Remodelling

Much as I like my 1986 dress, I don't like it enough to need two of it. It was a complex pattern, and I had to regrade it by several sizes, so I made a mock-up before I started on the real thing. This turned out to fit reasonably well, and just binning it goes against what I’m trying to do with my sewing. Instead, I've decided to lean into the existing 1940s-ish elements of the design, and tweak it to make it even more retro.

Because it was only ever tacked together, it's easy to unpick where needed. The first change I want to make is simple, in fact I've already done it; replace the right-sides-together waist seams with a forties overlaid seam.

The new waist seam

Next is the waist fasten. The wide, elaborate, half belt at the back is a striking feature, but not remotely right.

Eighties yes, forties no

1940s dresses often had self-fabric tie belts.

Self fabric belts

Or ties attached in the side seams, like Simplicity 4463.

Just visible on view 2

Because the dress has its mini-eiderdown centre front panel, this is the style I'm going to use.

The area which needs most work is the sleeves and shoulders. Yes, 1940s dresses had defined shoulders, but not this defined.

You could rest a teacup on those shoulders

The only forties pattern I have with anything like such an extreme line is this one.

Sleeve flanges ahoy!

1930s and 40s sleeve heads sometimes had small darts.

The darts are visible on the plain version

But whether darted or not the effect was nearly always a smooth sleeve head, again like Simplicity 4463.

Not a gather in sight

The sleeves themselves were narrower as well.

A selection of sleeves on 1940 Vogue patterns

The new version will take some working out, but the sleeves of Butterick 3794 are so large that I should have plenty of fabric to play with.

Mrs Exeter's sewing plans

I'm still not in a position to do much dressmaking, so instead I'm living vicariously through Mrs Exeter's plans for her 1952 spring/summer wardrobe.

The April/May 1952 issue

Mrs Exeter was clearly quite a selling point for the magazine at the time; not only is she mentioned on the cover, but this is also the lead article.

Before even new Couturier or Paris Original patterns

It is written in the first person, with Mrs Exeter stating that she has been "filled with a new enthusiasm: to make more of my own clothes". She follows the regular advice of the pattern book, which is to begin by buying her undergarments. Her choices, which look quite formidable, are illustrated.

A long brassière, and a girdle

The first item she wants to make is a coat-dress, Vogue 7624. "So many women of my age and measurements feel they can't wear a wide skirt, but I think - as long as the hips are smooth - they're wonderful for making waists look a bit smaller."

'Mrs Exeter' photographed by Norman Parkinson

She does, however, choose the long-sleeved version because she hates showing her elbows.

Vogue 7624

For her coat, she thriftily chooses a fabric which will work for both day and evening - grosgrain - and a design which she will also make up in a thicker fabric for later in the year.

Vogue Special Design 4291

It also appears in the "7 Wardrobe Bases" feature

The pattern

Mrs Exeter's second day dress choice is "a slender wool one - the sort that is quite indispensable for an English summer - with a white collar and cuffs (I shall have at least two sets)".

Vogue Couturier 678, on the right

This too appears twice in the issue, the second time as a suggestion to make in linen.

It is this pattern.

Showing the separate collar and cuffs

Which I immediately recognised as this reissue.

With the usual slight, unnecessary, tweaks to the artwork

Mrs Exeter is particular in her choice of suit pattern; it must be "uncluttered and classic", as her figure "demands long lines". She also intends to make a blouse to wear with it.

Special Design 4282 and Vogue 7607

To round off her spring/summer wardrobe, Mrs Exeter requires two more dresses. One is a dinner/evening dress in a style which she calls a "hostess gown" - Special Design 4292, shown with the suit and blouse above. The other is a "good, all-purpose print dress". For this, she intends to make what she calls a "long-standing favourite of my generation", a redingote with a matching slip.

Vogue 7615

Sadly, I couldn't find any other illustrations of this pattern online, so I'm unable to compare it to Vogue's idea of a redingote as a coat.

So in total, her plan is - four dresses, one suit, one blouse, and a coat. If I tried to make all of this, starting in April/May, I would be lucky to have it done by Christmas. Clearly, Mrs Exeter was a very speedy seamstress!

Repeats and alterations

Only time for a very quick post this week. As I mentioned last week, I'm currently in the situation of having time on my hands but unable to start a new sewing project. The obvious solution is knitting, so I have started a new Confidette bolero.

I have yarn for three different options, and decided to make the navy one with off-white contrast. Mainly because I have a couple of sleeveless summer dresses in navy and dark blue, and a bolero-style cardigan would greatly increase the times I could wear them.

The swatch

So far, I have knitted the top of the back and the fronts, and joined them together.

It's impossible to stop it from curling

Having worn the blue version quite a lot, I want to make an alteration to the pattern for this version. The back and front of the bolero are knitted to the same length. This means that, on me at least, it looks shorter at the front because - boobs.

Showing a slight rise at the front

When it's worn for any length of time it tends to slide back a bit*, which makes the front rise up even more (please excuse the bad mirror selfies).

Over time it gets worse

Much worse

So my plan is to add some short rows to the fronts, to lengthen them in the centre. I'll knit the sleeves and part of the front before I do this, so that I can try it on and get a reasonable idea of how much extra I need. I'm not entirely certain how this is going to work but, even if I continue to have lots of knitting time, it will be a while before I have to make any decisions.

* - Meanwhile I'm hoping that this cute vintage sweater clip, found online and waiting for me when I got home today, will add a little weight and hold the bolero front in place.

#FoundInOxfam

First challenge completed

Success! I've completed my first Historical Sew Monthly 2026 challenge and the first item of my 1915 ensemble. The challenges can be completed in any order, so originally this was going to be for the March challenge, Comfort at Home. This is to "Make something to wear around the (historical) home or that would be generally only seen within the household", and underwear definitely fits that bill. But once it was done I had a change of plan and instead went for the January challenge, Joy for January. Part of the description of this challenge is "Create an item that epitomises the joy you find in historical costuming", and it really has been a joy to pick up historical costuming again; I hadn't realised how much I missed it.

Challenge completed (Note: the proportions are deceptive!)

Admittedly, it was hardly a difficult challenge. It's a simple make, only two pieces, and between Lauren's extra notes for the pattern and The Dreamstress' blog post I had a lot of hand holding.

The back has a central pleat, to add extra width for sitting down.

Back pleat from the right side

If this had been a skirt vent, I would have just overcast the raw edge at the top of the pleat. But as it's going to be worn next to the body, I covered the edge with some scrap cotton tape to make it neater and more hard-wearing. I also flat felled the shoulder and side seams.

Back pleat from the wrong side, with tape edging

I used beading lace round the neckline, attached by the Dreamstress' method of turning the raw edge of the garment to the outside, and enclosing it in two rows of stitching.

The trimmed neckine

I also followed her approach of reinforcing the flap with a second layer of fabric, to provide more stability for the buttonholes.

Up to this point, I had done all the sewing on my 1930s treadle machine. But then circumstances dictated that I had to be away from home for a while, with no access to a sewing machine but plenty of time on my hands. So the rest of the sewing was done by hand. Thanks for the suggestion, Juliana!

The armholes were trimmed with lace. Again this was sewn over the raw edge of the fabric, but this time folded to the inside.

The lace is sewn to the inside of the armhole

The pattern has markings for where the buttons/buttonholes should go on the flap - either option is historically accurate. But to me, this seemed a long way down the flap. So instead I sewed them closer to the edge.

This looked like annoyance waiting to happen

I have some kind of blind spot about buttonhole stitch. No matter how often I do it, I can never remember how it differs from blanket stitch. Normally I refer to my trusty copy of Vogue Sewing, but this time I didn’t have it to hand. I did, however, have a dim memory of having photographed the relevant section on my phone ages ago 'just in case'. And sure enough, there it was!

When a plan comes together

Finally, my wash buttons were a little grimy from years spent in a button tin, but I scrubbed them with soap and an old toothbrush, and this greatly improved matters. So here is the finished article.

It looks absurd, but it's really comfortable

The ribbon is synthetic and too stiff to really tie properly - a replacement has been ordered. But that's the only issue I have.

I thought that the low flap might feel weird, but I didn't really notice it once I was wearing the combinations. If fact if, like me, you have the misfortune to remember 1980s bodysuits (iykyk), something with fastens you can both see and reach easily is an absolute boon!

It's also very loose-fitting

I tried putting my 1911 corset on over the top, and the combination (no pun intended) worked really well.

But fits under my corset very well

There is still an issue with the corset, but thanks to The Dreamstress' Fortnight in 1916 posts I've finally worked out what it is. And the fix will fulfil another Historical Sew Monthly Challenge.

In the meantime, here are the details for this challenge.

The small print:
The Challenge: 1, January, Joy for January
What the item is: Combination underwear
How it fits the challenge: After a long break, it's a joy to be picking up historical costuming again
Material: White cotton
Pattern: Wearing History Circa 1917 Combination Underwear & Chemise
Year: Around 1917
Notions: Cotton lace for armhole trim, beading lace and ribbon for neckline trim, vintage wash buttons for fasten
How historically accurate is it?: The pattern, fabric and most of the notions are correct for the period. The ribbon is synthetic, but will be replaced as it is too stiff
Hours to complete: Around 12. It's not a complicated pattern, but I hand sewed a lot of it as I was away from home, and my hand sewing is very slow
First worn: Just for photographs
Total cost: All the materials were in my stash, so this is an estimate based on current prices - fabric £14, trims £3.25, so £17.25 total

The end of era, part 2

Many, many years ago, a (non-sewing) friend looked at my workroom and said, "If there's ever a shortage of sewing supplies, you will be arrested for hoarding". The hoard has grown since then, and I have no regrets. Well, only that I got rid of some of my paper patterns.

Part of my 'modern and reissues' collection

I'm no doubt late to the party on this, but I only discovered yesterday that the end is nigh for tissue patterns, in Britain at least. Once shops have sold the patterns they have in stock, there will be no more. The good news is that the Big4 pattern brands were bought out of the liquidation of their parent group. The bad news is that they are now, in effect, a small 'indie' company looking for ways to cut costs. And one way is to not have the expenses of printing and retail pattern distribution outside the U.S.

Patterns will still be available to buy in the UK from the Sew Direct website, but as PDFs only. As far as I can tell, these will be at the same price as the tissue patterns still on sale elsewhere; which seems a bit of a cheek given that the purchaser now has to provide the paper, ink, tape and assembly time. If, like me, you tend to swear at PDF patterns rather than by them, Sew Direct also offers a printing option - although with prices starting at £4.99, and more for larger patterns, it could add a hefty increase to the cost.

As I wrote in my post last summer, this won't really affect me as I almost never buy patterns which are in print. My recent 1986 dress was wildly up-to-the-minute by my standards, and I recently bought a 1990s pattern which feels positively avant-garde! Plus, like many experienced sewists, I have a large collection of paper patterns, and the skills to adapt them if needed. But for a would-be beginner who fancies 'having a go', this just adds to the initial outlay. Hopefully in time new options will come along and offer more choice. But for now, I definitely won't be getting rid of any more patterns!

Button joy

So far, so good. Despite, or possibly because of, a stressful week, I've forced myself to make time to do some sewing rather than just sit there and stress. And guess what? I've felt better for it.

The Wearing History underwear pattern is a good way to ease myself back into historical sewing. It's entirely straightforward for someone who is used to using vintage patterns, and Lauren's notes clear up any areas which might need a little more information. In a quieter week I would have it finished already. But it wasn't, I haven't, and it's not complex enough to merit two posts. So instead, here's a short post about one aspect of it which has cheered me up far more than it had any reason to - the buttons.

The pattern

I'm making the leftmost option, the combinations without a fitted waistband. The back piece extends into a flap, which fastens to the front with two buttons. The search for appropriate buttons is a regular source of angst on this blog, but this time not only do I have suitable buttons, but there is almost nothing else that they could be used for.

The tools for the job

These are 'wash buttons', a metal base covered in linen, specifically designed for items which would be laundered frequently and washed at very high temperatures. Unlike shell or bone buttons, they could also be put through a mangle with no danger of breaking. Cotton underwear is precisely the sort of thing these buttons were designed for. These ones were in button boxes in sewing collections which I have bought at auction, and I had kept them while expecting to never have a reason to use them. But their time has come!

Whereas most button cards are plain, washing buttons often seem to be on cards marked into squares or columns. I have no idea why.

Found on Etsy

I would have thought that boil-proof buttons which can go through a mangle would be a thing of the past, but no. They are still made by Prym, among others.

Still going strong

Not that I need to buy new, as I have some already. As I said, I’m unreasonably pleased by this small victory.

Having a go

This may be a bad idea (although goodness knows, it won't be the first of those to grace this blog) but, despite having next to no sewing time at present, I've decided to take part in this.

It's been a while

Although I did a little historical sewing in 2024, I haven't participated in the HSM since 2020, and I miss it. So on the basis of 'what is the worst that could happen?' I'm just going to jump back in with a project I've had in mind for a while - making a 1915 outfit. As I have no clothing at all from that era, I need to make the full ensemble, ideally working from the inside out.

1915 fashions from Fashion: A Timeline in Photographs: 1850 to Today

Luckily for me, I've got some help. Back in July 2016 The Dreamstress spent a fortnight living as much as possible like a middle class Wellington housewife would have done a century earlier, and documented the experience on her website. There was information about food and keeping house, but also a fair bit about what she wore. Since then, she has issued several of her own patterns for garments from the era. And I am shamelessly using all this information to build my own wardrobe.

First up will be the base layer, for which I am using this pattern from Wearing History.

Chemise or combinations, circa 1917

It comes with a warning that the original instructions are very limited, but having made period undies before it looks quite straightforward. Plus, The Dreamstress made this pattern up for an HSM challenge and wrote about it, so I have lots of hand holding for my first foray back into historical sewing.

I'm horribly aware that my plans could very easily be derailed by Life at any moment. But if that happens, it happens. I'm not making this for anyone else, or for a deadline, so it's a very low risk project in terms of getting it completed. And whatever may be waiting in the wings, I will get more done than if I had never even tried. So here we go.