Sunday, August 18, 2013

Hip Hip Hooray for Suspender Skirts!

Just a note: some viewers have been having trouble with our blog when they use Internet Explorer, but with Chrome no one has had issues yet.  Sorry about that, so far we haven't been able to fix the problem.

I love suspender skirts.  I absolutely think they are the cutest things.  And to have four of them all in a row? Lovely :D  This past Saturday we had a WW2 living history event.  I had an outfit planned, Bascha had an outfit planned, and well Caroline had an outfit, but she had just bought new shoes and really wanted to wear them.  The shoes didn't match the outfit of course, which meant-guess-I was supposed to make another outfit :D  And so one suspender skirt for her turned into one for me which turned into one for Bascha.  And then for Caroline's BFF, Ann Marie.  But before I get carried away... :)

The majority of suspender skirts I saw were flat fronted, like 3 panels.  I did however see a few images of skirts that were pleated.  This one, with the small flat part in the center front, was my first inspiration:
                                                       Vintage Du Barry 2241 Blouse Suspender Skirt and Bolero Bust 34
And this was my real inspiration.  You can read her whole post here. I just thought this suspender skirt was adorable.  So we copied it.  Bascha came over after lunch on Tuesday and we finished up one for Caroline by that evening!  I probably would have messed it up terribly had Bascha not come over and walked me through the whole thing.  It's SO nice to have a sewing buddy! :)  And Bascha makes everything much more fun :D
                                                       DSC00611 (1)
To begin  we cut a large rectangle, and sewed it up.  This was the skirt.  Then we hemmed it. It was really pretty basic :).  

the one and only seam-up the back.

we made a 3 inch hem

suspenders wrong side out
suspenders!!! :)  The suspenders are 1.5 inches wide

making the waistband
the waistband is approx. 2 inches wide
pleating the waist
Because the zipper I had was too long, I needed to shorten it.  To do this, I used my thread and make a thread zipper stopper.  
front-waistband view

button placement
suspender attachment
And now on to the fun part-finished pictures!!! :D  and I'm throwing in a few more from yesterday as well....just 'cause :D.  And I want you to meet some of my friends. :)
from L to R, me, Brittany, Bascha, Caroline, Ann Marie
we all match!!! :) :) :)  and Brittany, I'll make you one next time so you don't feel left out! 


the back of my suspender skirt

the "shoe shot" :)
most of us

two brothers and a sister: from L to R, Joel (11), Ann Marie (12), and Paul (14)
lovely Bascha
Caroline's best friend, Ann Marie
My little brother, Stephen
a really good friend of mine, Brittany
One of my favorite ladies, Laurel, who gave me that wonderfully ugly fur coat
Ms. Maureen, who keeps us all in order :)
fun-loving Hannah
                                      
Hope you enjoyed the suspender skirts as much as I did!

~Theresa

7 comments:

  1. Oh looks like you had so much fun! I'll have to attempt some sort of '40's clothes someday! '40's are so much fun! I love movies from then, too! xD You all look wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ruth! And 40's is pretty easy to create...if you know what you're looking for, you can usually find something at the thrift store that will work. It really is a fun time period!
      ~Theresa

      Delete
  2. You all are so darling, do you do WWII impressions?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes we do WWII, and we'll be doing WWI next year. We currently do RevWar, Regency era, CW, and WWII. :)
      ~Theresa

      Delete
  3. Wow! :) your dad's comp business or whatever must be booming! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's not what I'd call booming...but we are blessed :). It really doesn't cost much at all though for our wardrobes...considering the fact that we shop at the thrift store. Believe it or not all 4 of those jumpers cost 2 cent apiece! :) All our shoes came from goodwill...as did most of the shirts sweaters, slips, ect. I've got 3 original 40's hats, and original 40's jewelry too that was like dirt cheap (jewelry was inherited). My authentic civil war shoes were $15, and I've made aprons and dresses for only a buck or two! So we do pretty well :). Thrifting is fun and makes you be more creative, and of course it saves ya a lot of money too. lol
    ~Theresa

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yup... I can never find shoes that fit :( I wear an 8 W and that had better be a shoe that was already wide to start with! lol Where did you get AUTHENTIC CW shoes for $15???

    BTW I get most of my modern clothes at Thrift stores, too! :) It's really cheap and you can find some nice things. If we can't find anything, though, I usually go to Target.

    Anyhow, nice to know you're blessed. :D

    ReplyDelete