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?

My Favorite 1920's Teddies... and a free sewing pattern!

The 1920's brought us some truly wonderful fashion revelations, my favorite being the loose-fitting dress and less constricting undergarments to accompany them. Lingerie also got so much easier to sew with little to no boning, fewer seams, and simpler designs!

The best part of this, in my humble opinion, was the advent of the Chemise (also known as the teddy or cami-knickers). It could often be sewn from two squares of fabric and was a great way to reuse fabric to make dainty things.

Original 1920's lingerie patterns are nearly impossible to find. In fact, they're practically the holy grail to lingerie pattern collectors like myself. Teddy patterns from the 1920s are the rarest of all. If you do a Google search you'll find hardly any at all. Sad Face.

I have quite a few in my collection though and I thought I would share.

McCall 5124 1920s Step-in Combination Chemise Camiknickers.

McCall 4487 Mid-1920s Ladies' and Misses' Step-in Chemise.

McCall 5818 late 1920s Step-in Combination is available as a reproduction pattern here.

These beauties are so lovely and when they do rarely crop up, they are often quite expensive (and rightly so!). This makes getting your hands on that 1920s look rather hard and one must often turn to reproduction sewing pattern companies like mine to find something to substitute for an original.

But today, I thought I would skip all that and just give you a free pattern!

This is a digital PDF copy of an insanely easy sewing method for a lovely set of step-in combination teddies from 1926. The pattern for two different versions was originally published for the newspaper column of a "Fashion Expert". This pattern would also make an amazing little neglige for when you need one in a hurry.

I have digitally enhanced the images but the instructions are the exact wording used by the original designer. The grammar and writing style tells me that the "Fashion Expert" was most likely a French woman writing in English and the way she expresses herself is so charming!

It is not necessary to print this pattern. The "Pattern" given is a very easy-to-follow set of instructions for cutting and draping a certain measurement of fabric with several drawings and diagrams.
This is a great way to use up some of those vintage scarves hiding in your closet, or a nice length of silk you haven't found a purpose for yet.

Happy Sewing, mes cheris!

French Knickers Sew-Along... Embroidered Touches

Hello lovely readers. Today I want to chat a bit about finishing touches on your French Knickers... or any lingerie for that matter. Many of you know that I'm constantly inspired by my collection of vintage lingerie and lingerie patterns. My biggest source of inspiration is lingerie from the 1920's. I feel that the handwork details, fabrics used, and styles are all easily accessible to the modern seamstress.

There are no scary under-wires, boning, and not too many elastics to worry about. The styles are so simple to sew that more time and attention can be payed to tiny details like lace applique and embroidery.

1920's Lingerie Top Via Etsy shop The Paraders.

My goal in creating my own lingerie has always been to reach a point where I can skillfully make some beautiful, new or vintage-inspired pieces of lingerie for my own enjoyment using techniques that I've learned from my exploration of vintage pieces.

Here are just a few of the amazing pieces that inspire me to keep trying:

Vintage Camisole Via Etsy shop Rococo Vintage.

1950's Nightgown from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sigh... some day I'll be that good. Then I'll make something like the above and be too chicken to wear it in case I hurt it.

Tap panties from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I especially love the use of embroidering one's initials or name into beautiful handmade lingerie. So I decided to sign my work. I set to work in Photoshop with a basic fleur de lis, played around with size and fonts, and came up with a basic template that I could trace onto my fabric and embroider.

I used some transfer paper scraps (look for them at your local thrift shop, so handy!) over a scrap of satin, with my printed test image over that, and traced over it all with a pen.

Pardon the ratty fabric scrap and the horrible photo... I still have no lights in my studio!

 It's definitely a good idea to do a practice version first on the same fabric as your lingerie piece... my practice run was o.k., but I found that the blue silk embroidery thread I was using was just way too thick for my fabric. (I'm still learning! If you'd like to bombard me with embroidery tips, I'll take them gladly!)

Not too great, but it could have been worse :)

 I switched threads and with a bit more care this time, embroidered the same design (minus the center French knot) onto my lace and satin knickers from our last post. It came out much better!

I used a simple back stitch to embroider the whole design. I'm no pro so I won't preach at you about embroidery technique, but here is a great post at Sublime Stitching that shows you this super easy stitch.

And voila! This was really quite easy for a novice embroiderer myself so I strongly encourage you to try it for yourself! Embroidery is so soothing!

Do you plan on adding any other little touches to your French Knickers or other hand-made lingerie? Or do you have a favorite piece of clothing with a tiny, beautiful little embellishment that makes it just that much more dear?