Sunday 23 February 2020

The UseNine2020 challenge

Progress on Vogue 1277 is painfully slow, as I'm having to tidy up the poorly cut and marked pattern pieces (it's an unprinted pattern) as I go along. On the plus side, the bodice toile now fits really well, and the skirt toile is coming along nicely, but I've not got a lot new to show for the week.

Instead, I thought I'd post about what I'm going to sew after Vogue 1277. I'm trying to use the Vintage Sew A Dress A Month challenge to actually sew up part of my stash, so when I came across the UseNine2020 challenge, it seemed like a great way to firm up my commitment to stash sewing.

The challenge

I went through my list of projects for which I have both pattern and fabric, and gave some serious thought to which of these I could realistically expect to make this year. Then I threw in a few fabrics which I really like, but don't have any firm plans for.

The fabrics are mostly brighter than they appear in this picture - the weather has been so poor that it's been impossible to take a photograph in sunshine.

My nine fabrics

Because I now know what alterations I need to make to Butterick reissue patterns, courtesy of Butterick 5748, it's tempting to make nothing but Butterick reissues all year! I've only got one planned, however. The fabric in the top left is going to be Butterick 5880, hopefully with a contrast fabric lining the skirt drape.

Butterick 5880

I'm using another Butterick pattern, this time an original from 1943, for the pink floral Liberty lawn next to it. This was a remnant from my local fabric shop, so the sleeve length will be determined by what I can squeeze out of it.

Butterick 2535

The print at the top right seems to me to have a late 50s/early 60s feel, and is so directional that I wanted a pattern which would make use of this element of the design. View A of Vogue 5215, from 1961, fits the bill perfectly.

Vogue 5215

The printed crepe at the left of the middle row comes from Watson and Thornton in Shrewsbury - I really hope they haven't been affected by the recent floods. It's a very retro print, which looks distinctly 1940s to me. I found a buckle and some buttons which perfectly match the dark red, so undeterred by the disaster of the Dress of Frump I'm going to have another go at a dress with a bodice gathered onto a yoke. This time however I'm going truly period-accurate, with view A of this 1940s pattern.

Bestway 18928

The fabric in the centre is one for which I don't yet have a firm plan. It's cotton, and was quite stiff when I bought it, but softened a lot when I washed it. I have An Idea for it, but I'm not sure if it will work.

Next to it is another cotton. This was bought, an embarrassingly long time ago, specifically to make view A of Vogue 2903. I really don't know why I've not got round to making it yet. (Bonus - this pattern is a real fabric-hog, so finally making it up would produce a pleasing dent in the stash totals!)

Vogue 2903

Bottom left is another crepe which I want to make into a 1940s dress. The original plan was to use Advance 2229, but it's missing several pattern pieces. So it's either draft a new sleeve and collar, or find another pattern.

Advance 2229

I bought the striped seersucker in the middle a few years ago on one of my Goldhawk Road trips, but then decided that it wasn't really right for the pattern I'd had in mind for it. It has languished in my stash ever since, until I realised that it would be perfect for this pattern from 1951. I even have a suitable contrast fabric for the collar and sleeve edging.

Vogue 7422

Finally, another 'wildcard' fabric, and another cotton. It's a fair bit brighter than it appears in the photograph, and I want to make something 1970s from it. I may dip into my growing collection of 1970s Style patterns. Or it may, finally, be time to break out this!

Be Afraid

So all in all, I'm not short of ideas.

My nine fabrics - now with pattern details

2 comments:

  1. No pressure!
    We'll be watching...

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Lodi, that's what I need to prevent any backsliding!

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