Today I'm happy to share one of my favorite new makes from my sewing spree this spring...a cheerful floral 1950s dress. The pattern was a mail order one that I think I purchased with a pattern lot and decided it was cute enough to keep, though nothing too special. Meanwhile I've been watching The Donna Reed Show and admiring all of her lovely house dresses - most have full skirts, but some are more slender. When planning some new sewing projects, I decided to try out this pattern since it has a narrower skirt and isn't a silhouette I have much of.
I paired it with a lovely floral bed sheet I thrifted last fall, along with some others that you'll see soon. I love sewing with sheets when possible. They are sturdy, tightly woven, and usually don't wrinkle much with wear or in the laundry - unlike quilting cotton. No ironing everyday dresses is a win! Usually a poly/cotton blend, you can also sometimes find 100% cotton ones. You do have to check for stains, worn spots, and fading (and also I try to make sure it has a print that doesn't look too obviously like I'm wearing a sheet.)
The other benefit is that they are SO WIDE that it makes cutting out garments a breeze. No trying to squeeze pattern pieces on a width when you use a sheet! The only issue is trying to get enough of it on the table that it doesn't slide off. This one was a queen size, so I have a lot of leftovers.
It's the prettiest, sunshiny color combo. I don't tend to wear yellow, but this was definitely an exception. The fact that it was paired with a sky blue made the decision easier. I also love the touches of rose-coral and green, and the soft, watercolor style of the print.
I accented the blue with the contrasting collar...the collar fabric actually came from a thrifted tablecloth that had some holes in it, so you can call this a very made-do-and-reuse sort of garment, and cost very little.
I was very happy with the pretty fabric, the nice fit, and also with the pattern choice - I'm so glad I kept it! It can be hard to find a well-fitting slender dress that isn't too tight or restrictive, and this one was a good balance with lots of different possibilities for different looks depending on fabric and sleeve choice. It has little pockets in the skirt, which are kind of useless since you can't put anything in them anyway, and they are kind of lost in this busy print...but I think they would add some nice detail in a different fabric. (I like it so well that I have a 2nd version planned soon so we'll see if the pockets look better in that one.)
I did find 2 points of difficulty in the dress making. One was the front opening; the other was the collar. I was busy sewing and hardly looked at the instructions because I thought I knew how it was constructed...until I realized I'd done the collar differently than the picture showed. Not really an issue, because it still looks nice and no one would know how it was supposed to look, but next time I'll follow instructions more closely.
I outlined the collar with a bit of embroidery floss, just for fun.
The front opening I am still confused about how to make properly. There was one spot I was supposed to slash, and I did it wrong and had to mend it. Next time I think I'll lay it out since I know how it's supposed to be pleated, and just wing it.
I really love how the opening extends down into the skirt, but I'm not sure about how I like the rest of the faux opening. Even with pressing, the pleat doesn't lay flat. Yet if I tack it down, I'll have quite a few less inches in the skirt width, which may make it too tight.
I was happy to use some vintage buttons long in my stash...If I remember right, they were part of a prize package I won years ago from a vintage photo contest. They were the absolute perfect shade of light blue!
Despite the few hiccups in the process, it was fast and fun to make, and presents very well. I love wearing it for everyday when I want to dress up a bit more, or for shopping. It makes me feel elegant and put together, but not too fancy for house chores and keeping up with the children.
Since it is usually worn as a house dress, I kept accessories simple. My ubiquitous favorite white elastic belt, and some jewelry in the right colors - my toddler broke my vintage long, bead necklace and when I went to repair it, I realized that I never wear it because it's too long and heavy, but the painted beads are so pretty I couldn't get rid of it. So I restrung it as a shorter necklace, and also made a second necklace and 3 pairs of earrings out of the leftovers. Win!
Usually I am barefoot, or if shopping I wear vintage style wedges, but for these photos I was going for more of a Donna Reed house dress look, hence the necklace and heels. I've been searching for a pair of white classic dress heels for so many years...I have one pair from Miss L Fire, but they are too strictly 1940s style to go with this dress, so I opted for these modern ones I thrifted as a teen. They are a half size too big for me, but are so pretty I use inserts to tighten them up, and make them work. The more slender heel, tiny peep toe, and embroidery keep them close enough to vintage style for my taste even though they aren't 100% accurate.
I have been busy with deadlines and other projects recently, but am starting to feel my dress-sewing motivation coming back. I'm almost caught up blogging about my earlier projects from this spring (still have a few at the hand finishing stage), so I look forward to working on my sewing queue again, and making this pattern once more in the near future. Maybe this time I'll fix those trouble spots! But meantime, this cheery dress is a favorite, Donna-Reed-flavored addition to my daily rotation.
Pretty! The pale blue suits you well, and you've got a lovely match between the floral and the solid. Well done!
Posted by: Carla | 07/08/2020 at 03:40 PM