Moving on Up!

This blog has moved from here to HERE (www.missdandysewing.com)!  I'm excited to finally have my own domain name and hope you will follow me there!

Completed Project: Scout Woven Tee

I have nothing but enthusiastic RAVES for the Grainline Scout Woven Tee!  It's a fairly simple to make, super-flattering and an easy-to-wear design.  And well-worth shelling out $6.50 for!  For the front of the tee I used reclaimed fabric from a vintage 1970s floral print scarf.  

Yes - quell horreur! - I plead guilty to cutting up a perfectly fine and wearable vintage scarf, but it was put to good use, right?  And I have a confession - I have tons more of these oversized vintage scarfs in my stash just like this that I've stored up from my various thrifting adventures.  I find that, at $.50 cents to $2.00 each, they are an affordable fabric option for small projects like this and usually offer nice pops of color or unique design that's usually hard to find in modern fabric.             

Since I only had a small amount of scarf fabric for the front I opted for a matching rust-colored rayon challis for the back and the sleeves.  I found this fabric at a thrift store as well.  This tee is extremely comfy to wear I really love the swingy fit!  Although the floral scarf fabric is slightly sheer, I opted not to line it because I have a feeling this summer is going to be a hot one and I plan to wear this often!

My Imminent Sewing Plans

Okay.  So I'm ready to stop neglecting this blog.  Really and truly.  Ready.  Here are a few visuals of the sewing projects that I've queued up:

I've fallen in love with these 1970s Annie Hall style high-waist, wide-leg pants.  Head-over-heels in love!  It's Vogue 8836.  Very difficult to tell from the scan, but I'll be using this heathered blue and brown woven suiting fabric to bring these to life (view B).

The Colette "Beignet" Skirt from this amazing vintage 1970s leaf and mushroom print twill fabric that I've had in my stash for, like, 10 years (!) now...'cause it's so awesome and I've been saving it for something special.  I know I'm probably the last seamstress on earth to tackle this, but better late than never!

I love the late 1950s Brigitte Bardot look of these high-waist, skinny leg knit pants.  Designed by Katherine Tilton for Vogue (V8837).  These have interesting seaming details that aren't even captured in the photo from the pattern envelope.  To be made using a heathered brown interlock knit.   

Another Colette Patterns Skirt - "Ginger."  Simple A-line design that will work well for this crazy busy 1980s splatter print twill fabric!

Tie-front blouse from the October 2010 issue of Burda Style Magazine (although I downloaded the pattern from their website).  I'll be using this slightly retro floral and vine print purple-hued cotton fabric !

I'm really looking forward to getting back into the sewing groove.  Now, off to decide which of these projects to tackle first.....

Projects in Progress

So the most prominent project in progress at the moment is a special quilt that I'm making for two of my dearest friends who are getting married in mid-October!  While I have the ability to do the piecing and quilt binding my faithful, but simple, Singer sewing machine won't quite do the trick for the actual quilting.  So I have until the end of August to finish the piecing, then I'm sending it off to an "expert" for the heavy-duty work.  I want to keep this a secret, so I can't show photos just yet!

In addition to the wedding in October, I'm also attending a wedding with my boyfriend in September, and I'm desperately in need of a cute and chic dress to wear to both of these!  This is where Chantilly from Colette patterns comes to the rescue!  I'm kind of late to the Colette patterns party.  And when I mean late, I mean mega-late......this will be my first time sewing a Colette pattern!

Since the design has a light and airy Spring/Summer feel to it, I will be using this lovely, autumn-hued crinkled chiffon which will be lined with a fabric that exactly matches the splashes of green in the print:

It's been a long while since I've sewn a dress for myself, so I'm really looking forward to this!  In addition to the Chantilly dress, I have started to plan my fall sewing projects.  I recently went on a bit of a pattern-buying binge, including the Scout Woven Tee, Violet, Ginger and Beignet from Colette patterns and the Betty High Waist Panties from Ohhh Lulu.  I have so much fabric in my stash that planning has actually been super-easy! 

Lastly, I also discovered a fantastic blog today - Clothes On Film - where the aim is to "examine costume and identity in movies."  Of recent note, there is an article about the costumes in Breakfast at Tiffany's and another about a new adaptation of Anna Karenina and a possible collaboration between the costume designer Jacqueline Durran and Banana Republic.    

Until next time......happy sewing!!!

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!

Completed Project: 1970s Floral Brushstroke Dress

Here it is: my first completed sewing project of the year! I used Butterick #4393 (a 1970s Jane Tise young designer pattern) to make this dress which has a shaped yokes, a casual, flared silhouette and 3/4 length puffy sleeves.

I was originally going to make the blouse, but I decided to make the dress since my wardrobe is severely lacking in them. For the yokes, collar, front tab and cuffs, I used grey cotton shirting from Jo-Ann's. The sleeves and body are made from lovely vintage 1960s floral brushstroke print cotton fabric that I found at a local thrift store for a mere $2.00! I used a fabric-covered button for the front buttoned tab.

Although it has a pretty unstructured fit, this was quite complicated to make, mainly due to the self-lined yokes, puffy sleeves (TONS of gathering), side seam pockets and topstitching. The construction put many of my sewing skills to good use.

Here is a scan of the pattern - it is definitely a keeper!

The Schwinn Romper Grosgrain Giveaway

Kathleen, the amazing seamstress and creator of Grosgrain blog, is currently having a giveaway for the cute-cute-cute retro nautical-style summer romper above! Read more by clicking through the link below!

The Schwinn Romper Grosgrain Giveaway

Back to Blogging

Wow! These past 8 months have gone by so quickly!!! My little guy is officially 8 months old next week. Now that he's taking good naps and sleeping completely through the night, I'm ready to jump back into blogging and sewing again! Here's a photo of Brydon and I (and a moose!) taken at Rocky Mountain National Park last weekend:

I've also joined the BurdaStyle community, which I'm super-excited about, and I have 7 handmade dresses making their way to Pack Rats, Etsy member Softspoken's new brick 'n' mortar shop opening soon in Columbia, SC!

Oh! Any my latest obsessions are Patti Smith:

And Desmond Dekker:

I finished reading Patti's amazing book Just Kids last week. I've always been in awe of Patti Smith, and this memoir about her days as a young, struggling artist in NYC with partner Robert Mapplethorpe is amazing! I've been on a reggae kick lately, so the music of Desmond Dekker has been in heavy rotation around here.

Vintage Sewing Patterns of the Week!

Here they are....a new batch of vintage sewing patterns that I've found this week for your viewing pleasure!

Mod beret pattern by Adolfo. The perfect accessories for all of your 1960s mini-dresses! Found on eBay.

Late 1970s separates pattern by Jane Tise. I've always wondered how I would look in Jodphurs...I'm kind of enamoured by them right now! Found on Etsy.

1960s Vogue Paris Original dress by Molyneux, featuring unusual geometric seaming. I love how so many dresses from the 1960s utilized inventively shaped seaming like this! Found on eBay.

Charming early 1960s dress with wiggle or full pleated skirt. I'm a big fan of the inventive use of two contrasting fabrics in the full-skirt version. Found on eBay.

1970s Vogue turban pattern. So you probably don't necessarily need a pattern to make most of these scarf turbans, but I love the photos on the front of the envelope! Found on Etsy.

Vintage Patterns of the Week!

Here's my weekly round-up of interesting and unique vintage sewing patterns that I've found while searching around on the web. Be sure to click on the images so you can see all of the vintage goodness in closer detail!

Late 1950s dress with fitted midriff and empire waist bow. Found on eBay.

I love how simple, yet inventive, this 1960s dress design is! Found on eBay.

This one is a real stunner, and very rare. I used to collect Pauline Trigere patterns, and I had never seen this design before! Found on eBay.

This 1950s dress has so much going for it: very fitted, a front bateau neckline and plunging back neckline, tied shoulder bows and a flared godet at the back of the skirt. I *wish* I could have grabbed this one, but I'm 8 months pregnant, and the thought of me actually being able to fit into a dress like this seems like a very distant dream right now.....Found on eBay.

I love the illustration on this one! 1960s Vogue mod little girl's dress with military-inspired details. Found on eBay.

Japanese Pattern Books - Potentially Dangerous to Your Wallet!

I just found an eBay store that could be seriously dangerous to my wallet! The store is Pamadour24 and they offer a dazzlingly large selection of Japanese craft and sewing books. Although I have yet to actually purchase a book from them (they have a 100% positive feedback rating with 15,000+ sales!), here are a few sewing pattern books that are on my wish list:

Cute Clothes for Adults. Includes 25 full-scale dress patterns.

Fashion From Cinema. This one looks amazing!!! Includes full-scale patterns for dresses, skirts and blouses from films like Driving Miss Daisy, The Young Girls of Rochefort, Edward Scissorhands, Bonjour Tristesse and many more!

Sewing Pochee Vol. 7. 41 full-scale patterns for bags, crafts and clothes.

LINEN COTTON GAUZE LACE CLOTHES. The clothes in this pattern book look like they would be so easy to make and so comfy to wear! 25 full-scale patterns for clothing and accessories.

Vintage Patterns of the Week!

Every week, I will be posting scans and screen captures of various patterns that have caught my eye. Some of them are highlights from patterns that I have for sale in my shop, and others are patterns from my own collection or patterns that I've found for sale online that I'm lusting after!

Early 1970s dress or tunic with interchangeable collars! I have a major love affair with crazy shaped collars. Available in my shop!

This pattern has lots of design elements that I love...puff sleeves, a full tent shape, Peter Pan collar and a high-bust fit. From my own collection.

Cute strappy, tie-on midriff halter top and sailor pants/shorts/skirt! Available in my shop.

Mod jumper dress with cutaway armholes. Found on eBay.

1970s Butterick Young Designer pattern by Kenzo. Fall will be here soon, and this peplum jacket and skirt ensemble would be so pretty made up in corduroy! From my collection.

LET YOURSELF SEW

I love vintage home sewing ephemera, especially from the 1960s and 1970s when DIY home sewing was so popular. This particular book - Let Yourself Sew - was published by Simplicity pattern company in 1972, which was also the same time that my mom was in high school and doing lots of home sewing herself! I love how the target demographic of this book is teens.



Check out the photo spread on the table of contents page! So freaking cool!!!



There are 96 pages of home sewing goodness here, including an article on how to make your very own "sewing capsule." I LOVE how they call it a sewing capsule - it's so appropriately space-age and cute! I will now refer to my own sewing area as my "sewing capsule."



And the perfect bookend to this awesome piece of home sewing ephemera is on the back cover - an ad for a state-of-the-art 1972 Singer sewing machine: