My lovely secret Santa

It takes a special ornament, outside of the colour scheme of ‘no colour at all’ to earn a place on my tree. Yes I hands up to being a total control freak. Especially where my tree is concerned! They know the rules: No toilet roll decorations, no horrid coloured ornaments, and abolutely no tinsel! They respond by ceremoniously gaffa-taping Teddy Crap-Crap to the top of the tree. Teddy Crap-Crap is a rubbish, moth-eaten, hand-knitted teddy in all the rubbish colours of a wrong rainbow. He is as far removed from a fashionista fairy that you can get. They put him at the top where I can’t reach and for all my neighbours to see and point and laugh. I am mostly not amused!

But. Despite my rules of white and glass and glitter and feathers only, this year my Secret Santa gifted me the most thoughtful decoration ever.

On first inspection a lovingly hand made red pompom. On a closer second look, a lovely red pompom adorned with buttons and on asking all the right questions I get to find out that all the buttons have been lovingly hand-picked from Taylors, a 100 year old button shop in the heart of the West End of London. They are mostly vintage, 1940’s and 50s glass buttons with a couple of gilt filagree ones thrown in for good measure.

Secret Santa was amazed that I’d never heard of Taylors. I have to say, I actually, really don’t get out much. But now I know about them, They will be hearing from me, I can tell you!

If you can’t make it to the shop, you can order online, but if you just want some virtual shop therapy check out this slide show of photos from the shop. I don’t know how but it takes me there in a real floaty wannabe way!

Now I’d like to ask Secret Santa if she perhaps wove some catnip into this pompom, because Pants the cat is seriously in love with it too!

He even did that funny face that boy cats (big cats included) do when they pick up on scent! What’s all that about?!

Well, I have to say, its hugely unlikely that I will get a mo to post between now and the big day, so I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the most wonderful of Christmas wishes and of course the biggest thanks for being part of my ever growing family of fellow sewers and supporters. I love you all xxxxx

Couture Inside Out

I’m fresh back from the ‘Couture Inside Out – 1950s Paris and London’ workshop at the London Fashion and Textile Museum.

Must blog straight away for fear of forgetting anything! After all I forgot notebook and pen in the first place!

First treat of the day was that I got to meet and enjoy this experience with Handmade Jane. It’s always so good to have like-minded people to raise your eyebrows at, make ‘ooo faces’ with, and give knowing looks to, during a lecture!

It was a very informal 2-hour affair with such amazing content divulged by the lovely Dennis. We donned our white cotton gloves and prepared to soak up all the info we could.

The first thing I learned (and remembered) was the definition of ‘haute couture’. (please spare me if I’ve got this wrong!) It is a term used to describe the highest level of hand-sewn, bespoke garments, in Paris by a delegated team of incredibly experienced seamstresses to strict regulations. Interestingly enough it was a term that was originally associated with the fine work of Charles Worth who was an Englishman.

Of course we have couture in the UK but with much more relaxed rules, apparently!

As the garments were presented, on a white covered table, the polite student audience jostled for position to get a better view and a feel and a photo.

First up was Dior. A gasp as the two Dior creations were revealed from under the tissue.

The fact that both were aged: faded, stained and torn, did not deter from the unanimous awe.

Both dresses were in two pieces which was intriguing. Nothing like a skirt and a top. So much clever scaffolding with fine underskirts attached to the bodices. No waist-stay required.

Every little bit of both of these dresses were hand-stitched!! Including the tiny rolled hems on all the chiffon layers. Beggars belief!

Please excuse the fuzzy photos taken on a phone whilst being too polite to jostle too much!

Next up was a later Dior in a really heavy weight fabric. I will be looking at furnishing fabrics in a totally different light from now on. This was heavier than any curtaining I have ever felt.

It was laid out on the table, ready for inspection! A gorgeously shaped one-piece dress. Made for someone who clearly didn’t eat that much. The waist was super tiny. The seam allowances on the other hand were enormous. At least one and a half inches. All pressed open and hand finished. The fabric had a ridged, pin-tuck like texture. All the rows of which lined up perfectly on the side seams.

No lining, which was a surprise. Though the dress was underlined and interfaced.

Chanel then graced the table with black contrast dress and two piece skirt suit. Both very classically Chanel.

The bling was upfront and out loud on this one but only took shape as a collar detail and chain weight in the hem on the set below.

Chanel only incorporated details if they worked and if they were functional. The little ‘petal’ pockets sit at the hemline, precisely centred with the seams. The chain weights are typically seen in Chanel hemlines. She was obsessed with the way that fabric hung and remained throughout wear and this little trick became one of her many signatures.

Far removed from the finer details of Chanel but not to be sniffed at, is the work of Balenciaga. This Spanish master draped most of his designs and employed much fewer seams than other designers.

This coat was A blooming Mazing. My rubbishy i-phone photos do not do it any justice whatsoever. Firstly the colour. Secondly the texture of this fabric… OMG. It was hand created to get this incredible effect. And yet the design remained oh so simple. I can’t tell you how much I want this coat!

I didn’t care too much for Balenciaga’s Sarong Dress. But you gotta take your hat off to someone who incorporates so much into the under-scaffolding of something that fundamentally looks like a sarong!

Now, will I get shot for not having heard of Courréges? Probably. As these designs were pretty iconic!

Jane got right in there! Impressed by those perfectly bound buttonholes.

Dennis couldn’t be sure of the fabric that this Pierre Balman dress was made. It kind of felt like the sew in canvas that I recently used to interface my jacket! But it was gorgeous and necessary to keep that amazing shape. There were cutouts trimmed with velvet at the hemline and on the sleeves.

Of course it goes without saying that every detail counts. Balman even ensured that his labels were mitred.

The following is a really bad picture of the Ellie Saab dress that Halle Berry wore to the Oscars for Best Actress, The Monsters Ball. In stark contrast to the dresses that were 50/60 years older you can see no seam allowances, no underskirts and no hand stitches to speak of. It is undeniably a gorgeous dress and she looked amazing in it, but it is incredible how standards have changed over the years!

I cannot for the life of me remember who designed this dress but the fine pleating in the linen was unbelievable. An underlayer of shimmering copper gave a depth to the translucent linen and you could also see where the pleating was tacked.

(Thanks to the lovely Angela, I can now confirm it was Sybil Connolly!)

Just when you thought you’d seen it all, something very little left me lost for words. If you look closely at all those painstakingly sewn on eyes, you will see that they are all oversewn with thread!

Now it would have been rude not to have mentioned Zandra Rhodes creations at this very museum. She is the founder, after all!

She entered the fashion world as a textile designer and the following two garments are testament to her designs. I’d never be able to carry these off in a million years but you have to admire her total originality in the way that she designed around the design of the fabric instead of sourcing suitable fabrics for a pre-determined design.

Here is her Knitted Circle dress. So called because the fabric design is made up of graphic knitting stitches. I swear there is more fabric in one of the sleeves than in the whole dress!

Both Jane and I left the workshop in a fuzzy reassured kinda way. It made us proud that we hand made our own clothes, albeit perhaps not to the same level of lavishness but there was nothing on show that we could not have handled. Give us a year or two for a deadline and we would gladly knock one up. But perhaps we might delegate the binding of the hook and eyes to someone else!

I did wonder whether I should have posted in so much detail so as not to spoil the experience for future visitors but really, you have to be there to actually see it. You have to feel and you have to hang onto every word that Dennis speaks because he knows everything there is to know!

Half-circle chic

This is my first self-drafted half circle skirt. Made from the finest poly-crepe and lined with some heavy stretch satin because gravity ain’t that clever!

I nearly went for wool crepe which I think would have worked even more beautifully, but the idea of messing up 2 metres @£40 was a little bit more daunting than @£9!

The drape is lovely on the poly and I’m so chuffed with how flattering it is around the hips, but my oh my does that cause nasty stretchy bias hemline issues.

To draft the skirt, cut and sew together is child’s play. And it was a perfect project to practice a lapped zipper too. But to get an even hem on this skirt required patience of some saints. I blogged the other day about my time-starved, light-rationed sewing time so I won’t harp on any more about that but lets just say a massive learning curve was attained with the help of some basic tools, a bit of determination and a few swear words!

I incorporated 2 buttons as a closure instead of the usual hook and bar and used black bias binding to finish the hem. And no I did not do it by hand!

I so needed another black go-to skirt. And it feels right to go back to black. I do love a pencil skirt but I also love how swishy and elegant this one feels. A little bit Grease and a little bit Mad Men but also very much me. I can even run for the bus in it! Just need a few more 50s style blouses or peasant tops to go with it now.

Amazing photographs by Daniel Selway

Me Made May 13: My final days

So here we are. The final days of Me Made May ’13! I feel quite sad in a way. But relieved. And accomplished. And enlightened. So thank you SoZo for setting this brilliant challenge. I didn’t realize quite what a knock on effect it would have. Or how it would make me feel. I wholly recommend this challenge to anyone who has yet to take the plunge. 

I really didn’t think I would make it to the end of the month. For sure there were repeats and some days no photo evidence at all. In reality, taking a photo of yourself every day is really difficult. Easy at first with all the initial enthusiasm for the challenge but then harder each day as the sun disappears, the hubby sets of earlier for work and the outfits get more tight-fitting the older they are!

But the journey was worth it. It was fantastic to focus each day on each hand made garment and realise where I’ve come from and what I’ve arrived at. Confirmation on what I’ve learned and achieved was invaluable. I don’t have time to stop and think properly about most things these days, especially what I’m going to wear on any particular day. So this was a fantastic excuse for self-indulged focussing, on past experience as well as some future plans. Oh yes, of course the flip side of the coin has meant my project list has increased ten-fold. But hey that list always makes for sweet dreams, if nothing else!

So to wrap up… the final days of  Me Made May ’13.

DAY 22: Silk touch jersey cowl top and wool pencil skirt
Neither of these are blogged, I made them so long ago. But the cowl top is made from a free pattern on Burdastyle by Ichigogirl. Its the same as the stripy one I made. The skirt is a Simplicity pattern that my mum gave me to kick start my sewing antics. It has a little vent on the front knee. I didn’t line it, unfortunately and this is something I would never do with wool now. I should really go back and line it. It would hang much better and not stick to my tights!

DAY 23: Black self-drafted pencil skirt
This is possibly the most worn and practical of garments in my wardrobe. It fits like a glove, because I drafted it to my exact measurements. It’s properly lined and the lining is even properly attached to the vent. The waistband incorporates a woven interfacing so it doesn’t roll and is fastened by a hook and bar instead of a rubbish ‘eye’! It was a fantastic learning curve making this skirt. So absolutely worth all the effort that it feels fantastic to wear. I always imagined a whole weeks worth of these to choose from and I still think that is highly necessary. They are perfect work skirts and glam up nicely for a spontaneous evening out too!

DAY 24: Stripy wool mini A-line skirt
A miserable day. No sunshine at all, so the woolly skirt came back out. No photographer today I’m afraid. I’ve come to realise how much I wear this skirt. Mostly when I can’t think of anything else to wear. It fits; it’s comfortable; it goes with DMs… and it keeps my butt warm!

DAY 25: The shortened Elisalex
Today was the 20th anniversary of the day my dad died. Always a sad day. But always a good excuse to don a pretty dress and catch up with my wonderful brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. The cemetery is a bit of a trek from the bus stop so I needed to sport something easy to walk in. Small heels means small skirt in my world so there was only one thing to do. And that was to chop the bottom off my test Elisalex dress! So glad I did. The duvet cover did good! Although I love my longer rosy version, it’s kind of ‘for best’ but this cheeky little version is now a great little throw-on when-the-sun-shines-and-go dress!

DAY 26: Grey pencil skirt
No photographic evidence today. I wore the first pencil skirt I ever drafted which still fits pretty well. Its lined but has no vent. I was taking things one step at a time back then and to learn to create a vent was information overload! I have to take pigeon steps but it still works. It’s a good staple, though a little boring. It’s days are numbered as soon as the others are on the cutting table!

DAY 27: First summer dress of the year
Today we went to the Surrey County Show. An ideal place to sport a full on flowery frock. Not such a great idea to wear in the goat tent though! Note that Mr O sought his photo opportunity before letting me know what was occurring! I still love this dress but I need to take some volume out of the back. I didn’t notice before but it gapes at the zip. I’m pretty sure its a simple fix. And hopefully it will fit better.

DAY 28: Danielle dress
Now here’s a blast from the past. Almost 2 years ago to the day. It was a bit of a squeeze, I can tell you. So much wrong with this dress but I still like the vibe of it. The fabric was a charity shop find, unsure of the content but it’s soooo itchy and scratchy. I thought I was being out there by using red lining but that turned out to be a no-no with the pale open weave fabric on the skirt! I can’t really breathe in this dress and you can tell by the pull across my chest but this dress is a lovely reminder that I should make another that fits in a much lovelier fabric.

DAY 29: Button back retro top
I was fast running out on day 29 so it was a great propmt to rectify some issues with some garments I don’t tend to wear any more. This one in particular was really annoying to wear because I made the neckhole too small. I really liked the jewel neckline but in reality it kind of chokes you to death. Only problem was that the first buttonhole started right at the top, so to lob a centimetre off the neckline would halve my first buttonhole. My need to wear a me-made top spurred on a quick fix and I replaced the buttonhole with a press-stud and sewed the button on top so nobody will ever know!

DAY 30: Vintage pencil skirt with pockets
Not yet blogged but again, a hurried make out of desperation but boy I’m glad. I’ve been meaning to make this for yonks! It still needs some fine tuning and this is really just a test garment but I will fill in the details when I blog it. But what’s more to say? Its a pencil skirt with pleats and front pockets… hooray!

DAY 31: 1940s shoe dress again!
A shameless repeat but one I’m prepared to wear again and again. This is by far one of my favourite dresses. It gets comments from total strangers as I stroll down to Sainsbo’s. It’s cool and comfy and is covered in shoes! This is the item of clothing that I need at least 5 more of. Along with 7 pencils skirts, my wardrobe should have at least 7 of these too!

And so we leave the month of May and venture on to pastures new. A prom dress for my friend’s daughter is on the go, FBA’s and all, a bespoke pencil skirt for my daughter’s birthday present and another that was bid on by my friend at the school auction. (Far too nervous to ask what she bid!)

Thank you as always for your wonderful comments and support x

Me-made May’13: My first week
Me-made May’13: My second week/
Me-made May’13: My third week/

Me Made May 13: My third week

I did it. I actually made 3 weeks of Me Made May ’13! It wasn’t as desperate as I thought it would be and I’ve really enjoyed it! The only thing that has been a bit tricky is getting a photo when the mister has left earlier for work.

Most of the garments I have worn this week have issues. Mostly fitting issues. Things drafted either too big or too small and things that no longer fit because of some unwelcome poundage that crept up over the last year or so! I must learn to create things that fit in the now and not for when the pounds are shed. Because it doesn’t work like that!

Another revelation, which comes as no surprise to me, is that I need more skirts and tops for work. I’ve no shortage of ideas. Just got to pull my finger out!

So here we go. Week 3 of  Me Made May ’13.

DAY 15: Pin dot jersey top
New Look 6753. This is one of the few jersey tops I’ve made. I like how it’s an easy-to-wear casual top but it’s not my favourite top to wear. Perhaps because I made it too big and its defied all my attempts of shrinkage too! I have since been advised to make a size smaller when using stretch fabric. I’m sure I’d love it more if it fit more snuggly. Still better than a Primani top though!

DAY 16: Stripy cowl top
This was a great free pattern from the Burdastyle website. Really simple to put together and really easy to wear. I’m not convinced I graded it up properly, or enough for that matter so the cowl isn’t as dramatic as it could have been. But I still like it.

DAY 17: Wool pinstripe jacket
This is a pattern from Burdastyle magazine, issue 11/2010. It was my first venture into tailoring and is anything but perfect but it prompted me to delve more into the art of old school tailoring techniques which are now ready to employ when I embark on another. Once again I overestimated the size but that means it’s great to wear with a few layers underneath and boy I needed them today! The pinky mauve pinstripe means it doesn’t really go with much apart from a flooky pinstripe skirt that I owned already!

DAY 18: Floral mini skirt
I made this in march last year and it still feels good teamed with Docs and a cardi. Keep meaning to make more of these. They are so simple and so cute and so easy to wear. So long as its none too windy!

DAY 19: Plaid shorts
I do enjoy wearing these. Despite the fabric going all bobbly on me. Only on the weekend, mind. Won’t catch me in the office with that much leg out! I wore them down to the river pub to meet some friends. The pattern I used was Simplicity 2659. A simple and satisfying overnight make. There will be more of these. It’s just a matter of time. However I will not be using the twill tape facing method. I will draft a properfacing this time. They do need a bit more structure at the waist and front. And I must make them a wee bit bigger next time!

DAY 20: Black rose party dress
This is me and my lovely fella, the last of the party people, at the end of his spectacular 40th birthday party. It was taken in the wee hours of the morning and so I’m very glad the photo is such poor quality! The dress, which I just about fit into, was whipped up overnight for a party March last year. I have since found some very similar fabric which will be another one of these one day!

DAY 21: Wool check skirt
I didn’t manage to get a photo of today but rest assured it was a me-made kinda day. I wore the same wool check skirt I sported on the second week, day 10. Crazy that May has turned out cold enough to sport a woolly skirt more than once in the space of a couple of weeks.

Can’t believe there’s only one more week left. I think I’m going to have to dig real deep now!

Laters! x

Me-made May’13: My first week
Me-made May’13: My second week/

Me Made May 13: My second week

If I’m honest, I thought that So Zo’s Me Made May ’13 would be an easy 4-poster for the month of May. I really thought it would help to bridge the massive gap between my sporadic makes and make me look more efficient than I actually am. Well, it has been a good gap-bridger for sure, but it hasn’t been a doddle!

I’m sure many of you can relate to the pre-work madness of getting kids off to school, while catching up on the jobs you were meant to do the night before, shouting threats of x-box confiscation if the son doesn’t arise anytime soon, feeding the cats with one hand and signing homework books with the other before getting one’s own butt out the door to work. So throw a rummage through the drawers for a me-made outfit and fluttering of the eyelashes at the general direction of ones hubster for a quick photoshoot into the equation and, well you can imagine what the neighbours must think!

But all that aside. It has been a total eye opener. I have worn things I had completely forgotten about and there has been a realisation of how much I’ve advanced. I may even go back to some of these projects and fix some niggling issues. But I equally might not!

So here we go. Week 2 of  Me Made May ’13.

DAY 8: 1950s wing-collar blouse
Butterick 556. Im still very happy with this blouse even though the shoulder pads have gone all lumpy and weird in the wash! The sleeve heads leave a lot to be desired. I remember thinking at the time that the sleeve looked more gathered than eased into the armscye. I really need to make another but better. So good to wear to work.

DAY 9: 1940s Shoe Dress
Butterick 2638. This is the same pattern I used for the red version and with the same issues, ie button placement. I think I prefer the shorter length sleeve. The shoe-print fabric was such a great find from a charity shop. It’s 100% cotton with such a smooth finish. I need more of these dresses.

DAY 10: Wool check skirt
I wasn’t expecting to include this skirt in May. It’s a blanket-weight wool, an ex-throw in fact, turned pencil skirt! But we all know how the weather in Blighty is a constant surprise! I self-drafted the pattern. I didn’t stay stitch the waistline before adding the waistband, hence why it probably came up a bit bigger and just noticed that the lining peeps at the hem otherwise, quite happy with this one.

DAY 11: Dotty shawl collar swing jacket
I made this a good couple of years back from a free pattern in Sew magazine. It is a great spring jacket with three-quarter sleeves and I love the fabric. I had to create the buttonholes by hand but apart from that it was very easy to put together as far as I remember. I do enjoy wearing it. Something about the collar makes it feel vintage and glamourous.

DAY 12: Grey pencil skirt
Hubby off to work early + non obliging offspring = no photo! But see photo above. I wore it yesterday too. Don’t judge!

DAY 13: Stripy wool skirt
You really can tell how chilly it was this week. All the wool came out to play! This is a very simple A-line mini skirt from Burdastyle magazine. The fabric is a twill-backed Italian wool from Ditto Fabrics in Brighton. Very lovely to wear.

DAY 14: Lace-trimmed peasant top
I didn’t think I had much love for this top. Mostly because it’s white and partly because of the lace. But seeing it here with a black skirt and after wallowing in all the lovely comments I got at work, I think I do now. One of the quickest tops to rustle up and tuck into a skirt. I need a red one! 

Feels so good to round up week two. Only a couple of days for week three… eek! See you soon! x

Me Made May 13: My first week

Not so very long ago I signed up to So Zo’s Me Made May ’13. Whereby I pledged to wear something handmade, every day throughout the month of May 2013. I did leave it till the very last minute, knowing what a flake I can be. And to be honest I could do without creating extra work for myself. I really do have plenty ’nuff on my plate right now! But… what fun! And what revelations…

So here is what I pledged:

‘I, ooobop!, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’13. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade garment each day for the duration of May 2013’.

There was still a big pause before I pressed the ‘publish’ button. I don’t have an issue with wearing something handmade every day. In fact that it an ultimate goal. I would love to own an entirely handmade wardrobe. It’s having enough to last a month that’s the issue right now! So I think you might be seeing a few repeats unless I can rustle up some emergency quick-makes!

Here are the first 7 days along with my discoveries:

DAY 1: Gingham Burda Blouse
Have since learned that this shirt is too long and hence too tight on the hips.
An easy fix… if I get round to it! Would love to try one in a block colour
to make use of those fabulous shoulder darts. Should also wear it with a belt.
It’s not the shapeliest of blouses!

DAY 2: Norman Hartnell blouse
Very fond of this blouse. Very easy to wear. Perfect for work or going out.
And given that it was a relatively simple make, I need to make more!

DAY 3: 1940s Shirt-waist dress
I still love this dress. Any dress with a midriff gets my seal of approval.
Have since learned to be more precise when sewing buttons in position.

DAY 4: 1970s Dress
I have neglected this dress. I didn’t line it and so I can’t successfully wear it with tights
which is kind of a necessary requirement in the UK!
Would happily make this one again. The shape is very cute and I do love
the statement collar!

DAY 5: Daisy dress with red bias trim
New Look 6750. One of the first dresses I made, hence not blogged.
Note to self: As lovely as cotton voile is, it’s not very good at
hiding all those lumps and bumps, expecially if one has made the dress a tight fit!
Also must remember to allow a bit of ease when binding sleeve hems.
Near cut off the circulation in my arms!
Only dress so far I am not entirely comfortable wearing.

DAY 6: Elisalex dress
Dress completed and worn to a picnic on this day. By far my most
favourite dress. incredibly comfortable. Very stylish and very satisfying to make.
It’s a keeper!

DAY 7: Gingham peasant top
One of the easiest tops I’ve ever made. Love wearing it with a pencil skirt.
Need to make some capri pants to pull off that Doris Day look.
Keep meaning to add a tiny black bow to the front neckline!

One of the great things about this challenge for me, is having some proper attention focussed on each garment. I usually throw things on without a thought, especially when I’m off to work, in a ‘that’ll do’ kinda way. I’ve been wearing far too many rubbish Primani T-shirts when I don’t really need to. If I just make a few more tops, I can ditch them altogether, especially if I include a quality t-shirt or two on my project list. Wearing me-mades on a daily basis really does have a feel good factor.

I’m sure the next few weeks will get more and more challenging and probably with some new revealations but so far so good and lessons learned already. Cheers Zo!

Home-made maternity belt, circa 1940!

I was just searching for a date on this pattern so I could update my vintage pattern collection page with this little beauty…

…when out popped this little cutting which tickled me, I must say:

home made maternity belt circa 1940 (click on image to enlarge)

If you do try this at home, remember “It is best to adjust it while lying down.”

In the latter months?!! I can just imagine trying to get up off the bed, like some ungainly upside-down tortoise.

And there’s me thinking the 1940s was all about glamour, inside and out! Doh! It’s a wonder all 1940s babies weren’t born squished like Flat Stanley!

Incidentally, I didn’t find an actual date. I’m assuming (once again) that this pattern dates 1940ish but any more accurate hunches are appreciated.

So much style and history… in a Morrison’s bag

I thought you might like a look in more detail at that Ebay haul I won in July.

Their arrival was a little ungainly to say the least. Not damaged in any way but clearly hurriedly bundled and tied up in… a Morrison’s bag. Not that there’s anything wrong with Morrison’s. But I did have a moment of OMG have I just bought a sack full of rubbish?! Surely these antique patterns deserved a carriage with a little more style!

I gingerly untied the knotted handles. Actually that’s a lie. I completely tore the bag apart because I couldn’t wait a minute more. Was a bit whiffy to say the least! But I can totally forgive the smell, the packaging and the wait.

I think I am still gobsmacked.

For starters, almost all of them are my bust size which means the only alterations will be to the waist and hip. So much less faffing. Even the few that are too small will be worth the adjustments. And I tell no lies when I say that each and every one was a doozy. Most of them unused and uncut.

The first little beauty that caught my eye was this cut out cover of Home Notes. A delight in itself but what was the chance of the patterns for these beauties being inside?

Every little lovely chance. I had guessed 1940s by the styling but in fact this unused and perfectly preserved pattern is nicely dated October 7th 1939:

Love the bit about: “Other sizes… obtainable FREE on application”. Can you imagine that happening nowadays?

I can’t find dates on most of the patterns but all are truly vintage and very beautiful. This is the first I’ve heard of Economy Design patterns. And I feel pretty damned lucky to have landed these lovelies:

Economy design patterns 161, 197, 198

Next up is a more familiar name, Simplicity. These stylish little numbers have all their pieces in tact, despite the damage to the envelopes. In fact the one on the right had some very interesting accompanying material!

Simplicity patterns 3979, 4494, 8488

Whoever Mrs Poole was – the name on most of the mail order pattern envelopes – she was a lady of very fine taste with impeccable organisational skills. In the envelope with Simplicity 8488 (above right) there was this cutting:

Great to see these vintage patterns in ‘real life’ photos. And it makes me love the ensemble even more! Also inside the envelope (from Readers Digest) was each copied piece of the pattern, traced and labelled with precision onto a 1960s edition of the Daily Express. This is one of the reasons that all these patterns are in such great condition and seemingly unused. Mrs Poole has dutifully copied them and kept the originals factory folded. This has given me a fine source of entertainment too, reading all the snippets of the papers. This one quite topical: “Billie Holmes, 24 year old Hull engineer, won the first Olympic cycling road race trial yesterday – by ONE inch. And this victory, over 96 miles near Chesham, Buckinghamshire, strengthens his claim for Rome spot……”

Thank you Mrs P.

Leach Way Patterns is a new one on me too. Any one heard of these? The dress pattern was still in it’s original mail order envelope which is date stamped 1949, so I might be inclined to date the coat and the suit around that time too. Needless to say, all three in perfect condition.

Leach way patterns 12375, 12536, 12963

Weldons is a name I recognise. I have a couple in my collection already and I love how they are always so incredibly stylish and yet a little bit quirky.

Weldons patterns 143 and 151

Now I am assuming ‘Womans Day’ was a womans magazine and this was a supplement… correct me if I’m wrong:

womans day gift book

But even better still, than this cheeky little gift book, the blouses featured on the cover and in centre spread are an exclusive Norman Hartnell pattern and all the appropriate pieces are present and correct in this gorgeous little pattern envelope:

Normal Hartnell blouse patterns

I love this 40s (?) McCalls suit. It is so reminiscent of the suits my grandma used to wear:

McCall 6780

And who could resist running up a few slips and bloomers for under their vintage dresses?

Style 4469 slips and bloomers

Woman’s Realm was defo one of my mum’s reads. So these conjure up a bit of nostalgia. I love the first dress. It’s numbered WR.1. I wonder if that is the first ever dress pattern issued by Woman’s Realm? The middle one is far too small for me in any case but the wedding dress with a few adjustments, I’m sure would be really flattering. I do like an empire waistline.

Womans Realm patterns

Here’s a classy Dior number from Woman’s Journal:

Womans Journal Dior pattern

There’s a couple of other great coat patterns too. One from Odhams and the other from Woman’s Own magazine. I am thinking of making a coat. Just thinking, for now!!

Odhams and Woman’s Own coat patterns

I think Mrs P was too as there were various cuttings of coat images too:

It’s amazing that all the pieces seem to be present for these Du Barry patterns. Whatever their pattern envelopes were made of they certainly disintegrate in a big brittlesome way.  But look how Mrs P (I presume) has lovingly recreated the image herself. Don’t you just love the sharpness of these suits and frocks?

Du Barry patterns

I do like a shirtwaist dress and was delighted to find this one from Woman’s Weekly in the bundle. Woman’s Weekly was another of my mum’s reads. I distinctly remember the pink header and the elongated type on the cover:

Woman’s Weekly B170

Here’s a smart little dress suit from The People. One day, one day!:

The People 794

There was one little girls pattern included in the bundle. I would love my youngest daughter to wear little vintage dresses but I think there is some chance and no chance of that ever happening 😦

Butterick 9161

Most of the other patterns were from Woman magazine. Another of the larger format mags if I rightly remember. And what a fine selection we have here:

Woman patterns

And imagine how excited I got when this one jumped out at me:

Woman Hardy Amies exclusive pattern

With all supporting cuttings once again:

I love the collar and the buttoned hip pockets. Not to mention the self covered buttons all the ways down, ooo… and the self covered belt. How amazing would that be?!

I am soooo making that Hardy Amies number!

And this wrap dress from Woman looks so much more inspirational in the mag too:

Woman 479 wrap dress

And, if ever I am going to make a pair of ‘Trews’, it is going to be this pair! I love that they are called ‘trews’. I thought that was a term only used and made up by my mum!

Woman p132 Trews

Apart from the masses of cuttings that I still have to sift through – believe me, there are stacks of pattern pieces cut out from really old newspapers – the above are without edits, the most amazing collection of patterns ever. Not one duff one among them. Well…. there was this strange one…

Woman p131 bed-jacket, bolero, hats and duck

…which has to win the prize of most random pattern ever!!

Vintage patterns on Ebay… but not for the faint-hearted.

Mostly I am not very good at bidding on Ebay. Which is a good thing because I could very easily spend a fortune on vintage patterns and fabric. Don’t get me wrong. I do win bids, but at a price. The original quest for a vintage pattern at a bargain becomes a fight with an undisclosed bidder whom I  won’t let get the better of me. And thus the whole bargain thing goes right out the window.

Well it depends how you look at it I guess. I am currently ‘watching’ Vintage 1940s, 1950s job lot of sewing patterns & ephemera 30+ patterns.

My original bid was for £30. That’s what I was willing to pay and if I lost then that should have been the end of it. But no. Somebody had the cheek to outbid me. So I upped it to £42.02. That should trick ’em, I thought! Then, when they up their bid to £40 they will think I’ve bid a lot higher, and give up, and let me have all those lovely patterns. But no. They’ve gone to £52.69 and there is 13 minutes remaining. I am actually biting my nails. What do I do? Hang on in there? Bid at the last minute? But at what price? That’s £22.69 more than I wanted to spend. But they’ve got to be worth at least £5 each, surely. That makes £150. I’m so not paying that. Going to go for £70 top whack.12 minutes, 30 seconds to go. My heart thinks I’ve just run around the block at least 5 times. £75.27 in the maximum bid box. That should do the trick…..just in case they’ve got plans on £70. 10 minutes 36, shall I ‘place bid’ now? No. Hold tight. They might be thinking the same. Its been a while since I’ve bid. They will think I’ve lost interest. 7 minutes 8 seconds. Do I really want these. Haven’t I got enough already? Maybe. But I wont be beat. Especially by someone who refuses to reveal their identity! 6 m 9s. Not yet. Hold back. Don’t give them time to respond…

I left it ’til 20 seconds to go. And I confirmed my max bid at £75.27… knowing I shouldn’t really. £53.69 accepted. Phew! glad it wasn’t the full max bid…and I pipped that bidder to the post… oh yeah… oh yeah!

Here is a section of my prize haul which I won, just now, fair and square (… oh yeah!):

When they arrive for real I will give them the proper photoshoot they deserve. Not sure I can cope with that amount of stress again in a hurry. And really, I do now have enough patterns… I do now have enough patterns… I do now have enough patterns… don’t I?