BREAKING! The 1944 Outfit Project

Friends, I am very excited about my next project and I hope you will be too.  I'll be making three separate garments, all from 1944, to create a lovely WWII-era ensemble for demure Miss Cathy Lane.

The genesis:  I was perusing Etsy last week, and I stumbled upon this cute jumper and blouse pattern (above right) for only $3.  DING DING DING!!!  El Cheapo just had to have it.

I love the simple sweetness of it, and couldn't you just see a youthful Gene Tierney or Jennifer Jones -- or even somewhat more mature Eve Arden -- wearing that outfit onscreen?

Joan What's-her-name and Eve Arden in "Mildred Pierce"

Here's an ad for a somewhat similar jumper, from a September, 1944 Screen Guide magazine I own:







Now that it's fall, we couldn't have Cathy parading around in nothing but a jumper and blouse, so I decided to look for a suitable coat pattern.  And that's when I found this, also on Etsy:



It cost quite a bit more than $3, but what are you going to do?

Yesterday I went to look for fabric ideas, and here's some of what I came up with.  I don't want anything too matchy-matchy, and I want it to have a period feel.  The coat, I think, should be wool; the jumper can be velveteen, corduroy, or plaid or patterned wool tweed.  The blouse will be a very soft cotton, perhaps a soft camel and white stripe.







Last night, I remembered that Pattern Review has a Refashion contest starting November 1, which is just around the corner.  So at the flea market this morning, I picked up this huge salmon pink wool blanket.  It's not perfect -- there are some difficult-to-capture-on-film areas of fading and discoloration -- but I think it's usable.  It's darker than it looks immediately below, more of a rose beige, but I wanted to show you the blanket-stitching.





I'm fond of many of the styles of the mid-Forties and, paging through Screen Guide, part of my vintage movie magazine collection, I was reminded how lovely they are.







Oh, look what else I picked up!  I don't think it's real fur, but I love the look.



And that, readers, is what's on tap, starting soon.

What do you think?  Can you see a salmon coat, perhaps with contrasting lapels, combined with herringbone jumper and brown striped blouse?  Or should I go with textured velveteen?  Planning a new project is fun!

You can see more photos from my 1944 Screen Guide here.

Have a great day, everybody!

The TOP SECRET Dress Project

Welcome readers!  I know many of you are still recovering from MPB Day festivities, but we must move forward nonetheless.  A buffered aspirin is good for most headaches but rashes that persist for more than a few days should be checked out by a doctor.

Friends, there is so little I can say about my next sewing project that it almost isn't worth writing about.  But I'm going to try.

As many of you know, since March I have been contributing weekly blog posts to a certain commercial sewing website.  I've rarely mentioned them here mainly because they were usually rewrites of material already posted on Male Pattern Boldness and I lived in constant terror that they would figure this out; nine times out of ten I didn't even change the title.

Anyway, for said website, I will soon be leading a sew-along.  I'm very excited about it, and I can guarantee that all material will be fresh, or as fresh as anything I post ever is.

As you can imagine, I am very reluctant to say too much, and yet I feel it is my responsibility to keep my readers informed.  I think when people we're close to keep things from us, on a certain level, we know it.  An old therapist said to me (she wasn't old, she's just no longer my therapist. In fact, I have no therapist -- do you think I need one?) that your secrets are your sickness -- about as original as the posts I reran on the aforementioned website, most likely, but nonetheless, I've remembered it to this day.

That is why I am an open book -- indeed, you might wish I closed it more often.  I just can't.  Parenthetically, I was shocked by some of the probing questions I received from MPB Day attendees, questions I wouldn't even ask myself, though I've started asking and I'm very uncomfortable with the answers.  But I digress!

Here's what I (think I) can tell you about this top secret project.  We'll be following a dress pattern of their choosing.  It's a downloadable pattern.  They've provided me with the fabric (which I got to choose from a top secret catalog) and notions, but I still had to download the pattern and print it myself -- which I'm still a little bitter about.  There I go: I've said too much again!

I think I can share the following images with you without putting myself at risk, but please don't pass these around or repost them on your blogs or link them to my Wikipedia page!

Here's the pattern.  It only looks like a short novel.



The biggest secret of all, friends, is that this dress is not for Cathy.  It's for New York actress Leah X  (Not her real name).   Leah X is quite a bit younger than Cathy, quite a bit slimmer than Cathy, and --  now don't shoot the messenger -- quite a bit prettier than Cathy.

She's also doesn't give me attitude.

Here's the pattern, which I started taping together early last week and finally finished on Friday, now ready to be cut.  Have you ever taped one of these patterns together?  You know those famous Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna, Italy?  I'll say no more.



I shouldn't show you the fabric.  I musn't.  Maybe what I'll do is post a pic and leave it up for a few hours and then delete it.  Pretty, no?

As with all downloadable patterns from this website, you have to add the seam allowances yourself, which I can live with.  You also have to add almost all the other information as well.  In the end, this actually forces you to pay more attention, so it's a good thing.  Please don't ask me about the instructions.



Since I'm making this for Leah but have limited access to her -- though I do have her measurements -- I'm making a muslin of the bodice and using 1" seam allowances just in case.  You'll notice I've also traced the original pattern pieces onto yellow tracing paper -- no way am I downloading that pattern again!



Here's the bodice muslin.  Leah is coming by late this afternoon for a fitting.  Shhhhh!



Readers, I must stop here.

There may be more information about this tomorrow.  Or not.  If you don't hear word from me in the next few days, please, please go to the authorities.  Give them this code: 4591117!!!   (The exclamation points are part of the code, not a commentary on it.)

They'll know what to do.

Any sewing secrets to share?  (We won't tell -- promise!)

Happy Monday, everybody!

PM UPDATE:  So far, so good.  Moving forward, this project will be referred to as "Aunt Hilda."  If you must ask me about it, a simple "How's your Aunt Hilda?" will suffice.   I'll know what you're talking about, as my real Aunt Hilda has been dead for decades.

Time for FALL SEWING!

Readers, maybe it's the cool morning breezes that hint September is on its way -- no, we haven't had any of those yet, sadly.

Rather,  I think it's knowing that once August is here, it's nearly MPB Day, then Labor Day, and then it's back to school!  Already the stores are brimming with school supplies and fall clothes -- not that I shop in clothing stores, mind you.

Oh, speaking of clothes shopping, did you happen to catch this article in the August 5th New York Times? (You may have to click through an ad.)  Would you believe there are people who sew all their own clothes?  How crazy is that!  I must check that Brooklyn place out.

Friends, I'm dragging us into fall today, whether you like it or not.  I'm not much of a planner, as you know, but I'm trying to map out where we're headed here at Male Pattern Boldness, or as it's also known, Himlines -- get it?  (What do you think of Himlines?)

Here's some of what's in store:

1) It's time for a new sew-along.  Hold you hats, folks -- or something -- because we're going to be making men's boxer shorts!

I've been wanting to lead a more elementary-level sew-along for some time now, and since boxers were my very first sewing project, I think this would be a great garment to tackle.  I'll be discussing this in more detail in the weeks ahead.  I'm not sure whether I'll be using a commercial pattern or teaching how to draft your own -- it's so easy and that way you know your boxers are going to fit.

Remember these vintage French-style boxers I made a long time ago from a vintage Simplicity pattern from 1945?





Well, they've never been wearable, frankly -- a little too tight in the rear and MUCH too high in the waist.  So maybe I'll re-work those to make them look a little more contemporary.

Fun!

2) This fall I also want to conquer the highly controversial mermaid gown for Cathy.  A lot of you love it, a lot of you hate it -- and I wouldn't have it any other way.

3) I also plan to make this, which I won yesterday on eBay (and sorry about the awful picture).

It was pretty cheap ($6 USD) and funny thing is, the seller was also offering this Vogue pattern, which went for three times as much -- and isn't it the same dress? 

I love that collar and I think this period (1951-52) is most flattering to Cathy, especially now that she owns a crinoline.

4) I have plans to make a few shirts for Michael, including one made from this psychedelic fabric I picked up at the flea market a few weeks ago.  That may happen sooner than September, actually.



5. I'm supposed to be leading a sew-along on BurdaStyle soon for a lined sundress, though I'm still waiting for the fabric to arrive.  I'm wondering if late summer is really the best time to be sewing a sundress but what do I know?

Anyway, what's exciting -- and unprecedented -- is that I'll be sewing this dress not for Cathy, but for a lovely young actress friend, Leah, who has a few things Cathy doesn't (I mean auburn hair and a husband, vulgarians!) so it should be exciting, and I know Leah will be up for a glamorous photo shoot.  She'd better be!

Friends, in closing, have you started planning your fall sewing yet?  If not, what are you waiting for?  Anything exciting on tap you wish to share?

What do you think of those amazing Brooklyn trendsetter sewers?

What was your favorite lunch box?

Jump in!

I'd rather be sewing!

Friends, I have to be honest.  As much as I enjoy the occasional break from my normal routine, I'm not a vacation person.  It's not that I don't appreciate a change of scenery, I do.  But generally, after a day or two of fun in the sun, I am ready to get back to my strapless cocktail dress project or whatever I'm working on at the moment.



Apropos of cocktail dresses, I recently received a somewhat troubling email from a male-identified reader, who basically accused me of false advertising in my tag line, "The world's most popular men's sewing blog."  He has unsubscribed, "primarily because [MPB] is really about making women's clothing with very few exceptions."  He says he loves my enthusiasm and my "delightful writing style," but apparently that is not enough to keep him.

Readers with or without penises, I cannot deny that I sew women's clothes, but since I am myself a man, I consider everything I sew to be men's sewing.  Perhaps some will see this differently.  Regardless, having dedicated all of February to men's shirts, as well as many weeks to jeans, men's pajamas, toggle coats, etc. (not to mention Guy Week), all within the last six or seven months, I feel I'm giving my XY chromosomed readers their money's worth.

(I do offer a full refund within six months and if this person had read the fine print before commiting himself, he might be awaiting a rather large check.  Oh, well.)

On a somewhat related note, in a moment of perverse curiosity, I happened to Google  "World's LEAST popular men's sewing blog" and I was shocked at the result! 

Poor Debbie....and she tries so hard, too.

But back to my vacation.

It was very relaxing and mercifully brief.  I do enjoy the beach but I am not a beach person.  I don't like to get too much sun and while I enjoy swimming in the ocean, the whole experience is a bit of an ordeal, what with the sand, the sunblock, the shells, the salt, the surf, and the occasional man-eating shark.  Fortunately, there were no jellyfish.

Fire Island, a barrier island off the coast of Long Island, is very lovely, but there is nothing to do there, not even a Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum.  That said, I'm glad I went and Michael and the dogs were in their element.  But me, I'm happy to be back in the sweat shop.



I am sincerely hoping to finish the strapless cocktail dress in the next few days and then, hopefully, move on to something more masculine.

Anyway, enough about me.  What have you been up to since we last communicated and where can I read about it?  Unlike many other bloggers, I love it when my readers link to their blogs in their comments and only wish the invitations came with coffee and cookies. 

In closing, friends, I ask you: if you have a blog, do you ever find yourself sewing things specifically for the blog, or do you just sew what you want to sew and blog about it, readers-be-darned?

Should I sew more men's clothes?  Do you think there's more interest in sequined jockstraps or animal print thongs?

Tell me!

More vacation pics here.

Sewing Ambition

Friends, are you ambitious?  With regard to sewing, I mean.

I think all of us want to keep learning more, and it's hard not learn if you take on lots of new projects.  The more you sew, the more you know, right?

I often ask myself what it is I most want to learn.  To be honest, I find the whole sewing thing a bit overwhelming: there's so much to know and it's not always clear to me how best to learn it.  Some people enroll in fashion school or take classes, others buy books, follow video tutorials, etc.  There's a lot out there.

It's frustrating when you want to do something and you don't really know how to do it, or the learning curve seems too steep -- like, for me, Michael's suit or that crinoline I never made a few months ago.

Then there's the sparkly fabric I showed you yesterday.  If I had more than the most elementary draping skills (I can figure out how to hang something off my very approximate-sized body form and that's about it), I would want to use draping methods to create something with it.  Should I just wing it or stick to a commercial pattern?



You know how they say, The more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know?  It's so true!  I think it's important, then, to step back and appreciate the things you do know.  We're all works in progress after all.

For me, sewing has never been about dressing the family on a budget, or finally having clothes that fit me, or becoming the next ___________.  It's been mainly about fun and discovery and experimentation.  That's just the way I am.

Readers, how about you?  Do you harbor sewing ambitions and if so, what are they?

Do you hope to design for others some day, perhaps create your own fashion line?  Do you dream of finally making a perfectly tailored jacket that's as good as anything you'd find in a department store?  Or is your secret fantasy to costume the entire cast of Dancing With the Stars?

What you need to learn to get there, and how are you going to learn it?

(Is it time we all made sewing dream boards? I'm serious!)

Jump in!

Peter's sparkly new fabric!

Good morning, sophisticates and hayseeds!

Desperate to jumpstart my sewing mojo, and feeling a bit giddy and irresponsible yesterday, I hightailed it to the Garment District, determined to return home with something I'd be excited about sewing with.  Voilà!   



Friends, let me try to describe this fabric -- it's not what it appears.  This is a tightly woven stretch knit (nylon-poly-spandex?) with small vinyl cubes adhered to the surface somehow; they don't peel off.



As you can see, the fabric drapes beautifully and looks almost exactly like sequins.  Cathy loves it and Michael loves it even more!



I'm not entirely sure how to sew with this stuff.  I may need a ballpoint needle for starters.  The challenge, I think, is that this fabric can't really be pressed (Can it -- perhaps from the wrong side?).

How do I get the seams to lay flat if I'm stitching over those vinyl cubes?  They're soft, but they don't take a crease just from finger pressing.  (SEE UPDATE AT BOTTOM)

This fabric has a kind of Seventies disco vibe to me.   Here are a few patterns I'm considering, though Michael has insisted I make a tank top for him out of whatever's left -- can you imagine?

I'm fond of all three versions of this 1970 jumpsuit pattern.  So Fantastic Voyage.

Then there's this Vogue pattern I've been wanting to make for a long time but never found the right fabric.  Truth be told, it's the hood I love; the rest of the jumpsuit is a little meh, don't you think?



If the fabric were easier to sew with -- and I were sure I could press a seam flat -- I might be tempted to try something swingy from Vogue 8727:



There's also McCall's 9630.  Is it too Liza-does-HSN?

The there's this vintage swimsuit pattern that's been sitting in my stash for over a year.  We'll be spending a few days on Fire Island the week after next, and couldn't you see Cathy peeling down to a black sparkly bikini, a long striped poly chiffon cover-up flapping in the summer wind?

As you can see, I have a very eclectic pattern stash.

Friends, I can use your sophisticated input today.

Have you ever sewn with a synthetic novelty fabric (for lack of a better term)? Was it a total nightmare to work with? Were you able to press it?

I am oddly drawn to both faux fur and sequins and I think I have to get over my fear of them and really go to town.

What would you make with three yards of this fabric?

UPDATE:

It presses -- on the coolest setting, right side down.  I pressed the seam allowance to the side (so the vinyl bits aren't directly exposed to the iron plate).

If I want to do a neckline, I'll make a black cotton facing (since it doesn't really stretch with all those vinyl bits anyway) and press from the cotton side.   Here are a few quickie samples (as you can see, I need a different needle -- and black thread of course!):





The pink fabric is from an old cotton poly sheet: