Jennifer Forest

1960s Original Floral Fabric in Red, White and Blue

Book Review: Sew Retro by Judi Ketteler

I very much suspect I’m a bit behind the times in reviewing this book as I brought it when I first saw it in Australia in November and have taken this long to write about it!  But then I wanted to have a few photos of projects I’ve made from the book like this pincushion.

Sew Retro: A Stylish History of the Sewing Revolution is a pleasant and enjoyable craft book,  in a format which I treasure: it combines history with crafty projects. The book starts with the Victorian era and provides a little bit of context about the arrival of the sewing machine and women’s sewing work in the home and in politics. The book however is really devoted to the 20th century – hence its sub-title 25 Vintage Inspired Projects for the Modern Girl. It follows the flappers of the 1920s, the thrift of the 1930s and 1940s, the fashionable 1950s, the 1960s and the revival of sewing since the 1980s.

As well as a bit of context, Ms Ketteler also includes two biography-type segments: one on a woman from the era and an interview with a contemporary designer, so for the 1930s and 1940s the historic woman is the American fashion designer Hattie Carnegie and the contemporary woman is quilter and reproduction fabric designer Judie Rothermel. I enjoyed this human element and thought it added greatly to the overall book.

All in all – I don’t think I learnt anything from the history of sewing section I didn’t already know, but then I guess its not meant as a definitive historical text but rather a bit of an enjoyable journey through the 20th century with some sewing projects for fun!

Anyway on to the projects: Each era also has four or five projects loosely inspired by the time and include  a range of items like bags, aprons, home wares, skirts and pillows.  The instructions were clear and easy to follow, with the hand drawings showing different steps useful references.  There were a few different projects I hadn’t seen elsewhere like this ‘Sweet Sewing Basket’ under the Victorian Era. I liked it so much I made two.

Reproduction Victorian Fabrics: Sewing Basket

In this first one I used reproduction Victorian fabrics and followed the instructions to the letter, which gave it a softer bag-like feel. I was quite happy with how it turned out, as a nice softer bag for carrying knitting.

Knitting basket with extra stabiliser (interfacing)

In this second one, I actually wanted to make it more of a basket, a firmer upright basket which would sit up by itself a bit more. So I used the stabiliser (interfacing) on the sides as well on the base. The instructions don’t have stabiliser for the sides. I was also happy with how this turned out – a good basket shape and form.

Large pincushion in red spots, trim and floral retro-type fabric

The large pincushion, also under the Victorian Era, was fun and quick to make. So many pincushions are tiny, and I don’t know about you but I tend to use a lot of pins, so I needed a pincushion with some size to it!

Needlecase with pocket and felt insert for needles and pins

I always like needlecases and huswifes, in my opinion you can never have too many of these! Always handy to have one with each project you are working on. Once again my actual project differed a little from the book, in that I couldn’t find any felt the right colour to match my material. So I made a little fabric overlay to hide the felt piece into which you pin your needles and pins.

As time progresses, I intend to make the hostess apron and the farmer’s market bag. Probably in some combination of these 1960 and 1970s original fabrics I picked up at a craft market the other weekend.  The navy blue with white flowers is quite a heavy cotton, great for a bag.  And the blue and red flowers (pictured at the very top) I brought because they simply reminded me of a dress my grandmother had in her wardrobe, that material dates to the 1960s so I assume my grandmother’s dress did too. I don’t remember her wearing it in the 1980s but do definitely remember seeing something like it in her wardrobe at that time!

Original 1970s fabric in blue and white floral

Disclaimer: I don’t know the author at all, and this is not an affiliated link program or a paid book review. I purchased the book and wrote the book review purely because I like history and sewing.