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?

19 comments:

  1. wow... the embroidery is such a beautiful detail!

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  2. Who says a wearable muslin can't be special? I think it's fabulous. :)
    I'd love to have one in my own closet too, so I'm pretty excited for your plans to reproduce it. Yay!

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  3. That embroidery is gorgeous!! And well, I sewed up an outfit for a costume at the beginning of the year, and I'm working on a pair of shorts!

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  4. Looks wonderful, and perfect for a hot summer's day. My best friend has just been diagnosed with a horrible illness - making one of these might just be something I can do to show her we'll face it together. It would be like wearing a hug all the time! So I'll be looking forward to the release :-)

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    1. Oh no, I'm so sorry for your friend! That is a good idea, making her something beautiful that she can enjoy in heir leisure hours.

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  5. What a lovely garment - I'm sure you'll look awesome in it^^ Thanks for the link to the youtube-video - can't wait to try it myself. And I love your embroidery on the sleeve. So, will you be doing another one in silk for you later on?
    Greetings from Germany,
    Sandy

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  6. I love this! The embroidery is such a nice touch, and I think you'll enjoy having a more utilitarian version (even if you do make yourself a silk one as well).

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  7. It is so lovely and romantic. Wow! Makes me want to make one for myself...

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  8. Ooooh is that ever elegant! Right down the embroidery, what lovely little details. Beautiful!

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  9. Anna, this is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. If you had told me it was made of silk, I would have believed you, the beautiful print looks like it was intended for silk. I love the blue contrast as well, it's the perfect choice. As I look at the pictures of your robe, my mind is taken away from the overcast sky, snow covered driveway (I need to shovel, ugh), and general dead, ugliness that is a MN winter - instead I am picturing the sun filtering through the large windows in my kitchen, with the windows open and watching the trees come alive in spring. I wonder if that feeling would last if I made a robe like this? Thank you for the lovely inspiration dear :)

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    1. Ann, your comment gave me the warmest fuzzies, thank you!

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  10. It's just beautiful! Aren't thread carriers just perfect! My grandmother and great grandmother taught me that technique when I was a child and I have used them ever since. Sometimes its the small detail like thread carriers and embroidery that really finishes a piece off perfectly!

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  11. Anna, this is a really beautiful robe and I like the spring time colors you used. The hand sewn embroidery detail you did is gorgeous! Thank you for posting this!

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  12. This is beautiful! Your embroidery makes it very special, but I think you're also very clever to pair the blue with the floral - wow, those fabrics look so good together! I hope making this robe also means you foresee some relaxation ahead...

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  13. Before I read your post I totally thought that was silk! You can't even see it except for the close-ups. I love the soft blue contrast against the floral pattern, great fabric choice!

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  14. What a beautiful robe! You are a true expert. :)

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  15. It's positively dreamy! I love the fabrics you chose, and the rose motif with your initials is especially fantastic.

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  16. Beautiful! Fantastic work, thanks for sharing :) I love your choice in fabric

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