2024 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PipneyJane

thriftwizard said:

Um - warp yarn for a loom? Cotton, 200g cones, x 2 at present but a 3rd (possibly even a 4th) will be needed. Not sure whether there'd be a coupon cost; I'm doing a "weaving New from Old" workshop at the end of the month, so have been practising warping up an old table loom and weaving with rags on that, and DD2 has caught sight of the result & wants to have a go herself, so I've warped up the knitter's loom for her to try it out. I doubt people would have been weaving for fun back in the day, but they might have been for their own clothing & household textiles, if absolutely necessary.

@thriftwizard isn’t the workshop part of your War Work?  We’ll presume that the  warping cotton should have been provided by the Ministry and that they will reimburse you your coupons.

- Pip 

Gem-gem

Good evening, 
And another person here who prefers Joan Hickson's version of Miss Marple. I was over the moon when I could get these on BritB0x. I love hearing the old ticking clocks in the programmes, they remind me of my grandmas sitting room and transports me back in time. 

No recent spends to declare.

Laura_Elsewhere

PipneyJane said:

@Laura_Elsewhere, if you could that would be wonderful!  I just wanted to share a shot showing the front of the suit, including the pockets and number of buttons, so that people could see what I was lusting after.  There’s a scene where Lucy walks into the drawing room and is introduced to the remaining members of the family - I think that’s where you get a face-on, full-length shot of her suit.

Totally agree re Hickson, McKenzie and Margaret Rutherford.  The GmcE ones were produced by someone who didn’t understand the world in which Miss Marple grew up, the impact of the 1 million men killed in WW1, the massive “surplus” of women, etc.  I’ve always assumed Miss Marple was a contemporary of Agatha Christie and had lost her beloved on the Western Front.  I have a very vague memory that he is actually mentioned at some point, but I haven’t read many Marple books, so it’s probably something mentioned in one of the films and not true.  I don’t know how much of her backstory is really mentioned, let alone explored.

(IRL, I play Miss Marple in a long running game of Cthulhu currently set in 1930.  My Dr Marple is 34, a graduate of Oxford, and an Egyptologist with a PhD in archeology.  During the Great War, she was a VAD nurse in France.  It’s taken us over a decade to get from 1928 to 1930 in game time.). 

- Pip

I love your Dr Marple! And of course she would have to be a graduate from Oxford as they started granting degrees to women in 1920 whereas Cambridge refused to grant degrees to women until after the second war, 1948 iirc. They took the fees, of course, but women received nothing at the end of their studies, and a family friend recalled sitting in a lecture room in the 1930s with several other women students, the lecturer walked in, glanced at them and then said, "since there is nobody here, I shan't deliver my lecture" and walked out... there was no requirement for essays or exams to be marked for women students, either. I can't imagine the patience required not to scream like a fishwife under that kind of treatment... 

Is it this suit? Annoyingly, the shots are actually all quite dark... hip-length jacket with slant-set single-welt pockets, straight fitted below-knee skirt with (I think) kick-pleats at the centre-back? 

PipneyJane

Yes, it’s that suit @Laura_Elsewhere.  Isn’t it lovely?  Thank you for the screenshots.  The skirt is definitely kick-pleated.

Now, if only I could find a decent pattern along those lines, I’d make it.  (I have 4+ metres of black suiting stashed away.). Sadly, my last venture into the pattern department at J Lewis was quite disappointing.  Virtually no patterns for co-ordinates; none for suits.  Everything was terribly casual.  (That was 2022.). Does anyone know a pattern company that reprints/sells vintage patterns?  

Ideally, I’d want to make a capsule wardrobe set:  jacket, skirt and trousers.  (Speaking of which, somewhere on Pinterest I found a link to a PDF’d  How To Guide for capsule wardrobes.  I keep forgetting to share it.  Not certain how good it is, since I still had lymphoma brain when I downloaded it and haven’t attempted to work my way through it.)

- Pip

PipneyJane

On a completely different note, here is the collar of my soon-to-be-sewn-up new jumper.  



Can you see a colour difference? I can’t. Once side of the neck and half of the back are knitted in the new dye lot, while the front - with the stitch marker - was knitted in the original.  I used all but a couple of metres of yarn from the original dye lot, including my re-using my swatch, before swapping to the new ball.

Now to sew it on, etc.

- Pip

potplant

I can't see any difference at all, and it's a lovely colour!

Laura_Elsewhere

PipneyJane said:

Yes, it’s that suit @Laura_Elsewhere.  Isn’t it lovely?  Thank you for the screenshots.  The skirt is definitely kick-pleated.

Now, if only I could find a decent pattern along those lines, I’d make it.  (I have 4+ metres of black suiting stashed away.). Sadly, my last venture into the pattern department at J Lewis was quite disappointing.  Virtually no patterns for co-ordinates; none for suits.  Everything was terribly casual.  (That was 2022.). Does anyone know a pattern company that reprints/sells vintage patterns?  

Ideally, I’d want to make a capsule wardrobe set:  jacket, skirt and trousers.  (Speaking of which, somewhere on Pinterest I found a link to a PDF’d  How To Guide for capsule wardrobes.  I keep forgetting to share it.  Not certain how good it is, since I still had lymphoma brain when I downloaded it and haven’t attempted to work my way through it.)

- Pip

You want 'Vintage Vogue' - it isn't listed in the JL website, but it has been a seciton in the big pattern books for a few decades now so if you're able to get to a sewing shop you might find it. OR you can explore the Etsy sellers and eBay too, although they may be far more expensive...

I have a couple of vintage suit patterns, one reprint and one original, so if ever I am able to find my patterns-box again I can dig those out and you can borrow if they are suitable (suit-able, hee hee hee). 

I would track down a skirt-suit pattern and then you should be able to add any well-cut trousers pattern into the suit. Personally I think women's suits really benefit from a waistcoat as well. 

Example Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/280529394/40s-vintage-vogue-pattern-no-6305-fitted
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1614220475/1940s-vogue-tweed-skirt-suit-vintage?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=vogue+suit+1940s+1950s+patterns&ref=sr_gallery-1-18&frs=1&local_signal_search=1&content_source=7c1c581c97265e27131eb6e7bf2522e2979fba19%3A1614220475&search_preloaded_img=1&organic_search_click=1

And I did find this in JL - https://www.johnlewis.com/vogue-womens-suit-sewing-pattern-1132/p1509062 - but no longer available- but a quick google turned it up in Etsy https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1661278662/vogue-v1132-wardrobe-suit-sewing-pattern

So maybe just search for the pattern you want, and then just keep checking eBay and Etsy until you find that specific pattern?

Given your experience, you could also look at self-drafting the pattern - Mrs Depew sells paper patterns, original and repro, and the PDF sort you print out and tape together, and she does DAH (Draft At Home) patterns, but on top of that she sells these which could be ideal for you... I think you probably want to explore her entire stock from 1940s, 1950s and 1960s... 
https://mrsdepew.com/shop/ols/products/haslam-dresscutting-book-annual-no-41-1962-1963-vintage-sewing-pattern-e-book-with-25-pattern-draftings

PipneyJane

@Laura_Elsewhere thank you for sending me down a glorious rabbit hole. I’ve just lost an hour browsing the Vogue/Butterick/Simplicity/Burda/New Look patterns website.  Two pattterns have really caught my eye:  this modern one for the jacket and trousers, and a Vintage Vogue pattern from the 1950’s for the skirt. 

The MrsDepew site is also brilliant.  I could get lost for hours there.  Thanks for sending me there.

- Pip (now to mull over whether to spend the money…)



ETA:  I can buy both Vogue paper patterns for $15.98 plus $25 P&P.  (That’s £32.35 at today’s exchange rate.). It’s the $25 P&P that gobsmacks me.  I just don’t want to spend the money.

Laura_Elsewhere

@PipneyJane - they are gorgeous, aren't they?! 

If you do go ahead and make your capsule wardrobe, can I urge you reeeally strongly to consider the internal finishing as part of the design? 
Obviously, there's the lining- a bold lining in a flamboyant colour is fun but actually limits how and with what you can wear the suit... you could consider a really fabulous pattern in a neutral colourway so it is special but not proscriptive in a colour/shade way. What about a Liberty Tana Lawn design? Pure cotton, but so finely-woven of excellent quality that it really doesn't crumple to speak of, and a lovely smooth finish suitable for lining jacket-sleeves and so on. 

But also, things like hanging-loops, traditionally made from a dull dark neutral- I make mine from 1/4" velvet ribbon sewn onto 1/2" organza ribbon so the organza shows as a narrow edging either side of the velvet, sometimes toning and sometimes contrast - it's great fun  

For jacket and if you do a waistcoat, I would definitely add a waist-stay internally- again, you can use something opulent if you like. It saves a LOT of strain on buttons and I always think a tailored jacket looks marvellous unbuttoned but with the waist-stay done up to just hold it nicely without any visible pull. 

Hems- if you do a bound hem, you can use 1/4" organza ribbon which adds no bulk but looks beautiful. And on trouser-hems you really can go to town with any colour you want. Also, bound edges on the long seams looks glorious- and easy and quick to do by machining up and down each pattern-piece's edges, quick press, and then do the seam, there y'go. 

Me, I'd be tempted to do a plain, neutral fine-wool in navy or charcoal, very serviceable, go with anything... and then do a complete Shanghai Tang on the inside, lining in panels of burnt-orange, pistachio-green, Schiaparelli-pink, pillarbox-red...! 
But equally you could use a caramel wool, or even a warm-toned linen for the suit, and line it in a subtle yet beautiful Liberty Tana Lawn design. 

dND

@PipneyJane I've used this company before and they've been good.  Sign up for their newsletter as they frequently have half-price sales on the patterns.  It's usually by brand so you might have to wait until it cycles through to the brand you want.

https://www.sewdirect.com/shop/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwn7mwBhCiARIsAGoxjaKv1jrm5eWeBvCT5KLSsNbpAqevgu2cSuDUvpqrRdAEVoVMeAwstiQaAiqPEALw_wcB&collection=vintage-patterns