In which I knit

I've been in quite a knitting mood over the last few months so it's about time I shared some of my projects with you!

My husband won me some gorgeous red wool yarn and I decided to knit up this cute cropped sweater with it.

It knit up pretty quickly. The longest part was actually picking out the buttons! lol

It's not from a vintage knitting pattern but the crop style works great with high waisted skrits.

My ravelry page for this project is here.

One of my friends and her husband just started fostering a little boy and I couldn't resist knitting up this little monster hat! Ravelry page here.

I also whipped myself up this cute lace hat. I definitely need more hats for this winter! I don't have a lot of stash yarn but I do need some more stash busting projects like this. Ravelry page here.

I've also been knitting up some Christmas presents but I can't exactly share them here incase people peak! My current work in progress is a great shawl from the above pattern. Maybe after it's done, I'll be brave enough to try out one of my A Stitch In Time sweaters again!

Cocktail Party Month: Dressing for Hosting

There's one last bit of 1950s cocktail party wear that I couldn't resist! The hostess apron! There are gobs of cute vintage aprons that are obviously not ment to actually protect clothes from cooking messes. But they are super cute over a vintage dress and instantly say "yes, I am the fabulous party hostess!".

A cute shear apron in a bright color will see you through parties all year round. Available here.

Or go with a holiday one to compliment your party or to make a plain dress more festive. Available here.

Fun details such as ribbon trim make an apron special. Available here.

Aprons patterns also abound and are a great beginner sewing project. Available here.

Novelty patterns were super popular. Available here.

Add an applique to any apron pattern to make it more festive. Available here.

Black Friday Haul Video!

I'm not generally a fan of haul videos but I think such an epic shopping event such as Black Friday calls for one so here's what I bought (for me anyways) this Black Friday. (And here's last year's haul video if you're interested.)




In case you are wondering, this is more the type of thing I wear to work (because I can't wear vintage or vintage style easily) although I was a bit more dressy than usual when I filmed this.

And I promise that the next video with be a 1950s pixie style! It's been harder to film videos now that my husband works from home but I'm working on them. I have one filmed and several more planned.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving all! Hope your holiday weekend was lovely! Here's what I wore to Thanksgiving #3 (of 4!). If you missed my outfit for #2, it's here.

I made this dress a while ago from some 1950s looking Christmas quilting fabric. I was hoping that using a contrasting fabric for the top would tone down the "Christmas-iness" but alas, it is not so. So now it's been relegated to my holiday wardrobe.

I broke with my tradition of wearing plaid but I did get to wear my crinoline which was super fun. Alas, the event was a bit cramped for space and I took up a lot. Whoops!

Fabric: Christmas quilting fabric and some random white fabric from the stash
Pattern: Butterick 8078
Year: 1950s
Notions: zipper ($2), buttons ($3)
First worn: November '12
Wear again? Yup, it's a bit Christmas-y for most of the year but it's great for Thanksgiving to New Years. I've already made up a second version of this pattern and it's lovely!

I felt that the top was a bit plain so I added green buttons and some red embroidery. I also used a vintage belt kit for the matching belt.

I accessorized with a red cardigan to amp up the Christmas vibe and my polka dot and red heals. I love tea length dresses with super high heels!

What did you wear to this weekend's holiday festivities?

Pencil Skirt Sew-Along Complete

I had some free sewing time this weekend so I finished up my pencil skirt for the pencil skirt sew-along!

I had just over a yard of cute plaid fabric in my stash that I had to buy as a steal on clearance and it looks smashing. It's McCall 5121.

It has a cute kick pleat. I also added a lining so that the white was a bit more opaque.

The blouse is also a new finish. I finally picked up some covered buttons to finish it. It's from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing (review coming this week!).

The skirt called for closing with hooks and eyes but I grabbed one button from the stash instead. Just goes to show you that you should keep all those odd and end buttons.

And it's not a photo shoot without some silliness!

Youtube of the Week: Everyday Pixie Style

There's more pixie goodness this week! Here I share how I do my everyday pixie style. It's super easy!


I finally got some velcro rollers and a small curling iron yesterday so the 50s pixie styles are coming soon!

50s Fab!

I had my first Thanksgiving dinner of the season on Sunday. (Only 3 more to go!) I was stitching away the night before to get this dress finished and it ended up super cute!

Fabric: polyester something ($3.50/yd)
Pattern: Simplicity 1097
Year: 1950s
Notions: zipper ($2), buttons ($3)
First worn: November '12
Wear again? Yes, to one of my many more Thanksgivings at least. The fabric is a bit stiff so it's not the easiest dress to wear, but other than that it's quite comfy. I may make a self fabric belt at some point but it's a pretty busy print so I don't know.

I did a combo of view 1 (collar with trim) and view 2 (pockets!) because I need pockets on dresses whenever possible.

The weather was super nice so I grabbed the chance to get some outdoor shots!

I also wore one of my vintage 50s hats. I haven't been wearing many hats since I got my pixie cut and I'm still trying to find the best way to do my hair with them, but it put me in a super good mood all day so hats must come back into my life!

1950s Housewife Hair

This week I tried a short 50s do for the first time and it came out pretty well for the first go.

I still think my hair is a bit short for some of the things I want to do but I can work with it.

Short and curly works though!

I liked how the back came out all curly.

Once I get this style nailed down, there will be a tutorial. Until then, wish me happy experimenting!

Youtube: Berets

It's so refreshing to wake up this morning and read loads of posts NOT about politics so here's my contribution.

Video about hats >>>politics




Cute pictures of animals are also acceptable anti-political posts. :)

Bird!

A Nice Anise

My Anise jacket is finished! And I've been wearing it loads!

Fabric: burgundy wool ($5/yd), black fleece backed satin for lining ($5/yd)Pattern: Colette Pattern's AniseYear: contemporaryNotions: buttons ($12)First worn: October 2012Wear again? Yes, yes yes and yes! I've worn this jacket loads since I made it. I'm so happy with how this came out. It's warmer than I expected and so cute! It fits really well and the only thing I'd change about it would be to lengthen the sleeves about 1/2". 

I put in a lot of work on this project and just relaxed and had fun with it rather than being stressed about meeting the sew along dead line. I finished less than a week behind the last sew along post so I count myself on time!

I paired it with a grey me made dress (to be blogged soon!) and my black Mary Janes.

I was able to get a few quick snapshots at church. The weather has been gray and damp lately so I didn't have a chance to get super nice pictures.

But this cute kitty posed with me so I know you'll forgive the less than stellar quality of the photos.

Tutorial: A pretty finish for facing edges

I hate making a narrow hems on facings! They are fiddly and don't look that nice anyways. Here's my solution to making a clean finish on a facing that has fusible interfacing.

1. Cut your pattern piece out in fashion fabric and fusible interfacing.

2. Pin interfacing to the fashion fabric. The nonfusible side is the "right" side of the interfacing so the nonfusible side will be put to the right side of the facing. We are sewing along the edge of the facing that will not be sewn to the garment.

3. Sew a 1/4" to 3/8" seam.

Check your pattern to see how much seam is allowed. You may need to clip the seam allowance on curved facing pieces.

4. Trim seam allowance with pinking shears. Since my fashion fabric was thick, I trimmed it pretty small. If you have thin fabric or fabric that is prone to fraying, you can leave a larger seam allowance.

5. Flip the interfacing open and fold it over so the fusible side is against the wrong side of the facing.

6. Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric.

7. If there is a bit of interfacing sticking out from behind the fashion fabric, trim it off.

8. Now you have a pretty finished facing edge! Continue on with constructing your garment.

How do you like to finish your facing edges?