1950s Plaid Housedress

My 2nd project from my to do list was made quite a while ago now but I haven't been able to take photos before now. Incidentally, my mother's new 1950s kitchen full of vintage furniture makes a fun backdrop for photographing house dresses!

 

Especially the Maytag gas range from 1954. Yes, it does work, and they do actually cook on it! I'm so jealous. :-)

 

This particular dress was a bit more involved than I would have anticipated from how simple the pattern looked. First of all, it turned out to not be a princess style dress, but instead each bodice and skirt piece were separate, which meant all those vertical lines to match at the waist seam. I wasn't about to be cheated out of a princess style dress, so I pieced the top and bottom pieces to each other and then sewed them vertically anyway. That would make the size adjusting easier if I needed to take in some seams, and I knew the waist line would be covered by a belt. Another time I would just overlap the pieces when cutting it out to make a true princess style dress.

 

Then there was the fit issue...this was only my 2nd project since the baby and I was still discovering my new size. This dress initially turned out way too big. I could fix the fit by taking in the seams, but the shoulder seams were way down my arm. In trying to fix that problem, I went too far the other way and now the seams are too high on my shoulders, so they still don't fit right. Oh well...it's not that big of a deal for an everyday dress, and now I know for next time.

 

Plus the waist was way too high. I mean way too high. Usually I take a pinch out of the bodice pieces when cutting them out, but this time I must have gotten too much, or it was already a shorter waisted pattern than most. The waist turned out so high that the only way I could disguise it and make a waist at the proper place was to wear a wide belt - not period correct. It bugs me.

 

The fabric is a rayon/polyester suiting and it must be mostly polyester, judging by the synthetic feel. (I've had it in my stash for a long time - I've learned a lot about buying fabric online since then!) Despite being brand new, it has little thread pulls here and there. But it is washable and doesn't wrinkle - a big plus for an everyday dress. 

And since I had so much trouble with the fit of the dress, it's a good thing I didn't use a fabric I really, really liked anyway.

So this project is more of a wearable muslin than anticipated.

 

But despite all these mishaps, overall it did turn out looking much like I had envisioned it. The blue cotton perfectly matches the blue lines in the plaid, and I love the covered buttons and the pocket detail.

I had actually forgotten about the pocket flaps when I was putting it together (probably because I was in a hurry, snatching a few minutes to sew while the baby napped) and had the side front seams finished and serged when I realized I had missed the flaps. I debated just omitting them, but decided that they were the only plaid play and detail the dress had, so I took the time to carefully rip out that section of seam and insert the flaps before re stitching it.

 

I've found it is a hard fabric to coordinate with. I finally picked navy blue, since there is blue in the fabric, but it still doesn't really seem to match. I can't decide what would. Ivory would probably be better, but not quite autumn appropriate.

 

Altogether, this project was a Lessons Learned project, which is good to have every so often to remind me to keep grounded on the basics. And while it's not the prettiest construction job I've done, this dress does end up getting used, which was the point after all.

 

Coming soon I have some more elaborate projects to share that were not on my sewing list, but managed to slip into the queue anyway!

Comments

[Esther]

So, so pretty! It might have been a little tricky to make and fit, but it looks perfect. :) Lovely!

[Jennie DeVries]

That dress looks lovely and great kitchen! How much fun that must be to cook on that stove. I have my eyes on a baby pink 1961 fridge and stove/oven range set. . . .ahh dream kitchens. . .
Jennie from theuglydame.blogspot.com

[Gina White]

Holy Smokes girl! You are looking post baby fabulous my dear!! I am so loving this dress. The color, style and shape are so fun!
Blessings!
g

[Alyssa Wesselmann]

Those pocket flaps are fabulous! And from the outside the dress looks great, no sign of the problems encountered :)

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Aw, thanks, everyone!

Alyssa - I'm glad you think the flaws aren't visible! I'm afraid closer up it's a little more obvious, especially the botched shoulder fit. But at least I learned things for next time. :-)