I'm so excited to finally get this idea started! For the past few weeks I've been busily sewing away 4 somewhat identical dresses for this special post series
Inspired by The Great British Sewing Bees segment in which contestants are all given the same garment and are challenged to do them up with fabric, trim and other decorative bits to create different looks. In much the same vein I'm going to take 4 long sleeved shift dresses and do them up with the following embellishments to give them more of a 60's look and feel.
• Peter Pan Collar and matching cuffs
• Pin tuck bib with lace trim
• Ruffle lace collar jabot and cuffs
• Band collar and cuffs
The idea of this series is to give you the ability to fine tune your modern purchases or those dowdy tired garments in your wardrobe. While its lovely to buy new things, its also important to recycle and buy second-hand. So if that means taking the time to do some sewing to improve the look, silhouette or style of a dress, then it will make you feel useful and clever in the end, and you'll have an individual and special item all of your own!
For most of these tutorials you will need a sewing machine, but I will also have some ideas for those of you with only a needle and thread.
All of these techniques can be applied to new dresses, second hand finds or something you've made yourself. For those of you who don't sew currently this would be a great starting point! Modifying clothing is a great way to introduce yourself to sewing and get to understand sewing terms and techniques.
The decorative elements for this project should all be easy to source at your local fabric store. You can even try op-shops and online to find genuine vintage or one off bits
Lace, ribbon, button kits, trim and plain cotton
In tangent with these posts I'll also be offering some insight into the foundations of the styles and how they became popular
Well I'll leave you with that little teaser for now - I hope you'll come back for the first post later this week!
While the 60's may belong to swinging London, attracting many Aussies to venture to the motherland to experience the excitement, fashion and music on offer, a few clever antipodeans decided to stay at home and start their own swinging Sydney.
One such pair were Merivale and John Hemmes.
The names Merivale and Hemmes now are more commonly known for the Merivale Group of bars and hotels, and their entrepreneurial son Justin Hemmes. You don't need to go too far in Sydney to find a venue owned by Merivale, one of the most popular being The Ivy nightclub on George Street along with delicious restaurants such as Mr Wong, Mrs G's and Ash St Cellar
But before they were in the Hospitality and entertainment industry, the Hemmes' were more well known for their fashion boutique - House of Merivale
Did you have a good weekend? As miserable as Mondays are there are always some good things to look forward to in the week.
That parcel that's due to arrive, the new shoes you plan to wear when it stops raining or seeing your friends next weekend. Mondays don't have to be so bad!
My Monday was made that little bit better by the arrival of this new pattern - you may remember that this pattern was the original that I wanted for my Pattie suit but I couldn't find it to buy at the time.
I spent way to much time this last weekend looking at all the 60s patterns in Etsy, and picked up 3 new pretties to add to my collection. It also reminded me that I need to continue with my series on 60's sewing pattern appreciation...
So here is the next installment of Dressing the Decade - 1963!
Its been a rainy Monday - how I wish I could have spent it lying in the warm grass with flowers and sun-rays and not soaking wet and cold on the train.
This song seemed most appropriate for my imaginings of where I'd rather be
Burda released a new range of dress patterns on Tuesday, one of them was this lovely bow back Maxi Dress. I may never get to make and wear this dress cause I don't often get invited to black tie events so I'd thought I'd bring this loveliness to your attention (and then maybe you can make it!)
The length, full skirt, pleated back and bows reminds me of something you might see in a 60s movie, worn by some ambassadors wife at a fancy ball, before the movies protagonist comes stumbling in spilling wine down her silk brocade gown...
Ahhh so much day dreaming...
Also! If you are in the US, or anywhere near a computer really - the first issue of BurdaStyle Magazine US was released recently. The editors plan to have a reoccurring feature where they call upon BurdaStyle members to share their sewing tips. This month they wanted tips on buttons and I submitted my tip on measuring buttons for a button hole and happily they featured it!
You can buy an online version of the magazine hereor wherever you might normally find sewing magazines in your town
I hope your all enjoying your week - Friday is almost here and then the weekend! Cat xoxo
Are you like me and tend to do all your sewing on the one machine? Not
everyone might own an over-locker, especially beginner sewers, but there is a
way to finish your edges very easily without having to buy or lug out your over
locker for what might only be a small job.
Most modern sewing machines come with a range of feet - one of which is the overcasting foot. It's a rather distinct foot and only serves one purpose - albeit a very good purpose.
A few months back I read Donovan's biography Hurdy Gurdy Man. Sarah from Where the Roses go and I were planning on doing a joint post, but Sarah is no longer at the blogging helm sadly!
How nice it is to finish projects - especially those which are so simple and leave you feeling like an expert!
This sewing project was an aim to get back to the simpleness of sewing and 60s design. A shift dress with contrasting collar and cuffs. No fussy bows or ruffles, just plain, simple and easy.
Something reminiscent of the mid-60s. A simple silhouette which suited many, and which was so different to the dresses of the previous years. A Peter Pan collar to recall the clothing of their childhood and cuffs to balance.
Do you often have those periods where everything seems
overwhelming? Since returning from my little work break, life has been quite a
full on little bastard. Mostly with work and lack of sleep and other issues
which I never managed to balance out properly. And then the massive wave of
tasks at work somehow took over my life to the point where I wouldn't leave
until 6pm. That's not a good finishing time for someone who has to commute an
hour sometimes and hour and a half home. I had started Yoga before my leave but
stopped due to a lack of time (and money)
With the recent bushfires in the Blue Mountains and also
thanks to a little visit with my friend and her baby, Jamie, It really has made
me learn to stop and enjoy my life. Work will always be there, but everything
else will pass by unnoticed if I don't take control of the boat, so to speak.
Waking up in the morning and feeling exhausted before I've even gotten out of
bed isn't a good feeling.
It's funny how we put this pressure on ourselves, but just
end up making mistakes and being exhausted from things that are totally within
our own control.
This is why I love spring. I honestly feel like there is a
coat that I shrug off when spring comes both physically and
metaphorically.
Getting back to owning my time and reassessing what I'm
doing, and not worrying about what I should or shouldn't be doing. Stopping
myself from putting up barricades and not getting angry when others keep theirs
up - these are all things that are motivating me right now.
Don't worry, this isn't an announcement to say I'm stopping
blogging or anything, this is just my mental release of everything that swims
around my head from time to time and brings me down.
The best way for me to asses my situation is to remember
those things that I love the most that make me happy or giggle lots.
Would you like to know some of those things are currently
keeping me sane happy?
Watching - All the Wes Anderson films. I started my Wes
Ander-thon on Sunday. A bit late to start one, but I'll pick up from The Royal Tenenbaumsthis
Friday
Eating - Bananas, in all forms. I'm not currently able to
bite, thanks to my lovely braces, so bananas in the form of cakes, bread and
smoothies are good easy and yummy
Listening to - Led Zeppelin. Last year I had a similar
listening obsession with Led Zeppelin, but that was an initial getting to know
their work, this time around I'm listening more carefully and understanding
their techniques. A lot of their music is quite up lifting to!
The Rain Song - from where the title of this post comes from
Obsessed with - Spring, her lovely flowers and the abundance
of sunlight that comes with it. This is when I start to like Sydney again and
spend a lot of time staring out the window at the trees and also the baby ducks
that are living in the pond near my window at work.
Sewing - I'm yet to name her, but the black dress with white
collars and cuffs is my current project. Making this most basic of dresses is
also helping with my stress release
Worried about - the bushfires in the Blue Mountains. My
Boyfriends cousin lives at the base of the mountains and they were on "watch an
act" alert, which is the next down from evacuate. They have a beautiful
property and we have lots of family parties there. Their doing ok and the
bushfires have been downgraded for now.
** You can make a donation to the Red Cross here to assist
those who have lost their homes
Or if you are an animal lover you can also make a donation
here to WIRES who are doing a very good job rescuing and treating animals that
live in the bushfire affected area **
Something new - My Kikki K purchases. I do actually do a good job at work and sometimes people give me "reward points" which I always spend on Kikki K vouchers
A sentence a day diary, to do list, gold stripe pen and cute magnetic bookmarks
Also the new collection from Yeye Vintage Boutique, with lots of 60s and 70s gorgeousness to buy
Excited for - summer holidays! I've put my leave in for work
- 3 lovely weeks of relaxing, celebrating and of course sewing.
Life in general - Is pretty good! I'm healthy, my braces are
doing their thing and it's my favourite time of year - why shouldn't I be
happy?
How's everything going for you dear reader? I hope life is
being kind to you! Feel free to tell me your own list of things that are making you happy in your comment
Mmm Peter Pan collars. Aren't they just delish? And paired with matching cuffs on a cute shift, make for the idyllic 60's dress. I'm not sure how this trend started. Perhaps it was to replicate men's business shirts with the white collar and cuffs on a contrasting fabric? But with a cuter, sweeter edge. Regardless, I'm smitten with this neat mod look and as such my next project is very much influenced by the following images.
Do you often make muslin's when your sewing? or Toile's or Calico's?
They're all the same thing but named differently depending on where you live. In Australia, we apparently call them calico's but considering the majority of my sewing education comes from books, YouTube and blogs, I've ended up calling any garment that is a practice garment a Muslin
Normally I make my muslin's out of left over fabric, old sheets or fabric from the op-shop. I rarely buy actual calico from the store because its actually quite expensive! Its cheaper to buy home spun plain cotton. Go figure.
Wearable muslin's however are another deal. Sometimes I make up a garment without any adjustments or edge finishes as they're intended to be a test, but they end up being wearable. And other times I make things with the intention of wearing them out, but they end up not really being the best. This is one of those kinds of projects. (kinda)
Oh my it's been a rather busy few days for me! Sewing and visiting friends, working late and birthday dinners. Very tricky to fit in more than one blog post a week sadly.
How has the past few days been treating you? Nicely I hope!
I've decided to make up for my absence with a chunky new addition to Dressing the Decade!
Hello there all you lovely people! Its been a very busy week for myself. Working late, crafting up engagement presents and trying to make a dress for this weekend which is taking way longer then normal.
Why is this you may ask? Well the fabric I chose for this task, while lovely and very nice for going out, is having a small fight with my machine. They just don't want to hang out with each other, so I've have to bring in a mediator
The fabric I chose is a stretchy knit gold Lurex. It has a really lovely drape and because its knitted, I can cut the hem in any shape as I please and it wont unravel and fray all over the place.
But the downside is that my machine has trouble picking up and carrying the fabric through the feed dog. It bunches, it skips stitches and generally makes sewing a dress a lot more stressful than normal
To help the machine and the fabric get along, I simply take a piece of grease proof paper and layer it over the fabric. In the below image you can see that the top layer is normal lining fabric and underneath is the paper.
I actually finished this last weekend, but never got to take photos! Cheeky me, but finally this lovely lady is complete and I love it! Its soft and feminine and even if it's really more 70s than 60s, I must argue - for its inspiration comes from one of the great ladies of the 60s - Barbara Hulanicki
This coming weekend is not only a long weekend, but its also the start of daylight savings which means lots more sunlight before and after work
Around this time every year, my sketch books and ideas lists quickly become full perhaps because of the extra light, warm weather and the increase of activity in the garden and in nature. The anticipation of summer and the festive season also provides lots of reasons to come up with fun new dresses to make.
Here are some of the dresses that are helping me with these ideas. They're also the kind I wish I could just pluck off the screen in the morning to wear and head off for the day feeling super
Two of the techniques I managed to obtain while making the Barbara dress
(photos yet to come!) were French seams and rolled hems. Both are good
techniques for light materials such as chiffon or silk as they both hide the delicate
edges within the seam and give a nice clean finish
Today I will show you French seams - which are
apparently called English seams in
France (couture anglaise), and also a neat little technique which is ideal for
curves while using delicate fabrics
French seam
The French seam requires you to make two lines of stitches – one in
the seam allowance and one on the normal seam line. It’s ideal for nice soft
fabrics as it encases the raw edge within in the seam. Some fabrics do not take
well to being overlocked and so the less it's fussed around with, the
better. They are also good for medium weight fabrics and children’s
clothes as they are hardy and tend not to unravel on often washed garments
On Sunday, my boyfriend and I took a little visit to the city to see the
exhibition - The Beatles in Australia!
The exhibition details the hype before, during and after The Beatles
tour to Australia in June 1964.
It was a pretty thorough and exciting exhibition, with lots of newspaper
clippings, magazines, promotional merchandise and newsreel footage for visitors
to read. There were also listening booths set up to hear from people who were
there recall their own experiences with the tour and a mini diner set with a jukebox
and dining table so you could sit and flick through scrapbooks put together by
various Beatles fans
You can view the entire photo album over here on my Flickr, but here are
a few stand outs of the exhibition
At the start of the week, the weatherman promised us a week of 29 to 30 degree temps every day, and lots of sunshine! Just the perfect weather for me to start pulling out my dresses that I haven't worn since March/April. And combined with the early sunrises (5:30am) there is plenty of daylight for me to finally start taking some outfit photos!
So I made an effort to take a photo of my outfit for work each day (except Friday where i was running late) so here we go!
So far I have really enjoyed making this dress. Sewing with a different fabric in a new style is rather refreshing! And as this is underlined, managing 2 pieces of fabric that move around a lot has been a learning experience
To recap, this dress as named after the BIBA genius herself Barbara Hulanicki, will be modeled on this pattern - Style 1118 (1975)
We had planned to go to the Beatles exhibition today, but decided to wait as we thought that it might be a crowded for opening day, so instead we stayed home had pancakes and watched movies all day
One movie I like to watch largely for the visuals is Who are you, Polly Magoo?
This movie from 1966 takes a satirical look at the fashion industry and its opulence
The main protagonist is Polly Magoo. Model and It Girl from New York who everyone is enamored with.
A TV show interviews her and the host falls in love, while a Prince sees her photo in a magazine and falls for her also, ordering for his best secret agents to go find her.
I honestly thought I wouldn't like this dress once it was complete. I liked the fabric, but it had a kind of cliché 60s feel to it with the daisies and bright green and so on, but now that it’s sewn up, I’m pretty darn happy that it is so typically 60s
One of the great things about taking holidays on a work day is that you get to go to the museums when they're empty! So today I took advantage of that and went to 3. Well not really 3, more like 2 and a half (The ABC centre isn't really a museum, but it did have an exhibit!)
So! How have we all been so far this week? I’m rather excited because
after lots of being sick and in toothy pain, I have finally finished the drop
waist dress! I have decided to call it the Tuffindress after Sally Tuffin from the 60s design duo, Foale and Tuffin.
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