Ste Anne, again

Only a very short post this week, as I've been busy with family commitments. Yesterday was Saint Anne's Day, the patron saint of seamstresses, and I managed to find time to make good on my previous threat to recreate this postcard.

Vive Ste Anne - version one

Even if I had had more time, it seemed silly to make a new dress just for this. So instead, I wore the version of Style 1571 which I made from vintage fabric. From my attempts to date the print, it seemed around the right era for the image. There was no way I could recreate the hair, so I stuck with one of the styles on the pattern envelope. Also, none of my sewing machines are as 'modern' as the one on the postcard (my money is on it being a Singer 319 - yes, I am that nerdy!), but I did at least use my mum's 1950s Singer 99 rather than my much earlier treadle. Finally, I managed to find some flowers which went with the yellow and pink in the dress, and even the pincushion matched the colour scheme!

Vive Ste Anne - version two!

All in all, it was a lot of fun to do, and a welcome diversion in what have been a stressful couple of weeks.

Recreating Vintage 1940s Knitwear

When I came to write this post I was amazed to find that I have only been knitting since February 2023 - less than 30 months. I still regard myself as a beginner in many ways, but it just feels like something I 'do' now. In that time I've acquired a small, but growing, library of knitting books, and the latest addition is Recreating Vintage 1940s Knitwear by Linda Ivell.

My newest acqusition

The book contains 17 original 1940s patterns, all of which were designed to use small amounts of wool in different colours at a time when yarn was not only rationed, but in short supply. But there is so much more to it than just the patterns.

Patterns to cope with wool shortages

The introduction provides lots of background on knitting in the war years. I've heard about this time from my parents, who lived through it, but there was much in here that I didn't know.

From the introduction

I found the section on stitches fascinating; the many different approaches that designers came up with using multiple colours in ways that were not just stripes.

So many variations

Most 1940s knitting patterns are printed in black and white - even before the restrictions of wartime, colour printing wasn't widespread. Colour information is often provided in the pattern, but the shade names may not mean much to readers now. This book provides lots of information on period-appropriate colours.

Colour suggestions

There are instructions on how to make shoulder pads in different shapes for that authentic 1940s silhouette.

Showing the effect of the shoulder pad

There's also plenty of advice on yarns of the period and how to source suitable modern substitutes. And there's a whole chapter on how to resize vintage patterns, which were almost always for a 34" (86cm) bust only. All of the patterns in the book were resized to either 34-36" or 40-42" using this method, so it has been well-tested.

The patterns are split into three categories; open stitches and lace, slip stitch, and colour work. All have been adapted to knit in 4ply or DK, and are rated in terms of difficulty.

The pale blue ties the different colours together

Feather and fan was a popular design

Colour work

There are also lots of 'how-to' photographs and handy tips throughout, making this a real handbook for vintage knitting. My 94-year-old mum greatly enjoyed looking through the book, and said that it brought back lots of memories of knitting in her teens, which I thought was a great endorsement.

Recreating Vintage 1940s Knitwear is published by Crowood Press, and available from booksellers. This is not an affiliated post - I bought my own copy, and these are just my thoughts on a lovely and useful book.

(first?) Serpentine hat

It's been extremely hot and sunny here in the UK recently, which has finally given me the impetus to make a project which has been on my list for a while, the Serpentine hat by Elbe Textiles.

I already have several straw sunhats, which I wear regularly, but I wanted something which I could just fold up and put in my bag. Unfortunately, I have a strong aversion to bucket hats (one of my many clothing prejudices, but that's another story!), so my options were rather limited. But then I spotted Susan Young wearing what looked like the Perfect Hat on Instagram, which turned out to be the Serpentine.

All of Elbe Textiles' patterns are PDFs, which are not my favourite thing, but fortunately a hat doesn't run to many sheets of A4. The hat is fully lined, so it's possible to use two different fabrics and make it reversible. Susan had advised me that because of the large brim, stiff or firmly interfaced fabric is key, so I used plain canvas in blue and beige.

The two fabrics in the brim

It's a great pattern. There are only three pieces, they fit together perfectly, and the instructions are clear without being long-winded. The only change I made was that rather than sew the band pieces together and then sew around the upper edge as guide for fitting the top, I stay-stitched the pieces before sewing them together. I did the same for the brim pieces, too. But really that was just because that’s how I'm used to constructing garments.

Stay stitching the band

One thing I would say is to closely follow the advice about notching seams. There are a lot of curved pieces in this pattern, and taking the time to snip them properly will really help everything to fit together properly and keep the edges smooth.

The brim seam notched and pressed open

The clever construction means that the whole thing is machine sewn; there is no hand finishing required. Because I was using such different coloured fabrics there was a lot of changing spools and bobbins, but it was worth it. There were times when there were several layers of fabric to sew through, but my treadle machine coped effortlessly.

And here is the finished hat (or two). Excellent fit, good wide brim, and easy to make. It really is the Perfect Hat.

Beige hat with blue lining

And vice versa

In fact, it will probably be one of several perfect hats. I have plenty of canvas left over, so I'm thinking of making a couple more with patterned linings/under brims. So hopefully the leftovers on the stashometer will eventually vanish.

0.6m left over, but ideally not for long

Pineapple completed

Having, finally, decided on a design for my pineapple dress I went to cut it out - and made a discovery about the fabric.

It naturally curled when folded over

The selvedge was very tightly woven, to the extent that it actually puckered. Fortunately, just snipping the selvedge at fairly close intervals fixed the problem and caused it to lay flat.

I wanted to match the pattern on the skirt centre back seam, as I felt that such a bold design would look terrible if it didn't align. I cut one piece, and traced round various fruits and flowers in the seam allowance.

The tracing is just visible here

Then I flipped the pattern over, and used these tracings to place it correctly on the fabric for the other piece. I'm pretty pleased with the way it worked out.

Good match!

The bodice back slopes down the centre seam, so pattern matching isn't possible. Instead, I cut the pieces out so that pattern flows across it. Similarly I made sure that obvious elements such as the pineapples and oranges are at the same height round the skirt. I took particular care placing the bodice front pattern piece - I didn't want a pair of pineapples in 'interesting' positions!

It dawned on me that in all the examples I had seen, the contrast element of the bodice has a top edge which is pretty much straight across, whereas mine curves up at the outer edges. I experimented with a mock-up, and decided that I preferred my version. Such are the advantages of making your own clothes! I completely forgot to take any progress shots, but it was built up on an interfaced inner layer. The two pieces for the outer layer were sewn in place along the top edge, then the excess fabric was pleated and stitched down. Finally the inner and outer layers were overlocked together along the lower outside edge. The insert is just hand sewn in place, and I am considering making at least one more in a different fabric.

The completed bodice

The skirt is quite full, and there's a lot to hem. Fortunately I remembered that on a day trip to a meeting in London last autumn I had found time to pop into MacCulloch and Wallis (because of course I did!) and bought, among other things, these.

I had wanted these for ages

The bottom item is a kakehari or 'third hand'. The clamp is screwed onto something solid, such as a table, the kakehari is attached to this, and then it holds the fabric in place so you can tension it with one hand and sew with the other.

In action, albeit the wrong way round for most people

Because I am left-handed, I sewed with my left hand and held the fabric taut with my right. It made the job much easier, and quicker.

And here is the finished dress, complete with matching belt.

The 'fruits' of my labour (sorry not sorry)

#sewnshownseated

Naturally, a dress with large pineapples on it need to be accessorised with a pair of pineapple earrings! These are from a shop called Digger, in Edinburgh. It first opened when I used to live up there, forty-plus years ago, and I always pop in when I'm back. I was delighted to spot the earrings on one trip, as I knew that they would be perfect with this dress - if I ever made it!

Digger has always looked like this

The stashometer meanwhile remains in the red, but slightly less than before.

Better, but still not good

I need to get sewing with some of those fabrics on the left column if I'm going to get anywhere close to stash-neutral.