The Dot, Dot, Dot, Dash Dress!

 

I really can’t believe it, two things started and finished in the same year! Yes, I’m back again with my second Sew for Victory project…. The ∙∙∙ ─ dress.

To be honest, this project has been a little personal victory for me. I started out with great trepidation as I feared the pattern was beyond my dressmaking capabilities; but now, after finishing the dress with relative ease, I feel like I can take on anything I so desire…. well, to a degree! It has given me such a boost in confidence and a much needed one at that.

This pattern included top stitching, gathers, a placket and collar- all the things I hate doing, and I did ‘em all like a big girl! 

 

∙∙∙ ─

 Ohh, such pretty waist and hip details...

 

 

∙∙∙ ─

 

 

  My first of four corners clipped, turned, pressed and tacked! I was so pleased with my efforts as i really didn't fancy the idea of all those corners and points at the beginning, but there will be no stopping me now! :)

The front of the corselet ready to be top stitched to the bodice....

 

∙∙∙ ─

 

 

The Finished Dress: Take One!

 

I say take one because I thought I had finished it and finished it I had! Everything was done- the collar, the placket, the belt, the hem- everything. All done. Then I went on my merry way outside to do the photos, came in, uploaded them to the computer and went…. “Well, well, well! What’s going on ‘ere then?” I suddenly noticed a load of ugly folds around the shoulder and neck. I looked like an American footballer with the way the bodice fitted or should that be, didn’t fit?!

The thought of having problems with an ill fitting bodice didn’t even cross my mind when sewing. I just thought Mammy had made all the necessary changes, but you never can tell- it’s those pesky sleeves and collar, I tell yee!

So, Mammy had to do a load more lifting and fiddling to add and take out the extra fabric in the bodice until the neck and shoulder once again fitted properly.

∙∙∙ ─

 

The Finished Dress: Take Two!

 Such lovely shoulders....

 

 

The placket of pure pain. There was me, all content with my placket. Beautifully sewn and hand slip stitched into place ( I absolutely HATE doing plackets- I seem to have a mental block towards them)… turned it to the right side and what did I find? I had only gone and sewn the facing and under flap to the wrong sides! I felt such a divvy and a prize one a that! It’s funny, or not so funny really, how the first attempt went so smoothly in, yet everything that could go wrong did on the second attempt!

 

 

 

A close up of the fixed shirring...

 

 

∙∙∙ ─

 

And here's a load of me in  it!

 

 

 

The Back...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m absolutely thrilled with my new dress, but I’m a little annoyed with my choice of fabric. (honestly, what was I thinking!) In hindsight I should have used a lighter coloured and less patterned print as you lose all the lovely details on this print. I think the detail is going to be like my embroidered knickers-  I’m the only one who knows its there! ;)

 Not to worry though, as I have some very pretty plain blue fabric in the stash and so another dress of the same design is on the horizon...Watch this space!

 

 

 

All the best,

 

Your Tupney xxx

 

 

 

 

 

∙∙∙ ─



 

Know Your Aircraft !

A slim undercarriage with a finely streamlined fuselage (but more hump-backed than the Spitfire), distinctive nose and an unusually large wing span....

 

 

Ok, so you don’t need to know your aircraft silhouettes here today. I’m just trying to make my new hat tie in with the RAF Friday theme, and thought a few silhouettes of some dashing aircraft would do the trick!  

Buy a new hat, bung on a coat with the best 'silhouette' in the world (See what I did there ;)...oh the shoulders are the absolute tops); then add a few dodgy cut-outs of a Spit, Hurricane, Blenheim, and a Mosquito or two and what do you have? Why a RAF Friday blog, silly!

 

 

Sickly sweet or what! Even I want to slap myself in this picture!

 

As most of you know, I do rather like a nice hat or two (or four or five) and my groaning hat boxes are a testament to that. I need another hat like I need a hole in the head. But when a titfer speaks to me so joyously, how can one resist? It would be rude to ignore it!

I can’t help it. I ADORE hats!

 

 

 

 

It’s actually a bit of a dream hat. For what seems like forever (ok, only eight or nine years!) I have had an image stuck in my head.  The image is of a lady grocery shopping, wearing a large brimmed hat and a fab coat made out of a candlewick bedspread. I wanted this outfit. I wanted that hat! Well, now I have both. :) (more about the coat later…)

 

But for now I will just leave you with a million pictures of me wearing my new hat... all frightfully similar, of course!

 

♥ ♥ ♥

 

Gosh, I've never seen this coat from the back- looks rather lovely.

 

 

The picture on the right makes me laugh. It looks like I've been wheeled into the picture- so awkward!

 

 

 

So there you have it,..

A hat of navy blue,

with wings upon my heart.

Now all I need is an airman to say I do…  think your new hat is rather Tickety Boo!

 

 

 

Here's to the next time.

Have a cracking weekend,

 

Your Tupney x

 

 

 

 

And this last one is for my Mammy, just because she likes it!

 

♥ ♥ ♥

 

 

***

RAF Fridays so far...

Oh no! Not another RAF Friday!

Daddy’s in the R.A.F

A Hankie For A Sweetheart

Wings for Victory!

Reflection of a Sweetheart.

A Flying Visit!
A Lucky Strike

Two Airmen and a Camel.

The Real Deal

The Apprentice and the Sweetheart.
R.A.F. Friday Christmas Special

R.A.F War Pictures

Nothing but Patches

It's a Piece of Cake

Mrs Pickup's

Knitting for the R.A.F

Love Is In The Air

Double Trouble

One Mans Photo's

The Rings

Here Comes The Bride...

The Other Box

The Box

Mayday! Mayday! She has bought more wings...

A bit of this and a bit of that...

 

Hullo All!

I can finally announce my Sew for Victory projects- hurrah!

It took me a while to decide on the 'prefect' project because somehow I managed to lose all my 'good ideas'. Actually, it put me out quite a bit as I'm never without inspiration- I always have far too much, so to have none at all was a bit distressing to say the least. For a couple of weeks I knew what it was like to not be creative.... and I can tell you I absolutely hated it!

 

 

The pattern I have chosen is a " gulpy, gulp - can I do it ? " pattern, and one I originally thought Mammy would be making up for me instead (for obvious reasons- just look at the picture below!). It was chosen in desperation as nothing else looked tempting at the time. The pattern beguiled me when I was at a low, and now I’m well and truly trapped into making it. I’m doomed, with no chance of release until completion! A bit dramatic? Well, if you knew of the trouble it has caused, even before starting to sew the darn pattern, you would think otherwise. To put it simply, the bodice just didn’t fit. So Mammy, the magic sewing fairy, worked wonders on the pattern by doing all sorts and now I have a usable pattern- three cheers for Mammy!

The fabric I have chosen is from the stash, and had been earmarked for this dress for some time. I just hope that the blue doesn't drain what little colour I have!

 



 Oooh, such pretty details!  I'm really not looking forward to all that top stitching- eek!

I have also decided to make a pair of knick-knacks. I started work on these last week after having a 'lightbulb' moment. I'm not going to say what I'm doing, but I personally think it's genius if a little ridiculous! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works, and I hoping the trouble I had with the waist fitting is the only trouble I will encounter on this make!

 

And in other news, I have started yet another knitting project...

 (well I do like to have at least five unfinished projects around me!)

 

...The rather wonderfully named " Victory 'Wonder-Sock' ".

They are going to be a real labour of love as they are knitted on teeny tiny size 14 needles- oh 'eck!

Apparently they are the perfect gift, but all a I can say is that the receiver would also have to be the perfect chap. There is no way I would knit these and give them away to just any Tom, Dick or Harry!

 

Oh and I nearly forgot…

About three weeks ago, I had my hair permed again. :) It’s still at the past the shoulder length, but recently I was able to get a shorter style. I even tried out a few finger waves. I usually create waves by pincurls, but this time I pressed and pinned in the waves on soggy hair- I think it worked a treat for a first attempt! 

 

 

So there ye go.

I shall try my hardest to be a better blogger this month....

 

Your

Tupney

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Not So Practical Pattern...

 



Blimey, it has nearly taken me 12 months to finish this set!!! I’ve just looked up on facebook to see when I actually started it and, apparently, I started it on the 1^st of January… Speed is obviously not a forte of mine. ;)

 

I must admit that the slip spent half the year shoved in box after several failed attempts of trying to complete it. All in all, the slip was rather a traumatic make for me!

 First of all, I had finished the slip perfectly (honestly, it was rather beautifully made compared to my other ‘attempts’!). I had done the hem, edged it with lace, and then tried it on only to discover it was about 4 inched too long and that it swamped me ‘up top’… it was, in my eyes, a disaster! I’m beginning to think that you didn’t need to add extra for the seam and hem allowance after all!

So, after having a mini fit, I took the scissors to hem, lopped off the 4 inches, unpicked the pretty lace (which was a nightmare) and put up the hem again- though, in the end, I decided to leave off the lace.

Then it spent a few more months in the box of doom until a couple of days ago when I decided, once again, to tackle the top ‘alf.  And after another failed attempt to sort out the bodice, I enlisted Ma’s help to fit it properly. When in doubt, call for Mummy!

The centre bodice detail and the new hem...

(really should have pressed the bodice... oops!)

 

 

My very pretty 10p lace!

 

 I’ve lost count of the amount of times I had to unpick those ruddy French seams to get it to fit properly!

 

 

A close up of my new powder puff hankie- I love the green and pink combo! 

 

 

Haha, not very lady like pulling up my slip like that. Ah well.....

 

Oh and let me now introduce the biggest knick-knacks in the world!

 

 

Aren't they peachy?

 

Now, the knickers were a little less troublesome, but not without their own issues.

After comparing the pattern pieces with some of my other pairs of French knickers, the mother and I decided not to add some of the seam allowances and also forgo the two (yes, TWO) dreaded plackets. In hindsight this was a mistake, but more on that a little later.

 

I'm rather fond of a knicker with a yoke. I think it makes them look swishy!

 



Right, the problem point! Now because I knew best and thought the pattern looked huge compared with the others, I decided I could get away without having any plackets at all and just have them with a bit of elastic at the back instead (the pattern called for elastic and two plackets) but....

I totally fluffed up the fact that elastic can only stretch so much, and when I got it fitting perfectly in the waist, I found I could no longer get the darn things off! (me struggling must have looked a real picture!)....

 

So in the end I compromised with the 'perfect' fit, as I couldn't face unpicking to put in a placket, and now have a pair of knickers that are too big in the waist.  Well, at least I can now get them on and off- which is a plus with a pair of undies, no?!

 

 I honestly dread the elastic failing on these knickers! :o

 

 I finished the knicker legs off with lace- adopting a method that I found on my first pair of vintage knickers. Rather enjoyed doing this bit... not so keen on the top stitching part, but it was quick and easy, so one mustn't grumble too much. ;)

 

So, what do you think? I know they wouldn't win any prices for skill or neatness, but I'm happy to finally have them in a wearable state!

Have you been making any vintage undies recently? I have plans on making more sets and also have another slip and knicker set residing in the box of doom, so I'll be back with more at some point in the future... possibly in another 12 months! ;)

 

Cheerio for now,

 

Your Tupney xxx

 

 

 

 

 ***

Sensible undies v. Swishy?

Posing in me sensible undies- 40's blue bloomers,

CWS woollen vest (bought at the weekend), and 40's woollen stockings.

What a catch, eh!