Baby you can drive my car

I’ve been working on this early 60s coat for awhile and I finished the hand stitching this weekend.

Initially it had a collar but I didn’t have enough fabric to make a full front facing so off came the collar!

The fit is similar to the 50s style car coats – it’s shapeless and only has 2 small darts at the back to stop it looking too sack like. The pattern I used was Butterick 2624

Fabric-a-brac

This Saturday I woke up nice and early to catch the train into Newtown for the Fabric-a-brac pop up shop.

Newtown is one of those special places in a big city. You can dress as you wish and no one will blink an eye. It's the alternative centre of Sydney and you'll find many shops to support people's love for vintage clothing or mid-century home wears as well as piercing and tattoo parlours, cyber Goth outfitters and plenty of hairdressers who will style your hair to match your outfit. In international terms it could probably be compared to Camden Town in London or Portland, Oregon. It's become very popular for upper middle class families and lots of high end boutiques have moved in lately, but that's ok. Its underbelly is still owned by the weird and wonderful!

My friends and I Ioved it so much as teenagers we would replace the words of Petula Clarks Downtown with Newtown and sing it on the train on the way there!

Pattern Purchases & Pop Up Shops

I had a little shopping spree this morning on eBay and bought a few cute dress patterns from the late 60s

McCalls 8917 from 1967

It's says it’s a teen pattern so I might have to make a muslin first just in case there's any trickiness across the shoulders. The long-sleeve version looks like it will be great in a soft viscose rayon or silk. Hope fully I can find one in a fun psychedelic print

Listen & Look : Donovan - Guinevere

Listen

And look

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Dedicated Follower of Fashion - Green Dolly

I work in a fairly big company and although they are a pretty relaxed and flexible place, I work in the very Business-y part of the business and so I'm expected to look dressed and pressed each day.

Normally early 60s dressing lends itself very well to corporate wear - wiggle dresses, twin sets and lovely dress/jacket combos, but it's all a bit done in my opinion. 

People stop referring to it as 60s and call it "Mad Men inspired". Now don't get me wrong I love Mad Men and Pan Am when that was on, and will put on my dress/jacket combo when the occasion calls but there is a whole other half of the decade to wear!

Green Shell Top Tutorial

Today I will be showing you a variation on Burda Shift Dress 09/2012 #107

This variation turns the top into a tank style top with a cross back. You can use Burda 09/2012 #107 or Collette patterns Laurel as your base as we only need the front and part of the back of the pattern.

If you have another pattern for a shift dress or plain top, you can use this too! I will instruct you to make this top to fit you so make sure you have your measuring tape and if you have one a dressmakers mannequin or packing tape shell (if you ever made one). I don't have a mannequin and I did ok so don't worry if you don't have one

Friday eye candy

Seeing as it’s that most special of days (Friday!) I thought I’d treat you all to some 60s eye candy.

So many lovely sewing and styling ideas

Happy Weekend!

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Catherine Deneuve and David Bailey

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White Summer (The Yardbirds)

Its been getting much much colder here in Sydney lately, but I've just added this spring top to my Burdastyle studio

A lovely White cotton gaberdine shell top with cross-back straps and detachable bow

I know it might not be 60s in anyway, but I thought id share it with you because... well, I made it!

To get us back to our scheduled programming here is the first thing I ever posted on Burdastyle. A navy linen shift dress...

Check out my bob haircut! I miss it sometimes

This was back in the day where I didn't know what facings were and thought I had to do teeny tiny hems along the neck and arm holes! Even though I've been sewing since I was a child, this was my first dress, from a pattern and without my mum present to help me. 

How far I've come!

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New Penzance Island - Style 2475

Here’s a little tid bit about me. I love Wes Anderson. I love his movies and TV commercials. I could watch The Darjeeling Limited over and over and when I'm in a sooky mood, Fantastic Mr Fox cheers me up. But none of his movies have inspired me fashion wise since The Royal Tenenbaums until Moonlight kingdom

Suzy Bishop – the young heroine of the movie has a pretty enviable set of outfits. The wardrobe was put together by Kasia Walicka Maimone who was interviewed in the Lula Issue 16 (where she talked about working with Wes and making the costumes for the movie)

Also did I mention the whole movie is set in the 60s? (whoo hoo!)

So of course I couldn't help myself but sew up my own version of Suzy’s yellow mini dress. She wears this at the end of the movie while Sam paints and her brothers listen their record. Suzy's appears to be made in yellow broderie anglaise

A sewing related music video?

Check out this video by Black Books, which utilises thread, fabric scraps, pins, buttons and the occasional water droplet to create a moody and dramatic scene

Who knew your sewing box could be so edgy? 

LinkConnector Validation

Beat it on down the line

So I thought I'd show you what I'm currently busy working on and what I've got planned for the next few months of sewing...

I've recently bought this fabric print in Cotton Sateen from Spoonflower which I intend on making into a skirt and jacket outfit.

I've never sewn a tailored jacket before and am yet to find a decent tailoring supplies store in Sydney. So it's gonna be interesting!

 This is my inspiration image. I don't have this pattern and it isn't for sale anywhere I've looked, so instead I will use a combination of 2 other patterns Burdastyle Mini Skirt 08/2012 #135 (without pockets) and Burdastyle Jorinde 4112. I may change the lapel of the jacket slightly.

The skirt I have sewn many times, so that will be a cinch. The jacket - well I'll keep you included in my attempt at tailoring!

Vogue 7219

 So lets kick off then shall we?

Step in shirt dress with or without top-stitch trim has bias collar and full length shirt sleeves; pockets in side seams

Last year I purchased this sweet shirt dress pattern from eBay. It's a lovely dress from 1967 and has all those things you'd expect from a late 60s dress like Bishop Sleeves and the wide tent shape

Why hello there!

Welcome to what I hope is the first of many posts on Sewing the 60s!

I’ve been obsessed with the 60s since I was a little kid, dressing up like a flower child and listening to The Beatles and Pink Floyd with my dad. I used to watch Peter Sellers movies and Get Smart and dream of wearing the beautiful dresses and outfits those pretty dolly birds wore. My mother once passed onto me a vinyl beach bag covered in multicoloured daisies and as much as I wanted to use it, I also decided not to because even at that young age I knew it was a treasured token of my mothers childhood and of the 60s.

Fast forward 20 or so years and I finally have the skills and historical knowledge to make those charming outfits for myself. I may only be making replicas of those delicious garments  but ill try to do so with the same spirit and freedom of that wonderful decade. 

So join me on this journey through sewing the 60s. I may also slip in some Craft, Fashion and Social history (another love of mine) as well as venture into some other decades of which 60s fashion would not have existed without!

Thanks and Welcome to Sewing the 60s!