Showing posts with label Vintage Sewing Magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vintage Sewing Magazine. Show all posts

Thursday, 10 September 2015

Vintage Find: 1943 Sewing and Craft Magazine


Just bought this wonderful German sewing magazine from Ebay. It's from 1943, and it still has all the pattern sheets and instructions. I always am totally amazed about the fact that even during such a dreadful, terrible time like WW2, there seemed to be a need for beautiful things. Of course, many women made garments for themselves and for their family, so obviously they needed also patterns. 

Diese Tage habe ich dieses wundervolle deutsche Handarbeitsheft auf Ebay erstanden. Es ist von 1943 und kam mit kompletten Schnittbogen. Ich bin immer wieder sehr erstaunt über die Tatsache, dass selbst in den schrecklichen Jahren des zweiten Weltkriegs ein grosses Bedürfnis nach schönen Dingen bestand. Natürlich nähten viele Frauen die Kleider für sich und ihre Familien selbst, und so waren entsprechende Schnitte und Anleitungen natürlich gefragt.




By looking at the pages, you get very well aware of the war. Shortage of materials was a matter people had to deal with. 

Wenn man die Seiten anschaut wird man sich jedoch durchaus bewusst, das Krieg herrschte. Materialknappheit und Rationierung waren auch in diesem Bereich des Lebens präsent.


There are many patterns how to mend worn and damaged garments by replacing single pieces, how to make a new dress from two old ones, or how to make clothing from remainders.

Sehr viele Schnitte zeigten, wie man bei abgenützten Kleidungsstücken einzelne Partien ersetzen oder aus zwei defekten Kleidern oder Reststoffen ein neues anfertigen konnte.



There are blouse and dress patterns that require only little material.

Daneben weitere Modelle mit geringem Stoffverbrauch.



And these purses are woven from paper string. Leather was luxury.

Diese Taschen waren sogar aus Papierschnüren geflochten - Leder war Luxus.


Despite the colourful drawings, war and shortages are present on almost every page until today. As a historian, such magazines are important pieces that show the strong social and historical impact on fashion. (Soon after the war, skirt for example got very full, requiring lots of fabric.)

I appreciate that such items still can be found, as each and every design is beautiful.

Die bunten Illustrationen täuschen also keineswegs über den Krieg und die damit verbunden Rationierung hinweg. Die Historikerin in mir sieht darin also auch ein Stück Zeitgeschichte und den Einfluss, den Gesellschaft, Geschichte und "äussere Umstände" auf die Mode hatten. (Nach dem Krieg kamen dann ja die sehr vollen, materialfressenden Röcke in Mode.)

Ich schätze solche Funde aus der Alltagsgeschichte, und für mich als Näherin hat jedes Modell seine Reize.








Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Vintage Pattern Inspiration - Praktikus Modenblatt 1948



I recently bought some vintage German sewing magazines. One of them is from 1948. It's a "Praktikus Modenblatt" from autumn 1948.

Kürzlich habe ich einen Stapel deutsche Nähhefte erstanden. Eines davon ist von Herbst 1948.


It's one of the many sewing magazines that appeared in those times, after WW2, when life was slowly going back to "normal". Home sewing was still a major occupation for women and young girls, especially as off-the-rack clothing probably was still scare (and not always affordable)  and women nonetheless felt the need to dress after the fashion.

In jener Zeit wurden wieder viele solcher hefte herausgegeben. Das Leben nach dem 2. Weltkrieg "normalisierte" sich langsam wieder. Die Hausschneiderei war noch eine weitgehende Beschäftigung bei den Frauen jener Zeit, vor allem weil fertige Kleidung nicht immer erhältlich und erschwinglich war, und sich die Frauen ja dennoch modisch und nett anziehen wollten.


It's full of totally adorable patterns for dresses, sleepwear - also for men, coats, dirndls, etc. Mostly sewing patterns, but also some knitting.

Es ist voller sehr schöner Schnitte für kleide, Schlafanzüge (auch für Männer), Mäntel, Dirndl uvm. In der Regel sind es Schnitte, bis auf wenige Strickanleitungen.




There are some house-dresses (dusters) and aprons too!

Und natürlich fehlen Hauskleider und Schürzen nicht!


I don't ski, but for an après-ski drink I would love to wear one of those outfits!

Ich fahre nicht Ski, aber für einen gemütlichen Après-Ski-Drink würde ich so etwas sicher tragen.


Such sewing magazines are great, as they contain a wide range of patterns in various sizes. Besides that, it's always fun to see ads from times gone by.

Solche Hefte sind immer toll, nicht nur wegen der vielen Schnitte, sondern auch wegen der oft amüsanten Werbung aus jener Zeit.





Dirndl dresses were also worn in winter. They were part of women's wardrobe more often than today.

Dirndl-Kleider wurden noch viel häufiger getragen als heute, auch im Winter.


Coats didn't show the wide, tent-like shape of the new-look design of the following years.

Und die Mäntel hatten noch nicht die weite, fast zeltförmige Form des New-Look-Designs der folgenden Jahre.


The pattern sheet is a challenge. Monochrome. A textbook example for a picture puzzle...
But once you know how to find the pattern pieces and copy them, it's manageable. Come-on, women in the 40s could do that too!

Schnittbögen aus jener zeit sind eine kleine Herausforderung. Einfarbig. Ein Vexierbild wie es im Buch steht. Hat man aber mal raus, wie die Schnittteile zu finden und zu kopieren sind, ist es machbar. Immerhin, die Frauen jener Zeit konnten das auch!



Magazine: Praktikus Modenblatt für die Hausfrau
Erster Jahrgang, 15. November 1948 (first issue! - erste Ausgabe!)

The magazine "Praktikum Modenblatt" was published from 1948 to 1950 by the publishing house "Sebaldus" on a monthly basis. Later it merged with two other sewing magazines and was published still under the same name.

Das "Praktikus-Modenblatt für die Hausfrau wurde im Jahr 1948-1950 in Nürnberg durch den Verleger Selbaldus-Verlag abgedruckt und erschien auf monatlicher Basis. Danach wurde die Zeitschrift mit den Handarbeitsheften "Susann" und "Heim und Kleid" zusammengelegt.

Monday, 4 August 2014

Share In Style "Flowers" - Faux Flower Border Print (Swiss National Day Dress)



When I read that one of the upcoming editions of #bloggersharingstyle would be about flowers, I was most happy to join. One of the best themes! I love flowers, flower fabrics, flower jewelry - what else could you expect from a sewer that grows more than 100 different roses in her garden?

Als ich das Motto für das kommende "Share In Style" vernahm, war ich überglücklich. Blumen - das beste Thema! Ich liebe Blumen in jeder Form. Was sonst ist bei jemandem zu erwarten, wo über 100 verschiedene Rosen im Garten wachsen?

It's a fact that vintage fabrics in sufficient length are difficult to find in my country, and if you find them, some are in a poor condition or very expensive, or both, and you just get a sad rag for lots of money. Ever harder to come by are border print fabrics, of all fabrics that are most amazing to create lovely full vintage style skirts!

Vintage Stoffe sind schwierig zu finden. Viele sind in armseliger Verfassung, oder sehr teuer, oder  gleich beides, so dass man oft teure Lumpen kauft. Noch seltener zu finden sind Stoffe mit Bordüren-Drucken, die für Vintage-Mode und besonders schöne Sommer-Röcke hervorragend geeignet wären.

Recently I came across this lovely modern border print by Timeless Treasures featuring several borders of lovely red geraniums.

Dann stiess ich auf diesen schönen modernen Stoff…




Why not creating  my own border fabric? The colour range of the geranium print would make it easy. A solid black fabric to complete the "faux border" look should not be too difficult to find. 

If the mountain won't come to the prophet, the prophet must go to the mountain.

Weshalb nicht meinen eigenen Bordüren-Stoff kreieren? Mit einem schwarzen Uni-Stoff als Ergänzung?


Wenn der Berg nicht zum Propheten kommt….

So I cut two borders - the print is lengthwise, along the selvage - and stitched them to the solid black fabric. Black, however, is not always black. I mean it IS black, but in a different "nuance", as we say. So the two blacks were different, and I wanted to add some red piping between the two fabrics.

Ich schnitt zwei Bordüren-Streifen und plante, sie an schwarzen Stoff zu nähen. Aber Schwarz ist nicht immer Schwarz. Rotes Paspel-Band sollte Abhilfe schaffen!
.

However, I had to remove the cord from the piping - it made the skirt so stiff that it would have looked rather like an oversized teapot cozier than a skirt. Nonetheless, it looks nice like that as well. And it still makes the skirt a little bit fuller, even without petticoat!

Letztlich musste ich die Kordel des Paspelndes entfernen (was blieb war das "Schrägband") - es hätte den Rock unheimlich steif werden lassen und ich hätte darin wie ein überdimensionaler Teekannen-Wärmer ausgeschaut. Der Rock wirkt auch so noch relativ "voll", selbst ohne Petticoat.

I had ordered 1.5 yards, so the skirt is almost 3 yards wide in circumference. For the start I didn't want to use a particular skirt pattern. A pleated skirt is a pleated skirt. Just maths. And some sewing. But I was lucky: in my pattern collection there was a vintage pattern (Simplicity 1700 from 1956) for a pleated skirt that had, when upgraded to my size, exactly the same circumference as my skirt, therefore I knew more or less how deep the pleats should be. So less maths. Happy face.

Zuerst wollte ich aus den fast 3 Yards Rockumfang ohne Muster einen Faltenrock machen. Ist ja nicht so ein Ding. Dazu muss man nur rechnen können (was auf mich nicht wirklich zutrifft…). Und nähen. Doch dann fand ich dieses Muster, das meinen Massen insofern entsprach, dass ich nichts mehr rechnen musste, ausser ein paar Anpassungen, da mein Rock statt der einzelnen rückwärtigen Mittelnaht zwei Seitennähte hat. Aber immerhin ersparte ich mir etwas Rechnerei...


The only problem was that my skirt had two side seams, not a single back seam, so I had to re-arrange the pleats. They are pleated in two different "directions", so they meet in the middle back and front.


And I used a green zipper! I didn't have a black one, and I kind of loved the idea of having this secret colourful detail that is there, even though it's not visible and hidden in the pleats…

Mein Reissverschluss ist grün - das sieht natürlich wegen der Falten niemand, macht mir aber trotzdem Freude, so als "kleines spezielles Detail"...

I had still two borders left to make a matching top - making it a dress. I used this pattern here from one of my vintage sewing magazines from 1953:

Ich hatte noch zwei Bordüren-Streifen übrig, um ein passendes Top draus zu machen, und versuchte mich an einem Schnitt aus einem Modemagazin von 1953:

I chose the one with the square neckline, but made it without collar and added a  lining along the neck and front.


The magazine is missing its cover, but there are tons of the most amazing patterns in it!
Without collar it looks a dirndl style top. The red piping is definitely nice, but was a nightmare to sew. The overlapping fronts are closed with buttons. Vintage glass buttons! I was so happy I could use some of my treasures for this project. However, they are not my first choice, and when I was searching for my vintage red button earrings for the pictures, I found some more vintage black buttons that would have been a better choice. Maybe I will change them later. (Reminds me that buttons should not be stored with jewelry…)

Ohne Kargen sieht es ein wenig aus wie ein Dirndl-Oberteil. Das rote Paspelnd sieht zwar hübsch aus, war aber ein Alptraum zum Verarbeiten. Die überlappenden Vorderteile werden mit Knöpfen verschlossen. Mit Glas-Knöpfen aus den 1940ern! Ich war total happy, dass ich die aus meinem Fundus verabreden konnte, auch wenn sie von der Musterung her nicht so meine erste Wahl waren. Jedenfalls fand ich noch mehr, die gepasst hätten, als ich später meinen roten Ohrschmuck für die Fotoaufnahmen suchte. Vielleicht werde ich das später noch ändern. (Und ich muss mich unbedingt daran erinnern, dass ich Knöpfe definitiv NICHT mit meinem Vintage-Schmuck aufbewahren sollte….)


If you have a close look, you will probably notice that the fabric pattern of the front wrap  meets exactly with the pattern of the other front part. This was sheer coincidence, but I'm extremely proud of it.

And, oh, I made a matching red belt with a red vintage belt buckle! 

Das Muster der überlappenden Vorderteile ergänzt sich nahezu perfekt. Purer Zufall. Trotzdem bin ich stolz auf den Effekt. Auch ein blindes Huhn legt mal ein Ei. Oder so…


Und ein passender Gürtel dazu - selbst genäht mit einer Schliesse aus den 40ern oder 50ern!



My dress was ready to wear on August 1st - Swiss National Day!

Und das Kleid wurde genau zu unserm Nationalfeiertag fertig, dem 1. August!


Many people in Switzerland grow geraniums on their window benches and balconies in summer. Often smiled at and being mocked as "square" and typical for a rural and small-burgeois lifestyle, it is, at least for me, a must-have each summer. They bloom constantly and don't mind being without water for some days (perfect for me). 

In meinem Land haben viele Leute im Sommer Geranien vor den Fenstern oder auf Balkonen. Oft werden diese Blumen als etwas kleinkariert und spiessig angesehen, ich aber muss sie jeden Sommer um unser Haus herum haben. Sie blühen unermüdlich und nehmen es einem nicht übel, wenn sie mal ein paar Tage kein Wasser haben (wie praktisch für mich). 





I have a lovely red hat from the 1950s that is perfect for this outfit. The veil is still intact! And - best of all things - it is covered with lots of delicate silk flowers… Flowers on my dress, flowers on my hat…

Der hübsche Hut aus den 50ern passt prima zu meinem Kleid. Der Schleier ist noch vollständig intakt! Er ist besetzt mit ganz vielen zarten Seidenblumen… Ganz wie mein Kleid, blumenübersät.




I had also planned and cut a lovely vintage style purse from the rest of the border print fabric, but then the weather forecast changed quite drastically, so we had to take the pictures a day earlier than expected and the purse was not finished.

Eigentlich hatte ich noch eine passende Handtasche aus dem Geranien-Stoff in Arbeit, aber dann änderte sich das Wetter schnell und wir mussten unsern Foto-Termin rasch vorverlegen, so dass die Tasche unvollendet blieb (kommt später noch).





Skirt: me-made after Simplicity 1700
Top: me-made, pattern from a 1953 German sewing magazine
Fabric: Timeless Treasures, bought on Etsy
Belt: me-made with a vintage buckle (bought on Etsy)
Buttons: vintage, bought on Etsy
Earrings: vintage, bought on Etsy
Shoes: plateau sling-backs, bought about 8 years ago, but they are still in great shape and great to wear
Hat: vintage silky flower and veil hat from the 1950's, bought on Ebay
Sunglasses: vintage repro, no idea where from…

In case you didn't notice, I'm an avid Etsy-an. :-)

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Vintage Playsuit Sew Along - Pattern Inspration from my Collection



As I pointed out in my last post about my first attempts to get some ideas about the planned VPSA, it will take some time to prepare this project, as it consists of several garments that should not only suit my measurements and meet my needs, but should also make a matching set in the end.

So I had a look at my collection of patterns. I have this one-piece playsuit or swimsuit, but the longer I'm thinking about it, the more I'm convinced that a two-piece suit would be better for me.



This pattern, Advance 6742 (circa 1954) makes a gorgeous set, however, the bloomers will definitely not come into consideration. The top is fantastic, summery, but still decent enough to be wearable in town or for lunch. I think I would make the front buttons as a fake closure and insert a zipper, as button closures on fitted garments tend to look always a little bit, well, not fitted...
Also the skirt in its shorter version is fine, however, I would prefer a buttoned skirt for the longer version, or a wrap skirt.




This Butterick 6535 would be a nice pattern for the pants, they come along in two lengths. The bustier as an addition to a top that shows less skin... I could wear it on the beach. (If we manage to go to a holiday to Italy, for example...) If I have time and enough material (which is still not chosen), I will definitely make this cute bustier, would look certainly great on the beach.



This gorgeous Simplicity 3160 from 1950 offers another pattern for short pants and a full long skirt. Also the sleeveless blouse would be an option... Both patterns are size 14, so I would have to upsize them anyway for the pants.


I think I bought this 1950s Simplicity 1125 mainly because of the skirt and the top - not even realising that it's actually a playsuit set. It was also rather cheap, and looking at the prices asked for playsuit patterns - an excellent buy! I still think the top is great, as well as the wonderful wrap skirt, but also the pants would be worth thinking about. (Ah, yes, and again upsizing is necessary...)


The view 2 top of this pattern (it's a Simplicity 3891 from the 1950s) would look great, depending from the material I will use, and it's also simple to make!


This 1957 Simplicity 2072 dress pattern is not a typical playsuit set, but I will have to check the pants. And of course, a bolero would be a nice option!


Late 1950s Simplicity 3427 has a nice pattern for short pants and a lovely top. I certainly would not make the coat, but I love the striped and plain fabric combination!


I guess I have enough patterns to make short pants. And some nice options for halter tops and blouses. (I have not checked my separate blouse patterns so far...)
Anyway, I will certainly have to decide weather I would like to make a full skirt or a wide and long wrap skirt, so the playsuit set would look definitely more 50s. Or if I should, for a more 1940s style, make this wrapped front skirt from my 1944 Hollywood 1356 pattern with cascade at the left side front and the tied belt that looks very much like a sarong skirt. Just chose the right fabric, such as a tiki or Hawaiian fabric. More questions...


Here are two more options for wide skirts. View 2 from Advance 6327 would be great for a very summery look, choosing two contrasting colours...



Then I remembered my vintage sewing magazines from the very early 1950s. And I had a slight idea that there could be a playsuit pattern as well. But there's not only one, but several of them and so many ideas!


The top left design is fabulous! I love the skirt, the slightly longer pants, the blouse... Would definitely call for one of my tropical fabrics or something with a large floral print, combined with summery solid colours. Could be accomplished by the striped bustier and short pants on the right.






Dealing with the multiple pattern sheet is not such an issue - that's how I made my very first clothes back in the late 1980s when I was a teenage girl, so I guess I can handle it still.

There's plenty of inspiration from my own patterns. I must admit, I was a little bit tempted to have a quick look around Etsy or so, just in case there was THE pattern I was looking for. But then, as my collection has been growing over the past few years and still does, I think I will limit myself to what I already have. I'm pretty sure it will take a long time to chose all the patterns for my playsuit set even that way.








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