Wednesday, January 21, 2015

McCall 5044 - A 1920's Robe in Luxury Cottons

Hello my dear readers, I'm back!
I'm sorry it's been such a long time since my last post! I have been so busy that something had to give temporarily and I'm afraid that something was writing. However, I have been doing some projects in the meantime and have finally got the time to share with you. My only New Year's resolution this year was to work a little bit less and to sew a little bit more and so far, it's rather nice!


McCall 5044 Ladies' and Misses' Negligee

My most recent project was McCall 5044. I found this pattern a while back on Ebay and imagine my delight when I searched my magazine collection and found it featured in a December, 1927 edition of Fashion Service Magazine!



 I fully intended to sew this lovely negligee in silk but I wanted to make a wearable muslin first, and I decided to use some really beautiful cotton from my stash.
The main body fabric is from the Olivia Collection by Anna Griffin.


The instructions were a bit vague (quite common for 1920s McCall's) so I had some room to customize the pattern. I made version A and lined the interior with soft cotton so all seams are neatly concealed. I also lengthened the sleeve bands a bit to allow for my rather long arms.



Instead of sewing fabric carriers I followed this incredibly nifty Youtube tutorial and made thread carriers for the sash. It was so much fun to try something new, and to avoid stitching those darn cloth carriers made my day!


I also searched high and low and found a lovely art deco rose motif online, adapted it a bit, and embroidered it with my initials on the sleeve.


I know, I went a bit overboard for a wearable muslin but every step of sewing up this negligee was more fun than the last and I just couldn't help myself. It went together so easily and I can't wait to make another one in some sumptuous silk.

Update: This pattern is now available as a multisized reproduction in both PDF and print!

How about you? Did you do any recent sewing or make any sewing-related New Year's resolutions?