Old Sewing Projects

I finally started back at sewing again. These past few months have been pretty nuts for me and some of my music stuff has squeezed out some of the time that I would use for sewing. I got to thinking about some of my old sewing projects as I started cutting the denim for the pair of jeans that I have started. I debated whether anyone would be interested in seeing some of the older projects. During the pandemic shutdowns, I had started posting some of my ongoing sewing projects and there were quite a few people who found my projects to be really interesting. So, I thought, maybe this would be a topic of interest for this week's blog post.

Since we are talking about my older projects, it is pretty evident that I did not just start sewing during the pandemic. I started sewing as a kid. My mother had patterns for doll clothes and I would use the family’s old clothing as my fabric shop and would cut the doll clothes from those. I initially started sewing by hand, gradually graduating to using her 1970 Singer sewing machine. Then, I hit the teen years, and it all came to an end - until I graduated with my masters degree. For a graduation present, my parents gave me my own sewing machine. It was a Janome Gold that worked like a dream. So, while I was working to get established in my engineering career with limited excess funds, on the weekends, I would spend $10 at the fabric shop and spend the entire weekend re-learning those skills from childhood.

I have lost track of all my projects over the years. Of course, I no longer even have all the clothing that I have made. Some have hit the garbage bin and some have been relegated to the Salvation Army for redistribution. However, I do still have some that I could not bear to part with even though I am no longer the same size or the same shape as when these were initially created. Perimenopause, coupled with a demanding office job, was a killer for my figure, unfortunately.

To showcase some of these projects, I will be using my dress form, who I affectionately refer to as Miss Dottie, for obvious reasons. Miss Dottie is adjustable and is normally used at larger settings these days, but unlike myself, I can dial her down to my old self for demonstration purposes.

Most of what I’m going to show here in this blog were ones that were created by using patterns from McCalls or Vogue. It has only been in the last 5 years that I started drafting my own patterns. As for McCalls and Vogue, those two pattern companies seemed to have had patterns at the time that required minimal adjustment for me, and I typically liked the clothing designs that they had available. Of course, those pattern companies have long since been relegated to new owners and the patterns are now discontinued. I still have them in my stash and they have become just as priceless as gold for me.

Project #1 - Corset Style Tank Top

The first one(s) that I want to talk about are the corset style tank tops that I made back in the mid 2000s. I can’t be sure of the year any more, but I think it was about 2005-2006? I do remember making them in my apartment in Port Hope, Ontario. I actually made 3 of these. The first one was made of taffeta and I no longer have it in my possession. The taffeta one was made in 2004, and that one I do know for sure. These were made with a McCall’s pattern.

After the taffeta one, I made the next one with the blue and silver brocade, which is shown here. I still love this fabric. I think it is stunning. These have a side zip to put on and off.

When I was making this one, I struggled with the grommets. I ended up punching holes in my table. Oops. So, all the grommets were done outside on my concrete deck after that. At the time I bought this fabric, I also saw this lovely pink. I couldn’t decide, so I bought some of both. Here is the pink version.

Project #2 - My Music Shirt I think of all my former projects, this, to me, looks the most fun. I was wandering through the Fabricland in Pembroke, Ontario and saw several bolts of fabric with similar motifs. There were a few that were white with black designs and a few that were black with white designs. I picked out this one. It is 100% cotton and came from the quilting cottons section. Just because they say it is quilting cotton, it does not mean that you can’t go and make some thing fun with it!! If I recall correctly, I bought the fabric in the summer of 2007. The pattern that I used was one for a western style shirt that McCalls had. I used to wear this over the top of t-shirts and tank tops. This was one that I wore a lot.

I remember wearing the shirt and walking into the fabric shop a year or two after I had bought the fabric. One of the ladies working in the store was surprised to see it made up as a shirt. She commented that she would not have thought of making a garment from the fabric.

This is definitely one of my favourite pieces of all time. And it does sadden me that I’m no longer able to wear it. However, I refuse to say that I will never be able to wear it again!!

Project #3 - Blue Formal Gown The next two projects that I am going to show are formal gowns that I have made. When I was putting these gowns onto Miss Dottie, I was really taken aback by how small I was once upon a time. Miss Dottie at her smallest is almost too big for the dress! In my 30s, I was very active and I was very conscious of my diet and to say I was fit and ripped was not a lie.

This gown was made from a Vogue pattern. I still love this gown and think it is stunning. I bought the fabric at the Fabricland in Pembroke, Ontario. The Fabricland in Pembroke had the best selection of formal and bridal fabrics. I loved shopping there. With CFB Petawawa nearby, formalwear was required for some of the parties and events that the military held, from what I could glean from the conversations in the store. This fabric was a discontinued colour, so I got it at a pretty decent price. It is also a crepe back satin.

This dress does have a bit of a train on it. My one regret about the making of this one is that I left it a little too long. I had made it with the thought that I would wear it with 3.5” heels, and so it is ridiculously long.

So, why did I make this dress? I think it was about 2008 when I made it. At the time I was asked if I would be interested in being a soloist for one of the local orchestras. It ended up not happening, but it made me realise that I did not have anything in my closet for such an occasion. And really, every woman should have a gown in their closet, right???

The other notable thing about this dress is that it was my first ever use of a hidden zipper. This dress has a side zipper that required me to use an invisible zipper foot for the installation. This was definitely a memorable project and required a ton of work. Needless to say, it is still in my closet despite the fact that it is many, many sizes too small for me now.

Project #4 - Fuschia Formal Gown

I made this gown in 2012. This one is made from a very light stretch satin. This is not a gown to be worn when it is -40 C outside. I made sure that I did not make the same mistake with the length that I did with the blue one. I bought the fabric for this one at Fabricville in Charlottetown, PEI. I believe the pattern is also a Vogue pattern that I got out of the clearance bin at the Fabricland in Pembroke, Ontario. I think I paid like $1 for the pattern. I think it is a gorgeous dress.

This one has no zipper, it has enough stretch to slide over the shoulders and other bits. As you can tell from how it sits on Miss Dottie, it is quite low cut for both front and back.

I love gowns. I have only made the two of them, and currently, there are no gowns in my closet. I do have long skirts that will work in a pinch, but no actual gowns. I do have fabric in my stash that would work and I do have patterns from Vogue that I could use as well. These projects tend to be very detailed and take a lot of time. Maybe something to consider for this winter?? We shall see.

Project #5

The last one that I will talk about in this blog is my wrap skirt collection. I am only going to show two of them here. I had a thing for making wrap skirts as I liked to wear them when the summer got hot and sticky in Ontario. These were easy to make and I always made them out of cotton with bold prints and colours. I usually wore them with a plain top. It didn’t seem right not to have a t-shirt on Miss Dottie as she modelled these, so I found a t-shirt from my drawer to put on her.

I believe that these were from a McCalls pattern. They were my general default for most clothing, as I had mentioned. The blue flowered one was one that I had made when I was living in Port Hope, Ontario. I am not entirely sure of the year, but it could be between 2004 and 2006. The other tie dye batik was made when I was living in Deep River, Ontario. I believe that I made it in 2008 or 2009.

Both of these skirts came to just above the knee. I found these to be comfortable to wear and I got a ton of wear out of them.

Conclusion

I hoped you enjoyed looking at some of my old sewing projects. In one sense, it is a shame that I don’t have more. However, between multiple moves and limited closet space, it is just not possible to keep everything. I must say though, that with the added effort of doing my own design work now, it is even more difficult to part ways with a project.

With that, I must get back to my current project. 🙂