Zipper insertion, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the fastener

Zippers are hard to insert. Yes it's true. So if you fear them or avoid them altogether you are not alone. But you can learn to love them, or at least live with them.

There are a million blog posts and Youtube videos out there telling or showing you how to insert a zipper. You can read and watch them all, but really one or two will do because the best way to learn is to just do it. Lots. And in a garment too, preferably one that's sturdy enough to take a lot of unpicking. Practising on scraps is fine too, but you won't really be replicating the terror that is an almost finished dress (all that fabric! all those seams that need to line up! and yards of fabric to keep out of the way!). Suddenly what seemed easy in calico/muslin just ratchetted up a factor of 10.

So, my advice is don't avoid zippers, and don't beat yourself up about them - they will get easier with practice.

What else can help? Having just taught some lovely students (who were sewing up a storm until we hit the zippers) I realised part of it is just the associated fear, but these tips may help:

1. Get really good at sewing straight first. If you are having trouble sewing a straight line on a normal seam, you're in trouble.
2. Try a lapped insertion - I find it much easier than the standard centre seam style, and it's a beautiful retro finish. In fact, I think I'll post some instructions on this soon....
3. Go slow and hand-baste at every step! We all love to get it done fast, but I find that as soon as I start thinking "this is going swimmingly well! I should be done in no time!" - as soon as I think that I make a stupid mistake that sees me spend the next half hour unpicking...

Vintage patterns often just say 'insert zipper according to instructions on the packet'...ummm what packet? They don't come in packets anymore and definitely not with instructions! Modern vintage repro patterns aren't much help either as they generally instruct you to do a centre seam insertion - which is not terribly vintage nor easy in my book. The best instructions I've found are in vintage sewing books, so try and find one published around the time of the patterns you like to make.

Zippers can be beautiful and because they are difficult, you'll be so proud of the ones that work well. So don't give up!

What's your zipper tip?

To blog or not to blog?

I wonder if blogging is really for me? I see a lot of sewing bloggers have made an enormous success of their craft through making it public, but I'm not sure if being public is really for me. At least not the personal/public of blogging.

First, I get too engrossed in my sewing to be able to take photos as I go along - hmmm, that's something I might need to work on!

Second, I don't like posting pictures of myself online.

I do love sewing, and I do love sharing that passion with others! So I'll keep teaching, and sewing and thinking about whether to blog or not.

Meantime, here are some pics of things I've sewn, that I could've written soulful posts about, but I'll just let the clothes speak for themselves...

Just look at that pattern matching! This is Butterick 5209, in a Balinese cotton.

This is gorgeous vintage fabric, reminds me of a Raoul Dufy painting. The skirt is Simplicity 4303.

Simply stylish - with huge pockets to boot!

See, this is what I'm talking about you guys. No one in a tracksuit ever looked this good.

Today over at Out of the Ashes Collectibles, you can buy this two-piece house dress ensemble. It's like an apron and an outfit all in one. Its cute, its comfy and flattering. When did we stop caring what we looked like inside our own home? Well, dumb question I guess - right about the time we discovered the comforts of polyester and elastic waistbands. But it wasn't all bad, see?

Bring back the house dress. I'm sure housework is a breeze in one of these, right?

Dream dress - "for dinner and dancing"

That's what the label said, and this dress did plenty of that! I was lucky enough to meet the original owner who told me it was part of her trousseau when she was married, and she loved it so much she could never part with it. The skirt was voluminous by itself, and she wore it with a 40 yard petticoat - 40 yards!

 

This gown was made from shot taffeta, with a blue, pink and magenta colour through it. Then covered in organza pleats and overskirt. The dropped waist created a killer waist shaping. Luckily the inside lining needed repair too, meaning I could get a good look at the insides - it was interlined with a heavy calico, almost canvas-like. That's some serious structure, without much boning.

It was a privilege to send this beautiful gown back into the world again with a little TLC (and a replaced zipper). This woman's mother had worn it when she was 21 in 1956 and now her daughter will wear it, and then pass it on to her own daughter.

McCalls M5591 - summer skirt

So, I fell in love with this white broderie anglais skirt by Jigsaw. I have some similar fabric in my stash and I am currently obssessed with piping. It's hard to see in the picture, but the yoke and pockets are piped in white satin.

I found a pattern that was pretty close to the Jigsaw skirt - McCalls 5591. By this time I was distracted by another similar skirt I saw on Pinterest with box pleats and horizontal stripes, which seem to be everywhere on the web lately.

The awning skirt

Wouldn't you know it - I have some vintage fabric just like this in my stash too! It's more of a cornflower blue, in a one inch stripe, in a beautifully stiff cotton with a touch of sheen to the surface. (I keep calling them stripes but my husband corrects me that officially (in sporting uniform terms) horizontal stripes are really 'hoops'!)

Now the dilemma, which one to make? I decided to do both of course, but started with the hoops first as a test version. Not that I don't love it just as much, but I want my white embroidered version to be perfect and a lot can go wrong with piping (though not if you concentrate).

So here's version one - it's view one of the pattern, with soft released pleats. I just piped the pockets and am really happy with how they turned out.



My version of the awning skirt - McCalls M5591

 Working with stripes can be finicky, even big ones like these. You just have to pay more attention at all steps - cutting, pinning, seam stitching, zipper insertion. I'm not sure I made the right choice with the stripe placement on the yoke, but I can live with it. That was a tricky element because the yoke is curved and it's hard to picture where the stripe will end up near the side seam once its all sewn together.

Now I feel ready to take on the broderie anglaise version - guess who's spending this weekend making white satin piping?

Custom-made mid-century fashion - is it cheating?

I had a real moment of clarity this year - about vintage fashion and how I wished I could wear it more often. I have to admit that for everyday wear, vintage just isn't that comfortable compared to modern clothing, not when you sit in an office most of the day. Finding quality vintage professional-looking items in good enough condition that would fit well and stand up to being worn at least once a week just is not that easy.

Pre-loved clothing is, well, wearing out, and wearing it regularly isn't going to help its longevity either. I learned that the hard way in a lovely black eyelet wiggle dress that was just perfect for the office. After about 5 outings, the fabric just gave way. It had been so weakened by its age and previous wear.

So discovering the world of vintage sewing was a real moment for me. I could make things in my size, in my choice of fabric and make little tweaks for comfort too. And what's not authentic about that? That's what our grandmothers were doing - making their own, from the very same patterns I'm now collecting! As long as I make good fabric choices its as good as the real thing - heck it IS the real thing!

I hunt down good quality fabrics, even vintage ones when I can. I buy up vintage notions when I come across them (zippers, buttons, deam binding, piped cording) and I take my time to make a good quality handmade garment with proper vintage techniques. To me, that's just as authentic as a garment made in the actual 1950s. While it's true we don't always have the same fabric choices, there are some amazing retro prints around and some great online vintage fabric stores to explore.

I'll still buy actual vintage when I see something I can't live without (usually something I'd never have the patience to sew myself!). Sewing my own helps the skill to stay alive, while I create an authentic wardrobe of wearable items that suit my lifestyle.

How do you see vintage sewing? Is it 'cheating' to a vintage enthusiast? Do you consider it an authentic way to express a love for vintage style?

A dress made of dresses?

If you were a fan of Seinfeld, you'll remember Kramer's coffee table book about coffee tables, that turns into a coffee table. And I had a similar thought when I saw this adorable fabric on fabric.com.

Would it be too crazy to make a 50s shirtwaist dress out of this?