Retro Inspired Sewing

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The 1920’s Egyptian Revival Gown
The Embroidered Zig Zag Dress
The 1929 Pansy Dress
The 1930’s Silk Velvet Dress
Sailors are My Weakness [The Dorothy Lara Dress]
The California Poppy Blouse
The 1950’s Robin Hood Dress
The Broderie Anglaise Birthday Dress

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“Dress Like Your Grandma” Host

Behind the Scenes on Instagram @tanyamaile

Dots dots dots! I am elated to finally finish my P

Dots dots dots!
I am elated to finally finish my Pyrex Dot Bowls set (c. 1969-1973). This set has eluded me at estate sales and is very pricey when I've seen it at antique stores in my area. We found the orange and blue dots a few years ago and finished the set in one day last month. I got the green dots at the Alameda Antique Fair in the morning and in the afternoon found the yellow dots at an antique store in Niles.

This weekend we found a Fire-King red dots bowl! These came in red/white or black/white in a set of 4 and appear to have been manufactured from the 1940's-60's. It's hard to find non-repro ones in my area. Fire-King bowls are some of my favorites, so I'm really happy to add this one to my collection.

#pyrex #vintagepyrex #pyrexcollector #pyrexcollection #vintagepyrex #pyrexdots #pyrexdotsbowls #fireking #vintagefireking #firekingdots #firekingdotsbowl

I wrote an article about my Pyrex collection, whic

I wrote an article about my Pyrex collection, which is featured in the @thevintagewomanmagazine .

There's a link to the article on their IG or search for "Vintage Woman Magazine".

#vintagepyrex #vintagepyrexcollection #vintagepyrexcollector #vintagepyrexlove #pyrexcollector #pyrexcollection #pyrex

I am so thrilled to have this beautiful quilt! It'

I am so thrilled to have this beautiful quilt! It's a hand-stitched and cross stitched quilt that I thrifted last week in Oregon for $30. It goes perfectly on the bed in my dressing room. Cleo loves it, too. ❤️

With the announcement that the @artdecoca #gatsbys

With the announcement that the @artdecoca #gatsbysummerafternoon is returning this year, I thought it was a good time to share my recently acquired 1920's/30's picnic box. I found it a few months ago at an antique store and got a super deal on it. I had been looking for one for a few years and I was really happy to find one in the wild. I'm going to get some plates in that pattern to replace the missing ones.
#1920s #1920spicnic #1920spicnicbox #1930s #1930spicnic #1930spicnicbox

Throwback to the last event I attended before the

Throwback to the last event I attended before the pandemic put us into lockdown and the last costume I made - the @gbacg train ride in Sacramento, March 2020. I realized that I never properly shared my 1890's sporting ensemble, and I also didn't take many photos of it. Thankfully, I often document my sewing in my stories, so I had some pics to share from those.

I used three different patterns to create this outfit. The bodice is the Laughing Moon 1890's waist with larger leg o'mutton sleeves (which I made larger) and I added the peplum from Simplicity 8375. The skirt is the @scrooppatterns Fantail skirt, which has been my go-to pattern for the 1890's. I used the belt and scarf pattern from S8375, too. My outfit is made out of cotton twill with middy braid and bias tape trim. I also made my boater hat, by taking apart a thrift store straw hat and sewing the braid together, shaping it and adding grosgrain ribbon.

I was inspired by many photos from the era, but in the end, mostly from a picture in one of my Delineator magazines.

#historicalcostuming #historicalcostumer #1890s #1890ssporting #latevictorian #bipoccostumer #sewing #historicalsewing #polynesiancostumer #bipoccostuming #reenactorsofcolor #inclusivecostuming #costumersofcolor #plussizecostumer

I finally feel like sharing this dress. This is th

I finally feel like sharing this dress. This is the Shaheen inspired sarong dress that I made for my 10 year wedding anniversary, which we celebrated at the Madonna Inn. It's made out of vintage 1950's/1960's Hawaiian fabric that I got from @know_me_sews. I paired it with a solid turquoise for the facings and drape. Although I had 4 yards, my vintage fabric is narrow, so I had to do some creative cutting and piecing. I was really happy to make it work! I generally prefer full skirts, but it was nice to change it up to a different silhouette.

The pattern I used has a non-inclusive size range (Charm Lamour dress). #sewlimitedsizing

#vintagesewing #vintagefabric #hawaiianfabric #sarongdress #1950sdress #plussizesewing #plussizevintage #sewing #dressmaking

A decade ago, a fat sewist was hard pressed to fin

A decade ago, a fat sewist was hard pressed to find patterns that fit their personal style. For me, that meant figuring out how to grade up the patterns that I wanted to wear. I started sharing my sewing on my blog in 2012 & in 2014 we started the @curvysewingcollective & advocated for curvy sewists, hopefully inspiring others to sew things they dream of wearing. There is more exposure now of diverse body types & many pattern companies have followed suit & expanded their sizes.

But it seems like every few months we have this same tired conversation about inclusivity & the lack of it. This time it's Charm Patterns by Gertie - a company that acts like they're all for inclusivity, but they are not. They have the resources & the plus size block to produce their patterns up to their size 22 & there has only been one pattern in that size - the last one before their recent releases, which top out at 20. I was disappointed by this and asked why the new patterns weren't up to a 22. I received the same old response basically saying that it's too hard to fit past a 20 & size 22 only deserves a tent dress. You would think that a pattern company would want to include more people to sell their patterns to. Being inclusive means both smaller & larger sized bodies are included. Being inclusive doesn't just mean celebrating Pride month & using the same small fat model to represent plus size people. It means celebrating different bodies & inspiring everyone to want to sew your patterns. But I guess that doesn't fit the aesthetic of this pattern line & they don't want everyone to sew & wear their patterns.

I have been conflicted for a long time about Gertie's patterns as the plus block fits me very well & the patterns are well drafted. The styles are ones I want to sew & wear & yet I've had that nagging feeling that if a pattern line doesn't have my full size (20/22), do they design to include me? Pattern companies like @cashmerette -- who literally wrote a book about including plus sizes -- go from 0-30. I'm just not understanding why a company with resources to do so wouldn't want to include us. There are more of us over a size 14 than under it.

A Polynesian in a Polynesian Pattern. I am excited

A Polynesian in a Polynesian Pattern. I am excited to share this dress with you! I made this from Polynesian 121, a vintage 1960's Muu Muu pattern. It has a dramatic waterfall back with an inside belt that pulls in the princess seamed part of the dress on the front, making the Muu Muu fitted with a bit of an 18th century robe a la francaise style silhouette, similar to a watteau back, with gathers instead of pleats. It's sometimes referred to as a "party muu".

My pattern is an original uncut Polynesian Pattern that I traced and graded up to a bust 50" from a 34/36". My fabric is a midweight tropical print cotton that I got at a thrift store. Don't ask me how I lined this print up on the princess seams, as I didn't pattern match and it was a happy accident. 😉

I've had this pattern for a couple of years and have been wanting to make a dress like this for 3 or 4 years and have 2 similar patterns in my stash. I just didn't want to grade it up. But I pushed myself to do it and am looking forward to making another one! I'm not sure who Polynesian Patterns were meant for. They were printed in Hawaii and seem to have been sold on the mainland as well. But with the small size chart and the white women on their covers, I'm 100% certain that they weren't marketed for Polynesians.

#polynesianpatterns #polynesian121 #polynesianAF #polynesiandress #hawaiiandress #tropicalprint #muumuu #partymuu #curvysewingcollective #vintagesewing #1960sdress #1960spattern #vintagepattern #curvysewing #plussizevintagefashion #plussizevintage

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Copyright 2012-2021. Tanya Maile Hughes. All rights reserved. Please do not copy or reproduce any content from this site without approval and credit. Sewing graphics by katieshoestring and California poppy graphics by DigitalDesignsAndArt

Mrs. Hughes: A retro inspired, vintage garment sewing and plus-size dressmaking blog by Tanya Maile Hughes.

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