Out Thrifting

I finally let myself go thrifting over the last couple of days...and hence I've had no time to blog!  But I made some really finds that I will share with you soon.

See you back here on Madison Avenue Monday!  (P.S.  So happy that the new season of Mad Men has begun.  Are you?)

Wordless Wednesday: Crystal Cove Beach

 

Madison Avenue Monday: Draw On the Boyes

This is my absolute favorite ad featuring hot pants to date....  Though I don't think  that cowboys really have anything to do with knitting needles.

From McCall's Needlework and Crafts, 1972-1973

A Couple of Finished Sewing Projects + One In the Works

I just finished another apron as a birthday present for a friend.  I used the mid-century modern inspired "Clean Plates" in the Appliance line by Lizzy Dish for Andover Fabrics:

I used the reversible apron pattern in Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter.  I made one of these a couple of years ago and I remembered how figure-flattering the design is and how nice it is to have an apron that is reversible. 


And finally(!)...last week I finally finished McCall's M5764, the capelet:

Just in time for Spring, right?!  Ha ha ha.  Perhaps it will rain again this weekend and I can pretend the seasons haven't changed.

I am really disappointed that I couldn't finish it in time to wear it this past winter season. I only get tiny amount of time from my instructor each week during sewing class as there are so many students, so if I'm stuck on a step I generally have to wait until the next week to get more help. 

One of the reasons it took so long is that I decided to make a lining for this garment.  The fabric is a bit formal to be left unfinished, and because I didn't serge the edges the inside looked a mess:

Before lining

Ambiance Bemberg lining

I thought it looked terrible (the fabric really frays easily), so the lining was necessary.  My instructor had to guide me every step of the way because the pattern doesn't call for a lining.   I used Ambiance Bemberg rayon lining in Blackberry because I hate acetate.  It's hard to see in a photo but it really picks up the lavender flecks in the tweed.

Can you believe that the lining cost more than the actual tweed?!  If you recall I bought this cotton tweed from FIDM's Scholarship Store and it was only $2 a yard -- the lining was $9.99 a yard before the coupon discount at the big-box fabric store!  I think it will be worth it though.

In other news, last week I had the opportunity to visit a local fabric manufacturer, Prima-tex, with my sewing class.  I wish I could have taken more photos!  They are a major fabric manufacturer and will make fabric for just about anyone.  I've never been inside a fabric plant before so it was quite educational.

Making burnout fabric

For example, Prima-tex does the screenprinting for David & Goliath tees and also make fabric for such major lines as Juicy Couture, but they often produce small runs of fabric for independent designers and small boutiques (at a FRACTION of the price it would take to produce a similar run on Spoonflower).

Have you even wondered why screenprinted products are so expensive?  I now know why.  It takes a lot of time and physical effort by actual people (not just computers) to set up the screenprinting process on a machine in order to produce a quality tee, including time to make the stencils that are used in the printing process. 

Click here if you want to see the David & Goliath design I saw being printed.  Each color on the tee gets a separate stencil.  If you have four colors in a design, that's four separate stencils for four separate applications of fabric paint.  It takes some time. I then watched some workers meticulously test the placement of the stencils to be sure that the fabric paint would print within the lines of the design and then test that the paint dried on the fabric correctly. 


Happily, we were given some free remnants at the end of our tour.  I love this Navajo-inspired print in this bright colorway even though it's a polyester knit I have about 1 yard of it so it's not much to work with: 

This lightweight turquoise, green, and lavender cotton gauze was screaming "do something retro with me!" and it turned out that I have almost 7 yards, so I decided to make this 1970s-era muu-muu from Pauloa Patterns 901A because I love the flowing angel-back on this dress.  Can you believe that the dress calls for 5 1/4 yards of fabric? 

I chose this easy pattern because I feel like I need more actual sewing time outside of class, and I'm not quite ready to face a sewing challenge on my own yet.  Maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist.

Dear readers, any thoughts on what to make with the Navajo-print knit fabric?

Madison Avenue Monday: Step Into Spring

Spring is just one day away...hooray!

I Hate to Housekeep Part Three: Chores You Don't Have to Do

This is one of my favorite chapters in all of Peg Bracken's little book, as she explains that there are many household chores that you really don't have to do, or chores that you don't have to do as often as the "experts" say you must. As she says, eventually these things will take care of themselves in one way or another.

So here's a few handy tips direct from Peg about what not to do in housekeeping:

• Don't wax your floors. Water splatters make dull spots on wax and they show up more.
  
• Don't iron pajamas, tea towels, or pillowcases. Just fold them neatly.  (Note from Collette:  who does this anyway?!?!)
  
• Don't scrub dirty cuffs and collars. Wet them, then dip them in your powdered detergent so they resemble a little child's sandy feet at the seashore, then throw them into the washer.
  
• Don't darn socks. Rub the sock heels with paraffin or soap after every three or four washings to preserve the heels. Otherwise, the lumps may give them blisters, and you'll spend on Band-aids what you saved on socks!
  
• Don't clean darkened aluminum pans you've cooked eggs in. You can do it, by putting a quart of water in the pan and adding two teaspoons of cream of tartar, then boiling it for a while. But it will swiftly darken the next time you cook an egg. Just keep a pan for egg cooking purposed discreetly in the cupboard.
  
• Don't polish furniture. Just give it a good coat of carnauba wax once a year and dust it occasionally thereafter, rubbing harder once in a while if there's a fingerprint. Next year, at the same time, wash off the old wax with soap and warm water and put fresh wax on.

Is there a household chore that you simply cannot stand? Peg has some advice for you:

"If there's a household job you particularly and truly loathe, don't believe the sunshine sisters who tell you you'll learn to love it if you do it their way.

I've read articles, for instance, on how to make ironing fun. You save it all up for the afternoon, they say, and you put on a Fresh House Dress. Then you open a window to catch the cool breeze, and you tune in the radio to your favorite program, and you sit on a stool behind your ironing board, and then you iron, pausing once in a while to crow with delight as you see the freshly ironed duds pile up.

But this is a lot of clam juice. You are still ironing; and if ironing makes you come all over introspective, you'd just better send your washing to the laundry. You can charge it off to Mental Health."

Until next time....

Shabby Apple Mad Hatter Dress Giveaway Winner!

We have a lucky winner of a dress from Shabby Apple's Mad Hatter collection!

Congratulations to Allison G., commenter #94!

And thanks so much to Shabby Apple for providing such a fabulous prize for Serendipity Handmade readers!

Madison Avenue Monday: Fashion Frost for Hand Knit Elegance

Love the orange sweater dress...but the belt on the other dress? Not so much.

From Vogue Knitting, 1965

Pucci

Quickie post:  in sewing class today a collector shared a few pieces from his Pucci collection. Sorry for the low-quality shots (I took them with my phone) and the classroom background, but I just had to share these with you. Years are unknown, but more than likely date from the late 1960s to sometime in the 1970s.

I would love to have the sandals or the rain boots (so cute!).  I particularly love how fresh and modern the cowl neck dress looks with its muted palette of gray, gray-blue, brown, yellow, and chartreuse against the black,white, and yellow geometric  pattern at the hem.

Did you know that Pucci designed sewing patterns for Spadea, McCalls, and Vogue?  Check them out at the vintage pattern wiki.

Madison Avenue Monday: Reynolds Yarns

These handmade ribbon yarn knitted / crocheted outfits are so stunning and never cease to amaze me....

From Vogue Knitting, Spring-Summer 1965