vintage may: inspired by rosie the riveter

May 19, 2014May 19, 201420 Comments

we’re back with week 2 of vintage may! last week, Jess and i launched this year’s festivities with a joint photoshoot with our little gals, and today, we both decided it’d be fun to sew vintage-inspired looks for ourselves!

i decided to sew a look inspired by the female propaganda icon of World War II, Rosie the Riveter.

“Rosie” was the face of a government campaign to bring women to the workforce to take on jobs traditionally done by men while they were away at war – especially in munitions and aviation factories. it portrayed factory work as patriotic, and Rosie has since been adopted as a symbol of women’s strength and feminism. i can get behind that! the expectation was that women would return to their former jobs/lives after the war, but the symbol of Rosie lived on, as women realized they could do work traditionally done by men and they could do it well!

in doing the research for this post i saw that the “we can do it” poster commonly associated with Rosie the Riveter isn’t actually supposed to depict her which is a bit confusing, so hey, let’s talk about the clothes.

i wanted to make an outfit that nodded to Rosie’s traditional blues, but could be worn as present-day wardrobe staples as well. i used Grainline Patterns to create both the shirt and the shorts. it was the first time i’d used Grainline garment patterns (i sewed a Portside Duffle around Christmas) and i’m totally in love with these clothes! i keep finding excuses to wear them! i’m now a Grainline groupie!

the shirt is the Archer, sewn in a navy swiss dot from Mill End. i sewed a size 8 straight up and it fits great. it’s flattering and easy to wear and i love wearing it. i actually used the Archer sew along on the Grainline website as my instructions – the one thing i noticed with Grainline is the actual pattern instructions are pretty bare bones, but Jen does a great job of posting photo sewalongs on her website that even include Wes Anderson-style videos for the trickier parts. love that.

a button down shirt is the kind of garment where taking your time on the details really pays off and it can be intimidating; but the result is just so great it was worth the time and effort for sure.

aaaaand since i’m not quite back to my normal shape around the midsection and need to be able to nurse a baby on a moment’s notice, it’s a perfect wardrobe staple for me right now. i definitely need more Archers in my closet!

now the shorts! they are the Maritime Shorts, also by Grainline, also in an 8 with no modifications. and again, there is a sewalong, which i used as my instructions and loved (especially since i got stuck on step 1 – be sure to snip into your seam allowance BEFORE you try to match those curves up!). this was my first time inserting a zip fly and though i have no photos of it finished, it went in great! like a dream! new technique mastered.

i’ve actually been struggling with finding good shorts most of my adult life – i don’t want to look like a teenager but i don’t want knee-length either, and most of the shorts i go try on are either too short/tight or too long/matronly. i love how these fit. maybe i’d add a tiny amount of length next time but they’re not uncomfortably short for me by any means! i sewed them in a nice chambray (again from Mill End) and they’re super comfy. ready for summer!

my headscarf is just a 31″ square of red polka dot cotton (similar here).

now as badass Rosie, i INSIST you go check out Jess’s creation. she looks so great in her vintage-inspired wear. and hey, she took my photos today! super fun to have a fellow sewing blogger as photographer – too bad she lives so far away and we can’t do it more often! thank you so much, Jess!

the midcentury traveler + a little dirndl skirt tutorial

May 12, 2014May 12, 201433 Comments

vintage may 3 starts today!

Jess and i are excited to kick the festivities off with projects for our little gals. i’m calling my look “the midcentury traveler.” my imaginary backstory is that E is getting ready to catch a train to go summering back east with her grandparents in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

and guess what? she’s taking her best friend with her!

twirly pocket skirt tutorial

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charcoal scoop top

April 29, 2014May 15, 201414 Comments

so i’m blogging this one, and i’ll wear it, but i’m a bit disappointed in it.

it’s the fabric. i’ve made this mistake a couple times – i get drawn in by the softness and drapeyness of knit blends with modal in them, and each time i’ve sewn with that stuff i learn how difficult it is. it moves, it stretches, and it clings to the body in not-so-great ways. the other project i made with it never got blogged, it was so unwearable. it’s just so pretty on the bolt!

the pattern is my free scoop top pattern. i’d been hankering to sew for myself again (it’s the spring top sewalong and selfish sewing week after all!) so i grabbed this fabric out of my stash on a whim. unfortunately, all knits are not created equal, and this one just wasn’t right for the project. sigh. i really like the color and it’s fine layered with a cardigan, but getting a clean-looking hem just wasn’t possible here. if you make a scoop top, promise you’ll use something a little more stable and a less slinky, okay? like a nice jersey. the rayon jersey i used for this one seems to be the most successful, wearability-wise.

see that weird, wavy hem? ugh.

also, the neckline stretched waaaaaay out and didn’t snap back, even after a spritz with water and a toss in the dryer. it’s the scoopiest scoop top ever, and not on purpose.

i sewed something for myself, though! it’s still so rare for me, it’s always a bit exciting. since this top, i’ve made a couple of very successful self-sewing projects i can’t wait to show you…but i’ll just need to hold my horses until the proper month!

typewriter heart pillow

April 22, 2014April 22, 201412 Comments

my little niece turned 3 recently, and a couple weeks before her birthday my sis asked me if i could sew a quilted pillow to go in her “big girl room.” she gave me a sham from the bedding set she had ordered to coordinate with, and set me loose design-wise. her new bedding was inspired by the balloon dress i made that she seems to be wearing every time i see her lately – it sure does make you feel good to sew a gift that is so well loved, ya know? i was actually going to sew her another dress until this request came in. 😉

i decided to make a simple log cabin pillow showcasing some special fabric. i wanted it to have enough contrast to stand out against the pink/cream balloon bedding my sis had bought (see below) didn’t want it to be too serious – it had to have whimsy! and i happen to think typewriters typing hearts with gold polka dots is pretty darn whimsical.

my friend ~~Kelly~~ (nope, Kelly says not her – probably Jess but she can’t remember) had given me a fat quarter of this super special Ruby Star Rising typewriter fabric (Melody Miller for Kokka – couldn’t find the typewriters online but Superbuzzy and Miss Matatabi have some Ruby Star Rising left). it was so generous of her – i’d never owned any of Melody’s fabric but always admired it, and i’m ridiculously excited about cotton + steel, too!

it pained me to do it, but i trimmed off a few inches on each side, then added a 1” border of dear stella confetti sparkle and then a 1.5” border of kona charcoal.

i backed it with more confetti sparkle and a scrap of kokka polka dots from this coat. i ended up super happy with this fabric combination…it just made me smile when i brought it all together.

the quilting is a diagonal grid 2” apart – consulted Jess for quilting advice and whether to add the second boarder, sometimes I have trouble with quilting vision and she has it in spades. it’s hard to show in photos but i love how the darker border splits up the polka dots and makes the front look like it’s floating in a frame.

i also made a little raw edged heart pillow with scraps from Em’s hide-and-seek dress. it’s got a little Liberty pocket for secret treasures (or maybe baby teeth, when it’s time for her to lose some!). Em stuffed it for me!

i felt like it needed a special (wonkily) hand stitched touch, so i stitched around the bottom right typewriter heart with embroidery thread. the pillow closes with an invisible zipper and there’s a down pillow inside (from IKEA).

the little gal seemed to be a fan and it went really well in her room! these photos were actually taken in Em’s new room (she switched with the boys before C’s birth but i can’t do a proper tour for ya until i sew her some curtains, sorry).

quilted pillows are such a fun gift to give!

kcw spring 2014 :: constellations pajamas

April 16, 2014April 15, 20149 Comments

i’m way late on blogging this but i did sew it on day 5 of kids clothes week, so it’s getting labeled as such. we had friends coming into town last weekend and their little guy had recently turned one, so i had to make him something! HAD TO! but what to make?

i started with just the eye shirt, which was heavily inspired by this one i spotted on pinterest. pretty fun, right?

i drew the eyes and freezer paper stenciled them onto a 18-24 month short sleeved flashback skinny tee. i didn’t hem it because i ran out of black thread (ha!) but works as a casual/pajama shirt. the black is a basic t-shirt weight jersey knit.

but i couldn’t stop there…i made a pair of pajama pants too! there was some serious speed sewing here – i made this entire outfit in an hour and a half. this, apparently, is how mothers of 3 are able to sew – gotta take advantage of those naps and sew like the wind!

the pants are bedtime story pajamas in 18-24 months. i picked a larger size than i thought he’d need and figured they’d probably be huge on him (because my kids are so shrimpy that’s what i’m used to), but he’s a bit big for his age and they fit with just the right amount of growing room. i’m so glad i “sized up!” nothing worse than sewing a too small gift.

neither of his parents has red hair, but check this kid out! such a cutie. i have no idea how to dress a redhead but took a guess that he might look good in black, and he does.

the pajama bottom fabric is from Lizzy House’s Constellations line (pretty sure this print is out of stock online, I got it a long time ago) with kona olive bindings. i recently stocked back up on my beloved kona olive – i still maintain it goes with everything!