The Sew Weekly Sewing Circle

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My Blog Has Moved!

     Instead of blogging here on the Sew Weekly Sewing Circle,  I will continue to be posting from here forward on my own domain "home".  You can find me at seamracer.com . Please visit me at this address and I hope you enjoy my "new look" as much as I.

     My new blog is user friendly, more personalized, and organized.  At the top menu page, my creations are now divided out by decades from the 20's to the 70's, with added…

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Added by Kelly B. on February 18, 2015 at 10:30pm — No Comments

"Tea for Two" - a Pair of Re-fashioned Cafe Aprons

     It's been a while since I've done my favorite type re-fashion: turning a skirt into an apron.  I can only go for so long before I feel the "need" to do a re-use and re-fashion project.  In 2013, a family member's birthday had given me the perfect reason to sew up a duo of 'skirt re-fashioned aprons' - one as a present to give away and one for myself. 

     These aprons are not your normal aprons.  They are super feminine, fun, and classy frilly kind which only add to whatever you…

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Added by Kelly B. on February 9, 2015 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Have You Ever Seen a Purple Snake?

     Your answer will be negative, no doubt, because...neither have I, and there really doesn't seem to be such a creature.  Somehow or another, nevertheless, there is a sweater knit fabric of a silver speckled purple snakeskin tunic dress in my closet.  Weird, right?  O.K., I might have introduced this dress on the wrong 'foot' (ha ha, snakes don't have feet...), but my garment really isn't all that bad.  

     The snakeskin dress was completed 3 years ago when my adventures in…

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Added by Kelly B. on February 9, 2015 at 12:46pm — No Comments

Groovy, Girl! My Squiggle Striped 1970 Sweater Dress

     I have a weak spot for funky, fun, and bold prints.  Perhaps it's the inner wild child that wants to have more fun with my fashion than I ever had the nerve for in my younger years.   Another weak spot in my love for fabric goes to cozy, easy-care sweater knits.  (I've used a similar fabric for this project.)  This post is about a dress that combines those two happy "weak spots"…

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Added by Kelly B. on January 31, 2015 at 8:03pm — No Comments

A "Wonderful Whiz-Wrap Skirt" in Wintertime Plaid

     As a warm weather loving gal, I can't think of anything that helps me get through the cold like being covered in a warm and cozy blanket.  This new vintage make of mine is simply a wearable version of that same toasty idea with my bottom half wrapped up in a plush cover.  The year 1956 provides a chic and streamlined style for sporting coat weight wool as a skirt and fighting off the frigid temperatures - my kind of combo!…

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Added by Kelly B. on January 26, 2015 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Silver Bells, Silver Brocade - It's Christmastime in the City

     Holiday parties, I'm ready for you!

      Now that I have made myself the perfect go-to fancy event dress, I am all decked out in sparkle and silver and geared up for fun.  My dress is vintage to boot, with a very surprising, sexy but demure design.  I look all unadventurous and streamlined from the front, but there is a bit 'va-va-voom' from behind...just wait, read on and see.  It's the time of year for surprises! …

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Added by Kelly B. on January 7, 2015 at 7:52pm — No Comments

Leaf Piling in Plaid

     Leaves can be the curse or the joy of the season of fall.  So also, plaid prints can be the bane or the delight of those who sew and work with fabric.  Either way, if you want to move on to other things, both have to dealt with at some point.  So why not enjoy leaves and plaid at the same time?

     I chose a simple shaped year 1928 Past Patterns reprint to make an earth-toned plaid dress perfect for fall's transitional weather. …

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Added by Kelly B. on December 27, 2014 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Wrapped in a Water Colored Dress

     Like a crystal which captures all the best of the colors of one's surroundings, my modern knit dress has a fabric which holds all the vibrant beauty of the hues for the season of Fall.  Smattering in easy, freehand strokes, the rich intensity of deep brown tones, notes of cranberry, with gratuitous colors of aqua and turquoise, fall in random placement like the dying leaves in my outdoor surroundings.  Maybe it's the painter in me, but I guess you can tell this water colored work of art…

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Added by Kelly B. on December 19, 2014 at 12:42pm — No Comments

The Highs and Lows of Reaching One Hundred

     When I joined the online sewing circle of Sew Weekly in mid-year 2012, I didn't realize then that I was embarking on a tremendous challenge.  Sewing every week, pushing one's limit's, teaching one's self new skills by accomplishment, and becoming 99% independent of all "ready-to-wear" (RTW) garments has been a very informative move that changes one's outlook and knowledge in ways never expected.  

     Beginning my counting after my first blog posting, here it is exactly two…

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Added by Kelly B. on December 12, 2014 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Gold Digging Like It's 1940...

     ...in the year 2014, courtesy of a Vintage Vogue pattern and some killer Hollywood style.  Not that I'm really gold digging - I have a hubby already.  My desire to try my hand at a couture classic/vintage suit set and my love for Busby Berkeley's movie "The Gold Diggers of 1937" were the dual impetus towards this lengthy…

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Added by Kelly B. on November 30, 2014 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Simple, Slim, and Sexy - a 1930's Basic Black Skirt

     Just because a skirt is vintage and a "go-with-everything" piece, doesn't mean it can't be a little hot number.  This project proves that point.

     What comes of my making some 1930's tops recently is also the need for a basic skirt to go on the bottom half.  This basic black skirt is the first to fill in that gap towards attaining a 30's wardrobe of separates which mix and match.  The great thing about my slim black 30's skirt is it has a wonderful family connection for me,…

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Added by Kelly B. on November 11, 2014 at 11:08pm — No Comments

Neutral Surrealism - a 1930's Inspired Tunic Top

      Apparently, some things that are black and white, also happen to be grey, too - such as my latest project circa 1930's.  To keep things abstract, my fabric's print is a swirling psychedelic floral, like a dream world painting from Salvatore Dali (one of my favorites).  It's the perfect weight for chilly weather yet still lightweight.  Surreal - isn't it?

     Soft and flowing, relaxed and cozy, but incredibly feminine are just a few adjectives to begin with when talking about my…

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Added by Kelly B. on November 4, 2014 at 10:59pm — No Comments

A 'Double-Duty' 1931 Day Dress

     This "new" vintage dress which I have recently made is an all-around transitional piece, in more ways than one.  It offers a print and fabric and colors all perfect for the varying temperatures of both fall and spring.  At the same time, as a vintage/historical garment, my dress is a mix of styles and fashion ideals which were used through three decades: the 20's, the 30's, and the 40's.  Wow...that's a lot to go into something to wear!  It might be unusual, and certainly different -…

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Added by Kelly B. on October 27, 2014 at 8:22pm — No Comments

'Lady in Lace' - an Early 1920's Tea Dress

     Amongst all the products in the world of fabric and textiles, there is nothing quite like lace which has stood through every century as an icon for everything about being feminine.  Lace especially meant more in the 20's, as a sort of compliment by contrast, when the silhouette of the era was straight and boyish but the fabric and trim used was supremely…

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Added by Kelly B. on October 8, 2014 at 12:26am — No Comments

Prohibition? Bah! Time for a Mid-20's Speakeasy Party Dress

     In the history of America, the thirteen years (1920 to 1933) during which citizens were meant to go dry from alcoholic liquids unintentionally became a time for much of the opposite to sobriety.  The era of the "flapper-and-gangster" cocktail drinking crowd was born, and flagrant law-breaking lived alongside the sober and those that loved fun times.

     I've always loved the history of the 1920's and 30's, but recently learned a whole lot more about what was going on in those…

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Added by Kelly B. on October 5, 2014 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Three Piece 1940's Pajama Set for My Hubby

     Comfy cozy night wear and lounging attire are oftentimes, for one reason or another, neglected from the sewn projects of busy seamstresses like myself.  Sewing such items in vintage...especially for men...is a whole other unexplored area in the sewing world.  Speaking from my own previous ideas, night and lounging wear are over-looked too often because the final item doesn't get worn out and about to be seen in public (unless you write a blog post about them!) and thus…

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Added by Kelly B. on September 22, 2014 at 5:53pm — No Comments

Assembling a 1920's Tux Ensemble: Part 1 - Buttoned Spats

     Having more 20s themed parties and events to attend, together with a great vintage find of an old tuxedo jacket and pants, has entailed my working towards putting together everything necessary to historically suit up my hubby like a "white tie" gentleman from the Jazz Age. 

     This post is "part 1" of what will more than likely be a total of three, maybe four, total increments to reach a complete 1920's Tuxedo ensemble.  The other parts will be the shirt (and collar), vest, and…

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Added by Kelly B. on August 29, 2014 at 9:00pm — No Comments

"Summer in the City..." the Burda Style Way

     Ah, yes...summer in the city, when it's hot out and the perfect time to sew up a new and bold, modern-styled shift dress.  Like my "grey T-shirt re-fashion" (the previous post), this dress was definitely another impulse project, fulfilling a dual 'need' of the moment - my desire for a new modern easy project, and my new found love for Burda Style patterns.…

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Added by Kelly B. on August 28, 2014 at 11:30am — No Comments

From "Plain" to "Pretty": My Grey T-Shirt Re-fashion

     "Plain Jane" is just fine and has its place, but why accept just that when it means having a clothing item sit unworn in my closet?!?  Using a new Simplicity pattern release #1463, I have re-worked a plain, ill-fitting, RTW T-shirt into a top with the year's latest design using a new Simplicity pattern release, #1463.  A few variances to the pattern were necessary on account of fit and my personal taste, but I love the finished result.  I think it's better than the original…

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Added by Kelly B. on August 24, 2014 at 4:13pm — No Comments

"Sometimes"...You Just Have to Go a Little "Mad"

     I'm not really referring to a mental condition or an emotion with my title... it's more specifically "Mad Men" the T.V.show, that is, or even more precisely "mad" for a crazy "disco era" color scheme!  Yes!  This "Mad Men" inspired late 60s dress of mine is my ultimate summer party dress for this year. …

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Added by Kelly B. on August 13, 2014 at 1:00pm — No Comments

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