Before and After: Adorable Toddler Dress & Bolero for Valentine's Day

Not too long ago I included a charming toddler dress & bolero pattern in a "Scraps from the Past" post, and now it returns as a "Before and After". Some patterns are just that good! I sold the pattern to an amazing customer who quickly whipped up an adorable ensemble for her toddler daughter. Here are the results.

Before

The pattern: Simplicity 1149 (1950s)

After

The results: It's divine, it's sublime! It's a little dress and bolero, befrilled, beribboned, and perfect for Valentine's Day! The sewist, Beth, made the dress for her daughter, who is the model in all these pictures. Note the lace trim and the addition of the heart shaped pockets on both the dress and bolero. Her accessories (hair bow, marvelous red shoes, and lace-trimmed socks) complete the ensemble perfectly. 

Have you fallen in love with the outfit? Have you fallen in love with this darling toddler? (Move over, Shirley Temple!) Do you love mid-century fashion and style? If you said yes to any of these, you definitely want to check out the marvelous Rosie scarves, Rosie bow barrettes, and fabric bags and purses that Beth sews and sells online. Be sure to visit:

• Her Etsy shop DollyValentine 
• Her website www.dungareedolly.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DungareeDolly
• Instagram: @dungareedolly (where she occasionally sells baby outfits and accessories)
• Instagram: @lovedbylibby (where you can occasionally purchase the handmedowns)

You are in for a treat! And thanks to Beth for sharing her pictures!

Home Sewing Tips from the 1920s - A Pair of Beaded Shoe Buckles

Here we are in the last season of Downton Abbey and I am been very remiss in posting more of Ruth Wyeth Spear's wonderful tips from the 1920s for the home sewist! To remedy the situation, here is a wonderful post for making a pair of beaded shoe accents, which Ruth states that you can make "quite easily and very economically"! Do you have "some cut steel beads, a scrap of buckram, a half yard of fine hat wire, and a bit of black satin"? Then make a pair for yourself to wear with your vintage 1920s dresses. And then make another pair as a gift! :)

Marvelous!

Miss Lillian's Postcards - Vintage Tweet from Mother

Sender: Mother
Addressee: Miss Lilian Maguire, #1902 g Terry Ave, Seattle, Washington
Postmark: St Louis, MO
Date: November 6, 1908
Image: Merchants Bridge, St. Louis, MO.

According to Wikipedia, the Merchants Bridge is a rail bridge crossing the Mississippi River in St. Louis, MO. It opened in May 1889 and is over 4, 000 feet long. To experience crossing this bridge while on a train, check out this video on YouTube.

Message:

Dear Lilly

I have sent a package

by express today so

you can be on the look

out for it. Hope all

feel well we are 

all well.

Love to all from all

Your Mother

This is so lovely, to see a postcard to Lillian from her mother. I love her closing "Love to all from all". To all means Lillian, her sister Anne, and Anne's husband Ade, who all live at 1902 G Terry Avenue. I am guessing that "from all" means that Lillian has one or more siblings still at home with her parents. In time we will see postcards from these siblings. I wonder what is in the package that Lilly's mother sent. What merited sending it by express? All we can do is wonder!

Scraps from the Past: Cute 1950s Toddler Dresses

With the end of January, my thoughts are turning to spring and what better time to think about sewing a sunny party or play dress for a toddler? Two recent listings in my shop are the patterns listed below for toddlers, and each pattern had a fabric scrap! Each is from the early 1950s.

The pattern: Simplicity 1149 (size 1 is in my shop)

The scrap: The fabric scrap is the collar for view 2 and is a charming soft cotton, with teal polka dots. I can envision this fabric for view 3, myself - so cute with those scalloped edges.

The pattern: Simplicity 4136

The scrap: The fabric scrap looks like it might have been intended for the sash tie. It is a beautiful sateen cotton in soft aqua blue. I don't think the scan captures the shiny quality of the sateen, but it is lovely. I can visualize it for both views.

Are you inspired yet?

In Search of Style - Apron Inspirations!

The pattern: Tucked inside this very charming apron pattern, Simplicity 1359, were a couple of large sheets of folded paper. What could they be?

What's inside: What a treasure - it's apron heaven! The sheets of paper (one extra large) were filled with images of hand-drawn aprons! They look like they were most likely traced from mail order pattern offerings in the newspapers. Isn't this a completely delightful and diverse collection? 

A couple of the aprons have the pattern number written next to them, and a few are identified as 1-yd aprons. It would be fun to find all the patterns for these aprons. I love how our mystery sewist focused on the ornamentation details and fabric choices. 

The extra large sheet required two scans to get all the images. There are so many cute aprons illustrated on these sheets, I don't think I could pick just one favorite, I would have to sew a full collection. Wouldn't you? :)

Scraps from the Past: Toddler Coat in Sunny Corduroy

I so enjoy finding fabric scraps tucked into vintage sewing patterns. They provide a window into popular fabric trends to match the vintage pattern style itself.

The pattern: This pattern for an adorable dress, coat, and cap for a toddler just begs to be sewn. It is easy to imagine these fetching items from Simplicity 3807 and 1951 in any number of fabrics and colors. It's very inspiring!

The scrap: A small scrap of a very fine pinwale corduroy was included in this pattern. It is a soft fabric, and a warm color, perfect for spring. Certainly the fabric was used for the coat and hopefully for the hat. It does make one wonder, though - what fabric did they use for the dress? 

A Vintage Christmas - A 1961 Seattle Dream

I wish everyone a heart-warming holiday, and all the best in the new year! Enjoy these photos that I took of  this year's vintage-themed holiday window display at the long-time jewelry store Fox's in downtown Seattle. The display features items from late 50s and early 60s, with a special nod to the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.