What do you think?

I have had a thought. Vintage German pattern magazines are few and far between, and expensive if you can find them but the patterns contained within are marvelous.

Would any of you be interested if I were to turn one, pattern sheet and all, into a pdf?

The pattern sheets included with these vintage magazines (if you're lucky enough to get one intact) are very similar to Burda Style pattern sheets, only the pattern is usually given in just one size.

There would be only very basic instructions in German but the pdf would provide all of the patterns for one edition on a pattern sheet.

It would be challenging, but worth it for the hard to find fashions. What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts!

My Sewing Space

We have been blessed that every assignment we get sent to, my sewing room just get's better and better. I was lucky enough to have a dedicated sewing room in our last two homes but our new home just takes the cake. Here I started out with a somewhat small second bedroom to work in (lucky thing about being so far away in Norway, I seldom have to make room for guests in my sewing space.)

My sweet husband noticed that I had spent less time sewing than usual in my new space and he suggested that it was too cramped, and that I should spread out. We have a large upstairs landing and he helped me turn my studio from a one dark room to a large open bright space, plus a room for the overflow!

 

 I'm so happy to have a big open space with plenty of light to work. And at my back I have a great big sewing table with adjustable length, my birthday gift for this year.

I plan on filling the walls with sewing pattern and vintage fashion memorabilia.

A 1950's Anne Adams catalog, the first of many to be hung in this room.

 The art is a collection of vintage lingerie magazine ads from Vogue that I acquired from this great shop on etsy.

This one is my absolute favorite.

The bolt of fabric in the background of this one is just idea for a sewing room!

UPDATE: You ask, where do I stash my fabric and sewing pattern collection? In the adjoining room! That's right, when he said spread out, he meant I should use the landing and the second bedroom. The fabric and pattern mess is neatly stowed away in the next room! I asked him why he didn't mind me practically taking over our second floor and he said, "Why would I mind? You love this stuff, and I only go upstairs to shower and sleep."
What a guy. :)

How about you? Do you have your dream sewing space? Or are you creative within a limited space?
I know what I'm doing with my space today. I just got some amazing quilted silk velvet fabric in the mail from fabric.com

and I'll be making slippers today from it using this great vintage slipper pattern pdf I finished recently.

For love of a silk shirt.

Did everyone have a great holiday? I had a wonderful Christmas, as my husband decided that he needed to outdo my parents for record of best Christmas of '95 when I got a new bike.

This year he got me beautiful suede boots (he bought me SHOES!), jewelry, and wonderful Swiss watch, and an iPad 2! I was not expecting such a fantastic new toy! We spent the morning enjoying our presents and each others company with a roaring fire and hot chocolate, then we had some wonderful friends over for a feast. Even though I missed my family I felt so blessed.

So now that the holiday rush is mostly over, I'll be getting back to working on the PDF's I have in development that I've been telling you about, and I have a project to share.

I finished this silk shirt a week ago but was just not able to get pictures taken (oh, illusive lighting!).
This shirt was a combination of two Burda magazine patterns (2/2010) and was part of a plan to copy a Victoria's Secret shirt (post about that here).

However, the velvet I ordered turned out to be all wrong for the shirt (scratchy, stiff, horrid stuff!) and the silk I used this time was my back-up fabric.

I sort of interchanged collar and cuff pieces to my liking until I had what I liked from both.

For the fabric I used Radiance cotton/ silk poplin from Fabric.com which I cannot recommend enough! The fabric has a great body to it, not quite stiff, but as easy to sew as regular cotton only with the luxurious feel and sheen of silk. I want to make EVERYTHING out of this fabric!

 I know, wrinkles, but I wore it all day working at the computer and then my sweetie came home  and it was take pictures right then or have no more daylight. It still looks good wrinkled.

For the fuffs, I made cufflinks with my extra buttons and the sleeves are closed that way.

 How was your holiday? Did you get any good gifts or make any wonderful memories? Do you have grand sewing plans when the holiday is over?

Bra Winner and a Peak at What's to Come

And now what many of you were waiting for, the winner of a pdf of a 1950's Long-line bra!

And the winner as chosen at random by random.org is:

Ale, who commented that she would like to see a suspender belt pattern pdf in the future. Congrats, Ale! Ale, you can email me at afewthreadsloose@gmail.com and I'll send you your pattern.

For those of you who didn't win but still wanted a pattern, I have a new deal at the shop that offers a discount if you would like to buy more than one.

For 3 $5 pdf patterns for $12, click here. For 4 $5 PDF patterns for $15, click here.

Many of you commented that you would like to see more pdf patterns of things like suspender belts, girdles, blouses, and tap panties to be made in silk. Well, here you go!

Yesterday I released the new bias cut tap pantie pattern, and what a wonder! It's in a larger size! It can either be made in a 32" or 34" waist.

For those of you wanting blouse patterns, I'm working on a great 1940's wrap-around blouse as we speak!

And for those of you who asked for girdles and suspender belts, I have something in the works, and I'm waiting for a few new drafting tools to arrive so that I can make the below a reality:

That's right, ladies, wonderful French support garment patterns are soon to come!
Stay tuned soon to see the silk blouse I've been slaving over.

A Giveaway Winner and some 1920's Fashion.

Well its Sunday and that means it's time for two things:
1. Drinking Mimosas all day
and
2. A Giveaway winner!

Today we have the winner of the $20 gift certificate giveaway offered by Sherrill of Vintage4Creations, as chosen by the random number generator at random.org.
And the winner is...

Linda! Congratulations Linda, and thanks for reading A Few Threads Loose. Linda commented that her favorite item at Vintage4Creations was the green wool purse with fur trim, as did most of you, and I agree, I love it too.

Thanks so much again to Sherrill for offering such a great prize!

On another note, I'll be announcing the winner of the Long Line Bra Pattern PDF giveaway on Monday so if you haven't entered that yet, go check it out!

Also for your viewing pleasure today I have a few great images for you, Film Fun covers from the 1920's, courtesy of Retronaut.

Have a lovely Sunday and I'll see you on Monday with another giveaway winner.

Introducting a New Bra Pattern

For a long time now I have been meaning to get a vintage bra pdf put together for my more well endowed (lucky girl!) followers. I finally found the right pattern in a roomy size and got it into the works.
Ladies, meet the 1950's Long Line Bra PDF.

Nice to meet you.

The bra is for a 42" bust, and can easily be sized up or down by a couple of inches.

View A stops just short of the waistline and View B rests right at the top of the hips.
The pattern can be made using 1 1/4 yard of 35" fabric.

I'll be giving one pattern away to one lucky commenter. To enter, just leave me a comment below with what kind of pattern pdf you would like me to develop next.

For an extra entry, you can like A Few Threads Loose on Facebook, if you haven't already or become a follower of the blog.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

(Also, if you haven't already, check out the giveaway I have going on to win a $20 gift certificate. Last chance to enter is this coming Sunday )

A Couple of New Patterns by Mrs. Depew Vintage

Want to know what I've been working on when I haven't been sewing? I have been trying to develop a couple of new pdf patterns that are more cold weather appropriate.
I have a particular love for the 1920's, the hat styles, and the cloche in particular.

With this in mind, and cold ears every time I step outside, I put together this cloche pattern pdf (actually from a late 1940's/ early 1950's pattern throwback).

I love the idea of sewing it from warm, soft wool in two tones. It can be made in soft velvet, felt, or brocade for colder weather, or light cotton or silk for warmer weather. All you need is your fabric, interfacing, grosgrain ribbon for the band, and some buttons; super easy!

And of course, I would make matching gloves to go with it, preferable trimmed with fur. Which is what I did for my second PDF this month.

This glove pattern pfd can be made either long or short, depending on the sleeve length of your favorite outfit or coat, in several sizes. The gloves can be made using fabric scraps, they take very little fabric to make.

What is your favorite warm weather accessory?

(Also, if you haven't already, check out the giveaway I have going on to win a $20 gift certificate. Last chance to enter is this coming Sunday )

Just some updates in Sewing News

I don't have anything particularly fascinating for you today (bad Anna!) so I'll just pass on some great tidbits I have discovered int he last 24 hours.


There is a $100 fabric giveaway going on over at Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing. It's well worth the comment to enter.

Also, yesterday I discovered a wonderful new sewing tool and had to buy one promptly! The Seam Allowance Guide is a genius invention! No longer do you have to measure and trace around each individual piece, the Seam Allowance Guide will do that for you while you cut out your fabric. 

Here's what it helps with:

• Burda Style Magazine Patterns
• Japanese Pattern books
• Marfy Patterns
• Copying your own clothes
• Designers creating patterns from scratch
• Altering patterns
• Left or right handed scissors
• Picking up pins!

I ordered mine and can't wait to get it in the mail and try on my next Burda project.
Also, if you haven't already, check out the giveaway I have going on to win a $20 gift certificate.

Oh Yes Please!

Many of us are of the opinion that we were born in the wrong era. Some of us long for the good old days of Jane Austen when one's biggest problem was finding a husband. Others long for the roaring 20's when being a bad girl was still something new. And lots of us long for the 40's. Wartime, yes, but a time when family values reigned supreme, the fashion was 'tops' and the world had something worth-while to fight for.

I'm with the 1940's school, and my opinion is only reenforced by what I have to show to you today.
Ladies, I give you the era we ALL should have been brought up in:

Check Out My New Purse, and a Giveaway!

As most of you know, I'm very fond of my mail call posts and I love to show off the goodies I get in the mail so often. Today I'm particularly excited to show you what I've gotten, because it comes with a GIVEAWAY!
Readers, I would like you to meet my new purse. Purse, meet my readers.

Hi, nice to meet you.

You might remember me gushing over this purse when I was on the quest to add more fur to my life.

 This sweet creation is the pièce de résistance of Sherrill from Vintage4Creations.

Here's what I like about it. The sewing is excellent. I looked over every detail on this little gem when it arrived and have every confidence that this purse is sewn to last a lifetime.

I'm of course thrilled with the fact that it's made from an up-cycled vintage coat and fur, and the button detail delights me to no end.

The best part? Sherrill cleverly included an original pocket from the coat into the side of the purse and it's the perfect size for my iTouch!

Before we get to the giveaway by Vintage4Creations, let's get to know Sherrill.