A quick fix

Back in April I finished my first (and so far, only!) #vintagepledge contribution for this year, Butterick 4384. I felt at the time that I'd made it too long, but as it was a winter dress in a thick cotton, there didn't seem much point in spending time on alterations in the spring. So now that the weather has turned colder, I decided that it was time to fix it. In the end I took off 10cm / 4".

The original and the shortened version

I'm still not entirely convinced about the braid placement (and my hair still looks a mess!) but the just above the knee look is far more in keeping with the 1967 pattern.

Far more period-appropriate

Yet another skirt

After over two years of fairly frequent wear, my sort-of-bouclé skirt is looking a bit tired.  It's fine for lounging around the house, less so for being seen in public, so it was time to buy another remnant and make a replacement. There's not a lot to say about it, really. It's made from the same self-drafted pattern as all my other skirts. The black and white wool mix fabric will go with anything, but is far more 'me' than wearing black.

Perfect for teaming with this rarely-worn blouse

A couple of weeks ago I read this article, all about using the clothes which you already have rather than buying more. Most of my clothes nowadays come from either remnants or my apparently bottomless fabric stash, but nonetheless I liked the idea. So here the skirt is paired with a blouse which I've had for ages. It was a present from Mr Tulip, and well over a decade old. It's a beautiful, soft, garnet-coloured silk, and I've always kept it for 'best'. However it finally dawned on me that I no longer have a lifestyle which requires fancy clothes for going out, so I've decided start wearing the blouse regularly, and get some enjoyment from it. Plus, it goes perfectly with these shoes, which were a recent gift from my friend F.

The weather turned colder this week, which means that I can finally start wearing this fabulous 1940s cardigan from Crafty Elsie.

It works with a 1940s cardigan as well

I met her at the Howarth 1940s weekend, where she had a stall. Bought knitwear is always too long in the bodice on me, and while I am learning to knit, it's a slow process - both the learning and the actual knitting. Happily for me, she takes commissions. She has a huge collection of vintage knitting patterns to choose from, but I saw this cardigan made up on her stall, and loved it. As you can see, she made a perfect job of altering the pattern to fit me. The only problem was that it's toasty-warm to wear, so when it arrived in the summer it had to be put aside. It was well worth the wait, though. We met up again at Morecambe, and compared notes on our respective button stashes! The buttons she chose for the cardigan are just stunning.

Two-tone buttons in green

I did (ahem) somehow manage to buy a second wool mix remnant, so another skirt is in the offing at some point!

Forties fashions, Swedish style - part 2

Here are the remaining pages from my winter 1947 edition of Modejournalen Eva. As before, click on any image to enlarge it. You can see Part 1 here.

Forties fashions, Swedish style - part 1

My latest vintage fair acquisition is this magazine from winter 1947, in what I think is Swedish.

I think that it is a catalogue of patterns. There are only a couple of advertisements, no editorial content, and a range of different illustration styles from flats through to detailed drawings. There are however back views of pretty much everything, so you can get a good idea of what the finished item would look like. So here are the first few pages, full of late 1940s fashion goodness. Click on any of the images to get a larger version.