Late 1930s 4th of July Maternity Dress

This year a 4th of July dress just happened when I already wanted to do a trial of a late '30s/early '40s maternity dress pattern, and had some blue and white gingham cotton with tiny red flowers already in my stash. It turned out quite cheery and patriotic, comfortable for summer.

 

This dress I definitely like better than the 1940s pink linen maternity dress I made earlier, since in this dress the fullness is in the back, controlled by a wrap-around belt. I find it more flattering then the dress with fullness in the front.

 

It has some cute front detail, like all late '30s dresses, and the pattern comes with several views so I can change it up if I do it again. So far this is the pattern I am most likely to make again, of the ones I have tried, but I have less than 3 months to wear maternity now so I'm not sure how much more maternity sewing I will do - and I have at least one more outfit to try.

 

There was definitely some queerness going on with the fit, however. This was a copy of a pattern from my sister-in-law, and I don't know if when I was copying it I marked some of the perforations in the wrong place or made mistakes while cutting it, or if there was a problem with the original pattern, but it definitely will need some adjusting next time.

The side seams are too far back, for one thing, and the sleeves were wonky, which meant the arm holes feel like they don't fit right. That I can easily fix by substituting another sleeve pattern, and trimming a bit off the sides when I cut it out.

 

I totally forgot to do my usual torso-shortening when cutting it out. Thankfully the waist only ended up a teeny bit long, and that's pretty well disguised by the belt. Next time I will remember to take a half inch out of it, though!

 

In the back, the stitched down faux pleats are meant to lie smoothly and straight overtop of the fullness to give the illusion that the fullness isn't there - especially while the wearer is still small. Mine didn't lay that way for some reason. However, it is a nifty way to get the belt in the center of the back pieces instead of in a side seam, which means the sides are nice and trim compared to just pulling in the fullness all along the back. I like the slimmer silhouette.

(Please don't pay attention to the wrinkly back - I had worn it all day and in a long car ride!)

 

The belt piece I was missing, so I cut my own and made it over-long, but it works. It crosses in the back, crosses in the front, and ties in the back. Of course this allows for plenty of adjustment depending on your waist size at the moment.

Mine is definitely growing! :-)

 

It also had plenty of length. I did a 2 1/2 inch hem and it's still nice and long. If I need to save fabric another time, I can shorten the skirt piece and just turn up the hem, which is nice to know. 

 

I cheated and top stitched the sleeve edge for ease, since there was other top stitching on the bodice.

 

Cute detail!

 

I had a lot of fun playing around with the buttons before settling on this combination, which is a little out of the ordinary for me. I'm normally pretty unadventurous when it comes to buttons. This time I had these vintage ones in my stash for years, waiting for the perfect project. I had exactly this amount and wanted to use them all together, so this is what I came up with. 

 

This version could be a house dress, or dressed up a bit as a picnic dress worn with white hat and gloves. The same pattern could also be dressier in a solid rayon with 3/4 sleeves, which might show the details a bit better. I can see it definitely being a staple in my vintage maternity wardrobe.

 

I know in the 1930s hairstyles were shorter and more tightly curled, but this was 2nd day hair for me and by the end of the day it was starting to droop a bit. Oh, well!

 

I liked my unsophisticated but all-American background of corral fences and western hills! Somehow it seemed appropriate for a 4th of July dress.

 

Another maternity pattern is off my list, and I'm happy about a comfortable new summer dress in my wardrobe. Especially now that a whole bunch of the dresses that had fit me all these months suddenly are too tight!

Comments

[Gina White]

You have got to be one of the most adorable pregnant ladies I have ever seen! I love this dress on you! It is so sweet and the bodice is just fun! The issues you mentioned sound like they can easily be remedied on the next one and this looks like it could be altered to a non maternity dress for future!!
Blessings!
g

[Irene]

Kudos for you for another very pretty dress! The details so cute! Yes the background does fit in very nicely. Just wondering, do you get stares or comments when you go "out there" in all those pretty dresses , not to mention vintage shoes? Do you feel uncomfortable in a world of jeans and flip flops/crocs? I used to get commented whenever I picked up my son at school and I wore flats! (Iam a dress/skirt gal) I always felt I would dress more vintage/retro if many other women did, but unfortunately that's not the case. Love your posts!
Happy Summer! 🍉
Irene

[Dee]

Lovely dress...those red buttons are perfection!! :-) I like dresses with ties in the back(maternity or not).

You look great, Kristen...you always look good in the color blue!

Best wishes,
Dee

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Thank you Gina, Irene, and Dee! So far I'm pleased with the dress despite the issues. I have a few more maternity outfits I want to make, so I don't know if I will do another version of this dress this time around, but at least I know for next time!

Irene - I do get some attention, though with the huge range of styles fashion accommodates today (including the wild and weird) I get less than you might think. Most of it is actually positive, and I get a lot of compliments. I have a thick skin so I don't really mind stares if I do get them, and figure that if I wait till fashion is how I like it, I'll never dress the way I want, so go ahead and do it. Just because everyone else dresses down doesn't mean I have to. :-) I try to be tasteful even in my dirty-work or lounging-around-the-house clothes. I think it's a shame the way women tend to let themselves go when they are at home to the point where even just a decent outfit is unusual, so this is partly my way of holding up a better standard.

[Irene]

I totally agree with you. Have you seen some choices of outfits that they put on the mannequins in the window displays in the mall? Yegads, what were they thinking?! You should see how they dress going to a NY b'way show these days, disgraceful ! . I remember buying a new outfit just for that occasion. Can't understand how sloppy/dressed down society has become. Well this can get to be a long topic conversation, so I think I'll stop for now. Lol.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy 🙂
Always enjoy reading your lovely sewing/fashion posts.
Irene

[Bri]

Hello! Any chance you could share what this pattern brand and number was? I love it and would love to add it to my maternity wear. :) TIA

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Hi Bri,

It was a Companion-Butterick pattern, number 1059. Hope you can find a copy!