Verity Vintage Studio

1950s Red Gingham House Dress

I now interrupt an unintentionally long string of blue projects to bring you...a red one! This was a super fun and rewarding project. It began when I realized that I have been constantly wearing a dress I'd made a few years ago - that I still fit in it comfortably and it was flattering to my little baby bump. Suddenly I felt like making another version, this time short sleeve. 

I promptly paired it with a red gingham sheet I'd thrifted a few months ago, and knew it would be the best cheery 1950s house dress. Once I outgrow it this spring, it will be ready for me to wear after the baby is born. It will still be summer then, so I know I will make use of it later, and layer it with a sweater in the winter. 

 

Sewing with sheets can be risky since often they are stained, faded, have uneven fade marks, or may be worn enough that the fabric won't last long with that extra strain of wearing. But on the other hand, they are such lovely wide pieces of fabric to work with, and usually are a great, densely woven cotton blend that washes without wrinkling. This one was in good enough shape I was willing to risk it.

Plus, I got it for only 99 cents. Sometimes sewing can still be the economic way to get clothes!

 

Since I had used the pattern years before - and it's pretty basic anyway - it was a breeze to make, and quite a quick project. Partly because I enjoyed working on it so much that I'd snatch moments of sewing throughout the day, which add up quickly.

 

I like this pattern a lot because it's a simple house dress that is fitted, yet the shoulder gathers add not just detail, but plenty of room for the bust - which is a nice element when you are fluctuating sizes. The skirt pleats stitched in the front don't add bulk, but rather just the right amount of slimming, and a little extra fullness to walk in. It's a very comfortable style. 

 

For this version, a white collar seemed to be the right choice (also making a variation on the first version), so I used some white seersucker from the stash, and had the idea to do a double row of contrasting top-stitching - which I absolutely love. I was very careful in stitching it to make sure it would be as straight as possible. I just love the little detail it adds. Plus it makes the collar nice and crisp. Now I want to top stitch everything in contrast! 

 

I wanted to make the dress roomy enough that I could wear it for a while yet, and I think I succeeded a little too well, as it's a tad big for me on the top. I should deepen the sleeve seams a little, and maybe later take it in at the sides. A belt works well enough now to get a decent fit. I have a dressier version planned too, and will make sure the bodice fits me better on that one.

 

The square buttons mirror the gingham squares, and as I expected, the dress is comfortable to wear, and doesn't wrinkle much. The perfect wash-and-wear-right-away everyday dress! 

 

Plus the cheery color, pretty collar, and trim fit make me feel very housewifely and spring-ish, and like it I am wearing an actual vintage 1950s house dress, which are all good feelings!

1940s Adjustable Dress - Butterick 6485 Review

I started this dress back in February, and then lost the motivation to sew. Well, a week of sickness and a bunch of crochet deadlines may have contributed...It took me a whole month before I finally got it finished up and could move on!

 

This pattern was one recently re-released by Butterick for their Retro line, as a reissue of a 1944 pattern. What struck my eye was the possibility for color blocking (shown in view B) and the fact that the back waist was adjustable. I had a hunch it would work for maternity as a result, and picked it up the next time I was at JoAnn and they had a $2 sale on their Butterick patterns.

 

I laid it aside then in order to do non-maternity dresses while I had the chance, but once Baby Two was coming, wanted to give it a try (even though I still fit in most of my regular clothes). 

 

After my last pregnancy, I have a much better idea of what styles I will like best for myself - especially preferring the ones that are not intentionally maternity, since they can be worn afterwards without looking "maternity". This pattern seemed like a good bet, and I'm happy to say I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

 

I used a thrifted piece of floral rayon for the front, since there wasn't enough for a whole dress, and paired it with a solid navy rayon for the rest. Between the floral and the dark color, I think I could wear it year-round. Certainly it's appropriate for this mild early spring weather that is still pre-Easter, so I haven't switched to my spring wardrobe yet. I like how the color blocking accentuates the way the dress is put together, because otherwise I think the shoulder yoke detail would be lost in a dark solid color. 

 

The waist is truly adjustable and when fully extended has quite a bit of room, and while I'm not sure I will be able to wear it all the way at the end of this pregnancy, that remains to be seen. Certainly it will last through most of the pregnancy, and yet should be perfectly fine to wear afterwards.

 

With that in mind, I altered it to open down the front instead of the back with a short zipper, since the wide waist doesn't need a side zipper. That caused a bit of fitting issue because of the soft rayon, since the zipper tends to make it bulge a little. That shouldn't be an issue in a sturdier fabric like cotton, but cotton was not one of the suggested fabrics, so I'm not sure how well the dress design will work in cotton...

 

The pattern illustration shows the dress tied in the back, and while I liked how that looks in the front, I didn't like how it looked in the back. Maybe the sash is too wide and looks too school-girly?? Anyway, the ties are long enough that I could cross them in the back and tie them in the front as in most of these photos.

BUT I can also cross them in the front and tie them in the back, which gives a really cute empire-waist different look (quite pregnancy friendly) and also a very period correct 1940s look with the way it adds additional color blocking.

 

I originally put the ties where the pattern said to, and they were inches too low. Definitely not for short waisted gals! The fit was terrible and I was worried I wouldn't be able to salvage it. Thankfully since there is no waist seam all I had to do was move them up on each side and suddenly the fit was perfect.

 

I'm not sure I like how the neckline fits...another time I might trim it down. A brooch and a stiffish interfacing helps hold it in place, but even still it seems to be too wide. I think I would like a plain V neck version better. I wish this pattern included more sleeve and neckline options - I wonder if the original did? Most of the patterns from that era at least included 2 sleeve length options. But it would be easy enough to substitute another sleeve pattern if I wish.

I omitted the yoke facing. It would make a neater inside finish, but is not necessary to the dress structure.  Otherwise I followed the pattern - which is super easy, since it's just a few seams and darts. The yoke detail isn't difficult either. I used one of the decorative stitches on my Rocketeer for the first time, in finishing the sleeve hems.

 

Comfortable, adjustable, and still stylish, I would call it a success. I have at least one more version planned, and may also have to try it in cotton for everyday, maybe switching it up a bit by doing a different neck and sleeve.

 

I definitely recommend it for a maternity-friendly dress that you can wear at other times, for you vintage-loving moms!

 

1930s Summer Housecoat Replacement

This was the 3rd of a trio of January projects (all in blue, incidentally...) which I finished a while ago and finally am getting around to documenting on the blog. I normally would not make a summer project out of season, but my first version of this pattern gave up the ghost last year with major, unmendable fabric disintegration, and I needed something lightweight to wear during a planned winter Hawaii vacation!

 

The fabric choice was not high priority - I wanted something cotton, dark enough that it wouldn't be see-through, and not a piece favorite enough to save for a dress. This print I'd gotten ages ago at JoAnn was pretty much the only one that fit the bill - it just happened to be blue. ;-) 

Since this is the 3rd time making this pattern, everything went rapidly and smoothly. The princess seams always mean construction is fast, and the yoke was the only thing that took a little time, but that was all pretty basic too. I didn't get any full length pictures for some reason, but I made it mid-calf length instead of floor length like the one it was replacing - which was really too long to be practical. I continually had issues with tripping on it. This one fits me better and is certainly more tidily constructed too, which is nice to see as a landmark of how my sewing quality has improved.

 

Because I can never make just a plain project, I also added rickrack the whole way around the yoke, for trim, in one of the more subtle accent colors from the print. I like how rickrack looks applied this way, with only half of it sticking out. Plus, otherwise the  top stitched yoke would have been quite lost in this busy print.

 

I wanted to tie the rickrack in on the sleeves, but without putting it on the hem, where it would be more uncomfortable to wear. I found the solution by folding down a pleat to stitch the trim under, above the hem. 

 

And finally, I used the remaining scraps of rickrack as little decorative knots to hide where I sewed the snaps down the length of the front opening, to shut it. I had the perfect amount from that card of vintage rickrack! Unfortunately, I found out after I'd sewn all those snaps by hand that I should have used a heavier duty size, and will have to redo them before I can wear it very much. I'm not pleased with that, but at least I now know for next time.

 

I didn't get any sewing done in February, after my sewing flurry of January, so there haven't been any recent photos on the blog for a few weeks. As a result, now you can see that Baby Two is putting in an appearance! This housecoat should serve me well over the summer with its adjustable waist, yet remain un-maternity for later wear.

 

Once again, one of the reasons I like this pattern so well is that, especially made in a dress style print, it has the comfort and convenience of a robe, but looks formal enough that I don't mind wearing it around other people or answering the door. My 2nd version of this pattern is dress length and does not open all the way down the front, and I wear it as a house dress quite as a matter of course.

 

Not a very exciting project perhaps, but one of my need-to wardrobe gaps filled. Something that will get a ton of wear, instead of just one or two outings a season. Useful and necessary - but cheery and pretty too.