A Late '30s Christmas Dress

I've done a lot of sewing from the late '30s this year, so it's not surprising that the pattern I chose for my Christmas dress this year also happened to be from this era. 

 

And it was definitely the most frustrating project I made this year. The rayon crepe from JoAnn I used was super limp and slippery. It made every step triply difficult, from cutting out to finishing. I would work on it for a short time and then have to take a break to save my sanity. There are still a few mistakes visible, and the inside is a mess, but I got to the point when I wasn't going to fool around with it any longer and just called it good enough.

 

Thankfully it presents well, which helps make up for all the frustration!

 

I do love how the yoke turned out. I cut an underlay of cotton and basted the two layers together so they wouldn't slide. Then I played around with decoration ideas. I didn't have a stencil, so the soutache design is freehand and measurements. Many measurements.

 

It isn't perfect, but I do love it. I added freehand embroidery with matching thread to the soutache, and then decided that pearl beads would be a nice final addition. Altogether the hand work added an extra day, but it takes the dress up a notch and I really love how it turned out!

 

The dress originally was supposed to have a scalloped collar, but after struggling with the fabric, I was not going to attempt a scalloped collar with this rayon. Besides, it would distract from the yoke decoration and potentially cover it up. So I omitted the collar.

 

The front opening came down too low, when I tried it on first, so I went on Pinterest to look at vintage dress images to find ideas for how to fill it without looking tacky. I found an image of an extant dress that gave me the idea for this neck filler, and I'm pleased with the result. It looks like it belongs there instead of an afterthought.

 

The sleeves were another alteration since the ones I had cut out were not working right, so I winged it, and gathered up the bottom hem a little bit. A few more pearl beads add the finishing touch. 

 

The lovely holly color and drape of the rayon makes a very nice finished product, but I will never use this fabric again unless I have some fabric stiffener to spray on it first! I want to make another version with a more structured fabric so I can actually enjoy the construction.

 

My hope was to end up with a dress that is not too Christmassy to wear for other occasions. I don't know how well I succeeded (although a green backdrop does make it look even more so!), but I think I can at least wear it for New Year's, Valentine's Day or date nights without looking Christmas-festive like a specifically holiday print would.

 

I didn't have a hat I liked to coordinate, so I used various flower clips and millinery bits to make my own hairpiece.

These pictures were taken quickly between Christmas festivities, so I didn't have time to grab gloves and other accessories, but at least it is documented. :-)

 

This was also the first project I made using my "new" vintage sewing machine! I had to do the buttonholes on my old machine, and it was a bit of a learning curve, but I really love my Rocketeer!

 

I'm glad I pressed through the difficulties and didn't toss this away as a bad job. I might have, except I did the yoke decoration first and after putting in that effort, I didn't want to waste it. And the result is pretty enough that it was worth the labor. 

 

I think it turned out looking fairly period-accurate as well!

Comments

[April]

OoooOOOOoooo, soutache! Beautiful dress - the braid alone was no easy feat... Wow! So elegant, Kristen.

For your 401, be on the lookout for a slant shank "Blind Stitch Braider" or even a slant shank "Quilter" Attachment to use along with an "Underbraider" (which attaches to the bed of the machine). I've used both with soutache braid but only for samples on the site. You'd love some of these vintage attachments with your amazing sewing skills and bona fide embellishments. I'll keep my eye out for you, too. 😊

[Melisa]

OMG So pretty and those sleeves are everything!! 😍🥰❤️💖❤️💖❤️