Sew What?! "Fun in the Sun" Hat

I know what you're thinking, "MORE sun hats?!?!!!  This fool has got to be kidding!!!"  Well, as long as the sun shines in the great state of California, sun hats will always be a necessity.  Furthermore, this post has nothing whatsoever to do with the Put A Lid On It Sun Hats by Mr. Tiny, currently available on Etsy (that doesn't mean that there isn't time for a shameless little p-p-puh-plug).  Rather, this post has everything to do a with a vintage hat pattern that I unearthed from the bottom of a pattern avalanche that I received several years ago as a hand-me-down from my grandmother.

At first glance, the illustration led me to believe that the undated pattern might've been from the
late-'60s-'70s.  After reviewing the printing and instructions, I figured that it was probably from the
1980's, likely a classic pattern that had been in print for a number of years by Muggins Original
Stuff (a company from whom it appears an interested party might still potentially acquire a copy).

A one-sheet pattern, I nearly disposed of it, doubting seriously my ambition for creating sun hats (my, my, how times have changed).  Recognizing that certain timeless styles remain perennially en vogue, I decided to retain it in the Mr. Tiny pattern archives, feeling deep within my hoarder's heart that it would eventually come in handy.

Hoping to invoke the spirit of Joan and Thelma, and evoke a style reminiscent of these other
floppy-hatted beachside beauties, I pulled the "Fun in the Sun" hat pattern from the vaults.
(Source A, B, C, D, E, F)

Also from the vaults came this sturdy rayon-linen blend printed with charming sprays of pink
dogwood blossoms.  I've had this fabric so long that it has actually moved house with me twice! 

I had the pattern, the inspiration, the fabric, and a free afternoon; nothing was to stop me from diving head first into this hat (please, do not pardon the pun; it only encourages me).

I decided to skip the frivolity of the scalloped brim (View 2) and the superfluous sunglass holder (View 3) in favor of the simplicity of View 1.  That isn't to say that I followed the instructions word-for-word (definitely not my strong suit).  I ignored the warning against fusible interfacing (for a reason known only to the high heavens, I used fusible AND non-fusible interfacing), I extended the depth of the brim by 2" all around, and opted to assemble the hat in a way that suited my dubious understanding of garment/hat construction as opposed to the pattern-maker's expert instruction.

Instead of attaching ready-made ribbons to the finished hat, as per pattern instructions,
I made my own ties out of the fashion fabric and sewed them into the seam for a more finished look. 

I might not have fully committed myself to the instructions but I did love the editorial commentary peppered
liberally throughout: "Everything cut out?  Machine threaded? Radio turned to your favorite station?

How about a can of pop and a couple of cookies? O.K....Everything in place, so let's get sewin'."

Radio?  Cookies? Pop?!?!!  If this was my grandma's house in the '70s-'80s, it would've

been Donahue on the TV, a handful of Excedrin, and an ice-cold chaser of Tab! 

The hat went together quickly and easily but I, of course, failed to take any progress pictures - I wasn't about to disrupt my hat making rhythm!

Because our house model is out of town, I had to employ our far more
reliable, exceedingly more cooperative standby, "Hat-tie McDaniel."
Just imagine what it would like like with a little bit of hair!

The last departure I made from the original hat pattern was electing to eliminate the multiple rows of topstitching on the brim; I like the way it looks without but I think the topstitching would provide a bit more body and stability.  I might change my mind by the time our live mannequin returns ready to model the complete look (yep, I can't help myself from making matchy-matchy hat ensembles).  What a cliffhanger!!!  Will Mr. Tiny take to the topstitch or will the broad brim remain bare?  Stay tuned!!!

Have you sewn a hat before?  Is it possible that Ms. Crawford would deign to don our "Fun in the Sun Hat?"  What do you think, is floppy too sloppy, or would you wear a floppy, floral, flapper-inspired beach hat?


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Sew What?! Sarong That It's Right

As is the case with most home-garment-construction workers (a new phrase I've coined to make my chosen hobby sound more masculine and avoid the easily misread, "sewer"), I go through periods of inspirational and motivational drought.  Months will pass before I realize that beyond some minor mending, I haven't sewn a single stitch.

As it inevitably does, the pendulum has a way of swinging back to the opposite extreme and I find myself chained to my trusty Bernina, forgoing wild nights in the pursuit of wild, wacky tacky wear.  I often refer to my sewing area as "Mr. Tiny's workshop;" when it more closely resembles "Mr. Tiny's Sweatshop," however, I begin to sympathize with Betty Hutton.

"The Sewing Machine" - Betty Hutton in
The Perils of Pauline (1947)

Currently in the midst of a sewing binge, I am doing my best to cut through the huge stash of fabric that I have been amassing.  For years I have been successfully whittling away at the yards and yards and yards and yards of a particular Marimekko print that I happened to buy at very deep discount in every available colorway.  The 1960 print from the Finnish manufacturer is called "Tulipunainen" which, according to a very perfunctory Google search, translates to "vermilion" - although one shouldn't expect an accurate representation of color here because every picture I upload seems to change color drastically.

Even though it is of decidedly-Scandinavian origin, I can't help but get a tropical inspiration every time I see this print; I like to think of Tulipunainen as the Thor Heyerdahl of the fabric world.

Heyerdahl was Norwegian and Marimekko is Finnish
but come hell AND high water, both managed to find
the South Pacific somehow.

With all the boldness of one of 20th-Century tiki's founding fathers, I set out on my own polynesian adventure to discover if I could create a two-piece semi-sarong(ish) outfit for Mary.

Mary has encouraged me to include a sketch with all
of my "Sew What?!" posts.  I'm a little shy about sharing
my drawings so we'll see how long this lasts.

 While technically not a sarong (the skirt does not wrap, the front panel is just a large drape), Mary felt it wasn't so-wrong and decided to wear it mere moments after I finished sewing on the last button.

Dorothy Lamour this ain't but
it's sarong that it's right, right?

She wore it to up her wild ante while performing at a Wild Records show;
I'm thinking she should be the poster child for their offshoot label - Mild Records.

All of our favorite photographer friends were in attendance
but nobody brought a proper camera.  I don't blame them
but I sure was hoping I wouldn't have to rely on my
meager point-and-shoot-and-pray technique.

Do you sew?  Have you been stuck at your sewing machine lately?  Have you ever made a sarong-style outfit?  Does this Finnish fabric have you singing Aloha 'Oe?  Until the next time I get a break from my self-imposed sweatshop, I'll settle for that lilting, island melody as played on the electric organ.

"Aloha 'Oe"

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Sew What?! What's Black and White and WILD All Over?

There are two kinds of people in this world, Wanda Jackson fans and Janis Martin fans.  Although, perhaps it is too strong to characterize it as an issue of mutually-exclusive preferences.  Speaking in generalities, however, most folks familiar with the music of both artists fall firmly into one category or the other.

Wanda vs. Janis

Whose side are you on?

(clink on images for a link to the source)

In all honesty, I happen to enjoy the music of both performers but if I had to choose, without question, the choice would easily be Janis Martin, "The Female Elvis."   I just prefer her mellow, smooth, country-tinged voice to Ms. "Queen of Rockabilly" Jackson's well-known, raw, box-grater-in-a-blender vocal stylings.  

The disappointment I experience over never having seen Janis Martin perform while she was alive is only assuaged by the fact that musicians, like Mary, are carrying on her musical tradition.  In keeping with the style and tone of Janis Martin, I made Mary a dress that is, to coin a new phrase, a little bit country and a little bit rock 'n roll. 

To call this the "latest" from Mr. Tiny's workshop would be an out-and-out lie.
This dress has been in the back of Mary's closet for nearly a year waiting to
make its debut.  Luckily, the opportunity arose last weekend in the form
of Wild Records' Young & Wild Weekender.

Very much channeling the young Janis Martin

Don't you think?

More often than not, I stay away from a black and white color scheme.  For one thing, it becomes a trite and hackneyed story amongst a sub-culture dominated by an obsession with the pre-color-television world.  For another, I just prefer sewing in interesting and vivid colors and, in general, Mary prefers wearing them.  Though when we found this fabric, we new it had major possibilities.

Made from a screen-printed, brushstroke, border print cotton that I picked up
for only $0.99 per yard, Mary said the dress was a hit!  I turned the black border
 to the top of the skirt and the bottom of the bodice so that the brushstrokes
radiated from the waistline.

Wearing black, baby doll pumps and black & white bangles,
Mary added the black, cowhide belt for western flair.

The Fujiyama Mama & Mary
Wait a cotton-pickin' minute...

Okay, okay, so as usual, I may have overstated my case just a tad.  Maybe it isn't such a black & white issue; there might be room in this world for folks who truly are fans of both of these legendary performers...even though legend has it that Wanda and Janis were pretty bitter rivals.

Putting rivalries aside, this dress is a kind of hybrid of the sweet, rockabilly darling (demure, tea-length full skirt) and the raging, rock 'n roll wild child (stark color story and brushstrokes printed with apparent abandon).  It bridges the gap between the "Female Elvis" and the female Elvis took out on the town.  

The very same guitar with which Mary is pictured above (one on
 which she played a couple of Janis Martin covers) is signed by
none other than Wanda Jackson.

Well, what do you say?  Between Wanda and Janis do you have a favorite?  Is there another female, roots rock 'n roller that strikes your fancy?  Do you create such elaborate and/or polarizing interpretations of the clothes you make and/or wear?

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Sew What?! The Copy Cat's Pajamas

I guess when one is sewing with a vintage aesthetic in mind, there may not be a truly original idea left under the heavens.  Having said that, there are a few staples that every well-stocked vintage wardrobe ought to have and are therefore common amongst the old-timey set - including beach pajamas.  I have always been smitten with women's beach pajamas and having seen the awesome, spacey, satin set Betty Grable wears in the "Let's K-nock K-nees" number in The Gay Divorcee, I attempted to make Mary a set very loosely based on the same (although my version was neither spacey nor satin). 

That was a few years ago.  Having sufficiently scratched the itch, I left the idea of "beach pajamas" alone for a while (mostly because I wasn't sure if the two-piece ensemble I made even counted as beach pajamas).  Well apparently enough summers had passed and the inspiration to sew a new set struck in the form of a reproduction, feedsack-style print that I found in the flat fold, discount section of our local fabric store.

It's funny, up close the pattern is very meandering but from far 

away it is easy to see the stripes created by the pattern's repeat.

I used a reproduction feedsack-style print in primary colors and a
vintage trim that was inherited from my great-grandmother's stash
(two rows of the trim is used at the hem of the wide-legged pants).

After sewing up the whole thing I realized that this outfit seemed distractingly familiar; familiar not only because it was inspired by looks of a bygone era but because I so obviously, if subconsciously, appropriated it from our pal Lauren at Wearing History (see this one but more specifically this one).  THE COPY CAT'S PAJAMAS!!!!  I accept that they are similar but not exactly the same; she of course, she did it much better and more historically accurate than I.  If I had only put in some thought I would have simply used one of her beautiful patterns for vintage beach clothing instead of making up my own revisionist ensemble.

Mary ended up wearing the purloined pajamas to our friends' Memorial Day party and received enough compliments to boost my confidence.  So, I am setting into make another set in a floral-printed, rayon-linen blend that has been languishing at the bottom of fabric mountain for too long.  If you get a hankering to make a set of your very own beach pajamas, then do things the smart way and get a Wearing History pattern.

I'm already halfway there!

How do you feel about beach pajamas?  Are you sewing anything special for summer? 

"The Cat's Pajamas"

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Sew What?! A Teenie Weenie Bikini

I may be running a little late; I can practically hear autumn outside my window.  No, no...I still hear summer as it coughs and wheezes its dying breaths before the final gasp on Friday.  It may seem like terrible timing but I live in Southern California and we are almost always bathed in sunshine!!!  What better way to celebrate those golden rays emanating from the center of our solar system than with an indoor sewing project?!

While rummaging through patterns at a thrift store I found a 60's bikini pattern and for no other reason than to see if I could sew a bra top, I paid the good woman at the register my two bits and headed home to conquer a bikini!

Because I was sewing this for no one in particular, I simply cut the one-size pattern, made no alterations and began sewing.  I chose an inexpensive, yellow, bandana-printed cotton from the stash.  The pattern went together especially easily and there was enough material left over to make a very-superficial "cover-up."  The cover-up is lined in black cotton; it has side vents and crocheted belt-loops (because I'm not sure what people who really know how to sew do for those "invisible-style" belt loops), and it is finished with a black, ribbon tie. 

The bikini is self-lined.
The bra closes with buttons and the shorts have a back-zip closure

Truth be told, I sewed this quite a while ago but as I am still working on keeping my mysterious malady at bay, I have neither gone anywhere exciting nor attempted anything too creative as of late.  While the swimsuit offers ample coverage to the wearer, this particular pattern was a rather teenie-weenie size; it ended up being so small that I had to pin it to the dress form.  So, it may not be polka dotted, but it is yellow and I think the song still applies.

"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" - Brian Hyland (1960)

The swimsuit may be complete, but I am still trying to figure out how to stuff this wild bikini!  A little help...

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965)
(Source)

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny