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Sunday 18 April 2010

Jacket


My current project is this vintage inspired jacket. It's not going well really. The fabric I'm using has a very visible flaw in it and I inadvertently included this flaw in one of the back panels you can just see it here on the top of the left shoulder. I've also not matched the pattern on the back panel very well and I dislike the way the peplum really (I mean really) sticks out. I don't need any more attention drawing to my bum ;). Sigh. Oh well you win some you lose some. I haven' had anything go horribly wrong for a while! I will persevere and finish it though - if nothing else I can use it as a toile.

Monday 5 April 2010

Waistcoat finished - Pants nearly there...



        












I've pretty much finished my Katherine Hepburn inspired ensemble. The waistcoat went without a hitch (although I'm still unsure about that print) the pants were a dream until the yoke and the facing. I always struggle with facings especially curved facings. I think the interfacing often shrinks them and then I struggle to get the front facings to match. After some seam ripping I got there but it delayed me so I didn't get the zipper in. Oh well!

I really love this silhouette and I hope that you can get the feel for how much of a wide leg the trousers actually are. This is my favourite look and it hides a multitude of sins especially a big butt like mine!

Friday 2 April 2010

I've made some progress with the New Look 6919 that I blogged about yesterday. This waistcoat has been a breeze so far although there's lots of tailoring involved but I'm really not sure about the fabric. I wanted to add a funky theme to this vintage silhouette but I may have misjudged. Hmmmmm.

On getting on with it...

Right I've bought the fabric for my toile (muslin) version of vintage vogue 1084. As I posted earlier I have some lovely taffeta for this dress but I keep putting it off. But I vow that this weekend I will make a start - honestly!

Vintage inspirations

Over on Gertie's blog there's been a discussion of costume-y vintage clothing. There was some mention that the antithesis of this is the timeless appeal of the effortless style of Audrey and Katherine Hepburn. Now I've long extolled the virtues of the Audrey inspired sheath dress - a style I  recreate time and time again, but today I received my new pattern in the post New Look 6919 pictured here. A coincidence indeed as my inspiration with this pattern was a Katherine H look. I like the androgynous, look especially as work clothing. I don't know why but I like to tame my femininity at work - it just makes me feel more comfortable. I'm not implying that women should do this as a rule but it works for me and I tend to buy work clothes along these lines as a result. This is for me how vintage works best - as inspiration. I take the silhouettes of bygone eras and work them to a modern theme. I'll keep you posted on how this one works out.