1950s Maple Leaf Thanksgiving Dress

I have been in quite a sewing mood lately, and have been whizzing through my pile of fall projects quickly before it's time to sew for Christmas. My Thanksgiving dress was my latest fall finish - and though delayed by my whole family getting sick with a nasty flu right before Thanksgiving, I did get it finished in time to wear that Sunday, which is when we ended up having our family celebration. 

 

I loved the soft aquas in the fabric line Shades of Autumn by Riley Blake Designs, and knew it would be a good novelty print for fall - plus be a good color for me, which is hard to find with fall fabrics!

 

I knew I wanted a 1950s dress in it, with some contrast in the plaid fabric. After sorting through my patterns I settled on this one from the late '50s or possibly early '60s. It was just what I wanted and even had a good contrast detail so I didn't have to draft my own. 

 

The construction was quite interesting. I actually had to follow the pattern for this one! They had me construct the entire front and entire back, then sew it together on the side seams. I'm not exactly sure why they did it that way, but I figured I might learn something new and followed it as written. 

 

I do prefer adding collar and facings while flat, but thankfully it worked out pretty well. This is the only time I've done a stand-up circle collar quite like this, and it was unusual to stitch, but I really like how it looks. 

 

The skirt band and bow I did in the plaid, drafting my own bow since I didn't have enough fabric to use the bow pattern piece. I don't usually go for metallic threads in my quilting cotton, but I liked the plaid a lot. A little shimmer makes it more holiday-ish.

 

I also added a little plaid piping on the sleeves to trim them. 

 

I knew I wanted to emphasize the gold threads in the plaid, and luckily found the perfect buttons in my gold button stash - and had exactly the right amount for the space on the dress. 

 

I had to sew the buttonholes with my regular foot, and while it's more complicated than using a buttonhole foot, it works quite well!

 

This is perhaps the first time I have successfully done a partial-lapped front opening like this, so I was very happy with that accomplishment! Usually it looks ok on the outside but is butchered on the inside. :-) 

I styled it with a 1950s hat, my gold Aerosoles heels, modern elastic belt (since my post baby waist still prefers such things...) and added midcentury gloves and suitcase for these photos.

 

I just love the soft cream and aqua colors, and the large maple leaf print. This is definitely one of my favorite fall dresses, and my only regret is that I made it late enough in the season that I likely won't wear it again this year. 

Comments

[Barb]

Where do you find your patterns and fabrics. I just love all the dresses you have made, would love to get back into sewing dresses for myself again.

[Kristen Stoltzfus Clay]

Hi Barb - My patterns are almost exclusively vintage ones that I find on eBay, Etsy, or sometimes at antique stores. The fabrics are also mostly found online - a good place to start is looking for 1930s reproduction quilting cotton in quilt shops.