'Oh no', I hear you all groan...'not another apron!' But indeed it is so, I just can't seem to help myself. I won another gorgeous 1950s pattern on ebay – this time a Hollywood one – and it would be rude not to try it out!

I'm making View 5, which is the one on the left of the bottom row. The body is going to be made from a purple with white polka dot cotton and the waist/tie part is going to be made from a floral cotton. In my head it looks beautiful, hopefully it will turn out beautiful in real life too!


Wednesday, September 29, 2010
I've been very busy lately making cute accessories that could be cool gifts for girlie friends ;o)

I've made these little clutch bags before, but I still maintain that they are a great use of vintage fabric scraps. The body of each clutch is made from the coolest 1950s fabric that I frequently buy from a great ebay supplier called vintagepretty. Sadly, the fabric is pricey so I only buy fat quarters and my clutch bags are fairly small (approx. 7.5in across and 5in deep) – ideal for holding the essentials on a night out though. However, I am working on different and bigger designs...so watch this space!









I've also been making versatile broaches that can be used to decorate items of clothing or accessories like bags, shoes, headbands and so on. They are actually very time-consuming and fiddly to make, but completely irresistible I think. They are such an excellent way of putting scraps to good use, I'm smitten with them!










Sunday, September 26, 2010
I've expanded my apron collection (remember my buttons and bows apron minus the buttons and bows?) by going a touch crazy with Simplicity 1805:

 
The variations were so pretty that I decided to make them all...apart from view 3, as I didn't have any Ric Rac to hand. I also made alterations to view 4 by sewing the 'ruffle' shape onto the body of the apron and by omitting the pockets to better show off the fabric's pattern.

Aprons are so much fun to make as you can be really creative with notions and colours and generally go a bit wild! They are deceptively time-consuming though and if I'm going to be selling them on my friend's website (launching on 1 October), I have to seriously consider pricing in a way that doesn't alienate people, but is also worth my while. Any suggestions on pricing would be very welcome please! Anyway, without further ado, I introduce:

Strawberry Polka Dots




Pin-Up Polkas




Strawberry Red




Friday, September 17, 2010
The other day I 'won' (actually paid a fair bit of money for) a beautiful piece of history on eBay, which turned out to be even better in the flesh than I could ever have hoped for, considering its 73 years. Home Notes (June 19, 1937) – a weekly women's magazine back in the day - is in excellent condition and best of all...squeeeaaalll...it came with the pattern pieces and instructions for the four dresses on the front cover! Oh, and did I mention that it's my size too!?!


I've not yet had the time to read it cover-to-cover, but I've posted some more pictures below to try and give you a taste of it's content, which is filled with: fashion tips, recipes, hilarious adverts, cute anecdotes, romantic fiction and a even a racy problem page dealing with how parents should answer their children's questions about sex.





 







I'm seriously in love with this little treasure. Even though it may not be a rare piece as such, it feels very special to me.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Earlier this year I made one of my cute clutch bags for a friend's birthday. On a night out, a friend of hers happened to see and loved it. As a result, she has asked me to contribute to her arts and crafts website that is launching in October (I'll make sure to post a link once it's live).

I'm so flattered to have been asked and I'm excited to crack on! It's also an opportunity to see if there's any money to be made and it also gives me  plenty of motivation to make stuff on a regular basis, which is no mean feat when you're holding down a full time job!

Apart from the clutch bags,  she is also interested in selling my 1940s inspired aprons and felt rose broaches.

I've also been experimenting with small tote bags (again from Pip Lincolne's Meet me at Mike's) and here is the result:

 




Tuesday, August 31, 2010
On Sunday I dove straight into my pattern stash and picked out my new project – Simplicity 1598. I have so many beautiful vintage patterns, but I think I've been too afraid to use them and expose my sewing inexperience. So in an attempt to cast my self-doubt aside (which mostly has to do with the fitting side of garment-making), I cut out my pattern and can't wait to get stuck in.

I've chosen to make the body of the dress in a black cotton with a slightly stretchy feel. Although you can't see the detail in the picture, the black fabric has small raised polka dots on it. For the sleeves I chose a chintzy looking flowery cotton (a £2 sheet from a charity shop) for a vintage feel. Hope it turns out well!



Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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