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Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse

It’s been too long since I did a Felicity post.  I don’t want to turn into the kind of blogger-becomes-patternmaker who only blogs about their patterns.  But… all my cute recent photos of Felicity are of her getting involved with making the Selina Blouse pattern and samples!

So I hope you’ll forgive another Selina post, as long as it involved Felicity adorableness.

Felicity helped with every bit of the Selina Blouse.

She had her paw in on the initial pattern development:

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

And applied her expertise to choosing fabric for the pattern samples, and making the models comfortable:

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

I only lie on the highest quality fabrics

And making sure I took cuddle breaks:

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

Then she helped keep my blood pressure nice and elevated by sleeping on the in-progress samples whenever they were full of pins.

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

Not stabby enough…

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

Ah, perfect…

I guess she likes to live dangerously even while she sleeps!

She also agreed to sleep on non-pinny things, as long as it caused maximum inconvenience:

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

Oh, were you cutting here?

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

Or sewing these?

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

On this?  While sitting on this seat?

Finally she kept a close (closed) eye as I applied the last edit to the pattern instructions (in pyjamas on my laptop on the couch – sometimes work is really fabulous!).

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

Felicity helps with the Selina Blouse scrooppatterns.com

What a helpful kitty!

Dress, 1910-1919, silk?, wool? beads, Gift of Beryle Christesen, Goldstein Museum of Design, 1983.025.007

Rate the Dress: black, green, pink, and brightly beaded wartime daywear

This week’s Rate the Dress is mid-1910s themed, to celebrate the launch of the Selina Blouse.

Last Week:  an 1830s banyan and waistcoat of 1740s fabric

Apparently men need to go back to wearing beautifully fitted housecoats in lavish floral fabrics, because last week’s banyan and waistcoat were very popular.

The Total: 9.7 out of 10

In Rate the Dress that’s practically perfection!  And no surprise – fabulous fabric, fabulous fit, and so interesting.

This week: a 1910s day dress with touches of colour:

This dress is an excellent example of high-end mid-1910s day dress:

It’s got a simple, practical silhouette, enlivened by interesting details.

The black colour shows the trend towards black as a chic, practical, everyday colour which was had been championed by couturiers like Paquin  since the late 19th century.

Black was practical in more than one sense in the middle of WWI.  Germany had been the world’s largest dye producer prior to WWI.  The war cut off supply lines, even to countries not involved in the war.  One of the few dyes manufactured in large supply outside of Germany was black: so black clothes were in.

This dress uses touches of unexpected colour to relieve the black: the green collar edged with hot pink embroidery, and multicolour glass beads running up the front.

The grouping of the beads, rather than running them at regular intervals down the front, is a typical feature of mid 1910s design.

The dress is full of other classic war-year design features: quirky double collars, a loose sheath silhouette that anticipates the 1920s, but is pulled in with the two side sashes, layered skirts, and beautiful finishing details.

I’ve puzzled over the entry to this dress, and think I’ve figure it out.  It fastens down the centre front under the front panel.  The panel hooks or snaps under the collar on the proper left, and is caught with a hook under the proper left waist sash bead.

What do you think?  A good balance of practical, luxurious, elegant and fun?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

A reminder about rating — feel free to be critical if you don’t like a thing, but make sure that your comments aren’t actually insulting to those who do like a garment.  Phrase criticism as your opinion, rather than a flat fact. Our different tastes are what make Rate the Dress so interesting.  It’s no fun when a comment implies that anyone who doesn’t agree with it, or who would wear a garment, is totally lacking in taste.

As usual, nothing more complicated than a .5.  I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment.

@jayagracecostumes in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

The Selina Blouse: the tester makes Part II: historical

Get ready for even more Selina Blouse tester makes gorgeousness!

Here’s Part 2 of the tester makes.  Today’s makes are all the historical makes.  By random coincidence they are also almost all in classic white.  So it’s a round up post showing how different the Selina can look in a dozen different white fabrics (and a couple of florals and spots)!

The Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse ScroopPatterns.com

In Part 1 I showed all the testers who styled their Selina for modern or historybounding wear.

Now for the historical fabulosity!

Jaya of @jayagracecostumes

Jaya’s photos have the most wonderful, dreamy, Anne of Green Gables feel.

@jayagracecostumes in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Her Selina is a great example of how well the blouse works in a lighter fabric with more drape – and how well it works tucked in.

@jayagracecostumes in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Jaya made View A in Size 36, graded down to a Size 34 in the peplum.   Check out her instagram to see all her other beautiful makes.

Sally

Sally made View B for her classic white Selina.  Her take on it is equally beautiful.  How perfect is that fit!?

Sally in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

It’s a side note to the blouse itself, but I love her braid coils: it’s a 1910s hairstyle that not many people do, but occasionally you see it in fashion magazines or photos, and I love seeing it in person.

Sally in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Myrthe made View A in Size 44, with a Size 40 back.  This is an easy way to accomodate a narrower back and fuller bust.

Michaela of @parallelsofthepast

Michaela really loved the possibilities for embellishment that View B allows.  It’s really such a blank slate: you could do anything with it.  What did she do?  Ruffles!

Michaela of @parallelsofthepast in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Her inspiration?  The beautiful blouse in the lower right corner of this 1915 mail order catalogue she owns (shared with her permission):

Michaela of @parallelsofthepast in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Like the Selina it has raglan sleeves and a V neck.  Take the Selina and add a cascade of ruffles down the front, and there you have it!  And isn’t it gorgeous!

Michaela of @parallelsofthepast in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

I love that she took the pattern and showed what you could do with it based on period information.  Brilliant and beautiful!

Michaela made a Size 38, with a Size 32 peplum

@Robescherie  

Robescherie already appeared in yesterdays post, but she’s here again because she made three versions.  I can’t decide if yesterday’s black blouse or this white one is my favourite:

@Robescherie in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

That floral voile!  So fabulous!

@Robescherie in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

She also made a coloured version.  Doesn’t it work perfectly with the yellows of spring?

@Robescherie in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Beautiful!

Robescherie made View A in Size 40, with adjustments to the peplum following the alterations and fitting guide given in the pattern.

Mie

I’ve had Mie test a couple of Scroop Patterns, because she always provides incredibly thoughtful feedback, and makes beautiful garments.  Her Selina Blouse is no exception!

Mie in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

She chose a sweet floral print for her blouse.  Aren’t her photos gorgeous?  Like film stills.

Mie in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Mie made View A with no collar in a straight Size 34.

Costume Kullan

Costume Kullan made the loveliest Selina in an adorable polka dotted cotton.  She used it because it was the only suitable thing at her local fabric store, but I think it’s perfect!  (Obviously I’m a fan of polka dots for this blouse: just look at the version I put on the pattern cover!)

Costume Kullan in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Plus, she already has a gorgeous skirt and hat to match!  And she’s already written a great post about being a pattern tester, and her blouse.

https://www.facebook.com/costumekullan in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

She made View A, and a straight Size 46.

Hope of @historical_hopes  

Like Michaela of @parallelsofthepast, Hope really played with the possibilities of View B.  She added lace, and paired it with a matching skirt to create a ‘lingerie frock’.

@historical_hopes in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Isn’t it just divine?

@historical_hopes in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

All those lace insets and floaty panels!   So beautiful!

@historical_hopes in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Hope made a Size 40, with alterations to the peplum using the Fitting and Alterations Guide.

Cela of @totchipanda  

Instead of classic white, Cela made their blouse in classic blue – and then paired it with a green skirt (the Wearing History 1910s suit skirt) in emerald green.

Cela of @totchipanda in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

It’s brilliant 1910s colour madness at its best and I love it.

Cela of @totchipanda in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Cela made View A in size 40.

But wait, there’s more!  You absolutely must check out Cela’s instagram, and keep an eye on their blog: they already turned the Selina Blouse into a dress, and will be blogging how they did it!

Elizabeth of @littleantiqueme

And to finish off, another beautifully classic white version of the Selina.

@littleantiqueme in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Perfectly 1915, and absolutely timeless.

@littleantiqueme in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

Such crisp details in her cuff!  And wonderful period hair and accessories.

@littleantiqueme in the Scroop Patterns Selina Blouse

She made a Size 30.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to these testers, and to the ones I showed yesterday.  You are wonderful and so helpful.