1930's Evening Gown and Glorious Fall Foliage

When the unique opportunity to create a 1930's evening gown presented itself in the form of a vintage themed wedding of two very dear friends, I couldn't resist delving into the Haslam system of dress cutting for the first time!

Oh the excitement of planning and looking for the perfect fabric...

And then reality dawned once again... after all, who can expect there to be smooth sailing when learning a new technique... and why oh, WHY did I think a complicated formal gown was the best first project to choose?!

5 mock-ups, 4 weeks, and 65 sewing hours later...

I decided it was worth the hair pulling and aggravation.

Just before the first snowfall, and with nearly the last bit of fall foliage, I snuck in a quick photo shoot. The mixture of vibrant and dull colors made the perfect backdrop and I was ecstatic with how well my first attempt at finger waves turned out (at least on one side ;) :P) I think some hair spray would have tamed it sufficiently had I a working bottle on hand. :D

The diamond creates the shaping for the bodice, so there was no need for darts, which tickled me silly! :D Although the process to get it to do so was extensive and exasperating at times!

Our fist location didn't have nearly as much "fall" as we wished, but I still really like how the photos came out in this spot! Being on the upper slope of the hill from the camera made me look a little taller and give the more classic 30's vibe... I'm pretty sure the illustrators of the decade thought legs were a good 2 feet longer than humanly probable! :D

See my little bee "friend"? He must have thought I was a lone flower amongst the grassy fields. After quickly snapping this photo my brother moved him to a nearby dandelion.

Another favorite detail was the strap design, starting at the armscye seam in the front and crossing over in the back to form the edge of the v-neck.

 

The long row of fabric buttons and loops down the back were yet another favorite design aspect. I was pleased with how well it worked in function as well as design.

We spotted a new location across the yard with some delightful foliage remaining and had to snap a few more photos there. I'm so glad we did, though I was frigid and shivering by this point. 

My brother caught me waving my arms and laughing as I tried to warm up and relax so I wouldn't look stiff and icy for the photos. :D

 

I just love how the red dress looks framed by the yellow, orange, and brown of the leaves and brush.

I'm definitely planning to use the Haslam system again, but first I need to work out what is off about my base "sloper" draft to insure proper fit in future. Even just in book #15 there are several more styles I would love to make!

1950's Brown Silk Cocktail Dress

 

A few years ago while scrolling through Pinterest I stumbled across a picture of a yellow 1950's cocktail dress, and immediately knew I wanted to create a dress inspired by it.

I had bought brown silk for $5/yd. when Joann's was discontinuing it, and it sat in my stash awaiting the perfect project.

 

We were hosting a "Spring" themed ball and I desperately wanted to make the dress for the event... "but brown isn't spring!" I said, to which a witty family-member replied something to the like of, "yes it is, spring is muddy". So I jumped on the idea of letting my dress be "mud and butterflies" and found the most delightful blue butterflies and ribbon to accent the look.

Despite having to draft/drape nearly every aspect of this dress, it went surprisingly smoothly! I did my first (And so far only) hand pick-stitched zipper, and I love the results! Much less obvious than machine top-stitching! :)

Though I completed this outfit 3 years ago, I failed to take photos. *face-palm*

After the first wear, I made a few adjustments, and for a recent ball, I seized the opportunity to pull it from my wardrobe and finally photograph it!

My brother obligingly photographed for me, yielding to my whims of artistic, dramatic, whimsical, and practical by turn. Much laughter accompanied the process, and I'm delighted with the shots we obtained.

Below are a few artsy and dramatic outtakes.

Vintage mystery film pose.

 

My Brother and I waltzing at the ball. :)

1950's Ladybug Dress

 

This spring I had the pleasure of sewing a 1950's dress for a dear friend. The material she chose was a cute ladybug and daisy print with matching ladybug buttons.

I got to work with a vintage pattern for the first time, which was super cool!

The neck yoke with all the piping is one of my favorite aspects of the design. I love how the red piping spices up the look.

The dress has decorative pockets and a matching fabric belt that buttons with 3 of the tiny ladybug buttons. The pattern had so many neat details. :)

 

Photos courtesy of my friend Susan and her sister Karen. :)

Green Plaid 1950's Dress

Ah, a new season is beginning, which means I get to pull out my old summer favorites, and contemplate new projects yet to be made. :) I love summer in all its warmth and freedom! No more heavy coats... bare feet all day long! Sunshine and flowers in abundance!

This dress is a summer favorite. I love plaid and I really like green and brown and earth tones.

This was my second ever 1950's dress. I designed it using a few elements of several dresses I'd seen on Pinterest, then I drafted a pattern. It was my first time drafting, and thus just a BIT scary. ;) Fortunately the design was simple and an easy one to draft.

The skirt is a half circle. I matched up the plaid on the center front and back seems so that it would look like a  diamond print. I love all the details that can be made just utilizing plaids or stripes at different angles! It's so much fun to discover all the different ways to take advantage of self trimming with plaids and stripes.

All of the neck and sleeve trim is made from the fabric cut on the bias. I love how the knotted trim idea I found turned out. I'm so glad I decided to go for it! :)

I've switched blogs!

I'm excited to introduce my new blog, Stitching Through Time! As my dream of being a film costumer and historical seamstress expands, I've decided it's time to start a blog dedicated to my sewing endeavors. I'll be posting all of my sewing adventure updates and creations on Stitching Through Time, and keeping the whimsical Wind In My Sails to log other adventures and dreams. :)

I plan to do several photo shoots of past and current projects over the next year to share with you all, so stay tuned for more posts in the near future! For short updates in between posts, hop on over to my Facebook page.
 

I can't wait to see where the wind of God's direction takes this vessel next! For now, join me as I sail into new waters and new (or rather old ;)) centuries of fashion!