1940s | Jeanne Marie’s Sewing Studio

TCM’s Summer of Darkness

Vintage Fashion Theater, Vintage style June 10, 2015 Leave a comment

1944’s “Laura” starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews is playing this Friday on TCM’s Summer of Darkness.

Being a film noir lover (the costumes!), I’m spending the warm months hiding in the shadows of the TCM Summer of Darkness. Every Friday in June and July, Turner Classic Movies is showing nothing but noir.

I’m even taking the free online course TCM is hosting in conjunction with the Summer of Darkness, called “Into the Darkness: Investigating Film Noir.” We’re in Week 2 of 9, and I’m learning a lot already about one of my favorite film genres — or is it a style or even a movement? There’s still time to register for the class and catch up on the fun homework (or just learn more about noir and what movies TCM is showing) at summerofdarkness.tcm.com.

Vintage style bicycle-print blouse

Completed project, Vintage style May 29, 2015 Comments: 6

I saw a shirting fabric with a bicycle print at Jo-Ann’s and couldn’t resist:

How cute is this little bike?

I decided it was perfect for a shirt, and since I had already altered dress pattern Butterick 5846 to be a blouse, I used that. I did move the tucks down an inch, because I think they stopped too high, and I also made each tuck a little shallower. (As it turns out, the fabric has some stretch to it, so I probably didn’t need to make the tucks shallower. I really need to start paying closer attention to the information on the bolt ends.)

Here’s the finished blouse:

The fabric didn't seem like it would stand on it's own, so I also bought a coordinating blue for the collar.

The fabric seemed like it needed a little something extra, so I decided to use a contrast fabric for the collar. I forgot to take photos when I finished, so these were taken after the first wash.

And the back:

I do like the yoke on this pattern, but I am over making all those tucks!

I think I am over making the 12 tucks called for in this pattern!

Detail of the collar. The light area is just the sun through the shrubbery in my back yard.

Detail of the collar. The light area on the collar is just the sun peeking through the shrubbery in my back yard.

I bought the buttons a while ago from a Jo-Ann’s clearance bin at 50 cents a card. They are octagon shaped and faceted. A good match for the bicycle wheels, I thought.

I’ve worn this blouse a couple of times — once with my wide-leg denim pants and once with some navy capris — and I really like it. But I usually wear blouses untucked with pants or capris, and this really flairs out below the tucks. In short, it makes my butt look big. And I don’t even have a butt.

But this blouse will be fab tucked into a navy skirt. I need to get on that, but the sewing project list is long!

Update: Welt pockets for my denim pants

Construction update May 26, 2015 Leave a comment

I couldn’t stop thinking about welt pockets, so after consulting about three sewing books from my library, I finally broke down and added them to the back of my already completed wide-leg 1940s denim pants from Simplicity 3688.

Welt pockets were so much easier than I thought! I plan to put them in every pair of pants I ever make.

The outside:

My first single-welt pockets! I used vintage buttons and white top-stitching to match details elsewhere on the pants.

You can’t tell from this picture, but the pockets are really low. Not stupid low, but pretty low. My books said they shouldn’t cross a dart, and the darts were long. But after my pockets were complete, I examined a few suit jackets in my closet and found that the welt pockets cross right through seams and/or darts! Next time I make these pants, I’ll put the welt at least an inch higher up.

And the inside:

I had to use scraps to sew the pocket bags, so they are smaller than they should be.

Although I was able to add the pockets after the fact, they would have been more successful had I done them during construction. I examined the single-welt pockets on my husband and son’s khaki pants and found that the top of the pocket bag extends into the waistband seam. I think anchoring them at the top would keep them from sagging, so I’ll try that next time.

Also, in some of the pants, the sides of the pocket bag were sewn BEFORE it was pulled to the wrong side, then they were sewn again to make French seams. They were very tidy inside.

Since I made these, I’ve been noticing all sorts of interesting variations in welt pockets. (Which means I’ve been staring pretty intently at a lot of butts. “Pardon me, I’m not a perv, just a seamstress.”) I’ve seen pocket flaps of various shapes, button loops, and different top-stitching details. Some of these variations will make it into a future pair of pants.

But I have several other projects to complete before I can even think about another pair of pants.

My new vintage-style blouse from Butterick’s 5846 dress pattern

Completed project November 18, 2014 Comments: 3

For my latest project, I started off with dress pattern Butterick 5846 and turned it into a blouse. I love how this blouse came out, particularly since I my last attempt at a project had a sad ending.

Here’s my new garment:

This is a quilting cotton, so it’s a little heavy for a blouse, but it’s soft. I love-love-love the colors.

And the back.

Here are some of the fun details:

The pattern calls for top-stitching all over the place, which I liked.

The vintage buttons are fun and a good match.

As a reminder, here is where I started:

I originally had this darker green thread selected for the top-stitching, but as you can see, I ended up going with a bright yellow-green instead.

How a dress became a blouse

I decided the 1930s-40s lines of Butterick 5846 would be perfect for the vintage-style fabric I found that only had enough yardage left for a blouse. I made some adjustments to the pattern to turn the dress pattern into a blouse pattern and then made a few other changes just to customize it:

I made the bodice longer. The bodice originally ended at the waist seam with a total of 12 tucks into that seam. I extended the tucks an inch (the better to hide behind a waistband) and increased the bodice length about 9 inches.
I changed the gathered sleeves to regular set-in sleeves. Gathered sleeves are not the best look on me. I liked the sleeves on New Look 0134, which I had recently made, so I wanted to substitute those. I measured the armhole sleeve seam on New Look 0134, and it was a perfect match for Butterick 5846. Once I eased them, the sleeves went in beautifully. Love them.
I made the collar a little larger to better reflect vintage styles. Vintage blouses tend to have bigger collars than today’s blouses. I made a line bisecting the point of the collar, then drew a new point an inch out from the original one. I then blended the lines into the original collar where it joined the neckline and at the shoulder. It’s a subtle change, but it gives me confidence that I can do pretty much anything I want with a collar shape.
I turned the two-piece yoke into a single yoke. I couldn’t figure out why the yoke had a seam at the shoulder — until I was tracing it to make it a single piece. If it’s done in a plaid or a stripe, the lines on the front part of the yoke will be at a weird angle. That didn’t affect this print, and I was already tracing, so I continued on and made the yoke one piece. It was a simple matter of overlapping the shoulder seamlines and tracing.

Construction changes

I still don’t want to deal with my serger (which probably only needs to be serviced), so I am all about tidy seam finishes that don’t require one. Since I practiced flat-felled seams on my recent ill-fated project, I used them all over this blouse. I love the way they look.

How slick are these flat-felled seams? They were a little tricky here at the armhole seam, but I made them work.

For the yoke, I used a technique I’ve been reading about for years but had not had the opportunity to try. The yoke is sewn entirely by machine and then turned out. The trick is rolling up the bodice pieces before you sew. Style Arc’s website has a great explanation of the technique here. The top-stitching on the yoke is strictly decorative.

And here it is on me!

My new blouse. Photos by Matt Henry, the 10-year-old.

The back.

I am so happy with this blouse that I eventually want to make a long-sleeve version with a white collar and cuffs. And I have the perfect fabrics in my stash. Until I find something else I like, this will be my go-to blouse pattern. It’s already fitted, so the sewing is quick.

Meanwhile, I have this fab blouse and nothing vintage-style to wear with it. But I’m trying to take care of that with my next project. A muslin is underway and going well so far. I’m thinking dark blue denim.

Gemini Note (because it’s not all about the sewing)

After an amazing start, and a horrifying June Swoon, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the third time in five years. As much as I love sewing while watching baseball games (three hours of multi-tasking!), I canNOT sew during playoffs. Not with the way the Giants play. I’m too busy clutching a pillow. I’m so glad the season is finally over. My nerves couldn’t take much more, and I have lots of sewing to do!