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LOVE vintage notions!

7/25/2019

4 Comments

 
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See what I picked up at my Thrift Store! I was there yesterday bringing stuff to donate. I always have to check and see if there is any fabric ...

​So, no fabric, but a little baggie of old notions. The best kind.
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Only 3 dollars, too.
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Which is about what you would pay now for a single package of bias tape today. And look at the difference. The old bias tape has 5 yards of 100% COTTON compared to 4 yards of stiff poly/cotton!
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55% polyester to be exact.
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And see, it is "finer fabric" ... "more threads per square inch" ... so NICE. 

This package is from the 1960's.
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What really blows my mind is the way bias tape was sold in the 1920's. Check out this page from a Wright's project book. You could get bias tape in all kinds of fabric from lawn to silk to linen and stripes and checks, too.

And in 13 different widths ... amazing.

They used it for everything, for neck facings and all sorts of surface decoration.

We have to make our own now for such variety.

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I, also, got 4 packs of RAYON seam binding and found a 5th one I already owned. This is great stuff for finishing a hem edge before slip stitching. It is so soft, it contours to any shape and so light weight it doesn't' show through, at all, on the outside.

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This is what you can buy now a days. It is solid polyester and so stiff and unmanageable. I never use it. Not sure why I even have any. You can see I've had it for a while.
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At my sister Theresa LaQuey's recommendation, I have purchased a few 100 yard reels of rayon seam binding in neutral colors. It is great and I use it often for all sort of things, hems, stabilizing shoulder seams, making hanging loops, etc. etc.

If you sew a lot you might want a roll or two of your own.
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I love the way hooks and eyes used to be sewn to a piece of cardboard. Every hook had a straight eye AND a looped eye. Now if you get a package with 14 hooks, you only get 7 straight eyes and 7 straight hooks, which is a bit limiting.
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I guess snaps are the thing that has changed the least. But when I tried taking these snaps off their cards the vintage snaps were so much stronger. Something to really consider if you are making a vintage dress that is using snaps along a placket to get in and out of it.

So, make a trip to your thrift store, you never know what will be there.

4 Comments
Mary
7/25/2019 11:21:18 am

I love it when I find or am gifted old notions

Reply
Theresa in Tucson
7/26/2019 09:03:42 am

Yeah, I miss the ways hooks and eyes used to come. Now you have to hunt for them. I'm going to take a peek at my neighborhood thrift store and look for some notions. Thanks for the tip.

Reply
Deb Mattson
7/31/2019 09:49:15 am

I have a vintage package of Wright's rickrack. It has a little ad on the wrapper that says "Does your daughter like to sew?" and goes on to say that if you send 15 cents the company would send a package of leftover trims to "trim doll clothes.etc." I've wondered if they would still honor the offer.

Reply
Andrea
8/1/2019 09:22:48 am

Ha Ha! I actually took advantage of that offer when I was a kid and they send a bag full of trim remnants. Alas, Wright's isn't even in the same office anymore. I don't even think they are a separate company. Simplicity took them over and the CSS took over Simplicity.
Ah .....

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    From Andrea 

    I am a commercial pattern maker who is now "sewing over 50"!
    I love to sew and hope to encourage others to come back to sewing.
    The water is fine!!

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