Vintage Bangs

Hey Everyone, lately I have been considering cutting bangs...again. See, I cut them before and I just now finished growing them out. I just find that when my hair is pulled back in a vintage style ponytail, it just doesn't flatter my face, the way it does on other people. I was thinking a nice side bang to start off, and if I like it  I might go full out bangs. Here are my inspirations:

My inspiration was mainly from Brigitte Bardot.

Here is what it would be like in a ponytail. I think she has grapes on her neck...

And here she is yet again, you get the general idea. Below is a couple pictures of Audrey Hepburn showing us how she cuts bangs.

So technically, I would cut them like Emma Stone's down here, then pin curl it to make it this shape.

Now before I grab the scissors, I want to be sure this will suit my face shape, so I researched it and I found a great site which let's you put hairstyles on your face before you get them. To visit it CLICK HERE. Or if you want to find out your face shape so you can see if bangs will flatter you, CLICK HERE. Or if you want to see more vintage bangs check out this blog post!

Hairstyles

A good hairstyle, is essential to creating an authentic vintage look. Some prefer to do more of a half- vintage look, or others are dedicated to a daily vintage pin curled look.

Here is an example of looks that are curled with curling iron, or hot rollers, or just pinned into place.

Here is the authentically rolled hair, you can see that both are vintage looking, but the authentic look looks much better. It also takes a lot longer so, you got to have time and patience. I used to pin curl my hair every night, because my hair is super straight not even curling irons or hot rollers stay all day. They were hard to do, but you can do a variety of styles with pin curls. Then I saw this tutorial, with Miss Amanda Lee telling us how she curls her hair. To check it out click here. I try to do this every night, and for me it works really well. Everyone's hair is different, so try what ever works best for you.

Now, if I don't have time to curl my hair the night before. I do some of the styles above. They all look sort or vintage, when I don't have time for curling. And I try to accent it with flowers or bows. I hope you learn something from this! This weekend I will work on my dress, so you can see how I fit the muslin.

Sailing, Cars and Sewing

Hey everyone, this weekend is busy. Last night I went out on a sailboat around Seattle, it was beautiful, I have some pictures:

Gorgeous view of Seattle.

Another  beautiful Seattle skyline.

Me on the Sailboat before we took off.

There was a car show in greenwood on the same street as my Swimsuit class at Made Sewing Studio so I was able to look at some of the cars. There were some really nice ones bright, shiny, colorful cars for a mile. All vintage from the cars in the 1920s to ones int he late 60s. I spotted a cherry red 50s convertible that was to die for. I can't dive, but if I could, it would be in that car (sadly I didn't get any pics of it, it was extremely crowded) 

Pink car--Love it!

Great shiny black car!

Nice convertible.

Anyways I started my swimsuit class at Made Sewing Studio today from 12-4. It was really fun, the teacher and owner, Carisa Brunner, was a great help and super nice! She sells a variety of unique patterns including vintage ones. Its super casual kinda set up so people can come in and use the machines or tables and surgers  and she gives you advice if you need it. To use the space and machines it is $10 an hour. My only concern so far is making sure I get a lot done.

Bias Tape

Hey everyone, so for my swimsuit top I needed to make some bias tape.... It was a challenging process because swimsuit fabric doesn't iron well. I figured out a technique that works pretty well though.

                 First, I cut out the strips into 2 inches thick, then cut those in half into 1 inch thick strands. Next, I grabbed the handy dandy bias tape maker. I had never used one before, but I think once you get them into the machine its great.  However it took me about 10 minutes just trying to slide my slippery fabric into it before I could start ironing. But when I finally did my next step was to pull it through, and I gotta say, this machine is pretty amazing how you push it in on one side and the next side is perfectly folded.

        Once I pulled it through I could use the iron to spray it down heavily with water and iron it. (I had my iron on the highest level, or the one used for cotton) After that I pinned it into place and continue with the rest of the strip, until the whole piece, which was like 4 yards long, was pinned into place. While it cooled I did another 4 yard long piece. This took very long, but it was worth it.

        After the first one was cooled I then ironed it in half again and pinned it into place. Finally after it was all over, I did that to the other one was well. Last, I took pins out and wound it around this piece of cardboard.
I started around 10:30, finished around 1:30....Phew! That was pretty exhausting and I burned my wrist with the iron, I would suggest (as long as you are not doing swimwear) using only cotton or buying the pre-made cotton ones because it actually stays when you iron it, unlike my swimwear fabric.