A tale of a new friendship (and a massive amount of vintage bliss!)

Hello boys and girls!

I trust you are all having a lovely summer (or winter...), I know I am!
My three weeks of holiday is almost up, and it has been wonderful to just be. And not so much do! That is not to say I have been sitting on my patootie, oh no! There has been sunbathing (lying on my patootie), kayaking (ok, that's sitting), doing lots of yoga/human pretzel impersonations, some sewing and knitting. Basically, every and any thing my heart desired!

I have also made a new friend! A sewing friend!
This lovely woman is named Hilde, and I met her last spring on our annual sportscar gathering. She is a seamstress by profession, and works with our national treasure, the Bunad. She has her own sewing studio her husband made for her in their barn. It's better than I make it sound, I am so envious!
We have had some on and off contact, as we live a couple of hours apart and are, well, busy. We met again this spring at the same event, and she told me she had some stuff that she wondered if I could use. They were apparently some patterns, but I had to come visit her to get them. Done deal!

To make a long story short (and get to the good stuff) I went to see her last weekend, and OH MY!
I really dont know where to start.

Spot the third one from the left.
a complete holiday wardrobe!

To kick off, there's some Norwegian mailorder patterns from the 50s. The big green book is a gem! It is printed in 1964 and contains heaps of techniques and how-to's for the home seamstress. Also knitting, crocheting, how to make lace (!), needlework, everything. It is in Norwegian, and finally I can communicate the sewing lingo in my own language! It is hard, when you are self taught and have googled all you know in English... To my greatest joy, there is a tailoring section in there, and I sense my two piece suit is drawing near:)

Next, there is a huge lot of German patterns, that has been pulled from a subscription magazine. The subscriber was Norwegian, and collected these for what seems like some years. They range from about 1966-69, and contain lots of fun stuff! There must be over a hundred of them!

Cool sailor slacks.
This pattern had several variations.

The coolest item of all (if there is such a thing!) is this Silver Scissor booklet, complete with the special ruler/ tape measure. It is similar to the Lutterloh system, where you draft your pattern from small drawings of the pattern pieces using the ruler. Quite genious, and I look forward to have a go at this :) It seems the patterns were released in intervals, so you could collect them over time. I haven't counted these, but there must be about 50 or so.

Will you look at that purple set! And the top suit...swoon.

This should be fun!

I just adore adore the white ensemble....!

 There was also a small collection of various 1960s patterns, and a magazine containing some patterns as well.  

Fabulous dressing gown alert, top left corner!

I am just over the moon over these things! The total number of patterns is probably 200+, and worth a pretty penny if sold separately. Needless to say, I am not letting go of any of these, I feel so blessed to have recieved such a generous gift! She even gave me two pairs of chrocheted gloves, but they are getting a post of their own. Utterly gorgeous things! Here's to new friendships!

Thank you, Hilde :) You're a star.

Box pleats and corduroy

Hello all!

I have been dabbling with skirt sewing this january. I have also been sick and we have gotten INSANE amounts of snow lately, so there has not been much actual sewing time between all the sniffeling and shovelling.

But there has been results; a navy corduroy version of Simplicity 4824 from 1943.

Pattern envelope

I went for view 2, with pleats both in front and back.

Honestly, the buttons are straight, the hanger inside just distorts the whole thing ;)

I've always loved the look of pleated skirts, and decided to try one. The actual pleating was very simple, and also makes it easy to make adjustment on size if needed. I had some navy/dark petrol corduroy in my stash that was intended for some  40s swing pants, but with all the procrastinating this plan produced, I decided to just use the fabric for something else (also, this makes for more fabric shopping in future *win*).
It is perhaps a bit too heavy for a skirt with big box pleats, it got a bit bulky in places, but it works. I want to try this pattern with a lighter fabric sometime, just to see the difference.

The skirt is just 5 pieces, and has a side button placket. I used large chunky, pearlized plastic buttons, but kept them in the same colorway. I think it would look great with some contrasting ones, too! The skirt has top stitching, but it disappears in the nap, so I didn't use any contrasting there either. But these features are great for adding interest to the design, so I believe this pattern has lots of potential in a variety of versions.

I blind hemmed it by hand and added some contrast bias binding to the edge. I think it adds a little touch to the finish, which is otherwise just pinked seams and nothing fancy :)

As usual I find photography indoors to be quite difficult. My camera (still) has a broken flash, and I had to rig up some lamps that are intended for construction sites and I see it makes yellowish highlights appear. Sorry for that, I hope to improve...

All in all, I like the skirt. For my next version, I will use a lighter fabric, I will also shorten the stitching down the pleats. I think they should be more open (higher up) if that makes sense. I think it should have more width also (to make it even more A-line), but perhaps more open pleats will take care of that. If not, it should be possible to add on some to the pattern pieces.

I am also thinking it could be fun to sew up a matching cropped jacket to go with it?
What do you think?

I'm so excited!! No, make that ecstatic!!

If you thought that my last post about skiing outfits was totally out of the blue and coincidental, it wasn't!

You see, one week ago, Debi at My Happy Sewing Place posted about a special pattern sale at Retromonkey's shop on Etsy. The offer was 25% off to all her readers on gorgeous vintage patterns.

Needless to say, I scooted on over there and searched through all the lovely patterns Mary Beth is offering.
I had been looking for a good pattern for winter apparel for a really long time. I one time saw a pattern from 1935 on some website I now cannot remember. It was kind of a pattern Wiki and the pattern was "currently unavailable".

When surfin' Retromonkeys I spotted a pattern that nearly made me P my pants!!!

Oh yes! It was indeed the same incredible pattern I had seen!
The price was perhaps a bit more than what I usually spend when pattern shopping, but this was not just any pattern. Firstly, it is 78 years old and has made it through a war, and who knows what else. And secondly, it's still in factory folds. Thirdly, I got 25% off, and that helped a lot :)
And now, it will live in my ever growing pattern collection forever!

Mary Beth at Retromonkeys left me a lovely heartwarming handwritten Thank you-note along with the pattern. I love that! She is obviously a professional and caring seller, and I will definitely spend some more in her shop.

Now, I need to start searching for the perfect fabric. Woolen fabrics are notoriously expensive in Norway, but I managed to find a shop that seems to have good quality wools at reasonable rates. It's named Skaar tekstil AS, for you Norwegian readers that is perhaps also looking for wool ;) And if somebody know of other options on quality woolens, please drop me a note in the comments!

Have you ever struck gold on your pattern searches? Doesn't it feel awesome!??

You must be my lucky star... ;)

I have never been especially lucky. I've not been very unlucky either, I was just never the winning kind.
But on Sunday, I was super-lucky and won a give-away!

The host of the party was the talented Kathy over at The Nerdy Seamstress- blog.
She has a really fresh blog, and sews up the cutest dresses, tops and other garments. She also draft some of her own pattern, which I think is awesome ;)
I found her blog through the Fall for Cotton-challenge, and really loved it!
Like me, she has only just started her blogging adventure, but I am sure her blog will grow to be an interesting site I will continue to go back to.
If you haven't been at her "place", you should check it out ;)

This post will not be complete without me flaunting my prize! Hah!
I won this super awesome pattern from Colette:

I have heard alot about Colette patterns but never gotten around to buy one, and try it for myself.
I really liked this dress, it has a 40s vibe (which I luuuuv) and a super cute neck line, and interesting curved and gathered details. By the looks of it, I will get plenty of buttonhole-practice too....!

I have lots of green linen I got from my mom, and I think it will be great for this dress.
So this is officially on my to-do-list!

Thank you again, Kathy! You are my lucky sewing star ;)

Old fashioned ponderings and treasures from the past

I love snail-mail.
Going out to my mailbox is kind of nostalgic, something that has always been a part of my day.
When I grew up, we didn't have a mailbox at our house, but we had one at our local post office, and as a little girl it was a big deal going there with my mum. She used to lift me up, so I could reach the keyhole and I got to turn the key and be the first to look inside. It was almost like a Christmas calendar all year round. Quite often there were letters from loved ones, my grannies that both lived far away often sent letters, and my aunties too. Around my birthday and Christmas was of course extra rewarding, mail-hunting-wise! But even letters to my sister and my parents were exciting. Letters from family were always read out loud when we got home.

When I got older, I found that I preferred writing my thoughts in a letter, rather than talking to someone. There is more time to choose your words and describe your emotions. I left home early, at only 16, but I remember writing letters to my grandmothers all the time. If I had a dispute with my parents, I often wrote letters to them afterwards, when I had calmed down and could think straight again. I was never good at confrontations.

And then there were letters of love :) Things you were too shy to say out loud just poured onto paper like water. The constant rephrasing and countless drafts, until it was just right. The thrill of finally letting go of the envelope corner and hearing it hitting the bottom of the mailbox, knowing there is no way back. He will receive it! The agonizing wait until you heard back, or got some clue that he had read your thoughts. Not to mention his replying letter. Or not. Love letters must be the most romantic thing ever...
Ah, youth :)

A lot of this is being lost in this computing age of ours. Emails are so quick, just a click of a button and it's at the receiving end. Before you can even say "receiving end". Sure, it is convenient for work and such, but for personal corresponding, I prefer that handwritten envelope in my mailbox. It saddens me a bit, that Christmas cards now are emails, and that people I know never send me postcards when they travel. Instead I get an email with photo attachments. There is something about that little piece of cardboard that you know comes from the other side of the planet. You can smell it, and hold it in your hand.
I still keep some of the letters my grannies wrote. They are sadly gone forever, but the letters are like little pieces of their life, conserved. The time they spent writing them, ARE those letters. The thoughts they were thinking are there, written on those very pages. When I read them, I can hear their voices in my head.

It's kind of weird, thinking about when I am old, or gone, there most likely will be nothing left that can tell my story. No old yellowing letters in a box with a ribbon around it. No handwritten diary. No old photo albums with stuff written on the backs of the photos. Best case scenario, there will be a computer, with some files on it. Electronic footprints. Imagine that... Can't even remember the last time I received a handwritten letter, and it's been over a year since a wrote a card... I guess I'm no better than anyone else, but I think I will write Christmas cards by hand this year ;)

This post was initially not intended to be such a philosophic one! If you're thinking "-Hey! This is not even remotely related to sewing!" you are kind of right.

But hang on!

I found this in my mailbox today! I almost forgot it was on it's way, from America! Although not handwritten, it still is lovely oldfashioned snailmail! 

A couple of weeks ago, the lovely Tasha wrote a great post on patterns and fabric inspiration for the Fall For Cotton-challenge. I had already decided on both a pattern and fabric, but the first pattern she listed in the post was purrrfect for a dress I need to sew for an upcoming event!

So, I scurried over to the Etsy-shop to check out the listing. It was both unsold AND my size!! What are the odds!??

Needless to say, I hit that Add-to-cart-button like I was on some quiz-show, and now it is mine!

It is a 1959 dress pattern from McCalls (#4987). It has a lined skirt with four unpressed pleats, front and back. Short sleeves cut in one with the bodice and a a contrasting panel down the front. And also supercute button trimming (and not so cute side zipper placket *gulp* ....yes, I have an issue with zippers.).

I can see this dress in so many different colors and print-combos. The variations are endless, and depending on the fabric, it can be both everyday and really dressy. Can't wait to sew it up!

Btw, while we were on the subject of writings from the past. Look what was written on this pattern envelope: "Momma's pattern". Don't you just love that?  :)

Pickled patterns

Hello good people of the blogosphere!

Just thought I would share some quick progress of my challenge-dress-project.

Although there is still no actual fabric fondling as of yet, I have started with some important preparatory work. :)

This pattern is the oldest one I own (until I go rampant on Etsy or Ebay), and dealing with paper that is nearly 70 years old can will have some negative impact on the pattern pieces. It is highly advisable to make copies of all pieces and the sewing description (use a photocopier for the latter). This allows you to enjoy your pattern multiple times without it turning to dust between your fingers. I must admit, the very first time I used a vintage pattern, I was so eager to get started it didn't even cross my mind that I should not be pinning and abusing the poor old paper. Although I treated it with care, I noticed how easy it would tear and all the pinmarks were rather unsightly.

So! This pattern will not suffer, and so I have now traced all the pattern pieces onto ordinary household paper for wrapping foods. There is of course proper pattern/tracing paper out there, or you could get some examination table paper if you're chummy with your GP :) I am going to get some "pro" paper, but for now, I play the part of novice. That's my story, and I am sticking with it!

It doesn't really matter what you use, as long as it is sheer enough so that the pattern pieces shows through.
My roll of paper is only 15" wide, obviously too narrow for bigger pieces, like full skirts. But fear not, just tape two (or more) strips together lenghtwise, and you'll be golden.
Before I started drafting my piece, I very carefully ironed it on a mid heat setting (no steam!!!). I also ironed my household paper so it would lay flat (do this before any taping!). Don't press down on your board, just smoothly glide your iron over it once. The ironing makes the paper a little static so it will cling on to your table. This is a good thing.

Now, just lay the pattern piece on your table, and then the tracing paper on top, taped side down. Many markers will not write on tape, or will smear off. Use a felt tipped pen (or just an ordinary pencil). I found that ballpoint pens sometimes leaves little blobs of ink that takes forever to dry, and then there's ink where you least want it.......

Finally, you trace away! The before-mentioned static electricity in the paper holds it nicely in place, and I had no issues with shifting while drafting. Use a ruler (if you haven't got an insanely steady hand) for all your straight lines. Do your best on the curves :) (I want one of these)
Tip: if you struggle with curves, it helps to rest your forearm on your work surface, and move your hand just at/from the wrist.

Be sure to get all the markings (dots, notches, lines, instructions etc.) onto your pieces. I also wrote on all pieces the pattern name (McCall 7000), in case I one day get the urge to start mixing and matching patterns.
After your done, pop all your originals back into the envelope and pickle in your stash forever :)
That's basically it! I'm sure there are other, more ingenious ways of doing this, but this worked for me.

If I haven't bored you all to death yet, be sure to check back later.
I'll be starting on my (first ever) muslin!

Goodies that crossed time and space..

Some of them more than others, but YAY!

Finally my latest Ebay purchases are here! All the way from America, to ME, here in tiny Norway :)

I have to admit, browsing for vintage sewing patterns have become one of my favourite pass times since I discovered sewing. The detailing and fit on "oldenday" garments are just so flattering, and I find myself drawn to fashions of the 40s. So feminine, elegant, and rather sexy without the need to show alot of skin. I have to say, I prefer it to nowadays fashion. It seems I can never find something ready-made that fits comfortably while being practical at the same time (and if I do, it's nothing remotely feminine or elegant). Don't even get me started on modern pants... Low waisted, slim fitted, crotch-imposing, hellish little garments. Ack.

However; In the middle of the little bunch below there is the Simplicity Retro pattern #3688. It contains pattern for a garment also know as the Yipppee-trousers over at lovely Debi's blog where I first saw it. Can't wait to try this pattern!

As you can see, there's a nice mix of styles from different eras. There's some beautiful victorian/steampunkish patterns (Butterick #5265 and #4954, and Simplicity #2207), that will some day be turned into riding attire (yes, you read that correctly, and yes, it involves a big furry animal). There's a 70s slip pattern from Sew Lovely, a Kwik Sew knit top pattern (prob. 80s), Butterick #4792 a 50s full skirt dress with adorable jacket. And then, the cherry on top; 1947 Mc Call dress pattern!! *Squee*

This one has got to be my absolute favorite of this batch. I don't know if I love it this much because it's pretty or the fact that it is 66 years old. I wonder who she were, the gal that bought this new. I like to think she was an awesome, stylish woman!

Have you gotten any "new" goodies in the mail lately? And what is your favourite pattern? I'd love to hear about it!