All posts filed under: What I wear

The Yellow Mantle of Summer Vionnet frock

Winter is definitely coming in New Zealand. My summer frocks are getting pushed further and further to the back of my wardrobe, and merino socks and cardigans have made an appearance. Daylight savings is over, and it’s dusk when I head out to teach night classes. It’s rained for the last three days. It’s all feeling quite grey and gloomy and sad. Which is why it’s good, if slightly impractical, that I just finished the happiest, warmest, sunniest, summeriest dress that you could possibly imagine: a version of the Vionnet Chiton dress (make your own using my article in Threads issue #177) in aureolin yellow silk crepe de chine: Oh joy! I’ve wanted a yellow Chiton dress ever since I made the Katherine Mansfield inspired Chiton dress for ‘When I Was a Bird’, and didn’t make a dress for ‘In the Rangitaki Valley‘. Now I have a dress that really is ‘the yellow mantle of summer’ – I’ll just have to wait for summer to come back again so I can stand ‘breast high in …

A 1930s ‘dazzling’ wrap halter

Published by The Dreamstress

I’m writing posts in the wrong order, because I’ve already blogged my tutorial for a 1930s handkerchief halter, and really, the handkerchief halter came second, and this top was conceived, cut, and finished first – and helped inspire the later handkerchief halter. The idea was to make 1930s beach pyjamas, with non-matching trousers (which done, and are my new favourite garment) and a halter top: For fabric I had this amazing cotton muslin I bought at Global-That-Was (when it actually was Global Fabrics) thinking I would make something for Art Deco Weekend 2013. It didn’t happen then, or for 2014, so it was well overdue by this year: Isn’t it fabulous? I particularly love the eye-bending ‘dazzle’ design (read my article in Issue 7 of Glory Days for more info on Dazzle)) For the pattern I used Wearing History’s Chic Ahoy halter as a base, altering it to remove the collar, and to add long wrap ties to fasten around the waist: I have two regrets about the top. There is a seam running down …

A sporty ’30s summer suit – from stash

Published by The Dreamstress

The third Historical Sew Monthly challenge of 2015 is Stashbusting. Now, most of my sewing IS from stash – the problem is that I keep adding to the stash. :-/ Or starting a project from stash and then finding I need 3m of some fabric I don’t already own to finish it! :-p I’m quite pleased about this outfit as a stash-busting exercise, because it’s from one of my oldest pieces of boughten stash. Almost eight years ago, when I was just getting back into historical costuming, I bought ten metres of white cotton almost-pique at an Arthur Toyes 50% off sale (long shall we mourn their passing). I bought it because it was 100% cotton fabric in white for $4 a metre, so how could I not? I has this idea that I would make a reproduction of the dress on the seated woman in Monet’s Women in the Garden, but I quickly realised the fabric wasn’t right for that. I couldn’t quite give up on the idea, or the fabric, so it lingered …