Patterns and their Fabrics
I would just like you to know that I'm postponing watching the season premiere of Rupaul's Drag Race to write this. And if that doesn't show my commitment to this, then I'm not sure what would. I'm pretty sure my left arm means less to me than watching an episode before it's been spoiled.
(that might be a slight exaggeration)
This is going to be a bit of a mix between my pattern and fabric hauls. I thought it would be nice to show the patterns and fabric together, along with my thoughts on the pairings now that some time has passed!
Let's start with some of the fabrics that I have actually used at this point;
The wool for the 1900s skirt. This fabric was...interesting. I LOVE the weight of it, and it was easy to cut and sew. But it was a huge pain to iron, and was velcro when it came to picking up lint. I'm convinced it is impossible to ever have this fabric free of lint. So it wasn't the *best* choice.
The shirtwaist fabric wasn't mentioned in either of those videos, since I already had it. My first plan was making the blouse from a lightweight white striped fabric...but that looked awful.
So I used a pastel striped shirting which was purchased from Diana fabrics in NYC. This fabric was nice, and I like how it matches with the flowers I used on the matching hat.
The fabric for the 1915's worked really well! This was a heavier wool, but since it was woven instead of felted it was okay to iron and not nearly as lint prone as the black one. It also held its shape really well, and I love the texture! So I'm happy I got this one.
The 1920's one however probably wasn't the best choice. Though the vertical stripes made construction really easy (the pattern I followed has vertical pleats) I think this fabric was too thick and stiff to do the design justice. I already want to remake it from something softer to see if that makes the dress more flattering.
I bought two fabric options for the 1930's dress, and though I haven't worked with either one yet, I still love both of them!
The orange floral fabric is a rayon, and the same weight as another fabric I purchased and already used. So I can vouch for it being awesome quality and really fantastic to work with!
The other rayon I bought (and have used) was a random purchase that didn't go with any pattern for this project. I just loved it too much to not get it - I mean it's covered in fish, that is adorable!
I ended up using this for a 1940's playsuit, and the striped fabric for a coordinating blouse. I think it turned out really well, and I'm so glad I impulse purchased these.
The fabrics for the 40's included a khaki bottomweight cotton sateen for a pair of pants. Originally the color of this threw me off, but now that has grown on me.
Unfortunately this fabric didn't wash very well. It resembles something you would use for military issued duffle bags moreso than an apparel fabric. I'm still trying to turn it into pants...but i'm not sure how successful I will be.
The blouse fabric I bought however, washed really well! It's a very thin but slightly stiff cotton, perfect for this pattern. My only concern is that it will look like a 90's bowling shirt...but I supposed there are worse things it could look like?
I have SO MANY cotton options for the 1940's dress pattern. I'm going to have to let you guys vote on which one to use, since I love them all and can't decide. In fact, I'll probably let you guys vote on the pattern to follow too...since I now own three 1940's dress patterns. Oops.
I haven't found fabrics for the skirt/blouse patterns from the 50's. But I'm still really happy with the fabric I bought for the dress pattern, this is another one of those rayons that I enjoyed working with so much. So I'm really excited to make this!
And I honestly don't have much to say about these next three combos. I still love them, and all these fabrics washed really well.
The last one to talk about is the 1990's fabric/pattern. I actually *just* purchased a pair of green pants from the 90's...so now I'm leaning towards using the green suiting for the 1980's pattern. And maybe finding a red or purple suiting to use for this pattern.
The suiting washed really well, but I haven't had a chance to wash the white fabric just yet. I'm also tentatively on the lookout for a new blouse pattern, since I bought this one in a super small size for some reason.
I think that is all I have to share for this post! But I'll definitely update you when I find fabrics for the 50's, 80's, and 2000's.