Vintage in a Modern World

Pants, Prizes, and Shower Caps

2012-02-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

I'm home for reading week! (Actually I've been home for a few days but this is the first day I've felt rested enough to really do anything.) Upon arriving home, I discovered two packages waiting for me. I love getting packages in the mail. Opening them always feels like Christmas!

The first package contained my lovely new trousers! I ordered them from Dangerous Garbs on Etsy. I am completely in love with them. They are super comfy and very flattering. I was terrified they wouldn't fit, but they are the perfect size for me! Canadian winters can get rather cold and snowy, and since I have 40 minute walk to school (and another 40 minutes back), wearing trousers is a necessity most days. These pants are definitely going to become a staple in my wardrobe.

When I have time I will have to get some better photos. These pictures don`t do the trousers justice!

The second package contained the prize I won from a giveaway over at Subversive Femme. Despite knowing what was included in the giveaway, I was still amazed when opening the package by how much stuff there was! These treasures have already been looked at and carefully put away so as not to get lost in the mess that is my sewing room at the moment. But before I put them away I thought I would share a few scans some of the lovely items she included. (But first go check out her blog! It really is a great blog and she posts some lovely free vintage knitting/crochet patterns!).

(Back of the previous pattern. It was too fabulous not to share.)

This may have to be my next knitting project.

Or maybe this one!

These next two images are from the above magazine. I wish these patterns were still available! How perfect would those dresses be for spring?

She also included a notebook, a red lipstick, and a sweet little brooch, all of which I forgot to photograph.. Oh well, I'm sure they will make an appearance on the blog sooner or later...

And before I go, I just have to share with you my new shower cap. I basically just cut a large circle from an old umbrella and sewed an elastic to it. Isn't it adorable?

That's All.

Something a little different

2012-02-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

I must admit, I have been feeling a lack of blogging inspiration lately. I'm not quite sure why. I mean, yes I'm crazy busy with school, but normally I still have the desire to blog. I was considering going on a break from blogging, but I have decided to do something different instead. I tend to blog about recent antique finds, vintage-y places or things I've seen, scans from my magazine and ephemera collection, and a few outfit posts. And that's about it. I have plenty of other interests and I have no idea why I don't share them on here. I've gotten it into my head they aren't "vintage" enough, but as an experiment over the next few weeks I might try posting about some different stuff.

After a rather brutal week in school (like really really bad....), I decided to spend the weekend catching up on things around the house. I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, and then got busy making stuff in the kitchen. I love to cook and try new recipes. The first thing I tried to make was sugar-free vanilla macaroons. They seemed really great until I tried to pick one up and it crumbled into a million pieces. I know have a jar of toasted vanilla shredded coconut which, although not what I planned, is super delicious.

Next up was something for dinner. I saw this recipe for Tomato and Feta Tarts. Oh my goodness, were they good! I may make them for company in the future since they were very simple but rather impressive. And did I mention tasty?

Whoops! I forgot to take a picture before starting to eat it!

And then I made Ginger Beer from scratch. Not quite sure why I decided to make ginger beer, since I've never really been a big fan. However I've found that homemade almost always tastes better than store bought, and I am incredibly in love with my ginger beer! It was a lot less difficult that I imagined and produced a LOT of ginger beer. I would highly recommend this recipe.

Then to finish off a lovely evening in the kitchen, I made three non-food items. I am a huge fan of natural beauty products. In fact, I've tried to cut virtually all nasty chemicals out of my daily routine. I love experimenting with making creams and other beauty products. I decided to make myself a solid perfume, natural gel air-freshener, and what turned out to be a great lip balm.

The first thing I made was a solid perfume locket. This has been on my to-make list for a while so I'm glad I finally got a chance to. I loosely followed this method, and used cinnamon, clove, sweet orange, and vanilla oils to scent it. It smells amazing and makes my skin super soft wherever I apply it. I would use a higher concentration of essential oils if I made it again, but other than that it was a success.

Last time I was home I picked up some packets of gelatin that we have had sitting around for at least 15 years. As a vegetarian, gelatin is not something I would normally buy, but since it would have to be thrown out anyways I decided to make a gel air freshener. Once again I used cinnamon, clove, sweet orange, and vanilla oils. It worked well but not quite as well as last time I made one (using peppermint oil). I think I should have added more oil or used a stronger scent (such as lavender or peppermint).

The last thing I made was actually an attempt to make a hair pomade. A long, long time ago I posted a recipe for homemade hair pomade. I used it for a couple weeks and loved it, but it was a little too solid and I no longer tend to use it. I was trying to create a better recipe and ended up with an amazing lip balm instead. If you want to make your own it's basically:
1 part cocoa butter
2 parts beeswax
4 parts coconut oil
Step 1) Melt together (I used the microwave in short bursts)
Step 2) Stir and pour into your container
Step 3) Let cool and harden.
And that's it! If you don't like coconut you could add some other oils/flavorings, but I love coconut and find it tastes lovely. I may remelt it and pour into a proper container. I thought it was going to be a pomade so my choice of container wasn't the best!

Well that turned out to be a bit of a longer post than I expected. Please let me know what you think. I know this is my blog and I can write what I want, but I would like to post about stuff my readers actually find interesting. Now I'm off to spend an afternoon curled up watching old movies and knitting. I plan on making the most out of my one free weekend :D

That's All.

Valentines

2012-02-08T17:55:00.000-08:00

With Valentines Day coming up so soon, I thought I would share with you these darling homemade Valentines I bought at an antique store last year. I know very little about these, other than the fact they are completely adorable! I love the homemade quality, and the cute little poems a couple of them feature.

What is everyone doing for Valentines Day? I plan on curling up (after class of course), with my knitting and a cup of tea, and watching a marathon of Fred and Ginger movies. I always prefer Valentines Day when I'm not in a relationship. I know that sounds odd, but I enjoy spending the day pampering myself. When I was in high-school I used to hold a tea party for all my single friends. It was great fun and I wish I had time to do something similar this year. Oh well, tea with Fred and Ginger is always nice ;)

Victorian Calling Cards

2012-02-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

School has become rather hectic as we enter "midterm hell". I have what feels like a million assignments due and three midterms next week alone. So just a heads up posts may become even less frequent over the next few weeks. As I have a spare minute (i.e. if I study one more equation my head will explode), I thought I would share my little collection of Victorian Calling Cards. I picked these up on Etsy with some of the money I got for Christmas. Aren't they sweet?

I find the idea of calling cards completely fascinating. I have been reading up about them in some of my reprints of Victorian etiquette books (yes I have more than one book on Victorian etiquette... Doesn't everyone?). Often they were simply dropped off at a friends house (handed to a maid or other servant) to show you were thinking of them and had stopped by. The cards in my collection that don't appear to have names actually have the name hidden under the picture (which lifts up).

Well I should get back to studying. Oh, in case I forget, I should mention that I have created a facebook page for my Etsy store. I just thought it would be a great way to keep everyone up-to-date on my latest patterns, and give sneak-previews at some of my works in progress. I also plan on sharing neat vintage sewing and millinery resources I come across. If you are interested feel free to like my page.

That's All.

Latest Antique Store Finds

2012-01-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

I went antiquing today for the first time in ages! I saw a lot of pretty things, but I have been trying to only buy what I need (this has been moderately successful...). I'm saving up so I can hopefully take a course in Small Business and Entrepreneurship after I finish my Bachelors in Mathematics. So much school requires waaayyy too much money :(

Anyways, here is what I bought:

A reprint of a 1960's ettiquette book. It was only $2 so I snapped it up. (Technically this was purchased from the nearby discount book store, not the antique store).

I needed a box to store my growing collection of antique jewelry. I have been looking for a box for a while, so I was quite pleased when I found this one. It was a good price and has a velvet lining. (It looks better in real-life than in the pictures...)

This last purchase I was really excited about. I found these two handknit sweaters for only $6 each. I measured and knew they would fit. Well turns out I forgot to measure the neckline on the pink one. My head is too big. So at the moment I can't actually get that one on... I may try slicing a slit up the back of the neck and adding a button. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Overall I've very happy with my purchases and it was a lovely afternoon out. Now I get to spend all night doing school work.... yippee...

That's All.

Foam Roller Set

2012-01-24T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Not much to report here. I'm still sick and basically do nothing but school work. I did however finish editing another YouTube video. This is my first in a series of "basics" videos, which deal with the fundamental techniques needed for creating "vintage" hair (with an emphasis on long hair as always. Sorry to the short haired gals. I haven't had short hair since I was little so I don't have much experience styling it)

This video deals with setting hair in foam rollers. I do tend to put a bit more info in the descirption bar on the actual video, so check that out if you are interested!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

That's All.

Holiday Outfit

2012-01-16T08:44:00.000-08:00

Not much to share this week. I've been feeling really rather ill and haven't had time to rest and get better since I have so many assignments due already. However I discovered an outfit photo on my camera from around Christmas that I had forgotten to share.

This outfit I wore when my dad's side of the family came over to celebrate Christmas (which was actually a few days after Christmas day). I didn't think the photos turned out since they arrived much too early and I only had time to take 2 photos! Normally I take about 20 and narrow it down to one, so I had assumed the outfit photos didn't turn out.

I made both the top and the skirt. The top is from a reprint of a 1930's pattern and the skirt was from a basic pencil skirt pattern I altered to give it a more 1930's look. I loved this outfit, but if I made the blouse again I would do it out of a less slippery material. I spent the whole evening worrying I was going to accidently expose a lot more than would be appropriate for a family gathering!

That's All.

My Mini Vanity Table

2012-01-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago I moved into a new place for the term. The only good thing about moving every 4 months is I get to redecorate a new room. This of course presents a lot of challenges in terms of not being able to physically alter anything (like paint colours) and being limited in the amount of stuff I can bring with me.

One thing I always try to have is a vanity table. This may sound sort of frivolous but with 3 girls sharing one bathroom I need somewhere in my room where I can do my hair and makeup in the morning. I would love to have a real vanity table but that would be too difficult to transport and there isn't enough space in my room for one anyways. Instead I always create a "mini vanity table". The basic setup includes a small folding table, a small stool, a mirror, and a light. Here is how I set it up:

This is my "mini-vanity" table. I have it located between my closet and my dresser. I use a drawer in the dresser to store my less frequently used products and my hair stuff, but more on that later. The table cloth I custom made to fit the table and I used a bit of vintage lace around the edges.

Here is a closer view of the vanity. I have attached an old spice rack to the wall with a removable hook (which I tried to cover with a flower since plastic hooks are not the most attractive things).

I have an antique powder container for my face powder, and the bottle was a gift that I use for my homemade perfume. My brushes are in a tea box that I liked the look of. Ideally I would have a separate container for my makeup brushes but I forgot the one I was going to bring so everything is in one box at the moment.

Closeup of the spice-rack. I use it to store my various oils and other frequently used products.

The two drawers hold cotton-balls and cotton-swabs.

I use natural makeup on a daily basis, but I do use "normal" makeup when I'm going out . My "normal" makeup I keep in an old jewelry box.

And this is the top of the dresser located beside my vanity. It holds my jewelry and most of my hair stuff.

Closeup on my three-tiered tray of hair stuff. I love this thing!

And that's it! I love sitting there getting ready in the morning. It always puts me in a better mood when I take the time to properly get ready.

Media Medley

2012-01-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

I bought the most amazing hat on Thursday which I was planning to share with all of you. Unfortunately I woke up yesterday with a massive cold and it refuses to go away! (I was supposed to go for coffee with a rather dapper young gentleman today but that had to be cancelled. I do not enjoy being sick!) So, since I've been watching old movies all day, I've decided it's time for another Media Medley post!

I couldn't find an appropriate picture in my file of magazine scans (I really need to scan more of
my collection...). But since I can't have a post without a picture, here is a random image of soup.

For those of you who missed my last "Media Medley" post, I basically share some of my favourite songs, radio programs, and movies that are in the public domain. So on with this weeks selections:

Music:
Say Arabella by Billy Murray - This is one of my favourite songs at the moment. I am really loving Billy Murray's recordings, and this is one of his best. It's from 1925.
Vera Lynn Collection - For those Vera fans out there, there are a bunch of her recording available. This is just one of the many collections available of hers in the public domain.
The Freckle Song - Not sure of the date on this one, but it amuses me. I do love novelty songs.

Movies:
The Kennel Murder Case - I actually watched this one on TV so I'm not sure how the quality is, but I do know it's a good movie. It's a Philo Vance mystery, starring William Powell and Mary Astor.
Kitty from Kansas City - Not the best picture quality, but it has Betty Boop AND Rudy Vallee so I had to share. Just as bizarre as most Betty Boop cartoons (technically she is referred to a Kitty in this cartoon, but she looks like Betty, sounds like Betty and it was made by the same people so I'm calling her Betty).

Radio Show:
Phillip Marlowe - This is an obvious choice, but it is my all time favourite radio show (I love the novels as well) so I thought I should share with anyone who hasn't heard of this series. Phillip Marlowe is a hard-boiled detective, and while the plot lines are rather predictable (he almost always gets beat up at some point, and there is ALWAYS a pretty dame involved) I always find myself thoroughly enjoying each episode.

I would love to hear your suggestions of great things to watch/listen to!

That's All.

New video (and MIA for a while...)

2012-01-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know I might be MIA for a while. I just moved into a new place and started another term of school. So far it's not going as smoothly as hoped, and my profs have decided to give us extra work and extra lectures to start the term. Yay....

Anyways, I did manage to post another Youtube video last night. This one is for an Edwardian girls hairstyle. I always provide more details in the video description, so if you want more info check there. If anyone has any suggestions for more styles they would like to see let me know! I have plans to do a couple "basics" videos on things like rag-curling as soon as I get time.

(PS: so far I am not liking 2012... hopefully it gets better...)

Happy New Years (My personal highlights)

2011-12-30T21:39:00.000-08:00

I am thoroughly enjoying all the year review posts other bloggers have been doing. I decided to do one myself, if only to remind myself what actually happened this year. Last January seems impossibly far away! I'm afraid this is another long, picture heavy post... but here are some of my personal highlights from the last year:

January:

I started my Etsy store! This was definitely a big moment for me. I really love my little shop and it has really inspired me to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams. I am really hoping when I'm done school next year that I will be able to perhaps generate at least part of my income from my own business (right now I just generate a wee bit of spending money).

February:

I completed knitting my first piece of clothing. I was so proud of knitting myself a skirt!

March:

I bought my lovely Underwood typewriter. She sits on my desk and makes me smile every time I look at her :)

April:

The weather was lovely for Easter and I got all dressed up. I also completed knitting my first sweater!!

May:

I did a lot of antique shopping to take my mind school and also designed my first hat pattern.

June:

My birthday month! I didn't get to go home for my birthday but I made some very yummy cupcakes with fancy chocolate butterflies and my dad took me out antique shopping for the day. I also bought my first piece of Victorian clothing.

July:

Not a very exciting month. I basically just did a lot of school work. But I did make this cute skirt out of curtains when I was home for a weekend.

August:

I had a great time up at my cottage, and also made my first Youtube video! My channel is TheLongHairedFlapper if you want to see my videos :)

September:

I had a great photoshoot with Britt and the guy she was seeing. We managed to snap a few pictures of us as well.

October:

Lots of fun things happened this month, including a trip to the Bata Shoe Musuem, riding the Roseneath Carousel, finding three great vintage pieces (two dresses from the 1920's and a jacket from the 1800's) for an unbelievable price, and finishing creating my first sewing pdf (the Sweet Bea pattern).

November:

Not a great month. I was feeling rather down for most of it. I did however finish my skirt/cape set which I absolutely love!

December:

I had an excellent Christmas, and also got to see The Artist with Britt in Toronto which was a lot of fun.

Next Year?
It's hard to say what next year will bring. I finish school hopefully next December and then have to decide what to do with my life. I would love to expand my business and I have plans in the works for several new patterns. Not sure when I'm going to find time to actually draft these patterns... Oh well. Thank you so much to everyone who reads my humble little blog. I honestly didn't think I would stick with blogging very long, but I'm so glad I did. I will have been blogging 2 years as of February, and it amazes me how much I have changed over that time. Here's to another (hopefully less stressful) year! Happy New Years everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!! I was actually hoping on posting this in the afternoon but I took waaaaaayyy too many photos and it is taking me forever to edit them! I hope everyone had a great holiday. Yesterday we spend Christmas with my mom's side of the family, and we don't see my dad's side for another few days, so Christmas itself was a rather quiet day spent around home. It was rather lovely just lounging about, in my new pajamas, looking at all my presents, drinking some fancy new tea and eating violet creams (these were a Christmas gift. I'd never had any before but I am officially in love!).

Warning, this post is a little picture heavy...

Christmas Eve:

These are soooo yummy. Recipe found here. I used white chocolate instead of icing
so they were easier to transport. These snowflakes are giants!
We had to split one cookie between about 3 people!

Chocolate candy cane hearts. I found the idea somewhere on Pinterest...
They look really good but were a little difficult to eat.

Not what I was originally planning on wearing, but it was very comfy and warm.
The red peaking out is actually a Victorian style petticoat that I have hiked up to wear as sort of a slip.
The belt is part of the dress, which I have threaded through the space between two buttons.

Christmas Day:

My new nightgown set! I actually finished sewing it about a month ago but I was saving
it to wear on Christmas morning. The pattern I used is actually the Vintage Vogue
reprint of a 1930's evening gown and jacket, but I thought it made a lovely loungewear set.

And now the presents! I didn't take pictures of everything but here are some of the more "vintagey" items. I used the handmade quilt I got as a backdrop for these photos.

This is a stunning Edwardian brooch my parents bought me (which I picked out)

Signed copy of Maureen Jennings new book (she wrote the Murdoch Mysteries series).
My mom bought this for me when we went to her book signing a month ago.

The only two seasons of I Dream of Jeannie I was missing! I now have every episode :)

Some cute pendants (that will soon be earrings) from Michael's new "Deco Chic" line of
jewellery making supplies.

Stunning book of Art Deco illustrations

Four sewing books and one hairdressing book. All are reprints of original 1920's and 1930's books.
They are just fabulous!!

Gramophone sticky notes!

The next few gifts were a complete surprise. They are all from my grandmother and are all family heirlooms or things she has bought over the years. I am definitely going to cherish these forever!

Not sure how old this one is, but my grandma bought it on a trip to Scotland.

Also a piece bought by my grandma.

Also bought by my grandmother on a trip to Scotland.

My grandfather wedding ring from 1947. The inside is engraved with the date and my grandparents names.

Beautiful ring that belonged to my great-grandmother.

A pair of earrings from the 1800's (in their original box!)

I hope everyone has as good as Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) as I did.

Happy Holidays!!

That's All

The Artist and a day in Toronto

2011-12-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

I've finally got out of the house and done something blog-worthy!! I was supposed to be having a big gettogether with my friends from highschool but that fell apart at the last moment. I was rather upset and my mom took pity on me and offered to pay for Britt and I to go see The Artist in Toronto. Obviously I jumped at the chance! I will get to the movie in a minute but first, outfit photos!

It has finally gotten cold enough to pull my winter coat out of the closet! It is so warm and I love the bright red colour. My original outfit plans included a 1920's style dress but it was just too cold (we had to walk for about 45 minutes to get to the theater, since I'm too cheap to pay for the subway). Instead I went for a more subtle early 1930's influence.

I bowed my lips, using my Ruby Woo lipstick (and cherry liner) which perfectly matches my coat!

Outfit Details:

Coat: Novelti (purchased at an independent store, which has since closed down)

Hat: Made by me using the Sweet Bea pattern (available in my Etsy Shop)

Shoes: Ariat (these are actually riding boots, and by far the best boots I have ever owned)

Pants: Max Studio (purchased at the same place as the coat)

Sweater: Costa Blanca

Necklace: Made by me. I simply wrapped a long strand of faux pearls around my neck three times and added a brooch (from Michaels)

Gloves: They are from an independent coffee store in Warkworth whose name I have totally forgotten...

The movie itself was amazing! I was worried I would be disappointed but it was great. Even Britt liked it, and she isn't a big fan of old (silent) movies. I realize it wasn't technically an old movie, but it certainly felt like one. The costumes were lovely and the cinematography was very well done. There was also a lot of subtle references to old movies, which were fun to pick out but not essential to the plot. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it. It's a shame more theaters aren't showing it!

Two Last Minute Christmas DIY's

2011-12-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

It is getting waaaaayyyy too close to Christmas. I have so much work left to do and am still not in the right frame of mind to really enjoy it. Actually I feel rather like Jacob Marley this year (yeah, the dead guy from a Christmas Carol...). Nevertheless I have been making some cute Christmas crafts I thought I would share with you. These two projects take very little time and would be a great last minute Christmas gift.

Holiday Earrings
You will need:
Two mini Christmas tree ornaments
Two earring hooks

Step 1) Remove the string from the ornaments, and attach the earring hooks through the loop. (You may need to attach a jump ring first depending on the direction of the loops). If your ornament does not have a premade loop, use a bit of thin wire to attach it to the earring hooks
Step 2) Wear them or give them as a gift

And for the knitters:
Mini Knitting Ornament
You will need:
A small amount of yarn (I used several colours)
Two toothpicks
Glue (I used plain old white glue)

This set of instructions is pretty flexible as the ornaments can be made bigger or smaller depending on your preference. I used a few different yarns to add stripes to mine.
Step 1) Cast on about 12 stitches onto US size 2 needles
Step 2) Knit for about 1 1/2"
Step 3) Cast on 5 or 6 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows
Step 4) Continue knitting until the sleeve measures about 1/2".
Step 5) Knit halfway across the next row. Cut yarn, leaving a long tail, and carefully slip the needles out.
Step 6) If you toothpicks have two pointy ends, cut one end off. Slip the tooth picks in where the needles were.
Step 7) Loop the yarn up then down again to the bottom of the mini sweater. Roll the remaining yarn into a ball.
Step 8) Secure with glue. Make sure to glue the stiches on both ends of each "needle", as well as the top and bottom of the loop. Apply a lot of glue to the back of the mini ball of yarn and stick to the bottom of the sweater. And that's it!

I hope you all enjoyed the tutorials today. I love coming up with cute projects, but I'm not really sure what types of projects you want to see. If you could take a moment to take the mini survey at the side of my blog --->
I would really appreciate it!

That's All.

Holiday Party Hairstyle

2011-12-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

I've been busy getting ready for Christmas this week so I haven't had time to post anything or even do anything exciting enough to post about. Luckily I filmed a video last week with Britt! I finally finished editing today (after my computer decided to almost die on me. If I disappear for a while it's because my computer hates me...)

I'm getting a reprint of a 1920's hair-styling book for Christmas which means more videos coming soon! And if anyone has any requests I would love to hear them :)

That's All.

Scandinavian Cookbook

2011-12-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

After a rather horrific house buying adventure (in the end nothing was purchased and it was much too complicated to explain here), I have been in need for some comfort food. I've been flipping through my cookbooks looking for inspiration, and possible Christmas food ideas, when I stumbled across this Scandinavian cookbook. It's from 1956 and belonged to my grandmother. Her grandparents were Norwegian and she was quite proud of her heritage.

Below I've posted a few of the recipes that relate to Christmas. There are so many I want to try, but I haven't had a chance yet. If anyone makes these I would love to know how they turned out!

(click to enlarge)

What are you baking for the holidays?

That's All.

Media Medley

2011-12-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about loving old music is that a lot of it is in the public domain (and thus free). Archive.org has a great selection of various media in the public domain (including movies and radio shows!). However, unless you are looking for something specific, it can be difficult to sort through everything and find the gems. I've been rather lacking blog inspiration lately so I thought I might start a series highlights great songs. Then I decided why limit it to songs? My "Media Medley" posts will feature a movie, radio program, and a couple songs :)

This weeks selections are:
Songs:
Which Switch is the Switch, Miss, for Ipswich? This song is from 1915 and one of my all time favourite songs!
Piccolo Pete Perfomed by Stan Greening & His Orchestra this recording is from 1929.
Various Songs by Smith Ballew This small collections features 5 recordings by Smith Ballew. They are all great but "Just a Gigolo" is my favourite (it is such a sad song!).

Movie:
Lady of Burlesque Stars Barbara Stanwyck as a burlesque dancer who becomes involved with a murder investigation after one of her fellow dancers is killed. Worth watching for some of the costumes alone!

Radio Show:
Casey, Crime Photographer This show ran from 1943 to 1955 and followed the adventures of Casey, a crime photographer for a newspaper (often paired with reporter Ann Williams). Great 30 minute episodes which are perfect to listen to while knitting!

DIY Shoe Clips

2011-11-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

Shoe clips are great for dressing up a pair of shoes. They allow you to inexpensively change the look of shoes you already own (which is very "make do and mend"). You could also customize a pair of shoe clips to exactly match a special outfit. You can buy blank shoe clips to decorate (Etsy has sellers that carry them), but here is another alternative. This has to be one of the easiest tutorials I have ever done...

You will need:
A large pair of clip-on earrings
Some ribbon
A glue gun

Step 1) Glue a small loop of ribbon to the inside centre back of your clips.

And you're done. See? I told you it was easy.

Before: Cute but a little plain

After: The clips really jazz up the shoes. They also allow them to be worn with both
cool and warm brown tones (rather than just cool brown tones).

An attempt to get less gloomy

2011-11-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my absence from the blog world lately. I haven't been posting or commenting nearly as much as I like to. I've been rather depressed and grumpy these past few weeks. After weeks of searching, I thought I found a place to live, but the landlord gave it to someone else (and didn't bother to tell me...). Now I'm still searching for somewhere. Normally by this time I would have the house decorated for Christmas, my Christmas cards ready to be mailed and my presents all bought and wrapped. So far I haven't done anything.

Last night I decided enough was enough. I set my hair for the first time in weeks, finished editing the youtube video I filmed almost a month ago, and made plans to go for coffee with my best friend. I'm feeling a heck of a lot better now. It's silly how a little thing like setting your hair can make a world of difference. I've been pumping the Christmas music (I really want the Puppini Sisters Christmas album!) and am actually starting to decorate.

Here was my outfit today: (I nearly froze to death taking these pictures. It's getting way too cold to not wear a coat outside!)

Dress: Made by me (from a 1950s/60s pattern)

Sweater: Winners

Snowflake Brooch: Gift

Shoes: Hush Puppies

And here is the youtube video I finally finished:

I have a DIY tutorial planned and will hopefully be able to get back to normal soon. I really need to start making an effort again. The more "vintagey" I am, the happier I tend to be. Time to blast some Bing, put on a nice frock, and get decorating!

That's All.

Holiday Hats

2011-11-15T22:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry my lack of posting for a while. I have had a terrible cold and been rather depressed about next term. After months of searching I am still without a place to live. My parents put in an offer on the perfect investment property (which I would have been able to rent from them. I wouldn't be getting it for free or anything but I would have had control and be able to decide who I was going to live with) but we wanted a home inspection so our offer was rejected. Oh well, I suppose it was for the best. But on a slightly cheerier note, I have been working on two new hat designs for the Christmas season!

The first hat is a called "Baby It's Cold Outside" and is for an adorable pillbox hat. The second is for a "Poinsettia Fascinator". They are both super easy patterns (the latter does not even require a sewing machine) and are designed with beginners in mind. This will be a limited run design as I'm only going to be selling this design until January. Britt was kind enough to model the designs for me (isn't she gorgeous?!).

I'll hopefully be able to come up something interesting to post soon (I always feel slightly guilty promoting my store on here haha).

That's All.

Capes, Cats, and Halloween

2011-11-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

I've finally finished my cape/skirt set! I decided about 2 months ago I wanted a cape for fall. My first attempt, using a pattern I found online, was a complete failure. I decided to draft my own pattern instead and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I bought this lovely thick cotton plaid material on sale (it took me ages to get all the plaid lined up properly!) and I used a super soft faux fur for the lining.

The skirt is an adaptation of this skirt (free from BurdaStyle). I also made a matching collar but I didn't wear it today since the blouse I wore already had a collar.

I wore it to a Christmas craft sale at my moms church today. My mother bought me several Christmas gifts including a lovely handmade quilt. We also bought plenty of baked goods and jam, and attended the high tea they were hosting. I have never had such good scones in all my life!! I really should have taken some pictures but I was too busy stuffing my face.

And as promised, here is my final Halloween costume. The only change I made was instead of wearing a hat I wore a white "maid's cap". Britt dressed up as a cat, using the ears I made her. We had a great evening handing out candy, knitting, and watching Arsenic and Old Lace (aren't we cool? haha).

Please ignore my cat's giant bed in the background...

Kitty cats LOVE chocolate mochas with extra chocolate ;)

Speaking of cats, my own kitty wanted to be in my outfit photos today. Isn't she a cutie? She has gotten rather whiny in her old age and needs frequent cuddles.

That's All.

And the winner is...

2011-11-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

It was a very tough decision to decide the name for my pattern, since I loved all the suggestions you readers provided, but in the end I decided to go with "Sweet Bea" as suggested by Tina (if you could send me an email at purlsofthepast@live.ca then I can send you your free copy of the pattern) . The pattern PDF is now available in my Etsy shop. It's only $2.50 but, as a thank you to all my readers for just being amazing, use the coupon code THANKS to get 20% off :)
Here are some more pictures of the design (since I have over 50 pictures of it I will never actually use...)

On a completely unrelated topic, I can't wait to share the final pictures of my Halloween costume. Unfortunately, my friend has yet to send them to me :( Oh well, I should be able to post them soon. I sure am enjoying reading all the posts about everyones costume's this year. What did you dress up as?

That's All.

Raggedy Kate

2011-10-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

I hadn't planned on dressing up for Halloween. Well not in a "costume", although I suppose some people would consider some of my "normal" clothing very costumey haha. I have no plans other than watching Arsenic and Old Lace with my friend and handing out candy if any kids even show up. But then I saw this cute costume and decided I am going to dress up anyways. I'm not sure if I will have a chance to get pictures tomorrow so I did a trial run today. What do you think? I'm a rag doll!

Everything except the wig I already had in my wardrobe. And I already had red yarn which I sewed into the wig, so technically this costume cost me $0.00 :)

Anyone else dressing up?

Two New Videos (better late than never!)

2011-10-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

I am getting terribly forgetful. I've posted two youtube videos over the past few weeks and completely forgot to mention them here! The first one I filmed with my friend Britt. She was kind enough to let me give her a vintage style (which is definately NOT her normal look).

The second video I just posted a couple days ago. I got a request to do a Downton Abbey hairstyle so I filmed a simple hairstyle inspired by Lady Mary.

Subscribing to my youtube channel is the quickest way to stay updated with my videos but I will try in future to remember to post them here :)

That's All.

Anyone good at coming up with names?

2011-10-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy little bee this week putting the finishing touches on my latest pdf pattern. However, this one isn't a knitting pattern, but rather a sewing pattern! I've designed a cute 1930's inspired hat and am planning on selling the pattern in my Etsy Store. However, I am having a terrible time coming up with a suitable name for the hat. After almost three days of trying to come up with a name, I've decided to ask all of you.

If you have any suggestions for a name leave me a comment on this post before the 30th of October. The creator of the name I end up using will get a free copy of the pattern (in pdf form). Thanks everyone for the help :) I'm just terrible at coming up with nifty names.

Here are some pictures of the design (which my friend Britt was kind enough to model):

The hat was loosely based on this image (from The Costumer's Manifesto)

Thanks again for your help!

That's All.

Antique Sale Treasures

2011-10-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I attended an antique sale in Port Perry. It was much larger than I was expecting and I barely had time to see everything. It was one of the better antique sales I had been to in a while. Of course I might be biased since my purchase of the day was so amazing.

I have long drooled over 1920`s dresses online that I couldn't even dream of affording. One of the vendors at the sale had a rack with two dresses and a jacket on it. None of the garments where in amazing shape but a black lace 1920`s dress caught my eye. Other than a small tear in the lace near the shoulder, it was in perfect condition. I looked around for a price. I finally asked the sweet older woman running the booth. She looked me up and down. She told me the dresses were in very delicate condition. I smiled and told her I understood that. She paused for a moment and said "Well I bought them all ten years ago for $50, but I would be willing to sell them for a little less. I just loved them so much I've held onto them all this time. How about $25 for the three?" I think my jaw hit the floor before I almost yelled "I'll take them!!!". She was very sweet and gently wrapped them up for me. I think she wanted them to go to a good home and wouldn't have sold them to someone she didn't feel would appreciate them. Anyways, I suppose by now you are dying to see some pictures!

The pictures really don't do this dress justice. It is simply stunning.

The jacket is in rather poor condition but is fascinating to look at. It has boning (possibly metal?) on the inside and lots of dark sequins sewn into the trim.

This dress is actually my favourite now. The faux pearls and lace are very captivating. It's a shame it is too delicate to even think about wearing (the lace straps have almost completely disintegrated).

That's All.

Hair Styling Cabinet

2011-10-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

I cleaned out the mirrored medicine cabinet in my bathroom and turned it into a hair styling cabinet! It now holds my most frequently used foam rollers, pins, clips, rags (for rag curling), styling combs, a head scarf (for wearing over a set at night), and my spray bottle (which is filled with water+lemon juice, which helps hold styles a little better than just water).

I used canning jars to store my smaller rollers and rags, and candy tins for my clips and pins. The inspiration images are glued to magnets so they are easy to change and move around.

That's All.

DIY Tie-Scarf

2011-10-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a DIY post in a while so I decided it was time for another one. This tutorial is for what I call a tie-scarf. Basically it looks like a cross between a tie and a scarf. It is very easy to make and only takes a few minutes. Thicker ones look great tied around your neck and long, thin ones can look great when used as a headband or a belt.

You will need:
-A strip of fabric that is the length you want your tie-scarf and twice your desired width
-Sewing machine (although I suppose you could do this by hand if you have a lot more patience than I do)

Instructions:
1) Iron your fabric
2) Pin the long sides of the rectangle (wrong sides together) and sew
3) Flip the fabric right-side out and iron it so that the seam lies in the centre
4) Fold one of the short ends in half, with the seam on the outside the fold, and sew

5) Flip the seam so that it doesn't show (this should now form a pointed end) and iron

6) Repeat on other end
7) Topstitch around the entire edge of the scarf
8) If desired, handstitch the opened of the pointed end closed (I don't normally bother)

I made a wider one using some up old flannel with a horse print.

I actually saw a very similar scarf that was featured in Life magazine in 1949 a few weeks ago on The Cats and the Berries blog.

Vintage Adventures

2011-10-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the most fun I've had in ages! It started with my best friend, Britt, and I having a sleepover. We filmed a video for my youtube channel but I haven't finished editting it yet.

The next day we awoke nice and early to hop on the train to Toronto. After reading about the Bata Shoe Musuem's exhibit of 1920's shoes on Tea with the Vintage Baroness I knew I had to find a way to see it. Britt and I had an amazing time (although I'm too cheap to pay for the subway so we had to walk for about an hour to get there). The exhibit was filled with lots of beautiful shoes. I wish I had of been able to get better pictures but my battery was low (as was the lighting).

Britt and I at the train station

These were one of my favourite pairs!

These were the most stunning shoes I have ever seen in my life.

Same shoes as above. Just as stunning from the back.

The next day I went for a stunning country drive with my parents. We headed up to Warkworth to look at a couple of properties for sale. On our way there we decided to take a different route and stumbled across The Roseneath Carousel. If you are ever in the area go! It has to be the coolest thing I've seen in ages. It is enclosed in a building and in stunning condition. It was built in 1906 and features a (very, very loud) 1934 Wurlitzer 125 Military Band organ. It was about $3 for a ride, and boy what a ride! The music pulses as the carousel spins around (a lot faster than you would expect!!). It is now closed for the season, which makes me sad because I want to go back!

I also recently finished knitting myself a new scarf (before I hurt my wrist). I've named him Renard (which is french for fox). I love the fact he has four little legs which makes him feel much more like a stole. I found the pattern for free here.

That's All.

My Favourite Item

2011-10-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

A couple posts ago I asked if anyone had any questions about me (since I couldn't come up with 7 random facts). The only respond I got was from Jennie. She asked "Out of all your clothing, shoes, bags etc, what is your favourite item, and why?"

My favourite item is a late 1950s/early 1960's dress my grandmother gave me. It is one of the few pieces of old clothing she has kept. She has always had a deep love of clothing and held onto this dress as it was a favourite of hers. She gave to it me last year and it fits me perfectly. The soft green netting (which hangs over a rich brown lining) is quite worn and starting to disintegrate so unfortunately this dress spends most of it's time carefully folded in it's box.

Here is a (slightly blurry) picture of it from last year when I went to see Swan Lake at the National Ballet in Toronto.

That's All

Ann Harding Inspired Hairstyle (and a very sore wrist)

2011-10-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

I've hurt my wrist, which means no knitting and a lot less computer time for at least the next week :( I did however upload another hair tutorial before my wrist decided to hurt like hell. I have been working on so many knitting projects (and some new patterns!) which makes it very difficult not knit. Oh well... Hopefully a few days of rest and I will be back to knitting and typing. Until then enjoy the video! (I actually made a few other videos but my computer decided to delete them all because it hates me.)

Thrifting Finds and Giveaway Winner

2011-10-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

I don't often shop at thrift stores for the simple reason all the thrift stores where I live are extremely over priced and never have interesting things. However I was dropping off a resume at a nearby store and thought I would pop in to see if there was any vintage to save. I didn't find much but I did end up buying this dress:

It may not be very old, but it is handmade. For $6 I thought it was worth a shot. I plan on styling (and possibly altering it) to make it more 1920's style.

Also, to my great surprise, amid the 1980's sewing patterns were lurking these sweet 1960's ones! I still haven't decided whether to keep them or sell them. Anyone want to make me an offer? haha

Today, while property hunting in the country, my parents and I stopped at a little store that was for sale. It was basically a junk shop but the building was rather interesting. I had a bit of a hunt around and managed to find two little treasures. First was this Baby Ben Westclox. I have another Westclox and want to start a collection. It was a steal at $1.50

The second item I found was this cow creamer. I have wanted a cow creamer for ages! It was only $2.50 so I snapped it up and am currently giving it a VERY good wash...

And now for the giveaway winners! Drumroll please...
Winner of first prize is: #5, Perdita!
Winner of the second prize is: #2, adarhysenthe!

Thank you to everyone for entering! If the winners could email me at purlsofthepast@live.ca so I can send you your prizes.

That's All.

An Award and Giant Pants

2011-09-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

A while ago the lovely Susan of Susan's Diary - Vintage style meets heavy music awarded me an irresistibly sweet blog award. I was supposed to write 7 random facts about myself then pass on the award. The problem is that I can't seem to come up with 7 random facts! After failing to think of more than one or two facts, I found Jennie of It's a Charmed Life was having the same problem! She decided to ask her readers to leave her questions in the comments, and she would answer them in a post and pass the award to those who asked her something. What a brilliant idea!!!

So I'm going to be completely unoriginal and do the same thing. Leave me a question and I will answer them all in a post :)

In other news I finished one of my many autumn sewing projects: a pair of giant pants! I have been craving a pair of 1930's style pants, especially after discovering Giant Pants of the 30's, so I decided to try and make myself a pair. This was technically my first time sewing pants but I drafted my own pattern and got to work. I LOVE the result! These pants are soooo comfortable! It is like wearing pajama pants.

One last thing, don't forget to enter my giveaway! You have until October 1st.

That's All.

Giveaway Time

2011-09-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

It's giveaway time!!! To celebrate reaching over 200 followers I'm hosting a giveaway.

The main prize is:

Two DVDs (Arrowsmith and The Princess and the Pirate)
A pack of charms (the charms feature images of from this)
$5 credit for my Etsy Store

And for a small second prize I'm giving away:

A package of rose note cards
$3 credit for my Etsy Store

To enter: Just leave me a comment letting me know something about yourself (I'm always writing about myself but I would love to know more about you!) and a way to contact you (email or a link to your blog works well).

Giveaway ends October 1st

And while your at it why not check out my Etsy store? I've just started carrying vintage buttons :) I have many I haven't listed yet so feel free to request a colour or style and I will see what I can do!!

Weekend photoshoot

2011-09-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

I've reached over 200 followers!!!

Thank you everyone who takes the time to read my blog. It really means a lot to me :) I've already begun gathering items for a giveaway but I want to add a couple more things before I officially announce it, so stay tuned!

I've been quite busy sewing myself some new clothes for fall (including a cape/skirt set and a pair of wide-leg trousers!!) and organizing my room. I did however manage to squeeze in a photo-shoot with my best friend on the weekend. Technically the shoot was for me to take pictures of her and a certain boy, but I did hand the camera over to him for a little bit to grab a few snaps of us. My friend and I don't have nearly enough pictures together since I'm always the one behind the camera!

The photos I took turned out great. I might share some later if I get permission from the two of them, but for now here are some of the ones the boy took. Unfortunately he wasn't used to my camera (she is rather temperamental...) so quite a few of them didn't turn out, but nevertheless I am quite pleased with the pictures we did manage to get.

We took the pictures at what was once Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village. It is now a rather rundown, very overgrown park run by the town. There are lovely historical buildings but they have been left empty and are in need of repair . It makes me really sad that the town doesn't utilize such a wonderful space :(

Most of the pictures of Britt and I ended up like the above picture. Can you tell who is the affectionate one?

Here is a colour photo of my outfit. The dresses Britt and I wore are actually new dresses (both from Winners I think) that have a vintage style, as I didn't want to ruin any real vintage dresses. My hat is a 1940's piece, and Britt's hat is a modern one from Icings. Our gloves are also vintage, and the faux fur stole was made made by me (tutorial here)

That's All.

Fall Inspiration

2011-09-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

The weather has seemed to turn chilly overnight. One day it was summer and the next it was autumn. I love fall more than any other season and I'm currently busy sewing myself some lovely new (warm) clothes. For a bit of inspiration I was flipping though the only two autumn magazines in my collection (I think I may have to buy some more when I get a job...). Here are some of my favourite images of fall fashion:

(The first three are from 1935 and the others are from 1941)

(Anyone else think the girl in the above picture looks a bit like Dita Von Teese?)

What is on your autumn wish list?

By the way, I've noticed I am two followers away from hitting 200. I have a giveaway planned for when I do reach 200 so stay tuned!

That's All.

Mary Pickford Inspired Hairstyle

2011-09-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

My second youtube video is now up!

This time I did a slightly more difficult style based on Mary Pickford's beautiful curls. It was a little difficult to explain but hopefully it is clear enough.

If anyone has any requests or suggestions I would love to hear them :)

That's All.

I'm back!

2011-08-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

I'm back after a week at my grandmother's cottage. It was a lot of fun, but we had to leave a few days earlier then expected (since my parents decided to go off to PEI for a last minute holiday).

I wore this 1920's inspired outfit for the car ride to the cottage:

Dress: Made by me using this method

Sweater: Thrifted

Shoes: The Bay

Necklace: Gift

On the way there, I made everyone stop in Bobcaygeon since there was an antique fair going on. The fair was alright but very overpriced. I did however managed to pick up two new "friends". Aren't they lovely? Normally I tend to buy only women, but I thought I needed to add a guy to my cabinet card collection to balance the genders a bit more.

Despite rather chilly weather I did go swimming quite a lot (I'm nuts though. I've been known to go swimming about 2 weeks after the ice melts of the lake, which is not a smart idea by the way...). I was excited to wear my "new" bathing suit. I actually bought this suit in elementary school. I wore it to a pool party and everyone made fun of my "grandma" bathing suit, so it was buried at the back of my closet for years! I am so glad I never got rid of it, because I simply adore it now (and no longer care about being considered "grandmotherly" haha).

One thing we always do a lot of when we go to the cottage is shopping. We have gotten in the habit of driving to Bracebridge for an afternoon (despite it is about 2 hours away!). It gave me a chance to get dressed up and wear my latest sewing project. The top of the dress is from a 1960's pattern and the bottom is from a 1950's pattern. I love the vintage lace I hand-stitched along the bottom, although it took nearly 4 hours to sew it on.

Dress and Necklace: Made by me

Shoes: The Bay

Belt: Vintage

I bought a few little things, but my major purchase of the week are the shoes in the below picture. I have never spent so much money on shoes in my life, but I just fell completely in love with them. They are very comfortable and fit perfectly <3

I'm now home and working on reorganizing my entire room, as well as sewing some new clothes for fall. I will however miss the few lazy days I managed to have at the cottage. I will never get tired of looking at this view:

That's All.

2011-08-21T04:52:00.000-07:00

I've gone to the cottage for a week. Hope everyone's summer is going well!

The Long Haired Flapper

2011-08-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

I did it! I made my first youtube video (although I'm still a little uneasy about it since there are so many mean commenters on youtube!)

There seemed to be a lack of 1920's styles for long hair, with the exception of faux-bobs on youtube. I have been doing a lot of research into 1920's styles for long hair so I thought I would make a couple videos and see how it goes. Let me know what you think!

PS: I know some spoken instructions might have helped but the "silent" format was chosen since I'm rather self-conscious of my voice. I had a speech impediment as a child and I still get nervous talking in front of people because of it :(

Home Decor (1959)

2011-08-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some lovely pictures of home decor from my 1959 Good Housekeeping Needlecraft book. I'm normally not a big fan of 50s/60s decor but I quite liked these images.

A sewing closet. Perfect if you don't have space for a sewing room.

I love the needlework on this chair!

I'm not sure if I hate this rug or love it...

Every bathroom should have a vanity table! I wish I had space for one in my tiny bathroom...

I must learn to tat so I can make pretty tablecloths like this one.

That's All.

Some Awards and Forgotten Photos

2011-08-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

First off I would just like to thank Presley from Young Vintage Girl for passing on these three awards to me. I've done quite a few awards lately so I won't pass these along, but I just wanted to give a big thank you for these awards! I really appreciate it :)

Exams have been taking up most of my time lately. I wake up, I study, I go to bed. Not very exciting. However I was looking through the files on my computer last night and I noticed there are quite a few photos I planned on using for my blog but for one reason or another never did. I suspect this is common among bloggers. Since I have nothing better to post at the moment, here are some photos that never quite made it to the blog.

This one my friend took a looonnnggg time ago.

Aren't these bookends fabulous? They were given to me by my grandma who got them in the 1940's.

This is from last fall. I love this 1940's (?) dress but it very fragile so I don't wear it very often anymore.

I loved this outfit but was unable to get a decent picture of it. My friend said I looked like Minnie Mouse. I chose to take that as a compliment.

Isn't it cute? This was the last knitting project I completed before the weather became too warm to knit. I love knitting stuffed animals. Too bad I don't know any young children to give them to...

Some forget-me-not's I dried and framed.

This outfit is actually only from a few weeks ago but I forgot to post it. The skirt is made by me, the sweater is from Winners, and all the accessories are vintage.

A great hair day from a year ago.

This was my "uniform" when I waitressed the Victorian Teas at the Bowmanville museum last summer. Although it was really, really too warm for a summers day, I did LOVE that outfit!

My very first time wearing Ruby Woo lipstick by MAC!

This is a cute little 1960s dress I picked up last year.

My cat trying to sleep :)

That's All.

All the Latest Steps: Novelty Dances (Part 1)

2011-08-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It feels like ages since I last posted! I have been busy studying for exams and, although I have already written 2, I still have 3 left. However I thought I would take a break from studying to post another "All the Latest Steps". This post includes 3 novelty dances, which will hopefully make up for my neglect of this series. This is actually part one of two posts of novelty dances.

I also want to welcome all my new followers! As I am getting closer to hitting the 200 mark I have started to gather items for a giveaway. Thank you to everyone for reading :)

The first of the three dances in this section is "The Barn Dance". This simply refers to a type of dancing event rather than actual steps. It originated in America but also enjoyed popularity in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th century.

I was unfortunately unable to find history on the other two dances. I did however discover "All the Latest Steps" is an updated version of an earlier book from 1922 (the only information I was able to find was word for word what was written in "All the Latest Steps"), although a different author is listed... Nevertheless, here are the instructions for The Barn Dance, The Memphis Tapping Novelty, and the Lucky Number Novelty:

The Instructions (click to enlarge):

Exams, Pattern Discount, and a Curtain Skirt

2011-07-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

Exams have started and I'm afraid my posts may become sporadic until the end of August. I'm rather busy studying for exams and getting ready to move (again).

Since I won't have much time for posting I thought I would offer a 20% discount code for the knitting patterns in my Etsy shop for my readers. Just use the code VINTAGEINAMODERNWORLD to get 20% until the end of August. I have a lot more designs in the works but I'm afraid it may be another month or two before I get a chance to finish them.

I haven't had much of a chance to do anything lately but here is an outfit shot from a few weeks ago. The skirt is actually two curtain panels I sewed together. I just used a ribbon threaded through the holes to cinch the waist. An elastic would have been better but this way I still have the option of easily turning it back into curtains if I wish in the future.

(Please ignore the fact I have no shoes on. I didn't want to get the carpet dirty)

Outfit Details:

Skirt: Made by me from 2 curtain panels and some ribbon

Top: Giant Tiger

Hair Bow: Also made by me using the same ribbon as the skirt

Earrings: Made by me

That's All.

It's been a rough couple of weeks....

2011-07-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for retail therapy! Pretty things may not solve life's problems but they sure help ;)

(I should add this shopping trip was my first time out of the house, other than to campus, in almost 3 weeks! How is it that I can do so much work and still not get enough done?!)

Anyone know anything about "topper" dresses? I couldn't find any info about this lovely "new" dress I bought. My best guess would be it's late 40s/ early 50s.

That's All.

DIY Secret Lampshade

2011-07-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

Remember in my last post when I said I craft when I can't sleep? Well it's 1:40am and I'm wide awake. While I was browsing the internet I found this cute idea for a lampshade. I loved the concept but I don't really have money to throw away on a new lampshade. So instead I created my own (removable) version using my existing bedside light.

The shapes appear when the light is turned on and disappear when it's turned off!

Materials:

A light-coloured lampshade (mine is from Ikea)
Some black card-stock
Some invisible tape

Step 1) Cut out your desired shape(s) from the card-stock. I went with some simple hearts I cut freehand, but you could get fancier and use an x-acto knife to cut out a more elaborate design.
Step 2) Decide where you want to place you shapes and tape them to the inside of the lampshade. You shouldn't need very much tape per shape.
Step 3) Turn on your light and admire your new "secret" lampshade.

Award Time

2011-07-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Paigey from A Vintage Girls World was kind enough to pass the Stylish Blogger Award to me! I`m supposed to list 7 facts about myself then pass it on to 7 other bloggers so here it goes:

1) I'm addicted to lattes. They are perfect for a relaxing afternoon or a hardcore study session. The caffeine in regular lattes tends to make me overly jittery though, so I normally end up with a chai latte instead.

2) I love old-fashioned detective stories! I can think of nothing better than curling up with an Agatha Christie novel or sitting in front of the TV watching the latest Mystery on PBS. I have to admit I have always had a MAJOR crush on Sherlock Holmes (aka the sexiest fictional character of all time...) and one of my goals in life is to become Miss Marple.

3) Old mechanical things fascinate me. I think that's part of the reason I am so drawn to old typewriters and telephones.

4) My favourite smell in the entire world is the smell of old books. I love that almost sweet smell old books get. (I would say I like the smell of old paper in general but most of my magazines smell more musty/slightly moldy rather than sweet haha)

5) I'm terribly nosy! I love reading old postcards and letters from the 1900's and 1910's, although sometimes I feel rather guilty about reading someone else's mail! I have a couple diary's from the 1920's on my wishlist at the moment that I'm hoping to buy when I have a bit more money.

6) Although I'm working towards getting a degree in Math I have realized that it's not really what I want to do with my life. I only have a year left so I will finish my degree, but I would love to run my own business of some sort instead of working an office job somewhere. I highly doubt my ability to earn a living with my own business so I will likely need to tutor part time or something though...

7) I craft obsessively, especially when I can't sleep. Seriously, I've been having problems sleeping lately and I end up crafting at 3am.... I just realized I haven't done a DIY post since May! Anyone have any suggestions of something they would like to see? I can normally figure out how to make something at least similar to an item if I'm given a picture :)

Well there are 7 random facts. And now for 7 blogs:

The Little Red Squirrel

Jade

Lauren Hairston

Vintage Chic

Autumn, Coffee, and Inspiration

A Harem of Peacocks

The Chronicles of an Eccentric

Pass if on if you want to, or don't if awards aren't your thing :)

And before I go I must mention that I just discovered how much fun making Treasury lists on Etsy is!! So far I've made two. The first one I made was A Trip Back in Time which was inspired by the 1920s and 30s. Then yesterday I took a break from studying to make And All That Jazz which is inspired by 1920's flappers and the prohibition.

That's All

Blog Award (and maybe some hats?)

2011-07-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

First off I would like to thank Nabby for giving me a Liebster Blog award a few days (weeks?) ago. Thank you so much!

I'm supposed to pass it onto blogs with fewer than 300 followers, so I'm giving it to the following blogs (I tried to pick blogs I haven't given awards to lately). Don't feel you have to pass it on if awards aren't your thing.
Flair in a Lady's Boudoir
Grandmothers Pearl's
A Vintage Girls World
Bright Young Twins
TeaCup Allie
Caitlin Rose

In other news, I have been considering making a few of hats (based on my designs) to sell on Etsy. I would likely make them on a made-to-order basis. This won't be until after exams are finished (mid-August) but I wondered if there was any interest out there? I also wondered what people would be willing to pay for them? I'm still not sure if I am confident enough in my knitting skills to actually sell my products but feedback is very much appreciated!!

And just so this post isn't completely pictureless:

That's All.

Outfits for College and Boarding-School (1910)

2011-07-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I shared a photo of what I wear to university on an average day. After posting that I was flipping through some magazine pieces I had bought a while ago and discovered an article about college/boarding-school style from 1910. Wow, I'm rather jealous now! I wish I could wear clothes like this to school, but even I have some limits... (not many though, as I tend to just wear whatever takes my fancy).

Here are the pictures from the article (the article itself is mainly just a description of the outfits so I omitted posting it too). I love the simpleness of many of the dresses and skirts. I may have to figure out a way to incorporate some of the details into my wardrobe.

What I Normally Wear, Birthday Gifts, and Some Projects

2011-06-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

I was going to do a proper post but instead here is a collection of photos of things from around my room. I've been taking lots random pictures of stuff with the camera by parents gave me for my birthday.

I will do a real post when I'm less sleep deprived, I promise! I actually do have some stuff I want to post about, including a blog award from the lovely Nabby. I haven't forgotten, just too tired to do a proper post! Also apologies for my lack of comments on everyone's blogs lately. I promise if I follow your blog I really do read every post. I've just been too busy and tired to come up with anything clever to say (although my "clever" comments normally sound something like "Lovely outfit!"...)

Left-over chocolate butterflies are lovely with fresh local strawberries!

I knit myself some slippers from here. I think I just liked them because of the name!

I have plans to embellish them a bit but who knows when I will get around to that.

When I was home on the weekend I managed to sew myself this fancy little 1930's top from one of the Vintage Vogue patterns. It looks rather purple in the picture but it is actually a light smokey grey colour. Now I just have to come up with an excuse to wear it...

I used to keep my sewing pins in a box but I wanted a pincushion too. This jar pincushion is the best of both worlds. Tutorial found here.

A couple of my birthday gifts. Ok, the Bob Hope boxset was actually a gift to myself. My dad wouldn't buy it for me. He thinks I have awful taste is movies :p

I am completely in love with this 1959 Needlecraft book I also got for my birthday. I actually have an earlier edition from 1947 and it is really interesting to see how the information and style of the book changed. The earlier version assumes the readers have a lot more knowledge and provides lots of "inspiration ideas" but very few real tutorials. The 1959 version assumes you can't sew without a pattern and provides a lot of easy projects!

I always think it is interesting to see what bloggers wear on a day to day basis. Often only "interesting" outfits get posted, but I thought it would be fun to take a picture of what I normally wear to class. As much as I love wearing dresses and skirts, when I'm getting up at 6am for class it is rather the last thing on my mind. For my long days of classes (8am until 9pm!) I often opt for mens-wear inspired items.

Blouse and Vest: Smart Set

Trousers: Winners

Earrings: Made by me

Tie: Shamelessly stolen from my dad last time I was home

What do you wear on a daily basis?

That's All.

Summer Rose

2011-06-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it has been more than a week since my last post! I have been incredibly busy the last few weeks (but I did manage to go home on the weekend for a belated birthday with the family!). There is a slight lull in assignments and midterms for the next two weeks, so hopefully I will have time to write a few of the posts I have planned.

In the meantime, Britt and I managed to get together to do a photoshoot for my two latest vintage-inspired knitting patterns. I love how the photos turned out! The first pattern, Summer Rose, is already for sale here on Ravelry and here on Etsy. (As always, the pattern is $0.20 cheaper on Ravelry since I do not have to pay listing fees)

The second pattern will hopefully be posted in the few weeks so stay tuned!

That's All.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-06-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for your sweet comments on my last post. Lack of transportation prevented me from taking a few of you up on your offers, but I quite appreciated it.

In the end I wasn't totally alone for my birthday. My dad came to visit for the day, even though my mother was stuck at home with a cold (she sent me a massive amount of fresh flowers though!). We went to St Jacobs where we browsed around some antique stores and a really neat architectural salvage store. It was a lovely afternoon and served as both a celebration of my birthday and of fathers day.

(Please excuse the seriously messy hair. It looked great in the morning but was ruined by the wind before I could get any pictures!)

Outfit Details:

1950's Dress: Christmas gift for my grandmother

Shoes: The Bay

Sunglasses: Icings

Hairbow: made by me

University is determined to ruin my birthday (midterms, assignments, and co-op problems, oh my!) but I am trying to be positive. I bought myself a new antique teacup and made cupcakes so that I could have a mini tea party by myself tonight. I love how the chocolate butterflies turned out. This was my first try making them but I will definitely be making them again. (Instructions for making them found here)

That's All.

Summer Inspiration

2011-06-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

I hadn't planned on posting again so soon, but I'm avoiding school work at the moment so I thought I might as well. There seems to be a lack of inspiration in the blogging community lately. I suppose it's partly due to summer, and I know I've been feeling it too.

As such, I have been looking at some of my magazines I managed to digitalize before I left home (I had planned on scanning images from my entire collection but only had time to do 3 magazines unfortunately). Luckily one of the magazines I scanned includes lots of pretty dresses for spring and summer. Here are some of my favourite images to bring a bit of summer inspiration:

That's All

PS: It looks like I'm going to be all alone on my birthday. Anyone have any suggestions for something special I can do? I really wanted a teaparty but that seems a little pathetic to do all by myself.

All the Latest Steps: The Grand March

2011-06-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

I know I promised this post over a week ago but life has gotten rather hectic. I'm right in the middle of midterms at the moment so posts may be rather sporadic over the next little while. My birthday is next Sunday so I might take a break for school work and do something worth a post then (although I'm too busy to go home for the weekend).

This week's dance is The Grand March. This dance is technically a march, and is written for 16 couples (although it could be modified to work with less people). The Grand March appears to date from sometime around 1900 (perhaps earlier) and is traditionally done to old military or patriotic songs.

The Instructions:
(Click to enlarge)

I couldn't find any historical footage of the Grand March but here is a clip from 1998 of people in historical dress doing the grand march:

Old Clothing

2011-06-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to share with you the jacket I bought! It arrived in the mail about a week ago from Mabel Studios. It is by far the oldest piece of clothing I own as it dates from the 1800s!

It is actually a mens jacket but I still love it. The lining is in tatters (hence the reason I could actually afford this baby!) and I am still deciding whether to replace it.

(See the original Etsy listing for better detail shots. The jacket appears faded in most of the photos, but it is actually a very rich black)

What is the oldest piece of clothing you own?

That's All.

PS: I just noticed I haven't done an All the Latest Steps post in a while. Whoops! Sorry readers, I forgot. I should have the next one up this weekend or early next week.

Clothing and Hats (from 1909 and 1914)

2011-05-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are a few images from the magazine pieces I bought. Some of the images are from 1909 and the rest are from 1914. I must admit I was never a bit fan of fashion from that time period, but since watching Downtown Abbey I have grown to appreciate it a lot more. I still don't think it is a look that is easy to pull off but it is very interesting to see the shift between the Victorian fashions and those of the 1920's.

Hats, Magazines, and a little bit of Knitting

2011-05-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

Outfit Details:

Dress: Made by me from a 1960's pattern

Sweater: Costa Blanca

Flats: Payless

I have been out antique hunting today. I was very disappointed I won't be able to get to the Christie antique sale this year, so I went to my favourite local store to make myself feel better. I wore a vintage inspired outfit today due to the weather (thunderstorms...), and the fact most of my poofy 1950's dresses make it difficult for me to sit on the bus without someone sitting on my dress!

I found lots of things I wanted to buy (I always do...) but in the end I settled for a hat, some magazine pieces, some 1950's knitting books, and some reeeeaaaallllyy cheap knitting needles. Most of the magazine pieces are from about 1910. I suspect someone learned that they could make more money by selling the covers and ads rather then the whole magazine, and that the pieces I bought were what was leftover. It makes me quite sad that people destroy perfectly good vintage magazines, but at least I rescued some of the remaining pieces. I will post some scans of the pieces later this week.

I have been working on designing a new pattern for my Etsy / Ravelry shop. It's not quite done yet, but here is a little sneak peak at my new vintage inspired hat pattern. It looks a bit like a rose.

That's All.

DIY No-Sew Hair Bows

2011-05-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who suggested names for my knitting pattern. I had a very hard time deciding between your wonderful suggestions but in the end I decided to go with "A Jaunty Little Bow" as suggested by Tasha ("The Ruby" as suggested by BaronessVonVintage was a very close second but I was worried that most people wouldn't get the reference). The pattern is now for sale here on Ravelry and here on Etsy (it's 20 cents cheaper on Ravelry since I don't pay a fee for listing the pattern).

I haven't done a DIY post in a while, since it seems most of my DIY posts involve sewing and, as I am at school, I no longer have access to my sewing machine. However, I thought I would share my method of making no-sew hair bows. There are a variety of ways to make these, but I prefer this method as it seems to use the least amount of fabric per bow. This is a great project for using up scraps of fabric.

You will need:
-Two rectangles of fabric. The size doesn't really matter as long as one is smaller than the other, but mine were 5 ½” by 4” and 8” by 5”.
-4" of ribbon
-Glue gun and hot glue
-A hair comb or hair clip

To make:
1) Start with one of your rectangles. Fold long edges towards centre (you can iron it in place but I don’t tend to bother), so that the right side of the fabric is on the inside. Unfold and place a straight line of glue along the short side about half an inch from the edge. Refold and carefully press down along the glue line. Wait a few seconds until the glue dries and repeat on the other side.
2) When the glue is dry, flip the bow right side out. Place a few small dabs along the inside of the bow, particularly around the open centre edges, and press closed.
3) Repeat with the other fabric rectangle.
4) Place a dab or two of glue in the centre of big bow and press the little one onto it.
5) Wait until all the glue has dried. Get your ribbon and tie it around the centre, with the knot at the back, and glue down loose ends of the ribbon so that they don’t show from the front.
6) Glue on your hair comb or clip.

Tada! All finished.

Front:

Back:

There are many possible variations you can make:

I now have quite a little collection of hair bows to match my various dresses and skirts :)

That's All.

Suggestions?

2011-05-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Well my lovely readers, it has been a very busy week at school but I managed to fit in a photo-shoot for my newest knitting pattern. My friend, Britt, was nice enough to be my model for the day and we got some great shots (despite the fact her hair refused to hold a curl!). Since then I have been working at writing the pattern which should be up for sale on Ravelry and Etsy (in PDF form) before the end of the week.

Only problem is that I can't decide on a name for my design. It is a 1930's inspired hat that can be worn two ways, pointed or flat. So I thought I would see if any of you could think of a name. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. If I pick your name I will send you a free copy of the pattern :)

All the Latest Steps: The Paul Jones

2011-05-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

This week's dance is the Paul Jones. I was unable to find any historical footage of this dance, possibly because it is merely a variation on dances such as the foxtrot.

Next Weeks Dance: The Grand March

The Paul Jones is the name of a "mixer dance" (a dance where partners are changed during the dance) that was very popular during the early part of the 20th century. The dance was named "after John Paul Jones (1747-1792), Scottish naval officer known for his victories in the American Revolution".

The Instructions (click to enlarge):

Buttons, Bows, and Earrings.

2011-05-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week! I am finally getting time to set up my room. Hopefully it should be done within the next week and ready for pictures, but as a sneak peak what do you ladies (and gentleman of course) think of my hair accessory 3-tiered tray? I have been making even more hair bows lately and needed something to fit all my flowers, bows and clips.

Despite not going outside due to an injured foot, I wore my new sweater today. I took several 1920's knitting patterns for inspiration and came up with this (sorry it's a bit of a dark photo, still experimenting with lighting!):

Before the foot injury, I did manage to get to my favourite antique store for the first time this term. I bought a big bag of buttons, some gloves that actually fit (!), and some clip-on earrings (which I will likely convert to something else).

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

That's All.

All the Latest Steps: The Fox Trot

2011-05-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

This weeks dance is the Fox Trot. Although it is not the most exciting dance in the book, I've decided to post the dances in the order they appear. Next week: The Paul Jones

The Fox Trot was invented in 1914 by an American vaudeville performer, Henry Fox (or, according to some sources, merely popularized by him). The Fox Trot is based on the two-step but is done with a "broken beat" (ie slow-slow quick-quick). It was considered "the easiest [dance] to pick up and the hardest to master" and was one of the most popular social dances of the era. Over time the dance was split into a slow version, the slow Foxtrot, and a fast version, the Quickstep.

The Instructions: (Click to enlarge)

All the Latest Steps

2011-05-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. It has been a hectic week of moving into a new place and starting classes. I have school some days for more than 12 hours straight so I expect to be more tired than usual for the next few months. This means I will likely also have less time for blogging. But nevertheless, based on several requests, I have decided to start a new series of posts based on the book "All the Latest Steps". It was published in the mid-1920's and contains instructions for various dances.

Over the next few months I will be posting the instructions to the dances (some contain diagrams, and some unfortunately do not) and some historical footage of the dance (if I can find any). I'm planning to post once a week, but this may be changed to every two weeks if school gets too busy. (Don't worry, I will still be doing my normal posts as well.)

So dust off your dancing shoes and get ready to learn the "latest steps". Here is some Fred and Ginger to get you in the mood!

Movie Night Outfit

2011-04-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

It might be a while until my next post. This weekend I am moving into my new place and I start school next week. The worst part about doing a university co-op program is a tie between moving every 4 months and having to be in school during the summer.

I did manage to get out with some friends and see a movie this week. We went to see Water for Elephants. It was alright but I had hoped it would be better. I knew all of the 1920's/30's songs in the movie though. I was proud :P

Anyways, here are some rather blurry pictures of my outfit:

Outfit Details:

Top: Smartset

Skirt: Made by me using my simple skirt tutorial

Earrings: Also made by me.

My hair was curled and pinned up in a faux bob

That's All.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! I've never been a big Easter person, but this year I felt like getting all dressed up, including an Easter Hat and some white gloves. In the last few days the temperature has gone from being -1C to about 15C which means I can finally wear spring clothing! Yay!

Outfit Details:
1950's Dress: Christmas gift
Sweater: Reitmans
Gloves: From an antique store
Hat: Made by me (same hat as I wore for Halloween but with some flowers attached to the silk scarf)
Shoes: Bigleys

That's All.

Tonics, Powders, and Compounds

2011-04-17T15:46:00.001-07:00

During a renovation a few years ago the cistern was removed from the basement. When my father started to remove the walls, he discovered that over the years people had thrown their garbage in it. As a result I know have a lovely little bottle collection. Here are some of my favourites that still have their labels:

And my personal favourite:

That's All.

My First Sweater!!!

2011-04-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

I finished my very first sweater a few days ago and wore it to work yesterday. It isn't the best sweater (I re-sized it too big!) but I am super proud of it!

It is from a vintage pattern and I did it as part of the Briar Rose Knit-a-long over at By Gum, By Golly. I decided that it looked better on me with an open neckline so I didn't bother to attach the buttons to the front. Now on to another knitting project!

That's All.

Old Photos, Books, and an Award!

2011-04-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been decidedly boring. I get up, go to work, come home, go to sleep and that is basically my day. But I have managed to get out a bit on weekends and do some antiquing.

I checked out what was advertised as Eastern Ontario's largest antique mall. I found it rather disappointing. The overall quality was poor, however I did find a few old photos to "adopt". I always feel so sad when I see photos of unknown people whose families have forgotten them or died out. I had to buy a few, but I have had to place them on my bookcase so they don't stare at me while I'm sleeping (I love the photos but the idea of dead people staring at me while I sleep seriously creeps me out!)

I also went to the Kirby Church book sale. It is a small, old church just outside of Orono. They are trying to raise money to move it to the museum site and have started selling used books again on Saturdays. Paperbacks are only 50 cents and hardcovers are a dollar. I may have bought a few books.....

I have also a bought two other books at antique stores over the last week. One is a 1920's dancing guide and the other is a 1947 needle-working book. I highly recommend trying to get a copy of the needle working book. It is great for both beginners and for more advanced needlecrafters, and has a great range of project ideas!

In other news, I have been kindly given an award from The Paper Doll Says "Let's Have Tea!". Thank you so much! I think I am supposed to pass it on to some great blogs with less than 300 followers, so I am passing this onto:

Lauren Hairston
It'll Take The Snap Out Of Your Garters!
Baby Steps into Vintage
Butterflies and Daisys Vintage
Honey Hi Vintage
That Vintage Broad
I've got an Island
Good Rockin' Baby
Porcelina's World
Susan's Diary- Vintage style meets heavy music
The Modern Day Flapper
Tickety Boo Tupney

So feel free to pass this award on if you want to!

That's All.

DIY 1920's Inspired Dress

2011-04-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Spring weather is almost here and summer is just around the corner. It is time to start wardrobe planning for the warmer months ahead. Here is a (hopefully!) simple tutorial for a 1920's inspired dress.

I love the 1920's but clothing from the 1920's comes with a hefty price tag and if often too delicate to wear. This dress is very basic but gives a 1920's look using a minimum of fabric. It looks best when done in a light sheer or silky material. (The pink version of this dress was created with a sheer fabric that already had a ruffle along the bottom)

1920's Inspired Dress

You will need:

-a couple meters of fabric (2 meters should do it but you may need more or less depending on your measurements)

-thread

-pattern pieces for armhole facings (you could make your own but using some from an existing pattern is easiest. I used some from a 1960’s dress pattern)

-about 1 meter of trim for the bottom of the dress (if desired)

Note: All seam allowances are 5/8” unless otherwise stated. Most of my seams were also finished with pinking sheers.

1) Cut out two armhole facings and two large rectangles. The rectangles should be half the width of the widest part of your body plus 2 inches (I made mine 22” wide since my hips are about a 40”) and the length should be 2 or 3 inches longer then the desired length of your dress.

2) Decide what type of neckline you would like (I did a square neckline for my dress). Cut out a facing for the neckline (as shown in the diagram below) and sew right sides together to the top-center of one of the rectangles. 3) Cut out the excess material on the top of the rectangle. Turn the facing inside the dress then stitch in place to finish the neck of the dress. You should stitch very close to the edge of the neckline.

4) With right sides together, stitch the top of the two rectangles together. Press the seam open and stitch along the back part of the neck opening. Stitch very close to the edge like you did for the front of the neckline.

5) With right sides together, sew the sides of the rectangles together leaving a 2 inch gap at the top.

6) Sew your armhole facings according to the original patterns instructions (this will likely be only one seam joining the short edges to make a circle). With dress right side out, pin the armhole facings to the dress. It may take a bit of time to correctly position them on the rectangle.

7) Cut out some of the extra fabric on the inside of the armhole and sew the facings to the dress. The stitch line is shown in red in the below picture. Turn facings to the inside of the dress and stitch in place (as was done for the neckline).

8) Hem the bottom of the dress as required. Attach the trim if you are using any. This dress would look great with some beaded trim around the bottom (I looked everywhere for some but I couldn't find any in my price range!).

9) Cut strip of fabric about 3 ½ “ wide and 5 inches longer than your hip measurement. Use a zigzag stitch to finish the edges. This will be your waist tie. When wearing your dress, simply tie this around your hips to give the effect of a 20's style dropped waist.

And voila! You know have your very own 1920's style dress. Here are some more pictures of my two dresses:

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for tutorials you would like to see!

That's All.

Is it Spring Yet?

2011-03-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

I am getting mighty sick of winter! It is almost April but the weather forecast predicts snow next week! Oh well, I am just going to stay inside and start working on some new dresses for spring. After a very stressful week of calculating finances for my next school term and signing a lease for next term, I am in need of some relaxing evenings spent by my sewing machine. I figure making new spring clothes should also save a fair amount of money and use up some fabric in my stash.

So for some spring clothing inspiration, here are some pictures from a 1938 Spring Edition of Butterick: (By the way, the DIY tutorial will hopefully be coming next week. I just haven't had time to take pictures yet. Sorry!)

That's All.

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not Irish, I don't drink, and I'm not going out to any parties today. Nevertheless I decided to be festive and wore a green dress to work. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

1950's/60's Dress: Adelines Attic
Shoes: Winners
Jacket: Costa Blanca

I also got these super cute sunglasses at the mall yesterday. I have been looking for a pair of cateye sunglasses for over a year and I finally found some. Yay! I ended up buying them from Icings.
That's All.

Postponed DIY and a rather boring weekend.

2011-03-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

I wanted to thank everyone for their positive comments about my DIY seamed stockings post! I especially wanted to thank those who posted about my post. I was very flattered but due to my computer not letting me comment I was unable to express my appreciation. I have decided to try doing more DIY tutorials on here. If there is a certain type of project you would like to see leave me a comment! I will try to accommodate any requests :)

I had actually planned to do a DIY post today but the fabric store didn't have the trim I needed to complete the project. So here are two pictures as sort of a sneak peak. Can you guess what it is? (I'll give you a hint, the two pictures are actually two versions of the same project.)

This weekend has been quite boring since my mother decided to get sick and has now made me sick as well. At least it has given me plenty of time to work on my knitting for the Briar Rose knit-along. So far I have the back done and the collar.

I also went completely mad and turned my books the wrong way. I decided the books on my bookshelf looked ratty (all my pretty books are on display elsewhere in my room) so I turned them so you see the pages rather than the spines. I like how it looks but it might make locating books difficult (well slightly more difficult since they were already double stacked. 400 books do not fit very well on one tiny bookcase!).

That's All.

Casual Weekend Outfit

2011-03-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

A lot of Saturday was spent in the car. I went to the Hamilton Home Show to see Sarah Richardson. She's my absolute favourite interior designer. (If you haven't seen any of her rooms, check her out. She is fabulous!) Unfortunately Hamilton is quite a distant away, so it took nearly 2 hours to get there.

Between a long car ride and dinner with my dad's side of the family (who tend to make snide comments about my vintage look) I decided to dress more casual than normal. I don't often wear jeans anymore but I decided to pair them with a grey vest and my latest sewing creation, a 1940's button up blouse. The picture was taken at the end of the day so unfortunately my hair and makeup wasn't as nice as earlier :(

Vest: Smartset
Jeans: Winners

Blouse: Sewn by me from a 1940's blouse pattern

The only other thing of note this week was that I received my giveaway prize from Porcelina's World. It was a lovely stationary set. I must say how much I loved the card she sent along with the gift. It was all so pretty!

One Last Thing...
As you may have noticed, I have added some pages along the top of my blog. I have created a page with links to neat vintage related websites I have come across (which I will hopefully be adding to), as well as a page with links to my accounts on various sites such as Ravelry (add me as a friend!).

The only page I am having issues with is the About Me page. I am totally stumped on what to write about myself. So I thought I would ask all of you what you would like to know. Leave me a comment asking me anything you would like to know (within reason...) and I will post my answers in the About Me section. It can be a serious or a silly question. Bonus points for creative questions!

Apologies again, but I am still having trouble with leaving comments. I'm not ignoring you all, I just can't comment on anything. It's driving me nuts!
Update: Ok after posting this, my computer decided I was allowed to comment again! Yay!!!

Typewriters and Technical Difficulties

2011-03-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

First off, I must apologize for not responding to comments and not commenting on other people's blogs for about the last week and a half. My computer has decided it hates me and will not allow me to log in to post comments. I have tried everything I can think of but it still isn't working. While I continue to try and fix this problem please understand that I do read all your comments and every single post from every blog I follow, my computer just wont let me comment!

On a happier note I have finally replaced my old typewriter! As you may remember my typewriter was a very ugly 1990's model that wasn't working properly anymore. It would randomly decide to start typing in the centre or write in all captials, and then beep at me if I tried to change it back to normal! This is what it looked like:

Ok I may have edited the photo just a teensy bit...

After work one day I stopped in at one of the little antique stores in town. They normally don't have anything of interest but that day a beautiful typewriter caught my eye. After much deliberation I went back about a week later and bought it! I've named her Miss Lemon which I think is an excellent name for a typewriter.

She is a 1923 Underwood #5. The interesting thing is that she is actually a teaching typewriter. This means none of the keys are labeled. I will have to brush up a bit on my typing skills before I can use her but it will be so worth it!

Some people have a bucket list. I have a "5 things to buy before I die" list. An old typewriter was #5 on the list. One down, four more to go! If anyone is curious the rest of the list consists of: an old farm complete with a brick Victorian farm house, a single strand of real pearls, an oil or acrylic portrait of myself (ok yes, a little bit narcissistic but I have always wanted my portrait painted!), and a car from before 1950.

That's All.

DIY Seamed Stockings

2011-02-26T16:17:00.001-08:00

I love stockings. They are about a hundred times better than pantyhose in terms of look, feel, and cost (when one legs gets a run, you don't have to throw out both legs!).

When it comes to seamed vs seamless I would always choose seamed. The only problem is that around here real seamed stocking are nearly impossible to find! When I do find some (either in store or online) they are at least $20! Being a university student means that at the moment I have very very little money (stupid tuition...) so spending that kind of money on something I can only wear a few times is not an option.

For daily wear I have some seamless stockings I buy at the Bay for $4 or less. I suppose I could always draw seams on with eyeliner like some ladies did in WW2, but I would worry about getting eyeliner on my dress! Instead I have come up with a simple method to create the look of seamed stockings.

Instructions

1) Do a trial pair! Buy a cheap pair of pantyhose at the dollar store (or use an old pair of stockings) to practise on. It is very likely there will be some areas on your machine that will snag the fabric. Make note of these areas.

2) Thread your machine with a thread that is the same colour as your stockings. Now tape over the areas of your machine that snag the material with scotch tape.

3) Turn your stockings inside out and iron a crease where you would like your line to be. Use the coolest setting on your iron so you don't melt the material.

4) Set your machine to the zig-zag stitch. I used a width of about 2.5 and a length of 2.
5) Start sewing along your crease, starting from the top of the stocking. You should be so close to the edge of the material that on part of the zig-zag the needle is no longer touching the material. Do this very carefully and very slowly. If you don't sew your seams straight they will never be straight when you wear them!

6) End the seam about an inch before the toes. Cut off any excess thread and turn right side out. Tada! You now have your very own pair of seamed stockings!

This is how my pair turned out:

That's All.

Practical Winter Shoes

2011-02-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little under the weather this weekend so my DIY steamed stocking tutorial is going to have to wait. In the mean time, I thought I would share these fabulous vintage boots with you. The ad dates from 1951. I have searched and searched trying to find a modern equivalent in stores but so far no luck. If anyone sees a pair (only faux fur please!) let me know!

There always seems to be such an emphasis on high heels, so it's nice to know there were also practical shoes around in the 1950's.

Hopefully I will be feeling better in the next day or two and can gather pictures for a couple posts I have planned. I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and a great Family Day (for those of us in Canada)!

Oh by the way, I have finally gotten around to joining Ravelry. My user name is PurlsofthePast (I am not good at coming up with creative names so I just re-used my Etsy shop name). If anyone else is on Ravelry feel free to add me as a friend! :)

That's All.

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

This little Valentine was originally given to "Phillis Sweet"

Just a quick little post to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day!!!

Suds

2011-02-13T15:10:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night, I went with my parents to see a local theatre production of Suds. It is a musical set in the 1960's about a girl who works in a laundry mat. She is having troubles finding the right man so two guardian angels come to help her out.

To be honest I didn't expect much from a small theatre musical, especially since most of the people who produce these plays are volunteers. However, the stars of the production were excellent and all had lovely voices (one of the actresses was actually Donna Lajeunesse, who was a finalist on How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?(Canada)). I very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the production.

Most people at the theatre were casually dressed, but I always think you should get dressed up for a night out so I wore one of the 1950's dresses I got for Christmas. I had to throw a little sweater over-top since it is still freezing outside.

In other news, I have been sticking to my new years resolutions of using up some of my craft supplies and only buying things I need. I used up some scraps of yarn for these cute little mice. (They now live in my sewing room. Makes me feel like Cinderella!)

From Left: Ralph, Samantha, Freddy, and Maurice

I bought this cute vintage powder container since I needed something to hold my cornstarch (which I use as face powder).
I also bought this 1947 sewing manual because I, um, "needed" it to decorate my sewing room :D

Ok yes, still having problems with this need vs. want thing but I'm working on it!

That's All.

Giveaway Winner and My Knitted Skirt

2011-02-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who entered my 100-100 giveaway. Now it is time to announce the winner. Into the mini tophat went all the names....

And the winner is.... Brooksie! Please email your address and your choice of pattern from my shop to purlsofthepast@live.ca :)

I haven't done an outfit post for a while since it has been too cold to wear any cute outfits. Sweaters and trousers are nice but they don't make for very exciting posts. But today after months of knitting I finished my skirt. It took me a while since I could never find time to knit, but since I have started to knit after dinner and at night in front of the TV I have gotten a lot done!

The skirt is a little shorter than I would have preferred (ew knees!) and not overly flattering, but it is my first major knitting project and I am very proud of it :)

Skirt: Knitted by me!

Top: Smart Set

Stockings: The Bay with a seam added by me (tutorial coming soon!)

Shoes: Softmoc (they aren't the prettiest shoes but they are very comfy!)

That's All.

My Sewing Room

2011-02-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

The roads were terrible when I woke up this morning. My boss had already told me not to come in if the roads were bad so I stayed home. This meant I could spend all day inside doing nothing, which I did :D

Well I suppose I shouldn't say "nothing" since I got a lot of knitting done, and I also managed to snap a few quick pictures of my recently made-over sewing room. My "sewing room" serves a variety of functions. It is a place for me to watch movies, hang out with friends, store a lot of my stuff, and is sort of a hallway to our upperdeck. Which all these other functions, it perhaps isn't the best room for sewing. Still, I love having a space to relax and create something beautiful. So without further ado here is what my sewing room now looks like:

Bird's eye view of my work space. The craft show sign I actually found in the middle of the woods. I have to sewing standing up due to the height of the counter, which doesn't help the straightness of my seams...

On the back of my door I have re-purposed a broken embroidery hoop and some clothes pegs to create an "inspiration board".

1930's hats make any space beautiful.

I use a thrifted silver tray and a piece of vintage fabric to decorate my folding wall table.

Ribbon storage and antique postcard display.

This "side table" is actually a small stool with a box and a tray on top. I store most of my knitting supplies in the box.

I love this trunk for storing fabric and materials for sewing projects.

Where do you ladies sew/craft/be creative? I just love looking at other peoples work spaces so if you feel like doing a post in response to this please leave me a link in the comments :)

I would just like to give a big thank you to Betty2Tone Vintage for giving me a Stylish Blogger Award. Since I just did this one a few posts back I won't bore you with more facts about myself. But thank you!

That's All.

War Paintings

2011-01-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

Whew, what a week! I have started working at the museum again (I am a co-op student so I have an odd school-work schedule) as of Monday. As much as I loved working there, I was hoping to get something a little more relevant to my program. Also the commute is killing me. It just isn't natural to be up so much earlier than the sun!

I had no idea what to post about, so I ended up flipping through some of my old magazines for inspiration. I came across a set of pictures I hadn't seen before. They were all prints of paintings from WW2. I found them very captivating so I thought I would share a couple with you. My scanner doesn't do them justice!The last one is my favourite. I am seriously considering having a print made for my room.

Just a reminder, there is still time left on my giveaway so leave me a comment on the previous post!

100-100 Giveaway!

2011-01-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

As I have reached 100 followers and am writing my 100th post, I thought it was about time for a giveaway! Due to an extremely limited budget, this giveaway isn't as grand as I had hoped. None the less, up for grabs is:

1) A copy of Damsel in Distress by PG Wodehouse

2) Vintage flower brooch

3) Necklace made using vintage beads (one of the many leftovers from the days when I sold handmade jewelery)

4) Any knitting pattern from my Etsy store Purls of the Past (which includes a pdf booklet on how-to knit and other helpful tips)

The book is used, but this is a vintage blog. So instead of used lets use the phrase "previously loved" ;)

To enter:

Just leave me a comment telling me something about yourself. I always love learning about the people who read my blog!

Easy huh? I will announce the winner on February 6th, so enter now!