Christmas Card #2, A Swing Coat, and Mrs. Claus!

Right then! Today was a "there is nothing going and nowhere I need to be" day, so I took advantage of the nothingness of the day and asked my sons if they would do a photo shoot with their old Mom.  They said they would and the following photos are the result of that agreement!  I do apologize for the exposure of the images however.  A lovely man at The Bishops' House fixed Mom's camera so that more light would be let in during inside shoots, and we of course have totally forgotten how to make it go back to how it was before.  Major editing on Picasa was used to get me to look like I hadn't just seen the back of God's head (think Moses on the top of Mount Sanai...)

Anyhoo, here they are!  I am so loving the versatility of all of these pieces that I made for this project as there are so many different outfits that can be worn and I'm not even done with all the pieces!  Huzzah!!!

Christmas Card #2

Thankfully I had a little Christmas tree that I was able to decorate like the lovely one on the card.   I used all vintage ornaments that had belonged to my Grandparents and Greg's Grandparents when they decorated their trees in the 1950s!  What fun!

Source:  Etsy

Another shot of the front of the blouse.  I used Butterick 4826 for the blouse and Vogue 8687 for the skirt.  The skirt was a pain.  There I said it.  It is actually on backward as the front of the skirt has about 10 darts that cause the waist to fit into the waist band.  A really great idea....on paper.  When I got it all sewn together and the zipper inserted, I tried it on and....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  Those fabulous little pleats that were supposed to look so good (cause it does on the drawing on the front of the pattern) looked ridiculous on me.  Maybe if I were 4 months pregnant, it would have looked fine, but I'm not. I was totally disgusted and despondent when I happened across this image from Tuppence Ha'penny Vintage!  Thank you Lord!!!  There was a pleat in the front of the bottom middle skirt!  There was a pleat in the back of my skirt and when I twisted it around to the front, it looked exactly like the one from the catalog!!!  Hot Dog!!  So, I am wearing my skirt backward and all is well with the world!!

Vintage Swing Coat Look

(With newly made pillbox hat!)

Another look I get from the separates is this way fun swing coat look.  Not sure if that is a proper term, but I am using it.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this coat and am so happy that it did not become an Edwardian toque, muff and stole!!  I searched Pinterest for some fun Vintage advertisement and magazine poses that the models struck and so that is why I look like I do in the images below!  Hahahahaha!!  The people driving by in my neighborhood kept slowing down and waving.  I'm sure they didn't know what was going on!

 

This pose was inspired by this pose.  As was the hair.  I was thinking of how I could do a quick hair do when I came across the image of the lovely lady in the latte colored coat and red hat.  It appeared as though her hair was pulled back in a bun, just like the Christmas Card girl!!  Huzzah!  I can so do a bun!!!!

Mrs. Claus

While I was trying on the pencil skirt with the blouse, I added the black belt I made for the Christmas Card outfit and much to my delight, I realized that the outfit made a perfect Mrs. Claus outfit!!  What fun! I borrowed the Santa hat from my youngest.  I ran upstairs to get some gloves saying, "Santa wears black gloves right?"  Colton yelled back, "No!  He wears white gloves!"  White gloves it was!  The Christmas stocking is a vintage one I found years ago at a thrift store!

 

 

 

Another silly 1950s pose.  Love 'em!

Well dear friends, I am afraid that's all that I am going to get done before the New Year.  The Coat and bolero will have to wait until next year.  I have put away the sewing machine, the ironing board, the iron, the fabrics and the patterns.  I have vacuumed the floor and tidied up the sewing space in my room.  I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas!  I pray for peace, joy, contentment and for you to feel the happiness that this season brings!!

Luke 2:8-14

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you:  you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men!"

Love and blessings to you all from me!!!

g

1950s Christmas Card #1 Complete...and Worn!!

Huzzah!!  1950s Christmas Card #1 is complete!  I'm so excited!!  And I am really thrilled with how it turned out!  Mom and I attended the Boise Train Depot Christmas Open House tonight and I had the opportunity to wear it.  I am feeling that for only my second 50s era outfit, that it turned out rather well!  So, will I make more?  Absolutely.

Striking a Christmas Card pose!!!  It was so kind of the Train Depot to have decorated trees for me to have my picture taken by!

Source:  No Excus

Inspiration photo...again.  I think I need to add another layer of crinoline to my petticoat!  I love her her skirt flares!

My fabulous Mom took the pictures again.  She said, "I want you to sit on a bench like you are waiting for a train."  So, that is what I did!  The ostrich marabou stole is one of many that belonged to my Great Aunt June that are now in my possession! 

I made the black sash out of the black satin that I used for my Edwardian Court Presentation Gown.  I was literally sewing the bow onto the sash as Mom drove into the driveway to pick me up!

See?  Needs a fuller petti.  The shoes I am wearing are 1950s shoes.  Oh my heavens were my feet grouching me by the time we left for home!

Again, Mom posed me.  She is so cute!

I felt like a little girl with this pose!

Hat Picture!

I decided last night that I wanted to wear this outfit for this evenings event and then decided this morning that I needed to make the hat to go with it!  I spent about 2 hours carefully deconstructing the vintage rabbit's fur coat that I purchased last year for making totally different thing.  Plans have since changed and I am just happy I had the coat for tonight's hat!

Here is the inspiration image for the hat again.  I just love her ermine chapeau!  I didn't have any holly, but I did have two vintage chenille poinsettias and some vintage leaves, so that is what was used!  The ermine tails are antique ones I won on eBay long ago, so they were cut into the rabbit fur.

This was only the second attempt at 1950s hair, and I think I did an O.K. job on it.  If I didn't please let me know.  I had about 15 minutes to get it styled as I was the one running exceedingly late this time!

 

I had to stick a red flower in my hair to hide the hastily pinned up ends...I will have to take some time with some tutorials on-line for long 50s hair styles!

 

I do however think I got the make-up down.  I did wear eyebrow liner as I don't have any eyebrows of my own (just kidding, I do have eyebrows, they are just very light.)  The lighting in the depot left so very much to be desired!!!

It was surprisingly a very lovely evening!  I was able to go outside in my short sleeved blouse and not freeze to death!

Mama and I at the Train Depot!  We were there for only a short while, but we did have a very lovely time!!

I hope you all have a lovely Friday my friends!  I am taking the day off from sewing...perhaps the whole weekend!

Blessings!

g

Christmas Separates Fabrics Update...

I am so thrilled!!!  One could possibly say I am "Pleased as punch"!!!  I have been getting things together for my 1950s Christmas Separates project and have been stuck on the polka dot print fabric.  I literally looked all over the valley (except a quilting store in Nampa I think) and came up with zero white with gold polka dot fabric.  There was something that perhaps may have worked at one of my favorite quilt stores, but it was $11.99 a yard and I was wanting 2 yards.  That currently is way out of my costuming budget.  I considered some of their white with black polka dot fabric that was a little less and was thinking that maybe 1.5 yards would be ok, but was still uneasy about the cost.  I toyed around with maybe making my own white with gold using white cotton and gold paint.  Wishing to keep my sanity and most of my hair, I quickly dismissed that notion.  

I did find some pretty wonderful white with gold polka dot fabric online... Michael Miller glitz metallic quarter dot.  But again, the price caused me to hesitate.  That and the fact that ordering fabric online causes me to break out in hives.  So back to the search.  

On my way home from a dress up event last night, I decided on a lark to stop by one of my local Wal-Marts just to see what they had.  I just almost shrieked with joy (nope, I most certainly did shriek with joy scaring the fabric lady) when I saw the white with gold polka dot fabric below.  I quickly scanned the surrounding fabrics to see if they had any bigger dots, but no they didn't.  I said to myself, "That's ok...we will see if they have any white with black dots."  They did!!!  Not the 3/4" sized dots, but the end of a pencil eraser size, and in a more usual polka dot pattern.  I took both to the cut counter along with a red cotton that looked similar to the shade of my silk.  I went and got a roll of 3" wide ribbon to emulate a sash and laid both polka dot fabrics down, then the red fabric then the ribbon where the dots and red met to simulate the outfit.  

I did not like how the white with black polka dots looked at all.  This made me ridiculously happy that I hadn't spent the over $20.00 on the quilt store fabric!!  I was very surprised however, to see that the white with gold polka dot fabric looked exceedingly well with the black "sash" and red "skirt".  

HUZZAH!!!!!!!

Now do you want to know the best thing?  It was $5.44 a yard and I had my JoAnn's coupon for 60% off any item with me.  This brought the grand total of my white with gold polka dot fabric to $5.45 for the two yards I was wanting in the first place!!!!!!!!!!  Oh was I thrilled as I walked to the car with my very fine cotton fabric!!!

I did have a little moment of panic when I looked at the inspiration and remembered that the dots are in your typical polka dot "pattern".  But, I am beginning to allow myself the freedom to NOT BE 100% PERFECT when it comes to recreating things.  Plus, I remembered that Lily of Mode de Lis made a deliriously adorable dress with polka dots that are in a random pattern, it's her Gold Dotty Birthday Dress.  If Lily (who is an incredible vintage dress maker and wearer) can do it, then I totally can!!!  Plus, I found extant examples of asymmetrical polka dots here and here.

I took some pictures of the fabrics together using my phone and of course the color of the dots isn't as crisp in the photos as it is in person, but you can see how the two fabrics will look together! 

Christmas Tree Outfit #1

Fabulous gold dots all spaztically arrayed on the fabric.  Sort of like me!  Spaztic!!

Source:  No Excus

Christmas Tree Outfit #2

For #2's dress, I needed a black fabric for the sweet little blouse the inspiration is wearing.  I have had in my stash for a very long time a black plaid in raw silk.  I was going to use it for a Regency half mourning dress, but "need" this black now so will use it.  Hopefully there will be enough left over, but since they really didn't use raw silk in the Regency era (or so I have read), I may need to find something else!

I found the raw silk at a local thrift store!  There is quite a bit of it!

Source:  Etsy

The Coat and Its Lining

For the lining of the coat, I have decided to use a fabric that was earmarked for an 1890s dress.  However, since I am making this outfit right now, and have no idea when I will be making the 1890s dress, I am going to use it for this project.  Going with the black and red theme, I think it will be perfect!  

PLUS!!!  I am going to make a black and white gingham dress like the inspiration below to wear with the coat!!

Lining for coat!  Too fun and from the stash!

Source:  The Nifty Fifties

OHMYHEAVENS!!!!  Isn't this outfit the most adorable thing ever?  Ok, maybe not THE most adorable thing ever, but it is still pretty adorable!  I think it will look pretty spiffy in black and red!!!

Ok, so now I am just waiting for the Vogue coat pattern to get here so I can see if I can get all the red silk pieces out of it...kind of skeptical about fitting the bolero onto it (pray that I can!!!).  This weekend is pretty packed, so will more than likely start this whole project next Monday!  I'm totally chomping at the bit here folks!!!

Have a wonderfully blessed weekend my friends!

g

1950s Christmas Separates!!

It all started very much like many of my sewing projects.  I was perusing Pinterest, trying to get some inspiration for the fabulous robin's egg blue, navy and brown plaid I had purchased at a thrift store last week.  Totally minding my own business, stressing out over the pattern I would use, did I want to use the plaid for the skirt or the jacket, did I want to use the robin's egg blue linen for the jacket instead?  And would I use the brown or the navy wool with the outfit? Then all of a sudden it was there like a beaming ray of moonlight on a dark winter's night.  The picture.  It screamed at me.  It beckoned me lovingly.  It seduced me with its sweetness.  I was hers and hers alone as I whispered, "Yes my sweet.  I will make you."

Below is the image.

Source:

No Excus

Isn't she just the sweetest outfit?  I am so excited to start this project!!  Yes, I am totally, unabashedly,  willfully, and un-apologetically going to have a squirrel moment!!  I am moving the two 1940s suit projects way out of the way so I can work on The 1950s Christmas Separates Project!!!

I have had in my stash for quite a long time 10 yards of a silk taffeta fabric.  I am thinking it is a mixture of silk and something else because it doesn't hold a pleat or a crease very well at all, but I did a burn test and it is definitely silk (plus it totally smells like silk when I iron it.)  I haven't known what to do with it because of the fact that it can't hold a very good crease, so there it sat waiting for this day and this image.

It is the most gorgeous deep lipstick red color!!!

After I decided to make the above dress, my mind (with the help of Pinterest) went quite literally berzerk.  All of a sudden, my eyes were swimming in all the wonderful things that could and hopefully will be made from this silk....all in the form of separates!!!

There will (hopefully!!!) be made from the above silk:

1) a bodice

2) a pencil skirt

3) a full skirt

4) a coat

and hopefully if I have any fabric left over

5) a bolero

The plan is to of course wear the bodice with both the pencil and full skirt like the inspirations below:

Pencil Skirt Dress

Source: 

Likes Old Clothes Tumblr

Full Skirt Dress

From Etsy.

The above image has off the shoulder, which I won't be doing, but the look on the whole is what I'm shooting for!!!

The Coat

Then there is the coat that I really want to make!!

Source:

Petit Main Sauvage

The dress and outside of the coat will be the red and the inside will be another fabric that is as of yet undetermined....but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this look!!!

Source:  

Modernizor Tumblr

Another coat and pencil dress combo.  

The Bolero

(This will be the last thing to make as I am not quite sure there will be enough fabric left....fingers crossed!!!)

Source:

Flickr

Source:

1st dibs

Black Separates

Now we come to the not red pieces!!!

From Etsy

Super cute black blouse!!!

Source:

No Excus blog

I am so loving the polka dot blouse here!  I am not sure if the spots are gold or black...will have to see if I can't find some gold polka dot fabric!! What fun!

Pieces for later!!

I am really liking the idea of being able to use these pieces for future outfits.  In just 5 minutes of looking for "1950s Red Dresses" I ran across several fun ideas!! 

Source:

Xtabay Vintage Blog

Love the ivory sailor bodice of this dress.  It would look wonderful with the full red skirt!

From Etsy.  A similar skirt would go well with the bodice!

From Etsy...a fun print skirt would again go well with the bodice!!

A super fun large check gingham in red from Reminisce Magazine (Source: Pinterest)

Patterns that will be used

There will be plenty of Frankenpatterning!!!

The Bodice will be from Butterick 5880 

Full skirt from Butterick 5813

Pencil skirt and coat from Vogue 8687.

I am going to wait on the bolero pattern until I am sure that I have enough fabric!  And the blouse patterns are going to be looked into during the next Big 4 sale at JoAnn's!!

I think that is enough on my plate for now!  I am just so excited!!  OOOOH!!!  And I haven't even mentioned the accessories I plan on making!!!

I have some antique ermine tails and rabbit fur from a falling apart vintage coat that I am going to upcycle into a hat and muff!

Would love to add some holly to the hat like the one in this picture!!!

This is going to be so fun!!!  

Be blessed my friends!!

g