Well, now that the epic cleanup is complete, I get to pull out some of the cool things I've been squirelling away for just such an occasion.
Last year, when I let it be known amongst my coworkers & friends that I intended to sew my own wedding dress, everyone was horrified. See, I'm an accountant - give me an Excel spreadsheet and I'll make it tapdance and wash your dishes while singing along to a Garth Brooks song. However, my friends are pretty aware of the fact that I failed cut and paste in kindergarten, and know that I tend to be a little...accident prone.
Also, one time, I kind of told them the story about how the only item of clothing I'd ever sewn for myself was a dress for my McDonald's Christmas party when I was 13. I didn't use a pattern, and I barely understood the workings of a sewing machine, though my mother is an exceptionally good seamstress. Anyway, the dress started to disintegrate about an hour into the party, and I went home at midnight with staples holding the skirt together.
Anyway, after the announcement, for a few months, they poked fun at me, and generally banned me from wearing a wedding dress they hadn't had the opportunity to critique first. Then one of the girls, KC, started seeing a nice farm boy, and doing nice farm boy things like processing cattle and attending auctions. At one of these auctions, a box of patterns came up for bid, and for kicks, KC put in a bid of $2.00, thinking that she'd be bringing me a joke gift. When she brought them into work, I almost burst into tears of gratitude, to her utter amazement. What she'd bought was a box of the most amazing vintage patterns, nearly all of which are in the size range I need. Not only that, but many of them are uncut, and those that are, are cut in the right size!
Of those, I really love the 2457 the most - once I get a bit of experience under my belt (read; learn how to use a pattern properly) I'm going to make it in this absolutely lovely silky black fabric with red roses - I bought four yards of it with no particular plan, but I just loved the way the fabric felt in my hands.
It's probably not at all suitable for such a structured frock, but what the heck - that's what lining is for! Maybe I'll flatline it to some denim and go from there. Ha! I just heard your horrified gasp. Remember - you have skills and I don't. That means that you have rules, but I don't! Of course, you also have beautiful, wearable pieces, and I don't, but that's what learning is for. Anyway, I was mostly joking about the denim - I'll figure something out.
Labels: vintage patterns
Ok. I would fight someone to get my hands on those patterns! wow.
I know, right!? I was so excited I came home and sat in my sewing room and spread them out around me, then surveyed all that was mine, a la Cleopatra. Then I talked to them for awhile, and my fiance caught me. I'm just lucky he didn't have the camera.