want to make more! There will be a tutorial on how to make the hat so stay tuned for it!

St. Patrick's Day Lookbook

So I had so much fun making my Valentines Day look book that I decided to make one for St. Patrick's day as well. I am not Irish at all but I do love a good green vintage accessory and outfit. Some greens look better on me than others I will admit but not matter what I had a lot of fun whipping up these looks. Of course St. Patrick's Day is all about the wearing O' the green but what about orange? I think orange pairs really well with green and same with ivory/ cream, pinks, and browns. . .Those were my chosen colors for this look book. Of course finding green dresses, coats or suits that are vintage can be a bear accessories can be a different story. . .. For this look book I relied on my few green pieces . . . O.k. quite a few! and my green accessories like gloves and green leafed corsages. Enjoy!