Think Pink!

Readers, Dame Fortune smiled on us again today!

How often does one stumble upon like-new, vintage, opera-length, pink nylon gloves in a healthy Size 7?   Well, I did, this morning at the flea market. 

Yes, friends, pink.  I realized yesterday, after reflecting carefully on your many heartfelt comments, that I had been working against the obvious girly-girl-ness of this rose-print cotton dress.  Black gloves are simply not what this fabric calls for -- not ideally.  Plus there are rules about these things, I've discovered. Who knew?

Now, generally, I associate pink with fairy princesses, Barbie, and all things My-Little-Pony.  It's not a favorite color and certainly not one I would choose for my sophisticated cousin.  But as soon as I saw these gloves I knew this was the way to go and I hope you will agree.  I remembered, moreover, that at the bottom of Cathy's towering shoe pile was a pair of pale pink satin pumps she wore with the Elaine dress, now more than one year ago.  Remember them?



The result is just this side of Cinderella, but you have to work with what you've got, not against it.  Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!



Meanwhile, I rinsed out the orphaned petticoat I found in the street yesterday.   Can you say, ewww?  It's looking much better today.

,
I finished hemming the skirt, turning the hem up two inches, pressing a crease, attaching polyester lace I bought a long time ago to the bottom, and hand stitching.





Remember the cheap plastic boning I'd bought last week?



I stitched that to the top of the bodice to reinforce the front edge, and it looks great.  No risk of gaping.



I also added the waist stay, which I anchored to the boning casings and seams.



The stay closes with two hook and eyes.  It was easy to attach and actually makes a big difference. 



So the dress is basically finished and, frankly, I'm ready to move on.  I still am undecided about the bolero, but I'm hoping to make a crinoline this week.  If the weather cools a bit perhaps we can put this baby to bed.

Oh, and I just got this for Cathy -- I hope she's not offended!



Friends, I hope you've had a pleasant and productive weekend, even if you didn't spend it shopping for opera length gloves and vintage Sarah Coventry jewelry.



Oh, I almost forgot: it's just two weeks to MPB Day on August 13th!

If you have steamer trunks to ship, beauty parlor appointments to schedule, or reservations at the Waldorf to make, prithee don't tarry.  Hope you can make it, but we'll take lots of pictures, promise.

Happy Sunday, everybody!

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It's a Sign! or "Superstitious Sewing"

Readers, are you superstitious?  I'm not, I mean, not particularly.  But sometimes uncanny, synchronistic occurances do take place and who am I to say they aren't a sign from the great beyond and I don't mean the Bronx.

Not an hour ago I was heading home from the flea market, where I had gone to hunt for some last-minute trinkets for Cathy's strapless cocktail dress photo shoot -- I'm not sure when this photo shoot is going to take place, mind you; strapless or no, I don't think Cathy is up for temperatures in the upper eighties.

Anyway, after picking up a few baubles I'll share with you in a minute, just outside the flea market entrance, someone --  no doubt a flea market vendor -- had disposed of a moldy old Depression-era breakfront that looked to be missing a few drawers; truly a hunk of junk, just sitting there on the curb.  On the shelves were piles of -- I can think of no better word -- crap: everything from not particularly old brassieres to empty candy boxes.

Digging among the detritus -- I couldn't resist -- what did I discover but a vintage tulle petticoat!

I brought it home and took a closer look.  It was damp and a little dingy, but it had a Carolyn Schnurer label.
 

For those of you who don't recognize the name Carolyn Schnurer (I didn't), she was a contemporary of Claire McCardell and an important postwar designer based in New York City.  She designed the "Rice Bowl dress," which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute collection.

She also designed some commercial sewing patterns, like this halter dress.

Something else really cool about this nylon petticoat is that safety-pinned to it is a piece of blue lace trim, undoubtedly the "something blue" a bride would have worn on her wedding day.





So now, superstitious friends, I ask you: just what do you think this all means?

a) I should hunker down and make a crinoline for Cathy's strapless cocktail dress given that I already have all the necessary materials to do so, and the pattern cries out for one.

b) I should disinfect this mildewy Carolyn Shnurer original and have Cathy wear that for her photo shoot.

c) Wedding bells are imminent for one -- or more -- of my beloved MPB followers!  Is it YOU?

Perhaps what you're really thinking is that I need to stop rooting around in the trash, and I should probably disinfect myself, and soon.  But seriously, don't you think it's odd I should find this tulle petticoat just now?  I mean, what's the probability?

Anyway, there's so much to tell about the cocktail dress that I think I'm going to have to break it up into two posts, so if you were hoping I was finally going to be talking about menswear this weekend, you're in for a disappointment and if you want to unsubscribe, I'll understand.

Before I left for vacation, I bought two yards of black grosgrain ribbon (seen here with a black flower I picked up in a beauty supply store for $1).



I hope you will agree that with the summery rose print, which has only a smidge of black in it, though there is some, the contrast is too severe.  Ix-nay on the ack-blay.

Yesterday I returned to Daytona trimming on 39th St., and bought green ribbon:



This might work for a box of Fanny Farmer chocolates, but I don't like it for Cathy.  I also bought pink ribbon, which I'll spare you (think Sandra Dee).  No, I think we're going to go with no ribbon.  Sorry, ribbon fans!



(I did find plenty of cheap, vintage bling at the flea market, however, so don't think my cousin will be unadorned. All this for $10!)



I also bought the correct size spiral steel boning for the front bodice (for a whopping 70 cents at Steinlauf & Stoller) -- a big improvement -- and hemmed for about three hours last night if you can believe it, and I'm still not finished, though nearly.  I'll have more construction details to share tomorrow.

In closing, friends, are you superstitious about your sewing, or anything else in your lives?  Are you constantly looking -- and finding -- signs that instruct you which color trim to use, fabric to buy, or person to marry?

Do you think it would behoove me to dig out my Magic 8 ball before going one step further with this project?  Is the truth staring me in the face but I'm unable to recognize it???  Yes?  No?  It is decidedly so!?

Have a great day, everybody -- and don't forget to heed those mysterious messages!

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I'd rather be sewing!

Friends, I have to be honest.  As much as I enjoy the occasional break from my normal routine, I'm not a vacation person.  It's not that I don't appreciate a change of scenery, I do.  But generally, after a day or two of fun in the sun, I am ready to get back to my strapless cocktail dress project or whatever I'm working on at the moment.



Apropos of cocktail dresses, I recently received a somewhat troubling email from a male-identified reader, who basically accused me of false advertising in my tag line, "The world's most popular men's sewing blog."  He has unsubscribed, "primarily because [MPB] is really about making women's clothing with very few exceptions."  He says he loves my enthusiasm and my "delightful writing style," but apparently that is not enough to keep him.

Readers with or without penises, I cannot deny that I sew women's clothes, but since I am myself a man, I consider everything I sew to be men's sewing.  Perhaps some will see this differently.  Regardless, having dedicated all of February to men's shirts, as well as many weeks to jeans, men's pajamas, toggle coats, etc. (not to mention Guy Week), all within the last six or seven months, I feel I'm giving my XY chromosomed readers their money's worth.

(I do offer a full refund within six months and if this person had read the fine print before commiting himself, he might be awaiting a rather large check.  Oh, well.)

On a somewhat related note, in a moment of perverse curiosity, I happened to Google  "World's LEAST popular men's sewing blog" and I was shocked at the result! 

Poor Debbie....and she tries so hard, too.

But back to my vacation.

It was very relaxing and mercifully brief.  I do enjoy the beach but I am not a beach person.  I don't like to get too much sun and while I enjoy swimming in the ocean, the whole experience is a bit of an ordeal, what with the sand, the sunblock, the shells, the salt, the surf, and the occasional man-eating shark.  Fortunately, there were no jellyfish.

Fire Island, a barrier island off the coast of Long Island, is very lovely, but there is nothing to do there, not even a Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum.  That said, I'm glad I went and Michael and the dogs were in their element.  But me, I'm happy to be back in the sweat shop.



I am sincerely hoping to finish the strapless cocktail dress in the next few days and then, hopefully, move on to something more masculine.

Anyway, enough about me.  What have you been up to since we last communicated and where can I read about it?  Unlike many other bloggers, I love it when my readers link to their blogs in their comments and only wish the invitations came with coffee and cookies. 

In closing, friends, I ask you: if you have a blog, do you ever find yourself sewing things specifically for the blog, or do you just sew what you want to sew and blog about it, readers-be-darned?

Should I sew more men's clothes?  Do you think there's more interest in sequined jockstraps or animal print thongs?

Tell me!

More vacation pics here.

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What brings you joy?

Friends, there are times when so much awfulness seems to be occurring in the world, on so many fronts, that it can leave one feeling very discouraged -- or is it just me?

At periods like these, it can be helpful to remember that no matter what may be happening "out there," we always retain the power to create positive change in our immediate communities, in our families, and in ourselves.

We can start by making joy a priority in our own lives. 

Focusing on joy doesn't mean we stop caring about the world.  But by prioritizing joy, I believe we are, in some small way, making the world a happier, more loving, and even more peaceful place.

Every so often, I like to make a list of the things that bring me joy, and make sure I'm doing at least some of them on a regular basis.  Here are a few of the things on my list:

Spending time with those I love.

Developing my talents and sharing them with others.

Meeting new people.

Making time to explore, think, and just "be."

None of these cost money, though if developing your talents means sewing silk taffeta ball gowns, you might need to cough up so dough.  And sometimes meeting your financial responsibilities can leave little time for "making time to just 'be.'"

My larger point is that it's easy to get wrapped up in negativity and bad news and forget that in our own immediate world, where we can have the greatest impact, we can do almost anything we set our mind to. 

I'll be away from blogging till Friday.  This week, think about what truly brings you joy in life.  I think most of us share a love of sewing, so we already have a creative outlet that brings us joy.

One of my inspirations is the late singer Peggy Lee.  Are you familiar with her?  Despite health problems and personal setbacks, she never lost her joy in performing.  Hearing her sing always brings a smile to my face, and I love watching her playful style and sly, sophisticated glamour.  She was a true light.

Here's a bit of Peggy in action!





A great Peggy Lee song.

In closing, friends, what brings you the most joy, and do you remember to do these things?  If not, where do you get stuck -- money, time, courage, support?

Is there anything you love to do that you're not doing?  Perhaps this summer is the time to begin!

Have a joyful week, everybody!

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1952 Strapless Cocktail Dress: Sneak Preview!

Readers, I lied: we will be discussing McCall's 9152, the strapless cocktail dress, today.  My apologies and thanks for all the topic ideas yesterday.  Will you accept a raincheck?

The dress is not finished, but it's getting there.  And I have some questions for you.  First, most importantly, do you agree that, despite the floral print (or because of it) the bodice really needs the black (velvet, grosgrain?) 1 1/2" wide ribbon along the top, that ties in a big bow?  Or would it be gilding the lily?

What would Helen Rose do?

 

My concern is that, given the informality of the print, the whole thing ends up looking like a sundress.  Of course, black gloves and pearls will help dispel that, but still. 

Yea or nay on the ribbon? 

Next, can I show you the inside of the bodice?  Not bad, right?



OK, you're probably wondering why the two long front bones extend beyond the waistline.  They were too long and I wasn't able to shorten them with the tools I had.  I could have gone back to Steinlauf and Stoller to buy shorter ones (they're pretty cheap) but it was SO hot yesterday.  Instead, I just added a little makeshift casing to the protruding bottom and allowed them to extend below the waistline.



The only problem -- and I'm not sure this wouldn't have happened anyway -- there's a slight tendency for those long bones to want to push the lining up over the neckline a bit.  (This happens whether or not the dress is on -- it's a little shifty since the bone is not sewn directly onto the fashion fabric, only the lining).

Now I bought grosgrain ribbon for a waist stay and that should anchor those bones in place.  And I think Cathy's admittedly pubertal bosom will help keep things snugly in place as well; all I have is a hollow.



To keep the neckline smooth, I also picked up some plastic boning nearby, and I thought I'd anchor that to the neckline edge, which should also discourage the shifting I describe.



BUT, since I have to go uptown and get ribbon anyway (yes, I'm opting for the ribbon), I should probably just get shorter spiral steel bones, right?  Of course, there's no guarantee the bone won't still want to shift...

Friends, these are the kinds of conflicts I'm dealing with today.  They say your external conflicts are just a mirror of your internal conflicts, but I'm not sure if these qualify as external or internal.  We went out for burgers last night around 7 pm and it was still 99 degrees.  That's hot, very hot.  It's hard to think straight.  (Two burgers, one fries, a milk shake, and a beer = $30. Welcome to New York.)

Oh, before I forget: the bolero jacket.  I was going to make it, then I wasn't.  If I'm going uptown to the Garment District I suppose I can pick up a yard of something for that, too.  Lace?  Satin?

Enough!  No more dress drama.

Hey, check out my lapped zipper.  No drama there; though I did break a needle.





OK, I'm really done now.

I hope you're all busy sewing away, or at least not sewing and sweating, which make for a very bad combination.  I had to put a towel on my legs while I whipstitching the bodice lining, so the dress wouldn't absorb my sweat.  It was that or long pants.

Happy weekend, everybody!

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Heat waves and strapless dresses

Friends, the only good thing about a heat wave is....I can't think of anything.  (It feels good when it's over?)   I actually enjoy the heat, most of the time.  But I'm ready for a break, which won't come till next week, when it's predicted to be in the Arctic upper eighties. 

But let's talk sewing -- specifically boning (Who groaned?).  As you can see up top, I cut both the skirt and bodice for my strapless cocktail dress.  The fabric doesn't fray easily and since all the skirt pieces are cut somewhat on the bias, there's no fraying of seam allowances (visible on the right in the photo).  Hence, I'm not finishing them (I'd originally planned to pink them).  This is good.

I have a confession: I have a developed the terrible habit of tracing my darts in colored pencil.  (I know, right?)  Nothing else seems as effective.  I trace them lightly and always test first to make sure nothing shows through the fabric.  What should I be using instead -- wax?  I hate those vanishing ink pens -- too often the ink doesn't vanish and it can seep through the front of the fabric, which pencil does not.  I've also found that ironing the center line of the dart before stitching is helpful (to me, anyway).  Ever try that?



The skirt, as you can see, is quite full, and will likely have a crinoline beneath or something to puff it out a bit (I have a few makeshift tulle crinolines, but this may call for real net -- we'll see). 



Here are the bodice and skirt together.  Mind you, that dummy is not a true bodyform.  Everything that needs close fitting has to be done on you-know-who.



Now, in an ideal world, I'd have underlined the bodice.  Susan Khalje underlines her wedding gown bodices with any of a variety of fabrics, depending on her fashion fabric.   I am not underlining; the pattern instructions didn't mention it (except for sheers) and it didn't occur to me.  Plus let's face it: nobody's getting married in this dress.  It's as much an experiment as anything else (my fabric was $2/yd).

I am simply lining the bodice, using a densely woven cotton sheet.  The boning channels are sewn to the lining itself.  Susan Khalje attaches her boning to the underlining, which is stitched to the fashion fabric, and the whole kit and caboodle is then lined.  Since I'm stitching my boning to the lining, the boning is facing inside (i.e. toward me).  That's what my McCall's instructions say to do. 



The instructions have you stitch the boning by hand to the bodice lining after the lining has been attached.  I'm doing it first (though I'm removing the spiral steel bones before stitching the bodice and bodice lining together (this is then turned; the open bottom is whipstitched to the waistline).  Then the bones can be inserted and the casings stitched closed. 

The boning channels should not protrude into the seam allowance (I made that mistake initially), but should be as close to the upper seamline as possible.  In the pic below, you can see that the casing is caught in the seam allowance:



As it turns out, I'm going to have to trim about 1/2" off my two front bones -- that's one of today's chores.  Then I'll whipstitch the bottom of the bodice lining closed, add my zipper (lapped),  and then a grosgrain ribbon waistline stay, hook and eye, etc.  I'll likely add twill tape to the neckline as well.  That's the plan, anyway.  As you can see, there's still much to do, and much of it is new to me.

I stitched the boning channels to the bodice lining with a zipper foot and it worked well.  (I'm doing this project on my Featherweight.)   If this were a more complicated bodice (or a more difficult fit) I'd likely do this by hand to allow for adjustments in the position of the bones.



What else can I tell you?  If it weren't so hot I might enjoy this more but hey, in six months we'll be complaining about the cold.

Friends, I don't want to talk about this dress again tomorrow; I think we all need a break, I know I do.  Any good topic suggestions out there?

I'm all (slightly sweaty) ears!

Happy Friday, everybody!

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Boning Demystified

The 1952 strapless cocktail dress project continues!

Yesterday afternoon I braved torrid temperatures and sweated up to Steinlauf & Stoller on 39th St., where they sell spiral steel boning in multiple sizes, already precut (to the half inch).  They also sell pre-made cotton channels (or casing) by the yard.  None of this is very expensive: four pieces of boning 1/4" wide, four extra tips (in case I had to shorten them) and a yard-and-a-half of pre-made casing came to less than $5.  I wasn't sure about the casing, but it felt soft enough to use in the lining of the bodice.  Susan Khalje makes her own using silk organza.



The spiral steel boning was nothing like what I expected: it's completely flexible.  I'd envisioned something stiff, akin to a brace, but no, not at all.  

I'll be adding 1" to the length of the bodice, I think, so I added 1" to the length of the boning; I have two 12" pieces and two 7" pieces.  (If I have to shorten them, I can with, I believe, wire cutters and/or pliers, or something.)

Anyway, I pinned the boning to the inside front of the bodice muslin; the recommended positions are drawn on the pattern.  (In the final lining, the darts and boning will be facing out (i.e., against the wrong side of the fashion fabric.)





Michael then pinned me into the bodice.  Ta da!





Of course, the fashion fabric won't have boning attached, just the lining, so the boning shouldn't be visible from the outside.  Here's hoping.

In the meantime, I cut the skirt out of the rose print polished cotton.  It's a six-panel skirt: front, back, and two side fronts and side backs.  Today I'll stitch the panels together.



If I say I am already tired of this fabric, will you forgive me?  It's just been around the house too long.

In closing, readers, suffice it to say I am glad I finally faced my fear of boning.  It was one of those things that I thought was simply beyond my skill level; it's not.  You're basically just sewing vertical (and sometimes horizontal or diagonal) reinforcements to maintain the shape of a garment when you're wearing it. 

Btw, you're not going to want to go through airport security in this dress.

And so the drama continues.  I hope to have another exciting installment for you tomorrow.

What's keeping you busy these days?

Happy Thursday, everybody!



P.S. Anybody up for making the red version of this?

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