The Sew Weekly

Dating Fabric Can Be Fun!

Yesterday, while up in Petaluma taking at sewing class at Stitch Craft, I stopped by a nearby antique store and scored 5 1/2 yards of this border print fabric for $15! I'm always searching for border prints after the success of my most popular dress ever and this piece would look just lovely made into a similarly-styled dress. 

While the fabric was listed as being from the 1940s, the print made me think that it was at least from the late 1950s. It turns out that the piece still had a sticker with its RN number. I hadn't a clue what that was so I did a quick search and uncovered this page that allowed me to lookup the company associated with the number. I still didn't have a date and looking up "Promotional Fabrics, Inc" wasn't successful. I then found this incredibly helpful page that I just have to share with all of you.

The article lists the probable dates associated with the number sequences. RNs were issued starting in 1952, so there went the 1940s description. In 1959, when WPL (the Wool Labeling Act of 1939) was discontinued and only RN # were issued, the sequencing began with 13670. The particular number of my piece of fabric was 22718. So that means the fabric was not manufactured earlier than 1959. 

The article then has a calculation to figure out where your own number fits in dating.

Let's say that your clothing label has an RN number that is 16627. You would subtract 13670 (the 1st number) from 16627 (your RN) then divide it by 2,635 (average issued numbers each year). 16627-13670=2,957 2,957/2,635=1.12...With this calculation we can estimate that this RN number was issued one year after this series began, so 1960. That tells us that this particular item was made no earlier than 1960. 

So using that formula, it seems as if the fabric was produced around 1963. 

Thanks, sewing. You proved once again that I have to use math in my life.

The "I Prefer Housekeeper" Dress`

The Facts
Fabric: Vintage woven linen - $12 for 3 yards from Etsy 
Pattern: Simplicity 2101 - $3 from Etsy 
Year: c. 2009
Time to complete: About 5 hours
First worn: July 2010
Wear again? Yes.

Total Cost: ~$15.00

Today's creation is the first in a series of dresses I'm sewing using Simplicity 2101. The inspiration for this series is Pattern Review's latest contest, One Pattern, Many Looks  -- I'm going to be making four dresses all from one view of 2101. The trims and slight variations (sleeve length, dress length, fabric choice) is all that will differentiate each dress. My ultimate goal is to create four dresses that each span a different period of time, this first one being my 1940s take.

The white Peter Pan collar has caused my husband to affectionately calls this my "maid dress." Promptly after his take on this dress, I punched him in the stomach I unbuttoned the top two buttons to make it a little less stodgy.

The fabric, a linen I purchased on Etsy, is an example of one of those pieces of fabrics that I absolutely adore as just material and then am slightly indifferent once completed. It's pretty and all, but it just sort of blends together when photographed. I'm starting to think I'm a big floral print or geometrics kind of girl. 

The "Hot in the City" Dress

The Facts 
Fabric: Vintage Floral Cotton - $8 for 2 1/2 yards from Alameda Antique Fair 
Pattern: Simplicity 2591 
Year: c. 2009
Time to complete: About 7 hours
First worn: July 2010
Wear again? Yes!!

Total Cost: ~$8.00

Apologies for another late posting of the Weekly Creation. I flew to New York on Tuesday evening, had business meetings all of Wednesday and then flew home this morning. Because I knew I wouldn't have the energy or effort to photograph what I was wearing on Wednesday, I cheated and took these photos over the weekend. 

This dress is another version of Simplicity 2591 (see my first version). The goal for this dress was clear: not too sundress casual, but cool enough for a hot New York day.

Simplicity 2591 is an odd bird. I've loved the two dresses I've made, but the pattern requires some fixes to weird fitting issues. I had to make another version of the dress to understand whether it was me or the pattern. For one, the armholes are just too big and even with the adjustments to their seam allowances, I found myself swimming in them. I fixed that by repeatedly stitching up the bodice sides until they fit. I also omit the back zipper because the fabric I've used has enough stretch to fit over my head. This may be partially why the arms are big, however. My philosophy in sewing is this: if I can skip inserting a zipper, I will. 

And because I don't have the instructions for this pattern, it took me a bit of time to remember exactly what to do with those tricky pockets. Oh, how I love those finished pockets, though!

I absolutely adore this fabric. This is yet another piece of fabric that didn't wow me until the sewing project was complete. When I first purchased it, it seemed clearly like a 1960s print. However, the more I look at it, I start to think it is older. The selvedge was 35 inches. Anyone have any guesses?

"Okay, This is a Mumu" Dress

The Facts
Fabric: Cotton from Joann's - 3 yards for $10
Pattern: Butterick 6009 - $4 from Alameda Antique Fair
Year: c. 1952
Time to complete: About 2 1/2 hours 
First worn: July 2010
Wear again? Yes, with some alterations.

Oh, belted mumu, I should have quit while I was ahead. 

Pushing my luck, I had another go at a belted formless dress this week. This one is Butterick 6009 from around 1952. The fabric is another surprisingly darling Joann's find that was just too sheer for this dress. Thankfully, I do have some fabric left over and have plans for a nice shirt.

The success of this dress is dependent on a bunch of "ifs." If I make it a little bit shorter. If I line it or wear a better slip. If I wear a bra that gives me a whole lot of support. If I'm sure that the pockets aren't sticking out and make my hips look even larger. If I wore a more suitable belt. If I wore a petticoat as intended.

I've been a little burned out on sewing these past couple weeks so I chose just to wear it "as-is." Hence the leggings and the awkward length. I think the dress is salvageable with a big hemming job and more structured foundation garments. That is, if I want it to have more a vintage and put-together look.

If I want it to look like some ill-fitting dress I got from Forever 21 that gives me mumu-sized grandma breasts, I think it's a pretty successful garment.

Gatsby Madness Upset!

And now, the next part of my Gatsby Summer Afternoon dress saga...

It seems as if there has been an upset to the dress tournament. If you remember, it was down to two dresses. I was ready to request one of them from the VPLL when I decided to check out the 1930s evening gowns. Even though I really love those two dresses, I felt that they would look a bit too casual for something like a fancy afternoon picnic. So after all that indecision, I ended up going with this 1930 Evening Gown with Cascades.

Now you can imagine if picking a pattern was so difficult, choosing fabric would certainly become a Herculean task. The pattern calls for 3 yards of 39" fabric -- I figured that couldn't be right. I emailed with Jaynce at the VPLL and she agreed that the 3 yards number was certainly off. So how much fabric do I actually need? 

 Well, I did something I've never done before -- made a muslin! I had five yards of fabric and only had enough to finish the under dress. I figured that I would need another yard and a half for the cape sleeves, flowers and facings. So that's at least 6 1/2 yards of fabric! My original plan was to use vintage fabric, but that yardage, it would be pretty impossible to find the perfect fabric. And because we're doing the whole nautical theme, I've limited myself to reds, navys and whites and made the whole process more difficult.

I found some vintage cotton lawn on eBay that I thought would be perfect, but it was only 4 yards. I bought it anyway since it ended up being $10 including shipping. I toyed with the idea of using it, plus another fabric and sewing the second -- contrasty -- view of the dress. However, I worry that too many different pieces will shorten my already short body. Still, it's a fabric still in consideration.

I looked at countless 1930s reproduction fabrics but knew that they just wouldn't hang the way that a sheerer fabric would. At one point I even considered using a service like Spoonflower to reprint an actual 30s print on cotton lawn. But at about $21* a yard, that was pretty much out of the question.*

 Giving up on my vintage fabric or reproduction aspirations, I also bought some voile fabric from Fabric.com. The wonderful thing about buying new fabric versus vintage is the wonderful text field to enter any number of yardage that I'd like. In this case, I bought 6 1/2 yards at 52" selvedge. At $4.98 a yard, I was quite happy with the purchase. 

* Or is it? Paying $140 for an off-the-rack dress for a fancy occasion like the Gatsby Summer Afternoon (especially a vintage dress) wouldn't seem so crazy. Do all my dresses need to be under $20? If I found the absolutely perfect print and could have it printed on cotton lawn in just the right yardage, wouldn't that justify the cost? And if I did go that route, does anyone have the pefect 1930s print for my dress?

"It is Not a Mumu" Dress

The Facts
Fabric: Vintage Rayon - $14.50  for 3 yards from eBay
Pattern: Advance Pattern 3673 - $5 Alameda Antique Fair
Year: c. 1945
Time to complete: About 3 hours 
First worn: June 2010
Wear again? Yes. 

This pattern has been on queue as my "next project" since I started sewing last year. I've been putting it off because I couldn't really imagine a scenario in which I didn't look like a formless blob in it. Last week -- the night before work -- I didn't have the energy for zippers or buttons or really anything that required me to be precise. And because I've been feeling a bit blah about my body lately, I was in a mumu sort of mood. 

The vintage fabric was from eBay. The seller wrote in the description that "it reminds me of the type of dress fabric my Grandmother wore in the 1950's." I couldn't tell if that was a positive or negative. As I made this dress and tried it on, I couldn't help thinking of this messed-up joke: Question: "What's the difference between an Italian grandmother and an elephant?" Answer: "50 pounds and the black dress." Apologies to all Italian grandmothers out there. Oh, heck, apologies to everyone out there. Believe me, hearing that joke repeating in your head as you sew is quite annoying.

The dress really is a mumu because I skipped the step to create the waistband enclosure. It was late at night and I figured a belt would suffice. And since I made the ties, I can always add them in the future.

Offensive Italian grandmother jokes aside, it actually does remind me of a housedress that an Italian grandmother or mother (like my own Italian grandmother) might have worn in the 1940s or 1950s. 

I don't really think that's a bad thing.

 

Bringing my Twin Peaks Tee Back to Life

Pardon the delay in getting my Weekly Creation post out -- I went to work today instead of yesterday and also forgot to bring my camera. Expect it tonight or tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here is a sort of a "vintage" project I did over the weekend.

This project can be considered vintage since I bought this Twin Peaks shirt about twenty years (!) ago at a Camp Beverly Hills shop in the Topanga Plaza. Even though I was only thirteen years old, I was a big fan of the show. Well, this shirt has always had a place in my heart and has survived countless moves and life events. It's been relegated to a sleep shirt, though.

Fast forward to this past weekend when I was packing for my first ever camping trip and I suddenly realized that I pretty much have no casual clothes anymore. In theory, I would have loved to dress in the 1950s camper style, but I actually wanted to be practical. So out came this shirt, my scissors and sewing machine. In twenty minutes I managed to resurrect this shirt by folding over and stitching the collar, cutting the sleeves, gathering them and reattaching them and stitching up the side seams. I was pretty happy with the outcome!