Home Sewing Tips from the 1920s - An Easy Evening Wrap with Corded Shirring

You need only 4 yards of velvet and the same amount of silk. Ruth Wyeth Spears describes how to turn all that yardage into this luxurious evening wrap . The shirred collar is extra warm, since it is shirred over cording then doubled over cotton padding and stitched. The wrap is also corded at the hip for a bloused effect.

This is one wrap this is, literally, wrapped around you, and simply held in place. That's 1920s evening elegance!

1950s Refashion - From an Old Skirt to a Fresh New Jerkin

Sewn without a pattern, this refashion begins with a skirt that has a fringed edge and ends with a jaunty tweed jerkin.

And what is a jerkin? Originally worn only by men back in the 1500s through the 1800s, it is a sleeveless and collarless short jacket worn by men or women, often with extended shoulders. It is an item that seems to have morphed into the vest or sleeveless pullover in today's terms. In any case, in the 1940s and 1950s, they were popular, and typically considered for casual wear.

Check out how this refashion was done!

The jerkin is cut in a single piece from the seamless skirt, wide enough to extend beyond the shoulders and long enough to fit from front to back hip over the shoulders.

The piece was then cut across the shoulder line, with the back slightly longer than the front. Shoulder seams were sewn in a sloping line. The neckline was rounded and a short stand collar added. A neckline slit was made at center front and faced with scraps.

Darts were added at the waistline for a neater fit. Bias binding was stitched to the side edges, then turned under and hemmed.

The belt was created from the skirt waistband, which had the button and buttonhole removed, the open side and ends re-stitched, and a buckled added.

Nifty, neat fashion that looks cute to me!

Scraps from the Past - Wartime Cartoon Supports the War Effort

From time to time, a vintage pattern will contain newspaper clippings, but not in the typical sense. These are sections of newsprint that were used to make an altered pattern piece (so the seamstress did not have to cut or tape or otherwise damage the original).

It is always interesting to see these. Sometimes they show the want ads, sometimes grocery store prices and other advertising, sometimes local sports, rarely the headlines of the day.

Click on this image to make it easier to read!

The clipping, found tucked in a pattern from the war years of the 1940s, provides most of a specific comic strip, although I have no idea of the name of it. It shows that saving items for the war effort was very important during those difficult years. It's very touching humor. :)

It's also sort of fun to note the fashions of the day as illustrated in this cartoon, especially for the ladies.

Spotted in a Shop Window - Swing Coat!

What do you think? Is this not a super-cute coat? It has more than a tent silhouette - it has beautiful bias flared swing fullness.

It reminds me of the coats of the 1940s (and a bit in the early 1950s). In that era coats with swing fullness (especially in the back) were enormously popular. Adult or child, these coats were definitely tailored, and had delicious back fullness and flared drape. Here are a few examples from patterns currently in my shop:

1950s Refashion - Slacks Convert to a Sporty Stole!

A nifty stole with pockets in the end and a belt to keep it close - this is perhaps the easiest refashion to make, requiring no purchased pattern.

To make, begin by ripping apart a pair of worn of outdated slacks, using the side with little to no wear (in this case, the back side). Cut each leg on an angle, and then sew along the cutting lines (rounding off the point). New fabric was used to line the stole. Two patch pockets were cut from scraps and sewn to the ends of the stole to cover wear marks. The slacks waistband was re-stitched along the open side to create a belt that fits your waistline, and fastens with hooks-and-eyes.

This could be a fun item - you could play with the lining, using different colors and textures in the fabric. And the belt and pockets could be optional.   

Home Sewing Tips from the 1920s - A Free Pattern to Trim Your Dance Frock with Velvet Roses

I love how Ruth Wyeth Spears writes about this frock made of "pale lavender chiffon over a darker lavender slip". Can you imagine the colors? :) Note how the rose appliques and the bias bindings on the neckline, armholes, and drop-waist twisted band are made of rose-colored chiffon velvet. What a pretty picture!

Simply trace the petal shape multiple times on a 10-inch square of velvet for each rose applique, and repeat as often as desired around the skirt. Sweet!

1950s Refashion - From Outdated Topper to a Fresh Box Jacket

It's time another refashion from 1950! In this one, an old "topper" was converted into a fashionable box jacket by working with its existing lines.

As shown in the diagram, the box jacket was created from the topper by doing the following:

• The shoulder line was narrowed, lowered, and rounded
• Sleeve width was reduced
• Roll-back cuffs were made by turning under a wide hem and top-stitching the new sleeve edge
• Lining was cut off to meet the raw edge inside the sleeves
• Back fullness was taken in
• Patch pockets were cut from the bottom of the topper and the edge hemmed. Pockets were set at the hemline.

And here is the final result!

A belt adds the finishing touch! And don't forget your gloves. ;)