Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Vogue 2333 - Diane von Furstenberg Vintage

O' Summer, where are you? So I couldn't wait til summer was here before, but now I have new stuff to wear, so get here already! I finished the dress last night. I had to hand hem the slits, the arms and the hem...whew! I tried to blind hem but the rayon didn't want to cooperate. It looked pretty bad.

I'm pretty happy with the dress. I've had this fabric for two years now and couldn't figure out what to make out out of it. It's rayon so it will be very cool come summer time. It has gorgeous drape as well, perfect for a cowl neckline.

This is my first attempt at a "vintage" pattern. I'm not sure how old a pattern has to be to be considered vintage. I'm guessing this one is late 70's early 80's. I couldn't find a date on the pattern. It's a very simple dress. The bodice is cowl neckline cut on the bias, extended shoulders, no sleeves and the skirt is a simple straight skirt with angled pockets. The waist is just elasticized. This is longer than I usually wear dresses. It hits mid calf and I'm not sure how I feel about the length. I couldn't make it much shorter without ruining the side slits.

I haven't had the inclination to make anything very challenging lately. I'm trying to reduce some stash. I really want to make several simple, comfortable summer dresses to run around in this year. This one however is a bit more dressy and will be a work dress or for going out to dinner.

It looks much better in person. I really don't photograph well.




Saturday, March 27, 2010

My first vintage pattern.

I've lusted after vintage patterns for awhile now. I bought one last summer but wimped out on making it. For some reason, I'm kind of a sucker for the late 70's early 80's patterns. This is the one I wimped out on:



Kay Y did a wonderful review of this dress on PatternReview. I'm thinking I might be ready to tackle it this summer.

So, I was perusing etsy the other day and saw this:



I bought it right away. I am on a cowl neckline kick this summer. I love DVF and this looked like a simple pattern to start out in the vintage arena with. Plus, I found it in my size so there were no grading issues.

I have it half finished so far in a fabulous brushstroked rayon from Fabric Mart I bought last year. I am absolutely loving it so far. This will definitely not be my last vintage pattern.

I thought I had a picture of the fabric but I can't find it. I'll update soon with finished pictures.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Onion 1038 - Another Jacket

So the question begs, how many jackets are too many? I'm really on a jacket kick.

I just finished Onion 1038 the long version in a fantastic wool denim from Gorgeous Fabrics. I think she still has some too. It's not a fabric you could do a lot of intricate details with but for a simple lined coat it's awesome.

Review







On top of this and the biker jacket, I made a parka and a wool coat last fall. And now, I'm just itching to make a military jacket. I have three patterns to choose from:
Hikaru jacket from Burdastyle, which also is a Burda envelope pattern, but I can't find the number. I think it's OOP.


Vogue 7764 which is OOP. Reviews seem pretty favorable for it.



And last choice is Simplicity 3628.



I had this pattern out and was seriously considering it when I saw this version. Here's the review.

Review

Check out her blog post. The jacket is to die for!

I'm definitely leaning towards the Simplicity. It seems like a pretty tried and true pattern. I love the extra puff on the sleeves and Lynne's version is really great.

So how many are too many? I'd like to make this one, then maybe another. All of my summer, keep me from freezing in my office, jackets are pretty worn out.