New Name and a Giveaway: Vogue 6574

Yes, it's true, I changed my blog name! For all those squinting and wondering who's showing up on the dashboard, I changed my name from "I Think I Just Screwed It Up" to "Sew Classic."

I felt like my old name was a little negative, not necessarily properly reflecting the crafting/sewing nature of the blog, and frankly, a little long and annoying to type into the address bar.

So with that said, let's get right into this week's giveaway!

This is another old pattern from the 1960s that I find to be darling. The shift, option B, is perfect for summer and can easily be layered in the winter, though I do love the sleeves on the other dresses. And that Peter Pan collar is my favorite!

Is anyone else incredibly jealous by the $1 price tag?!

The pattern has been cut, but it's been properly cared for and all the pieces and instructions are there. It's  Vogue 6574, size 16. Bust: 36" Hip: 38"

To enter:
Leave a comment below telling me where you'd wear this. I like to live vicariously through you guys. :-)

Additional/Optional entries:
1. Follow this blog and leave a separate comment saying that you do.
2. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a separate comment with a link.
3. Post this giveaway on Pinterest and leave a separate comment with a link.

Rules and Things
There are 4 ways to enter, additional entries/comments will be deleted. Two winners will be selected via random.org and the winner must respond within 48 hours or I'll select another winner. I'm opening this one up to other countries - so anyone from any country can enter! Contest ends August 8th at 11:59pm EST.

Thrifting and a Brief Excursion to the 1950s

I know it's not sewing or craft related, but don't forget about the giveaway I have going on! Pereg Gourmet has generously donated some boxed food (with dehydrated real foods, no chemicals or preservatives!) and some of their amazing spices to one of five readers. It takes only a few minutes to enter!


Okay. So this is more of a craft project that couldn't be. 


I went to Goodwill and found this amazing suitcase. Originally, they were asking $20, but when I went back recently, the price dropped to $7. I decided it was worth it.

Clearly, I need to replace the Turkey sticker that someone decided they didn't like.

I was thinking about turning this into a pet bed or something interesting, but since I was actually buying it this trip, I did an inspection.

Yes, a pet bed! One of the newest additions to my family, Franklin. (Brother not pictured.)

The case is still intact, and the locks still work. The only problem is that the lining is starting to fall out, which really isn't that much of a problem.

Nothing a little glue won't fix. Probably.

Everything else still looks beautiful.

So then I was going to turn it into a picnic suitcase, similar to this one:

Isn't it adorable? I love picnics and I hate having to carry everything in multiple bags. One cute suitcase with everything would be perfect, right?

Not according to my boyfriend. "What a waste of time and money! Even if you go on picnics once a week, you'll only use that 12 times a year." Hm, good point.

So it looks like I have a new suitcase! What else could I do, but dress up and have a nice retro day around the neighborhood?

Waiting for the bus to take me back to the 1950s.

I'm all self-conscious about the crack in my sunglasses that somehow never showed up on camera.

Adorable print! Got this at the thrift store too.

Contest Winners and Updates

Congratulations to Boner and Rachel for winning the pattern giveaway this week! I'll try and have another contest up and going in the next few days.

Also, I'm hard at work making a dress for Promaballoona. I found the pattern on sale at Joann's a few months ago (along with some other amazing retro patterns), and I've been dying to make it ever since. This is the perfect project!

Of course, I can't make a proper dress without a proper sewing machine. After making the jersey dress, my machine just doesn't want to cooperate - or maybe it never really did. I ordered a computerized Singer to replace my mechanical Brother, so hopefully now I won't have as many problems. I was quite pleased to see all the reviews/complaints of the Brother on amazon that were very similar to mine, but I still can't figure out how it still managed to have such a high rating because they somehow got past all its problems. Obviously, it's just not for me.

So once my new sewing machine gets here, I'm also going to finish the curtains (that I stopped midway through because I HATED the stitching from the Brother). The boyfriend wanted short panels, so that's what I'm making. If I have enough fabric, I'm going to do something with ruffles like this:

I'm pretty sure it won't be this nice though.

And then finally, I've got this fabric:

I have no idea what to make with it, especially since I hate lining things. Perhaps a nice breezy shirt or dress? Hm.

Finished: 1920s Inspired Jersey Dress

Just in case you missed it, I'm giving away a couple of my vintage patterns here. Only a few people have entered, so your chances of winning are quite good. Not interested in those? Stayed tuned because I have a lot more skirt, dresses, and tops I'm going to be giving away in the next few weeks in an effort to reduce junk and share the love with those who don't find it to be junk. :-)

Also, I run a food blog that's all about using real food with only natural ingredients. There are recipes and some food news, but now I'm having a giveaway! Head on over if you like food and check it out. It's a mix of prepared foods (from real dehydrated foods - no chemicals or anything!) and spices.

Now that that's out of the way, on to sewing news!

In New York twice a year, there's something known as the New Age Jazz Festival, which is basically a lawn party (aka a picnic) where everyone dresses in 1920s costumes. I've missed it every year that I've been here, and I wasn't about to miss it this year.

 1920s clothing doesn't really flatter me since I have such a small chest and waist and massive hips. I decided that wasn't going to stop me, and I would just modify an outfit slightly. I have a dress that I used to love. It's always been too big for me, but since I lost more weight, it's now far too large for me. I was planning on copying the skirt since it has sort of a drop waist and changing the top to a scoop neck. ( I can assure you that scoop necks in the 20s were very common since I watched Midnight in Paris several nights in a row for research.)

So I bought two yards of yellow jersey and gave myself a week. I figured that would be plenty of time. Tracing the skirt and waist from the existing dress wasn't too challenging. Tracing my tank top and adding wider straps also wasn't too bad. I've heard cutting jersey could be difficult because you might accidentally stretch it, but again, no problem there.

This was turning out to be the easiest dress ever!!

Tracing the skirt. I lost my chalk... so I used a highlighter. What? It's yellow. And it washes out. (Right?)

Tracing the top and adding more of a sleeve.

I pinned everything up and according to online instructions, using a double needle was best. Conveniently I had a double needle and two spools of yellow thread. And that's when I started running into problems. I spent literally, actually two days trying to figure out the stupid thread situation.

I know they're not the same color, but I was going off of memory when I bought them (separately). Not that it matters anyway...

I was so proud for figuring this out. *sniff*

If you've never knitted on jersey before, you can't use a basic running stitch because it doesn't stretch and since jersey does stretch, the thread will pop. A double needle is supposed to eliminate that problem, but it didn't seem to work very well for me. In fact, the thread kept coming out of the needles, even while sewing. Also, when the machine was sewing, one of the needles would just randomly skip a bunch of stitches. WHY???

I tried looking online, and no one could tell me. They would offer unhelpful suggestions like: adjust your tension, adjust your length, check your needle, make sure it's the proper needle, make sure it's on the right stitch.

Every time I adjusted it, the machine would work brilliantly for approximately 10 seconds, long enough to give me hope, then would start to screw up.

Seriously, I was about to throw my machine out of the window. I tried searching for my specific machine and "how to sew jersey," but I all I got were a bunch of stupid reviews saying how awesome my machine is because it can sew jersey. LIES! WHERE IS THE JERSEY SETTING? HOW DO I DO IT??

Finally, after trying 5 different settings, I found the jersey setting. Or at least, I found something that will work. And finally I figured out the proper width and tension setting. (Of course, now I can't remember the proper settings for cotton... The manual for my Brother is zero help. Anyone?)

Anyway, the dress finally just stitched right up. Of course, it wasn't in time for the festival, but it still looks cute enough to wear every day. And perhaps I'll wear it to the festival in August!

The only slight problem is the neckline. The fabric that lays over my collarbone tends to roll. Ironing it didn't seem to help, nor did cutting down the excess fabric. Any ideas?

See the rolling? And no, it's not because my arms are raised.

Hm, looks like the sleeves roll a little as well.

Now that I figured it out didn't screw it up too badly, I can't wait to do more because jersey is my favorite material of all. If I had my way, everything would be made of jersey. And soon it just might!

Vintage Pattern Giveaway!

So in response to my last post, where I felt terribly guilty for having and buying things that were just going to waste and kill the planet, I decided to clean out craft room a little, and find all the patterns I wasn't interested in. There's quite a few!

Even though I've really only used one actual pattern to make a dress (and no, it's not completed yet...) I have a large collection of vintage patterns through giveaways, sales, and family members.  I'm going to try to give away a few each week for the next few weeks, though the time may vary slightly.

Some patterns are cuter than others, but that's usually the way it works, right? Also, let me know if there is any interest in vintage nightgowns because I seem to have acquired a lot.

So my first giveaway are 2 lovely patterns that I think are darling, but they look terrible on my body type, so I'm not even going to try. I'll be giving away the patterns separately so there will be two winners!

First up is Simplicity 7580, a cute sundress from 1968. It's a size 12. Bust 34, waist 25.5, hip 36. The pattern has been cut, but whoever had it before took great care of it because it seems to be in great condition.

Next up is a Very Easy Vogue Pattern 8766. I can't find a year on it, but I think it's safe to assume the 1970s.  There are 3 dresses and a pants outfit. It's a size 16. Bust 38, waist 30, hip 40. The pattern has not been cut and it looks like no one has ever unfolded it before!

To enter:
Leave a comment below telling me your favorite decade of clothing and if that's the style you try to wear daily or if you just admire it. Also be sure to mention which pattern you'd like and a way for me to contact you if you're the winner. :-)

Additional/Optional entries:
1. Follow this blog and leave a separate comment saying that you do.
2. Tweet about this giveaway and leave a separate comment with a link.
3. Post this giveaway on Pinterest and leave a separate comment with a link.

Rules and Things
There are 4 ways to enter, additional entries/comments will be deleted. Two winners will be selected via random.org and the winner must respond within 48 hours or I'll select another winner. Because this is coming from my pocket, I can only ship to the US at the moment - sorry! Contest ends July 23rd at 11:59pm EST.