Completed Project: McCall's 6997 - 1990s Floral Romper

 So this floral romper is the most comfortable piece of clothing I have ever made.  True story!  I used McCall's 6997, copyright 1994.  Hard to believe that I was a junior in high school the year this pattern was published! 

I remember this particular style of roomy romper / jumper dress being popular during the 1990s, but I somehow missed ever owning one.  I cut the size 10 and probably could have gone even smaller, but I actually dig the roominess.

Back view.  This romper involved lots of gathering.  From the back, you can really tell this is a romper, but I received several compliments on my "cute dress" when I wore it to work the other day, so it's almost imperceptible to the naked eye (and the business of the print probably helps).   

 Side view.  You can really see the fullness of the the romper here. 

 Here's a link to the fabric I used!  It's floral rayon challis from Wanderlust Fabrics.  I'm so delighted with this fabric!  It was so easy to work with and the drape is absolutely dreamy!  From the very first moment I saw it, I knew that it would be the perfect fabric to use for my retro 1990s romper.  In fact, it's described by Wanderlust Fabrics as "90s Inspired."

Front and back views, sans human model.

Cap sleeves.  I finished the interior seams and pockets with my serger and hand sewed the facings into place by hand.  I used a blind hem stitch for the bottom hem.

Close-up of a few details: Gathers and the self-fabric covered buttons.  It's hard to even see the buttons due to the extreme business of the print!

This romper was super-easy to put together.  Between the cost of the fabric, pattern (found at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore for only .25 cents!) and covered buttons, it only set me back about $20.00....SCORE!

In the Works!

I have a couple projects currently in the works!  First of all, I scored an amazing 1970s pantsuit at the Goodwill in Black Mountain, NC that I want to alter into something more wearable.  Here it is in all of its tacky floral polyester glory!  I'm keeping the pants as is; all they need is to be taken in at the elastic waistline.  

I'm definitely going to reconstruct the butterfly collar shirt and mix it with a solid colored stretch knit fabric.  I'm thinking about using the Briar pattern as a template. 

And here's a preview of my latest make.  All I have left is the bottom hem!  I used an incredible rayon from Wanderlust Fabrics.  The pattern is from 1994 and I thought the floral print was very reminiscent of the 1990s, especially when it comes to baby doll jumpers, which is the view I'm making. 

Completed Projects: Summer Round-Up!

Surprisingly, I've managed to complete a decent number (for me, anyway!) of projects so far this summer.  Sewing isn't really the issue so much as finding the time to model and photograph everything for the blog.  So I've decided to do an all-encompassing round-up! 

First up is McCall's 6965.  Let me tell you, this retro flared shorts pattern is a definite winner!  I love it so much!  They are a ridiculously quick and easy make.  I used a red linen look fabric which really helps with defining the "flare" of the cut.  

Admittedly, this kind of looks like a high school cheerleading skirt on, but I still dig it!  Next time I will make them in a draper fabric like rayon.  

Next up:  The Wiksten Tank.   Another ridiculously quick and easy summer project!  I salvaged the fabric (cotton/poly blend) from two vintage pillow cases that I thrifted for a mere .50 cents.  SCORE!

A lot of my summer projects have been basic wardrobe builders.  This is the Colette Mabel Skirt, whipped up in a mere 2 hours using black ponte knit fabric.  Flattering + figure-hugging pencil cut + no closures + low yardage = highly recommended project!

 

This was my most time-intensive project of the bunch: The now-iconic-within-the-home-sewing-community Bombshell Swimsuit.  This swimsuit is nothing short of amazing....A true miracle....A marvel of retro feminine engineering.  I feel so incredibly sexy and confident while wearing it and I will most definitely make another next summer!

Here's the final line-up (from left to right):  Colette Mabel Skirt, Wiksten Tank, Katy and Laney Tap Shorts (previously blogged with lots of photos HERE), Bombshell Swimsuit and McCall's 6965 Flared Shorts!

Completed Project: McCall's 6387 - Rainbow Brite Dress

I have a confession to make:  I rarely have time to sew for myself, let alone for anyone else, so sewing things for other people usually falls very, very low on my list of priorities.  However, a couple weeks ago I found several amazing scraps of vintage 1980s Rainbow Brite fabric panels at a thrift store in Black Mountain for a mere .25 cents and my niece Ella's 3rd birthday is July 3rd, so the time finally presented itself for me to make her a dress!  

I used McCall's 6387, mainly because I was charmed by the little detachable "Heidi Style" apron.  Ironically, even though I purchased fabric for the apron, I ultimately decided not to construct it since it was going to partially obscure Rainbow Brite and her horse Starlite which is the main focal point of the dress.

The skirt of is made from rainbow multi-striped cotton quilting fabric which I lined with white cotton.  For the lower fabric ruffle, straps and bodice lining, I used an orange and pink toned batik.

From start to finish, I was able to construct the dress in about 4 hours.  It's a very simple design, but all of those gathers take an eternity!  Even though Ella has no idea who Rainbow Brite is, I think she will love the colors, ruffle and gathers.  Her parents, both children of the 1980s (like myself), will probably appreciate the nostalgic elements of it!

Shorts....with lots of fashion zing!

No, my latest sewing projects haven't been 1970s glam rock era hot pants (although the View 4 leopard print hot pants are very tempting).......but I have been sewing a lot of shorts!

My wardrobe is seriously lacking in this spring and summer wardrobe staple. In fact, I used to hate wearing them. But with a two year old boy who constantly wants to play outside, well, let's just say that dresses and skirts aren't the most appropriate attire for me to wear while accompanying him on his adventures!

I finally purchased this downloadable scalloped shorts pattern from Pattern Runway on Etsy! Only $9.50 and going to a good cause, in my opinion (YAY for independent pattern designers). I hope to start these this weekend and my plan is to make them with a dark blue crinkly linen fabric that I thrifted a while ago.

And I actually finished making View C from Simplicity 3850 from the Wendy Mullin "Built By You" pattern series several days ago (hope to post here very soon). I think it's obvious that this pattern would win the award for the absolute worst pattern envelope illustration ever.....the shirts are covering up the cute waistband, belt carriers and pocket design details! So thank goodness for simple line drawings:

Hopefully these shorts will fulfill a few spots in the "wardrobe basics" section of my closet and I can move on to sewing a couple of fun and frivolous designs next!

Completed Project: 1970s Betsey Johnson High Waist Pants

When I moved back to North Carolina almost 9 months ago, I unintentionally lost a lot of weight due to stress and other factors. I found that all of the pants and trousers that I'd put so much time into making no longer fit, which left me without a few essential wardrobe basics. So now, along with looking for thrifted vintage pieces, I'm trying to sew and build up my wardrobe again (with a 1970s slant, of course)! I used Butterick #3846 (a "Young Designer" pattern by Betsey Johnson) to make this pair of simple high waist pants:

Do forgive the dark and pixelated photos! I am well in need of a new camera (and some natural sunlight)!

I omitted quite a few details from the original design and opted to keep these pants extremely basic. I thought the extreme high waist fit and wide legs made enough of a statement. The original pattern design included huge patch pockets over the hips, round applique patches at the knees and a detachable bib.

I wore these out to lunch today and received a few nice compliments. The fabric that I used is a lightly slubbed medium weight denim-look cotton that I purchased with a huge lot of patterns at a local sale. I thought this type of fabric would be perfect for the transition from winter to spring - not too heavy or too light. The pants have a front zipper, wider than usual waistband and button closure.

I will definitely be wearing these often and I'm so glad to have a basic pair of high waist pants in my wardrobe again!

TOTAL PROJECT COST:

Fabric - approximately $1.00

Zipper - approximately $2.00

Pattern - $6.49 from Granni Gert's Attic @ Etsy

____________

$9.49

A Look Inside VOGUE PATTERNS Magazine - May/June 1975

I lucked out about a year ago and won an auction on eBay for 20 issues of Vogue Patterns magazine for only $20.00! And all of said issues are from around 1973 to 1979, so I am going to slowly but surely share them all with you! Here's a peek into the May/June 1975 issue.

You can tell that home sewing was a big deal during the 1970s from the amount of money (lots of beautiful on-location photography and detailed styling) and care that was put into each issue. The featured model in this particular fashion editorial (shot in "Mystic India") is a very young Jerry Hall! Remember to click on the photos to see them full-size - you won't want to miss all of the amazing details of these fashions sewn from Vogue patterns!

The three photos above remind a lot of the cinematography from the 1970s Australian film Picnic At Hanging Rock. Everything is so blatantly romantic and Jerry Hall is stunning!

The epitome of 1970s bohemian-chic! The close-up of the first photo was used for the cover of this issue - I NEED those platform sandals, by the way! The horse print batik fabric used for the hooded caftan above is amazing!

Gorgeous evening dresses. The orange dress was made from a Jerry Silverman designer Vogue pattern. The photo of Jerry Hall in the green dress is my favorite one from this issue!

Amazing hot pink halter top, high waist pants and jacket sewn up in fuchsia pink cotton. I love how the male model in all of these photos is basically just a prop. Ha ha!

Introducing a new bunch of designer patterns from Giorgio di Sant'Angelo - robes and dresses that are specially designed to be made from sheets! I'm pretty sure Vogue's translations of Sant'Angelo's designs were limited to the 2 or 3 in this issue - he had a very short run with Vogue, so I guess they weren't very popular.

And now for a few ads! There's an ad for Qiana by Du Pont in nearly every issue that I own. Same with Trevira fabrics, whose illustrated ads are so pretty!

I have a few spools of 1970s Coats & Clark Dual Duty thread on that trademark gold spool just waiting to be used. I seriously doubt that any advertiser today would dare put so much text into an ad!

Simplicity Fashion News ~ May 1972

All 16 pages of the May 1972 edition of Simplicity Fashion News for your viewing pleasure (click the images to enlarge them)!