Sewing 2 Vintage Style Day Dresses Using A 1950s Sewing Pattern.

Hi, welcome to my sewing channel. I'm Drew and I'm very, very excited for today's video. In today's video, I'm going to sew two dresses and they are not super special or made out of some really fantastic fabric or anything like that. They are two very practical dresses that I am so excited to have in my wardrobe now that I can wear on a daily or weekly basis. And so, today's sewing video is some very practical sewing. I did learn some new skills along the way and I used an authentic vintage sewing pattern. And so, I like the video. I hope you like the video. If you do, please remember to give it a thumbs up. And if you haven't already, please subscribe. And also, if you would like to support my channel further, I do have a Ko-fi link in the description. I've had it for so long, I forgot to mention it until I got my very first virtual tip a few days ago. And I just want to say thank you to that person. You know who you are. It's very, very generous of you and it helps to fund projects like the Valentine's project that I'm almost finished with that cost so much in fabric. So, thank you all for being here. If you can't give to the Ko-fi, that is fine. Just remember to give the video a share, a thumbs up, or leave me a comment that supports the channel just the same. So, with all of that said, let's get into the vintage sewing of not one, but two dresses using the same authentic vintage sewing pattern. Today in the sewing room, we're sewing up another 1950s dress using Advance 8435 from the 1950s. We are going to be doing both views today and I'm going to be using some brown fabrics. I'm going to use the solid brown for the full dress and the printed brown for the slim skirt dress. I really like browns and blacks and creams. I'm not a huge fan of bright colors or of prints. But as I said in my last video, I really want to move forward into sewing key pieces that I can have in my wardrobe just like these and get a lot of wear out and just really love what I'm sewing and not just sewing something just for the content. I understand that watching a very simple brown dress may not be as entertaining especially when it says so easy. But this is what we're going to do today and I hope you guys enjoy the video and I hope you decide to stick around as I move into sewing more things that I can get more wear out of and truly enjoy. So my first step was getting my fabric all laid out and yeah we're going to move right through this. So I chose to use this brown fabric on the full skirted dress because I thought the print might be a lot and I thought it would be more suited to the slim fit. This fabric is more of a suiting. Don't even know where I picked it up but I love the texture of it. It is really light weight in the way of a linen but sturdy enough in the way of a suiting as I could get away with wearing it in just about any season. And so very happy with that choice. This brown printed is more of like a quilting cotton that I'm sure I probably picked up from Joanne. It's a little bit thicker than just like your regular quilting cotton but it is still really just inexpensive cotton nonetheless. So I got started with cutting out both sets of the skirt pieces at the same time. We're going to do those and then I'm mocking up the bodice out of the printed fabric because I have so much of it and so if things don't go well we'll be able to recut it and make the necessary alterations. I did raise the hemline a little bit, well the seam line at the waist a little bit and so I hope that that works out because that is an alteration that I make often. So here you see me transferring the darts for the skirt panels and yeah it's so far so good but every time I say that we end up in trouble and I don't think today's make is going to be any different. So what I'm basically trying to do with this project is move along in tandem. Making the markings on both skirts at the same time, pinning in the darts on both skirts at the same time and that way I can head to the sewing machine and to the ironing board and all of those things as least as possible. I always say how much sewing time is actually spent at the sewing machine truly bothers me and that still holds true to this day. So I just put in the darts on both of the skirts and then I head over to the cutting table to get the skirt pieces all pinned together. And so I thought this was going to be just the simplest thing ever but the instructions were weird and the way the notches were. I ended up making several mistakes with pinning the wrong pieces and stitching the wrong pieces and it ends up being a whole thing that we will get into shortly but it was not so easy as the pattern envelope claimed. Well I think it was but I think this was a me problem definitely and so I learned my lesson and I will definitely pay attention to how I'm matching things up next time. I think it's also hard when you can't really tell the front from the back of your fabric and I think I should start marking it with little dots or something like that and then that way I know what's what so I'm not always so easily confused as I was with this project. I was just seaming skirts. I wasn't going to shoot a bunch of footage of that because it was pretty boring and then I made like the biggest mistake. I actually had cut the two back pieces going the exact same way and so I had to cut a new piece and then I realized I had seamed them up wrong anyway. There's a pleat that goes in the back of the pencil skirt and so I'm actually supposed to stitch it here. This line is the center back so I'm supposed to stitch it from here to here and then somehow it'll fold over and I'll press it down or whatever whatever. Not really sure but yeah that was just a thing when I went to go attach the sides. Nothing matched up and so I had to recut this so I'm going to take this back to the sewing machine and do it correctly this time. I think this is how this is supposed to look. It said press it to the right and baste it across the waist edge so this is going to the right. That's the line I was supposed to stitch on and then I was supposed to do the regular seam allowance down here and then this is what it looks like. So I'm guessing that's right. Looks good to me. So now I'm going to attach the front to the back and one skirt is done. The thing I'm most excited about with this project is having two pretty practical dresses. A lot of times here on my channel I sew things for like specific holidays or because I found a fancy pattern or something like that. It's never just that I'm sewing practical things for my vintage style wardrobe. So I'm very excited for this. As my personal style develops I am realizing how I do want to wear vintage style clothes but I want to style those in a more modern way. I don't think I can just jump into complete vintage all the way like some of my friends do so beautifully. I think for me it's going to be more of an easing in process and so that's what I'm going to be doing is my vintage style wardrobe mixed with my modern style accessories or tweaks here or there to make it feel still relevant and I still can feel like me and not like I'm in a costume or playing dress up on just a regular Tuesday. Okay so now we have two skirts and I made the same mistake with both where I stitched the wrong where I didn't stitch it at the center back I stitched like a side and a back or something. I don't know what happened but the simple skirt process ended up being a lot more complicated. So we have the full one here and then the slim fitting one here. Over here we have the bodice. I only cut for this one because this cotton is really really inexpensive and I have a little bit more of it so this will serve basically as the mock up and if everything fits right or whatever changes I need to make I will make to the bodice for this one. So here I have the sleeve patterns and this is the first time I've seen a sleeve cut in two pieces where I have the front and the back and then we're doing the flat collar on the printed one and then we're doing the stand up collar on the solid one which looks like this. So I'm doing the stand up collar on the full one but it's the solid and then I'm doing this neckline on the slim fitting one. So I'm going to start with the sleeves and then we'll get to working on the bodice. This sewing pattern is just like literally falling apart. It is like in the worst shape so I'm having to be really really gentle with it and I hope I'm getting an accurate cut but we're going to get started now. So I get started with the sleeves and like I said this is the first time I've seen sleeves cut in two pieces like this so that was interesting. I end up making a mistake with the sleeves it takes me forever to figure out. I think I had just got really tired but in the end I do figure it out and so that's definitely a plus. So got the sleeves pinned together. This is just on the printed one. I had yet to cut out the solid print one. I wanted to see how everything fit with the bodice on the cotton first and so that's what I'm doing here now is getting those seamed up and yeah we're moving right along with two very practical very vintage style but elegant and still very current dresses that I am very excited about. Making and even more excited to wear. I think for anyone interested in wearing vintage style fashion who just really doesn't know where to start or isn't really just confident about jumping out there like that I think my approach could possibly work for you where you start slowly adding you know a vintage style top to jeans or a modern dress to vintage style shoes. Just kind of mixing and matching and slowly getting there with it instead of just jumping in and trying things and figuring out what you like and what you don't like and being okay with accepting that and being able to just keep going and I think style is always an evolution. What I liked last year I don't necessarily like anymore or the things I wore before becoming a mom aren't necessarily my style now. I think as your lifestyle changes your wardrobe also has to change. I used to be just like a stiletto girl and once I had kids you can't really carry a baby in six inch stilettos and so I've started to buy more wedges and more lower heels. Of course I have my pretty shoes for date nights and things like that but just on a regular basis you're going to catch me most likely in a block heel or a wedge or something on the lower side so that way I'm able to chase behind kids carry kids keep up with kids and all of those things. You're going to find me in silhouettes that fit looser and can breathe more. I have weight in places that it did not used to be and I am becoming okay with that. As I become okay with that I am sewing better things and buying clothes in my actual size that fit well and make me look better. I think there is nothing worse than wearing clothes that are not your size whether too big or too small. It definitely does nothing for the body and so accepting your body where it's at and your size and your life and your style all of that is going to affect your wardrobe and it's just really great if you can make your own clothes. So if that's something that interests you as well it's it's cool to start. I've only been sewing for three years and I think I'm making great process. I'm finally wearing things that I feel comfortable wearing out of the house and you'll see in the end with these two dresses just how pleased I am with them and I think it's definitely going to influence the things that I make going forward. So after getting that body stitched together it was time for the first try on. I think it fits well. It's a little snug. It's hard to tell sometimes when the skirt's not attached because it pulls it down. I do think that the waistline is a little too high and I definitely will lower it on the next version. But other than that good to go and sorry for letting my belly hang out. I try not to do that too much but as I said before I am learning to love and accept this body for where it's at and for the fact that it carries me through every day and carries two heavy kids to their own beds every night. I'm just grateful for the fact that it's holding up even if it has a little extra jiggle jiggle. So where we left off with this project I was mocking up the blouse for the brown leaf fabric. Put this project to the side for a little bit because I have been working on my Valentine's Day project but I want to go ahead and get this finished. I thought that I had waited to cut this out until after the first version which it does fit me well. It's just a little bit short waisted. In this pattern I had raised it a little bit because in most patterns I need that done. In this case I did not need it and yet I cut it out again the same way. Not sure why but I think it's going to be fine. I'm just going to use less seam allowance when attaching the skirt to the bodice and I think that should do it. So the one with both of the skirts are complete. The one with the leaf print, the bodice is complete. The facing is on. It just needs sleeves attached to the skirt and the zipper. We need to do this bodice and the facing and then sleeves attached to the skirt and zipper. I'm thinking that both of these dresses should be finished today so I curled my hair already in preparation for final photos and I'm hoping that this is a thing. So let's just get right into it. This sewing pattern is so battered. I feel bad even using it and it's actually gotten worse since I've used it. I think I might go off camera for a second because I think you've seen a lot of this process with the other bodice. It's so torn up. I think we stopped at the sleeves. So I'm going to get this bodice caught up to that point and then we'll come back. So now I'm working on the brown bodice and realizing reading the instructions that I'm supposed to leave this open for a zipper above this notch. I did not on the other dress. Luckily it still pulls over my head but we're gonna do it on this one. So I have everything pinned. There's the back bodice, the front bodice, and the sleeves. I just need to interface the neck facings and then I'm gonna take all this to the sewing machine at the same time. And since you've seen so much of the construction with the other one, we'll pick up at inserting the sleeves because that's where we left off. So as I'm sitting at the sewing machine sewing what I call the practical dresses, I'm thinking about how I define my own personal style and I think I consider it vintage with a modern twist. I am very curious about a lot of my viewers here in your own sewing journey so if you feel comfortable sharing I would like to know how do you define your personal style. Do you have a name for it or does it change often or just super curious about that. I would also like to know how long have you been sewing. For me it's been three years. I would like to know how long it took before you got good at it. I am not there yet but I am starting to get comfortable with my progress. I would like to know what's your like go-to fabric when you're sewing. I want to know what's the hardest fabric to sew and what's the easiest fabric to sew in your opinion. I want to know what project have you done that you thought was going to be so easy but ended up challenging you the most. I've had a few of those and usually whenever I say this is going to be easy it's when it's one of those. I would love to hear all about you and your own sewing journey. Like I've said before sewing is a very solo activity and though I do enjoy the slow and the quiet time it can be a lonely hobby but for me YouTube is what makes it not so lonely. So if you guys engage and interact with me a little bit more then it will make me feel less lonely and and just more of the sewing community and any tips or advice or anything you ever want to share with me I welcome it all. A lot of the lessons I have learned I have learned I don't know what the heck happened but what I do know is this one is not matching up. It's one notch instead of the instead of the two. Okay so I unpicked it. I think this was a problem with I had it this way right and I think it's supposed to be this way. I think this had something to do with me not understanding the front from the back because they're basically the same. So and something to maybe with how I cuffed it made me think the outside was the inside or whatever. So I just took it apart and we're just gonna start over. I matched up the pattern pieces to make sure that it was right and I'm just gonna start over and then we'll put it back in. So after I figured out the weird sleeve situation I got the bodice attached to the skirt and what it was with the sleeve was that I did mix up the front from the back and had seamed it in the wrong place. The notches on this pattern were so weird and it being so torn I think it was hard for me to tell what was a notch and what wasn't and so that was it was a thing and I just could not figure it out for I know an hour. It took me completely picking it apart and laying out the pattern pieces and looking and seeing what was happened to get it right. But I did and then I attached the skirt to the bodice and I matched it up fairly well considering I didn't even have all of the notches. It it was just a weird a weird process but I think it looks good. I matched them up as best as I could and then it was time to hem it and insert the zipper and it would be finished. So very very pleased. So here I am doing the same thing pinning the bodice to the skirt of the flower dress and these dresses are coming right along. So once that was all pinned in I took it to the sewing machine and got the bodice stitched to dress number two or dress number one. I think I've been calling it the leaf dress. It's the slim fitting one and it was getting a lot easier doing these things twice. It's like practice I guess with the same pattern and so it went well. I took it slow. There were so many pins but I think I did a good job. The next thing I did was pin the zippers in. I started to sew the zippers in by hand which makes it a lot easier for me. I do sometimes go in and then sew them in machine by machine after I've put them in by hand but for some reason I just enjoy the process of sewing them in by hand. Zippers have always terrified me so much. When I first started sewing I would avoid anything that had a zipper. So if you have any tips or tricks or certain ways you go about zippers then please feel free to share those as well. And so once the zippers were in it was time for hems. Oh and look how smooth that is. Okay but once the zippers were in it was time to hem the skirts. This is another thing that I could definitely use advice on. I struggle especially when the skirts are full with getting them to lay right to be even. I'm using a ruler. I let them hang all of the things but I do definitely struggle with the hems. Someone before my comments told me to lessen my tension and the waviness would stop and that has definitely helped. Someone else told me to make sure I'm using an iron with a lot of steam and that has definitely helped. But any other tips would be great. And yes that is the valentine skirt complete hanging on the mannequin in the back. So after using the ruler and lessening the tension and a lot of steam and a lot of pins I hemmed the dresses and then they were complete. I cannot wait to show you all these final dresses. I appreciate you so much for being here. Those of you who have been here for the beginning for following my journey and encouraging me. Those who are new here welcome. I appreciate you as well. I hope you stick around and watch as I grow and develop my style and my sewing skills and all of the things. I really really appreciate it. So this hem is finished so let's check out the final photos of dress number one. So I'm showing you the leaf dress first because I think it's my favorite even though I normally prefer fuller skirts. I love this dress. I paired it with really cute nude Louboutins and a nude bag and a nude belt and I'm wearing it to Sunday brunch. I absolutely love it. That zipper is brown and obvious but it still looks good. I feel good in this dress. I feel beautiful and even kind of slim in this dress. I really really love it. Please let me know what you think of it. That venting in the back isn't even super obvious. I think it's because of the print but otherwise I really love it. So let's check out dress number two. So this is the brown dress that I was worried would be so boring on camera but I absolutely love it and I had the perfect accessories for it in my closet. My big brown Louis Vuitton purse and belt and shoes and I love it. I'm wearing my petticoat underneath it and it just moves like a dream. This fabric is awesome. I feel great and sophisticated and like such a lady in this dress and so I'm off to be overdressed to run errands but I will see you in my next video that is soon and sure to come.