Beauty and the Beach

I'm lucky enough in London to live within walking distance of a fair few libraries, and I've spent many a happy weekend lost in the stacks of the fashion and costume sections.  

I'm just finished reading the excellent Vintage Swimwear: A History of Twentieth-Century Fashions by Sarah Kennedy and well, I loved this book!  From the pretty much fully clothed bathers of the 19th century to the scandalous 'topless' bikinis of the 70s and the cut-away hilarities of our modern beaches, it's all in here...

When I wasn't luxuriating in the fabulous swimsuits of Chanel, Patou and Jantzen, I started to think about what patterns from my collection might be good for the beach...wanna see what I found?

This beaut of a 1950s pattern just screams "See ya, I'm off to the beach!" (Though I think they're actually stood on a dock...), although I can't help but think that the lady in the white top is just super proud of her very wide pockets.

Playsuits! Very big hats! Gigantic earrings even on the beach!  It can only be the fabulous 50s again, and aren't they just divine?

Couldn't resist one more gorgeous pattern from the 50s, although I think this must be a very cold beach to need such substantial cover-ups!  Extra points to this pattern though for finely illustrated starfish and other rock creatures...

A cheeky stunner from the late 60s, back when The Sunday People produced patterns & each one only cost 25p to order!  I love the innovative front-tie fastening of the bikini top & those sexy high-waisted shorts to ensure absolutely no belly-button reveal!

Ah now we must be in the 70s, as everyone on this pattern has their belly button on show!  However, note how they are all classily provided with a choice of kaftan-style cover up should those itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny bikinis seem a little too brief!

Moving on finally to the lovely 80s, when you could always count on the European company Burda to provide the most exciting pattern illustrations - check out those cute beach umbrellas!  I'm also enjoying the sailor-style collars and those matching espadrilles.

So tell me, what do you wear to the beach?

I was the only swimmer in movies. Tarzan was long gone, and he couldn't have done them anyway; he could never have gotten into my bathing suit.
Esther Williams (1921 - 2013)

This post has me in stitches...

One of the first crafts I remember doing when I was a little frockdolly was embroidery, despite my frequent tendency to either stitch things to my skirt or snip holes in my trousers with my scissors.  My mum would take me on weekend courses run by the Embroider’s Guild, where I remember stitching pictures of hot air balloons and buying small bags of matching fancy fabrics to take home.

Before I was old enough to stitch anything myself, we had lived in the Far East & I remember vividly the beautiful silk embroideries that adorned the walls of our home, or that my glorious mum would stitch onto our clothes; I used to love hunting through her collection of iron-on transfers, helping to choose the next one.
  

My mum stitched this beautiful word onto a baby jacket

One of the divine Korean embroideries I grew up with, I used to stare at it for hours, lost in the stitches.

The embroidered pictures now hang on my walls, but it’s only recently that I’ve taken up the needle and thread again myself with any real dedication.  I’ve done the occasional bit of stitchery in the last 10 years, but my focus has usually been more on knitting and crochet, which of course require much bigger needles!

A satin stitch rose - probably the last time I picked up a needle & thread!

The thing is, I’ve always liked looking embroidery though (like at this recent V&A show - still my favourite museum!), and although not as frequent as my purchases of knitting books and vintage craft magazines (more on that particular…ahem… ‘obsession’ in a later post!), I can never resist a good embroidery book, especially an old one:

Love a good vintage embroidery book!

But now, to help to fully reacquaint myself with actual stitching again, I’m taking part in a project called 1 year of stitches, aiming to chronicle 2017 with one stitch (or more, or a motif) per day, a stitched journal of sorts…and given how bad at keeping a diary I’ve always been, I’m hoping that I can keep this up for the year!  The project was the brainchild of the textile artist Hannah Claire Somerville, and you can follow her stitched journey through 2016 and now 2017 on Instagram, not to mention see who else is stitching and maybe join in yourself (and yes, I'm on there too as frockdolly_handmade)

Starting on New Year’s Day with a small firework, I’ve so far stitched (amongst other things), snowflakes, a haggis, Batman and a mermaid’s tail.  I’ve learnt some new stitches; buttonhole scale filling, French knots on stalks and whipped wheels to name but a few, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year will bring! 

Some of my stitches so far this year...what will the next 330 days bring?

Now the thing is, I haven’t been able to stop there, and I’ve been experimenting with a few other techniques, including cross-stitch, which is something I haven’t done since my teenage need to create order with thread…what other crafts from my past will I re-visit this year, I wonder?

Cross-stitch...many a cross word had trying to get this right (it has been a few years!)

My absolute favourite summer flower, the nasturtium, jazzed up with thread & beads.

Your absence has gone through me

Like thread through a needle

Everything I do is stitched with its color.

- W.S. Merwin "Separation" 1993