Author Archives: lholy

Publication vintage : La Coquette

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My sewing machine has been brought to the repair shop last week. I was hoping to get it back yesterday, but sadly we have only one car, my husband is working this week-end (and  goes to work by car) and they called me too late in the morning for us to go before he left for work. Since I can’t go during the week, it will be another week without my precious sewing machine. :(

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To make up for the lack of completed sewing projects, I’m going to share some vintage cuteness. Before I show you some outfits pictures, I wanted to introduce you to the magazine they come from. It’s a french magazine called “La Coquette”, and I own to issues, one from 1940 and one from 1954.

This magazine is a collection of pattern illustrations. Women could then order those patterns using the given references. They were available in standard sizes or made to the customer’s exact measurements. The company even had sewing mannequins available for sale. There are also a few knitting/embroidery patterns given directly in the magazine. Inside La Coquette you could find a ticket to get one of the patterns for free.

Something I like is the fact that even if all the outfits are only drawn and not always shown on colored pages, the description that accompany those drawings is very precise: it gives you the exact fabrics used, and the amount needed of those fabrics. That way we vintage lovers have more chances to recreate the style, even if we can’t find the patterns. ^_^

Bad sewing news

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I’m afraid I won’t be able to sew for some time, it seems my sewing machine has to be repaired… Unless we can find a transformer so that I can use my japanese machine in the meantime. I’m really frustrated.

Spooky mailday!

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I had the pleasure to find a package waiting for me tonight in my mailbox. A spooky package I couldn’t wait to receive. ^_^

I gave in and placed my first fabric order on Etsy at the beginning of the month. It was also the first time for me to order fabric from an american designer company, after admiring a lot of them on the Internet. I fell in love with this fabric the first time I saw it, in a preview post on True Up. As I always do with the american fabrics I like,  I let the expense frighten me and I thought I would wait, I would order it someday, later… But then I had a project idea, and I looked for the fabric online, and realized it was almost sold-out. I couldn’t let it pass, so I ordered some before it disappeared completely.

I have to say I’m really happy I did. I love it! Look at those witches! Aren’t they great? And this haunted house! Halloween fabrics are not always to my taste (at least to use for garments), they have a tendency to look very costumey. But this one is perfect! Okay maybe most people will think this is costumey also, but I hope I can make something nice and wearable from it. Be careful if you like it and haven’t seen it for real, the print is really big.

I also got those nice brass buttons, which I like a lot also. They’re even nicer on person than they were on the pictures. And I like their slightly heavy weight.

Now I have to get to work, I don’t have much time left before the end of the month…

Menasse necklace, part 2

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When I finally got some time to myself this Saturday, I decided to turn to a project that had been delayed for too long: the makeover of my Menasse necklace. Has you might remember I wasn’t so happy with it. It was cute but I felt I wouldn’t wear it much. I was right, so I designed another version of it, this time in the form of a very long necklace.

Problem is: I’m still not 100% happy with it… ^^; That’s why I didn’t cut the leftover cord at the top of the necklace. I had a really precise image in mind, and this doesn’t fit perfectly. It’s nice, but some part have an annoying behavior. The tiny pearls are made of wood, and the yo-yo is of course made of fabric, so the bottom of the necklace is very lightweight. Since the blue cord I used isn’t very strong either, and there’s no real weight at the bottom to stretch it, it has a tendency to get a life of its own, and take strange angles. It’s getting a little better with time since it’s losing its factory folds though. The other problem I have is with the ring connecting the cord to the pendants. It’s not metal as I thought but some lightweight grey material. I don’t know why but it’s constently turning to the side when it shouldn’t, so that the yo-yo also turns. So much so that it spends more time showing it’s side or back than its front! Here is a picture of the necklace worn, where the yo-yo is okay but you can see that the ring is turning.

I guess I’ll have to improve this and design a third version… What do you think of it at this stage? Do you like the longer version? I’m not sure if I’ll try to keep the cord and try to arrange things with the connecting ring or just forget it and try with a metal chain…

Material:blue cord, light colored pearl, ring @La Droguerie Paris ; yo-yo made of Liberty Menasse bought at Shaukat ; dark colored wooden pearl bought at Loisirs & Création ; other things bought in Japan.

Vintage inspiration: 1953 Simplicity Sewing Book clothes pictures

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Here is my first post around the Simplicity sewing book I talked about last week. I’m starting with the few outfit pictures you can find in the book. If you click on the picture you’ll go to their Flickr page where you can view them in bigger size.

The cover

A really cute outfit

Variation on the previous blouse

A simple yet elegant skirt

Have a nice autumn!

Vintage sewing books

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Recently Barbara from Moxie Tonic was organising a give away on her blog. She was offering two sets of two vintage sewing books from the 50′s. I’m right in the middle of a crave for inspiration from that time, so I took part in the give away… and won! I was surprised and really happy. I couldn’t wait to get the books.

I got the package at the end of last week. I had the pleasure to receive those two books: “Simplicity Sewing Book” from 1953 and “Singer Student’s Manual of Machine Sewing” from 1954. I didn’t have time to read them entirely yet, but you can guess that I had a first look at them right away!

I was thinking there would be more pictures or drawings of actual garments than there actually is. But they’re quite interesting even without much outfits being shown. Less inspiration, but useful tips! I already learned a few things from the Simplicity book. It contains the usual sections of a sewing book: choosing a pattern, alterations, sewing techniques… I haven’t read much of the Singer one yet. It’s really more oriented towards using and maintaining your sewing machine. It might proove itself usefull if my dream of getting an old sewing machine is fulfilled. ;)

Thank you very much Barbara!

Of course I’ll share a few pictures from those later. ^_^ And since I’m in this “I want vintage inspiration” mood, I’ll have other vintage publications to share with you!

Discovery: lovely jewelry

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No sewing for today, I don’t have enough time for crafting lately. But I have nice things to share! Today I’ll show you nice jewellry from a French crafter I discovered recently in the North of France.

I liked her creations the moment I saw them. What caught my attention was the mix of traditionnal jewellry material and unconventional bits. She uses thread (some pieces where crochetted), shells, buttons, and even stamps! I also like the twisted wire parts a lot.

We liked her work so much that my husband bought me the white necklace and we also got something as a present for his sister. If you happen to be in the neighborhood of Dunkirk (Dunkerque), she has a shop in Saint Pol sur mer. Here’s the address:

Babeth Bijoux55 rue de la République59430 Saint Pol sur mer03-28-64-30-10

Edit from spring 2011: Babeth Bijoux has an online shop on Dawanda! You can buy her cute pieces of jewellery here: http://fr.dawanda.com/shop/Babeth-Bijoux

Butterfly bracelet

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A small bracelet I made to go with my 50′s dress for the wedding. I actually made it in the train when we went to the wedding place! ^^;

At first I was thinking of making a few golden butterflies to decorate my outfit. But with time passing and the dress not being finished as soon as I had planned, i decided to do without the handmade brooches. But the butterfly theme and gold color stuck with me. I found in an accessory shop a thin golden headband with a tiny butterfly on it to put in my hair. But I had an idea for a bracelet, and I really wanted to make it myself to be sure to have what I wanted. I wanted it thin and delicate, so the big silk butterfly was out of the question! Then I thought of the metal butterfly from La Droguerie that I used for the “spring set“. They didn’t have any in gold but they had it in brass, which is close enough to be okay. I added a thin chain and a few white perls, and here it was, just as I imagined it!

I really like this bracelet and I wore it several times since I made it. ^_^

Materials: butterfly and all metal parts = la Droguerie ; pearls = Rayher

A small note

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Sorry I didn’t write the past weeks, I have things to say but sad things happened and I wasn’t really on a writing mood.

To get slowly back, I wanted to add a side note about pattern Simplicity 2101: the ties at the shoulders are “fake”. They’re not part of the yoke, you just tie them on top. In the first picture I showed of the dress, it is shown without ties.

The good thing about this: you get two tops in one, since you can wear it with or without the ties. And you can use them to make sure your bra straps won’t show, since you can catch them in the ribbon and ties them to the yoke. I find it very useful with such a wide neckline.

The bad thing: I find they have a tendency to move (go too much to the back or the front of the dress) and untie themselves. I had to move them back or retie them several times during the day.

I like it better with them, especially since my yoke is not perfect at the shoulder seams. ^^;