what's the hold up, yo?

Okay so it has been a really, really long time between posts, but I swear there are a couple of good reasons.

One - It is summer break and sewing with a kid around is nigh impossible.

Two - I have been working on a month long project re-purposing vintage clothes for a good friend. I am an idiot and forgot to take "before" pictures, but she has promised to take pictures of the clothes in action. (At fun things like Burning Man and the Oregon Country Fair)

Teaser...A tube top into leggings, a maxi dress into a strapless micro-mini and another maxi into a two piece pantsuit. Yep, phenom.


Here is some random vintage fun in the mean time -

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butterick b4513 - part 2

So you know that dress that was so easy to make? Well you can see it here if you missed it. I loved the pattern so much I made myself another one!!

So now I have one for St Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo.

Happy Cinco De Mayo, Mexico!

Love,
Your Hat

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1850's shawl....okay not really

Have you seen the new Jane Eyre? See it. You won't be disappointed. I loved it and I couldn't keep my eyes off the knitted items in it. 

Apparently I wasn't the only one. There is now a 200+ person discussion on ravelry.com about the shawls in it. So I decided to participate in a KAL (knit along). We could pick from a list of patterns that looked like the shawl in the movie. I pick one that wasn't an exact replica but was pretty and gave it to my Grammy for her birthday.

Take a peek! 

So it isn't really a 1850's pattern, but it is similar to a pattern, used in a movie, based on a book written in the 1850's.

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butterick b4513

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays - second only to Halloween. I always wear one of two green vintage dresses that I own. This year I thought I would change it up and make one instead!

This is a reproduction pattern and even though it makes me feel like a traitor, it is by far one of my favorites! It was so easy and it came out so well. I have spent the week since thinking about how I can modify it. Get ready to see a lot of variations on a theme this year.

Normally I start with a pic of the pattern but I wanted to show you why you won't see me modeling the dress first. Well it is because my St. Patrick's Day went something like this -

For some reason, we didn't get a good picture that night...

So here is a better showing of the dress.

Pattern -

Dress - 

Details - 

Love a good circle skirt.

This is the perfect dress for spring and summer and it seriously looks good on everyone. I can't wait to make a million of them!

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mccall's 4613

I am back from Amsterdam. It was perfect!! I didn't drag Kris into any vintage shops, so I have nothing to report on that front but there are plenty and if you go I would love to hear about the ones you liked best.

As it tends to be with trips in Europe, we spent a ton of money, so I decided that my next project needed to be something that I do from my stashed fabrics. Sadly, I have very little in the way of major yardage. So dresses, coats, etc are right out.

Luckily I had a 1975 pattern of accessories. I think over the next few weeks this is going to be my focus.

Here is bag number one, using left over fabric from this project!

I made this in less than 2 hours, so I am pretty sure it is going to be a new birthday gift standard.

The Pattern -

The bag - It called for some top stitching that next time I am going to skip.

The inside  -

The tie top - 

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off to amsterdam

We are off to Amsterdam. I will be there for 2 weeks! On my voyage I will try to locate excellent vintage shops to take some fun pictures.

Be back soon! (Maybe sooner if I have something I have to share immediately.)

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felting fail

Passé....yeah not even the right sentiment for what happened. While if the hat would have worked out it would have been perfectly passé - 

Cute, right? I mean 'Hits in Hats'. I love it!!! And every hat is hilarious. I love the mid-sixties!!

 but.....

Yeah, it was made for a giantess. 

So, I thought okay, it is made out of 100% wool, I can just felt it. Meaning, wash it in hot and agitate it which causes it to shrink up.

Well it shrank....

But only in one direction!!! So now I have a hat that is for, well, no one! I was cracking up. Maybe I can  make some sort of bowl out of it. You know a bowl with a bill. Laugh!!

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