Dressmaking, getting older and a vintage peplum jacket.
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So the Great British Sewing Bee is on our screens at the moment and is such a bright spot on our calendars, bringing a weekly dose of happiness, relaxation and inspiration to creative people everywhere. As I have said before on here, I am not really a dressmaker (much more of a quilter and embroiderer) but watching the programme, I realise how familiar it all is from all those years ago when I was growing up and my Mum was very often dressmaking on the dining room table. I always loved pottering about with the all the intriguing contents of her haberdashery drawers and sometimes made things with her. I almost certainly know more than I think I know. I also know that one of the reasons I didn’t really do more dressmaking as I got older is that I always thought things wouldn’t fit me.
Over the last year or so I have been trying out some patterns and have had some disasters and some more successful results. Picking up the mantle again later in life though (I am 58) it has of course thrown up some real issues not all related to the sewing and I thought it might be interesting for me to write them all down and think about them and along with making this peplum jacket it has melded into this blog post.
So several months ago when I started to try my hand at a few things, I climbed up on a chair and reached for the dusty box of patterns that I took from my Mum’s house. As soon as I opened it, I saw such familiar images it brought a tear to my eye - Laura Ashley style patterns, 1980’s patterns and a few from way back in the 50’s and 60’s when Mum was making all her own clothes. They were all carefully folded and kept for another day. I thought I would start with a dressing gown (you can read about that here) as I remembered very clearly making one over a weekend with Mum more than 30 years ago. I found the pattern but when I looked inside it was cut out to a size 10…. Needless to say I am not a size 10 anymore and this threw up all sorts of body issues and questions about being older and what can look good as you get older. It’s a difficult question to deal with.
The first thing I can say is that the very best thing about being older is that you really don’t care as much about fashion and what people think in the way that you do in your younger years. This is liberating because you can consider what you personally really like in terms of colour and style. I am a vintage type of girl and always fascinated with fashion from days gone by. Sometimes I see a detail in a movie or an idea on a tv series that sparks and idea for a bag or a scarf or even a dressmaking project. If you read my journal you will know that ‘Outlander’ has sparked in me a real interest in all things Scottish and 18th century and that also I am a huge fan of “Alabama Chanin’ which I find very inspirational - Natalie Chanin uses modern fabrics and embroidery with comfortable styles and interesting techniques, often with a historical throw back. Her books are superb and one or other of them is never far away from my armchair. My Alabama Chanin dress and jacket are amongst my most treasured items of clothing and you can read about them here.
The second thing is that these days fashion is not all that interesting. I mean, let’s be honest here, especially during lock down, we have all be slopping about in scruffs and wearing up old clothes. When you look at pictures from way back, they always look so much more glamorous. This picture of my great aunts was taken in the 1930’s.
Everyday fashion in the 21st century is unashamedly about comfort, stretchy fabrics and ease of care - it really is not at all about style. On top of this, prosperity and the huge range of foods we know have access to, we are all a lot heavier than we were back in the day and somehow so much has got lost in terms of ‘style’ in this transition.
The third thing is that we don’t accept growing older in the way that women used to. As a young woman, I felt that the senior ladies in the family never wore anything that I would have considered wearing at 20. This is not the case now. I do remember in the years we lived in Sweden, where they really know how to age beautifully, the older women would wear pretty white shirts and beautiful knitwear with their jeans and add simple touches like pearl earrings to soften everything and yet you would often see them with their grand daughters in similar attire. It has stayed with me as I have got older and I think it is great that we can look at all styles and fashions and cherry pick the ones that work for us as we age.
The final and fourth thing to think about is that our bodies do change as we get older and we just have to accept this. Unless you are a gym goddess or a diet queen, it is nearly always the case that as we move into our 50’s things start to go south. It is natural. I am 5’2” on a good day and there is nowhere to go with that I can tell you (unless you want the high heels things which has never ever been my style). I had a uncomfortable (and unexpected) time with the menopause and felt that I saw my body shape just change without changing anything about my lifestyle, especially around my tummy. The fact is that it is just life. I’ve had three wonderful children and never been sporty. Although I am a busy person and never mind walking anywhere, inevitably as you get older you slow down a little and that ‘a little’ is I suppose what makes the difference along with the hormonal changes that batter us in late middle age.
I suppose in the end, we just have to accept a little of all of this. Recently my husband retired and we have been adjusting our lifestyle - walking more and eating less meat. I have a thyroid disorder too and after a few years of experimenting and reading about Hashimotos - I know that sugar is my real enemy. It’s probably most people’s enemy if we are honest and I have come to understand that this is almost certainly the key to feeling well for me. I try to make healthier cooking choices with the help of Deliciously Ella (she does brilliant podcasts by the way) and Sarah Wilson of ‘I quit sugar’. It is important to keep everything in perspective though and remember, life is for the living and you have to enjoy it and come to terms with who you are and what your body shape is.
Turning back to dressmaking, I have tried to use this in thinking about what kind of things to make. Finding clothes that you like and that fit is always difficult when you are short. But they are probably difficult whatever your shape when you are older and here the ‘making’ can really make the difference. I decided that the thing to do was to write down a few key points that you really feel suit you and that you would particularly like in a garment. I nearly always wear jeans and so what I really want to make are tops to wear with them. Consider what you want from a garment. Three quarter sleeves are my absolute go to but not puffy in anyway as it makes me look wider. Boxy hip length things are better for me as well and as I find things that are too high around the neck uncomfortable, so I need to focus on a scoop neck or open neck. And suddenly there you have the blue print for what you are looking for.
The Merchant and Mills top 64 is a great pattern for me and you can read about that here. But the overshirt that I am writing about today has come about over a period of time really. Recently I made the ‘Hinterland Dress’ by SewLiberated and you can read about that here. I actually felt rather uncomfortable wearing a dress which was a bit alarming, but I did love some of the (Outlander inspired) features on it, in particular the scoop neck with the added trimming and the sleeves with the frill edging. I decided to use all these again with my new project which seemed like it would be a shirt (or perhaps more of an overshirt).
I have been reading about Georgian fashion and the styles of the 18th century and there are some lovely details which I felt could be incorporated into a modern day garment. The peplum is definitely one of them. I think that not only is it very pretty and feminine, but it is also flattering too. So as I was using the pattern for the dress already, I simply cut the skirt panels but at just 10” long for the peplum. In fact my idea was that I would fold these 10” strips in half to give a 5” peplum but double weight to hold in neatly in place and remove the need for a hemline.
A word about my fabric choices too - my resolution this year is no new fabric and this lovely piece of Dutch heritage fabric by Petra Prins and New Kooiman has been sitting in my stash for a while. It seemed just perfect for an 18th century inspired shirt as the print is a reproduction of a Dutch East India company chintzes. They come in lots of pretty colour ways too so do go and you can find out more about them here. The trimming fabric is my favourite Liberty lawn print Capel. This is much lighter weight than the cotton and so folds without bulkiness for the little pleated frills.
Having made this before, it was so much easier this time and the only real challenge came when pleating the peplum. I started at the back and made sure that it had an inverted pleat at the centre back and then just took small pleats on each side making sure that I had the same number in each direction.
This little top is just pure joy for me. If I made it again and I am thinking about making a tartan one (lol!) I would make the peplum slightly longer, but other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing. I feel like I have taken so many elements into consideration and it has come together in a little gem of a garment that is tailor made for me.
Of course it is not everybody’s style but the thing to take away from this posting is that you can make what you want, taking ideas from fashion magazines, movies or historical costume and just have a go. Think about the key points you want in a garment and look to mix and match elements and find the style that really reflects your personality. In the end, getting older is all about being yourself - not a mum, a wife, a job - just yourself.
See you next time for a new quilt pattern launch.
Ruby x
