Tag Archives: Choosing buttons

November 19, 2013 · 6:21 pm

Date Night

For a number of years now, Thursday evening has been “date night” for my husband and me. That’s what we call it, but it really just means that we always go out for drinks and dinner. It is always one of my favorite nights of the week. Part of the fun of it is the “standing reservation” we have at a favorite local “drinkery/eatery”, where we are always met by friendly staff and a “kitchen” that knows our favorite choices. Because we so often go to this same place, I like to mix up what I wear. I doubt anybody actually notices, but it is just one of those things which is important to me! Anyway, my new blouse is going to be a colorful, welcome addition to my Thursday night wardrobe.

Made from pink silk which I purchased in the 1980s.

As I stated in my last post (distanced from this one by a sojourn to California, from which I did not return empty-fabric-handed…!), I based this blouse on a RTW one I have worn for years. I always remember the good advice given on page 86 in 101 Things I learned in Fashion School (by Alfedo Cabrera with Matthew Frederick. Copyright 2010, Grand Central Publishing, New York, New York): “When in doubt, look in your closet. When unsure about how a garment you’ve designed should be constructed, look at your own wardrobe: We all have at least one pair of fly-front pants and a garment that buttons down the front. It doesn’t take much time or effort to pull it out and replicate or adapt what one sees.”

A little book filled with great information

Of course, I wanted to start with a basic blouse pattern, which I could tweak to recreate my old favorite one. At this point, you might ask, “How difficult can it be to find a basic, long-sleeved, banded collar blouse pattern?” A lengthy search through my patterns produced exactly one with some of the lines I wanted. Just looking at it kind of made me cringe. But then I realized that, with certain changes, it would probably be just about perfect. Copyright 1972, this Simplicity pattern looks about as dated as it is, but its “bones” are still good!

Among the details I needed to change:

1) The collar band was much too wide, so I narrowed it by about 50%.

2) The collar was too big and too pointed, so I redrafted it to match the collar on my green blouse.

Changes to the collar band and the collar.

3) I eliminated the back yoke.

4) I made the front and back pieces a little straighter at the side seams, and then added two darts to the back to take in some of the fullness and make the blouse curve over the hips a little more flatteringly.

5) I loved the “sportshirt” sleeve plackets on my green blouse, so I went to my 1972 Vogue Sewing Book to find out how to add them to this blouse. I narrowed the cuffs, too.

I practiced on muslin first!

I am fairly happy with how these plackets turned out. I can’t ever remember making this type of placket before, so I guess it was a first for me!

6) I eliminated the front button band.

7) I added side slits and narrow topstitching to all the edges, just like on my green blouse.

This shows the sleeve heading, which I narrowly topstitched. Click on the photo for a better look.

Here is the topstitching on the front edge.

Oh, there is more, but you get the idea. I made a permanent record of all these changes with a whole new set of pattern pieces.

When it came to choosing buttons, I hoped to find some vintage ones to compliment the bright pink. I found this gray pearl set (picked up somewhere for 50 cents), and the iridescence in them shimmered a bit of pink.

The holes on two of the buttons were a little off center, but fortunately, I only needed 8 of them!

The process of making this blouse was fun and low-stress: I interfaced the collar and cuffs with silk organza, of course, but other than that, there were no underlinings, no linings, no bound buttonholes to worry about!

With a cashmere blend scarf, for a dressier look.

A vintage scarf to go with this vintage fabric!

I’m looking forward to wearing this blouse often, but especially for date night, which just so happens to make “date day” also fun and low stress: no dinner to plan and cook – which means more time in the sewing room!

15 Comments

Filed under Blouses, Buttons - choosing the right ones, Scarves, sewing in silk, Uncategorized, vintage buttons, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s

Tagged as Blouses, Choosing buttons, fashion sewing, scarves, silk

October 6, 2013 · 11:44 am

“P” is for Pearl — and — Perseverance

Among timeless fashion statements, pearls and wrap dresses both make my top-ten list. The opportunity to combine the two was just too good to pass by, especially after being inspired by a silk charmeuse perfectly suited for just such a pairing.

Pearls and ribbons and clusters, fabric purchased from Mendel Goldberg Fabrics in NYC.

As luck would have it, shortly after I purchased the silk for this dress, an entire article in the Style & Fashion section of The Weekend Wall Street Journal of August 24 – 25 (2013) was devoted to “the old-fashioned allure of pearls…” It seems that pearls are “showing up on everything from shoes to wallpaper to chairs” – and to fabric, as evidenced by my Italian silk charmeuse. I am just “old-fashioned” enough to think that pearls are never not in style, but I must admit that even I was smitten with the unusual and modern approach of this fabric design.

Pearls are showing up everywhere, it seems.

So – how would this modern fabric look, made up in a mid-1970s’ wrap dress pattern? I thought it would work quite well. But getting there turned out to be challenge. Although I was lacking the classic Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress pattern that I envisioned for this dress (blogged about here), I thought I could piece together a 1976 Simplicity version and a new Vogue wrap dress pattern to achieve my goal.

This is the dress I wanted to recreate…

The Simplicity “version” of the Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress.

Vogue 8784 diagrams

Here’s what I did:

1) I decided to use the princess-seamed bodice back from the new Vogue pattern.

2) I re-cut the collar and the cuffs from the Simplicity pattern so that the points on them would not so extreme.

3) Because the ties on the Simplicity pattern were not attached to the dress (the tie was just like a very long separate sash) I used the ties from this DvF pattern, and attached them to the side seams.

4) The missing sleeve pattern piece in the Simplicity pattern meant that I had to use the sleeve from the new Vogue pattern and basically redraft it, with an elbow dart, and with cuffs. I also used Simon Henry’s book The Little Black Dress: How to make the perfect one for you as a reference.

This is the wrap LBD dress featured in the book.

5) I ended up making two complete muslins and re-stitching one of those muslins, before I had a workable pattern. All of this seemed to take forever!

When I finally cut out the black silk organza underlining, I was ready for a celebration, but of course, that would have been premature. Although the design in the fashion fabric really could not be “matched”, I still had to respect the placement of the “clusters” as they would relate to the bodice. (I did not want “clusters” at the apex of the bust darts, for example.) And I felt like the “clusters” should be placed at equal distances from each other over the expanse of the dress, if possible. After determining all this and cutting out the fashion fabric, I finally got to sewing, which included lots of basting, catch-stitching all the seams to the underlining, understitching the collar by hand (which worked beautifully, for which I was very grateful!), setting in the sleeves, making the lining, etc., etc.

Here is the final placement of the fabric design on the front of the bodice . . .

. . . and here is the bodice back.

Understitching the collar created a slight under-curve which helps the collar lay flat.

This boring view just shows the lining that was so tedious to attach!

I made the mistake of making the cuffs before a final fitting of the sleeves. (I thought I was being smart and getting “prep” work done, but I just made more work for myself). I ended up shortening the sleeves and enlargening the openings so that I would be able to push them up on my arms if I wanted to. The cuffs I had made were not long enough to accommodate these adjustments, so back I went to cut and make new cuffs. Fortunately I had just enough fabric to squeeze these out!

For buttons for the cuffs, I went to my button box and came up with this card:

The original price of these buttons was 10 cents. I picked them up for 50 cents at some point. It almost seemed a shame to cut them off of the card!

Because I had reduced the points on the cuffs, I needed “not-too-big” buttons and these proved to be perfect, I thought, and in keeping with the “pearl” theme.

Here is one of the cuffs with buttons attached.

Working on the black fashion and lining fabrics was tedious. And it seemed the more I worked on this dress, the more there was to do on it! Kind of like eating a big bowl of pasta – the work seemed to multiply before my eyes. Fast, easy, and jiffy this was not! It’s times like this that being of a stubborn nature serves me well. I persevered and got it done! And even better, I am really happy with the results.

I will replace this photo with one of me in the dress as soon as I can!

Here is the dress on my new dress form . . .

. . . and here it is on ME!

Now – two more “P” words. I have “P”romised myself that my next “P”roject will be simple. Maybe a blouse – or even a blanket?

15 Comments

Filed under Buttons - choosing the right ones, couture construction, Little Black Dress, sewing in silk, Uncategorized, vintage buttons, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s, Wrap dresses

Tagged as Choosing buttons, Diane von Furstenberg, fashion sewing, Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, silk, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns, Wall Street Journal Fashion coverage, wrap dresses

July 2, 2013 · 1:03 pm

Shopping for Fabric

Are there any more magical words for those of us who sew? And what if that shopping trip is to New York City to visit Mendel Goldberg Fabrics? For those of you unfamiliar with this exceptional purveyor of the finest fabrics, this short statement in their recent (and first) ad in Threads Magazine will help to acquaint you: “This family-owned business carries European designer fabrics, from French lace to brocades, boucles, Italian silk prints and novelties. You’ll be amazed by their selection of imported couture fabrics.”

The distinctive sign for Mendel Goldberg Fabrics on Hector Street in NYC.

The distinctive sign for Mendel Goldberg Fabrics on Hester Street in NYC.

Well, amazed we were – all 11 of us who visited Mendel Goldberg Monday a week ago (June 24) on the first day of our class with Susan Khalje – The Classic French Jacket. We were also just a little bit giddy (no, we were actually unabashedly giddy) as we viewed the treasures before us. However, I am getting ahead of myself . . .

Arriving at the store after our 4-hour drive from Baltimore, we were enthusiastically and graciously met by Alice, the proprietress whose great-grandfather started the business in 1890. Her daughter Josie works with her, and they are assisted by long-time employee Louis. Also there to help us was Pierre, a young Frenchman who was interning with the business for two months.

Alice is on the right, in a pose seen often - cutting fabric.

Alice is on the right, in a pose often seen – cutting fabric.

Josie and Louis

Pierre shown here in front of all those luscious fabrics.

Our mission was to find and purchase our fabrics for the week-long class. Thus – each of us needed to decide on a boucle for the jacket, and a silk charmeuse (the preferred fabric) for our lining. The quantity of boucle fabric which Mendel Goldberg carries makes one’s decision fraught with “how can I ever narrow this down to just one?” Well, of course, being the intrepid shoppers that we were, many of us actually could not narrow down our choice to just one. Is it any surprise that many more than just 11 lengths each of boucle and charmeuse yardage were cut that day?

Bolts and bolts of boucles and other fabrics.

Just a small sampling of the boucles from which to choose.

More fabric under the cutting tables.

And more bolts in the basement, which we were privileged to visit.

A lovely houndstooth, tucked away in the basement.

Deciding on the lining fabric was as much fun as the boucle, and the exquisite designs, unique prints, and lustrous quality of Alice’s charmeuses are something to behold. Truly, the selection is a testament to Alice’s good taste and her diligence in finding the best that is available in France, Italy and Switzerland, and shipping them home to her store in the States.

So many charmeuses from which to choose.

Susan helping with the “match-up”.

Alice bent over more fabric.

Susan with a beautiful charmeuse.

Classmate Diane’s final selection of boucle and charmeuse.

Alice cutting the charmeuse I selected for my lining.

Alice’s father who still comes in to help.

As we left Mendel Goldberg after two quick hours of shopping, I took a moment to view the beautiful display of fabrics in their front window.

Despite the glare, the fabrics still captivate!

More fabric on display in the window.

Then we gathered on the street next to our van. Our bounty of bags spoke to the remarkable, memorable experience of Mendel Goldberg Fabrics.

Just a few of the bags that went home with us!

Now that we all had in our possession the two building blocks for our jackets (the fashion fabric and the lining), it was time to look for the embellishments, namely the trim and the buttons. So off we went to M & J Trimming uptown in the Garment District. Walking into M & J was a little bit like walking into a penny candy store, only better (no calories and more selection)! There were trims and people and sales staff everywhere, and it seemed like everyone was on their own important mission. We certainly were! With our boucle and our complementary silk charmeuse in hand, we each first needed to find the perfect trim to set off our jackets. Although numbering in the thousands, the trims were arranged by color and quite logically, so that once we understood the system, we were each able to pick and choose several “possibilities”. Susan was there to help us make final decisions – and miraculously, we could start to see a glimpse of the final look of each of our own unique jackets.

Red and black trims, waiting for my perusal.

A view inside the store.

Classmates Sherry and Carol being assisted by Susan.

The only thing left to do was pick out buttons.

The entrance to the Button section of M & J Trims.

The entrance to the Button section of
M & J Trimming.

As an enthusiastic fan of unique and beautiful buttons, I was smitten. The button displays went from floor to ceiling, arranged by color and type, again very logically.

Buttons and more buttons.

As sewers, each of us is accustomed to choosing buttons appropriate to our garment. So – what fun it was to place different ones next to our fabrics and trims so they could audition for the final starring part. With Susan’s guidance, wonderful suggestions, and knowledgeable nod of approval, we all left the store with little bags filled with great and varied treasures.

So which of those treasures did I find for my classic French jacket? I went with the hope of finding a lovely red boucle, which I did. Paired with that remarkably designed charmeuse shown above, the red seemed to me to be set off most beautifully with black trim and black and gold buttons.

My trim and buttons – click on the photo to see them close-up.

Boucle – charmeuse – trim – buttons. All set to begin my jacket . . .

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Filed under Buttons - choosing the right ones, Chanel-type jackets, Uncategorized

Tagged as Boucle, Choosing buttons, French jacket, Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, silk, Susan Khalje Couture

June 21, 2013 · 8:16 pm

Inspiration and Adaptation

Sometimes in life – and in sewing – you have to alter your plans to accommodate the situation at hand.

This is the situation I found myself in: I had my heart set on pairing a favorite vintage Vogue Designer pattern with a piece of vintage Moygashel linen I had found in an Etsy shop. They are both likely from the early 1970s and seemed destined to be together.

Molyneux has always been a favorite designer of mine. My thought was to make the dress with short sleeves, but belt it as shown in View B.

Molyneux has always been one of my favorite designers. My thought was to make the dress with short sleeves, but with a belt as shown in View B.

My best guess is that this Moygashel linen is from the very early ’70s.

To make this pairing of fabric and pattern even more enticing, I was given this amazing pearl button by my dear friend Nancy C. (Thanks, Nancy!)

I love this unique button!

The square shape of the button – and its largeness (1 3/16” square) – and the fact that I had exactly one of these beauties – made it seem custom made for the design of the fabric and the tab featured on the pattern.

I couldn’t wait to get started! I pulled out all the pattern pieces, ironed them flat, ready to make a muslin – and then the “uh-oh” moment struck. The “straight of grains” on the pattern pieces could not have signaled more trouble if they had been flashing in bright red. I grabbed the pattern envelope – and right there in plain English was stated: “Not suitable for obvious plaids.” (Why won’t I learn to read those envelopes more closely???) While this fabric is not a plaid, it reads like a plaid. My heart sank – as I realized very quickly that I absolutely could not use this pattern for this fabric. It just would not work. End of discussion.

If you look carefully at these line drawings, it's obvious that "plaids" would not work.

If you look carefully at these line drawings, it’s obvious that “plaids” will not work.

I took a few deep breaths – and went back to my vintage pattern file. None of my other vintage patterns would do. I had my vision for this fabric and no pattern came even remotely close. It was then I decided I would have to adapt a new pattern to achieve the look I wanted. Once I made this decision (Plan B, as in “it BETTER work!”), I began to see the advantages, and the possibilities for an even better look than I originally thought.

The first thing that went right was having this pattern in my “new pattern” file:

I picked up this pattern a few months ago as I thought it looked very versatile.

I figured if I used View B, I could alter the neck band to incorporate a center tab. I wanted to belt it, but I happily thought the tapered darts at the mid-section, front and back, would help create less bulk at the waist (and that’s always welcome). I liked the shape of the neck (and had actually planned to widen and lower the neckline on the vintage Vogue….). I would have to lengthen it, but I had plenty of fabric. I also like the banded sleeves. To envision the look, I did a quick sketch:

More about the belt later – it was ready before the dress was even cut out.

Then I set about adding the 1970’s tab to the neckband. I actually used the pattern piece for the original tab facing so that I could get the correct size and look.

I placed the old pattern piece onto the new neckband.

Then I made a new pattern piece.

I made my muslin and then proceeded to use some couture techniques, but not all I normally would. For one thing, I did not want to underline this linen fabric with silk organza (to preserve the breathability of the linen and keep it as light as possible). The pattern called for the dress (but not the sleeves) to be lined. I used a very lightweight cotton/linen blend for this which worked beautifully. I also decided to use the facings included in the pattern (usually eliminated with couture sewing), and I’m really happy with that decision.

This photo shows the neck facing and the off-white lining I used for the body of the dress.

I hand-picked the zipper, understitched the facings by hand, and sewed the hem oh-so-carefully so that my stitches would not show (one of the disadvantages of not using an underlining is that there is no layer to sew the hem to, except for the actual fashion fabric). I made a bound buttonhole for that big lovely button (the original Vogue pattern calls for a bound buttonhole).

Here’s the buttonhole, with the button peeking through!

The underside of the tab.

I also added a slit to the back seam as once I lengthened the dress, I thought I might need the extra wiggle room.

A quick look at the slit I added to the back center seam.

I had the belt made by Pat Mahoney of Pat’s Custom Belts and Buckles. What a great decision! I could never make as neat a belt and buckle as she does.

Pat Mahoney does nt have a website, but she can be contacted at: 209-369-5410; 537 York Street, P.O. Box 335, Lodi, California 95241, USA.

Pat Mahoney does not have a website, but she can be contacted at: 209-369-5410; 537 York Street, P.O. Box 335, Lodi, California 95241, USA.

Here is the finished dress.

I am bound and determined to make a summer dress using that vintage Vogue pattern. But – now I know I’ll have to use a plain fabric for best results (maybe a solid linen…). It will, however, have to wait for another Summer, as I have other projects in mind!

Making this dress has reminded me that sometimes Plan B turns out to be the BEST plan of all.

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Filed under bound buttonholes, Buttons - choosing the right ones, couture construction, Linen, Moygashel linen, Uncategorized, vintage buttons, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s, Vogue patterns

Tagged as bound buttonholes, Choosing buttons, fashion sewing, Moygashel linen, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns

May 15, 2013 · 3:27 pm

The Return of the Ladylike Suit

It seems I just can’t get way from that word – ladylike. Just as I was finishing the jacket to my emerald green silk suit, the weekend Wall Street Journal arrived with this article in the Off Duty – Style & Fashion section: “Gran Larceny – Fashion’s latest rebellion is co-opting looks from grandma’s closet.”

This photo, copyright The Wall Street Journal, is the lead photo for the article.

To quote from this article by Alexa Brazilian:

“Is conservative the new radical? The fashion world certainly seems to think so . . . Designers are reimaging soignée staples for spring and summer – skirt suits, twin sets, below-the-knee dresses, kitten heels and frame bags – that appear anything but moth-eaten.

“ ‘A young girl now doesn’t want to dress like her mother; she finds her grandmother much cooler,’ said Nina Ricci creative director Peter Copping, who designed skirt suits inspired by his own nana. ‘She wore little smart tweedy suits. I always had a romantic notion of that.’ “

And then later in the article is this statement by Christopher Kane (which I might frame and put on the wall in my sewing room!): “Ladylike is the ultimate sexiness,” said the designer. “It’s clean, elegant and in control. The famous saying, ‘It’s the quiet ones you need to watch,’ definitely applies to this style.”

Well, I won’t necessarily feel radical or even sexy when I wear my new green skirt suit, but I do believe it is an example of that ladylike style of the early 1960s — which actually makes sense since the pattern is indigenous to that decade.

This is the pattern from the 1960s I used for my suit.

And here is the suit finally finished.

I make a few changes to the design once I made the muslin for it. First, I added two tapering darts to the back. It was supposed to have a boxy feel to it, but I felt a little narrower silhouette would be more flattering to me. I also lengthened the jacket by about 1 and ½ inches.

The jacket is still “boxy” but less so with the added darts.

I decided to make the sleeves below elbow length, so I added another inch and ½ to them. Then I had to narrow them a bit as well to make them look proportional.

Now to the fun part: the two dressmaker details I added. In an earlier post, I already showed the turquoise silk lining fabric I chose. Once I had such a dramatic contrast in the works, I thought I’d push the envelope a bit farther. I found silk bias ribbon in a lovely periwinkle color and used it to add an edge detail to the lining in the body of the jacket.

Here is the bias silk ribbon attached to the edge of the lining… Click on the photos to see them up close.

… and one more picture of it.

This was so much fun to do and made attaching the lining to the jacket very easy, as all I had to do was “hand-stitch in the ditch” where the silk ribbon and the lining fabric were sewn together.

Here is what the finished edge looks like.

When I found the gold buttons for the jacket, I immediately knew that adding buttons to the sleeves would make it all look more complete.

The gold buttons added to the sleeves and another view of the lining (and the back of the bound buttonholes).

And here is a close-up of the larger buttons for the front of the jacket, with their bound buttonholes.

The last thing I did was attach the label to the inside front of the jacket.

The silk shell I am wearing is a RTW one. I purchased it last Spring and now have something with which to wear it!

Another view, with jacket over my shoulder.

When I found this emerald green silk matka online last Fall at Waechter’s Fine Fabrics, I envisioned a skirt suit – or dressmaker suit, as this type of dressy suit is also called – but I had not progressed beyond that in my planning. Well, now this new grandmother is feeling pretty fortunate that, not only did I grow up with the styles from the 1960s, but they are making me feel quite fashionable now that I am in my 60s!

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Filed under Buttons - choosing the right ones, Dressmaker details, Dressmaker suits, sewing in silk, Uncategorized, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1960s, Vogue patterns

Tagged as Choosing buttons, Dressmaker details, Emerald green fabric, fashion sewing, quotes about fashion, sewing, vintage Vogue patterns, Wall Street Journal Fashion coverage, women's dress suits

April 19, 2013 · 12:59 pm

Back to the Past

I am finally back in my sewing room, working on my emerald green silk suit. The event to which I had hoped to wear this suit has come and gone (I wore something else that evening and the world somehow kept on spinning – amazing!), but this sewing project was and is on my Spring agenda and I am bound and determined to finish it. Until I have made a bit more progress, with something to show for it, I thought I would indulge you with a book review of the 1956 Claire McCardell (1905-1958) book, What Shall I Wear, re-published in 2012 by The Rookery Press, in association with The Overlook Press, New York, New York.

This book came to my attention by way of The Vintage Traveler blog (thanks, Lizzie!). I purchased it on Amazon last Fall, and then, to my surprise, it was one of five books chosen by Christina Binkley of The Wall Street Journal for her annual list of “Best Style Books”.

This annual feature on "style books" is always one of my favorites.

This annual feature on “style books” in The Wall Street Journal is always one of my favorites. It appeared on December 20, 2012.

Here from Binkley’s review of the book: “This book is a gem. …It manages to be modern more than 60 years later… The designer created chic casual items that we take for granted today, such as trim ankle pants and full skirts that permit comfort and movement. … She demonstrates an understanding of women’s lives. ‘Everyone should have a “pop-over” dress – a sheath that they can just pop over their head and go.’”

Here are some of Claire McCardell’s fashion tips and thoughts which struck a chord with me, especially in relation to sewing and dressmaking:

1) The simple act of changing buttons (or in sewing, choosing the right ones) can make a dress fit your style.

2) When putting together your clothing (or pattern and fabric) budget, consider carefully where you want to put your money. Make one major purchase a year, something classic and timeless is always a smart move.

3) Use color extensively and don’t be afraid to stretch from your normal palette.

4) Coats should be a large part of your wardrobe. Indeed, she recommends compiling a “Coat Collection”. That’s advice sweet to my ears!

5) Learn how to tie a scarf! In her words: “You miss all the fun if you can’t tie things.” “If you really care about Fashion, sit down right now and learn to tie. An ascot, a bandanna, a neckband, a bowknot. This means knowing how to fold first, knowing how to loop next, knowing how to get the knot straight, knowing how to make the ends even – or uneven – on purpose.”

6) Like all the great fashion designers and couturiers, she emphasizes the overwhelming importance of fit. All those muslins/toiles we make are worth the time they take!

7) Accessorize your outfits with the appropriate jewelry, shoes, and bags. Restraint is better than opulence.

8) She was a big fan (and proponent) of the “American Look”: meaning comfortable clothing with clean lines, displaying elegant simplicity.

The final chapter of the book is appropriately entitled: Fashion has no last chapter.

You can read here for yourself her Essential Eleven. Pay particular attention to #2!

As a preface to this list, McCardell states: “There is a great deal in common between the woman who designs clothes and the woman who knows clothes.” (Click on the photo for a close-up).

Earlier in the book on page 103, she relates her first experience with dressmaking: “Miss Annie … came to the house to make clothes for mother and me. The process fascinated me from the start – selecting the pictures of dresses in the Vogue Pattern Book, the fabrics to be bought at the dry-goods store, the cutting and basting and fitting, the pockets and buttons and buttonholes…”

Surely sewing and dressmaking have no last chapter either: What will you wear? What will you sew?

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Filed under Buttons - choosing the right ones, Coats, Scarves, Uncategorized

Tagged as American designers, Choosing buttons, Claire McCardell, coats, fashion sewing, quotes about fashion, scarves, Wall Street Journal Fashion coverage

January 29, 2013 · 10:02 pm

New Life from an Old Dress

I’m sure I never would have entertained the thought of remaking/repurposing this dress –

I made this maternity dress in the Fall of 1980 while pregnant with our first child. The fabric is US-made Pendleton wool.

– had Emerald Green not emerged as THE color of 2013. As it was, it seemed silly not to take advantage of this opportunity to make a skirt in a color I love, from a dress that would not be worn again, and which already carried sentimental memories. So I told myself repeatedly, “Do this.” And so I did it, but not without much mental anguish.

Before I did any ripping of seams or cutting of fabric, I needed to decide what kind of a skirt I could make, knowing that, even with a maternity tent-style dress, the usable expanse of fabric was limited. It seemed fairly obvious that a pencil or A-line skirt was about the extent of the possibilities. But I wanted some kind of a focal point on it, too. I kept thinking about the fringed Pendleton wool skirt that I had remade, thinking that fringe on this green one would be quite nice as well. I did a little testing on an inside seam of the dress and determined the wool was so tightly woven, that any “fringing” would have to be somewhat minimal. It also seemed to be easier to unravel the threads working up and down rather than across. I figured if I could wiggle out enough fabric to add one overlap (or pleat) at the side front, I could fringe that edge and get the focal point I wanted.

With this plan in mind, I now had to face cutting apart – and into – this dress, which I so clearly remembered making and wearing over 31 years ago. Honestly, for a couple of days I really couldn’t face this. My practical side finally triumphed when I decided I would first separate just the side seams on the dress. If I chickened out at that point, I could always sew it back together, right? Right! And so I snipped and snipped and pretty soon I had two usable sections of wool.

The dress with the side seams separated.

Then – somehow, miraculously, I was suddenly okay with the thought of cutting into this dress. The back part of the skirt pattern fit perfectly on the back section of the dress – it was even already seamed for me.

My muslin pattern positioned on the back of the dress.

The front part of the dress gave me enough room to make a new two-piece front, with a pleat on the left side. I cut out the pieces and set about to fringing. Re-runs of Downton Abbey helped tremendously with this – I pulled and picked and created fluffy little towers of green threads while totally absorbed in another time and place.

Then it was back to the sewing room to sew this baby (pardon the bad pun) together. There was not enough fabric to fashion a waistband on the straight of grain, so I opted to make an inside pieced-together facing instead.

The facing at the waistline. I attached the 31-year-old Pendleton label in place after all these years!

Then I made a button tab out of bias tape which I just happened to have on hand in emerald green. What I could not find was a 7” zipper in emerald, nor lining fabric in emerald. Guess the manufacturers of such items did not get the memo from Pantone about the color of the year! So I ended up with a black zipper and dark gray Bemberg lining fabric.

The black zipper and gray lining are okay, I think…

I went round and round with a decision about buttons to hold the top part of the pleat in place. I found several single buttons in my button box, which I really liked, but I really needed two or three. A trip to Joann’s yielded some pale gray pearl buttons which would have been lovely, except that one broke after I got home when I was taking it off the card! So I still have to resolve the button issue – as right now I have exactly one button on the skirt, although I do like its diamond shape quite well…

The fringe detail on the pleat – and the single button. Sure wish I had another one of these!

It’s finished (except for the button issue, of course!).

The back view.

Thinking back on this project, I believe the signs were there, telling me to make this skirt. Consider that I found these Stubbs and Wootton shoes – green and black Buffalo Check to go with my Pendleton wool:

How I love these comfy flats!

And among my collection of silk scarves was this scarf, purchased in the 1980’s from the Museum of American Folk Art, featuring one of their quilts in predominant colors of pink and – yes, Emerald Green.

The green in this scarf could not be more perfect.

A detail of the scarf on top of the skirt.

So – where do I envision wearing this skirt? How about to a baby shower for my daughter, now expecting her own little one? After all, she herself was once sheltered by these warm woolen threads of green – and love.

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Filed under 1980's dress patterns, Buttons - choosing the right ones, hand-sewn zippers, Scarves, Uncategorized, woolens

Tagged as Choosing buttons, fashion sewing, Pantone, Pendleton wool, scarves, sewing

December 19, 2012 · 10:47 pm

A Newly Defined ‘50s’ Frock

I have finished making a new dress from an old pattern, which isn’t anything too unusual for me. What is unusual is the spell which this pattern cast over me from the time I first saw it last January, and then purchased it from an Etsy shop.

The back of the envelope, showing the back yoke detail. Don’t you love the handbags that the artist included?

1) Kimono sleeves in three-quarter length. Cut in one with the bodice, kimono sleeves were common in the ‘50s, and now seem to be making a comeback. Three quarter length is extremely flattering for most women, and was popular then and now.

2) Side zipper. This dress goes over the head and needs that side zipper to accommodate the wiggle room needed to accomplish this method of dressing. A back zipper would completely ruin the effect of the four-buttoned back yoke.

3) No pockets. While pockets are lovely inventions, this dress would lose some of its slim and flattering line should pockets bulge out from the side seams.

4) Mid-calf length. This length looks great in the pattern illustration, but not so much on me. One of the beauties of these vintage patterns is adapting them for current wear – so I opted for knee-length instead.

5) Bound buttonholes. Although this pattern is called “easy to make” on the back of the envelope, it still calls for bound buttonholes. And, oh, they add such a nice detail.

Now to the specifics. I found this black and white herringbone alpaca wool (made in the USA) on Britex Fabrics’ website, and purchased it on sale a few months ago, specifically for use with this pattern.

This is the swatch I ordered from Britex sometime over the Summer.

I wanted to make the dress using couture techniques (learned in the online Craftsy course The Couture Dress taught by Susan Khalje.) This meant that I would 1) make a muslin for fitting and pattern tracing; 2) underline the entire dress with silk organza; 3) eliminate the separate neck facing; 4) finish all the interior seams by catch-stitching them to the underlining; and 5) line the entire dress, which I did using Bemberg instead of china silk (more on that in a bit).

There were a number of decisions/problems/successes involved in making this dress. First, the nature of the fabric is that there are slight imperfections in the weave, and it is quite loosely woven, making it quite susceptible to raveling. When I laid it out to cut it, I wanted to avoid any obvious imperfections front and center. Patterns with kimono sleeves demand large expanses of fabric and thus do not allow a lot of jiggling of their placement. I can honestly say that I had JUST enough fabric and not an inch more than I needed!

One of the first problems I realized I was going to have concerned the buttonholes. I quickly discovered that the loose weave of the fabric meant that I was not going to be able to make bound buttonholes using self-fabric for the “strips”. I considered using a plain black wool for these strips, but I thought that would be too much of a contrast. Well, now I know why I save all kinds of scraps from previous projects – you never know when one of those random pieces of fabric will come in handy. I spied a scrap in my fabric closet and quickly decided that one part of the weave would be perfect to delineate those buttonholes:

I used the “gray” portion of this windowpane check for the buttonhole “strips”. Click on the photo to see this up close.

An inside look at the buttonholes in progress

And an outside look…

When it came to deciding on buttons, I could not find any I liked. But I remembered some buttons I had sewn onto a RTW jacket several years ago (to replace the ones that came on it.) They have a “herringbone” look to them – it’s very subtle, but effective. The jacket is one I haven’t worn in a couple of years, so I just robbed the cuffs of their buttons and used them on my dress. (Now I guess I know for sure I won’t be wearing that jacket again!) But – the buttons are perfect for this dress.

My buttons of choice!

Choosing to use couture techniques was a “dress-saver”. The larger seam allowances took away the panic I might have felt, once I realized the fabric frayed so easily. And finishing off each interior seam with catch-stitching controlled the fraying and helped the seams to lay perfectly flat.

Eliminating the separate neck facing was also a bonus to ease construction. First of all, I wanted to widen the neckline, which I worked out in my muslin. Using the seam allowance and hand-applied, under-stitched lining for the neck facing made it lay flat, and of course, it’s not itchy either!

The “couture-constructed” neckline, before the lining is attached.

Even though I did not have “plaids” to match, I needed to pay close attention to the rows in the herringbone weave, so that none of them were crooked. This is where Clover two-pronged pins (recommended by Susan Khalje in The Couture Dress class) came in handy and helped me keep those rows lined up evenly.

Clover “fork” pins

Finally, I decided to use Bemberg lining fabric instead of China silk because I thought it might be a bit more substantial for this somewhat heavy weight wool. When I was deciding what color to make the lining, I considered ivory, black, and even a bright color, such as red. But I settled on deep gray, and it seems just right.

In fact, everything about this dress seems just right. It is delightfully rewarding when a pattern does not disappoint – and when it turns out to be a complete winner, well, that is reason to make it again (which I will)!

I can wear this dress as a sheath, unbelted, but I love it with this Coach black belt.

With a touch of emerald green for the holiday season.

With green gloves for a ’50s’ look!

And another back view. Alpaca is a very warm wool – so this dress is very cozy.

For now, however, my sewing room is “gift-wrap central”. The colorful ribbons, paper and tags are cheerful tokens of a season of blessings and family and home. To all of you celebrating the season, may it be a time of great peace and love for you and yours. And, as I take a couple of weeks “off”, I send a heartfelt Merry Christmas from me to you…

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Filed under bound buttonholes, Buttons - choosing the right ones, couture construction, kimono sleeves, side-placed zippers, Uncategorized, underlinings, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1950s, woolens

Tagged as 1950's Vogue patterns, Britex Fabrics, Choosing buttons, Etsy vintage patterns, fashion sewing, Kimono sleeves, sewing, side-placed zippers, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns

September 24, 2012 · 3:54 pm

Missing in Action – or – Doesn’t everyone shop for fabric on vacation?

You may have noticed that I’ve not posted anything for almost two weeks. Mr. Fifty Dresses and I have been away on the West Coast, enjoying some time with our grown son, and seeing some of the majestic scenery in the states of California and Oregon. Of course, one of the best places to enjoy colorful scenery is always in Britex Fabrics on Geary Street in San Francisco. My husband and son know by now that no trip to California is complete without fabric shopping!

I am all smiles with my newly-made purchase! I am wearing “my very styish pants” and was delighted to get complimented on them in the store.

You may recall that I have been looking for a skirt-weight fabric to coordinate with this wool:

This fabric will be a jacket, and I want to make a pink skirt to make it into a “dressy suit”.

That pink is a tricky color, I’ve discovered. I’ve ordered many swatches, thinking one of them will be “it” and it never was. So I tucked that pink and black houndstooth- checked wool sample into my carry-on bag so that I could enlist the experts at Britex to assist me. The bolted wools and silks and designer fabrics are on the first floor, and it did not take long for me to accept Douglas’ kind offer of help. We looked first at the wools, one beautiful bolt after another, but none that totally complimented the pink. Next we moved to the silks – and there we struck gold – or perhaps I should say pink gold. As soon as Douglas pulled out this silk shantung, we knew the color was right.

Just what I was looking for!

We carefully checked the color inside and then took it outside on the steps to check it in sunlight. Perfect, both places. Being shantung, it has the correct heft to accompany the wool, but it is light enough to be used for attached trim if I choose to add it around the collar, down the front, and at the bottom of the sleeves.

I am probably going to use this 1970s’ pattern for this outfit.

Next we selected a lining fabric, enough for a narrow skirt and the jacket. Those of you who know Britex, know that the store is on 4 levels, so to accommodate the need to move between floors, I was provided this card with swatches of my newly selected fabrics attached.

The lining is the lighter-colored fabric.

Off I went to the third floor to find buttons. Oh, the choices! That little bit of sparkle in the wool – and the sheen in the silk shantung – seem custom made for buttons with a bit of sparkle, too. I kind of felt like Goldilocks looking at the buttons which the savvy “button lady” pulled out for me. Some were too frou-frou for me, some were too round (and fought with the angles in the weave), some were too sparkly… but these were perfect!

When I actually sew these buttons onto the jacket, I promise I’ll have them on straight!

With my tasks accomplished, I decided to check out the remnants on the fourth floor, and took a quick look at the cottons on the second floor, but then I headed back down to the first floor to look at the woolens again. Britex has a very large selection of wools suitable for “Chanel-type” jackets, including some actual Chanel fabrics. I am trying to buy only what I can’t live without (which isn’t as limiting as it should be, unfortunately), so I carefully considered all the selections in front of me. You can probably guess by now that I did indeed find one I deemed necessary for continued life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I can just imagine this wool in a jacket trimmed in an orangey-red something – all yet to be determined, which is, of course, part of the creative intrigue of sewing.

This fabric is very soft, perhaps due to a certain percentage of mohair wool in its composition.

So – what about the rest of the trip? Lots of driving those great distances out West, lots of laughs, fun, and brews with husband and son, wonderful days at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, hiking without a fabric store in sight. When one is in such a place as Crater Lake, the great expanse and passage of time is ever in one’s presence. However, I couldn’t help but think about another passage of time, this one personal: the last time I was at Crater Lake was in 1962 when I was twelve years old. It just so happens that Britex Fabrics celebrated their tenth anniversary that very same year. Happy 60th Birthday, Britex!

One more smile before closing hour!

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Filed under Buttons - choosing the right ones, Chanel-type jackets, sewing in silk, Uncategorized, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s, woolens

Tagged as Britex Fabrics, Choosing buttons, fashion sewing, love of sewing, sewing, silk, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns, women's dress suits

September 10, 2012 · 9:46 pm

Spending time on the Cape.

Doesn’t this sound like a wonderful vacation? Picture billowy clouds reminiscent of silk organza, gently undulating waves of turquoise hue, windswept flowers lining the landscape. . . So where would one find this perfect setting? I hope you’re not disappointed to learn that it all happened in my sewing room. Yes, that’s correct – it has been wonderful, but this cape is the wearable kind, and I have definitely spent time on it!

The fabric in which I made my Couture dress was a length of linen I picked up last April. When I found it, I did not yet have a pattern in mind for it so I thought I’d purchase enough (3 yards) to cover just about anything, and at 58” wide, I had a nice amount left over from my dress. It just so happens that earlier in the Summer, I had found this pattern and added it to my collection:

Capes were in fashion in the 1970s and are again today!

I remembered this pattern from the 1970s and always liked the short cape, with its asymmetrical opening and clever folds of fabric resulting from that detail.

As I was working on my dress, I started to think about what else I could make from this lovely linen. I didn’t particularly want to make a jacket, as I envisioned the dress as the focal point, but I did think it would be nice to have some kind of matching “wrap” for cool evenings. Well, the rest is quite obvious – I decided to make a short cape to go with my dress.

First I needed to find a silk lining fabric, which would compliment the linen. I wanted a print of some sort to add some interest to the finished look. I think I looked at every printed silk available on the internet! I found lots of gorgeous designs, but only one which presented the possibility of both coordinating with the teal blue linen and introducing some other colors as well. My old friend Britex Fabrics not only had this fabric, but also had a vintage button among their extensive offerings, which looked like a good candidate for my needs. I sent off for the button and swatch, and did indeed then order the silk charmeuse.

I like the abstract quality to this print.

Armed with my new-found couture techniques, I made a muslin pattern which helped me get the perfect fit over the shoulders (which is pretty much what a cape is all about). I underlined the cape in that oh-so-wonderful silk organza, and added interfacing, where required, of the same. Some of this was a judgment call, as I determined were I could use couture features and where I had to follow the tailored construction of the cape.

This shows the silk organza underlining, and the side seam, catch-stitched to it.

One of the hem techniques I learned in The Couture Dress class was helpful with this hem.

Call me crazy, but I just love to make bound buttonholes. Although the pattern called for a 2-inch button, the one I found was 1½ inches (and I thought it a more refined size anyway). That still calls for a large buttonhole! I practiced first, then got to work on the real thing.

The finished bound buttonhole

And the finished underside of the buttonhole.

And the button…

I understitched the facings by hand with that beautiful prick stitch, and attached the lining with the fell stitch.

A peak inside the cape.

Here is the finished look (unfortunately on a hanger and not on me…).

Here is the cape shown over my Couture dress

With one corner pinned up to show the lining.

This view shows the lovely draping formed by the asymmetrical opening.

And one more view.

Well, my time on the Cape officially draws my summer sewing to a close. Now it’s going to be all wools or wool blends and maybe some silks – and I can’t wait! Let’s throw an extra blanket on the bed and dream of cool nights and crisp days filled with creative hours of sewing. . .

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Filed under bound buttonholes, Buttons - choosing the right ones, Capes, couture construction, Linen, sewing in silk, Uncategorized, vintage buttons, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s

Tagged as bound buttonholes, Britex Fabrics, capes, Choosing buttons, fashion sewing, sewing, silk, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns

Tag Archives: Choosing buttons

Date Night

“P” is for Pearl — and — Perseverance

Shopping for Fabric

Inspiration and Adaptation

The Return of the Ladylike Suit

Back to the Past

New Life from an Old Dress

A Newly Defined ‘50s’ Frock

Missing in Action – or – Doesn’t everyone shop for fabric on vacation?

Spending time on the Cape.

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