Sunday, April 03, 2011

Vintage Simplicity 4657 - skirt!

I finished my skirt, the sun came out, I had cute shoes...time for photos!


Here the illustration for Simplicity 4675, a vintage pattern from the 50s:
I really just used the skirt pattern piece for length measurements (plus, I had to shorten due to limited fabric!)

This cute dotty fruit print has been in my stash just over a year, but I bought it on ebay and I can't find another piece of it anywhere!  It's by Darlene Zimmerman (? I may be butchering that) and was part of the "Clothesline Club" in 2007 per the selvedge. 



It's just your basic dirndl skirt, but I love it.  It's swishy and poufy.  Maybe shows a bit too much knee, especially on a windy day, but I have a vintage crinoline/petticoat on the sewing table right now being "altered" to fit me.  It's RED polkadot lace and will be perfect peeking out at the knee. 

I stitched the hem in red:


No pockets yet, but as someone pointed out to me, I can always add them later!  I did cut them out, so I'll just stash the pockets away.  They may look cute on a different skirt at some point in the future too!

My red bow ballerina flats are from Target:


I have them in black too!

That about sums up the sewing for the week  (I sewed on one hook/eye and a button).  We had Saturday school to make up for snow. Blech.  But now we're on the downhill slide to summer...can you feel it??  I can!

One more swishy vintage skirt picture...


Enjoy this beautiful, sunny Sunday!

28 comments:

  1. Super-cute skirt - I love that gorgeous retro print, just right for this style. And your shoes are very cute!!

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  2. Very cute! Who wouldn't feel good in shoe like that with a yummy skirt like yours! You inspire me to be more feminine. My little girls would love it.

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  3. What better skirt for summer then polka dotted fruit? It's really darling on you and the red bowed flats are the perfect finishing touch. Great job!!!

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  4. I can't think of much that screams summer more than the adorable fruit print paired with rich red and sunny yellow. Such a cheerful outfit!

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  5. Ummm - I don't know what you speak of when you say it shows too much knee - even with your leg bent in that last photo I can't see your knees!

    the skirt is great and your motivating me to step away from the computer and go sew.

    Oh - and the shoes? Fabulous. I didn't see anything nearly that cute at Target on Friday - but i did buy new rainboots. g

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  6. Definitely not too much knee- especially with a sweet little cardigan you can definitely afford to show off just a touch.

    The pockets would look cute on another skirt, I love surprise pocket lining!

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  7. Anonymous4:50 PM

    Oh how pretty ! fabric(to die for) and pattern are made for eachother, as is the sweet shoes and lovely sweater. A perfect vintage ensemble.

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  8. what awesome colors! The shoes are a great touch!

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  9. Really cute skirt...now I may need to re-think my May sewing projects...Adorable shoes too!!!

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  10. Awesome skirt! I love the whole outfit- it looks fabulous on you!

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  11. Cute skirt! How did you manage to have just the right yellow sweater to go with it? Oh, and Dorothy, click those shoes together!

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  12. So cute, the print is darling and the shoes great.

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  13. Oh my goodness... that print is darling!!! YES for some red lace peeking out at the hem--it would look so snappy for spring! :) And I love your bow flats too.

    ♥ Casey

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  14. I am REALLY lovin you in the cute fluffy skirts! MORE!

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  15. Super cute Angie! I love it... and your shoes!!!!

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  16. Cute! LOVE those shoes!

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  17. Cute, cute! Have a wonderful week, friend.

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  18. Saturday school?! That really sucks! I just love his skirt! It's so adorable and I think the length is just right. I can't wait to see the petticoat. When you mention red, lace, and polkadots in one sentence I sorta swoon. lol!

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  19. Love it! Please, show us the petticoat when you finish!

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  20. You carry off this look so well. I agree that the shoes are a bit special too.

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  21. Beautiful job...love the red shoes!

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  22. So, like me, when you like a pair of shoes you buy them in 2 different colour? Women, always mad about shoes ;-) !!

    B.

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  23. Cute skirt in a great print with fabulous red shoes!

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  24. Just discovered your blog! I love this outfit. Am I right in saying that a skirt like this can be made with two rectangles of fabric, sewn together and gathered at the top?

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    1. Hi Blacey! YES!! Essentially it is exactly that...two (really wide) rectangles for the skirt front and back and then gathered to a narrow one for the waistband. I don't even use a pattern anymore. I used this one to get the length correct and now I just "tear" or cut two rectangles. For the waistband, I measure my waist (comfortably tight, I sew mainly natural fibers and they will relax a little throughout the day). I add about 3 inches to that measurement for wiggle room and seam allowances. That's the length of the waistband piece. For the width (how wide the waistband is) I usually go with a finished waistband of 1.5 inches, because I like it a little narrower. So double that and add 1 inch for seam allowances (I usually sew with 1/2 or 3/8 inch s/a). Hope that helps!

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  25. Hi, thanks for replying! The details are very helpful. I just started sewing this year, mainly because I am so sick of the dearth of options for someone my size, and I'm finding sewing my own clothes so liberating and not to mention fun! I've made a couple of circle skirts, but I find it's a lot of fabric, both to buy and to wear (it can be heavy). I had no clue what a dirndl skirt was until I saw this post. I'm definitely putting it on my project list. Thanks for the info, it really helps!

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