Sew Expensive... McCall 8400

 I have a super-fun bad habit. I like to watch sewing patterns I know I won't be able to afford sell for a fortune on Ebay. Occasionally, I'll even buy one anyways.
That leads me to create a new segment called "Sew Expensive". We can all swoon together over pictures, grumble over prices, and maybe even learn something as I post about these beauties.

Today for your viewing pleasure I have McCall 8400 which recently sold for $163.50 on Ebay.
Wouldn't you love to have that kind of pattern buying budget?

This evening gown pattern is from 1935 and just drips glamor. The interesting feature about this gown is that the rounded matronly collar is deceptively demure until you look down to the deep slit at the armhole. It's designed to tantalize without revealing and it's pure genius.

If you bought this, whoever you are, I'll just bet your life is really interesting. And also, will you be my friend?

And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Pretty, Pretty Giveaway!
The winner (who gets to choose one of the 3 patterns or books mentioned) as chosen by random number generator is Karen of Button Floozies! Congratulations, Karen! You can email me at afewthreadsloose@gmail.com to let me know which pattern or e-book you would like me to send you.

For the rest of you, stay tuned! I'm always releasing new patterns and there's always another giveaway around the corner...
In the meantime, here's something pretty for you to look at:

This is a newspaper clipping that I found in a vintage sewing pattern a while back. The newspaper had been cut in the shape of a collar pattern piece, but all I see are those SHOES!!!!!!!!!!!

Pretty, Pretty Giveaway...

I have really been a busy girl for the last month. For most of September I'm going to be visiting my mom in the U.S. so I've been working like crazy to complete several projects before I do.

Would you like to see what I've been up to besides creating my website?

The 3 biggest projects that I have completed are:
The digital restoration of an amazing millinery book from the 1920's, Individuality in Millinery.

Individuality in Millinery

A draped flapper gown, slip and cape pattern originally detailed in a 1920's Fashion Service magazine.

Draped Flapper Gown

 And last, but certainly not least, a Bra and Tap Pants Set reproduction pattern.

It may have been a busy month, but it was nice being surrounded by pretty, pretty things while I worked. I thought to celebrate the release of these 3 things, I would have a giveaway! (You all know how I love giveaways).

One lucky reader will win their choice of one of the 3 above patterns or books.
To enter to win, comment which is your favorite pattern or e-book on Mrsdepew.com.
For an added entry, you can do any of the following. Just leave me  comment to let me know which you've done:

1. Become a follower of A Few Threads Loose on Twitter, Google, or Bloglovin'.

2. Like A Few Threads Loose on Facebook.

3. Like Mrs. Depew Vintage on Facebook.

4. Mention this giveaway on your blog or share it on Facebook.

I'll announce the winner next Tuesday the 28th.

Grading a pattern: Depew 3009

Good morning beautiful readers. Today I got an email from a customer asking me if there was a way to make one of my patterns smaller to fit her much more petite figure. I proceeded to try and explain how in an email and realized half way through that it would be much easier to do so in a blog post!
Not to mention, some of you may find this handy in the future.
~the following tutorial can be applied to just about any dress, blouse or skirt pattern and can be used to grade the size up or down~

The pattern in question is Depew 3009, a beach dress cover-up pattern based off a vintage French pattern.

Beach Dress Cover-Up

The pattern is only in one size, Medium/ Large with a 30" waist and 38" bust.

And the customer, we'll call her Miss S, needs to size the pattern down to a 25" waist and a 32" bust.
So, we need to subtract 5" from the waist and 6" from the bust.

These subractions need to be evenly distributed between 4 spots for the bodice and the skirt. Here's where we do the math:
Bodice Reduction = 6"÷ 2 (cutting two of each pattern piece) = 3".  And 3" ÷ 4 (front, back, and both side seams) = 3/4". Doing the same for the skirt (5" ÷ 2 = 2.5" then 2.5" ÷ 4 = 5/8")

BODICE:                                        SKIRT
Center Front:        3/4"                                 Center Front          5/8"
Center Back:         3/4"                                Center Back           5/8"
Left Side Seam:     3/4"                               Left Side Seam       5/8"
Right Side Seam:   3/4"                              Right Side Seam      5/8"

This might help.

The portions highlighted in yellow will be where you'll make your subtractions. First trace each pattern piece off of the pattern sheet. (Don't trace them double as they are laid out for cutting, just do the halves as they appear on your pattern sheet. Make your reductions and be sure to graduate a bit on the bodice pieces between the 3/4" at the bust and the 5/8" at the waist.

Now for the red. On the bodice front you'll need to redraft your darts. (simply copy the old ones from the pattern sheet, centering the dart over the line that you reduced the bust front at). Do the same for the bodice back.

At the skirt, you'll want to move your pleat lines towards the side seams. You removed 5/8" from the center front so move your pleat lines over 5/8" each. Do some measuring and make sure that your closed darts at the bodice front will match up perfectly with the side pleats on the skirt front as they do in the pattern illustration.

Now since these proportions are much smaller than the original pattern, we can assume that Miss S is a bit shorter too. The bodice may need to be shortened a bit to match... the same may go for the the straps as well. And lastly, the belt will need to be shortened by 5".

That about sums it up. As with any pattern that has been heavily altered, make a muslin version first so that you can test the fit before cutting into your more expensive fabrics.

Whew! I got so into this that I forgot to eat breakfast! I'm going to take my over caffeinated shaky self downstairs for some food before I break something expensive :)

Traum Dressmaker Guide: What the heck is this thing?!

Once upon a time I visited my mom and she showered me with vintage sewing loot. I wrote a post on it which included a picture of my Traum Dressamker's Guide.

One reader recently saw this post and asked,

     "I also have a Traum Dressmaker Guide tool but I don't know what to do with it. Can you enlighten Me? Is this only for people who make their own patterns? What can you do with all the notches, scallops and geometric shapes? Any information you might be able to give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. "

That's a good question! The thing that I find most interesting is that the designer of this nifty little object was Mary Brooks Picken. Mary who? In addition to writing several amazing pamphlets and books about everything sewing-related for The Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, Mary also wrote the well-known Singer Sewing Book.

The Traum guide is a convenient invention designed to make a few things more simple, as were Mary's sewing instructions. It's not exactly just for pattern drafting, rather, it would be quite handy for someone looking to alter or add on to an existing pattern or project.
Or, take for example a modern Burda Fashion button front shirt pattern. When you trace a pattern off of the sheet, the top buttonhole is usally given for one size only, and then you're told to space your own buttonholes appropriately. This tool would make the measurements a lot easier.

The 6" guide originally came on a little card that detailed it's many uses: 
It can be used to space and mark:
tucks,
scallops, (nifty for adding scallops to the hem of tap pants, I might add)
buttons & buttonholes,
braids and other trimming details for your sewing project.

It will also give you a perfectly shaped pattern for:
arrowheads,
circles,
squares,
triangles,
crescents,
and designs for embroidery.

And speaking of embroidery, braids and trims, I just signed up for a Craftsy class called Stupendous Stitching, which I'm hoping will teach me to actually use the many decorative stitches on my super fancy sewing machine. The class just happens to be on sale right now for $14.99 instead of the usual $29.99. Nice deal, huh?

Photo from Stupendous Stitching on Craftsy.com

Has anyone ever taken a Craftsy course before? What did you think?

Vintage bra patterns and what they're worth.

If you've been following A Few Threads Loose for a while you might have noticed that I'm just a little bit obsessed with lingerie. Just a little bit. Though I certainly have enough lingerie patterns in my personal collection (just ask my husband, he'll tell you) I'm always hunting for a new pattern to add to the vast number of little tissue paper beauties carefully stashed away in my studio.

Recently I had my eye on Vogue 6075. I decided at the last minute not to bid too high because I had one nearly identical to it, and because business with Mrs. Depew Vintage had been kind of slow (nice weather sort of keeps people away from their sewing machines, or so I've heard. I wouldn't know; I live in Norway).

Anyways, last night I watched this sweet little pattern sell for $31.95 on Ebay. Believe it or not, this is actually a little on the low side. It got me thinking as I tried to fall asleep last night with visions of sugar plums and bras dancing about in my head. What are vintage bra patterns worth? Do they have a definable value, or are they, like so many hard to find vintage patterns, worth only what us mad collectors are willing to pay for them?

Take, for instance, McCall 7201. This pattern is a very nice example of a vintage lingerie pattern because the illustrations are lovely, it's from the 1940's (a well sought era for patterns) and the pattern features not only a bra and tap pants, but a petticoat as well.

This particular pattern is being offered at two different locales online as we speak. VtgSewingPatterns on Etsy (a well-respected seller who really knows her patterns) has this pattern for $45.
On the other hand, So Vintage Patterns has this little gem for $65. And I can tell you from personal experience that both of these prices are very fair.

This is an average for a 1940's lingerie pattern unless it's truly remarkable or hard to find.

Let's try the 1930's. Pattern values go up quite a bit in that one decade age gap.
(On a side note, in my research for this post I just bought another lingerie pattern. I'm weak. I need help!)

As far as the 1930's are concerned, I'm on a never-ending quest to get my hands on Simplicity S612.

This pattern is part of the fabled Simplicity S-Series (gotta catch 'em all!) from the mid to late 1930's that I've been collecting for the last few years. I have never seen this pattern for sale but I can tell you that it would sell for around $75 to $150 on Sovintagepatterns.com whose prices range at the higher end of the spectrum. I can also tell you that I would pay $150 for this pattern and not flinch (too much). I want it that bad, and therefore, it's worth that much.

Let's move back a few more years to the early 1930's and take a look at McCall 26 from 1932. Keep in mind that to the collector, the more lovely the pattern illustration, the more valuable the pattern will be in their eyes.

Stock photo from Vintage Pattern Wiki, not the actual pattern for sale.

This truly beautiful pattern is being offered by Anne8865 on Etsy for $48.
(Dammit, I just looked in her shop and bought another pattern. I need to wrap this post up before I empty my bank account!)
Ahem, this pattern is in what I like to call well used-and-abused condition (poor thing), is slightly water-damaged and missing the pattern transfer. And $48 for this pattern is completely reasonable. Look at how beautiful the envelope art is! Look at the charming silhouette of the tap pants and slip! The bra was not originally included in the pattern (I know we were talking about bras here, sorry) and still this pattern is a total find! I once watched this same pattern, complete and in excellent condition sell for about $75 on Ebay. I nearly bought it myself.

It reminds me of another McCall pattern from this same theme, McCall 1848, a beautiful bra and tap pants pattern from 1930.

This one isn't for sale anywhere that I know of, but it would be worth an easy $100.

Now let's step back a little bit more. What are some bra pattern from the 1920's and what might they be worth? Hmmm... good luck finding one! When they do come up, the are snapped up almost immediately, regardless of what they cost. Why? Because they're all so darn pretty.
Allow me (or I should say some genius from the 1920's) to illustrate:

This one sold for a fortune. I was outbid a dozen or so times.

I stopped bidding at around $50 on McCall 25 last year. I don't remember exactly how much it sold for, but I think it was just under $100.

I could go on and on, if I could find more patterns. Sadly enough, when you go farther back than the 1920's, bra and panty patterns are rarer (because they weren't the popular mode of underthings yet) and also the patterns themselves weren't' that attractive looking.

How about you? Do you have any goodies in your collection? Have you paid a fortune for them, or gotten them from Mom (mine has given me some really gems over the last few years) or did you find them for a steal?

The lady builds a website...

You might have noticed a little bit of blogging silence the last 2 weeks. I jumped head first into building a website for Mrs. Depew Vintage and didn't resurface for a breath until just now.
I have to say that for my first website building attempt since a high school class project in 1999, I think it turned out pretty great.

Mrsdepew.com

Luckily HTML hasn't changed that much since 1999, though the internet is a very much different place now.

I found a great secure download service that allows me to post digital patterns for sale on the website, and everything is seamlessly and safely handled by Paypal so that there's no waiting for me to stumble out of bed and email patterns each morning.

I would love to know what you all think. I get the most wonderful feedback and advice from you all and I find that I'm becoming quite dependent on hearing from you.
It pretty much makes my day :)