I've got plenty to be thankful for

So, the 30s sewing has been going slowly. And it's been in a not very winter appropriate direction. So for Thanksgiving this year, I scoured my closet for some 30s appropriate pieces to throw together an outfit for my new favorite decade.

Tada! A long green skirt adds to the 30s feel even though it's technically a 50s piece. And basic blouses and cardigans can really go with any decade. 

I did a very basic fingerwave and pincurl set. It was the very first time I've ever done fingerwaves by hand and not by using a pincurl set. I was pretty happy with how it turned out even if it did take all day to dry.

Footwear is so key to a great outfit. It was so fun to finally get to wear these American Duchess 23Skidoos with a period appropriate outfit.

I don't have a ton of festive holiday jewelry but a pretty pearl and rhinestone wreath was just the ticket for a bit of sparkle! I particularly love this piece because it belonged to my great grandmother.

These photos were taken at my in-law's church where my husband's side of the family had their celebration. They had this darling tree set up so I couldn't resist posing with it! One of the downsides of moving right before Christmas is not getting to decorate this year.

Ah, well. I'll just have to enjoy everyone else's decorations this year!

Patterns Galore

I have bought quite a few patterns recently. But I can't help it! I want to wear all the 30s things so I need to sew all the 30s things which means I have to have all of the 30s patterns. Or that's what I tell myself anyways.

McCall 9242 is a darling two piece dress with several cute sleeve options. And it's a very early printed pattern which surprised me when it arrived.

The next four I bought in a lot on ebay and got a pretty good deal.

 Advance 807 is a fab 30s suit pattern. McCall 2802 is a cute dress pattern with options for short or long sleeves. It has an unusual envelope so I think it must have been a mail order or correspondence dress making course pattern.

Simplicity 2760 is missing the skirt pieces but seeing as it's very similar to McCall 2802, I can easily switch out the pieces. I'll just need to draft up a waistband. Simplicity 1936 was the pattern I was most interested in! A darling 30s playsuit! It's missing the shorts waistband and the little button plackets for the shorts but since they look similarly shaped to the button placket on the blouse, they shouldn't be too hard to draft up.

 I also did some shopping at the Vintage Pattern Lending Library! The skirt I've already sewn up and I can't wait to tackle the dress! The bodice has such great details!

And some more exciting news on the sewing front, I have a serger! :) It was given to me quite a while ago but I never got around to getting it work. I finally bit the bullet and bought the supplies I needed to get it working. Yay!

HSF #21: Re-do

This Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge was the re-do challenge. You could re-do (or do for the first time) any of the challenges. I decided to pick an easy vintage project to whip up over my sewing weekend. I had this great plaid fabric in my stash and when the paisley and plaid challenge came up earlier this year, I was in Elizabethan mode so both paisley and plaid were out.

The Challenge: #21 Re-do (#14 Paisley and Plaid)
Fabric: mystery plaid suiting (a wool blend I think)
Pattern: Vintage pattern lending library #1047
Year: 1930s
Notions: zipper, thread and some seam binding
How historically accurate is it? A metal zipper would have been more accurate (or snaps) but other than that pretty good
Hours to complete: 4 and a lot of that was spent in the cutting process to get the plaid to match up
First worn: to church
Total cost: less than $10-I got almost 8 yds of the plaid fabric for $7 and the only thing I got full price was the zipper

I took a lot of time making sure the cutting would help me with the plaid matching. I'm pretty impressed if I do say so myself!

I still have quite a bit of this fabric left and I plan on making a matching top at some point in time but I have to find the right pattern first. So I decided to go with the sporty separates look instead.

This fabric is actually grey and black with grey and orange stripes but it always looks brown to me from far away. So I went with a classic white blouse and my blue sweater. It turned rather chilly this weekend so I also brought out my faux fur booties to keep my feet warm!

I also tried some finger waves. I've never been amazing at finger waves so I think I'll need some practice before they become predictable. Plus my hair is a weird length in the front for finger waves.

But I'm really excited about how flattering this skirt shape is on me! Bring on the 1930s!

1930s Fusion

One place I always find it difficult to dress for is work. I'm a chemistry professor and that means I spend a good amount of my week in a lab. Labs have safety rules and that means pants!

My teaching schedule really picked up in the lab department for the fall semester so I had a wardrobe emergency! Enter these linen pants I made 3 years and 30 lbs ago.

They didn't fit that well to begin with and they definitely didn't fit after the weight loss. I hung on to them though since I wanted to save all of that yummy linen. Originally, I made them from Wearing History's Smooth Sailing Trousers but, due to time constraints, I used Wearing History's 1940's Overall pattern to remake them to fit since I already had a properly fitted version of the overalls.

 So these are my Wearing History fusion pants! The blouse I made from Simplicity 3173 from the 1930s. I got it for a steal on ebay! I love all of views included but this casual, sporty top was just perfect for me!

I wore this outfit for my first day teaching lab this semester with a pair of saddle shoes. Alas, I found these shoes are not up to 7 hours of teaching. So I'm still on the hunt for a good pair of work appropriate vintage style shoes. Until then, it's sneakers in the lab!

These shots were taken on the property of one of the guys in my husband's photography group. They were having a model shoot and I tagged along after work. I wasn't planning on modeling but I couldn't resist taking a few shots for the blog! It was very beautiful there!

Do you wear vintage to work?

Photography: Will Thorpe Intelligent Design

The Ring Toss Dress

The 1930s fever has officially set in! I don't actually have a lot of 30s style pieces in my wardrobe so I quickly whipped up this dress to wear this weekend.

The pattern is Past Pattern 9122 c. 1934-1935 which I've actually had in my stash for a while. Originally, I purchased it to refashion a 70s does 30s dress into a bit more 30s but the refashioned dress didn't wow me. I'm pretty sure it never even made it onto the blog.

I also had this great ring print rayon in my stash. I had bought it to make a blouse but decided it was too sheer to wear unlined so it never got made into anything. I'm not sure how 30s rings are (but they loved polka dots) but I did like the idea of a printed top with solid skirt so I picked up some blue cotton broadcloth for the skirt.

I almost didn't finish this dress a couple of times. It really needs a fabric with more drape for the skirt. I had planned on buying linen for the skirt but all they had was navy and I felt it was too dark. I should have listened to the fabric!

Also, I cut the skirt out with way too much ease in the hips and it made me look very wide. I removed 2" of ease from the hips and down which gave a much better (and more flattering) shape. The 30s skirts skimmed over the hips and that's a bit difficult look to get when you are very curvy!

But I did finish it and I'm quite happy with how the dress turned out!

To finish off the outfit, I added crochet gloves, a parasol and some finger waves!

Summer Fun

This past weekend was my husband's family reunion which largely consists of a day of eating and chit chat at a park in Kentucky. And since the weather forecast was nice rather than broiling as it usually is at this time of the year, I decided to pack something a bit more fun.

I made up this 30s ensemble a few years ago from Wearing History's Chic Ahoy pattern but alas it doesn't get much wear.

Part of that is because I made the green bits from an old sheet. (Just say no to sheets) And the other part is that the closures on the bottoms are quite complicated.

And I loath not being able to wear a regular bra.

But I remembered how ridiculously fun this really is to wear this weekend.

I've decided that I absolutely must make up another pair in a nicer fabric.

Although perhaps with a more practical top.

A rather unintended side effect of this wardrobe revival is that I'm now quite in love with the 30s.

If you've been following me on Facebook or Instagram, you'll have seen an influx of deco fabrics. Of course none of them are for the things I most want to make-beach pajamas and another set of these culottes.

I've never quite been bold enough to try 1930s fashions but I do think I'm ready now.

And part of sewing for yourself is going on adventures!

Are you ready for some 1930s outfits?

Feeling Crabby

I posted some in progress shots of this cute playsuit that I made to wear on vacation in Florida.

Crabs galore!!! I used two Wearing History Patterns and a blouse I already had in my closet to whip this up.

The skirt is from the Wearing History Sailor Playsuit Pattern. I've made a buttonless version before and it's really the most flattering 40s skirt I've ever made!

The bolero is from the Wearing History Chic Ahoy Pattern. I did change up how the edge was finished and bound it in self bias binding.

It was a really fun to wear out and about in Florida!

For this outfit, I just had to have some shots down by the water!

I love being by the water! One day, I'd love to own a boat but I really don't need another expensive hobby. (And I live in Ohio....)

And here's me making my Arrrr pirate face. :)

Spring Fever

On Thursday, I got double surprises as my hubby surprised me with ballet tickets and my Christmas American Duchess 23skidoo shoes (also from the hubby) arrived! :D

Shoes!

Even though these shoes are 20s/30s styles, I paired them with a 50s circle skirt and hat. The weather ended up being unseasonably warm and that springy feeling came out in my wardrobe choices.

 

After posting about brooches this week, I felt inspired to wear one of mine! It was my great-grandmother's but since I received it after she passed I'm not sure how old it is.

These shoes were sooo fun to wear. The entire time, I felt like bursting into a crazy dance number.

I had plans to make a 30s dress especially to go with these shoes but I've been so busy with school that it hasn't happened yet! It's going to be more of a summer weight dress anyways, so it's ok.