by Ardeana Hamlin
of The Weekly Staff
Thinking retro was just the thing to get me cranking at my sewing machine during the cold days of winter.
My retro sewing foray was the result of a thrift shop jaunt during which I discovered Simplicity pattern 6777, a tunic design published in 1974. That year the pattern cost $1.15, but I paid 50 cents. It was size 14, which these days, is considered large enough to fit a cow moose, but in those days it fit a person of small to average frame.
The pattern envelope looked as if it had been through it had been lost, found and stomped on a few times, but it contained all the pieces, including transfers for doing embroidery decoration on the tunic.
Apparently, the pattern once belonged to Linda, since that name is written in pencil on the envelope.
Two of the pattern views featured the outsize collars — so trendy in the 1970s — several rows of elastic to nip in the waistline to create a ruffled bottom edge that fanned out over the hips, and
ruffled cuffs. Way too early Carnaby Street for my taste, but I could work with that.
The other two views featured bell sleeves, front slash neckline opening and blanket stitching
finish for the neckline, and sleeve and bottom edges. The shirttail, rounded in a way that did
not please my eye was, along with the blanket stitching and the embroidery embellishment,
facets of the design I omitted when I made my version of the tunic.
I chose a white print on white fabric for the tunic. When I cut out the pattern pieces I squared
the offending shirttail. That was the only structural change I made.
When I finished sewing the tunic, I put it on my dress form so I could look at every time I
walked by it, hoping it would tell me what it needed for embellishment. It definitely needed something, because without any decoration it resembled medical scrubs — not the look I had in mind.
The dress form wore the tunic for more than a week and I kept trying to figure out what would
make it unique. Beading along the neckline? Rows of braid, ribbon and rick-rack outlining the
neckline? No. Sequins along the sleeve and bottom hems. No, too stagey. Mirror embroidery?
No, too hippie — I didn’t want it to be that retro.
Then it dawned on me — the big butterfly applique purchased (where else?) at Marden’s. I had stashed it away several years ago knowing it would be wanted for something eventually.
It was perfect – dramatic without being stagey; a bit humorous because of its size; a bit
show-offish because of the metallic threads, sequins and jewel studs.
I sewed the applique on by hand, centering it at the tip of the neck opening.
The trick to sewing retro is to choose carefully the vintage pattern. Look for designs with
classic lines, avoid oversize collars and fussy seaming or dated details. Make sure the envelope
contains all the pattern pieces. Look for patterns that never have been cut. It doesn’t matter if
the pattern envelope is torn and faded.
Feel free to make changes to the design to suit your own ideas — shorten the sleeves, cut
the hem narrower or fuller, cut the side seams straight or with a slight curve to skim the waistline, square the bottom edges and use a 1970s retro print fabric in colors you love.
But no matter what you sew or how you sew it, have fun, take a photo of your finished creation
and share it with your friends on social media.