Knickers

I have just gotten back from a last minute trip up to the cottage. It was a lovely few days and the weather was cool enough to try out my new trousers. I altered a pair of my mothers old trousers and converted them into what my 1920's Sears Catalogue reprint calls "knickers". They are basically a short pant meant for sports. I am quite pleased with how they turned out. They are not overly flattering but they are so much fun to wear! I think I need to get some bright argyle knit socks to wear with them!

Inspiration Image

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Driving

Yikes! How has it been 10 days since I last posted?! Time has sure flown by very fast the last week or so. I've been very busy getting ready for school. I also completed my G2 driving test (and passed!). I now have almost a full license, although my interest in driving is almost zero. I just don't understand the appeal. But if I had an antique car....

While dreaming of owning an antique car, I came across this amusing little book on the internet archive. They are sort of nursery rhyme parodies about motor cars. Spoiler alert: a lot of the cars in the rhymes explode. It reminded me slightly of the Ghastlycrumb Tinies, although not quite as violent. The best part of the book is the illustrations. With a focus on the cars, here are a few of my favourites:

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"New" Skirt

As part of my sewing binge, I have been reworking many of the old pieces in my wardrobe. I had a black dress with a tube-top upper portion. It has never really fitted properly so I gathered points around the top and added a ruffle to hide the now rippled zipper. This may just be my new favourite skirt! I wore it when I accompanied my friend Britt to the hairdressers. Of course it was her hair being cut not mine. It is now a very adorable short bob which I have plans on waving/curling. (On a side note, I've decided to completely stop cutting my hair. I just want to know how long it can actually get. I wear it up 98% of the time so no one can really tell anyways.)  As always I didn't take photos until we got back so my skirt is super wrinkly.

Britt's new hair!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

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Umbrella Revamp Part 2 - Shower Cap

Exams are finished and I have been enjoying my mini holiday a lot. Most of my time is spent sewing, and as a result I have been able to complete part 2 of the umbrella revamp I promised you guys weeks ago! Well here it is. Part one can be found here.

You will need:

-Umbrella fabric

-A piece of elastic 1” shorter than the circumference of your head (measure where you want the shower cap to go around).

1) Cut umbrella fabric into a circle with at least a 12” radius. If you plan on wearing the shower cap over foam rollers use a larger radius. 

2) Sew an elastic 2 ½ “ from the bottom using a zig zag stitch

3) Seal the hole in the centre with a dab of hot glue (smoosh it into the hole when it is still warm but cool enough to touch to get a better seal) 

That’s it! You can finish the edge of the cap if you wish but I haven’t had a problem with it fraying so I didn't bother. 

Here are some photos of the final project. The first one I made slightly smaller and the white one is a bit larger in order to accommodate foam rollers. The foam head is slightly smaller than real head size but it you want a better idea how it fits check out my photos of the pink one from earlier this year. 

Summer

So far this summer I have been....

Sewing...

Finding ways to display my treasures...

Staying up late with my mom to watch silent comedies (we both have a thing for Buster Keaton)...

Drinking lattes at various coffee shops...

And mostly reading and studying for my two online courses.

Books for my Children's Literature course. The courses are not at all related to my degree; I just needed more credits. 

I am going to be away for a few days writing my exams in Waterloo. Hopefully I can squeeze in some antique shopping afterwards. And then I will actually have time for the enjoyable activities rather than just studying! Yay! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Summer Fashion (1925)

Summer fashions from a 1925 issue of Photoplay. You can read the entire magazine(s) online here.

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Travelling

I am exhausted! After a busy week of school related work, my parents and I went for a mini-holiday to check out a potential property. We have been property hunting for a while, but as of yet have been unsuccessful. This time it was an adorable 33acre farm with a stone farm house from circa 1880. It was really pretty but needed a lot of work (it hasn't been lived in for 10 years, no electricity, no water (they used a hand pump), no heat, etc...). I loved it but I'm not sure if my parents are going to go for it.

 It was a fun but tiring trip. I forgot to take any pictures, so instead here are some outfit shots from the other week. I was meeting my high school friends for a mini reunion. Please excuse the wrinkles; these were taken after sitting in a movie theatre for a few hours. 

Outfit Details:

Blouse: Smartset

Trousers:  DangerousGarbs which seems to have disappeared from Etsy... Anyone know what happened?

Boots: Softmoc

Sunglasses: Icings

Scarf: Vintage

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Umbrella Revamp (part 1) - DIY Lace Parasol

A while ago my grandmother gave me a broken umbrella in hopes that I could do something with it.  I made two different projects from it and  decided to put together a tutorial for each of the projects. The first one is for a lace parasol. 

You will need:

-Umbrella (it can be slightly bent and the fabric torn/unattached but should still function)

-A piece of lace slightly larger than the original umbrella fabric
-Trim 

The original umbrella

1) Remove fabric from base. The top knob should screw off. Carefully snip the threads attaching the fabric to the arms. 

2) If the arms are slightly bent, gently bend them back into shape (this is much easier to do with the fabric removed).

3) Use the umbrella fabric as a pattern to cut out the lace. Leave a ½” seam allowance around the edges.Save the umbrella fabric! I will be posting another tutorial later this week on what to do with it. 

I folded the original fabric in half, then cut it out along a fold of the lace.
This made it easier to cut out. 

4) Cut a tiny hole in the top to fit over the centre of the umbrella base. Carefully try it over the frame. Remove and carefully sew the trim to the edges. I used a zigzag stitch with the trim lain on top of the fabric. You may also want to use a zigzag stitch around the centre hole you cut depending on your lace.

5)Again, carefully put the fabric onto the frame. This time secure it with the centre knob. Hand-stitch the fabric to the base in the same places where the original fabric was sewn on. 

And that’s it! You now have your very own lace parasol.