Retro Butterick ’46 B5281

First posting! Proud of how my retro ’46 came out. Only my third dress ever to make and the first with a lining. Used gabardine as recommended on the pattern and it was easy to work with and...

On holiday to Miami

For the first time in my life I’m flying to the other half of the world. I’m going on holiday to Miami! And boy, do I look forward to that! I’ll be arriving there June 3rd and am staying for almost...

Vintage-ing a Modern pattern…sort of?

Well I took a few trips to some 2nd hand stores in my area and came up with some fantastic finds this weekend! several vintage and 1 modern pattern that were all 1.00 a piece! they are all...

A few weeks ago I was asked to be a pattern tester for a new indie pattern company that Abby was starting called Blue Ginger Doll. I received a lovely big package in the post a few weeks later that...

Red Lace Wedding Guest Dress

This past weekend our friends got married in a gorgeous little ceremony on the Gold Coast. When the wedding invitation first arrived I decided I would make myself a dress to wear. I spent a while...

The Return of Fun-Shus

A little over a year ago, I posted here about some fabric and patterns I found thrifting. A few days ago, upon receipt of the final part I needed to get my lovely 221-1 Centennial Featherweight...

Getting a Good Fit & Some Retro Separates

After my favorite pair of cigarette-style pants had too many mends to be functional anymore, I decided I needed to bite the bullet and sew my very first pair of pants. When Gertie released a...

Western for Summer

I’m not much of a country girl but I couldn’t resist adding a bit of western flare to my blue chambray dress! I used Simplicity 2851 from 1949. I just love late 40s looks! I used these cute metal...

Modern Vintage

Hello Happy Sewers! I’m here today with my Chardon skirt, a contemporary pattern, made using vintage fabric and trim. I estimate both the fabric and the trim to date from the late 1960′s/early...

A Blue Polka-Dot Sencha

Oh my! I haven’t posted here in ages! I used to post on the old sew retro page but don’t even know if I have ever posted on this site. So this post is long overdue I’ve been reading along all the...

New Penzance Island – Style 2475

Suzy Bishop – the young heroine of the movie Moonlight Kindgom has a pretty enviable set of outfits. The wardrobe was put together by Kasia Walicka Maimone who was interviewed in the Lula Issue 16...

A head-shawl

I came across a charming booklet entitled Headline News via the Vintage Pattern Files website and decided I simply had to try out some of the crochet patterns there; it had to be something that I...

Batik Chic & Simplicity 9354

Maxi dress made from vintage Simplicity pattern 9354 and some modern cotton batik thrifted for $4.00 at the Salvation Army, Clark’s retro style wedges, vintage crochet shawl, tribal fusion necklace...

Vogue 7219

Step in shirt dress with or without top-stitch trim has bias collar and full length shirt sleeves; pockets in side seams Last year I purchased this sweet shirt dress pattern from eBay. It’s a...

The Great Gatsby Laurel

I modified the, you guessed it, laurel for this dress. I used a brocade fabric I brought on sale ages ago for like a dollar a yard. The beading is an appliqué I picked up on ebay, and the headband...

McCall’s 7233

I started working on this dress last June or July, and managed to finish it in under a year. Yay! This was one of the first vintage patterns I purchased, and it was both easy and fun to make. It...

Grapesicle Dress

So there I was minding my own business when I thought, “Hey! That bright purple stretch cotton shirting in my stash would make a GREAT wiggle dress!” Of course I had to do it. The Sewing Gods must...

Brigitte Dress

And here it is! I finished the Brigitte Dress this morning! This is the story of the Brigitte Dress: Starting after almost a year with this sewing project was quite difficult. Firstly, because I...

Mailorder pattern (?) 4882 black and white floral shirt dress

Maybe someone here can help me date and name this pattern. I haven’t got the actual envelope for it and therefore only the pattern number but not what make it is. It looks like a mailorder pattern...

BBQ Season

I just adore the summer! And when I saw this cute retro 50s inspired BBQ print fabric, I just had to have it! Fabric: quilting cotton ($5/yd) Pattern: Vintage Vogue 2960 Year: 1954 Notions: black...

1950′s sleeveless top revisited

I made my first version of this 1950′s sleeveless top almost exactly two years ago and even though it’s far from perfect I love it to death – it’s one of my most worn handmade items. So when I was...

The Great Vintage Bra Debate

Vintage 1950's Perma Lift Okay, Ladies! Let’s talk brassieres! The more vintage sewing I do, the more I hate my bras. The grapefruit shaped T shirt bra just looks all wrong. So, here’s the $64,000...

Attention British WeSewRetro-ers! We Want to See You on the Next Sewing Bee

Love Productions is casting for the next series of The Great British Sewing Bee and here at WeSewRetro Towers we want to be able to point at the tv and squeal “Oh! Oh! I know that person!” If you...

Dress from Schwabe – Der neue Schnitt June 1957

Hello Ladies, I wished for a long time a Hawaiian inspired dress. After I then ordered fabric from the USA, I have found the perfect pattern. From the “Schwabe der neue Schnitt” from June 1957...

Vintage Fridor Stitchmaster “Merino” Sewing Machine.

I fell in love with this machine, as soon as I saw it on ebay. The clean lines, the “atomic style” shape, unlike any other machine I’d seen before. Designed in Switzerland, and made in Holland,...

That’s a {Violet} Wrap {Dress}

This pattern has been sitting in my pattern stash for at least a year (probably longer). I fell in love with the violet dress on the front as soon as I saw it, but the only problem was that I just...

Flower power sheet to wraparound skirt

When I’ve posted on We Sew Retro before, it’s been about things I’ve made using a vintage pattern. Today though, it’s all about a 60s or 70s flower power sheet I came across a while back. It’s been...

Gingham is Great!

I love gingham! It’s such a classic look. So when I wanted to make a simple summer dress just right for those hottest of summer days, I chose a black and white gingham cotton. Fabric: black and...

Vintage Pajama Party!

As a three-time cancer survivor, my mom has had more than her share of challenges. This year, I’m especially happy to give her a pair of hand-made pajamas – her favorite garment – for Mothers’ Day....

Simplicity 3673 View C

Yesterday I post View A of this pattern here, and despite its currently wrinkled appearance, I had to make view C with its fitted bodice and fuller skirt. For those of you who commented on it, I do...