Modern Living - Vintage Loving

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Modern Living - Vintage Loving

A modern girl loving the fashion of the 1950s. Most definitely Vintage Fashion Not Vintage Values

27/04/2026

Haven’t been out and about much as life has just got too much in the way! But managed to meet up with these lovely ladies for a picnic in the park and a trip to a wonderful find - a bookshop with cake and a bar too!
has such a great, cosy vibe to it and the setting and staff are so welcoming too.
Came back determined to make another trip to Leamington Spa.
Thank you again ladies - you alway make me laugh and relax 😘
And if you facilitate a book club, and are visiting a bookshop there can only be one pair of shoes to wear 😂📚. Just had to get these new ones 😂😂

16/01/2026

Really good meeting this morning - learnt some key things about mortgages from the excellent presentation- and a great opportunity to meet up and talk with other local businesses👍

03/11/2025

When you need to go to a ball - and are having a moment that’s a cross between Cinderella and the Sound of Music!🤣🤣
That saw me take a pair of voile panel embroidered curtains and turn them into a dress and cape.
For unknown reasons I literally left this to just one week before the Dressmakers Ball but I managed it 😁
Completely forgot to get pics of the cape so the only ones I have are in my workroom so please forgive the mess.!

The bodice of my dress is the Monroe by charm patterns. The skirt is self drafted and very different for me as usually I like a full circle skirt but I had to work with what I had.
The cape is self drafted.

Diana Sands Crafty Sew&So

01/05/2025

My thanks to the lovely Josh and Verity at Neil’s Fabrics for showcasing my makes with their fabrics.
They’re a treasure trove of beautiful - and extremely affordable fabrics and can’t speak highly enough of the quality and their customer care.
It’s a wonderful thing to have a physical place to go to buy fabric rather than everything being online.
So if you love to sew you definitely need to visit them 👌

18/01/2025

My first two makes of 2025 are completed 🏆😁

Using a sumptuous brocade fabric kindly gifted by I made an outfit for summer because this fabric just screams “field of flowers”.

I chose pattern B6992, but of course being me I do like to tweak things a bit. In this case I picked out the green in satin for a contrast collar and then embroidered flowers on them, I used the green to made my own bias binding so I could perfectly match the inside of the neckline and used it to pipe my pockets, I also used the green for covered buttons and a matching waistband too.

I was really pleased with this pattern because I have quite broad shoulders and a typical open shoulder which is straight can expose mine too much. This then emphasises them.🤦🏾‍♀️(I resemble an American football player🤣).
But this pattern has a lovely rounded/curved shape to the shoulder line which feels much less severe and more feminine to me.

🧵🪡
I’ve never worked with brocade before so used tips such as sewing with a very fine needle. I was also given the heads up by a lovely sewing friend 👍🏾 that brocade can fray easily- and she’s not wrong 🤣
Whilst this wasn’t too bad I did ensure I overlocked all my seams as soon as they were cut out, which is standard for me. Also staystitching areas like necklines and waists helped a lot too.

This fabric gave me the opportunity to try new things like bound buttonholes. This is a great way of making solid buttonholes which won’t fray.
I also decided I’d do Hong Kong seams just because I liked the idea of a splash of colour inside the skirt.💕💕

As my dress had no sleeves I had enough fabric to make a matching bolero which will be perfect for a coverup on a summer’s evening.

Minor amendments:
🪡I lowered the neckline by 1/2 inch
🪡lengthened the bodice by 3/4 inch
🪡Changed the front bodice pleats to darts
🪡Interfaced the collar and all facings - no idea why there’s none in the pattern instructions!
🪡swopped the topstitching for understitching
🪡adding lining to the bodice
🪡added hanging straps to the bodice
🪡changed plain buttonholes to bound ones
🪡 added extra flare to the skirt portion to change it from A-line as I prefer a circle skirt.

🧵

28/10/2024

For my vintage minded friends 😉
Pretty sure some of these are not quite true - life wasn't completely unimaginative back then! but never the less this still amused me!

07/06/2024

Did you like my brooches yesterday from the Erstwilder Atomic Abode collection?
The wonderful Naomi and Wednesday of Wednesday Jones are doing a giveaway 🎁🎁 of a £25 voucher off the next Erstwilder collection 😍

If you’ve purchased your Erstwilder from Wednesday Jones they want to see yours styled beautifully. Swipe to see screenshots of her posts including the rules - these are important👍

I’m not entering the comp as I’m lucky enough to be a brooch ambassador for this lovely small business - but I couldn’t resist showing you some of my own shots modelling brooches from past collections from Wednesday. Helped of course by my own furbaby Heston.
Heston does not look amused but rather resigned to her fate of being dressed up and rewarded with cuddles 🤣🤣
She’s 20 years old in August and I’ve had her since she was 10 weeks old so she’s very patient with me🤣🤣

Please do take part in the comp as I’d love to see how you (or your fur babies 😂) wear your Erstwilder brooches from Wednesday Jones.

29/03/2024

What a wonderful way to begin the bank hols break - well for me at least 😉

I’m in the national magazine woman&home in a feature on three women who wear 1950s/60s/70s clothing 24/7.
I choose to wear a mix of reproduction and clothing I’ve made, from the 1950s, inspired by Dior’s New Look because i find it so elegant and feminine.

My thanks to journalist Michelle Rowley who thought of me for the 1950s. We could have chatted for hours about our love of the fashion and sewing too!

In the photos the large one is of one of my favourite reproduction dresses which was gifted to me by Miss Candyfloss.
All the others, including the one on the mannequin, are dresses I have made myself. (Details below)
✨
📸Bronze dress with flower overlay in main pic pattern Miss Candyfloss
🧵Cream duchess satin with lace over lay. Pattern B6094 fabric from Neil’s fabric
🧵Grey Halloween kitties dress pattern B6870, fabric is a duvet cover from Asda
🧵Blue and green horrockses style dress. Pattern V8789 fabric from Minerva
🧵Atomic print dress. Pattern Gertie Charm Patterns, Stanwyck bodice and skirt
Fabric from hot rockin retro
🧵blue and gold evening dress. Pattern bodice S9465 skirt self drafted. Fabric from Neil’s fabric.
💕💚
✨

13/03/2024

I took a walk down Nostalgia Street fair at the Vintage Retreat Northampton on Sunday and had a fantastic time.

It was like a family get together seeing so many lovely people who’ve become good friends 💕

I’d like to thank the VR for my bottle of Prosecco and a tote bag which was given to me as as third prize in their competition.
Here I am with the other prize winners Abbie Fenn and Debbie

✨
Dress gifted
Hat
Snood
Brooch

✨

02/12/2023

My Christmas experiences continue - and this one was a fantastic Dickensian experience The Great Christmas Feast 👌🏾👌🏾.

It’s the immersive storytelling of a Christmas Carol as told by Dickens as you attend a feast in his home. He plays all the key parts using nothing but voices and mannerisms and a few props to convey each of them - and does it brilliantly.
In between each act you are served one of your three courses - and I needed to be rolled out of there!

It’s not necessary but you’re encouraged to dress the part if you wish. So I dug through my wardrobe to find this skirt which is almost 20 years old, topped off with a modern p***y bow tied shirt and my beloved 🎩

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