Verity Vintage Studio

Another 1940s Tie-Front Dress

When I made my 1940s anchor dress a while back, I thought it was one of the better patterns I've tried that would work for maternity, yet be something I could wear at other times too. So I went ahead and made another, dressier version.

 

I used some adorable Wilmington 1930s reproduction cotton, which I liked so much I got two lengths of - one to make now in a maternity-suitable style, and one to make later, with buttons down the front. It's a fun, cheery print with what looks like little clusters of balloons scattered across is. Hence I call it my balloon dress.

 

I expected this to be super easy and quick since it was the second make, but not so. For the first version, I found the sleeves were too short and large-holed for my taste, so I gathered them into a cuff. That worked well enough, but since I already knew the problem, I decided to fix it at the start this time by cutting out the sleeves to be longer and narrower.

 

Well, I didn't think it through well enough before snipping into the fabric. As a result, the first time I tried on the dress, the sleeves were impossibly tight. I could hardly move my arms. I tried inserting gussets (my first time with gussets!) to widen the arm openings, and that helped a lot - but still not enough. They were too tight to really be comfortable - but worse, any pulling on the underarms distorted the neckline.

I knew I would not be happy with the dress if I just made it do, so back it went to the floor where I laid a bodice piece from another pattern on top to get the armhole right, and just cut out the sleeve part, leaving an arm hole like a normal bodice. I had just enough fabric left to cut out these small sleeves from another pattern.

 

This time there was success! And now it looks a little more different than the denim version as well, so that worked out in the end. But I know for next time to not cut in haste!

 

I considered doing contrasting ties, but couldn't decide on the right color of contrast, or even if it would look right. So I did another new thing - used piping for the first time to outline the ties. It's not quite the right color of blue, but I was using from my stash and it was the only option.

 

The piping worked like a dream, despite me having to use my regular zipper foot. I looked up some instructions online first, and found that I got perfect results even with a regular foot by basting the piping on first as close as I could sew to the cord, then when sewing the 2 layers together, being able to see where the basting lines were and sew just on the other side of them for a nice, close seam.

 

Since then I've been wanting to try piping everywhere, and need to search thrift stores to find more!

The piping outlines the ties very nicely so they don't get lost in the print, and also gives the corners more body so that the little knot in the front keeps its shape. 

 

Everything else was quick and easy - a narrow top-stitched hem finishes the bottom, and like the first version it slips over the head (again I shortened the bias band and gathered more of the dress into it to make the neckline higher) and has no closures, so it really is a quick and easy dress. Minus the sleeve fiasco. 

 

It won't get much more wear, since I only have 7 weeks to go and can't nurse in it, so I will soon have to put it away for later. But it's a fun, colorful summer dress to wear in the meantime!

1930s Floral Adjustable Dress

One of the ladies I follow on Instagram posted pictures of a lovely 1940s dress she made from the prettiest floral and polka dot fabric. The fabric instantly caught my eye, and when I saw she had gotten it from Walmart, I had to get some too. It took a while since their search engine is terrible, but I finally tracked down the print and ordered enough of it for 2 dresses - an adjustable/maternity one I can wear now, and one to wear later once I'm a normal size again.

This is the adjustable version.

 

The cotton, while feeling cheaper than the high quality brands I prefer, is still remarkably nice - especially for less than $4 a yard! I love that the blue is a mid blue instead of navy, and that the flowers are pink instead of the more common color scheme of red paired with blue. It's a good way to get more pink into my wardrobe.

 

For this dress, I used a combination of 2 different patterns from the 1930s. The back and back yoke is from a pattern I made twice during my last pregnancy. 

 

The front and sleeves uses the same pattern I used for last year's Christmas dress - and I have to say it was SO much easier to make it with cotton than with that awful crepe! 

 

The back ties I added myself, making them the same width as the front inset skirt band. If I like how it looks on me after pregnancy, I may add buttons back there so it overlaps and buttons shut, which looks neater than a tie. But right now the adjustable tie is very helpful. And as you can see, there is still plenty of room to grow if I need it, yet without looking really bulky even in cotton.

 

I used the collar this time, making it in a white fabric embroidered with dots. I didn't get it perfect (scallops are not my friend), but I like how it looks.

 

The sleeves actually turned out well this time - thanks to cotton! For my Christmas dress I ended up just winging it, but done properly they really have cute detail. Maybe a bit too much puff for my preference, but otherwise I really like them. I was originally going to add white cuffs, but decided instead to tie in the white with some tiny decorative white buttons.

 

The front buttons are vintage ones that I had exactly 3 of, and the scallops match the dress quite well. It was meant to be.

 

I love how the pink flowers on the dress match the flowers on the tree! 

 

There was definitely a difference in era between the 2 patterns I combined. The back piece was at least 4 inches longer than the front skirt (probably from the mid-30s compared to the late '30s), but I could easily even it up and hem it the same length. I think the overall combination was a good match since it has the same shape of yoke front and back, so it really looks like it was supposed to go together. 

 

I definitely like the more fitted front better than the loose front versions of the original pattern I used for the back. I'm hopeful I can still wear this after the baby and it won't look maternity. But if not, I still have more fabric for another, normal version!

Lavender Print 1940s Dress

Time to try Butterick 6485 again in cotton! The pattern calls for a limper fabric, which does look nice, but it actually works just fine in cotton.

 

The pattern also says you can't fit everything on 3 yards, so I decided to combine some colors in order to make it fit. I used a fun reproduction print from Penny Rose for my main fabric, and intended to go with the gray accent for sleeves and yoke. I had no solid gray in my stash, but did have some purple the right shade - so went with that instead, and I really like the substitute!

 

I actually think you could fit all the pattern pieces on just 3 yards if you did a bit of squishing - maybe shortened the sleeves and made the belt narrower, etc. But this worked out just fine.

 

Since this was my second time making the pattern, I made some adjustments this time - shortening the waist, lengthening the skirt a bit (still don't have much hem, so I may lengthen it even more another time), making the belt narrower, and cutting the neck differently.

I took in the neck a good 2 inches in the back to make it not so big (a common complaint with users of this pattern is the neckline fit) and it's still quite large as you can see! I also tried it on and then cut it down to a V instead of the high version the pattern shows. More comfortable.

 

It was quite easy and quick to put together - even more of course since I'd done it before.

I didn't feel like switching to a darker thread when it came time to top stitch the yoke, so I decided to make it intentional by using a decorative stitch from my machine to do the top stitching. It turned out really lovely, so I tied it in by hemming the sleeves that way also. I had to run the sleeves through the machine backward to make them match, which felt weird, but I love being able to incorporate my vintage machine's decorative elements into a sewing project.

 

As you can see, by now I am large enough that the original shape of the dress is pretty distorted, but I still think it works well for maternity. And the adjustable waist (or lack of waist, rather) is so comfortable!

 

I considered doing a button closure, but decided instead to do a zipper closure down the front. This time instead of doing an invisible zipper, I used a regular zipper, then hid it with a top-stitched tab that is stitched to the dress on one side, and snaps on the other. I was very pleased with how it looks, so I may do this again when I don't want to use an invisible zipper down the front.

 

Because of the tab, though, I can't wrap the ties around the front like I did with my blue version, so I am limited to tying the sash in the back with this dress.

 

A lot of my summer hats are too formal to pair with a cotton dress like this, so I went with hair flowers instead. I love lavender and gray together! This is actually my only purple dress in my current rotation, so I'm really happy to see some color variation in my closet. 

 

I will of course like how this dress looks much better once I have my waist back, but until then I'm pretty pleased with it as a non-maternity, maternity friendly dress. I'm sure I will wear it a lot the next few months!