Saturday 18 February 2012

What do you get if you cross a kangaroo and a sheep?

A wooly jumper.

This joke only makes sense to British people apparently. This week I have sewn what Americans call a jumper. I call it a pinafore dress. I am not sure what people from other English speaking parts call their sweaters / jumpers / pinafores. I never knew there was jumper confusion until I joined sewweekly. Don't even get me started on the pants / trousers debate.

Whatever you call it I made this:


I made the green dress on the left. The pattern is from 1973. I got it in a job lot of unloved 1970s patterns from ebay (ie very cheap). I used a vintage zip (ie a cheap one off ebay) and some cotton that I got at last year's sewweekly meet up as part of the swap. There was only a metre of it and it seems to be quilting cotton. Mia likes it because of the butterflies. So she chose it for herself.


In this pic she is only trying it on for length before I hem it. As you can see (coincidentally) it has what my Aunty Peg used to call in the 1970s "room to grow". As most of my clothes in the 1970s were too big I decided to leave it like that for reasons of authenticity (and laziness). I hemmed it since but Mia refused to put it on.

So instead of the finished item here is a photo of my brother and I in the 1970s (about about a year or so after the pattern was made). My Aunty Peg has cut my hair herself (another thing that happened alot in the 1970s and no-one does now). She was not a hairdresser but a shop assistant. My brother is pulling that face because he knows she is going to cut his hair too one day.....

6 comments:

  1. Heh, so cute! Ah yes, the 1970's bowl cuts. I was looking back through some old photos the other day and had to giggle (and cringe) at some from my early school years, when half the class sported the same at-home haircut. *sigh*

    (Oh and don't worry, you're not alone - we 'get' that joke down this way, too. In face, I've even heard it a few times before. ;-)

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  2. Yep my buddy..it is a jumper.. Mia looks adorable..Love her jumper.. She is soooo cute.. I agree with Mia the fabric is so cute. And the fit looks fine to me..
    Enjoyed the photos..cute,cute.. You and brother are both adorable.
    BTY...Cindy was born in 1973..And I actually made quiet a few of these jumper dresses for her. [ I am NOT that old, I just got married young.hahahhahhahah].And we cut our kids hair in the 70's. I think the reason is---We were all TOO POOR... to get it cut by a beautician.ha
    Charolette, I dont know why..but I sew for kids alot ...And childrens patterns are always bigger than RTY clothes.. So if my grandkids wear ,say a size 4 rtw , in a pattern I make a size 3..It works every time?????? just a hint...

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  3. oh it's so cute, the jumper and the photo!

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  4. Oh wow! That's the fabric I swapped with you! It came from Cambridge Market and I was going to use it for handbags but never got round to it. Looks much better on Mia!

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  5. Diane, that solves a mystery, I couldn't remember who brought it to the swap.... thanks x

    Sewing Maw Judy, thanks for the tip, I will size down if I make another project soon, that makes sense x

    On the haircuts, I first went to the hairdresser when I was about 12 I think. Don't tell, but sometimes I cut Mia's hair :)

    Thanks all for your lovely comments

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