A spot of Make Do and Mend

I’ve been at it again with a spot of Make do and Mend!

A few weeks ago, we took a trip into the depths of rural North Norfolk to visit an incredible octogenarian with the most amazing collection of vintage clothing I have ever seen!

Setting eyes, for the first time, on the rails and suitcases stuffed to the brim with vintage goodies, I was rendered temporarily speechless (Mr Y only wished he had been there to enjoy the fleeting silence!).

Accumulated over a lifetime, this incredible collection is housed in the beautiful 14^th century home that the owner of said collection was born and raised in.  A hoarder (her term) of things, as we happily chatted and rummaged, we were shown everything from the pixie hood she wore to school during the early ‘30s (now the prized possession of my eldest little lady) to a pair of green leather wedge shoes that she bought in April 1947 to go with a moygashel dress which, when the New Look came in, were suddenly out of fashion, but no replacement could be bought because she had no more clothing coupons!

The collection had been in storage for many, many years.  Many of the items were in beautiful condition but, as is so often the case with true vintage clothing, some pieces required a good wash, the odd stitch or too and a button here or new zip there. 

I love, love, love what I do.  I get excited by every new find and could wile away many an hour looking at the structure and design of the clothing of the era.  We brought so many wonderful items home with us that to choose a favourite would be impossible but, for me, a definite contender for that spot is this amazingly bright 1930’s number.

The dress is made from very fine cotton and was homemade during the 1930’s.  The lady recalled, with great zest, how she disliked it greatly and had had a preferred alternative.  With the crisp white collar and sleeve trim detail, I love it, and such bright colours; stunning.

Sadly, the dress had been worn and worn and worn and, as such, the underarm on both sleeve and dress were badly damaged. 

Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have considered the dress because, in its purchased state, it was un-wearable; even for the hardiest of 1940's re-enactors.

However, the dress found its saviour in the form of a rather generous, and definitely passion killing, pair of bloomers!  Just take a look at the voluminous behind on these drawers.  No chance of coping an eyeful of something you weren’t meant to with these little babies on your behind!

With pursed lips and a deep breath, I carefully unpicked the sleeves.  The seams had been overstitched by hand to prevent fraying, the seam allowance was on the small side and the stitching was tiny which made the process of unpicking them rather time consuming.

You can just see the over stitched seams - tricky little blighter to unpick!

Once the sleeves were off and the dainty white trim removed, I made a paper pattern from the damaged sleeve.

The seams on the bloomers had been stitched, folded over, and stitched again which made unpicking them impossible so I cut off the seams.  When originally made, the pattern had been cut on the cross, to give a degree of stretch to accommodate ones derrière, which meant there wasn't as much fabric in them as I thought there would be, but I managed to find enough fabric on the straight grain to get 2 new sleeves cut.

 

The underarm damage had been patch repaired a long time ago.  In other vintage dresses I have, there are underarm gussets and so, with that in mind, I cut away the damaged fabric from the underarm on the right hand side and made a paper pattern from the pieces which I then flipped over to make corresponding replacements for the other side.

With such a busy floral print, the new pieces are virtually lost in the design and you have to look quite hard to see the repair. 

Originally, the dress had a belt, as most dresses of the day did.  I didn't have a long enough piece of fabric to make a belt from one piece so instead joined together 4 pieces, 12" long, and fashioned them into a back tie belt.  With the addition of a white 1930’s buckle for decorative detail only, I think the dress has turned out really well.  Granted, it's not as good as new, but something that might have ended up on the scrap heap has now been given a new lease of life and is ready to find a new home.

But it doesn’t stop there :o)

Inspired by the colours of the dress, I decided to make a matching corsage.  I actually made the corsage before I butchered the dress, I simply couldn't wait!! :o)  

I love the colours in the dress.  There is something so wonderfully fresh and spring like about them and the green was so vivid and bright.  I matched my felt colours as closely as possible, although I couldn't match the yellow (I still haven't found a decent, non acidic, yellow shade) and so went for cream instead.

I used a new to me corsage pattern from 1941.  It's fiddly to cut out, but the finished design is really pretty so all the snipping is worth it!  I'm now chomping at the bit to make some more!! :o)

Beautiful Bank Holiday

Well,what a beautiful bank holiday we had.  The sun shone here in my little bit of Suffolk for the entire three days and not a bit of rain fell; something which is virtually unheard of on a British bank holiday. 

I've been snuffling along this past week with a rather knock out bought of lurgy that Mr Y kindly brought home with him from school.  Snuffles and sneezes are an occupational hazard in his job :o)  To tick me off even further, I've woken up this morning with a cricked neck which is making even the simplest of tasks painful. 

I therefore have very few words for you today (you might consider that to be a good thing!) but I couldn't let the glorious bank holiday slip past without a mention.  We certainly made the most of it!  It involved some gardening, a BBQ, the historic car run, a trip to the ice cream parlour, DIY (it was a bank holiday after all!), sewing, knitting, crafting, baking and birthday celebrations. (The pictures have loaded in a random order - sorry).



A spot of vintage sewing - making good a 1930's dress which had
seen better days.




Just one of hundreds of vintage vehicles that drove from Ipswich

to Felixstowe as part of the historic vehicle run.







Bakewell tart birthday cupcakes with custard icing proved to be a
real hit.



  


New pattern arrivals.  The War Woollies for Women is in appalling
condition but still legible, just! 

 


Some simple knitting - all my woolly headed brain can cope
with right now.



  


Birthday gifts for my lovely mum who celebrated her birthday
yesterday by acting as a member of the WVS at the
Middy at War event.

 


Local strawberries, the first of the season.




The tiny felt brooch that I made my mum from a 1941 magazine.



I hope you all had a great weekend, whatever it was filled with, and think, in just 17 days time, we get to do it all again!! :o)

Anyone For a Dip?

Well, that was a rather unintended absence from the blog, I do apologise.  I’m not entirely sure what happened.  It’s not that I haven’t been busy, for I have and there are so many things I want to share with you, but time simply hasn’t allowed.  The Easter holidays were all consuming and when Mr Y headed back to school, it took me a while to get back into a routine but I’m happy to say that we’re back on track, just!

We’ve been having much better weather in my neck of the woods.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not exactly sun, sea and swimming costume season yet but at the rate this year is romping by, the summer will soon be upon us.  Day dreaming of BBQ’s and trips to the beach, my attention has been turned to a spot of vintage swimwear.

Up until the mid 19^th century, popular male attire for an early morning dip was ones birthday suit!  Yes, seriously, swimming in the buff was not uncommon and it wasn’t until 1860 that the practice was banned – thank goodness :o)

For women, swimming attire was an entirely different, and frankly burdensome, affair!  During the 18^th century, fashions of the day were for skin white as snow and exposure to the sun was discouraged.  Women would enter the water fully clothed in dress, shawl, gloves and a bonnet.  To protect modesty further still, some had weights sewn into the hems of their dresses to prevent the fabric floating to the surface of the water.  I can’t help wondering how many of them were pulled down by the sheer wet weight of what they were kitted out in! 

As general fashions changed and styles updated and modernised, swimwear fashions followed suite.  However, up until the early part of the 20^th century, the overriding theme of women’s swimwear was one of modesty.  It was deemed indecent for too much flesh to be on display and figure hugging attire was a definite no go.

Photo taken from here.

By the end of the Victorian era, with rail travel made available to the masses, people flocked to the seaside to enjoy all that was on offer.  The cumbersome Victorian costumes of woollen dresses over bloomers hindered a wearer’s ability to actually swim and a revolutionary new design was required. 

During the 1920’s, women gained greater freedom and relative equality than they had ever had before.  With their roles within the home and the workforce changing, swimwear designers were able to offer the newly empowered women a more feminine costume, designed to flatter and appeal. 



Photo from here.

Costumes were no longer purely a thing of practicality or designed with modesty in mind.  As the decades moved on, the ‘30s and 40’s saw necklines come down and hems go up!  A costume was not simply for swimming, they became a thing of fashion, of play, of beauty; something to swan around in and look lovely :o)

It was in the late 1940’s and 1950’s that swimwear design really took off.  With the invention of manmade materials, designers could, more than ever before, create a sculpted look.  The lovely ladies of the day could slip into something fabulous which had been designed with fashion in mind and would enhance and show off their assets rather than disguise and hide them. 

The swimming costumes of the 1940’s and 1950’s are not dissimilar in design to those we have today and those that you might well find in your own chests of drawers.

Part of the reason I’ve had a little delve into the history of the good old cossie is because I have been having a sort out of my vintage clothing mountain and have decided to part with 3 rather splendid vintage swimsuits.

For any of you who don’t know, I sell original 1930’s and 1940’s clothing (with a small amount of early 1950’s clothing thrown in for good measure).  In my journey to sniff out beautiful period pieces, I often come across little gems that aren’t from my preferred area, or that aren’t really what I sell, but that are just begging to be rescued and the three costumes that I am getting rid of are perfect examples of this!

My favourite of the bunch is a candy stripe cotton one which is from the 1940’s or 1950’s.  It is just divine, in near perfect condition, desperate to find a new home.  There is no makers label on this one so no history to go with it but it is deserving of a new loving home.

The other two are later examples, and part of the Rose Marie Reid range.  I’d never heard of Rose Marie Reid until I was looking up the label, as you do, and found out that she was quite a well know designer!  Born in 1906, she began designing swimwear in the 1930’s and by the mid 1940’s, 50% of all swimwear sold in Canada had been designed by Reid – not bad in my book! :o)

The costumes have all been put on eBay because I simply have no idea what they are worth so if any of you vintage loving ladies are on the lookout for a new costume to soak up the sun in, take a look at the listings which can be found here.

Pretty Posies

A few weeks ago, with spring failing to make an appearance and the arctic weather still lurking (it's snowing here as I type!!), I decided to bring some colour to the doom and gloom and indulged in a spot of felt flower making. 

Corsages were very popular during the '40s.  With the availability of new clothing very much restricted, people had to make the very best of what they had.  The women of the era turned to accessories and embellishments to give a tired frock a new lease of life. 

Scouring the pages of craft magazines of the time, you will find various patterns for posies and trimmings.  As well as the expected knitted, felted and crocheted examples, you can find buttonholes made from all manner of things.  From broken zips to bottle corks, pine cones to dried seaweed (yes, really, it was dried before being painted with enamel paint), the women of the time were truly resourceful - they simply had to be - although how many of them actually pinned seaweed to their lapel, I don't know.  Eau de poisson and visions of the local cats following you home spring to mind! :o)

I have dabbled (and failed) with the knitted variety, given a good go (with limited success) to the crocheted lovelies but my fail safe and favourite crafty supply to work with is felt.  The range of colours, the way it can be snipped and shaped and stitched - I just love it.  I try to work in 1940's colours, where possible, no acidic or fluorescent shades here.

So, when the opportunity presented itself for a few hours "me" time, a very precious commodity for anyone home educating little lovelies, I jumped at the chance. 

With some forties favourites on the airwaves and cake to keep my company, I set to work.  Felt flower making is not a quick process, as I'm sure many of you fellow crafters know.  From copying the pattern, drawing it onto the felt, snipping, stitching, stitching and yet more stitching, a single pretty posy can take upwards of 30 minutes. 

After a few happy hours, I had 6 bright, pretty posies.

You've probably seen the anemone many times before.  This one is the exception to the rule, as far as working from original patterns go, because it's one I designed myself a couple of years ago.  I love anemones and wanted to create something small enough to wear on my beret.  With over 25 pieces to hand cut and stitch together, it is probably the most time consuming of the lot but it is also the one which has proved to be most popular at '40s events where I sell them for £5.00 each.

My least favourite of the bunch is the tulip.  I love tulips and their happy spring shades but I didn't enjoy making the corsage one bit.  The pattern comes from a Needlework Illustrated magazine and the instructions said you had to glue the felt together. 

I'm not a fan of gluing fabrics, especially not thick felt.  I don't think glue gives longevity and so instead I opted to stitch rather than stick.  Stitching it, although I was super careful, leaves a very definite mark on the petal and doesn't leave a very tulipy shape.  It's a plus size posie as the tulips are life sized but that's fine on my more than ample bosom!

The very autumnal mustard and brown one is from another Needlework Illustrated magazine (I'm a little obsessed with these magazines).  I've used the pattern before to make bright red versions with black middles, a bit like a gerbera, and they are relatively easy to make. 

I make all the stems on my trusty sewing machine before adding some florists wire to make the stems bendable and therefore the flower heads slightly pose able.  Next, it's simply a case of fringing a strip for the centre and then stitching on the double flower heads.  Not very time consuming and oh so pretty.

Today marks the last day of the school term and the beginning of a much anticipated two weeks with Mr Y, I can't wait.

With Easter celebrations almost upon us, I have two girls waiting to get messy and make the obligatory chocolate nests and I also want to try out a child friendly recipe from my new cookery book.  Something chocolatey springs to mind, after all, it is almost Easter.

To those of you celebrating, I hope you have a lovely Easter!  Let's hope it's sunny rather than snowy! x

Warming Wartime Woollies

My word hasn’t it gone cold again?!  Much of the UK has been blanketed with yet more of the white stuff and here in snowy Suffolk, more than 3 inches fell.  We should be thinking about bright floral frocks for spring but instead, snugly woollies have been the order of the day.  My girls love it though and have certainly made the most of it.

  
During my blogging absence, (where have those 2 weeks gone?) my fingers have been busy.  I’ve being doing a spot felt flower making, a post on that to follow shortly, and I’ve finally managed to finish and sew up the red and black waffle jumper that I was working on. 

Knitted in trusty Stylecraft 4 ply, using black and cardinal, it’s superbly soft and rather pretty, even if it does have a certain “Dennis the Menace” look about it!

For anyone considering giving the waffle jumper a go, I highly recommend it.  It’s a simple pattern to follow so is nicely suited to a beginner, and worked in 2 colours, rather than the 4 suggested, it’s an easy jumper to do.

With the waffle finished, I’ve swiftly moved onto my next commission and am working from another Needlewoman Needlecraft pattern, again from 1943.  This time I’m working with Stylecraft luxury DK in shades ecru and autumn glow. 

I’ve never used the yarn before and I’m not far enough into the pattern to know whether I like it or not.  It’s a 51% wool, 49% premium acrylic mix and it’s not as soft as I expected it to be.  That probably has something to do with the fact that I’m not a great wool fan but it’s knitting up nicely, in terms of shape, and I’m looking forward to seeing the two colours worked together.

On the buying front, I've been doing more than a little pattern shopping.  Due to the chilly weather, I've been reluctant to poke my nose outside the door and have therefore spent more time than usual on eBay.  Good for increasing my pattern collection, not so good on my purse!  I also made my first ever Etsy purchase.  I'd never looked properly at what is on offer on Etsy but was pleasantly surprised at what you can get.

Ebay has plenty of patterns to choose from at the moment but I have been restrained and only bought ones that I really liked and those that didn't go for a small fortune!  

First up, a couple more Stitchcraft magazines, one in very good condition, the other in slightly tatty, sticky tape mended condition.  I also bought my first ever knitted skirt pattern!  Don't misunderstand me, I have no intention of ever knitting a skirt, but it's nice to have it in my collection :o)

Many of the second lot feature one of my most favourite knitting models.  I find it hard to resist such patterns when they come up for sale.

Very much saving the best until last, a much coveted and searched for knitting booklet that I am super duper happy to have added to my collection.  It’s a booklet called Knitting for the RAF.  I’m not going to go into too much detail because the lovely TicketyBoo Tupney has done a fabulous post about it on her blog, you can check it out here. 

My copy of this beautifully illustrated knitting book has “COMPLIMENTARY COPY” stamped on the front in purple ink with W.V.S pencilled on the top right corner.  I find the thought that this booklet was originally in the hands of a W.V.S group rather exciting!  Illustrated by Laurie Tayler, it's a delight to flick through for the images alone.  The pattern book was bought for an unbelievable £2.40 plus postage!  Bargain I think!

My new knitting booklet and my treasured Laurie Tayler wartime postcard.

Right, I'm off.  I already have my evening’s entertainment planned.  I shall be tucking into a rather indulgent slice of homemade Guinness cake before picking up the needles and watching of with the return of Foyles War – thank you ITV – it’s been too long! 

I hope you enjoy your evening too :o)

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny 1940's Style...............

Jumper!!  Yes, I know that doesn’t rhyme but that was the song that popped into my head when I was stitching up this jumper of most minute proportions and I bet you’ll soon find yourself humming that song too! :o)

This is my most recently stitched up jumper, a rather stylish 1940’s number knitted from a Lavenda pattern.  Don’t know about you, but I think this pretty model might just be wearing a hair piece!! ;o)

I’d wanted to knit the pattern for a long time having seen some other people knit it in the rather popular red, white and blue colour way, but tracking down the pattern had proved difficult.  After much lurking on eBay, I managed to get a seriously tatty copy for just a couple of pounds!  A bargain in my book when you consider a good copy of the same pattern went for over £10!  

Anyway, the jumper should have a base colour and 5 contrasts but with 4 ply colours being somewhat limited, I couldn’t find 6 colours that went well together and so ended up with just 4 instead, opting for cardinal, fern, silver and cobalt.  They might seem like an odd batch of colours to mix up but I’ve used them before for the waffle jumper and they have been very popular.  

It’s such an easy pattern to knit but the end result makes it look far more complicated than it really is – always a plus point :o)  Once the K1, P1 rib is done, it’s simply a case of working in stocking stitch with every 4^th stitch carried as a slipped stitch over 3 rows. 

  
Sewing up is a different matter though with a grand total of over 150+ ends to sew together/run in but the final result is definitely worth the extra time taken in sewing it up properly.

Button wise, I didn’t have any which were just the right shade.  I don’t know about you, but I find reds are one of the hardest shades to match up.  Instead, I went for my "go to" button, the little faceted plastic ones.  I think we have over 2000 of these which were picked up at a car boot sale a couple of years ago for just £5.00!  Bargain! :o)

When knitting straight from a pattern i.e. not making any size adjustments at all, I find that the jumpers come out pretty close to the original size, give or take an inch.  In my enthusiasm to get it knitted, I didn’t think to look at the pattern size.  I should have checked though because the original was for a petite 32”-34” bust! 

True to the pattern, and proof that using modern 4 ply on a vintage pattern that states 3 ply is ok, this jumper has come up at the 32”-34” bust it was meant to.  I just managed to wriggle it on to the well travelled “Doris”, but it is very much “sausage in a skin” like and needs to be on a much smaller model. 

This jumper is coming with me to the fair in Norwich tomorrow.  Lets hope it can find a loving new home with a petite, vintage loving lady :o)

If you fancy giving the pattern a go yourself, I have a PDF versions for sale through my Facebook page which you can find here.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Anyone here in good old blighty is probably very familiar with the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan.  It can be found on anything from pens to posters, t-shirts to tables (yes, seriously, just take a look here).


The original slogan was created in 1939 when the outbreak of war was unavoidable.  The third in a series of 3 posters, the other two being:

Keep Calm and Carry On was intended to be taken at face value, public information and practical advice for the populous.  A much needed morale booster in the face of great adversity. 

However, contrary to popular belief, the red and white posters that so many people have displayed on their walls were never publically released during the war.  The poster had been kept back, in reserve if you will, only to be used in the event of something like a mass bombing with gas or an actual German invasion.

Although produced in thousands, the posters had very limited distribution.  Post war, the unused posters were destroyed and it wasn't until 2000 that one of the originals was re-discovered in a book shop in Northumberland. 

Anyway, for Valentines Day, Mr Y presented me with a rather marvellous DVD.  So marvellous, in fact, that I feel compelled to share it with you lovely folk.

The DVD in question is Keep Calm and Carry On – News Reports From The British Home Front 1939-1945. 

It contains 3 DVDs which feature 8 hours of viewing pleasure. 

Pathe news reels have been chronologically grouped together to bring you a year by year, month by month account of war related activities that occurred on the home front during the 6 long years of war.  

The DVD starts off in January 1939, and although the outbreak of war was some months away, the rumblings of the impending hostilities are clear.  The introduction of identity cards, gas marks and mass air raid shelters are all featured.  You see women being called to work as light ambulance drivers and bus drivers and the land army, a subject close to my heart, are seen doing their bit. 

You get to watch the ARP, the Home Guard, evacuees and factory workers.  Safety precautions, blackout precautions, busy farmers and numerous spiffing servicemen (and women).  The collection culminates in the VE day celebrations held outside Buckingham Palace with revellers partying until dawn!

I’m fascinated with WW2 home front history and, with my parents being seasoned re-enactors, like to think that I’m pretty knowledgeable about the fashions of the forties.  I have bookshelves positively groaning under the weight of numerous publications, both wartime and current, that have proved invaluable for filling my head with information, but this DVD goes a step further. 

There is nothing like actually seeing what life was truly like.  The ladies in many of the magazines of the time were perfectly turned out, beautifully matched clothing, hair “just so” and of course they had to be because they were keeping morale up.  In contrast, most of the ladies featured in this DVD are, in my opinion, a more accurate depiction of what the wartime woman really looked like.  Hair was not perfect, slacks were worn and not everyone was stick thin!

The DVD was produced by Strike Force entertainment who also do some other great wartime DVD’s, a selection of which can be found here.

For anyone who has an interest in life on the British home front, this is an incredibly informative DVD.  For anyone wanting to accurately portray what life was truly like on the home front, I believe this DVD is a must!