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Everyday Wardrobe

Vogue Cape V9288
*, construction, Everyday Wardrobe, pattern

Vogue Cape V9288

I made a cape! I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a cape before, so this is a little out of my comfort zone for modern daywear, but it’s a lot like wearing a big blanket and I appreciate that part. And I love the 1960’s vibe of it. Best of all, everything came from my stash except for the buttons and thread! (and I got a good deal on the buttons!)

I used a modern Vogue pattern, V9288, and made it up as-is without any fit adjustments. I did change some of the construction, though, which probably takes this garment out of the “Very Easy” category. 😂 (I pretty much always manage to make every project more difficult than necessary.) I made the view A length version, but included a belt like in B/C.

Vogue V9288

My fabric is a lightweight wool check, which was just dreamy to work with. Living in SoCal I don’t get the opportunity to sew with wool nearly as often as I’d like! The fabric drapes beautifully, but is very thin, so I added a rayon satin lining to help keep the wind out. I wanted the pockets (of course!) but I wanted them to blend in as much as possible, so I hand slipstitched them in place instead of topstitching. Oh! And I added lining to the pockets too, to help avoid them stretching out over time.

Initially I made machine-stitched buttonholes, but I didn’t like how they turned out, so I did hand-stitched buttonholes on over the machine work (which actually provided a nice base for the handwork). Pro-tip – always start at the bottom of the garment for work like this, so that your messier first attempts aren’t at eye-level!

Handstitched Buttonholes
Vintage Bakelite Toggle Buttons

As mentioned above, I added a rayon satin lining. I also decided to add an interior belt loop to the CB of the cape, because it’s not attached any other way and I don’t want to risk losing it.

Lining and Beltloop

The rayon lining is a tight weave and is stable, but the wool can easily stretch, so I added a stabilizer to the shoulder/sideseam of the wool to help support it.

Seam Stabilizer

And finally, a close up shot of the vintage carved belt buckle. It’s been sitting in my stash for years, just waiting for it’s chance to shine!

Vintage Belt Buckle

Do you wear capes? Do you have any tips on how to wear them without feeling terribly awkward? 😂

Dustbowl Jeans – HSF #5 (Peasants and Pioneers)
1930's, Everyday Wardrobe, Historical Fashion, Sewing

Dustbowl Jeans – HSF #5 (Peasants and Pioneers)

Last week I finished my entry for the Historical Sew Fortnightly #5 – I’m falling further and further behind! Whoops. I’m taking off for the next couple challenges, maybe I’ll catch up then. Or not. 😉 Either way, I’m still glad to be part of this group because it’s helping me focus on certain projects that have been in the works for way too long!

This entry is inspired by the 1930’s Dust Bowl, which seemed to be a popular theme for this task. I’ve been wanting some vintage-y jeans for a long time and did the pattern work for these last summer, and I plan on living in them until they’re in tatters (which will make them even more “authentic” ;). For this outfit,  I paired them with a feedstack print top for a good 30’s look.

The Challenge: #5 Peasants and Pioneers – As wonderful as making pretty, pretty princess dresses is, the vast majority of people have always been poor commoners, whether they were peasants working the land, servants in big houses, or (later), pioneers carving their own space in new lands. This fortnight let’s make something that celebrates the common man.

Fabric: Lightweight Denim

Pattern: Wearing History’s Smooth Sailing Trousers – modified to be flat-front, and added patch pockets front and back

Year: mid-1930’s

Notions: Thread (blue and contrast yellow), metal zipper

How Historically Accurate is it: More “inspired” than accurate – a few women wore trousers in the 30’s, but jeans like this were really still menswear. The fit is altered to have a higher crotch (not period correct, but much better for movement.) And I used a metal zip instead of my standard invisible, but a button placket would be even better.

Hours to Complete: Maybe 3 for patterning, 10 for sewing & fitting, and 4 for redoing the back pockets several times. So at least 17, and that’s a conservative estimate.

First Worn: Dancing at Atomic Ballroom last Friday

Total Cost: ~$20 for fabric, $5 for thread and zipper

Marina Breakfast Date
Everyday Wardrobe, Sewing

Marina Breakfast Date

We’ve been having a-MAZ-ing weather in SoCal this week, so in order to take advantage of it we went on a breakfast date to a restaurant at the local marina. This is the lamest “date” post ever, since there aren’t any photos of Chris, but you’ll just have to believe me that he’s on the other side of the camera – not a random person on the street!
I finally got a photo of my finished Beignet Skirt – it’s a nice basic piece in lightweight denim (no lining). My only complaint is that it rides up a little, even though it’s high-waisted. I’m honestly a little stumped on how to fix that for future versions. Slim down the waist more? Use a lighter fabric? hmm…
The weather’s slated to cool down and get rainy this weekend, so I’m glad we took advantage of our pre-Spring weather while it’s here!
**cheesy text via the Flickr app, which would be a pretty killer photo editing app 
if they added a few more text fonts.
Kisses! B

Everyday Wardrobe: Gray Tweeds

There has been some buzz lately on sewing blogs about the Everyday Wardrobe – we all have a tendency to sew/buy a lot of special pieces that aren’t very versatile, and wind up wearing the same few things all the time. This topic came up right when I decided to put some fresh effort into my dance wardrobe, and I’m incorporating the idea into my current projects.
I’ve got 2 patterns that I plan to use over and over for my Everyday dance pieces…my dance skirt is a 6-gore style that I copied from a thrifted skirt, and the trousers pattern is Wearing History’s Smooth Sailing pattern. My genius idea is that using TNT* patterns & and the same fabric means that the sewing will go quickly. Except it’s not so genius when my fabric is off-grain when I cut them out, because then it means I have 2 garments to fiddle with and fix instead of one! whoops…
Here are my first additions to my Everyday (Dance) Wardrobe – my 2 TNT patterns stitched up in an gray acrylic tweed. I love using washable fabrics, so I’ll pick a good synthetic/blend if it looks nice. This one really looks like wool and it’s a loose weave so I think it’ll still breathe.
I didn’t plan my new tweed pieces around Sunni’s idea of making an outfit from a Never Worn Garment in your closet, but that ended up happening! I’ve had that white butterfly top for nearly 2 years, and wore it for the first time this weekend.

What do you think about the Everyday Wardrobe idea? Are you joining in? or would you rather put your efforts into making fancier things?
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TNT Pattern = Tried and true pattern that you’ve made before and love!