Lovely Sewing Fabric

  

•  40s style blue daisy shimmer ~

I thought today would be wonderful to show off some pieces of vintage fabric I have come across recently. Hopefully this will inspire someone to sew a wonderful creation ~

•  50s lawn striped ~

• vintage 50s pink & silver brocade ~

• 40s or 70s style floral ~

• 40s/50s style tiger striped crepe ~

• My favorite! 40s style blue cherries crepe ~

• Another favorite! 40s/50s style painted floral sheer ~

• 60s tweed; the original owner of this fabric was going to make a nice cape or coat from a 1965 pattern ~

Swing Dress Sew Along Part 8 - Setback

My dress is nearly complete - with the button holes left to make, and the buttons to be sewn on. After trying it on to see how all would fit, we discovered something: 1. there needed to be darts in the back bodice because it sat a little tight where it shouldn't; 2. after Mom pinned the darts into place, I could not get the dress off without removing four of the pins that were in place of buttons; 3. this was not a good turnout.

Oh please do not get me wrong! I adore this dress - it fits me very well, better than I could ever have imagined. But after making 19 attempts to fashion button holes on scrap fabric I nearly gave up out of frustration of having loppy button holes! We then decided to see how many button holes we actually could get away with not using. Then came the problems outlined above. :} 'Tis the problem many ladies have -- not enough waisties and too much hipsies. (I must owe that statement to Casey from Elegant Musings for her recent sdsa post she almost labeled "What's in its pocketses?") 

Ah. So out of sheer "What are we going to do?", we put the dress away for tonight, and are prepared to tackle it again tomorrow. Next in hope of rescuing this dress so that we can put in a side zipper - yay! the 40s look totally! - instead of all those button holes. The pattern calls for a button under the arm pretty close to the armpit, which would make it uncomfortable for the arm resting against the side. Thus, buttons are out, at least for the side. We are still going to put buttons on the shoulders and mock buttons along the top side (waistband area) but trying to do a side zipper. This will require some reconstructing, and taking out almost an entire side seam!! Eh. Well, I'm familiar with that already. lol.

I have taken photos of what's happening so far. I like how the dress is turning out. I like the button idea, too, but for the side seam it's going to be difficult. I hope this sew along is extended another week and a half, because little blunders and troubles along the way sure slow progress. I am hoping, though, to have everything resolved by the weekend. It's still only the beginning of the week!

Enjoy the photos - and the dreary outdoors of February blues. :p 
 

 front of the dress

 front bodice

 front waistband

 seam bias/binding - isn't it pretty? I'd never used bias before!

I have a whole box of vtg binding and not one piece was navy blue!!

 back of dress

 back bodice

 back waistband

 skirt - so lovely!

the intended buttons of choice

Sew Along Dress Part 7: Oopsies!

I would imagine an old wives tale going like this: "When you start to sew, don't be surprised if you make more than one mistake along the way."

Thus it has happened. To me. And I'm so bummed! But at least it is very easily fixable. I was so very close to being done. Mom checked my work to make sure I was going aright with it. She said, "Your side seam is too short. It won't reach all the way around to the waistband."

Well, so I took out the seam and re-sewed. I was off still. Took out that huge long seam again (the one that runs down the skirt!) and re-sewed it. Another huge sigh and maybe a teeth grit; the thread had missed - just missed - the first folded seam. (I had folded the edge to prevent unraveling and was folding it over again to make a sturdier line for buttons.) I ripped it out again, and it's sitting on the sewing desk for tomorrow's fix.

I'm so close to being done it's not funny! I would have had half a dress to show you by now if I hadn't goofed.

 my perfect square neckline stitches -- I'm excited b/c this was a hard part

 side seam on the dress -- where the buttons will go; I don't think this is the goofed part

 folding over a seam a bit to prevent unraveling

~ buttons are only on there to "show" you what it will look like! Not to that part yet ~

A Shoe Find - 1940s WW2

Being blessed with a rather small foot, it is very hard to find shoes that fit properly. Either they are too long and narrow, too big, or simply don't fit. When people ask me what size I wear, I tell them: "Anywhere from a size 2 to a size 6, depending on the shoe." Really. The last wedding I was in I wore a size 2 shoe. :)

So when I go to garage sales, thrift stores, and other places, I hunt for shoes that might fit. Oh, there have been many pretty pair of shoes - downfall : just too big!

I went thrifting the other day as usual, and scanned the shoe rack with my sister. She found some really neat shoes that looked like they were 1940s. We analyzed the bottoms and found the heels were nailed with teeny nails - a sure vintage sign. Then the colors! Oh so WW2! I checked out the sizes and they were a size 5.5; I sized them up with my foot and they appeared that they would fit my little ole foot! We found three more pair the same size, bought them - and at a very nice price, too! - took them home where I tried them on.

Every single pair fit as if they were tailor made ~ now, my sister and I are in the buying/selling/ebay business. Whatever we buy, we sell. But not these! I rarely find shoes I like and find shoes that fit. These are for keeps, except one pair because they are simply too narrow at the toes for my surprisingly big toes.

Enough gabbing for now -- here are the photos - enjoy them!

 early WW2 sandals - the heel caps need repaired

Oh my - these are so very Patriotic ~ I have a hat, and WW2 jacket to match these

photos of the outfit coming soon!

- early 40s - mid 50s Shoes -

Socialites made in Spain

I have dreamed of owning this shoe in the exact colors!

 made in Spain - o la la !

These will need the upper sole re-glued onto the sole 

- can't wear them until they are fixed

-- vtg early 40s sandals -- 

these will be for sale on ebay soon - they are perfect!

 vtg 40s sandals - reminds me of Claudette Colbert in the Japanese WW2 film

these are simply flawless and a favorite!

WW2 American Home Front

Retro 40s girl metal sign --  This is meant to be a joke -- on me!! I am working at it, though!!

It has been such fun to be able to find vintage WW2 items at auctions, ebay, thrift stores (although that is very rare), and other odd places. Here is a meager collection I wanted to show you. Please enjoy!

 A 1940s WW2 ladies hankie. Very Navy.
Perhaps her man gave it to her as a souvenir.
I tried to capture the details.

(It's not in the right photo frame - because it is made of silk, I needed to get in behind glass pretty quickly after being stored for so long. Still looking for the right frame!)

Vintage bits of 40s - 50s fabrics. Very darling, and may have been what ladies sewed with on the meager make-do-with-what-you-have home front.

A vintage thermometer for when the kiddies became sick and the town doctor had to be summoned. 

WW2 desk accessories: stapler, paper clip, V-Mail Reader magnifying glass, and desk organizer for holding letter-writing supplies - fascinating! (There are still some 40s supplies in the little compartments.)

 1940s WW2 letters and V-Mail from a soldier to his parents.

Those V-Mails are so tiny - no wonder families needed a magnifying glass!

1940s radio. Evening times were spent listening to the radio. Fibber McGee & Molly, The Shadow, Amos n Andy, among many others. (I apologize for the dust on this one! The corners are hard to maintain!)

Sew Along Part 6 - The Machine & Bodice Sewing

This is my mother's vintage 1950s era Necchi Sewing Machine. Italy made! It's very sharp and sews superbly. There's tons of attachments for all kinds of fancy embroidery. Some day I hope to try them - but for now, it's the simple sewing I shall do. (I was not able to use my 1960s sewing machine because this one was already plugged in, and our dining room already has a piano, a large dining table, and two sewing machines .. it would have been a horrible mess to plug in the 1960s machine.) That's ok, I am enjoying this Necchi - wish you could see it in person!

* First Photo*

Sewing the top button closure for the first side button. This was interesting to do, since I had to rip out the seam because it was sewed on the wrong side! It was rather peculiar, too, since the pattern could have already had the side piece drawn into the pattern itself. :) It was an extra step that could have been avoided if the original drafters had thought of simpler ways to construct this -- as said by mother. lol  and I happen to agree.

 

*Second Photo* Hemming along the correct side (button closure). 

*Third & Fourth Photos*
Inside front and back facing. Trial and error the first time

 with the back facing; accidentally sewed it to the front 

instead of the back! :p A seam ripper becomes

the seamstresses' friend. More later.....

Household Operations in WW2

During WW2, households functioned much differently than they do today. Rationing altered many lives but the women knew how to save and make do with what they had. There were many posters encouraging - "Use it Up, Wear it Out, Waste Not" - everyone to save and reuse everything. It's a wonder we can find our loved vintage items today!

What most people do not know about this business of rationing is that when Pearl Harbor was bombed, our military was not ready to go into a war zone; they did not have enough necessary equipment because their ships had been bombed and becuase their air force operations were fairly new, war considering. It was then that Americans banded together and war plants erected almost over night in major cities -- making airplanes, grenades, clothing for our soldiers, parachutes, etc. Now whether this is true or not, to me it makes sense. Why else would the government ration goods and foodstuffs? This was good, though, for the American people because never in history has there been such unity, such loyalty to one's country, such awe and respect for servicemen. (Thank you to all of our servicemen and women - and family members - who sacrificed and are sacrificing to keep our American freedom.)

Good Housekeeping and Betty Crocker (among others) kept women informed on the best ways to stretch food items, and to make every morsel account for something. These recipe books are designed nicely, and help the 1940s lady to prepare well-rounded meals for their family, school lunches for the kids, and even light snacks at night. I have yet to try a recipe, but I will soon!

Do any of you have a special (or hated :0 ) memory from family members or even a personal story of the growing up times during WW2? Being an avid researcher particularly of WW2 America on the home front, I would relish your story! All and any information will greatly help and enhance my WW2 mid-western home front trilogy that I have been writing for the past 12  years. Thanks for stopping by!!