Sew It - Dream Pattern Progress

Well, a week has gone by and what do I have to show for it - other than the spare tyre from all the cold Weather comfort eating I have been doing lately- Quite a bit actually...

I have managed to sew all shirt together and all I have to do is:

• Put in the cuffs - This pattern piece I have still to make.
• Hemming lower edge.
• Button holes in the front and cuffs.

It has not been quite as easy as I had hoped, though most of the parts were straight forward, I have really struggled with the collar and must have re-done it about ten times and I'm still not totally happy with it now.

Another part which I confess to having given up on was facing the sleeve slits. I just could not achieve the results shown in above diagram it just came out looking puffy and twisted every time so I have decided to sew these up - as the sleeve is gathered it won't show too much - and I have unpicked the sleeve seams up to the same distance and used this as the opening. I am disappointed by my ineptitude, but have resolved to try again on some practice fabric - It will not beat me!!

My favourite part so far has to be the puffed sleeves I just love them they look just right and by coincidence are totally in fashion this season.

Shoulder Yoke and Puff Sleeve 

 

The Pin-in-the-neck Collar Agggh!!!

Nearly Finished hopefully soon!!!

Wendy x

Sew It - My Dream Pattern

Whilst searching on eBay lately I have picked up some really beautiful vintage patterns which I just can't wait to make up. The first of these is this Economy Design blouse. I have been searching for such a long time for just the right pattern and I think at last I have found it, and it’s in the right size too, well not far off! What a result!

My fingers have been itching to make this as soon as it arrived a week or so ago but it is only now that I have found the time to get started. I have chosen this blue floral light cotton fabric which I bought on eBay a few years ago (not really sure why?!?) I am uncertain how it will look in this fabric part of me is saying it will be great and the other is questioning whether it will look I’m wearing a bedsheet? Well as it's the only fabric I have that is suitable at the moment, I will have to wait and see - I'm sure that that is half the fun anyway!

On laying out the pattern I found that the front bodice facing, the sleeve slit facing and the cuff pattern pieces were all missing... after a few moments of annoyance I considered myself lucky that the main parts were all intact and resolved that these pieces were after all the easiest to replicate.

I have now just got to mark up all the pieces with relevant tailor tacks etc. and then I will be on my way to my very own dream 1940s shirt.

Wendy x

My New Best Friend

Meet my New Best friend 'Vera', she is from Jaycotts and though not cheap she will be indispensable over the next few months as I start my summer wardrobe in earnest. Plus it will mean no more pins will be stuck into me by my well meaning boyfriend when helping me make alterations!!

I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of her!

Wendy x

Kint It - 1940s Womens Mittens

After knitting up some gloves for my co-worker Alan - The 1940s Men's Mittens which he loves by the way!! I decided to knit myself a pair of mittens and they have been well timed as we have recently had some of the worst snow in 30 years over the last few days and getting to and from work has been fun at best no trains to speak of only buses, England seems to have come to a standstill lots of lucky people have got to stay at home no such luck for me! Thankfully I had just finished these in time and they have been a real help especially in our cold office.

~ 1940s Women's Mittens~

The Pattern comes from the same vintage Knitting Pattern Book as Alan's gloves which was published around the time of WWII.

Ingredients:

4 ply wool

No.12UK/2.75mm/2UK

No.13UK/2.25mm/1USA

Click to Make Bigger

For mine I used double knit wool - I was stash busting and simply did not have any 4ply, it did mean that it was a hard job to knit up on the small needles but definitely  worth the pain as the end result was that they came out a little bigger and as my hands are not, let say petite, they fit me just fine.

Only other amendment I made was that I knitted an extra 2 rows of rib on all fingers and thumbs, as I have alien-like digits, so needed a bit more length there.

I really like the result they look quite vintage with a bit of a modern edge, plus they are as warm as toast when you are typing away at your PC and no purple nose which just has to be a bonus!

Stay Warm!

Wendy x

Happy New Year - Mistley

Happy New Year! Well, Christmas is well and truly over, though the tin of chocs is still there and still as tempting as ever- you tell yourself diet will resume once back at work and you kind of believe it will.

As we were both truly bored of staying indoors and starting to get very bored of each other we decided to go out for the day with our cameras, and it was the perfect excuse for me to try out my new Canon macro lens that the boyfriend bought me as a very generous Christmas present.

We set out with the intention of going to South End on Sea. But due to forgetting the Sat nav and the boyfriends conviction he knew where he was going, we did not end up there. Instead, we ended up in a lovely little Village called Mistley which lies on the banks of the river Stour in Essex.

Mistley is quite literally swamped with swans. I have never seen so many in one place I must confess to being a bit scared of swans and did not enjoy the fact, that as soon as I stepped from the car I was surrounded by inquisitive little beaks all hoping for food from my bag and not my camera. After acclimatising to the attention I managed to relax enough to get some good shots especially those of a signet who posed for me beautifully before getting bored and wandering off.             

The most amusing part of the day was as we were leaving, a young swan decided he wanted to cross the road in front of us and well quite frankly who would stop him! He hopped off the pavement and strolled casually out across the road with not a care in the world and gracefully sauntered off to join his friends!

The results of a very bored passenger stuck in a traffic jam on the M11.

Wendy x