Op-Shop Score! Vintage Umbrellas

I've always like the concept of taking an ordinary umbrella and recovering it so it looks more like a Victorian era parasol, but I've always been too wussy to try.

I've read a couple of good tutorials on how to do it, one from the Steam Ingeniuos blog here,
and the other most recently appearing in an article from issue one of the New Zealand steampunk magazine: AetherNZ.

And then I came across this piece of curtain(??) fabric in Toffs op-shop and I thought it looked very suitable with its fringe etc for a parasol cover.

fabric to use for covering a parasol

With that in mind I've been on the lookout for brollys to makeover. I got these two from Restore, for under $6.

The red one was made in Hong Kong, the brown stripey has no markings. And then I found this neat blue one, from Mosgiel Hospice Op-Shop for the grand total of $3.

It looks like a poor drowned bat when collapsed, but when you put her up! Delightful. And it still has a paper label "Gili box 205 Napier". Can anyone tell me if that was a shop or maybe a manufacturer? It would be nice to think I've found a vintage 1930s umbrealla from NZ's Art Deco capital!

The only trouble is I still need to find a suitable umbrella frame to makeover with my fringed fabric. These 3 are in great condition and I'd prefer to restore something rather than destroy something perfectly good.

Yes, I know, wuss talk.

Op Shop Score! Vintage craft tools for Tambour Embroidery

Have you ever read these lines from Jane Austin's novel Northanger Abbey

Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim. Catherine knew all this very well; her great aunt had read her a lecture on the subject only the Christmas before; and yet she lay awake ten minutes on Wednesday night debating between her spotted and her tamboured muslin, and nothing but the shortness of the time prevented her buying a new one for the evening.

Did you briefly acknowledge the word tamboured and have no clue what it meant? Well get ready for enlightenment.

While reading some library books researching I came across 'Tambour Embriodery' a popular 18th century pastime. It involves a net-type fabric stretched over a drum or hoop (think Tambourine and the names makes sense) and the embroiderer passes a tiny hook through the front of the fabric, hooks a thread from underneath and draws up a loop through the net, repeats, drops the first loop onto the second in a crochet action, carries on to form a row of chainstitches.

Although I have never done any embroidery - or crochet for that matter - it occurred to me, here was a potentially super easy historically accurate method for embellishing garments.

I trotted off to my local craft and sewing stores to inquire if they stocked Tambour embroidery hooks. Oddly enough they did not. Only one store had even heard of them, announcing no-one had asked for Tambour hooks for twenty years. Well, what can I say? I'm decidedly retro.

Fortunately being decidedly retro I don't stick to the beaten path and in Butterflies Hospice Op-shop on Hanover Street I scored these awesome vintage craft tools that look like tiny crochet hooks. See how tiny the hook is? OK, now these aren't officially Tambour hooks, but they should do the business.

[If anyone can tell what these hooks were really meant for (lace making??) Please let me know.]

And after scoring an embroidery hoop from Restore, (whoop only cost a $1.50) I've been experimenting with differtent types of thread to create the chain stitch, which, just as I hoped is super easy satisfyingly historical.

Tiny hooks (they have their own caps! too cute) used for my Tambour-style embroidery

If you're keen to learn more I've set up a pinboard Embriodery DIY which contains Tambour Embroidery How-Tos amoung others.

PS.  Also known as 'Aari' this style of embroidery is used today for attaching beads to fabric in the couture garment industry. And final fact for the day: Tambour Embroidery was the inspiration leading to the invention of the sewing machine. Neato!

Wait, wait, I forgot to say how much the hooks were. 50 cents each! Score!!!



Linking up this week with other thrifters: Black Bird has Spoken, and Sir Thrift Alot.

HSF '14 - Challenge # 1: Make Do & Mend - An 18th century petticoat

Although my posts are getting behind, in real life I am speeding along in completing a Marie Antoinette dress for my niece's birthday - due second weekend of Feb.

And thankfully I've finally timed it right so I can enter this step as part of the 'Historical Sew Fortnightly' which I have been following on Facebook since last year.

Part of making the MA dress meant sewing a petticoat or underskirt and thanks to the tutorial "An Easy, Authentic Eighteenth Century Petticoat" by Koshka the Cat I was able to make one - two in fact. I made an adult-sized one for myself, which I'm sharing today for the HSF challenge, and I made a child-sized one for my niece, photos of her one to be posted soon.

To construct the petticoat: basically take a huge rectangle of fabric, pleat it down to 70% of total waist, add an apron style waistband and ties. Repeat so you have a front and back. Stitch together at the sides but leave the top 9 inches open. The only thing I altered from Koshka's instructions is I doubled the thickness, pleating down two sheets to give the petticoat extra poof. You can see in the photos, top side and under side, show the two layers of pleating.

bib openings makes it great for sizing!

The Challenge: Historical Sew Fortnightly 2014 - Challenge # 1: Make Do & Mend

Fabric: 1 x stripey polycotton valance, 1 x white polycotton flat bedsheet

Pattern: no pattern required

Year: 1700s

Notions: just thread

How historically accurate is it? Not sure. The shape is accurate, but the materials, let's say...50% and I did sew it on a machine, not by hand...

Hours to complete: 6 at least. Not complicated but bulky!

First worn: not worn yet

Total cost: $3 for valance from Toffs Dunedin, already had the white sheet.

Completed 18th century petticoat

Op-shop Score! Dressmaking Book

Teaching myself sewing had me borrow every book I can find on the topic from the Dunedin Public Library, often having to borrow the same book again and again. But I won't have to be so reliant on the library now as I have my very own how to sew text "The Complete Dressmaker" by Peggy Hayden (first published in 1976) which I picked up from the Salvation Army for $4! Yay.

It covers how to make your own block/sloper and several sections which can be applied to my Victorian costume making projects, for example there's a section on wide belts which should help when/if I decide to tackle making a Swiss waist, which I'm feeling would be a nice addition to my 1863 outfit.

Op-shop score: Caning it! [Marie Antoinette Dress project - Part 3]

Y'know how oneday in a thirftshop you'll walk past a big old bag of cane and think, ugh, who would buy that? Even I can't see a use for that.... And others days, you think, OMG OMG that's exactly what I needed!

For the first time in my life I was in need of cane. And I found it. For only $6 from the lovely ladies at the Mosgiel 'Butterflies' op-shop.

Why cane? Am I channeling my inner 70s child about to make easter baskets for everyone! One for you! And you! Dear Timmy needs an Easter basket! Nope, it's quite simply my dear: Paniers.

"Huh?" You may reply

You know, those delightful 18th century devises for making skirts all sticky-outy. Let me remind you Gentle Reader, henceforth as I am on the journey of making my niece a Marie Antionette dress for her birthday. And back in the day cane was what was used to form the internal structure of said paniers.

And thanks to the Dreamstress' clear instructions I even know how to make' em! To the sewing machine! Cane ho!

I also snagged over 4 metres of cream satin which I plan to use for the underskirt/petticoat.

"How much for the fabric?" you may ask.

 $2. Not $2 a metre, $2 for the lot! Ahahah hahah ha! 

Sorry, overcome with a breif bout of bargain madness - which is a real thing. Look it up.

cane for making paniers, and fabric, part of my Marie Antoinette style dress project

Opshop score! Wedding Patterns

Recently I acquired 3 - yes three - wedding type sewing patterns from the op-shop, Orphans-aid international, located in South Dunedin for $2. Money well spent I feel. No, I have no plans to make a wedding dress, but I couldn't help but notice the sleeves and skirts do resemble Victorian styles.

Despite my glee at obtaining such a neat haul of patterns, it feels wrong somehow, getting wedding dress patterns from an orphan's charity...

Style Patterns  - No# 1204. "Misses [Wedding] Dress or Bridesmaid dress". circa 1976
Simplicity - No# 7389. "Misses Bridal and Bridesmaid dress". circa 1977
Simplicity - No# 9050 "Brides' and bridemaids' dress". Circa 1989.

Teacup score!

Sometimes I wonder which is the best charity store in town. Just when I think it's one, I get an excellent bargain at another. Recently I purchased two of these pretty blue teacups for 50 cents each from the Salvation Army thrift store in Mosgiel.

Vintage Teacup

I think I shall have to keep a running score, so currently that puts the Sally armies in the lead with two op-shop scores, including my lovely vintage sewing machine.

& now what to do with these cups? Turn them into pincushions...or dare I say it? Drink tea from them?