Bonus Bolero (Plus Skirt!)

Here it is! The bolero suit ensemble! (Note: you must pronounce "ensemble" in the French manner: Ahn-SAHM. Try to look very sophisticated while you say it.) I paired the Ahn-SAHM with a vintage sweater guard and my pink portrait blouse. I would love to show you more detailed shots of these pieces, but this is what I could get as I was running out the door this morning. (Don't you just hate it when life interferes with your sewing and blogging?)

The bolero is the bonus variation from Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing, which is view C of vintage Vogue 7259. I had to draft the front piece on my own since it was missing from my pattern. It went pretty well, if I do say so myself. I decided to make the sleeves elbow length, which I thought was the perfect compromise between what VONBBS wanted (short sleeves) and what Doris wanted (LONG sleeves!).

The skirt is Vogue 8603, and I am IN LOVE. I will definitely be making this again, probably in black stretch suiting, with about two inches added to the hem. It falls just above my knee as is, and I prefer a just below the knee length. Here's the back view:

Take that, hip ruching!

Anyway, I can add more pictures later if you're interested in some detail shots. I must say that I'm quite proud of this little ensemble!

(Oops. I mean this little Ahn-SAHM, of course.)

Is This Anything?

So, as I mentioned earlier this week, that wench Doris had the nerve to lose the front pattern piece for the "bonus" bolero project in VoNBBS. Well, some of you believed that I would be able to draft the missing pattern piece myself. And while I'm dubious of the confidence you have in my patternmaking skills, I just can't resist a dare.

So here's the muslin of what I came up with, made out of old curtains! Not bad, eh? What do you think? The only thing I'm really having trouble figuring out is the length of the lapels, and that's why the lapels are two different lengths in the muslin. In these two illustrations below, they vary quite a bit. The one on the left is from the pattern envelope, and the one on the right is from VoNBBS. See where they end in respect to the bustline?

I toyed around a bit with the length on my muslin, as you can see in the picture above. (The left lapel is shorter than the right.) Which do you think is better? Also, remember that the seam allowances will make everything 5/8" shorter.

I'm leaning towards the shorter lapel version; I think it's a bit kickier.

But, nit picking aside, I'm pleased as punch with myself that I might have figured this out. Especially since I already had planned a skirt to go with this version of the bolero. Vogue 8603, view A, which is a knock-off of a Nanette Lepore piece. It has ruching on the hips and a gathered ruffle in the back. Cute, right?

The whole ensemble will be made in a wool gabardine in a color I've been describing as "plum," but that could be inaccurate.

Anyway, I'd love your thoughts and feedback on my muslin!

A Separate Piece

Dear Doris,

You know I love you. I feel we have a special bond. After all, you were the original owner of several of my vintage patterns from Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing. I think about you often. Yes, I know you're a figment of my imagination. But still, I have a bone to pick with you: I'm peeved that you lost the crucial pattern piece to make view C of the bolero.



Doris, I know how excited you were to make this version of the bolero. You even had strong opinions on the design, feeling that it would be much stronger with long sleeves rather than short. I appreciated your pluck at drawing in the sleeves on the pattern envelope. I do stuff like that all the time too! I like how emphatic you were about it; you even wrote long sleeves on the envelope back, as if your re-working of the illustration didn't say it all.


I hope your long-sleeved version was everything you hoped it would be. I'm sure you looked ravishing in it. But Doris, really. What did you do with the front pattern piece? Why did you put the long sleeve piece back in the envelope, but not the front pattern piece? That piece is the key to the bonus bolero project in Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing! Didn't you know that 57 years after you made your bolero, a slightly obsessive gal would buy your old pattern on the internet and need to make version C of the bolero and blog about it? Hmm. I can see I've lost you here, Doris.

Oh, well. Anyway, who am I to cast aspersions? Good lord, if someone comes across my sewing patterns in 57 years, I think it's a fair guess that they won't be in a pretty state. I can barely keep all the pieces together when I'm actually making a damn pattern, much less 57 years later.

Maybe I'll make view A instead, since you were kind enough to leave me all the pieces for that version. And it's quite cute, with its double buttons and Peter Pan collar.

Anyway, Doris, what I really should be saying now is this: Thanks for everything. Really. I'm sad that this is the last of your patterns that I own. It's been real.

Love,

Gertie

Boleros: Yea or Nay?

Before making the "cropped, cutaway bolero" from Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing, I can't say that I'd given the bolero, in general, much thought. Boleros just sort of existed.

Actually, wait! I had completely forgotten until just this moment that I wore a bolero at my wedding and liked it quite a bit. Shall we take a little trip down memory lane?

Here I am as a blushing bride, in my little white bolero.

Also, I'm not trying to brag here, but can I just take a moment to appreciate how great my skin looked?
Aww, how cute were we?!

I'm sorry, what were we talking about? Ah yes, boleros.

I was interested to hear in the comments how many of you are anti-bolero. Fascinating! I always thought boleros were kind of innocuous, and not really deserving of strong opinion either way. Though, before I embarked upon making my black velvet bolero, I remarked to my husband that I worried I would look like a dancing monkey in such a get-up. His reply? "Just don't wear a fez . . . and steer clear of men with organ grinders." (He's cute and funny!)

And then there's the fact that boleros are ubiquitous as prom and bridesmaid attire, usually in pastel polyester. Exhibit A:

Though I want to state for the record that the pattern above is a great basic bolero pattern. I'm merely pointing to the styling of it.

But I want to hear from you. Boleros: yea or nay?

Presenting el Bolero!

Ta-da! Here she is, my sixth completed project from Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing. This is the "cropped, cutaway bolero" worn with my "slim, supple skirt."

VoNBBS encouraged me that I would "learn a lot making a little bolero," and I feel like I certainly expanded my horizons with this one. This is definitely not the sort of thing I would usually make, and I'm not sure I would have ever sewn with velvet if not at VoNBBS's urging.

One of the most versatile of the versatile separates is the bolero. We made it
in black velveteen. Teamed with a wide or narrow skirt, it adds up to a smart
suit. In the evening, it transforms a bare sheath into a covered-up
jacket-dress. It should take about 7 hours to complete. After you have made it,
you will add lining a jacket to the edge and setting-in a sleeve to your sewing
talents. - VONBBS

The only areas where I got tripped up were setting in the sleeve and pressing the velvet. On my first sleeve, I tried to get all couture (read: complicated) by pin-easing the sleeve cap, then hand basting, then machine basting, and then machine stitching. (Whew!) It didn't ease perfectly, and so on my second sleeve, I went the usual route of gathering the sleeve cap with two rows of long stitches, then machine basting, and then stitching. It went in like a dream. Keep it simple, stupid!


As for working with velvet: it's tricky, basically. I read an article in a recent Threads magazine that helped me a lot. But I feel like VoNBBS led me a little astray by telling me to baste the edges of the bolero so the lining wouldn't "scoot over to the outside." And then, right before the final pressing, the book directed me to gradually remove the bastings as I was pressing.

So I probably should have done this basting by hand, but I was lazy and did it by machine. This left permanent needle holes in the velvet. Waaah. I tried some agressive steaming to get them out, and then just succeeded in warping the curve of the bolero. I feel a better technique would have been understitching the lining by hand. Ah well. You live, you learn.

Also, I have new shoes to console myself.

Next I'll be moving on to a "bonus project" in VoNBBS: a short-sleeved version of this bolero with lapels in a plum-colored gabardine!

Next Up: The Bolero!

Now that my friend's wedding is behind us, it's time to get back to Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing. I'm quite looking forward to the next project, which is "the cropped, cutaway bolero."


I was lucky enough to find this pattern in my size, so I just plan on doing a simple tissue-fitting before going whack-whack into my fabric.

And oh! the fabric. I'm following VoNBBS's directives to the letter. Here's what they say: "we suggest a black velveteen, lined with black crepe, because it lends texture interest to any skirt you may combine it with." Seems like a good idea to me. I saw this black cotton velveteen on Gorgeous Fabrics, and was amazed by the low price. When I received it, I wasn't disappointed in the least. For $10 a yard, this compares to some $40 per yard velveteen I've seen in the Garment District. I have some black silk crepe on hand, so I'll be using that for the lining. See how good I am at following your instructions, VoNBBS?

This pattern has several fantastic variations, and VoNBBS offers instruction for a short-sleeved one as a bonus project. (It's the blue one above, but Doris drew in long sleeves. She wanted a long-sleeved version, dammit. To each her own!)

I think this variation is adorable, so I'll definitely be making it next. VoNBBS suggests sewing it in white pique, but I'm thinking a nice plum-colored wool boucle will be just the thing for fall.

I discovered a delightful little surprise in the pattern envelope: a flyer from Vogue Patters, singing the praises of separates. They've gone out of their way to suggest several skirt and blouse options to go with your new jacket. Isn't that kind of them?

So, "why separates," indeed? Well, according to Vogue, the reason is thus: "for a lot of variety at little cost to you." Okay, I'm with you there. But now check out this totally unintelligible sentence that follows:

"That's why to sew separates, designed by Vogue for now, is to be smart in fashion."

Uh, pardon? That has got to be the most awkwardly constructed sentence I've read in a long time. Perhaps it made more sense in 1952?