A Tale of Two Tabards - Child's Heraldic Tunic DIY

Looking to enlarge my costumery portfolio and try a historical era about which I knew absolutely zero, I was interested to be asked if I could help with children's costumes for a local historical venue.

My first thought was I don't have any suitable fabric (is this even possible?) but I soon found an old curtain and an unused pillowcase which I could use to stitch the tabards.  The shield motifs were made from felt and fabric offcuts.

I have put together a tutorial on how to make the felt applique shield on my blog.

Modern Me to Medieval Me c1500 Working Woman Costume Project

Hi everyone. I recently started volunteering at a local castle and needed to produce a costume for an event being held there.  So I upcycled some linen garments from my "To Be Upcycled" stash.  The skirt was originally a pair of baggy summer trousers; the jacket a regular summer blouse and a tablecloth became an apron.

The whole outfit took less than 5 hours and cost less than 5 quid!!  If you would like to read more about how I made it, please visit my blog.  I was pleased with this interpretation of a working woman from c1500.

And this is me in modern mode (note the blouse was turned inside out in the photo above so I could use it as my chemise).

ANOTHER LINEN LOVELY - MORE VINTAGE LINENS INTO CAMISOLE TOP

Finally more vintage linens have been rescued!

At last I have been able to get on with some more sewing  as I have been rather busy of late, notably with the wonderful Stamford Georgian Festival last weekend.

Once again I used a wide variety of vintage embroidered tablecloths, doileys and tray cloths.  I think the base textile used, the one you can see with white on white embroidery and a scalloped edge, is Victorian.  The other textile fragments are later, mainly from the 30s through to the 50s.  I used a basic camisole pattern and appliqued the pieces of embroidery onto the garment.

I always like the way that the pieces cut from the various original items blend so nicely together and complement one another.

More about this project, and the wonderful Stamford Georgian Festival, on my blog here.

Happy stitching everyone.
Karen x

The Jolly Red Pinafore - Another 50s Classic

Another 50s style pinafore upcycled from a skirt

Don't you just love those 80s elasticated waist skirts, tons of fabric to upcycle and you simply have to cut off the waistband to prepare?  This gorgeous mid century inspired floral print had one of those shirred elastic waistbands and a couple of yards of lovely cotton to stitch into something new.

Lovely 50s design details

I turned to this 50s sewing pattern once more.  I love the design details - cute boxy shoulders, flattering scoop neckline, oversized patch pockets.  As there were no belt carriers I used a design detail I have used before and stitched button holes into the front of the belt so that it can be buttoned ON for wear and OFF for laundering.

Here is an earlier example when I made a button on bow belt for another reworked skirt - this was for a wide sash belt and I buttoned it onto the back of the skirt.

More stitching on my blog, hope to see you there.
Happy sewing everyone.
Karen x

Paisley with Purpose - Dress Reworked into Top

A few years ago I reworked a boring vintage cotton paisley dress into this 1950s style retro top.  I love the colourway of this paisley and like to wear the top with jeans.  Of course, there were a few smaller scraps left over from the project (and of course I cannot throw any textile pieces away!) and this week I made some flower brooches, one of them shown above. 

More about this project on my blog.

Happy stitching everyone x

A Tale of Two Tops

The pinafore-esque theme to my stashbusting continues and the latest makes are two little tops (could be worn as prairie inspired pinnies) created from sections cut from the skirt of an 80s Laura Ashley cotton lawn frock with embroidered tray cloth collars.

The top on the right is pieced using a cute check in pink and grey saved from a shirt, and more Laura Ashley scraps for the pocket.

And then I was left with a table of scraps which set me thinking. what next???  Check out my blog here for more pics.

Happy sewing everyone.
Karen x

The Jolly Green Vintage 50s Pinafore Top

A couple of months ago I found a fab 50s sewing pattern - Simplicity 5763 (in Sue Ryder Vintage & Retro in Peterborough of course!) for a great pinafore.  I had already upcycled an 80s skirt into this pinafore and wondered how the pattern would work if I took an entire skirt - here a lovely green linen skirt with great topstitched gored panels - then removed the waistband and cut the neckline and armholes from the pattern before seaming.

As well as upcycling a green linen skirt, I used a 50s bandana to make the pocket and gave an outing to a couple of vintage 30s green buttons from the stash.

More details on the making of this pinafore on my blog here.

Happy sewing everyone. x

Karen

Embroidered Vintage Linens into Summer Camisole Top

The great sewing room destash continues apace as I have been repurposing embroidered vintage linens into some summer camisole tops - above and below photos of a top with a tie front neckline.

I used basic self drafted patterns and then inserted a panel of patchwork which I had stitched using pieces cut from vintage doilies, tablecloths, traycloths etc.

More about this summer sewing project on my vintage sewing blog here.

Happy stitching everyone x

The London Kimono Vintage Souvenir Scarf Refashion Project

I have been stitching some more of my vintage scarf kimonos as I am taking a stand at a vintage fair on Saturday - I loved this vintage London souvenir scarf and was pleased to find more scarves in my collection which toned in.  I think that using a scarf as the focal point of the design really displays it to its best advantage.

As always, I don't have a problem finding scarves in my stash to complete these projects ha ha!

If you would like to read more about this project, please visit me on my sewing blog here.

Happy stitches everyone!
Karen x

Vintage Scarf Refashion #2 - Japanese Inspired Kimono Jacket

I LOVE vintage scarves and am always looking for ways to refashion them.

This kimono jacket was a departure from my earlier kimono design in which I stitched scarves together along their seams.

This time I cut a dropped shoulder line into the front and back pieces and I think it gives a better line and drape to the garment.

I trimmed the front edge & neckline with toning satin bias binding.  More details on my blog here.

Happy sewing everyone.
Love & stitches, Karen x

More Summer Blues - Patchwork Peplum Top

Following on from my 80s top in summer blues vintage textiles, I went on to make this patchwork peplum top using a self drafted pattern with a 50s vibe.  As you can guess, blue is one of my favourite colours and so I have lots of blue toned fabrics & garments for upcycling in my stash.  Plus of course my machines were already threaded with blue thread so it seemed a shame to stop at just one blue toned garment ....

More details about the project, including the 50s leaflets I used for drafting the pattern, over on my blog here.

Busy working on new upcycling projects, more posts and photos soon.

Happy sewing everyone!

Karen x

The Costume Archives #2 - Hitch & Bustle Victoriana Tiered Skirts

Stitching ruffled skirts

I have been stitching tiered ruffled skirts since back in the 70s (yes, I am that old!) and as part of my costume project, I made several Victorian inspired upcycled skirts.  Using one skirt as the "foundation" layer (the pink skirt above has a crinkle cotton underskirt in plum) I then stitched gathered layers onto that to create the tiered effect.

Stash buster extraordinaire

Of course Victorian inspired clothing is a real stash buster because of the quantities of textile required.  In general, I upcycled at least 3 skirts into each ruffled creation.

Applique Flower Detail

As these skirts were definitely costume pieces rather than every day wear, I allowed myself to get carried away with the details such as the applique flowers and the ribbon suspender hitch belt above which can be used to create a bustle or hitch effect.

Read more about the skirts and lots more photos, including my Lucy Locket pocket skirt, over on my blog at karenvallerius.co.uk.

Happy stitching everyone.
Karen x

The Costume Archives #1 - Victorian Peplum Jackets

Spring is in the air ... my stash busting continues ... my photo archives edit has begun!

About 18 months ago I refashioned a series of costume inspired garments, some of them with a steampunk vibe, including several Victorian inspired peplum jackets.

I found that the best method of adding a peplum to a jacket was to cut the jacket around the waistline, then construct the peplum by adding panels of contrast fabric, and then stitching back on the the original jacket.

More jackets on my blog here.

Happy stitching everyone x

Summer Blues 80s Tie Top

Finally commenced the Great Spring Stash Bust!

I used some of my blue toned vintage cottons for this 1984 design tie top:

- a navy paisley cotton reworked from a vintage 60s day dress;
- a bright madras influenced cotton check from an 80s mod style man's shirt; and
- a gorgeous piece of unused vintage 70s dress cotton in teal and biscuit

Thought this would be great for the summer.  Read more on my blog here.

Happy sewing everyone!

Vintage Scarf Refashion #1 - Bias Cut Scarf Top

I was thrilled to be contacted by Dressmaker magazine as they wanted to include my scarf top in their January edition in an article about Second Hand Sews.  I was influenced by 1930s scarf clothing when I designed this top and worked out how to cut a scarf (see below) and then stitch it up into a bias top.

I have now uploaded a pdf worksheet with instructions and photos showing how to make the top if you would like to download it.  The link to my own blog is here

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Happy stitching everyone!  Karen x

Happy New Year from an Upcycled Faerie

Thanks for accepting me to the group and wanted to start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year and thought my boho faerie dress would be a good first post as it has a bit of a wintry vibe.

The main donor garments for this creation were a petticoat lining (saved from another project) and a silk kaftan which makes up the main overskirt.

I cut approx. 3 layers of petticoat, which included net and tulle saved from other prom dress upcycle projects, gathered and stitched them to the underdress and then layered the fine kaftan chiffon over these.  The layers were cut into ragged ribbons to give the dress movement.

Then I stitched on a flower I had made from some vintage lace and leaves cut from a velvet shirt onto the bodice to give detail.  I even used odd ribbons which I saved from my overlocker trims to add some more colour to the floral applique.

I had a couple of glittered butterflies left over from a Christmas faerie project so clipped those on too!

This was a really fun project and I was able to use up some beads and sequins from my stash.  It would be easy to adapt for a child's faerie costume too!  Took approx. 3 hours to complete.

I love vintage textiles and fashion, upcycling and sewing and have a blog over at http://www.karenvallerius.co.uk/ if you have time to stop by.  Happy sewing everyone!