Friday's Pattern of the Day... and maybe another sew along...?

Today's pattern of the day is super unique. I know it's not really along the lines of what most of us sew but it's just so unique I had to pass it on.

Have you ever in your life seen an ANTIQUE stocking pattern?! This Butterick 1200 is available for a limited time on ebay so grab a peak before it's gone!

When I think of Victorian stockings I think of women and 'working age' children running knitting machines in some stocking factory, I seldom think of the average American woman sitting at home and stitching them herself. Who knew?

Here's a pair of beautiful Edwardian (post Victorian) embroidered silk stockings that are for sale on etsy.

And another set of children's silk stockings with matching rosette clips for sale here.

If you're interested, there's a really interesting article on the history of the stocking here.

Here are some pictures of lovely Victorian era "pin-ups" in stockings.

And what does a girl need to keep her pretty stockings from puddling around her ankles? Why, a Garter Belt Corset, of course! That's right ladies, it's done! The French Corset Garter Belt can be made with or without boning and has multiple closure options.

Not only have I got a new pattern for you, but very, very soon I'll be collaborating with another blogger to have a joint sew along with this pattern! That's your heads up to start buying your satin and boning now! I'll announce more tomorrow along with a giveaway!

Oh Chinese Food, oh Yeah...

One of the interesting things about living in Norway is the food. You have your fish and potatoes to be sure, but those fish and potatoes are fresh and of very high quality. That being said, you only want so much of the national cuisine before you start to go a bit crazy.

Lutfisk... looks horrible, doesn't it? It is.

 Norway thought of that too. There are several Chinese restaurants, a couple of Italian places, 2 Mexican restaurants, and a few others in my general area.
There are 2 downsides to this. #1. It still all tastes like damned fish and potatoes. #2. Said carefully disguised fish and potatoes will cost you an arm and a leg. On average, $30-$40 per person for food that wouldn't make the cut in your average U.S. restaurant.

So I've gotten creative. I've learned how to cook everything under the sun.

I didn't get the job that I was hoping for and it was just one too many slaps in the face since I moved here. I was in serious need of comfort food so I retreated to the kitchen, the place where I feel powerful and successful (because I'm awesome at food) and I made Mongolian beef using this recipe from blogchef.net.
And it was brilliant!

Even if you have a great Chinese restaurant down the road, you still want to make this. The recipe made enough for about 4 people with the rice and broccoli, and the Man and I at it ALL.
Neither of us could sleep after because we were so stuffed but it was SO worth it.

And that is all I have to say about that.

The Job Interview Dress

As many of you know, I've been a jobless, stay-at-home seamstress for the last several months. It's really hard to get a job here and my best options have been grocery clerk or waiting tables... not exactly easy to swallow when I've worked so hard for my (apparently useless) education.
I've been sewing this dress for good job interview juju. In other words, build it and they will come. Sew the dress and get the interview.

Well, as I was sewing in the armhole facing, I got a call for an interview. This is HUGE. For every 50 jobs I've applied for, I've heard back on 2. It's weird being the immigrant, so to speak, in a country where they want to hire locals. Today was my interview, a scant 12 hours after I finished getting the hem in this little baby.

So this morning I threw the dress on, along with my lucky underwear and my lucky high heels and off I went. Well, first, I took photos.

Now, this isn't the pose I struck for the interview, just so you know. That's not how a girl should get a job. In the interview, I looked more like this:

Pattern of the Day

Today's pattern of the day is the super-rare Originator 383 being sold by ErikaWithaK Vintage.

RARE 1950s Originator 383 Vintage Sewing Pattern - Wide Neck Slim Skirted Dress with Tie Waist Detail - 30 Bust

I don't know about you, but I was totally born in the wrong decade.
If you don't know much about originator patterns, there's a really good reason these little gems are so hard to find. They weren't really mass-produced like Advance, Butterick, McCall's, Simplicity and Vogue were.

Originator only started out as a sort of "trade only" fashion news service. They provided subscribers like seamstresses and designers with current fashion sketches. It wasn't until the late 1940's that they started offering patterns to go along with their designs. Look at the price tag: $1.50 in the early 1950's. An advance pattern at the same time sold for $0.35. Not everyone could afford them, and even fewer had the skill to sew them.

If you want to see more of what originator had to offer at the time, check out Don't Sass Me on etsy who has an amazing collection of Originator pattern catalogs digitized as PDF's for the price of a latte.

Gorgeous Lingerie in Hiding

I'm not feeling too great today on a new medication so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. While I've been tucked away on the couch, I've been using my ipad for my usual search for vintage lingerie and sewing patterns.
Here are a few goodies:

This is a to-die for 1920's night gown pattern that I've had my eye on for a while. If only I didn't have too long a to-sew list already...

Vintage Sewing Pattern 1920's Slip Gown Mail Order Lingerie Pattern Ideal 713

This nightgown/ lingerie set just makes me swoon, and even manages to make bloomers look sexy in a revealing sheer gauze.

RARE 50's Vintage McCall's Sewing Pattern 3029 - Nightgown, Petticoat & Panties - UNCUT - size 14/32

If you're into knitting, then this great reproduction booklet for sweet little underthings is right up your alley.

Weldon's 6D Knitting Series (5) c.1939 - Vests & Pantie Sets, Ladies' Vintage Lingerie in Knitting

Thinking of lingerie always has me looking for bras. This time I was looking for the 1920's and I found this great little brocade bra. I love how the brocade is sateen and how the rounded top looks a bit like a sweetheart neckline.

Vintage Bra Deco Era Cotton Sateen Brocade Bralette

And last but not least whilst we have bras on the mind, Sew Vera Venus is offering a giveaway for her recently developed 1940's bra. This design is pure genious and I can't WAIT until it's available for purchase.

Photo from VeraVenus.com

I'm dying to know how she does that lovely little stitched pointed V. Swoon. You can click on this link to leave a comment to enter the giveaway.

Have a happy weekend, mama's off to go mix alcohol with pills. Cheers!

The Bateau-Neck Blouse

I have a tripod! I finally got around to getting one and it has made taking blog photos so much easier. If you blog and you want your photos to come out a bit better, I highly recommend getting one.
So I used the tripod recently to take pictures of my latest sewing project, a bateau neck blouse using the pdf pattern I recently released.

Here's the finished product:

 I wanted to use this beautiful vintage grosgrain ribbon that my mother gave me but there wasn't very much left of it. Hence, only three ruffles instead of four.

Bomb Girls

If you're not watching Bomb Girls yet, you should be.

The Canadian show is a beautifully put together drama about the women who bravely worked in one of several munitions factories to help the war effort during World War II.

Women heard the call in every country involved in World War II and rose above social restraints and convention to take the places of men who had gone on to fight.

Women diligently working in a Russian munitions factory.

In some countries, joining the work force was required, as in the UK's Land army. In other cases, it was voluntary, and many women caught hell from various detractors who thought it was more important to defend a woman's role as home-maker than it was to win a war against a violent aggressor.

Bomb girls does an amazing job of depicting not only the war effort, the stress these women were under to keep their men well armed, the worries they shared over sweethearts in harm's way, and gives a very good idea of what it was like to live and work during a war, with the rumor of possible invasion looming over their heads. (And the clothes aren't half bad either.)

But more importantly, what Bomb Girls does is shows how much many women welcomed the chance to work, how they valued their sudden independence, and how willing they were to hang on like hell to that independence after the men came home.

The poster above is a great illustration of the sudden power given to women to contribute to their countries as valued citizens.

This topic is particularly dear to my heart because my great grandmother, Ora, worked in a bomb factory herself during the war. Her middle finger was somehow smashed between two bombs. It healed straight and she was never able to bend it, but she still somehow managed to play the piano, straight finger and all. I remember my dad telling me that he thought it was so funny when he was little, she would make a fist, and her middle finger would still stick straight out. How I wish I could have met her.

Thank you to all the women who worked harder than we can imagine to fight the war in any way they could, and who paved the way for women to have the social and financial freedoms that many of us take for granted today.




You can watch bomb girls online here.