1930's suit again.......

........but this time with a new belt:

I used every piece I had left over from the blouse to make this new belt. This is how it was ment to be in the first place. This belt won't cut me in half and it will give me a more slender silhouette than the first option. Still need to find that buckle and make some wholes ;) Suitable for a Christening or a Christmas party, don't you think?

1930's Ladies two piece dress........

.....is finished.

Lets go back to the beginning.

I had these fabric in my closet for years, and I mean YEARS. At least 8 of them. About 2 yards of each fabric or 1 1/2 metre of each fabric. So when Vintage Pattern Lending Library asked for pattern testers once more, I knew I had to say yes to the challenge.
 

The pattern arrieved :)

I was quite happy to see that I had just enough fabric for the skirt and belt. No room for error here.

The tiny amount at the bottom left corner of the picture, were tossed. Too small for anything and not suitable in a quilt.

Here's the closure closed.........

.....and open. I went for the bigger snaps to make sure they will stay closed or open as I please and not as they please.

The side. It was really easy to make this skirt and I didn't have to make any alterations. Just sew it all together with a smaller seam allowance than the pattern asked for.

Front. English is not my native language and I would guess that this pattern will be bought by others not being native english speaking people. So.. a diagram showing just the front pleats might be a thing to consider.

Anyway, the skirt is finished and it fits me real well :D

And then it's time to make the blouse:

I didn't make any major alterations to the blouse. To make sure it would fir me I added a few inches from a B36 to a B40. In retrospect I wouldn't need to add as much to the arms as I did.

I read and learned a new way of making button wholes.

Maybe not as beautiful as they could have been since it was my first go at this, but I'm pleased after all :) So far so good.

Then there was the necline.I sure needed to read and read the instructions again and again until I got my head around this. A diagram for the neck part alone would have helped me a lot. There's no measurement given for the front neckline either. This might cause a problem with it being too long or too short.

I looked at the diagrams and read the txt over and over agai for the cuffs as well. They do have a pattern piece but no information about any button wholes. So I made mine without wholes and just used snaps with a suitable button on the right side of the cuffs. Works perfectly.

And here's the neckline done and topstitched as well. At this point I haven't hem stitched the lining.

Almost there.

Just about to add the buttons......

Ta da...

I'm really going to use this suit every chance I get. It suits me fine and I love the colours and the shape it gives me.

Bring on the next pattern......

Progress?

I think the progress would have greater had I done things by the book. Oh well......

Didn't enlarge the pattern for the arm enough so I had to leave out the fold all together. Then the cuff fit right in where they should. But having lace instead of a fold? I think it looks good. I also used sewing thread with a bit darker tone than the fabric to accommodate the colour of the embroidery. Since this is a thin fabric I used french seams, and that will help the cuffs to stand up as well since they are made out of a single layer of fabric. I might have to add a small stitch or two just to make sure.  The back piece is done, I just have to figure out how to sew the  front and back together since the back piece is shorter than the front pieces.

All of these questions could have been answered a long time ago had I made a muslin.....but I didn't take the time.........this time :)

Doing magic on the E1000

 

I thought I had enlarged the pattern enough to fit me, but obviously I didn't.

The arms were just too tight and I didn't have enough fabric to cut out a pair of new arms. So I added a piece of lace and reduced the size of the fold.

 

 

 Here's how it looks like on the wrong side..... cutting's done half way down.

 

And this is how it looks like on the right side. Will be better when finished :) At least the arm are wide enough to suit me now.... and even better when I lose a few more pounds....

 

 

Then there's these fabrics. About 3 yards each. I don't know how to use them or for what. If you have a really good idea, please let me know..... :9

 

50 % original....

Found this front on Etsy. Not sure I wanted to buy, but I liked them a lot.

It's obviously been a blouse and neatly taken apart.

 

The folding and seamlines were still very visable but not impossible to hide/reuse.

 

This is the reason why I bought the pieces.

 

I don't have that lovely slim neck from younger ladies but I still think it looks good. I used snapp buttons so I wouldn't ruin the original pieces. Not bad. I like it. Now it is in need for a good walking suit :)

More lace

 

I have some lace in my stash but not sure if it's enough.

Soo... I bid on this piece at eBay........and won. It's 5 1/2 yards and I hope that is enough for a summer dress or an evening dress when I add it to the other lace in my stash.
I'm almost done with the collar to the E0219 blouse. When those are done I will go ahead with the main parts of the blouse. Alter between embrodery and stitching on the sewing machine to keep me from being bored with one task :)

Blouse progress

You see? The first pice of the collar is almost done. Sometimes it feels like it takes forever to finish just one scallop but ........then three is actually done. I've never done this before and it is not perfectly stitched but it's going to look great when it's finished. I am wondering if this embroidery will give enough weight to the light fabric since it's going to be a single layer, I will have tp wait and see. I hope everything turns out the way I plan. It sure is going to be a summer blouse :)

By the way, see this:

 

I was the winner of the give away I talked about in the previous post in Norwegian. Not bad, eee? :D

The collar of the blouse

 

It's not easy to see, but the colour of the fabric is a very light pink so I'm using a light pink but in darker tone.

The scallops are only outlined and filled with another thread that is not going to show when all the stitching is done.

Even thoug I have done a lot of embroidery over the years I have never really practiced this technique. So far it's looking good. I started with the collar since they are the smaller pices and I wouldn't waste a lot of fabric and thread if I'm not pleased with the result. I'm using one stand of DMC embroidery thread and for the filling and outline of the scallops I've used Aurfil 28w. That's what I had on hand.....and a lot of.

Ready to begin

Here's the pattern for the embroidery part cut out. I have my light pink fabric and my pink lace. I was thinking about doing the embroidery on one pice of fabric with fine thread since the fabric is very fine as well. Almost a "see through" fabric. This way the hip pieces won't feel more solid than the rest of this blouse. I will use one strand of DMC embroidery thread. It will be thin enough and it will give enough hold to the embroidery to withstand washing :)

Back on track?

 I just found out that I missed this project too much to just let it rest. Sooo...I just printed out the pattern for:

E1000 Lady's Blouse....

 

.... and E400 Ladies Wrap.

I think I have enough silk for the wrap but am not sure until I've looked through my stash.

I have one for sewing and one for quilting :) Thinking about adding some fine lace to the blouse and make it a front opened blouse.

SO....here i go again :)

 

Progress........

This is the two embroidered waist fronts that I bought from a wonman on Etsy a while back. They were a bit grey with some spots. I took a huge risk and put them in the washing machine. They are 100% linen, that's why I did it. Looking good :)

To make sure that the waist would be big enough for me, I added a piece of linen on both front parts. They are hidde behind the old fabric. The old ones didn't have any button wholes, only traces after snaps, so that's what I used as well.

I don't have a pattern for a victorian polonaise with skirt, so I'm playing around and testing my ideas. Not sure what to do from here.......

This hat has been in the making since June this year. I still need something on the edge to hide the wire. I think it's looking really good on me.

Tried to take pictures from the behind while I had it on but that was not an easy task. I used this blue ribbon and ivory lace to make it suitable for a walking suit I'm going to make in royal blue corderoy. Where can I find hat boxes for my hats that don't empty my wallet?

Here I am.........

.....with the Afternoon wrap....

....E0335 Ladies blouse..........

.......the E0200 Skirt with scallops....

and a strawhat made of paper (in China) covered with fabric, lace and roses. Alovely complete outfit anno 1912. I didn't use my chemise or corset this time.