Inflation?

I often buy old crafting supplies at estate sale, and *surprise* many of them have never ever been used! The tags on such items can be fascinating - a ball of yarn from Woolsworth's at 19 cents, a spool of thread from the Denver Dry at 14, a bag of embellishments from Ben Franklin's for 20 cents...

 

And this embroidery hoop, with a label for $1 .19. Really? That seems almost... expensive. So I get online to check, and a wooden embroidery hoop brand new cost 99 cents. So what's going on here? This hoop was bought at least 20 years ago, as that's when Woolworth's folded in the U.S.

Is the new one poor quality and made in China? Did manufacturing technology make these cheaper to produce? Demand is likely lower now, usually that makes things harder to find and pricier. Inflation never runs backwards, so how did this 5" hoop get cheaper over time? (Yes these are the kind of things that keep me awake at night.)

Vintage Patterns

I just received a smorgasbord of vintage patterns from a crafty friends with crafty family. Patterns from the early 50s up to the late 70s in all their flimsy tissue paper glory! The oldest ones are of course in a single size, seems this relative was a "size 11, bust 30" which is quite small for me. Fortunately I have done resizing before,and if ever I use these they would be transferred to sturdier paper first anyway.

There were several gems with "New Look" waist and full full skirts. Those of us who are bottom heavy like when the measurements say "hips - free". Perhaps I will never have the pert hair and brilliant red lipstick, but I intend to rock these dresses in style!
But not every thing can be a hit. As the patterns get newer there are two changes. Naturally the fashions, most of which I find somewhat less flattering. I mean, the bride's maid dresses should make them look like shapeless drab things, but that effect only works if the bride is wearing something less tent-like.
The second change in these patterns, is that home seamstresses became less bold. Many of the 70s patterns advertise "Only 2 main pieces!" (There are patterns from the 50's touting simplicity as well, but to a lesser extent) Unisex shapeless vest? Check. Pom-pom trim? Yep. Painfully fluorescent fabrics? Oh my. Item that is unflattering in order to avoid making closures? Facepalm...
In defense of the decades, the 50s had some truly ridiculous knitting patterns, and the 70s had more useable items. Except for the crocheted bell bottoms and granny square dress... What vintage styles inspire you the most?

Dying to Get Some of This!

While digging thru some papers from the 1880s in my mothers storage I came across this little goodie, a cheaply printed and obviously poorly cut booklet from the Diamond Dye company! This was the early days of aniline (coal tar) dyes, synthasized from chemicals instead of extracted from plants. The dyes were much more reliable and light fast than natural dyes, but were (and to some extent still are!) extremely toxic.
This booklet told the tale of a black cat whose kittens were all pure white - totally unfashionable in the Victorian era. So she buys some dye and plunges them all into a boiling toxic dye bath... and they are magically brilliant black for the rest of their lives!
The booklet suggested using dyes to keep up with the latest fashions by recoloring clothing, to dye rags for carpets, to color ostrich feather tips (sure, I have a closet full of those..) and to keep children's clothing looking new(er). While the glowing reviews seem a little forced, the idea that one could keep altering ones clothing instead of getting new things all the time is refreshing. Would you change the colors of your clothes to keep up with the styles?

Horseshoe Market This Saturday!

Just wound up the County Fair, and it's already time for another! I'm looking forward to the Horseshoe this Saturday on Tennyson from 9am to 4pm. It's always a good crowd at the fair, with food and activities as well! It's looking to be nice weather this weekend, and not too hot, but there will be frozen treats and a misting tent to make things even nicer.
There are about 100 vendors, with awesome vintage finds and the best local handmade greatness. Expect to need plenty of time to see all we have to offer, and don't go home empty handed! I love summertime, because I get to spend every weekend at places like this. (Heck, sometimes I even make a little money..) See you locals there!

Vintage Quilts

Nothing better than good estate sale finds! This week I stumbled upon a pile of hand-stitched quilt "squares" in the flower garden pattern. Judging by slightly yellowed muslin and the colors and prints my Mother and I agree that these are likely pre-war! Some hexagons show the stitching or seams of reused clothing, patchwork in the oldest traditions of the craft.
I've decided to Incorporate some of the pieces into bags, but most are going to be finished into quilts. I started with some of my own hand-stitching and it certainly gives you appreciation for a sewing machine!

Tutorial - resizing a vintage skirt.

After finding a pile of lovely skirts at an estate sale, and when getting home and discovering that they are all about 24 inches around... I headed for the craft room! I only needed to add a few inches to make this fit at the waist, and since they're pleated there is plenty of extra to go around.

I carefully cut the stitching back on a few pleats until the skirt was the correct width. I decided no to iron down the pleats, since leaving them gave the illusion that the skirt was still pleated all the way around.

I used a piece of wool felt in nearly the same color to fill the gap. These skirts have a sizable hand turned hem, so if I wanted a perfect match I could steal some strips from the bottom and tack the new edge down.

I top-stitched it all in place, and made a new button hole for the existing button. I never even had the touch the zipper in all this, I just made sure that when buttoned the sides still line up.

And now I have a trio of cute vintage pleated wool skirts! My mother remarked that they are exactly what she would have worn to High School (back when girls were not allowed to wear pants, can you believe that!)



On this red and blue plaid there had been a long overlap on the closure, so once I unfolded it a bit it didn't want to sit closed, I just added a zipper to it. I even went dancing in this skirt, it spins like a dream and the waistband is sturdy enough for that kind of excitement.

You don't have the make the changes where the skirt closes. This skirt had a cute little strap closure, so I opened the waistband in the same manner on the far side from the closure. It is always best of change the sizes of garments on the side so the drape of the front and back aren't changed too much.

So never be afraid to grab a good deal just because you can't try it on, there are lots of things to do with that clothing if it doesn't fit quite right!

Vintage Skirts

From a time when women were smaller.... I went to a crazy estate sale, and picked up sewing notions, cool fabric, and a pile of nice vintage pleated wool skirts. They appear to be homemade, and thus have no tags - and are about 24 inches around -.-

Fortunately since they are pleated there is plenty of fabric to make them big enough. I'll be posting a tutorial next week showing how I open up the waistband and give them some more space! No fair to let the skinny girls have all the fun after all...

More Vintage Buttons

It so happens that my pile of estate sale finds always runneth over. My mother and I are always picking up little bundles of notions and fabric scraps from the basements of old crafty ladies. I recently was going thru them and found this lovely bag of fabric covered buttons, all appear to be handmade. After some debate as to whether or not I wanted to use them I decided to put them on cards and stick them up in my Etsy shop! It's nice to share the vintage love right?

Hooray for Sale Fabric

This Tuesday at Craft Night I made good use of the large tables and pattern weights at Fancy Tiger... and some awesome fabric I got on sale there over the weekend! It's a vintage pattern I've used several times (dates back to when women my size were considered a 14!) and each time I change up the neckline a little. This time the halter strap buttons on with cute vintage buttons! Who's ready for spring?

Getting Busty

Another fun estate sale find! This is a nifty tool to adjust sewing patterns so they will have that custom tailored fit! I am on the lookout for a good pattern to try it out on, many modern sewing projects are overly simplified and don't intend to be fitted, so I'll be digging thru the collection of vintage patterns our family has! Hopefully the extensive directions make enough sense for me to figure it out...

Instant Collection - Vintage Finds

Step one - Go to thrift store, charity shops, garage sales, estate sales (you should be going there anyway!) and finding something you like. Pick up another. Find a set piece in your apartment dumpster, with a slight chip on it. Raid your Grandmother's house, she's getting old and won't notice something gone... right? Notice that you have an affinity for some old thing, for both it's aesthetics, and the well worn functionality.

Go on Etsy and find some more! I picked up some matching pieces for my sets on Etsy. When ever you see something like what you already have you can't help but reunite the set! (Say that to my bright red coffee tins that never more shall hold coffee) I had the plain green bowl, the large orange and the small handled bowl, I filled in the sets other pieces, and a spare!

I got one set of bowls from Jen'sCloset and the other from Zelle'sAttic . Hmmm, I sense a theme... Both were shipped promptly and arrived in one piece - oh so important for glass bowls! What ever nostalgia you are looking for, you can likely find it on Etsy, go check out their Vintage category, and remember that reuse is the first and most important of the three Rs.

Hats Hats... oh Dear

That's right, it's time for some more flashback craft disasters!
Excessive use of bangles - penalty! 5 Skeins... Really, sequins do not make awkward wearables "elegant". And wig hats? Really? Or how about a shag rug Shriner's fez, too chic... (with pom poms!) And if you really love a silly hat, then an upside-down crocheted fruit bowl is going to be just your thing!



A fuzzy coaster strapped on to your head? Neither Pancakes nor buns are getting tied on to my head thank you very much. That hat has the distinction of being neither flattering, fashionable, nor functional, a waste of perfectly good yarn! (OK, 1960's acrylics are just barely in the category of perfectly good yarn, but the booklet was published by a wool yarn company!) And last but not least... You remember your very first hat? You weren't sure how to close up the top... so you didn't? Yeah, niether do I. But here is a pattern to show you how to create a hat fail! Tho, if you can manage the simple cable stitch then I think you can learn to decrease properly.