Monday 23 May 2011

Fussy Fabrics

I never thought that finding the fabric for my course next weekend would be so stressful!  I don't have a decent fabric shop close by so most of my time this week has been spent on the internet trawling fabric websites for inspirtaion. I found Sharons Antquies particulatly helpful (although American) as it has lots of fabrics organised by decade and allowed me to get a feeling for the types of print.

I'd already decided that I wanted a fairly lightweight fabric as this dress would be for summer and I also wanted a summery colour with a floral print.  I love the vintage fabrics from Donna Flower but I'm too chicken just now aboutt messing up on my first project so figure that a cheap fabric would be best until I get a little more confident in what I'm doing.

Now such is the way on the internet I then also came across this gorgous paisley print fabric at The Vintage Fabric Market it got me hunting all over again.

So not only do I need to decide on a print but also the type of fabric.  This is not good for someone that hates making decisions.  I've just not quite seen that fabric that says "buy me" maybe I never will or at least I wont while I have to rely on the internet.  I'm abit of a fondler and like to touch clothing and fabrics before I buy them but I guess I'm just going to have to get over this if I want to get a half decent print.

I think for now I'll have to settle for what ever I can find locally that is cheap at least then I won't feel guility if I mess this project up next weekend ...

Monday 16 May 2011

Sewing Spectacular ...

I've been so busy this week that I've rarely had time to myself what with work, scouts and visiting friends so my grand ideas of vintage fashion have been on the back burner a little. However that's not totally stopped me spending those pennies.

I'm a rather awkward shape at only 5'1" with a 30" waist and 40" bust I'm discovering that its nire on impossible to find vintage clothing with dimensions even close to this.  So I've decided to dust off my dress making skills.  So far I've only really used my sewing machine to make the inevitable adjustments to clothing I've bought off the peg.  I'll happily unpick a bust line to take it out and also take in the waist but this does rely on seam allowances being generous which isn't always the case.  So over the last few weeks I've been hunting for vintage clothing patterns and have just enrolled on a dress making course to remind myself just how to follow a pattern. I think the last pattern I followed was for my graduation ball gown back in 1999 .. omg that feels a long time ago!

For the dress making course I've decided to take this pattern with me as it’s got quite a vintage feel to it.  Now all I've got to do is decide on the fabric which is proving to be more of a challenge as I have no decent fabric shops close by.  I'm really excited about going and can't wait to get the creative juices going.  I'm always so frustrated by the shape of available dresses in shops and have always been on that hunt for the dress that fits like a glove but a lass I always go away with a sense of disappointment or the knowledge that I'm going to have to spend 2 hours adjusting a £60 dress.

So watch this space for all my attempts be them a success or a complete failure!

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Its a Wonderful Life ..



My love of vintage (especially the 1940's) started along time ago .. so long ago that I can't even remember what started it all off. However I've never quite gotten the confidence to actually embrace vintage fashion. Then this Christmas I had the opportunity to go and see Its a Wonderful Life on the big screen which re-ignited my interests and I started occasionally looking on websites and looking over pictures. Later, Land Girls started on the BBC and yet again I thought "I could pull that off" they all look so glamorous despite the era in which they had to live.

So I've decided to document my findings, experiments and musings. I've already found so much inspiration over the last month and am looking forward to seeing just what I can do.