For pinup girls, Patterns by Gertie B6354 is a must have
This video features my tips for making this beautiful 3-piece ensemble reversible in both a beautiful rayon and black poly/cotton blend. Full disclosure, this video definitely took a very long time to shoot; you’ll see multiple outfit changes over the course of the video. I think all in all, it took me about a week and a half as I worked an hour here, an hour there.
The project was fun, though. Patterns by Gertie B6354 has been sitting in my pattern collection since June 2016 and it was nice to be able to pull it out so soon. There are many patterns which have been sitting in my collection for years that still haven’t seen the light of day- B6354 was put into use right away!
If you missed out on my previous post, this video was made as part of the Retro Tiki Collab with the beautiful and smart Christina from Gussets and Godets, Abi from The Crafty Pinup, and Akram from Akram’s Ideas. Please check out their individual blogs to read more about their versions of this pattern and their respective tutorials!
Vintage on Tap’s first collaboration- Butterick B6354 is FABULOUS!
Can I say how happy and excited I am to have worked on this collaboration? Featuring 4 lovely ladies in the retro and pinup blogging world, sewing the same pattern in their own unique way. We each decided to give Gertie’s Butterick B6354 our own twist and its been so fun to see how the pattern has been interpreted and styled!
Why this pattern? It’s summer time and tiki seems to be all the rage this time of year in the pin up sewing world. And besides, I was all ready itching for another tropical drink after my last tiki dress a while back.
For my version of Butterick B6354, I made my piece… reversible!
Sewing a reversible garment can be fun, and the amount of hand sewing should definitely not turn you off from trying it! There’s only a few special considerations to take into account for this particular piece.
#1: Plan your reversible from even before Step One
No, you can’t just cut into your pretty fabric and go! Take a look at the pattern pieces and directions and decide what can and can’t be reversible. Locate what will be tricky and will need work arounds and test those out on a muslin first. For this piece, I knew that the back closure, interior boning, straps and cup decoration would need extra consideration and need to be made differently in order to be fully reversible.
#2: Both fabrics on a reversible piece have to have to bought purposefully and thoughtfully
Making this piece reversible means there is no real lining fabric and that means that every side of the piece has to look good! There’s no way to hide a funky sewing fumble, either. For this piece, I opted to hand-sew anything that might be questionable, including the top stitching and back closure. Also, try to make both fabrics a similar weight and feel or the piece will not behave properly.
#3 Decide what parts of the pattern can work double time
The bias decoration on this piece is the same on both sides and merely flips the opposite way to decorate the other side. There are some parts of a reversible that just have to do double duty, there’s no way around it. On this piece, I made sure to carry my top stitching underneath the band to allow it to roll over a little bit more easily. A lot of the techniques that might make the bodice more stable (under stitching, etc.) had to be skipped in order to protect the integrity of the reversible.
#4 The closure can be the hardest part to make beautiful
Don’t mind the wonky skirt in this picture, but instead focus on what will work to make the piece look good at the closure. This pattern called for a zipper, but most reversible zippers are made for winter coats and not suitable for this sort of piece. I decided to go with flat buttons that wouldn’t add too much bulk to the bustier from either side. The result looks sleek and purposeful.
Would I make this piece again? Totally! For my particular piece I had to do a FBA on the bolero and bustier, but I may have just slightly overdone it on the bustier. Either that or I need to start rocking a bigger push up bra to fill in the cups a little bit more! Next time, though, I would take the cups in just slightly to have them not so “open” at the top.
The bolero was a breeze to sew, though, and I actually all ready want a bunch for regular wear. I can see making this in a wool fabric with a colorful lining for date nights.
The sarong was nice and super comfy; I actually would love to make it in a real casual fabric for an upcoming vacation, too!
There’s so many ways to update and change this piece to suit your style, though. Check out the other posts in the collab for Butterick 6354 to learn about different ways to make it a little bit more your own.
Meet the ladies who participated in the Retro Tiki Collab!
Abi from The Crafty Pinup
Abi exploded onto the sewing scene just a few months ago, but has all ready been featured by BBC and The Fold Line for her awesome blogging and sewing skills! She also owns My Retro Closet for all your boudoir needs.
Akram has been super active and such a fun blogger and vlogger who I have admired for a long time! She does everything from baking amazing recipes to sewing and thrifting up a storm. If you’re not all ready watching her on YouTube, you’re missing out!
Akram sewed up the pattern as is- giving a full break down of what you can expect to find the moment you open up your copy of Butterick B6354. She also did some adjustments on the skirt and the images on her blog really help guide you through the process! Hop on over there to read about her experience working on her piece.
Christina from Gussets and Godets
Not gunna lie, I’ve had a huge blogger-girl-crush on Christina for a while because of her awesome outfits and amazing styling skills. Every time I see her post on Instagram or her blog, I’m like “omg girl, weeeerk!” She’s been featured on the lovely A Stitching Odyssey blog and is beloved by the sewing community.
Please leave your thoughts and comments on this piece and the others you’ve seen! And stay tuned for an update on a giveaway and the Making Of video of my reversible piece!
This year I challenged myself to sew something different, and for this project I focused on learning to sew with new materials. A pinup bathing suit was my first toe into sewing swimwear knits and I’m happy McCall’s 7168 worked. It challenged me to take the sewing skills I’m all ready comfortable with and marry them with some new techniques.
First, the fabric: a lovely vintage 60s swimwear knit I picked up from the Etsy store Kchoos. I talk about this great fabric in my June 2016 haul video (check it out if you haven’t all ready!) Insanely happy tropical fruits and flowers are featured all over it and you can get lost in all the colors. The fabric fed into the tiki kick I’ve been on lately, so I couldn’t resist. Also, the bright colors hides any mistakes I made in construction!
McCall’s M7168 is a modern pattern that lends itself to a lot of possibilities.
The amount of sewing options can be a little bit overwhelming, but they’re fun to think about because you can create your ideal two-piece. The mix and match is a selling point and there are a lot of pattern pieces to work with no matter what design you chose. After the dust settled, I went with the high waisted briefs + plain waistband + no panel gathers…. combined with halter top. Mouthful for sure, but the ideal retro-inspired piece.
My main concern making the pinup bathing suit was whether or not it would even fit! Other considerations I was worried about:
Did I need to do a full bust adjustment?
How much negative ease was built in?
Would any of the bands look weird on my short torso?
For sewing without a muslin, the bathing suit worked out in the end. I think if I were to make this pinup suit again, I would certainly tweak the pattern just slightly- but barely slightly- around the openings for my legs as I found them just a touch tight. The piece actually fit better than I anticipated, so no complaints overall! My upcoming YouTube video about this piece is going to go a little bit more into the nitty gritty on the process of creation- subscribe to my channel to see it as soon as its published!
Disclaimer: This post contains a couple affiliate links :)
This tiki dress is the most immediately satisfying make of the year.
The moment it left my sewing machine, I knew it was a winner. This tiki dress was very much an impulsive “MUST MAKE IT NOW” sort of project and I’m glad I took it on because I feel amazing in it. Browsing the different vintage and pinup Facebook groups I’m a part of, seeing everyone talking about the Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekend, and being sad that I can’t go this year isn’t very productive. So why not whip up a tiki dress for when I do get to go?
The pattern was super cool to work with because I all ready knew it quite well! The pattern is a combination of two different pieces from the Gertie New Book for Better Sewing. The top is the Sweetheart Dress and the skirt is the pencil skirt pattern, redrafted with a slash and spread technique.
Something different that I got to play with in this pattern was the shirring in the back, using elastic thread in my recently tuned up machine. It was fun to see the panel shrink! But So.Many.Rows! For some reason I anticipated working with elastic thread to be more complicated than it really was.
The fabric for this piece was something I picked up from a local fabric shop and absolutely screamed tiki dress. While I absolutely love the print, the fabric itself has a really weird hand that reminds me of a soft oilcloth. When I purchased it, it had a stiffer hand, which I had hoped was only the final finish and would soften during washing. It still softened and is wearable, but I can see this as a special occasion dress due to the weird texture of the fabric.
