Woolly knits – knit, crochet, sew

The weather suddenly turned cold which prompted me to finally sew together two knitted dresses. Officially, they need to be washed before wear to smooth out the yarn, but I need them tomorrow and the day after, so no time for washing... So much for leaving things till the last moment! 😜 The blue dress…

Three magazines from 1930s

I got my hands on some 1930s patterns, finally! Some sewing, some knitting and lots and lots of embroidery, plus the obligatory slimming and getting-rid-of-the-beard ads, plus a very special way of rejuvenating your hair! The three magazines in question are: February 1936 "The Needlewoman", UK; and November 1937 and March 1938 "Mode und Wäsche",…

A bustle and a cat

I know I promised to get on with my Shivering Isles dress and do those fancy sleeves, but life interfered again: in 11 days we are going Subaquatic! And that requires an outfit, obviously. Plus, I finally figured out what to do with my purple outfit featuring The Cat: I mean the cat on my…

Lessons from 1940s

I have now made several patterns from Beyers Mode für Alle 1940/41 magazine. These patterns are significantly different from 1950s patterns that I've sewn before. My college tutors always warned us that you couldn't just measure a 1940s pattern and know how it would fit - the amount of draping, subtle and obvious, and the…

My grandmother’s undergarments

No, not the actual stuff! I am not about to air her bloomers or anything. 😮 My elder grandmother was born around 1908 and got married in early 1930s, with her first child born in 1936, so 1930s was very much "her" decade - the time when she was young. The 30s remained with my…

Those fancy sleeves

Remarkable garment design pops up in most unexpected places, like fantasy worlds. Unexpected, because this tunic from Shivering Isles is perfectly wearable in this world too: Ok, ditch the bow, but look at those sleeves! Yum!! And by the way, here is a design from the latest Quail Studio collection for Rowan Yarns, 10 years…