Spell, Stitch & Splinter

  I love vintage fashion, but lately, my routine has involved a lot more working from home. Because of that, I really wanted to add some comfier pieces to my wardrobe. Usually, I sew much more structured garments, but this time around, the goal was simple: I wanted something comfortable to lounge about the house in that wasn’t just another pair of sweatpants or a baggy t-shirt. I decided to try Simplicity 8342. It has a great retro silhouette, but the twist is that the entire pattern is designed for knit fabrics. To make it happen, I dug into my stash and pulled out three different knits I’ve been holding onto. Part 1: The Red Rose Skirt For the skirt, I picked a lovely red floral print on a fabric with a nice, slightly bumpy texture. I’ve had this piece forever—I actually bought it back when Hancock Fabrics was going out of business. To me, it’s just the perfect retro pattern. I chose to tackle the skirt first because it had the fewest pattern pieces, and I figured the assembly wo...

I have been a massive fan of Gertie for a long time. I followed her original blog back in the day, I own her books, I’ve collected her Butterick patterns, and now I am fully obsessed with her Charm patterns from Patreon. Her vintage aesthetic just speaks to me, and over the summer, her designs became my ultimate creative escape. Spending time under quarantine meant I needed a fun way to pass the hours, and diving headfirst into glamorous garment sewing was exactly the antidote to stay-at-home fatigue. I ended up making two incredible dresses that made me feel less like I was stuck in the house and more like a glamorous mid-century pin-up model. Since I was so wrapped up in the process, I didn’t take any progress photos along the way. However, I’ve got plenty of pictures showing off the final looks, the fits, and all the design details from every angle. Let's talk about the patterns, the hacks, and the fabric placement that brought these two summer dresses to life. Dress 1: The Bord...