Smooth Sailing Blouse, Smooth Sewing And A Day Out

It took me rather long to buy the "Smooth Sailing" blouse from Wearing History, even though it was love at first sight. Repro patterns are often not as good as true vintage ones. But this blouse really is an exception!
But when we, my dear husband and I, decided that maybe (maybe…) we could go on a holiday in October, I panicked about having no decent stuff to wear. This is the negative side of losing weight when you wear vintage, you can't just go to the next store and buy some cheap off-the-rack rags to fill up your wardrobe. So I had to make some new clothes, and the pattern seemed to be easy and was ready to use.

Ich konnte mich lange nicht überwinden, das "Smooth Sailing" Muster von Wearing History zu kaufen. Repro-Schnitte geniessen nicht immer den besten Ruf, aber dieses ist wirklich eine positive Ausnahme. 
Aber als mein Mann mir sagte, dass wir im Oktober vielleicht doch noch nach Italien fahren, bekam ich Panik, da ich fast nichts mehr anzuziehen habe. Das ist der Nachteil, wenn man abnimmt und Vintage trägt. Man kann nicht in den nächstbesten Laden gehen und ein paar billige Fetzen kaufen… Also musste ich dringend noch ein paar Sachen nähen, da kam mir der pfannenfertige Schnitt grad wie gerufen.

I also made another pair of trousers after the Eva Dress pattern I already posted about earlier this year. I used a blue denim material and changed the pattern to have proper front and back pockets (to carry keys and my mobile phone when I bring my doughtier to the kindergarten). For a tighter fit I skipped the button closure and I inserted a zipper, not in the side seam, but in the front pocket. These changes didn't cause too much troubles, so I could finish the trousers in a rather short time. Smooth sewing.

Ich brauche auch dringend neue Hosen, mit Taschen für Schlüssel und Handy, wenn ich das Tochterkind in den Kindergarten bringe. So gab es einmal mehr eine weite Hose von Eva Dress, die ich somit zum bereits dritten Mal nähte. Diesmal aber eben mit Taschen und statt der Knöpfe einem in die Tasche versetzten Reissverschluss. So sitzt die Hose auch anliegender als mit Knopfleiste. Und trotz des ungeliebten Materials nähte sich die Hose total einfach.

And I needed a blouse to wear with the denims, so I decided it was about time to use my "Smooth Sailing" pattern. And yes, never use your precious fashion fabric if you make a pattern for the first time. Nonetheless, I used this gorgeous Japanese goldfish fabric for my project. First I thought to make something else of it, but the print is a little bit "feedsack-esque", so it was perfect for this vintage style blouse.

It is a slightly heavier cotton material, but very soft and comfy, with a nubby structure. Just the kind of excellent quality I got used to have with Japanese fabrics.

Und dann brauchte ich natürlich eine Bluse dazu. Also den besagten Schnitt endlich in Angriff genommen! Und ja, man sollte immer zuerst ein Testmodell nähen. Trotzdem habe ich gleich meinen guten Stoff genommen, wunderschöne japanische Baumwolle in etwas festerer Qualität und mit einem stark an Vintage-Stoffe erinnernden Fisch-Motiv. Exzellente Qualität, die ich an japanischen Stoffen schätzen gelernt habe. Und obwohl ich den Stoff ursprünglich für etwa anderes gekauft hatte, bin ich froh, ihn für dieses Projekt verwendet zu haben.

     

I am rather small busted not particularly full busted, but I have a wide upper back, so I used a size 16 and added some width. And I made the sleeve slightly larger, as I had learned from various blog posts that the sleeves are rather on the tight side. Carrying my kids since 5 years rewarded me with strong arms.

Ich bin zwar nicht ausserordentlich vollbusig, habe aber einen breiteren oberen Rücken, deshalb schnitt ich die Grösse 16 zu und gab an den Hüften für den gut gepolsterten Popo etwas mehr zu. Auch die Ärmel schnitt ich leicht weiter, die sollen gemäss Urteil etwas knapp sein beim Modell. Die bald 6 Jahre, in denen ich Kinder und Gartengeräte rumschleppe haben mir ordentliche Oberarme beschert… 

The pattern was very easy to sew, and despite having made some adjustments, I didn't have to rip open seams as I usually have to, but I could really sew smoothly and without any major problems. So it was smooth sewing again. (If there had not been problems with my sewing machine who sometimes behaves like a diva.)

Der Schnitt wäre eigentlich ganz leicht zu nähen gewesen, wenn meine Nähmaschine sich nicht wieder mal wie eine Diva benommen hätte. Ich musste auch keine Nähte auftrennen und neu anpassen, trotz der paar geringen Änderungen am Schnitt.

I used some of my much loved vintage buttons. These are made of glass, so they weight a little bit more and therefore are just right for the slightly heavier fabric. And they're  even the perfect match in colour and pattern. I am totally happy with the finished blouse.

Die Knöpfe sind Vintage und aus Glas. Da sie etwas schwerer sind, sind sie genau richtig für den Stoff, und in Farbe und Muster passen sie perfekt zum Material!

I wore those two garments on our trip to the open-air folk museum near Brienz we went to see yesterday. After a very bad summer, we had a sunny and warm day and spent some splendid hours in the mountains. Despite being insulted by a very stupid woman because of the snood I was wearing (she called me a woman with a fish-net on her head…), I enjoyed my new outfit. (Reminds me that stupidity doesn't know any limits. Nonetheless, I'm always totally speechless. My parents just didn't prepare me for such things…)

Das neue Outfit habe ich gestern zu einem Ausflug in ein Freilichtmuseum in der Nähe von Brienz getragen. (Das ist im Kanton Bern, also bereits in den Bergen, und von uns aus in 2 Stunden zu erreichen.) Das Wetter war prächtig und wir genossen die wunderschöne Landschaft. Obwohl ich wegen meines Haarnetztes von einer saudoofen (sorry) Person beleidigt wurde (sie bezeichnete mich als "die da mit dem Fischernetz auf dem Kopf") war es ein perfekter Tag mit meiner Familie und einigen netten Bekannten. (Das ermahnt mich einmal mehr, dass Dummheit keine Grenzen kennt. Ich bin immer wieder sprachlos ob solchen Leuten. Irgendwie haben mich meine Eltern nicht auf sowas vorbereitet in meiner Kindheit.)

Would I use these patterns again? Yes, definitely. And I will wear both items again and again. As you can see, they are very comfortable and neat. Under all circumstances.

Würde ich den Schnitt nochmals nähen? Definitiv ja. Und beide Kleidungsstücke trage ich auch gerne wieder, wie man hier auf einem neueren Bild sieht. Frau macht darin immer eine propere Figur. Unter allen Umständen.

The museum by the way, the Ballenberg, is very interesting. It's a huge area with many very old and beautifully re-built houses, stables and chalets of different regions of my country, so you can see the various architectural characteristics. Some of the houses display old furniture, traditional crafts, or how food was prepared. They smoke sausages, make cider, bake bread, and there is even an old drug-store with stuff they used to sell in previous centuries, so mainly medicinal herbs etc. There is also - very interesting for me - an ancient hat maker's workshop. If you ever happen to go there, be prepared to wear proper shoes and plan to spend the entire day there. The museum is huge, and there are various opportunities to have traditional Swiss food for lunch - or you can bring your own.

Dieses Museum, das Ballenberg, ist übrigens sehr schön und empfehlenswert, wenn man sich für alte Häuser, altes Handwerk etc interessiert. Dort sind die unterschiedlichsten Häuser und landwirtschaftliche Nutzgebäude aus den diversen Regionen der Schweiz auf einem riesigen Gelände zusammengetragen. Einige zeigen noch originale Küchen- oder Wohneinrichtungen, präsentieren traditionelle Handwerke oder wie früher Essen zubereitet wurde. Es werden Würste geräuchert, Brot gebacken, Most gepresst,  man kann manchmal beim Klöppeln zusehen. Ein Haus enthält eine alte Drogerie mit Sachen, die es damals, in den vergangenen Jahrhunderten, dort zu kaufen gab. Mich hat besonders die Hutmacher-Werkstatt interessiert. Falls Ihr je dorthin geht, nehmt gute Schuhe mit, denn es ist sehr weitläufig und man braucht gewiss einen ganzen Tag. Es gibt mehrere Möglichkeiten, traditionelles Essen zu geniessen, oder man kann selbst etwas mitbringen und im Freien essen. Hier ein paar Eindrücke!

The hat maker's workshop

Clockwise: smoked sausages, a traditional peasant's garden, stone pavement of a farmhouse, dried flax 

Below an ancient reed thatched roof.

The stuff in the grass is flax that is being prepared to be turned into linen.

On the left the traditional folk costume of my region for men.

Top left: silk ribbon sample card (ribbons often were woven by peasant during winter); bottom left: an ancient kitchen

A traditional house from the Italian part of Switzerland

Blouse: me-made
Pattern: Smooth Sailing/Wearing History
Fabric: Japanese cotton goldfish print
Buttons: Vintage
Trousers: me-made
Pattern: Eva Dress, modified
Fabric: denim
Button: vintage MOP button
Earrings: vintage screw-on molded plastic screw-backs
Snood: not me-made. I'm not particularly gifted when it comes to crochet.
Glasses: Ray Ban, not vintage, but I couldn't find my 40's style glasses when we left from home…
Watch: vintage
Shoes: Clarks

Vintage Slacks

Ignore my silliness. We stayed at some friends' place and had a good time...

As a mother of two little ones, I can't always wear dresses and skirts, and most trousers that are available off-the-rack don't fit me. Or are terrible. Or both. High-waisted pants are mostly available in larger or so-called "short" sizes for elderly, rather short women. And as the waists of trousers got lower and lower during the past years, and I constantly feel cold around my kidneys, I somehow felt I was getting too old for such things. You can guess that buying pants is a nightmare.

I never thought that, after leaving the 1980s fashion nightmares behind me, I would gladly opt for high-waisted trousers again. But… I always liked the wide-legged trousers Marlene Dietrich used to wear. (This reminds me that I should write a post about her.) Of course they would look different on me, as I'm not that slim, but still, it's a style I love and that will always look very neat and decent. Even if I don't do swing dancing or that kind of cool stuff. (I can't dance at all, I'm unfortunately born with two left legs.)

I bought this wonderful pattern from Eva Dress Patterns. It's a reproduction of Simplicity 3322. The patterns costa little bit, but they're worth it, as they offer some very nice and searched-after patterns in excellent quality. Some come along as multiple-size patterns, like this one.

For many of the patterns there are also pictures of finished projects, so it's really helpful to have a closer look at the entire site.

As a non-native English speaker (even though I am used to talk, write and read in English since 20 years), I didn't know what "slacks" are - until I found that pattern.

I was looking for something exactly like this! I am not sure how I would look in an overall, but the trousers are definitely worth giving a try! 

Since years I had a large piece of a inexpensive poly-cotton gabardine in my stash that I bought for about $10 per meter. I think I bought it about 10 years or more ago to make a trench coat. Of course I never made it. The fabric was still there, looking at me reproachfully each time I opened the shelf. It's a nice tan or dark-beige colour, making it perfect for cooler summer days, spring and autumn, as it has a lightly heavier drape.

After our 1.5 hours drive, the trouser look a little bit wrinkled... 

The colour is certainly not my first choice, even though I think it's not bad and can be spiced up with some top or blouse in a lovely colour or pattern, but I would have liked something that looked like denim or at least a blue fabric to be incorporated in my summer (holiday) wardrobe. Blue, especially combined with red and white, always makes me feel like holiday at the sea. But for now this has to do it. I chose some wooden buttons I bought from a warehouse that closed down many years ago, so I guess they are somehow vintage too...

They are super comfy and were easy to sew (haha, no small bust to deal with this time!!!), and I hope they will be a valuable garment. However, as you can see on the last picture, from my hips downward they are far too baggy and I look much bigger than I am (my bottom IS NOT that fat, at least I hope so), soI will try to make my next pair in a smaller size and look how they turn out.

I am wearing the self-designed peasant knit top I posted already here…

And yes, I definitely look very silly on the pictures. I was standing by this column and my lovely husband said, let's take some pics of your trousers for the blog (how well-educated is he?). I was in a very cheerful mood being with friends and relatives - hehe, maybe too cheerful...

But look what I bought and what arrived yesterday - perfect for summer, especially as we had to cancel our summer holidays! Flamingo cocktail sticks! Aren't they great?

Pattern: Eva Dress Pattern, Vintage Slacks

Fabric: cotton poly gabardine

Peasant top: me-made pattern, organic cotton knit in red gingham by Lillestoff

Lipstick: MAC, Russian Red

Earrings: fruit salad, NOS vintage bought on Ebay

Shoes: pink Moheda Toffeln from Sweden

Toy octopus: not ours...

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.