Sweater Weather

Autumn weather is upon us, and more vintage sweaters are being added to the collection at SadieBess. Some of these cozy staples have been added recently, and some are coming very soon.

Vintage Men's Fair Isle Wool Sweater, Made in Peru.

Vintage 80s Women's Sweater with Metallic Silver and Gold Heart and Paisley Design.

Vintage Dale of Norway Oversize Women's Fair Isle Sweater with Reindeer Design and Pewter Buttons.

Vintage Women's Nordic Fair Isle Sweater in Charcoal and Mustard, Handknit in Norway.

Vintage Alpaca Cardigan Sweater in Geometric Tribal Inca Design, Made in Peru.

Visit SadieBess for more vintage sweaters, jackets, coats, dresses, and other goodies!

SadieBess on BHG.com

I was planning on my first post back after over a year to be about my big move from Tennessee to Colorado, and all of the fabulous vintage picking there is to be had here, but then I had a big surprise today. Better Homes and Gardens featured a lovely crewel work Tree of Life (No. 13, on left) from my shop in an inspiration post on their blog! Thank you BHG!

Image by BHG.com

Clearance Sale

OK, here's the deal- I have way too much inventory right now. I am running out of places to store things, and I can't go out hunting for new stuff until I sell off some old stuff. And that's a very big problem for me, because looking for cool new stuff is one of my favorite activities. But this works out great for you, since it means I have to have a sale. Everything at SadieBess Vintage is going to be 20% off through next Sunday, August 25th.

And yes, you can use your SadieBucks points in conjunction with the sale!

Recent Listings

The weather in Middle Tennessee has been rater gloomy lately, so I haven't been able to post as many new items as I would have liked recently, since I rely solely on old Mr. Sun for lighting, but I was able to add a few new listings in the past week. Especially notable (at least I think so) are the Etienne Aigner belted trench and the red plaid Pendleton wool bomber jacket, both of which are in fantastic condition. I am also really digging the color block blouse, which would make a killer outfit with some riding boots and leggings.

Oh, and you can still get 20% off your entire purchase at my shop with coupon code BLOG20 until I can close the closet door in the office again. It should take at least a couple of weeks, so let's just say until December 21st.

Vintage 1970s Etienne Aigner Belted Trench Coat - $62

Vintage 80s Red Plaid Pendleton Bomber Jacket - $56

Vintage 80s Colorblock Equestrian Blouse - $32

Vintage 80s Sheer Floral Blouse - $24

Vintage 90s Little Black Body Con Cocktail Dress - $38

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale

I'm far too lazy to set up and promote two separate sales, which means that I will be offering 20% off everything in the store from now through Cyber Monday with coupon code BLOG20.

Also, I have some really fantastic sweaters and jackets just sitting around right now because the weather has been so gloomy here lately, but if I'm very lucky I may be able to take some new photos tomorrow, which will mean fresh listings over the next few days!

The Amazing Power of the Felting Needle

Anyone who's a connoisseur of vintage fashion has probably come up against the issue of moth damage more than once. I myself was becoming more and more frustrated each time I found a gorgeous vintage wool piece that seemed immaculate but for a tiny little hole or two. So a few weeks ago I began searching around the interwebs for a solution, and that's when I learned about the amazing restorative powers of the felting needle.

Of course, being a long time Etsy customer, I had seen lots of adorable little creatures made of felted wool, but it hadn't occurred to me that felting needles and wool roving had a much more practical use until I stumbled across a couple of references to it in different online forums. I decided to give it a try myself on a tiny (less than 1/8") hole in a vintage felted wool coat. It is a heathered gray, and I had no trouble finding the right color wool roving at my local craft store. I was also able to pick up a kit with a couple of felting needles and a foam block for less than $4.

The process itself couldn't have been easier. I just placed the foam block inside the coat underneath the location of the hole, then I put a little tuft of wool roving on top of the hole. The gray wool I bought came with two shades, and I mixed them together a bit to get a better match to my coat.

Then I just poked the barbed felting needle into the coat repeatedly until the roving became flush with the surrounding wool (Sorry for the blurry photos, it's harder than I thought to hold a camera steady with my left hand).

Towards the end of the process I sort of "groomed" the fibers of the roving with the tip of the needle so they were going in the same direction as the fibers of the coat to make the repair blend in even better.

As you can see, the repair is pretty difficult to see now. I don't think anyone could spot it unless they knew to look for it.

I am super freaking excited about this new tool. I have even been able to repair damage to a cashmere coat where a moth had chewed the nap down by poking the roving in from the wrong side of the coat, and then trimming the fibers down to the same length as the rest of the coat. The trickiest part of the whole process is finding wool roving in just the right color to match your garment. The rest is cake.

Slacker

I've been very busy doing work for clients of my sewing pattern tracing and PDF creation service these last few weeks, which is wonderful news for our bank balance, but no so much for this blog. I did finally get a chance to add some new items this past week, and I have a few more in the pipeline.

My favorite new item is the 1980s sequined jacket by Modi, which has got the be the single most amazing thing I've found all year. Every scrap of fabric is covered in bright sequins and beads, and it's actually quite heavy. I would so wear this to a New Year's Eve party if I were me from ten years ago.

Vintage 1980s Modi Sequined and Beaded Jacket - $120

And to go with it, I have these killer black suede Nina stilettos which are adorned with polka dots of gold glitter. They've never been worn!

Vintage Suede Stilettos with Gold Sparkle - $38

I have to say, I am really pleased with the way the pictures came out of the shoes, but not so much of the jacket. My photography has definitely improved over the last few months, but it is still a bit hit or miss. Maybe Santa can help me out and bring me a DSLR this Christmas?

Shop Update

I've been taking photos like mad this week and I'll be adding several new items over the next few days. Unfortunately, these may be the last updates for a while since PayPal, in it's infinite wisdom, has decided they need to hold all my funds for 21 days despite the fact that I have never had any disputes filed against me, and have had only positive feedback. Needless to say, I'm a tad miffed right now.

At least I have  quite a few items in the pipeline, including two more London Fog trench coats, one from the 60s and one from the 80s, an awesome checked 80s blazer from high end clothier Austin Reed, a pretty pink pointelle sweater (for my girls in the Southern hemisphere) and a handful of skirts and dresses.

I also managed to add a very pretty 1990s wrap skirt and a really high quality fair isle boyfriend sweater yesterday.

Just added:

Vintage 90s Ornamental Stripe Wrap Skirt

Vintage 90s Fair Isle Cabin Sweater

Coming soon: