MMM '13, Day 13: Leopard print and new shoes

Every girl needs a bit of leopard print in her life. Luckily, I've gone a bit mad with it lately!

I made this dress a couple of weeks ago from the pattern supplement in one of my French magazines; Votre Mode from May 1956. You can see pages from this magazine here.

Featuring on the cover, the pattern is a classic '50s shirtwaist. The pattern is given for the upper half of the dress (with the option to lengthen it into a blouse). The skirt is cut as rectangles and gathered or pleated into the waist seam; I did a gathered skirt this time. I think one thing to note is that the collar is much wider than in either the illustrations or the photo. I think I'll trim it down on my next version; it's a bit excessive.

I used the leopard print cotton poplin I bought just after Christmas, and the large ones of those swirl buttons. I used the sleeves from Gertie's shirtwaist dress. This pattern has two sleeve options: straight fitted or puff. I wanted a puff sleeve, but the one with the pattern (on the cover) is hugely puffy, so a little too much volume for a day dress.

The dress buttons to the waist and has a lapped side zip. I also added side seam pockets to the skirt, so the zip continues down behind the pocket on this dress.

I also got new shoes! It's been years since I had any summer shoes that really worked for me, other than the flat ballet slipper type. I don't do heels well, and a half-size difference between my feet means that a strap of some sort or a high vamp is a must or the shoe falls off the smaller foot! I spotted these when I was doing the food shopping a couple of weeks ago and loved them. I was waiting until I could afford them, but Boyfriend's mum decided to treat me instead. So now I have a lovely pair of summer wedges with a nice '40s feel.

Plus, they happen to match the dress!

Outfit Details

Me-Mades:

Dress: Leopard print cotton, Votre Mode 10 Mai 1956

Knickers: Blue viscose jersey midis

Worn With:

Belt: New Look

Shoes: George at Asda

FPF: Cap Sleeve Classic

Again, sorry for skipping a free pattern weekend back there! Life does get in the way sometimes, heh.

This weeks free pattern is for a beautifully simple short sleeved V-neck jumper. This style is, as the name suggests, a versatile classic. It comes in sizes 34, 36 and 38 inch bust, and is knitted in 3 ply weight yarn. The tension is 7.5 stitches ans 9.5 rows per inch, and uses size 12 and 10 needles (old UK sizes).

I'm trying out PDF files for my patterns. The link below the image should take you to the Google Docs page where you can view the pattern. Hopefully this should make it easier on you all for patterns with multiple pages; you can download a single file rather than having three or four image files that make up the pattern. Let me know if this works ok for you!

P&B Cap Sleeve Classic free pattern

Now that we finally have a scanner I should be more inclined to keep up with pattern posts!

Please let me know if you have any problems with the pattern links- it's my first time using GoogleDocs!

Butterick 5895 Pants: MMM '13 Day 7

As I mentioned in my recent sewing plans post, one of my new patterns is Butterick 5895. This is one of Gertie's newest patterns for Butterick released for summer. The cropped trousers have a nicely vintage high waistline, with side front pockets and fasten up the back with a zip.

I went stash-diving and pulled out a length of pinstripe stretch cotton sateen that's been lurking for a good 5 years. I think I originally planned to make a blazer-type jacket from it but never did. I used a small bit for a bolero last year, but had just enough left to squeeze this pattern out. It wasn't looking like getting used for anything else, so not the end of the world if it turned out they didn't fit.

 Sorry about the image quality. I promise I'll make the effort and use the good camera for the rest of the month!

No such worries though! After a quick tweak of the back darts to fit into my hollow back, these fit nearly perfectly straight out of the packet! I cut the size 20 to account for my wide hips and thighs and got a pretty good snug fit. I like this style to be very fitted on the legs. I need to take a small amount in on the centre front seam below my tummy to eliminate a few drag lines there (a sort of reversed full-abdomen adjustment) but only a half inch.

Pretty happy with the fit of the back after taking those darts in a little. Also, I did my first invisible zip in about three years on this pair (mostly because it was the only short black zip to hand) and I think I got it as near perfect as I ever could! *happydance*

A little leopardy surprise in the pockets.

I think I found a new pattern love! My black denim is already on the way for another pair, which you'll doubtless see within a week. And no, this blouse isn't from the pattern, but shop-bought. Evidently it was in my subconscious when I got dressed this morning though!

Fabric: Cotton lycra sateen, leopard print cotton poplin (pockets)

Pattern: Butterick 5895, view B

Notions: 8" Invisible zip, Trouser hook and bar, Thread, Fusible interfacing

Worn with:

Cream vest: New look

Cherry print tie-front blouse: Internacionale

P.S. Apologies if you read this post with no photos. A certain small somebody hit the publish button while I was out of the room!

Spring Sewing Plans

Now that the weather has finally perked up, it's time to start Spring sewing, and sewing for a new season starts with new patterns! I've got a few new lovelies to work with this season.

First up is something I'm quite badly in need of: a short coat! I scored this little beauty on eBay for a couple of pounds: Vogue 7146. It seems this pattern is a little more rare than some: I could only find one other mention of it online, and it wasn't on the Vintage Patterns Wiki! So I created a page for it here.

It's also my first ever Vogue pattern, new or vintage, which for some reason I find stupidly exciting. I plan on making it up in a red and black checked wool, probably this wool/poly boucle from eBay:

Another gap in my wardrobe is basic button-down blouses, particularly with longer sleeves. This Wheldons pattern came from the same seller as the Vogue jacket. It has three-quarter length sleeves and a classically '50s smooth winged collar. I've been lusting after a black and white gingham shirt, so I think that may be it's first incarnation!

I'm very excited about this next pattern too: Butterick 5895, one of Gertie's newest patterns. I've always worn cropped jeans in summer until my last pair dropped to bits last year. This pattern has the high waist I've come to like as I've been wearing more vintage styles. The blouse is a style I like too- I have two shop bought tie-front blouses that I wear regularly, so that will be a good staple pattern for my summer wardrobe. A big thank you to my sister Kally of Millinery and Musings for getting me this pattern as part of an offer from sewdirect.com.

I'm working on a pair at the minute to test the fit, which I'll blog soon! A plain black denim pair will be the first proper pair from this pattern, but I'm tempted by this red snake-print cotton drill. Mmm... trashy!

Last up is a new dress pattern, Simplicity 2444. I treated myself to a copy of Sew magazine which this came free with. I love the unusual dart placement and bow collar of this pattern. Again, I'm already working on my first version of this.

And thanks to taking part in Me-Made-May you will actually see some of the results of my planning. I'm aware I write an awful lot of "I'm going to make..." posts then never show you all the results. I'm trying to change that. Honest!