Adjustable 1940s Striped Housedress

Here's my next sewing creation with maternity in mind, though the original pattern is a teen girl's style and not intended at all for pregnancy. Yet I think it will work very well, and doesn't look like a maternity pattern so I can wear it afterwards too!

 

 

I made it out of some lightweight cotton in cheery nautical stripes. It features an adjustable waist via wrapped ties and loose front panel that can gather more or less as needed. I think the panel would hang well in rayon or a drapier fabric as well, but this fabric makes a great summer 1940s house dress.

 

I had a few adventures with this pattern. For starters, when I opened it up I found out it was missing two  pieces - the collar and the front panel. The collar I knew I could substitute, and the front panel thankfully I could eyeball when I compared the sketches of the front and front side on the back of the pattern envelope. It worked! 

Then too, I had to size it up 4-5 inches, which created a few bumps later on with fitting. Again, though, since there is no waist seam in the front and the panel is adjustable depending on how tightly it's tied, it wasn't as big a deal as it might have been since I could already adjust the fit. I overdid it a bit, ended up having to take a few darts in the back neck, and still couldn't quite fit the collar correctly. I also had to open the front seams a bit and move down the ties which I first placed too high, and it ended up on the short side despite the narrow hem. But I have a better idea of how to size it up if I make it again - and for an everyday dress I'm not terribly particular about perfection.

 

The front panel I did differently so that it could open for nursing. I still sewed it at the top to the yoke, but faced it at the top down to the waist and overlapped it all the way down, topstitching it from the waist down to the side front. On the under layer, I used wide bias facing to double as both seam finishing and a more solid base to sew the buttons to. It adds a fun interior touch.

 

Facing on the top inside:

 

Seam finishes:

 

Because of the wide waist and the neck zipper, I don't need to use the buttons to take the dress on and off, so I won't find out until it's time to use it for nursing if I left enough room to do it comfortably. Meanwhile I think they add such a cute, double-breasted touch to the dress! They are some of my favorites from my new additions to the button stash and I have a few left for another project yet.

 

I used a bodkin for the first time to turn the belts and it made the process a lot easier! I definitely recommend. 

 

I simply turned up and top stitched the sleeve and hem edges since it's an everyday dress...that saved some time, so the only hand sewing was the neck facing, hand picked zipper, and the buttons. Once more my one step buttonhole foot came in handy.

 

I really like the way the front panel looks. It is very comfy, and there is plenty of room for expansion. On me it looks like a maternity dress at the moment, but on my mannequin (whose size I used to be) it looks very trim. I have a dress pattern of similar design actually intended for maternity which would need less alterations and has all the pattern pieces, so I don't know if I'll do this pattern again - I may just stick with the other. At least I'm pretty sure now I will like it when I do make it up.

 

 

Because it is for everyday, I merely accessorized it with my comfy red 1940s slingbacks. A brooch distracts from the buttons, and  a house dress like this one most likely wouldn't have been worn out of the house, so gloves and hat weren't necessary. Another time I might add red nail polish and a bracelet, but otherwise leave it simple.

 

This was yet another one of those projects I cut out, eventually got around to putting the front together (the difficult part since I had to figure out how to make it work with buttons), then had to drag myself to work on it more...until I actually sat down and started. Then it was a breeze to finish and really enjoyable. I guess it really helps to take my own procrastination advice! ;-)

 

The dress is trim, breezy, and comfortable - everything a house dress should be. Despite the few hitches in the process, I'm fairly pleased with this dress, chalk it down as another successful learning curve, and am definitely ready to keep experimenting with maternity-friendly vintage dresses in the future.

Comments

[Lily]

Awww, you're glowing already! Pregnancy becomes you well. :-) I am SO excited that you're experimenting with vintage maternity styles!! It's something that's intrigued me for years, but I know so few people who stick with it during maternity. I think the 1930s/40s styles like this were so ingenious and I'll be interested to see how you like it!

[Dee]

I love how you added those buttons...I thought it was part of the pattern...well done.

Best wishes, Dee

[Cindy Wilson]

Kristen I recently found your blog and really enjoy it. You are inspiring me to sew more. I would love to know how you figured out how to size up vintage patterns. Cindy

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Welcome, Cindy! I'm glad you found me.

The proper way to size up vintage patterns is to cut the pieces and spread them a specific distance. There are tutorials online for this. I always cheat by looking for patterns where the back pieces are cut on the fold. I can add up to 2 inches just by moving the pieces 1 inch away from the fold. If I'm going to add more than 2 inches, I'll cut the side seams (including sleeves) an inch away from the pattern edge. I can also sew all the seams 3/8 in. instead of 5/8 in., which gives you an extra half inch per seam. It also really helps when a vintage pattern has very deep "let out" seams, where the pattern is already graded to allow for extra room if you sew the side seams shallower.

I prefer to only size up patterns by 2-3 inches when I can add it all in the back and side seams. More than that means that I might also have to trim the neck and sleeve openings to make it roomier in general, and the darts might need to be moved or adjusted which is more of a headache. If I'm just sizing it up a few inches in the back, the front darts usually still fit fine since there is only a slight difference between dart placement from one size to the next.

Hope that helps!
~Kristen

[Lianna]

I just found your blog the other day, and since then, I've been spending too much time looking at all of your sewing projects! you inspired me to get started on a couple of sewing projects I've been meaning to start for the past two months. All your piece are so beautiful, and I wish I could hire you as my personal seamstress!

[Dee]

Great question, Cindy! I have been looking into resizing vintage patterns.

Thanks for the tips, Kristen. I didn't think about making the seams smaller if they are 5/8. I think I read somewhere that older patterns didn't all have 5/8 seams but varied depending on the brand. Maybe in a future post you can give us more sewing tips. :)

Do you wash and dry your fabric BEFORE cutting and sewing?

What about unprinted patterns?

Best wishes, Dee

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Hi Dee,

You're right - a lot of old patterns have 1/2 inch seams. Sewing those shallower will only make the difference of 1/4 in. per seam,, and depending on the fabric you may not want to have seams that shallow. However, like I mentioned, a lot of old patterns (especially the unprinted ones) have 1/2 inch seam allowance BUT also 3/4 inch side seams to allow for letting out. If you sew THOSE seams 3/8, you get almost two more inches just like that, and may not need to do any other resizing if the pattern is just a little too small.

One of these days I'll have to do a tutorial on pattern resizing the "cheating" way. :-)

Yes, always wash and dry fabric before cutting it, just in case there is any shrinking or warping - you DON'T want that to happen to a newly finished project! I always wash my fabric the way I will wash the dress - if it's rayon I'll wash it in cold water and line dry it. If it's cotton, I'll wash it in warm water and line dry it, because that is how I'll wash the dress when it's done.

Unprinted patterns are actually my favorites to work with, partly because the perforations make marking the fabric so much easier! They can look scarily blank if you're used to modern patterns, but after using unprinted patterns a lot, the moderns ones look confusing with all those marks for different sizes.