Showing posts with label 50s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 50s. Show all posts

Thursday, October 4, 2012

The Novelty of It All


Talk about thrift store scores! I recently purchased two very kitchy, very cute cocoa colored novelty prints at my favorite resale shop a few weeks apart.

 The subject of the first novelty print is bowling.
4 yards of 35" cotton.


Back in the 50s when I suspect this fabric was made,
bowling was HUGE!


Need confirmation that it was the 50s?
Check out the names on the scorecard.
Charles, Alec, George, Tom and Bob...
...could have been one of my dad's leagues back in the day!


 The second novelty print depicts outer space.
Almost 2 yards - 38" wide.
Probably meant for curtains or comforter with the huge repeats.


 The first lunar expedition.
Little did they know the actual first lunar landing
was less than 20 years away!


 Spacewalking with satellite equipment.


 Piecing the space station back together?


 Looks like an Estes toy rocket.


 Another 50s fabric for sure.  Check out the diagram.
I think I need a frenetic stabilizer or a dual magneto. 


 Forget about NASA - we were the United States Space Force!
 Happy landing!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sweet Fabric

Bought some vintage plisse fabric the other day.

 Love the dancing Pennsylvania Dutch people... loads of that one. 

 Along with those, I bought a one yard piece of this sweet little baby print.
It is only 34" wide.  I'd say 50s or probably earlier.  Love the characters.
Love the use of the gingham pattern in everything.

 Humpty Dumpty

 Lamb

 Wiener Dog

Kitty Cat

Chick?  Duckling?
Webbed feet say duck - beak seems to say chick.
How about a combo... chuckling!
(Wouldn't want to try it the other way...)

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

June Would Be Proud

No, I admit I'm no June Cleaver, but there's just something about an apron.  I always fancy myself sporting one while I cook and bake, but I never actually do.  I even have cute vintage examples hanging on a hook in my kitchen, but if I was honest I'd have to admit they're more for decoration.  

In my fabric stash, I must have 50 vintage aprons - mostly bought for the fabric and usually in various stages of wear.  Recently though, I found two aprons in absolute mint condition that I couldn't possibly cut into.

They go over-the-head, almost like dresses.

Pristine and starched 50s era beauties.  Never used.

The best part are the details like rick rack trim and the stitched twice over top stitching.  Even as cute as they are, I tell myself that I'm a believer in form following function so I'm determined to overcome past practice and wear the apple one, get it dirty, wash it, use it.  Channel June.  Think June.  BE JUNE!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Mod and Feminine

These old Butterick patterns I recently bought are speaking to me.  

I'm still feeling the mod vibe... don't you just love that attached belt that goes around back criss-crossing and buttoning?  I think when I make it, I'll scoop the neck just a little more... maybe.  What do you think?  Solid color or all over floral?  Texture?  Two fabrics?

At the same time, I'm also feeling a bit of the wistful femininity of the crinoline puffed and fluffed skirts and dresses of the early 60s.  Love that midriff that gets wider at the side seams.  I want to make this in a crisp white cotton with orange border print flowers - maybe an exposed orange metal zipper going right down the back.  I'd also choose the diagonal overlapped front and put three jeweled buttons for closure?  Or maybe three funky orange shaped buttons...  Hmmm... thinking... thinking...

The good news is I'm almost ready to crank the sewing machines up... in their new location - my bedroom - for the summer.  Just a last bit of organizing and set up yet to finish.  Can't wait!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Moo Moo? Caftan? Housedress?

I've been working on folding this week's shelf of vintage fabric in the sewing room - blue.   I cannot believe the fabric that I have and I still can't believe that there are so many pieces I've forgotten about. Here's one.
I thought it was just some cotton yardage - 35" wide.  Then I opened it up.  
It had embroidery all over it.
It's one of those pre-printed fabrics or the transfer was ironed on by the original owner.  I don't know when I got this, but the width of the fabric would suggest it dates anywhere from the late 30s to the early 50s - before I was born - thank you very much.  I'm guessing 1950s.  Someone did all that embroidery, but never made it up.
There's enough fabric here to make a fairly long dress/moo moo.  
What would it turn out like?  And there's enough leeway to change it up a bit.  It could have a round neck or a v-neck.  It could be belted or not.  Sleeves seem sort of set.  Hmmm...  Should I sew it up?  How can I update it to make it fresh and trendy?  Any ideas from you fashionistas out there?

Monday, April 5, 2010

Shelf of the Week - Pink

Shelves of fabric, sort of sorted by color, make up my sewing room.  
Black, red/purple, pink, yellow, cream, white, green, brown, and gray all have designated shelves.  What a mess.  I haven't refolded my fabric in years and years, yet I've pulled pieces out and jammed yardage back in over and over.   Lately, I've been trying to organize my sewing room.  You may remember the great closet makeover of last fall.  Well, I'm still working at the rest of the room.  My kids are all coming home (in three weeks- tick, tick, tick) from BYU to spend the summer here - even my oldest son, Lars and his wife, Spring.  (Yes, Spring's coming this spring!)  Lars and Spring need a place to crash for a few months until they leave for a year-long trip to China in August.   So, they are taking the sewing room and I am moving creative operations into my bedroom over the summer.   Anyway, my supplies need to be in order to make room for them.

To keep me on the straight and narrow and provide accountability, I'm going to tackle a shelf per week and blog the highlights along the way... starting with pink.  
Now I don't have a "before" picture because I folded the shelf before I decided to blog about it.  So all you get is the "after" and the highlights of the pink shelf.  There will always be highlights.  Actually, I must have a terrible memory because I keep finding fabrics I had forgotten all about.  Blame it on school board.
Here are some pink barkcloth highlights.  For those of you who are not familiar with barkcloth, it was a heavy weight, textured cloth in fashion from the 30s-50s mostly used for draperies.  My personal favorite here is the lower left barkcloth with the turquoise geraniums and salmon colored cafe curtains.  Based on everything I have learned and read, the middle pale, textured one (I suspect) is the oldest piece - from the 30s.
Next are the pink tablecloths - mostly from the 50s.
These are yardages - all in widths of less than 40" indicating they were produced before the 1950s.  I've got at least 5 yards of the one on the lower right with the roses on dusty pinky peach.  It's soft and supple.  What piece of clothing would you make with it?
And we can't forget the bright and fun colors of mid century fabrics!  Lower left is a mod apron.  Upper left is fabric pre-printed for cafe curtains - yards and yards and yards with cut lines, directions and all.  Lower right is a polished cotton also only about 40" wide.  Gotta love the pinks!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Good Design is Always Classic

After Keaton's band concert last night I ended up in my sewing room pulling fabric off of shelves and dreaming up pillow ideas.  It was fun, but I stayed up too late and at one point one of my shelf brackets pulled out of the wall from the weight of the fabric and I was stranded there not wanting to wake anyone up by a falling board so I was holding the board up with one hand and pulling fabric off of it with the other.  (By the way, Larry if you're reading my blog - add that to your fixit list.)

Anyway, I lost track of time as I began to uncover fabrics that I didn't even remember having.  What was really interesting was realizing how my tastes have changed with the trends.  How does that happen?  I still love my old favorites, but the fabrics that are drawing my eye the most these days were my least favorites 20 years ago when I had my business - Vintage Generations.  It's like a new car that looks so cool at first, but slowly as we are introduced to new shapes, lines and colors, what was once the latest thing eventually looks out dated.  Maybe "out dated" isn't the best word to use when describing vintage fabric because they're all "out dated" so to speak.  Oh well, what am I trying to say?  Eventually, everything old is new again.  And good design is always classic.  And tastes change.

Twenty years ago I couldn't get enough big, romantic floral barkcloth and cottons like these from my collection:
 
  
 
I also have hoards of fruit fabrics like this:
I still love those fabrics.  The florals represent my love of the shabby chic roses of the 40s and the fruit shows my love of all things bright, charming and 50s.  But these days my eye is drawn to the following vintage fabrics from my collection:
 
I used to really dislike this one - not enough flowers.
Ditto.  (no flowers)  Love it now.
 
This one has flowers, but wasn't cabbage rose-ish enough.  
Now I like the bright sort of paisley swirls.
This barkcloth - so atomic - gold highlights and all.
I really love this one now - so mod.
I used to strongly dislike this fabric - but now I actually like the simplicity of the calligraphic line.  Each of those medallions is about 12" long.  (I know it's hard to tell size by a photo.)
Or how about this one?  Love it now.  20 years ago?  Not so much.
I have a small stash of VERY 60s flower power fabric.  This is one that I have at least five yards of.  To show you the size of those flowers, check out my computer mouse in the upper left.  Very graphic.

So, what do you think of my fabric?  Where do your tastes fall these days?
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