Squeeeeeeee. I love being the “crafter” in the family!

I love, love, love when people give me things because “I’m crafty” or because “I sew.” I’ve acquired two machines this way and lots of fabric and trimmings. My Necchi is my go-to machine and the Pfaff is a close second. Well, imagine my excitement when I get a Facebook message from a friend’s mom (truthfully, she’s been a mom to me too) asking if I want a bunch of old patterns. Um, yea. Look what showed up on my door step last week. Three boxes of patterns and the best part is that they are my size! There are a ton of kid patterns too but the women’s patterns are a size 8 or 10 which is what I typically make in McKwikVogueRick.

 

I randomly pulled some out so you can see a few of them. They are all from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.

 

Most of them are Buttericks, Simplicity, McCalls, Vogues, etc but there are a few of these pre-KwikSew pattern. This one isn’t even opened.

 

Pretty!

 

 

Most of the patterns are size 8 or 10 but there are a few 12s sprinkled in there.

 

I like the warning on this one. Upper right: Coat cannot be worn over jacket. Oh, dammit! That was my plan!

 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

 

I love this hairstyle from the 60s. I could never do this with my hair. It’s too fine and too wavy.

 

Two out of three boxes are little kid patterns. I’ll be putting these on Etsy probably. I have no use for them because they are too small and there are so many of them. It would be fun to have a wall of pattern covers though.

 

Okay, this might be my favorite one. I have to say I love the butterfly collar and the ascot. Hee Hee, I said ascot.

 

This one is really cute and I would make it for my kids if it was a larger size.

 

Ra ra! I didn’t look but I wonder if these are for knit fabrics. If not, they would be pretty restrictive. Well, for a cheerleader.

 

Aaaaaaauuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

I think it’s funny that the kid pants are so high up on their little torsos.

 

I’ll let you guys know if I post any of these to Etsy. I know there is a market for adult vintage patterns. Is there any market for kid vintage patterns?

6282 v. 1250

So, I’ve made the famous Vogue 1250 draped front dress. In fact, I made it twice (take one, take two). I love it. It’s great and sexy and comfortable and has a wonderful drape. I love it in every way. But do you guys ever get the itch to try another pattern that’s just like one that you already have?? I picked up M6282 the other day with my Vogue dress in mind. I love the Vogue dress but I want to try the McCalls one now. There are some obvious similarities between the two like the draped front and the cap sleeves. There are also some subtle differences like the 6282 has a little ruching at the waist, 6282 has the option for a higher neckline, 1250 has that interesting back seaming detail while 6282 has typical side seams. I’m curious to see how they are different on the body.

Has anyone else been tempted to try both of these? I’m hoping to crack this out this weekend.

Girl Jammies

Still blogging from the iPhone. Siiiiiggggghhhhhh. GCI should be up this week to dig ditches and get things connected.

Just finished two sets of girl jammies. I made them short sleeved because I didn't have enough fabric for long sleeves and I think the girls like short sleeves. Both have embroidery and both have bows. You can't have one twin with a bow and the other without! Good Gawd! This is the fourth time I've used this great pattern. Kristine sent it to me originally and it's definitely a keeper! I used my triple coverstitch on the wrong side so it sort of looks like a top cover (I think that what it's called) stitch. I used that for the neckline, sleeves, and ruffle hem. This is Butterick 4910.

This embroidery is from UrbanThreads.com. Love it!

Here's my faux-top cover stitch.

This is Hawaii fabric.

This is a freebie from EmbroiderThis.com. They have some cute free designs.

2008 in Graphs

I love graphing so when Lindsey T showed her progress in graphs I just had to copy borrow her idea and do it too. I found some interesting results especially after I filtered out my earlier attempts at sewing. I started garment sewing shortly after I signed up for PatternReview on 4/8/07. So, it's been 20 months since I started garment sewing. In that time, I think I've come far with my skills. I have sewn 77 garments thus far this year and feel like most of them are wearable and look mostly RTW. I have also figured out which pattern companies work with my body type. Here is a graph showing all the patterns I used for 2008. There are 12 different companies with BWOF, Jalie, and KwikSew being my favorites.



If I just graph the time since I tried BWOF , you see much different results. Once I tried BWOF, I didn't buy or try any more of the Big 4. The Vogue pattern was one that I sewed earlier but then finished much later because I hated it. The Green Pepper patterns are the ones I use for my kids outerwear. When you factor those in, I use basically five companies.



This shows all the different types of garments. Surprisingly, I made as many dresses as I did coats and casual tops. I did quite a bit if kid sewing which surprised me. I always feel guiltly because I'm not sewing for my kids. It's very interesting to view things this way.


I'll have another entry for my goals and reflections on specific garments later on. Dinner calls.

Anybody want these? Part II

(Updated 7/28)
I still have NL peasant blouses, NL skirts, S Easy Chic coordinates, B Lifestyle wardrobe for the taking.

Okay, here is what I have so far:

Janene: NL Jackets and S knit dress (got your address)
Elizabethe: S blouse and NL knit dress (got your address)
Leanne: S flouncy skirts, S Threads dresses (got your address)
Kristine: S boys pants/tops (I'll email you)
Myra: M dresses, B girls (I'll email you)
peaudane: V DKNY dresses (need your address)

If you are listed above please email me your address: info (at) cabinbaby (dot) com. If things change, I'll update this post. I'm not sure that Jenaveve wants to pay that much for postage so those two patterns may still be up for grabs.

I also have these patterns. They are out of print:


Also to answer a question on the last post: They are all the smaller size range. Sorry that I forgot to include that information in the first go-around.

Anybody want these? I'm a certified BWOF-phile.

Well. I don't think I'll ever use these patterns so I will send them on to those of you who will. If you want them, just let me know, I'll send them to you free of charge as long as you live in the US. If you live elsewhere, and want them, you can pay me postage. First come, first served, take as many as you want. I just want them to be loved. Yes, it would be cheaper for me to throw them in the trash but I can't do that, it is like putting a book in the trash. Can't do it.

I trace all my patterns so they are just cut apart but still intact. Some are OOP so I'll get a picture up in a few days.

Why Do We Love Burda so Much?

Okay, so Rhonda go me thinking about Burda WOF. I can think of six reasons that I am a die-hard Burda WOF fan.

1. Fit: They fit my smaller frame better than the Big 4. This is especially true in the shoulders. I have read that they draft their patterns for a 'C' cup but I never have to do an SBA on them even though I'm an 'A' cup. Figure that one out. I have heard that their pants rock. I am waiting until the June issue to try my first pair of BWOF pants (this pair). Some people say they are the best fitting pants they have ever made. Their patterns don't have a ton of ease like the Big 4. For a Big 4 pattern, I usually measure myself, ignore the envelope recommendations, and then make the smallest size offered, usually a 8 or 10. I usually have to grade the BWOF patterns down to a 36 or 34 but it is pretty easy to do since you have to trace them anyhow. Sigrid pointed out that their fit is consistent. For example, I make a size 36 almost every time and it fits the same each time. The Big 4 are not consistent like that.
2. Challenge: I love a challenge. The directions are challenging and that is not something I always love. The thing that is challenging is all the tiny details on a BWOF. They usually add some details that give it that extra special somthing. Check out this top with tab, this simple cross-top with something extra, this dress with buttons, and this Jalie look-alike to see what I mean. As I sew, I realize that, for me, details are the thing that I love. They have quick, unadorned patterns too but I love the detailed ones.
3. Style: I find the Big 4 patterns boring and repetitive. I think in their quest to make sewing easy they also made it boring and home-made. There are Vogue patterns that appeal to me and a few of the new-old-vintage re-issues but the rest, nah. They are the same thing over and over again. Even between companies, they are the same. It is like having a Chevy and a GMC; different names, same truck.
4. Frequency: BWOF comes out every month. 50-70 patterns in each magazine. There are some BWOF duds, don't get me wrong, but out of 50 patterns, I can find a few I like.
5. Anticipation: They post previews of the coming styles as a slideshow so you can get a sneaky peaky. Then a week or two later, they give you all the pictures. Then before the magazine comes out you can view all the line drawings. Part of this anticipation just makes me crave the new magazine even if I don't like a lot of the patterns. The grass is always greener, eh?
6. Presentation: Think about KwikSew for a minute. Up until this year, their pattern covers have been a bit dorky. With Burda, you get hot, leggy (ok, sometimes scary) models wearing the clothing. I'm really glad that KwikSew has started using cute models on their covers because I really like their patterns. But it is all about selling the pattern. Legs and cleavage sell while dowdy drawings will not. I can see this being cute in a nice fabric but this drawing doesn't do it for me.
7. Price (thank you Debbie Cook!): All of the patterns every month for a very reasonable price, even more reasonable if you have a subscription. A subscription is $80 and you get 12 magazines. That is $6.67 per issue. If you make two patterns per issue you are getting each pattern at the rock-bottom price of $3.34 per pattern.
8. Convenience (thank you Debbie Cook!): With a subscription, they come right to your mailbox. No need to track down sales, fight messy pattern drawers, etc.

Did I miss anything? I know everyone has their own, "Why I love Burda" reasons but these are mine. I added Debbie Cook's comments to the list. Thank you Debbie!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

So I started garment sewing a year ago. My first skirt was a denim a-line skirt with a back zipper. It was a very simple McCall's pattern. I didn't really believe in that whole "finishing seams" thing back then.

Believe it or not, the facing piece is finished with a decorative stitch. You just can't see it very well and it still frayed like crazy. That zipper is waaaaay bad. Look at how "off" it is.

To do the hem, I folded twice and sewed on a decorative stitch to the bottom. This is stretch denim and the hem ended up wavy and puckered.

Yikes. This is the zipper from the outside. I like this skirt and wear it sometimes but only under a very long top.

Overall, I am just delighted that my skills have come so far in a short period of time. Just thought I would share my first garment sewing project. I am glad that my current skirts look nothing like this and are much more professional-looking.