#VintagePledge | Hs Handcrafts

For Me-Made-May I have been wearing something I have made every day. I quickly identified that this was going to be a struggle on days where I couldn’t really wear skirts, dresses or nice blouses given the nature of my work. As an agricultural researcher it is no surprise that I often do work outside that involves getting quite muddy. I decided to get on this straight away and so in the first week of May I decided to make myself a sweater!

It was perfect for the days when I needed somehting comfy for work and could easily move around lifting heavy things. The only problem was the days when I needed this tye of clothes but it was too hot to wear a sweater! Maybe I will have to bear this in mind for future projects!

Double Skill Up: Knit fabric and a vintage pattern

I already had the perfect fabric to make a sweater from. When I visited Goldhawk road ages ago I picked up this jersey fabric in a cream and dark grey aztec print. I new it would be perfect for a sweater. I just needed to choose a pattern. As I have never sewn with knits before I wanted something straightforward. Then I remembered the vintage patterns I had picked up a while ago on ebay when thinking about my Vintage pledge. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to kill 2 birds with one stone and conquer both knits and vintage patterns in one fell swoop!

I measured a size 14 on the bust and waist and between a 14 and 16 on the hips. I knew I wanted the sweater to be oversized and comfy so I just went ahead and cut out a size 16.

In terms of the sewing I was really pleased at how easy I found sewing with knits. I looked up a few things in my Colette sewing with knits book and the whole thing came together really quickly as there is very little to do in terms of finishing seams or pressing.

All the instructions were actually pretty straightforward which surprised me a little as I was expecting to need some Googling to get through a vintage patterns as from what I have heard they are notorious for assuming a reasonable level of skill. Although, actually there was very little that was new to me in this pattern.

I really liked the back of the neckline. I have not made something with this type of neck before but I quite like how it adds some style to what is otherwise a simple pattern.My button loop is quite messy but for a first try I am quite pleased with it.

The only instruction I skipped on this garment was the part where I was supposed to insert shoulder pads.I think that would have been a bit much and you still get the late 80s vibe without the shoulder pads though so all is good!

The details:

Pattern: Butterick 3670

Fabric: Aztec print jersey from Goldhawk road

Notions:Gutermann thread, old button found in my stash

Alterations: no shoulder pads

I would love to make something similar again so I have more choice of me-mades when it comes to days when I need comfy easy to wear clothes. I am not sure exactly what the fabric type is if I were to buy it again. It is kind of like jersey but with 2 colours of thread knit together. It also only has a small amount of stretch. If anyone has any ideas I’d love to find out so I can buy some more! Here is what the reverse side looks like

If you liked this overview of my project why not keep up to date with my current makes over on twitter

#Vintage Pledge is an exciting concept to get sewers making things from vintage patterns. It is hosted by the lovely A Stitching Odyssey and Kestrel Makes. I think it’s a really great idea as there are so many patterns out there and it’s so easy to keep making new and exciting things but actually a lot of current fashion is based on previous trends so why not go back to those old patterns and give them a new lease of life?

Last year I really enjoyed seeing other peoples makes as part of this challenge and so I’m really excited to be taking part this year!

My #VintagePledge

During 2016, I, Helen of H’sHandcrafts, pledge to attempt to sew at least one vintage pattern.

I recently purchased some vintage patterns from eBay. I really like a lot of 80’s clothes and feel like in the right fabric many of the styles can feel modern. The patterns I purchased fit in really well with what I like to wear and so I was really excited to make some of them up for my Vintage pledge. However, when they arrived and I eagerly read the back of the packet and took the paper pieces out of the envelope I realised that I may have bitten off more than I could chew! Vintage patterns, or at least these ones were written for a time when sewing was a lot more common. They assume you know what you are doing and so there is no hand-holding when it comes to the instructions. So, I decided to be more realistic with my vintage pledge and decided to opt for attempting at least one. This is fairly realistic and I hope to be able to complete at least one garment to a standard I am happy with but I feel baby steps are the best way to make progress!