Alternatively named the best blouse ever! This is the Smooth Sailing Blouse pattern from Wearing History. Their website can be found here. Have a look and drool around there. You'll thank me for it later. There are many beautiful and creative finished versions of the Smooth Sailing blouse online only a mindless Google search away. You will be scrolling through awesome projects of it until you cramp or die of dehydration. Wearing History sell patterns in either PDF / download format, or full printed paper format. I went for the PDF pattern for 2 reasons.... 1: I want it now, 2: Australia. Shipping here is slow and stupidly expensive. It didn't take me long to tape together the little A4 bits of paper and trace off the size 36" bust pattern. And I kept the shipping monies in my pocket (which I will surely spend on more fabric). A lot of reviews say this blouse is really high cut in the old armpits. I am broad of shoulder and long of torso, so naturally I was concerned. No need to fear! It's super comfy. Yeah, it's higher than a normal RTW blouse... but I have full range of movement in my arms. I even did my hair AFTER I put the blouse on. That is revolutionary for me. There are no hacks or mods to this version. It's made from a gorgeous soft linen thingy from Spotlight. Little cream coloured buttons with silver edging finish the front. I also did some passable top stitching. 10 points to me. The back yoke is really lovely and it was easy to sew as well. I was nervous about all the little gathers through the yoke but I took a breath and followed the instructions. You could argue that there should be another button at the bust line, but the front falls so nicely without it. I wore the blouse to work and was in and out of the warehouse. Didn't have any burlesque style moments at all. Anyway, shhh. On to the photos! Blouse: Smooth Sailing Blouse by Wearing History
Skirt: Salvos Brooch: Etsy Shoes: Charlie Stone Shoes
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IT'S FINISHED! My first proper fair isle pattern has been cast off, blocked and worn. I absolutely love it. There will no doubt more fair isle knitting in my future. Mostly because there is a lot of yarn left over from this project... The pattern is knit in the round, bottom up until the shaping for the armsyce. The front neck/upper back are knitted straight in rows. Neck and armholes and picked up and knit afterwards in the roundy-round. Then time to weave in a buttload of ends. So many ends. All the ends! Took me two full nights of weaving to finish it. Purl-ing the fair isle was a bit of a pain to get used to, but I eventually found a rhythm. I cannot say how pleased I am with this project. It's the first thing I've completed in my knitting goals for 2018 and I'm glad that it's worked so darn well! Now, I can do plain knitting, cables, lace AND colourwork! Considering that 2019 will be my 10th year of knitting, I think I'm doing pretty well! Colourwork isn't scary, it just takes time, patience, a little more concentration... and natural light. P.S: Note how well the red in the vest matches the red of my existing pants! Match made in heaven. Check that collar out, yo! Classic 80s dress with a cute 30s vibe. The neckline has a frilly cascade of fabric that tumbles down in gorgeous folds. It's a lot of fun to wear. There are tiny shoulder pads which help to keep the dress in the right spot - not falling forward with the weight of the frills. The fabric is sheer and delicate so I have a short slip on underneath. The matching self fabric belt is really lovely too, with a delicate little gold chain detail. The more I get into vintage styles full time, the more I am drawn to the 1930s. The day dresses are feminine and floaty, with some delightful details in necklines and shoulders. Don't get me wrong, I am still a big fan of the 40s, 50s and 60s, but there is a slow creep back to the 1930s happening. Seems a perfectly acceptable way to float through the hot Australian summer (it's a top of 43 degrees here today). The shoes are from Kitten D'Amour. I dig the 30s vibe and the t-strap. The colour is a beige with a slight pinkish undertone. Not the most comfortable shoe I own, but okay for sitting down at work.
This skirt pattern was a Christmas gift from my in-laws. I love a good pleated skirt, they never go out of style. (Full disclosure, there will be lots of pictures) The only pictures I took of the sewing progress was on my Instagram stories... I made the size 12, but I had to let out the side seams. Even though the waistband measurement was fine and had some wiggle room, it wasn't comfortable at all. Especially considering this will most likely be a work skirt. I let the side seams out as much as I could, graded the seam to the normal 1.5cm allowance by the length of the dart, and reattached the waistband. This fit is perfect now. Much love. I made the long length, C, with pressed pleats. It has a centre back zip and waistband extension for a skirt hook closure. The waistband is secured with stich-in-the-ditch. Mate. That is the best way to do a waistband. Easy, fast, brilliant. If you are still hand stitching waistbands down, you gotta level up! There was enough fabric left to make a matching neck tie. I even went so far to purchase pearl and bronze popper/snaps for the neck tie. Pearl won. I hope to make a few of these neckties to use up some scraps of fabric. I'm even thinking about doing a free pattern for you guys. Or selling them? Don't know. Hit me up with your thoughts. Honestly, the hem doesn't look that bad in real life! I will need to press it again and steam it and press it once more. I used an invisible hand slip stitch on the hem. I am happy to hand sew a hem when I don't hand sew a waistband down. The pleats were pressed and set (on mums advice) with a spray of diluted vinegar water. What a great vintage technique! I have cheap cleaning vinegar in my laundry so that wasn't a problem. It certainly makes the pleats look crisp. Well, not at the hem as previously mentioned... There are three pleats at the front, three in the back and 4 waist darts in total. The pattern closes with a very short back zip (I think the zip could finish one inch lower) and a skirt hook. It fits smoothly over the hips and then softens into the pleats. I would absolutely make this skirt again. In a delicious wool blend. Or a plaid. Or a tweed. Or all of the things. Seriously Vogue, you make great patterns. I might almost be a full time convert to only Vogue patterns.... These shoes are from a brand called Bondi Baby. After a quick Google search, they seem to not exist anymore. Shame. Epic sun glare this morning. But look at the little matching tie! Check out the gorgeous pearl popper. Necktie: made by me
Blouse: Uniqlo Australia Skirt: Vogue 8066 Shoes: Bondi Baby There is something about beige and cream colours that remind me of 1930s explorers. In Egypt. Not sure if this is from The Mummy, or something else. The women are often in shades of beige, cream, latte, brown, with a belt and boots. A billowy blouse to catch the wind and some sort of excellent hat. These pants are from Hell Bunny and are a linen blend. I had worn these trousers through breakfast and getting ready. Look how creased they are! Already! Outrageous. I purchased the size medium which is a bit too big, hence the belt to cinch them in. The white blouse was an eBay find. It's 80s, billowy and fits my shoulders. I'm proud (?) to say that these shoulders are all mine. No shoulder pads to be found in here. The blouse has some gorgeous detailing and texture on the collar. The shape of the collar sold me. It has a great 30s/40s vibe which I love. Thank you eBay. This jacket is another vintage item. Classic 80s and found in my local Vinnies store. It works will with 1940s style outfits due to the boxy shape. I bought it for about $12 and it has been in heavy rotation. Jacket: 1980s from local Vinnies
Blouse: 1980s from eBay Belt: stolen from Mum years ago Pants: Hell Bunny from Gwynnie's Shoes: Wittner from years ago Barely seen: Besamé 'V for Victory' brooch that came with the Victory Red lippy Barely seen: Fake tortoise hoop earrings from BowCrossbones on Etsy here |
AuthorKnitter. Home seamstress. Dance Teacher. Archives
April 2023
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