Michelle (at OldPatterns.com) has a score of mint-condition 1920s patterns right now. Check out this one:

This one almost makes me think that perhaps airship hostessing started in the 1920s, rather than the art-deco 1930s. I love the determined asymmetricality (and the Modiglianish pattern illustration). I also think with great sympathy of all the women in the 1920s who had to wear stuff like this and who weren’t sylphlike gamines. That must have really, really sucked.

These patterns are definitely on the pricey side but they’re mint, practically Starlight mint, actually. (Maybe Michelle has been raiding some time capsules …) The 1920s are where I start to feel that sewing patterns are edging into Collectorsville and out of the range of “I’ll make this up next Saturday for a lark,” but the boundaries of your Collectorsville may vary. (I think that for some folks 1950s vintage clothing is now edging into Collectorsville — as I skip gaily towards my dotage, I start to realize that The Kids Today are now buying “vintage” that I wore in junior high school, and that the 1950s day dresses I took for granted as costing $7, tops, in the local Goodwill can and do now hit three figures. Speaking of 1980s “vintage” — dear children, floral rayon rompers are not improved by the passage of time. Take it from your Great-aunt Erin.)

I have one or two 1920s patterns I’m holding onto just because they’re so pretty to look at … like paper dolls. But I think if you want 1920s patterns, you might want to hunt them up now, because I have been given to understand that once the new Gatsby movie comes out in December, there will be a rush to flapperdom in fashion. (I hope there’s a rush to 1920s men’s fashions, too …)

But always a crossword dress! Thanks to Sarah Dyer (aka @colorkitten) for pointing out to me that there’s a new crossword novelty print quilting fabric out there, in multiple colorways.

I was really tempted by the aqua, but I went for a more classic (if not more subtle) look:

Right now I’m thinking that a) this will be another 9929, because they’re SO EASY and b) this means I should really go back to the ACPT next year, huh? It’s been a while since I showed up in a crossword–puzzle dress, ready to place far, far down in the standings.

No, really. I want to link to your blog. I love how many sewing and crafting and vintaging and just plain gorgeous-ing blogs have sprung up lately … but there are so few hours in the day! It’s hard enough to find time to write a post, much less traipse through the blogosphere to find all the insightful stuff that’s being written about vintage patterns, fabric hoarding, and Airship Hostessing. So (as you may have noticed) I was happy to start using a new WordPress plug-in, Related Content by Wordnik, to start adding not just links to related posts from the archives of this blog, but links to related posts from other blogs, too. So much cool stuff to discover!

(Astute readers will notice that Related Content by Wordnik is made by Wordnik, the company I work for. It turns out that knowing a lot about words leads to knowing a lot about how words go together, which leads to knowing a lot about how collections of words — like blog posts — go together. Next up, we’re going to mix chocolate and peanut butter. Stand back!)

Anyway — I’d love to link to even more cool blogs. So if you have a cool (WordPress-only, for now, sorry) blog, would you consider installing Related Content by Wordnik, so I can link to you better? Tell ’em Erin sent you.

I’m on vacation! That is, I’m in St. Augustine, Florida, with my mom, sister, and son (and two aunts who arrive today), and my brother and his fam this weekend. So far I have inhaled most of the Atlantic Ocean, neglected to pack sufficient contact lenses, been terrified by animatronic instructors, and answered far too many work emails! But still: vacation!

On vacation I tend to think that I will have TONS and TONS of time to do project-y stuff, forgetting that the whole point of vacation is to NOT do stuff. So far I have only done a couple baby projects, like finally transferring my iTunes library from an external drive to my new laptop, and tidying up my Pinterest boards a wee bit, and minor-league things like that. I’m also reading this fascinating book about the Mitfords.

Another thing I always do on vacation is think of new and exciting projects for when I get BACK, which so far include:

— making another 9929 and covering it in TINY MULTICOLORED BUTTONS (<– I will never do this, I actually dislike sewing on buttons, but it would make an amazing dress).

— deciding on a MAXIMUM NUMBER of patterns I can own, and culling the rest ruthlessly (any suggestions as to what’s a good number?). And, oh, by the way, I have purchased three patterns online since being on vacation …

— hiring someone on TaskRabbit to take pictures of everything I’ve sewn but don’t have pictures of yet, since this taking the darn pictures is something I always put off doing. I will justify this by calling it an “insurance record” for when my house ultimately burns down from me leaving the iron on.

— doing a tutorial video (probably with my son’s help, he’s very good at making videos) of each step involved in making a shirtdress. I know there are tons of things I do when I sew that aren’t in the pattern instructions … and probably more helpful things I could be doing, if only I knew about them (which the comments on the video would help with).

— figuring out how to make the Vintage Pattern Wiki have better category search, so you can search for “1960s” AND “Peter Pan collar” together.

I am now taking bets for when these projects actually happen. Anyone want to put their money on 2017?

Robin sent me a link to this dress on Etsy, isn’t it marvelous?

It’s got such a great shape, not to mention the topstitching (I’m such a sucker for topstitching) and that little bow at the neck … very inspiring, don’t you think? I went trolling for patterns that have this same design feature — hard to do, even with the Vintage Pattern Wiki! (I have to do something about that … there’s no faceted search. Hmmph.)

This is my favorite, so far …

(I haven’t found too many copies of this pattern — but Sheila at OutOfTheAshes has one, and is running a sale, too! And speaking of sales, there’s one at Little Hunting Creek as well — buy three or more patterns, get 15% off. Use code LABORDAY through, well, Labor Day.)

I feel like this pattern might be a good candidate for some of my hoard of dotted swiss …

To wit: I am hungrily awaiting the arrival of this fabric:

That, my friends, is metallic silver seersucker. It’s very subtle, but it is definitely metallic. I also bought some light-gray seersucker, which was also described as having a metallic silver thread:

and I’m eyeing this dark-gray version, too:

And this is despite my long-held conviction that metallic fabrics ARE NOT FOR DAY. This opinion may mark me as the oldest living resident of Getoffamylawnville, but I think that metallic fabrics in the daytime are tacky. (There — I said it. Other things I think are tacky: visible dark bras under white tops; high heels with shorts; giant designer logos … the list goes on.)

Now, just because I think some things are tacky doesn’t mean I don’t love them to death … on other people. In fact, I should probably replace the word “tacky” with “not for me.” If you rock out in your short shorts with skyscraper heels and a black bra under your white tee, carrying a bag with huge initials on it that aren’t yours, I will probably say “Damn, she really owns that look.” (Which I may or may not follow up with “Bless her heart.”) But it’s not a look I think I can own.

But maybe this fabric is a way for me to um, rent-to-own metallics in the daytime? I have absolutely no idea what I will make with this fabric (other than another 9929, thank you). Or where I would wear it. It’s not suitable for a guest-at-a-wedding dress (too white); seersucker is too casual for most evening events (and I don’t go to many fancy evening parties). The only place where I think this might be appropriate is a restaurant with an outdoor patio, for a late-night summer dinner. With a silver lurex cardigan (or a white silk one) and flat silver sandals. Which is EXTREMELY SPECIFIC, for dress planning, isn’t it?

The white-and-silver version would also look good in this dress (which I did eventually find in my size), and would be ideal for a 1970s summer disco party. Which I’m invited to all the time, aren’t you?

Where do you fall on the burning question of metallics in the daytime? What should I make with this fabric, whenever it shows up?

So I made another 9929. I promise I will start putting up more pictures of these dresses — including one in lined black eyelet! I swear it takes me nearly as much time to blog about them as it does to make them — they are just THAT FAST.

Since the 9929 takes so little fabric, I have been having enormous fun rummaging through my stash for fabric that has always been just a little less than adequate for other projects. (Which rummaging means my sewing room looks even more like a still life entitled “Fifteen Minutes After The Bomb Disposal Unit Came Through”.) The pile of fabric waiting to be turned into 9929s is a little scary — who knew I was hoarding so many 2-2.5 yard pieces? Okay, maybe y’all did know.

I’m pretty sure I’ve had this fabric since Methuselah was a pup — does anyone remember when this pattern (I think it’s called Disco Dots) was the rage? I know that, at the height of its popularity, you could have dressed yourself, your house, your baby, and your dog in various colorways and weights of this design. This particular piece is actually terrible — it was subtly off-grain, which I didn’t realize until I was cutting the last piece. So I completely biffed matching the side seams (which — among other reasons — is why you’re not seeing a profile shot).

Accessorized here with red Keds and a red Swatch, but not red glasses — I think that would be maybe a bit too much coordination. Ideally I’d have a baby-blue belt to wear with this, but I haven’t found one I like yet. (Surprise: I’m also really picky about belts.)

Sorry for the dearth of posts — this is how I spent last week. (It was really, really fun.)

I love this so very, very much:

(The way it makes you look as if you only have one arm is way cool, isn’t it?)

Unfortunately, I don’t love this TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS much, which is what it’s currently going for at The Outnet. (Jebus, who spends two large on a dress you’re not getting married in? I do not understand. And that’s ON SALE!)

I love glow-in-the-dark stuff. I had a necklace-and-earrings set in junior high (that I used to wear at the movies) … I still have the necklace, although all the glow-juice has worn off. I currently have a glow-in-the-dark watch, although I never remember to wear it (and I go to fewer movies now, and it’s not so funny to glow in the movies now that everyone is glowing as they check their iPhones when the plots start to drag).

I’d love to find some glow-in-the-dark lining fabric to use under a black lace for a dress. In the daytime it would look just like a normal lining, and at night you would look like a city nightscape! Perfect. Sadly, it looks like glow in the dark fabric is really expensive. Anyone know of a better source?

Is it hot out where you are? I won’t incur the wrath of everyone east, north, and south of the Rockies by telling you how nice it is in the Bay Area. But if it’s hot where you are, you really need this dress:

Especially because it has these adorable pockets:

I’m not a huge fan of purple but I love the Easter colorway in this dress. Especially with that chartreuse-y green …

Click on the images to visit this dress at LuciteBox.com … Holly is having a sale to help replace her broken bike, use the code BIKE at checkout to get 25% off!

Wow! Thank you all so much for all the fantastic subtitle suggestions last week! I totally believe that “wisdom of crowds” thing now.

It was hard to choose, but here were my top three (I couldn’t choose just one!):

The Hundred Dresses; A Field Guide to Fashionable Frocks

(from Natalie)

The Hundred Dresses: What to wear for espionage, play dates, and everything in between

(from Joelle)

The Hundred Dresses; or Why You Need a Bigger Closet

(from Karen S.)

Would you three wonderful women please email me with your addresses so I can send you your prizes?

Of course, the book will probably only have one subtitle, and the choice is up to the publisher, but with so many excellent suggestions, something good has to stick!

And, for no apparent reason, here is a picture I took of a giant collection of Muppet fur this past weekend. Enjoy.