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Aprons: fight the winter blahsAprons: fight the winter blahs

Well, the holidays are over, and we can settle in for the winter. One easy project to keep busy is to whip up some aprons to wear of give later to friends (who wouldn't love to get an apron on Valentine's Day?). Finding the perfect vintage fabric can be a chore, but we have posted some cuties on e…

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31Dec2008

Viva La Moda Magazine: Fashion & HandmadeViva La Moda Magazine: Fashion & Handmade

If you love vintage, fashion, and indy designs, you will cheer this new online magazine: Viva La Moda. It is smart, trendy, and fun. The graphics and technical level of this first issue are excellent, making it stand out from so many of the other online attempts. The products shown are Etsy.com v…

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27Dec2008

Black Cocktail Dresses, Always in StyleBlack Cocktail Dresses, Always in Style

We are wanting a dress with glamour and punch this New Year's eve. Designers are showing styles that seem so retro that we found a few in the shop to fit the bill.All are black, of course, since that seems to be everyone's first choice. But these are not your average "little black dress". This fi…

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26Dec2008

Vintage BabyVintage Baby

Why not a vintage baby? You know, the type whose mom/auntie/grannie is a vintage lover, so she buys tiny vintage for the youngest in the group.There is something so sweet and charming about baby and children's fashions from the past decades. Lots of little appliques and embroideries to be found on…

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13Dec2008

Sew Joe Stitch LoungeSew Joe Stitch Lounge

Recently Pintucks has completed a remodel, becoming more retail than sewing studio. This has left a gap for anyone wishing to take sewing classes or buy a sewing machine. With that in mind, our loyal sewing students have been put in the capable hands of Jeanie Joe. Jeanie is a wild and crazy, cre…

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05Dec2008

1920's Flappers, Art Deco Coats and Erte1920's Flappers, Art Deco Coats and Erte

During the 1920's, women's lives changed for ever. This was the "Roaring Twenties" and Flappers were sporting easy to wear silhouettes: loose, short, ready to take a spirited run through the park. Finding vintage Flapper dresses is getting harder to do now, as they disapear into collections. A gr…

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21Oct2008

Halloween Costumes: Witchy WomanHalloween Costumes: Witchy Woman

A witch costume for Halloween? Now there's a novel idea. It seems that what was once the territory of snaggle toothed old hags, widened to include the sexy young ones too. Was it when Charles Adams that brought his "Adams Family" point of view to this day of 'dress' that a sophisticated witch ent…

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15Oct2008

Halloween Costumes: Movie Queens & Vintage StyleHalloween Costumes: Movie Queens & Vintage Style

MMMMMMM, so whatcha gonna do about Halloween?Yahoo recently listed top costumes from movies, and these are very fun, easy to compile personalities. Starting at the top:Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) in "Breakfast at Tiffanys"-- OK, we know that one: neat black dress, necklace, gloves, big glasses…

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14Oct2008

Vintage Dior Sophisticate in JeansVintage Dior Sophisticate in Jeans

Looking for a statement look to wear with jeans? We love this soft green tweed wool jacket that expresses all that was great about the Dior years in fashion: fit, drama, and style.You won't find this collar on mass produced jackets today. It's so dramatic and flattering, not to mention sophisticat…

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13Oct2008

Fall Cardys: Vintage sweatersFall Cardys: Vintage sweaters

It's time again to pull out the sweaters and see what looks good. This year, with all of the dresses, we wanted to feature a few 'girly' sweaters that have a vintage vibe to them.Going with basic black? Not here! Our black cardy is splashed in black sequins for a not so subtle 50's style feature.…

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09Oct2008

But the Buttons!But the Buttons!

What ever happened to buttons? The ones that came in colored groups, to sew down the front of each blouse and the back of each dress. Where have they gone? Oh, it's easy to pull a tee shirt on in the mornings, forget the fumbling of fingers to match up buttons.But can't you just see how lovely bu…

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04Sep2008

Sewing in Seattle: Nancy's Sewing BasketSewing in Seattle: Nancy's Sewing Basket

Part of the fun of traveling is getting to finally see shops we have found online. Nancy's Sewing Basket came to our attention over a year ago, through the wonderful sewing and fabric store in Boise, Idaho called Caledonia Fine Fabrics (but that's another blog entry). This month we were able to co…

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25Aug2008

Movie Costumes of the 1930's and early 1940'sMovie Costumes of the 1930's and early 1940's

When movies added sound, the medium took off. What followed was a few decades of prolific output of all types of film. This put a huge burden on the costume and wardrobe shop, which cranked out countless styles for the next few decades. Out of this wealth, there are some memorable standouts. It …

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28Jul2008

Selecting Fabric for Vintage PatternsSelecting Fabric for Vintage Patterns

It can be a real chore to make the leap from a vintage pattern to fabric selection. This is especially difficult when your fabric resources are limited. Each era has several silhouettes and fabric type that dominate its range of style. If you can identify what type of fabric will be best for your…

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17Jul2008

1960's with Renaissance Inspiration1960's with Renaissance Inspiration

You have to see these sleeves, they are great. This dress has Renaissance inspired sleeves with a soft puff and pleated ruffle. Who makes anything like this anymore? The whole look is topped off so romatically with a wide ruffled portrait collar. The textile is red/pink and green Pucci-style flora…

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13Jul2008

Halter Tops for SummerHalter Tops for Summer

Let's face it, we probably have a good 2 months left of summer weather. You still have time to make up some cute summer tops, and THEN you can cruise the town!What's more classic than a halter top when the weather is hot, and this one is so cute. It's made from a single piece for each bra top, and …

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10Jul2008

Sewing the 70'sSewing the 70's

Sometimes vintage fashions and sewing patterns can converge in amazing ways.Take for example the 70's yellow dress above. It has that classic 70's bodice, derived from ethnic tunics, tied back at the empire waistline to create a terrific fit.Imagine our suprise, when we found the pattern it was mad…

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30Jun2008

Aprons on the LineAprons on the Line

We are in love with this book: "A is for Apron" by Nathalie Mornu. This book is too cute for words, yet it packs a wallop of apron info into the contents. We are especially happy to see the pages of original vintage aprons, what inspiration! The content that follows are too many aprons to count, …

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25Jun2008

1940's Vintage Fabric1940's Vintage Fabric

They say that nothing dates fashion like color and fabric. These two rayon prints from the 1940's illustrate that very well.They are soft, drapey and neutral toned, as only dresses in the late 1930's through the WWII years can be. It's easy to imagine this fabric sewn into a simple dress: "A" line…

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07Jun2008
 
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