Fabric and Pattern Haul

Well, this might not quite qualify as a haul, as these things were bought a bit at a time over the past week or two, but I thought I’d share them with you all together.

I’ve had my beady little eye on Ebay lately, specifically on bargain vintage patterns. I have a couple of simple rules for myself when buying vintage patterns:

Only buy it if you love it.
Only buy it if it’s cheaper than or the same price as a modern pattern. (Unless it’s super, super special.)
Only buy it if you’ll wear what you make with it!

And I only tend to look at 50s and 60s patterns, since I just love the styles of that era (I don’t watch Mad Men, but I would happily raid their early 60s wardrobes!).

I’ve mentioned my baking a few times recently and the other week I made a batch of cupcakes for my friend’s birthday (lightly spiced cakes with lime and coconut icing – NOM!), which invariably ends with me wearing as much flour and icing sugar as the recipe contains. I’m also a fan of chilli and various tomato-based pasta sauces. There’s no escaping it, these things require an apron! Which brings me to my first pattern:

It’s Marian Martin 9091, which the seller said was from the 40s or 50s. More importantly, it’s just so pretty. As soon as I saw it, I had instant pattern lust. But, according to my rules above, I wouldn’t day any more than £10, including postage. It was lucky I got it for £9 including P&P, then! Phew!

Remember my teaser from the other day? Yep, that’s the full-length version made up already. I’m feeling too ill to pose in it, so pictures soon, I promise! It’s a simple pattern, so it came together really easily. Look how simple the pattern pieces are:

The only down side of the pattern was all the bias binding. I had a bit of a brain malfunction when cutting bias strips, so they were too narrow to use in my bias binding maker, so I had to hand-fold something stupid like 7 yards of the stuff (meh!). Then came the attaching. Those scallops! They’re pretty, but a pain to stitch bias binding to, especially as I basically made up how to join the ends of the bias – I’m sure there’s an easier way, but for some reason I thought I’d make it up instead of looking it up! Still, it looks OK:

Do you have any suggestions for a different way to finish the edges? I was considering just hemming them instead, but then I’d have to ease the curves in and I’m not sure that would look very neat. I’d really like to make these as gifts for people, but the bias is a massive pain in the arse and I’m really not sure what to try next time! I’m also planning to make the half-apron version for sewing (maybe I’ll add some extra pockets, too).

Anyway, on to the next pattern:

Maudella 4378 – a super-simple blouse. This was an uber-bargain – £1.84 including postage! Wewt and huzzah, I say! The thing I love about this pattern is that it looks really versatile – I can picture it made up in so many different ways – and I can picture it tucked into any of my high-waisted skirts. Very wearable! Here’s a bit more detail:

And I’ve already got some plans for this blouse using this super-cute cotton print (sorry, I’ve washed it, but haven’t ironed it yet!):

I couldn’t get very good light for a great photo, I’m afraid, but the background is off white and the spots are dark blue. And I’m hoping that the red anchors will be set off nicely by these buttons:

I have to admit, I have a real soft spot for sailor style, so I can’t wait to make this one! There were some gorgeous little anchor buttons in white, blue or red as well, but they were £1 each. £1 each!! They would have looked fabulous, but I really can’t justify paying £1 per button rather than 10p per button, however pretty the buttons (and especially on a pattern than appears to use 10 of them!).

The other pattern I got was for this fun dress, which again looks pretty simple:

I’m not usually into later 60s styles, but the A-line skirt with that inverted box pleat just called to me (perhaps becauses of how flattering A-line skirts are). And considering I got it for £3.25, it was a good deal! I’m also thinking that I could make this up as a skirt, too, and those long sleeves have me thinking about nice woolen winter dresses – all my dresses seem to be summery, so they would be a great addition to my wardrobe! Actually, another possibility would be lowering the neckline slightly and making a sleeveless woolen version to wear over sleeved shirts. In a dream world, something like these (very expensive!) wool pinstripes from MacCullock and Wallis would be great: