Miss Dandy Dresses at Packrats in Columbia, SC

I'm currently consigning a few of my handmade dresses at the newly opened handmade/indie/vintage shop - Packrats - in Columbia, SC. I was excited to find a few photos of the dresses artfully displayed at the shop courtesy of the Shop Tart! Since I live halfway across the country from the actual shop, I was thrilled to see the dresses in action and just had to share them!

Hope everyone's having a nice 4th! My husband's at work and my son is way too young for loud fireworks (plus he's always in bed by 6:00 anyways), so I'll be stuck inside, hopefully weeding through more of my pattern collection and maybe even doing some sewing! xoxoxo

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Round Two: Separates, Skirts, Pants, Coats, Jackets and Accessories Patterns

I weeded out more of my pattern collection today. Here are the various accessory, skirt, coat/jacket, pants and separates patterns that I've decided to keep (and I just realized that all but one are circa 1970s!).

Separates are the best because they give you more bang for your buck! I love the jacket/blouse with the fitted midriff, the flared skirt, the Bermuda shorts, the pants...well, everything about it!

I adore the wide leg pants in this pattern - they are very reminiscent of 1940s style pants. And what girl doesn't need a simple wrap coat to compliment her wardrobe?

Really pretty raglan sleeve blouse, wide leg pants and flared skirt.

I like the fact that this pattern offers two different styles of pants - wide leg and straight leg. The vest is cute, too!

Simple to make Betsey Johnson hooded coat/jacket that could be adapted for many different seasons.

I'm in love with the over sized pointy collar on this 1970s coat! The fact that it was designed by Betsey Johnson also helps.

Reversible hooded poncho for those rainy days.

I know, I know - this is very similar to the Betsey Johnson pointy collar coat, but I love the fact that this coat has a hood and utilizes extra large buttons!

I've made the drawstring skirt before and I still want to make the wrap skirt with the super-wide waistband. Not a huge fan of the long tiered skirt, but the other styles make it worth keeping.

Every seamstress needs a fitted pencil skirt pattern in her collection! I had several, but this is the one I decided on.

Cute A-line skirt and flared skirt pattern. Both are must-have basic wardrobe separates.

This pattern offers lots of different skirt styles, which made it a definite keeper.

I used this pattern to make several quick cotton shorts for the spring and summer. Easiest pants pattern ever and, even though the only closure is a drawstring at the waist, they are very flattering!

I wanted to keep this one, not for the purses, but for the obi wrap belts!

My only hat pattern. Not a huge fan of the scarf/billed hat, but I love the floppy brimmed hat and the fedora style hat.

The First Cut is the Deepest: Blouse and Top Patterns

I've started to pare down my large pattern collection to a smaller and much more seamstress-friendly collection and - WOW-OH-WOW - it's been really difficult.

I began with blouse/top patterns. I tried to cut them down to 10 patterns to keep, but blouses and tops are really important for someone like me who wears more skirts and trousers than dresses. So ended up with these 12 (and a good variety of styles, I think):

Awesome 1940s blouse. My favorite is view 2 with the sleeve cuffs and large buttons.

One of my favorite blouse patterns ever! I made the "Into the Woods" blouse with this one so I just have to keep it so I can make more like it.

Just a really simple and classic 1970s blouse pattern. It's timeless, actually!

I'm a big fan of slouchy 1980s t-shirts, so I had to keep this one. I've made several of the view 4 tops (love the boat neckline) and they are super-comfy.

1970s babydoll blouse pattern. I actually thought I no longer had this before going through my collection to pare it down!

Another 1980s slouchy top. I love the raglan sleeves and the gathered neckline.

Classic 1960s mod blouse with a couple collar and sleeve variations.

Another 1940s blouse pattern. I'm a sucker for bow tie collars.

Okay - yes - this is the 3rd slouchy top pattern of the bunch. But this one had a hood and an optional kangaroo pocket so I need it. I really do!

Simple 1960s sleeveless blouse pattern - another timeless basic for the collection.

I really like the different style variations of this 1980s pullover blouse pattern. Lots of sewing possibilities with this one!

I have a great affinity for Wendy Mullin and her Built By Wendy line. I'm actually getting rid of many of her Simplicity Built By You patterns, but I had to keep this one because it's a racerback tank top pattern and who doesn't love to wear those during the spring and summer?

Starting From Scratch

This is a post for anyone who, like me, obsessively collects vintage sewing patterns, fabric and sewing notions.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how having all of this sewing stuff actually keeps me from sewing...it slows me down. Meaning that it usually takes me an eternity to choose a project from all of my patterns (and it actually takes an eternity to go through all of the patterns!). I like buying patterns because each one represents the exciting possibility of a future project or garment that I could make and wear one day. But what's the point of having said pattern if you file it away and completely forget that it exists and never end up make anything from it anyway? The same goes for fabric. And just because there's a $1.00 pattern sale at Jo Ann's or a huge bag of old crazy colored zippers or ridiculously low priced fabric at a thrift store, does that really mean that you have to buy them just in case that perfect project idea comes along one day?

Don't get me wrong - it's not like I'm drowning in sewing patterns and fabric here, it's just that I have finally (after a very, very long time) realized something about myself: there is truth to the saying "a cluttered house leads to a cluttered mind." Less is more for me. Too many choices actually mess with my head and I either procrastinate or give up, sometimes in the middle of a project due to the distracting need to move on to another one.

In order for me to be the best, most productive seamstress that I can be, I need to get rid of (almost) every sewing item that I own and start from scratch.

So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to whittle down my sewing pattern collection to 20-30 patterns. I'll be keeping most of my favorites (most of them Butterick Young Designer patterns from the 1970s) and a couple basics. Same goes for fabric, buttons, zippers, notions, etc. My goal is to sew through these patterns, then buy patterns and corresponding fabric ONLY when I'm absolutely ready to start a new project and see it through to the end. I will post all of my collection here and document each finished project. I actually want to work on learning how to draft my own patterns, so maybe I can eventually do away with commercial patterns altogether!

Kind of a wordy post, but I had to put everything down in words so I can be held accountable. As soon as I decide which patterns to keep, I will post them all here and get started on the first project! Wish me luck on choosing which ones to keep...it's going to be difficult!

Vintage Romper Patterns Galore!

Rompers / Playsuits are really popular right now. Although I haven't made one myself, I've seen some pretty cute handmade ones on Burda Style recently. I currently have a TON of vintage romper patterns in my pattern shop. Here are a few highlights:

Strapless button-front romper / long jumpsuit and hooded cover-up - $6.00.

Set of 3 strapless rompers, including a bubble romper and a wrap-around romper - $6.00.

Overall-style capri-length jumpsuit, short romper and jumper dress - $5.00.

Funky front-zip kimono sleeve romper and jumpsuit - $5.00.

Bohemian short bubble romper and long jumpsuit with gathered neckline - $5.00.

Front-zip romper with raglan sleeves and a front-wrap mini or maxi skirt - $5.00.

A Few Random Things

It's taking me way longer than I'd planned to finish my current sewing project. It's actually more of an ensemble piece - a button front shirt and drawstring waist shorts. I'm using a 1970s Kenzo pattern to make the outfit and the shirt was quite complicated to make. Now I just have to finish the shorts!

Onto another topic: I love Burda Style. Let me re-phrase that: I am IN LOVE with Burda Style!

It is such an amazing place to see mind-boggling creative sewing projects and meet other fellow sewing enthusiasts. I've been sewing for a really long time and can't believe that I just joined about a month ago! I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I haven't ever used a Burda sewing pattern to make anything...yet! ;)

Every week, the staff features a few members' projects on the main page. Here are a few of my current favorites (they are all incredibly inspiring!):

1960s sleeveless wool dress by Lily_Bart. Impeccably made from a 1960s Vogue Couturier pattern - need I say more?

Large Pocket Work Skirt by The House of Hearts. Super-cute skirt with cheerful yellow pockets made from reclaimed fabric. Perfection!

Chocolate Viscose Blouse by baroness. Amazingly too-cool-for-school mod blouse with matching orange gingham (!) fabric buttons and neck scarf. I need one of these!

Black, white and plaid blouse by smbriones. Gingham again, this time used to make a neat-o mod blouse with a Peter Pan collar and bow tie! To die for!

Maryy variation dress by tinybows. This seamstress churns out the most amazing creations at an enviable pace. And they all look just as cool as this 1990s grunge-style halter dress!

And onto another completely unrelated subject....I'm not sure if I have many (if any) Australians who read this blog, but it seems to me that home sewing is HUGE in Australia! I also have a vintage sewing pattern shop on Etsy, and at least half of my sales are from Australians. So I'm curious - is there a home sewing revolution going on in Australia? I'm hugely interested in the topic of home sewing, so if anyone can shed some light, I would appreciate it!