1940s Christmas House Dress

I went very bright and bold for Christmas this year with a length of vintage novelty fabric that I scored on Facebook Marketplace earlier this year. I quickly decided what I would do with it, and laid it away until December.

 

I wanted something comfortable for Christmas Day this year, and also needed a simple pattern since the fabric is so very splashy.  A housedress was the perfect solution. So I tried an interesting new vintage dress pattern I recently acquired that has one fitted side and one loose one, with the fullness gathered in by a sash.

 

I cut the shoulder yoke sideways so the stripes would go different directions, and added a front zip so it would be nursing friendly.

 

I first tried it with a contrast waist tie, but after trying it on the first time, I decided it needed a self tie instead. So that set me back a little bit, but it was still a very quick make.

 

I made it in a few days before Christmas, without any stress or feeling rushed.

 

I do love sewing with the modern repro fabrics, but I have to admit there's something special about sewing with vintage fabric. And it really does add a level of authenticity to the finished product too.

 

I've never done sleeves like this before. The dress has cap sleeves to start with, and I've never put sleeves in a cap sleeve opening, but I really like how it looks, especially with the gathered top. 

 

The next time I may just cut the cap sleeves a couple inches longer and leave it, but this was an interesting sleeve variation. It was actually more like a shaped sleeve band, and the seam was on the top instead of the underarm.

 

It was very comfortable to wear all day - whether for lots of eating, picking up gift wrap litter, chasing 3 littles, or curling up for Shop Around the Corner in the evening. I felt very festive all day!

I hope everyone has a happy Christmas season! We celebrate it for 12 days, so we are still deep in festivities at our house.

 

Comments

[Rebecca Young]

This dress is so beautiful with an ideal Christmas themed design. I hope that you and your family missed the awful weather in the USA that we saw on our news bulletins.

[glenna james]

What pattern did you use?

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Hi Glenna,
I used a vintage pattern in my collection, numbered Butterick 3819.

[Declan Kelly]

Out of curiosity, is this a 1940s wartime style or a 1940s peacetime style? Be interesting to see how world events affected the design.

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Hi Declan,
My guess from the pattern illustrations is that it's from 1946, right after the war, before the fabric rationing was lifted, but a new silhouette starting to appear.