New Teens Dress

I love clothes from the late teens era, that time during WW1 but nearing the end .  Not sure why.  I like the hats one wears, the shoes and the dresses.  Some of my favorite outfits to both make and wear have been late teens

So summer whites picnic came up and I was tired of making and wearing 40s dresses so decided to give a new teens pattern a try.  These patterns can be challenging as there are little to no instructions included.   In this case, the challenge was merely time and color.  I was unexpectedly required to go out of town for family reasons so I really had less than a week from the time I crazily decided to make a new dress to pull it off - a dress I was going to tea dye.

Front
There is also a sash which
is missing from this photo

Back

White looks bad on me.  Cream does not.  For the past couple of years I have been a good girl and mostly followed the rules of this outing by wearing white or white with black polka dots.  This year I said no to white and yes to cream.  The problem was my fabric was white.

What to do??  Dye it  with tea of course!  Not that I have ever successfully dyed anything before this.

I had waaaayyy to much fabric to dye the fabric first and wasn't sure I wanted to dye all 5 yards so I made the dress first and figured if I ran out of time I would at least have a white dress that made me look like death warmed over.

Due to the lack of time, I went for it.  It was a 38 bust pattern which I knew would be big but whatever...no time to worry.  The top is oddly patterned and I am not sure why.  The back and front is in one piece with an insert of sorts.  Weird and a little difficult to sew.

I added some tucks of course.  Love tucks and so correct for this time period.

My trip out of town was on a 6 am flight Thursday morning.  I finished the dress Wednesday night and tea dyed it at midnight Wednesday night/ Thursday morning.

Difference between original white fabric and tea dyed fabric ...... a nice cream color.

My tea dye recipe was 4 chamomile tea bags with one english breakfast bag.  I had read that black tea left an orangish hue and chamomile resulted in a  more yellow hue.  I knew I wanted some warmth from orange but not a lot.  I also left it in the bath for not more than 1/2 hour.    I really was making this up as I went.

By 2 am it was out of the dryer (the neighbors must love me!) and I had to pack for my flight.

I added the trim Saturday night upon my return.

There are no pictures of me wearing the dress as I was so sick whilst at the picnic that I wanted to crawl under our silly "period correct" table and die.

Though I do rather love the dress and cannot wait to find another reason to wear it!

Fantasy Outfit

Oh it seemed like such a great idea when I thought it up!  But, I admit it….this outfit has sucked the life right out of me.  Sewing mojo? What is that?  Any mojo I had was sucked out of me.  The outfit has been finished for 2 weeks and nary a post.  Why you might inquire….is she unhappy with the outfit? Was it a big fail?  Nope, it turned out wonderfully but blech I cannot seem to recover.

Pictures.  I hear you asking for pictures.  Hmmmm yup there are some and I will post one at the end.  The one where you can see the outfit is silly and a tad embarrassing.

So construction.  It was a journey.  Ideas came and went.  Starting with the bodice: I originally bought a pattern that I thought I could translate into the bodice.  2 muslins later and still not getting coverage over my boobs ( I was going for a g rating not an xxx rating with this outfit) and I realized ….nope not going to work.  But then, when cutting out muslin number 2 I had a flash of genius, the old light bulb went off…..why not use a bodice pattern that I knew fit.  You know, one of those TNT patterns that so many bloggers who I respect talk about.  That aha moment meant that muslin #3 was a winner.  It worked on the first go!  So bodice sorted, just need to find fabric.

That right, you heard me, I worked out the kinks of the bodice before spending a couple of weeks finding the fabric.  I eventually went with the ultra suede mentioned here.  But really, what in the world was I thinking.  Let’s use an unbreatheable fabric for an outfit to be worn in the middle of summer.  Hindsight is 20/20 and that thought did not enter my mind. 

Next up the skirt.  I muslined that one and it was too big.  I made it smaller for the final version.  Guess what?  Still too big.  I fussed and fretted over making it smaller.  It never seemed to get smaller.  Finally, I gave up.  Yup, you heard me, I just figured what the hell, so its big.  So, the skirt won’t stay up on my waist with out some serious fold over and pinning of the waistband.  The safety pin is my friend!

With the skirt done, it is trim time.  I spent an entire day in the fabric district shopping for trim.  Naturally, what I wanted I couldn’t find and had to do an about face with the plan.  This meant me running blocks to return to stores just as they were closing.  During the day of trim shopping, I found some feather boas that matched the blue in my outfit to a “T.”  So, I complicated my plan further by determining that I needed to add feathers to the sleeves but did not bother buying the boas at that time. (Cue frantic last minute trip downtown to pick the boas up at a later date….yeah that was smart!)

Now we are heading towards the home stretch which means a sleep reduction and an increase in nightly sewing.  From years of practice, before I changed professions, I would routinely live off of no more than 4 hours or less sleep at night (granted I was younger then, but as I discovered I can still do it).  Thus, started the final couple of weeks push to get this done on time.

Recall, I did  not find the type of trim I wanted.   So making lemonade out of lemons, I spent 2 nights creating my own trim.  I sewed various different trims together, by hand to create the look I wanted.  Great idea ….right?  Nope….wrong.  Utter waste of time.  Plus I used invisible thread on this part.  Have you used invisible thread?  Its evil I tell you…pure and unadulterated evil.  So evil it deserves its own post!

After wasting 2 sewing nights of 6 hours each (yes I was keeping track) I had to start over on the trim. By now, handsewing was no longer an option.  Machine stitching time.  Also my plan was not working, needed to use different trim….luckily I had bought so much and such a wide variety of trim this was possible.  The next 6 days were spent sewing on trim.  Trim on the bodice, trim on the sleeves, and trim on the tabs.  Meanwhile, there was the frantic trip to buy the boas I should have purchased a couple of weeks before. ( I haven’t even mentioned creating the tabs and all the bias binding that went on the tabs and the bodice.)  And now the sewing is taking up more time; I am not just sewing all night but in the morning before work….byebye running….and I am not going to mention the all nighters….nope bad memories of feathers and almost crying…nope best forgotten.

Home stretch and I have not even started the obi/cumberbund thing.  I mean how hard is a rectangle to come up with.  Well, after a couple of hours muslining it…I cut one out and yup you guessed it….too big!  Not a little too big….A LOT TOO BIG.  Not a big deal except I did not notice until after all the embellishment was added to it.  A variety of trims were added as embellishments but I ran out of time to completely cover the obi/cumberbund.  The day before leaving for the convention, I was up all night finishing it up and finally added the hook and eye tape at about 5 am.  I finished sewing at 6:45 am the morning I left.  Whew……..talk about cutting it close

Enough with the words you are saying…don’t you know blog posts are all about the pictures.  Yes, I know……so without further ado…viola….me in the outfit looking rather silly.

Me in my best anime kid pose.
There are better pictures but you cannot
see the outfit as well

I feel better to get this finished and off my shoulders.  Now that I have written this maybe I can go back to my normal sewing.

Really Big Sleeves

Lined sleeves with some ribbon
just pinned on.

Working away on the fantasy outfit and moving at a snail’s pace.  The ginormous sleeves are sewn and lined.  The trim is still not completely put on.  In fact, not all of it has even been purchased!

 

I love the sleeves.  They are so big they seem decadent.  The sleeves are longer than the skirt!!

LemonLime Sherbet

So, I completely and utterly changed up the Rainbow Sherbet dress.  The pinks were excised and the stripe fabric and the green ribbon treatment inserted.

Before shots that you may remember:

 

The new look:

I am much happier with this look.  In my mind’s eye pulling out the pinks from the stripes worked.   But in reality, not so much.  This dress is done and dusted.  I am not re-doing this again.  Not that it was all that difficult to redo.  I may add an overskirt at some point in time because I do have plenty of yellow fabric left.   But that would be it!!!  This is good to wear as is and I think I will be more comfortable in it.  To me, it now seems more cohesive.

Shopping Spree

A friend asked me to go shopping for soccer jerseys with him.  I agreed with the provision that since we will be so close to my favorite fabric stores that I get to stop in and do a little shopping.  Boy, did I shop!

I found a lot that I liked including this brown wool.

Mostly, as I am wont to do, stayed with the cottons.

I also bought this trim because it was only $2 for the whole shebang in addition to some black and brown lining fabrics.

 
I think I need to find a way to use these 2 together.

Picture of 1918 Dress

Ok, this is not a great picture: it had been a long hot day spent in the sun and the photographer was not enthusiastic about this little photo shoot.  This is the best picture..LOL! But, I think it shows off the dress and trim.  Should have done something with my hair though...ugh.  Main construction details can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Why is it so hard to look at pictures of yourself?

I am adding some additional pictures of the completed dress, including one of the back showing the pretty buttons.

1918 Dress Wrap Up

So many things have been going on in RL but most of all, I finished the 1918 dress and to be honest I feel a little let down. I finished 2 projects in one week….the 1931 dress and the 1918 dress. My motivation is gone out the door and I am not sure why. Has this happened to anyone else?


I wanted to get pictures of me in the 1918 dress over the weekend. Alas, it was not to be.

So…..I am not yet sharing the completed dress…..well maybe a peek at an almost complete stage.

Some info: I couldn’t decide how to attach the “waist” to the skirt. My 1917 dressmaking book came in handy and gave me a couple of ideas. I went with a double waistband knowing that I would be covering the waist band with a sash. I also discovered that the skirt was a tad too long. So I hacked off a couple of inches from the top of the skirt….couldnt take it from the bottom! I then used these pieces as the waistband. It worked out fine. I am glad I did not go with the casing for elastic: I really do not like elastic waistbands.

A snafu arose when it came time to do the button holes. I have never made button holes on my machine before and to say I was underwhelmed by the results would not be exaggerating. The automatic buttonhole foot made ½ of a great button hole. One side was fine, the other was spotty, no real thread coverage if that makes sense.

So….what to do? I tried the machine in a variety of ways but could not find my manual buttonhole foot…so that was out. I tried a corded buttonhole with the automatic foot….not great. I could do the buttonholes by hand, but after approximately 28 hours of hand sewing on this dress….not going to happen!

Finally, I gave in and used the automatic foot. To fill in the blank spaces, I did a hand satin stitch on the side with the holes. It was quick, down and dirty but will fine results. All in all, it took less than an hour with the handsewing. The buttons then went on with no problem. The top 2 buttons are fakes though…I didn’t want to make a button hole through the trim so I used a snap beneath the button. I like it!

The sash uses snaps to keep it closed. Again, really simple to construct.

Finished!!!!!

The trim for the skirt of the 1918 dress is all sewn on!

I am very excited

I dont know whether to share a picture now.........or wait until it is all completed since we are nearing the end!

The Countdown is on

For the 1918 dress.  I feel as if with every stitch now I am calculating the time it will take to finish the dress.

Famous last words but I think I can finish it by Sunday night.  It will depend on how late I have to work tomorrow night and how distracted I am during the weekend.  Though I do tend to believe that I can finish things faster than I am actually able to.

I really am at that point in the project where I want to wave my magic wand and find it done.

I would like to respond to some of the lovely comments I have received:

Debbi:  Thanks for your kind comment!

Miss Emmi:  You made my day!  I really thought I was the only one who experienced this problem.  I really cannnot tell you how much better you made me feel and I completely understand how facings can make you cry.

Aimee Marieee: It is nice to know that you relate to my process since I seem to always be a little puzzled by the pattern instructions.

Nancy: Thanks!  But it is only the trim and unfortunately no other way to get it on.  Next time I use trim it will be something I can sew on with the machine you can be sure of that.

Ignore the wrinkles

The hand sewing continues and continues and continues.

Here is where I am now - skirt almost finished.  Ahhhh....can I see the light at the end of the tunnel......maybe.

One Armed

As you can guess, it appears that my internet is working again.  Wonder if it will work on the weekend though?

I worked on the 1931 dress, though you really can’t tell it.  I set in one sleeve perfectly with a French seam and then realized I had done it backwards.  So rip rip rip, out came the seam and did it again.  Blech….it did not look that good.  Another try or 2 and we have one sleeve half way into the bodice.

At least my elbow doesn’t hurt.

Here is a picture of the skirt trim.  I need one more row of these trims, lower down on the skirt.  

A Cat in the Picture

Yes, the cat has gotten into the act while I try to take a close up of the skirt and posed for the camera with his demon cat eyes! He likes to pose for the camera.

But what you can see is where I am on the 1918 Dress.  Slowly but surely it is coming along.  There is now trim on the skirt.  As I mentioned before, there will be more trim added but I am out so this is as far as it gets until I get to the store to buy more trim.

Pretty…no?  I am liking it.

A close up of the trim on the skirt…shimmery goodness.  All in all, I have spent 4 hours hand sewing the trim on the skirty.

Trimming the Skirt

I thought I was going to put it away for a little while.  My head hurt just to think about the rest of the work I needed to do.  However, I heard the siren’s call tonight and could not resist.

First, I pinned the trim to the skirt on the 1918 dress.  Not sure yet, if it will be one or 2 rows.  Cost may have something to do with it.

Second, I took out the new silver thread that I picked up today.

Third, the handsewing began……again.

I am pretty pleased with the way it is turning out.  However, when I am done with this, I am out of trim.  So no more work on the 1918 dress until I manage to get more trim.  Alas, that will not happen until the weekend.

Just as I was in a groove and I could just barely see the light at the end of the tunnel.

1918 Dress

The trim on the neckline is finally all sewed on; it only took an hour.  Nuff said.

Happy Tax Day

First a shout out to Suffragette: Thanks! I am glad you are enjoying my ramblings. Its kinda nice to know there is someone out there checking out my little space on the net. But whoa…8 projects at once! I bow to your multi-tasking, you are putting my 2 projects to shame. I would love to see some of your work some time.




Now down to business:

Since I am the queen of procrastinators, I had to have my taxes done last night. I had to pay so no fabric purchases for 30 days at least! Sad news but probably for the best. Due to the tax prep, all I did last nite is handsewing on the 1918 dress. The picture would be the same as yesterday…or make that the day before, just imagine the top edge of one line of trim ½way sewed on. I figure there is at least another 3 nights of sewing on the trim around the neckline. Not scintillating blogging to say the least. However, starting tonight, I will try to come up with something...........not sure what.



Pattern Review is having a vintage sewing contest. Should I enter? There are only 15 days to complete the outfit…..I think that is too little time for me especially since I really want to finish this 1918 dress. But I do have a stash of vintage patterns I would like to sew. It is that 15 day deadline. If I had a whole month, then it would be fine. But 15 days with a lot going on this weekend…I just don’t know.

I Don't Know What To Work On

Should I continue working on the 1918 dress now that I know the bodice fits?

Or should I power on with the 1931 dress since it is still in the beginning stages??

What to do?  Decisions, decisions.

I am trying to switch back and forth but I want to concentrate on one thing!  And no, I haven’t just been dithering around trying to decide what to work on.  I did pin the trim around the neckline of the 1918 dress. 

I also work on the skirt of the 1931 dress.  Curved French seams, what was I thinking??    It does not photograph well. 

I am beat.

Thinking of concentrating on the 1918 dress again because I am looking at a lot of hand sewing which if I don’t start sewing there’s a really good chance I never will.  It is turning out much too nice to make it a UFO.