location: outside thistle house person: a child @kadirosman​

 “Kadir?” Elmira’s out front of the shop, hands on her hips as she assesses the large shop window. It wasn’t entirely as if she could feel it for herself, but she knew the chill of autumn was in the air by the way she’d seen more and more sweaters as of late. Which meant it was time to arrange the front window to reflect the month of October and she’d just stepped outside to better be able to visualize her plans when she’d spotted the mortal moving past on the sidewalk. She hadn’t seen him really since the masquerade, nor the boy she’d seen him with at the event. 

The few people that read this blog and also follow my personal Instagram will know I’ve already made this joke once recently, but it brings me joy and I refuse to be ashamed! It’s one of the best one-liners from a character who zings ’em out like no other – and who doesn’t love when Meryl Streep gets to be sassy?

Photo credit to 20th Century Fox via Buzzfeed 🙂

Anywho, on to the main event – I’ve made a thing! And the fabric is an absolute dream. I applied to a call a while back on Instagram for sewists that would like to work with Sitka Fabrics, to be sent fabric in exchange for sewing it up and providing pictures of their stock used in garments that they could use for marketing and social media. Sitka is a Canadian company, but they ship internationally (their About page includes the line “fabrics do not have borders” – love that!) and their fabrics are thoughtfully selected and gorgeous. I was thrilled to be chosen, and even more thrilled when they told us they were stocking a modal rib knit for the fall that they wanted pictures of ASAP! I’ve not worked with modal before, but everyone raves about it, and this was the perfect chance to try some really nice quality stuff. Not to mention, the colors they’re stocking are seriously dreamy.

Receiving the fabric, I instantly saw what everyone was raving about. Modal is so soft, y’all – it’s silky and huggable and has the most luxurious drape. Plus, this rib knit is 10% spandex, so in addition to being silky and utterly stroke-worthy, it’s also got pretty great recovery for such a drapey knit. I got the warm ochre, which is an awesome shade of pumpkin orange – not pumpkin like plastic Halloween decorations, but like an actual pumpkin sitting ripe and warm in the late afternoon sun. When I first chose the color, I’d thought it was more of a golden yellow, but ’twas my screen that deceived me! It’s the same old tale of shopping for fabric on the internet – not all screens are built the same, and colors can show up differently. When in doubt, contact the seller! The team at Sitka has been very prompt and helpful any time I’ve had an issue or question, and if you’re trying to match colors I’m sure they’d be happy to give guidance if you’re unsure. As I wasn’t trying to match colors, and the orange that showed up was every bit as lovely as the yellow I’d expected, I simply kept stroking this ohmigodsosoft fabric and planning the best way to make use of its beauty.

Initially, since I’d never sewn with this fabric before, I was thinking a simple ribbed t-shirt or tank would be a great showcase for it (the Kila Tank by Indiesew looks like an amazing basic tank and I wanna try it soon), but once I had it in my hands I knew it demanded to be something a little more special. More romantic. Plus, the weather has just finally started to turn more towards fall here in NYC, and my mind is kicking into high gear autumn sewing mode. I wanted something that felt autumnal!

That was when I remembered the Seamwork Elmira. A simple ballet-style wrap cardigan with some extreme tie action going on in the front, I’ve had it in my Seamwork pattern library for ages, and actually printed it out months ago with the intention of adding it to my winter wardrobe last year. (Whoops.) I love that instead of huge long ties that wrap all the way around, the innermost front wrap buttons on the inside and the other front is then simply tied across to complete the wrap without the bulk. Plus, I don’t like wrap sweaters that tie in the back – I hate putting on a coat or sitting down and leaning back in a chair, and feeling the hard knot of knit fabric digging into my spine. However, the change in pattern meant I was not going to have enough fabric, especially since the directionality of a rib knit meant I couldn’t throw grainline to the wind and get creative with my cutting layout – I’d only asked for a yard and a half, and the Elmira calls for over two yards, plus I wanted to fully line the back instead of turning and stitching the hem and neck back like in the instructions. I laid out my pattern pieces on the rib knit and determined that I could fit everything except my back lining piece and the second set of ties, which got me thinking – a contrast tie could be a nice look. Did I have anything in my stash that would play nicely with this orange? I did a little digging, and when I found the rest of the Girl Charlee cotton jersey I used to make a Nettie bodysuit in May (on the blog here) I knew that was the winner. The cream ground and coral-and-yellow tones jived nicely with my orange, and the fuchsia and green added a nice pop of contrast. It also felt very summer-to-fall transitional, which is utterly appropriate for how I want to dress right now, and MOST IMPORTANTLY I had tons of it left – more than enough to cut out my additional pattern pieces and get cracking!

I’ve not done a lot of sewing with rib knits, and I was worried the modal would stretch out of shape as I put it through the machine, but it sewed up like a dream – I sewed the whole wrap on my regular machine using a zig-zag stitch and a normal presser foot. After a little internet and Instagram research, I chose to reinforce the seam at the wrap edges with clear elastic, and in the end I think I could have pulled it a little bit tighter – the long edge wants to stretch, and in a knit fabric it’s hard to keep it from doing what it wants! If I make this sweater again, I think I might draft a front band to rein in that wrap a little more.

As I said, I also chose to fully line the bodice, which gave a cleaner finish inside – the only exposed seams are at the armscye and the cuff, and the back neck feels more stable than it would have with just a turned-down hem (although I could probably have used some clear elastic in that seam as well. C’est la vie.) Sizing-wise, I also turned to the internet and determined that I needed to add about two inches of length; the back I simply left long at the bottom with a little extra shaping to accommodate my sway-back, and the front I lengthened two inches just below the armscye, moving the bottom of the wrap over to match the diagonal (and thus adding some length to the wrap itself – I sized down to a Large knowing I’d be doing this, but in the end I probably could have lost some of that extra wrap length). I shortened the sleeves about two inches as well, both because I thought it would look cute with 3/4 length sleeves and because I didn’t have quite enough fabric for full-length.

The finished result is absolutely divine. The modal makes it soft and squishy but still sleek and elegant, and the color is perfect for this time of year, while the pop of floral keeps it from feeling aggressively Halloween-themed. It’s definitely a layering piece, rather than a top in its own right, although I think taking a little length off the front wraps would allow it to pull tight enough for a really pretty top in a lighter-weight fabric. As it is, this beauty is going to see me through the colder weather nicely, just as soon as it actually starts getting cold again – of course, the minute I finished this, temps in New York jumped from the 60s and 70s back up into the 80s! I still wore it around the house for a while with the A/C cranked up, just because I love it so much. Plus, my roommates have already gone all-in on the Halloween decorations, so it’s hard not to feel autumnal no matter the temperature! And I’ve saved every single scrap of the modal rib – I don’t exactly know what I’m going to use it for, but I can’t bear the thought of not using every last bit. Bigger scraps might end up becoming panties or a soft bra, and longer pieces I might try to use as ribbed binding for other projects. We shall see!

Rib knits, for fall? Groundbreaking… The few people that read this blog and also follow my personal Instagram will know I've already made this joke once recently, but it brings me joy and I refuse to be ashamed!

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Today, I catalogued, numbered, and photographed some new donations.

History of Women's Swimwear and Sports Fashions

This entry is part 3 of 30 in the series CheeseCake Pinup Magazine - 1953

This article claims that Annette Kellerman, who started swimming to overcome infantile paralysis (Polio), was groundbreaking in making more practical swimwear acceptable and invented her own style of one piece swimsuit.

On this page are pictures of famous early 20th century swimmers including Annette Kellerman, Gertrude Ederle (the first woman to swim across the English Channel), Eleanor Holm (Aquacade star), Esther Williams (movie mermaid), and Florence Chadwick (who in 1952-53 beat Ederle’s record).

The next section gets into the history of sports education and fashions for women on college campus. Elmira NY college girls played ten pins in the 1870s, and the 1910 ideal exercises consisted of balancing candles on your back (for posture) and camping outdoors. Then, to show the evolution of sports fashions, there’s side by side pictures of women playing basketball in the early 1900s vs the 1950s. Underneath that, is a photo of 1920s gals fencing while wearing silk stockings and baggy sweaters.

Did you know that shorts for women were invented in the 1930s?

Neither did I! This article asserts that Amelia Bloomer didn’t invent bloomers, she merely wore them, and although they didn’t ever become fashionable on the street, they were a big advance in women’s sportswear until shorts were invented in the 1930s… Shorts gradually made their way out of the gym, thanks to campus fashions becoming general (eventhough in 1953 Radcliffe barred short shorts, but allowed long shorts).

These next few pages contain pictures of the original bloomer, women at Wellesley rowing in 1904, women wearing knickers for hiking in 1921, formal calisthenics in 1917 vs 1950s, a woman from the 40s wearing capris, and 1950s women in pants and shorts.

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History of Women’s Swimwear and Sports Fashions was originally published on VintageReveries - Vintage Fashion and Ephemera Blog

What would the song be called? Hat: @leikya Wig & sweater: @youvimi #pinkaesthetic #pinkpinkpink #strawberrymilk #cowhat #leikya #strawberry #moo #pink #pastelpink #pastelaesthetic #pastelpinkaesthetic #aesthetic #aestheticedits #aestheticmakeup #ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ #heartblush #cute #sweet #kawaii (at Elmira, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZqInU_g585/?utm_medium=tumblr

GUESS WHAT? THIS IS TOMORROW!! Gonna be back in Elmira with my buddies in @grotonave come on and hang with us! Wear your best Christmas sweater and I might give you some free merch ;) (at Bell's Country Coffee) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrWEXjZFMup/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1b8jbm4az2nel

Crime Alert 7th District (PSA 701-708)

Crime Alert 7th District (PSA 701-708) This is an important message from the District of Columbia AlertDC system.   Alert: [Robbery Hold Up Gun] at [1747] hrs at Elmira St & Barnaby Road SE. Lookout for a Black Mercedes with 3 B/M's, suspect-1 has brown hair and suspect-2 has on a red sweater. DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/ EVENT #I20170592140Sent to 7th District (PSA 701-708) Alert DCSent by MPD Cad #10237 Click Here to update your profile.