1920's Easter Dresses - Finished!

I finished our Easter Dresses in time to post them in the Facebook group for the Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge #6. There are still a few things I think I will modify before Easter but the dresses are, in essence, done.

It is an odd sensation to dress up a daughter for Easter. It is quite different from dressing up little boys, though I am not quite sure why. While Anne has several lovely (and as of yet unworn) modern dresses that would have worked quite well for Easter I felt that I really wanted to make her a historical dress for her first Easter. 

I haven't made an Easter dress for myself for quite a while. It was fun to put some thought into making my own dress "special". I do not often wear white as it is not a practical color to mother 4 children in but for Easter one can bypass some practicalities and enjoy the frivolity of an impractical dress!  

I made Anne's baby cap to be non-matching, as, in the end, I felt a matching cap would be too costumey. A white cap is much more appropriate for "real" costuming, I think.

I used a white cotton handkerchief that was trimmed with narrow cotton lace for the cap. I cut a full width of it for the brim and put in a few teeny tucks.

The rest of the handkerchief was sufficient to cut a U shaped crown (the lace at the bottom edge). I put two pleats at the back neck for some shaping and added some ties and a little ribbon flower for decoration. Ta da! Very easy since all the edges were already finished for me!

She tried on her dress with a little white ruffled slip, tights, shoes and a modern onesie. I think I'd like to make her some drawers/pantaloons before next Sunday; something to keep her legs a bit warmer and for a bit of prettiness if her dress skirt gets pushed up (as it often does when she is carried around) and so one does not see just tight-clad fat baby legs. 

I am pretty happy with how my dress came out but still want to work on the sash a bit. It is not a tied sash, but rather a belt with separate hanging end "ties". I need to tighten up the belt just a tad and probably sew the ties to the belt somehow so they stay where they are supposed to instead of slipping around. 

I really like the early 20's silhouette. It is easy and comfortable to wear. The skirts are still quite long during this time and the waistline just slightly dropped - the waistline for these years varies quite a bit to almost-normal to the top of the hip. Mine is just about to the top of the hip, but not on the hip. I used my basic 1920's bodice for the bodice, modified for a center front panel and shawl collar, and the skirt is a rectangle pleated at the side fronts and side backs. The sleeves are close fitted short sleeves with a pleated flounce, open at the front arm.

I stayed away from the 20's for so long because I thought I did not have the right figure to wear these styles. I am very hour-glassy in shape which is completely different from the slim, boyish figure so popular during this era. But women of all shapes and sizes existed in the 20's. From looking at family pictures, even, one sees that the motherly, rounded figure was the *norm* among, well, mothers and they still looked graceful and fashionable in attire from the 20's, even though they did not have the flat, bust-and-hip-less figure in vogue at the time. I'm so glad I did end up trying out the 20's. It's fabulous! I think every woman can find a way to make any style work for her, because there is no "one right way". There is lots of variety in every era and I think anyone can find *some* version of their era that will look right and look pretty.

I ought to wear a corset (one similar to my 1910's corset) but I didn't fit the dress to be worn over that, just modern undergarments. I made the bodice to be slightly blousy as was popular then but it is not as flattering to me as a smooth line. So, perhaps someday I will take in the bodice an inch or so on each side so I don't have excess width to blouse up when the belt is worn. For now though, I am not too worried about it.

So below are the summaries for my dress and Anne's dress for the challenge:

Love,
Sarah


The Challenge: Stripes

Fabric: 100% cotton voile with a woven-in stripe

Pattern: I used the Sense and Sensibility Girl's Regency Dress pattern as a base for the bodice. I modified it by redrawing the seams (eliminated curved back seam and eliminated the drop shoulder seam and positioned the seam right on top of the shoulder instead). The skirt was a rectangle and the sleeve ruffles and all other ruffles rectangles. Easy. 

Year: 1922-1924 (early 20's) 

Notions: Thread, snaps.

How historically accurate is it? 

Well, I don't know. It is copied as directly as possible from an original dress that I had only one photo of and could not see details on. So the construction of the dress was guesswork - dresses like this are pretty straightforward, but I do not know if my construction is accurate to the early 20's. The fabric is certainly accurate, the overall shape is accurate and the finished dress looks much like what I envisioned when I started out. The original dress was made for a little girl of a few years old. This dress was made for an 8 month old baby so obviously, that is a difference right there. 

Hours to complete: This took most of 2 days to sew. It was mostly machine sewn so that sped up the construction. Perhaps 8 hours or so?

First worn: Today, to try on. Meant for Easter!

Total cost: The fabric was about $10 for a little over a yard (55" wide). I did not use all the fabric for this dress. I also bought a box of dye since the fabric I bought was bright yellow. The dye was about $1.50. The snaps came from the stash. I did have to buy some thread - another $2. So about $13.50 altogether? The cap was made from a lace trimmed cotton handkerchief that someone gave us ages ago.

The Challenge: Stripes

Fabric: Linen blend with a woven stripe. Off-white in color. Sash, collar and hem are of cream organza. The lace is a heavy cream color (unknown fiber; the lace and organza came from a curtain.) 

Pattern: My own, based on 1920's pattern shapes. The bodice was draped, the skirt is a rectangle pleated to fit and the sleeves are based on similar styles seen in early 20's dress advertisements.

Year: Early 1920's 

Notions: Thread. No fasteners. This is a slip-on style.

How historically accurate is it? 

The materials are dubious, fiber-wise. I pattern shapes are in line with patterns shown in Women's Wear of the 1920's which depict patterns taken from original dresses. Machine stitching. Construction was a guess.

Hours to Complete: Maybe 6. 

First Worn: For pictures. Meant for Easter.

Total Cost: All stash materials! I'm glad to have found a use for the striped linen blend. I've had it for several years and got it second hand; 5 yards of it cost me $1.30. The curtain was free.

Stripey Ruffly Baby Dress ~ Sneak Peek

Anne's dress is coming along. I did not end up getting a roll hem foot because I was too impatient to wait to get one, so this dress is coming out looking a lot clunkier than the original dress, which you can see here (didn't link to it in the last post; bad me.) 1922-1924 White Ruffled Cotton Lawn Dress.

The color and ruffles reminds me of baby lettuce leaves!

Mine is not an exact copy. It is made of striped voile instead of plain white lawn which was originally a sickly hue of greenish-lemon-yellow that I dyed with a box of teal RIT dye. Because this dress is being made for a baby instead of a child who is several years old (the owner of the original dress was born in 1919) I could not without extreme difficulty shrink the proportions of the dress properly. It was soooo hard to make 1" wide ruffles! I just could not go any narrower without having the hems look larger than the center portion of the ruffle! So I have just 5 ruffles on the skirt, set 1" apart, instead of the 7 ruffles the original dress has. And my treatment of the sleeve ruffles (single instead of double) and the neckline ruffles (which I may, very possibly may, take off and redo) are different.

But I am actually really happy with how it is coming out. True, tiny things bother me. Like a few of the skirt ruffles are not exactly the same width as the other ruffles. But really who is going to notice? So I try to reassure myself.

The baby tried it on last night and it looks so adorable on her. Of course, she looks adorable in anything (at least I think so) but the color is great for her and the style is feminine without being uncomfortable. I remember being so miserable in scratchy lace and net-underskirted-dresses when I was little! I loved the frilly dresses but always thought the price for beauty was uncomfortable-ness. ;) The size is a little big, on purpose. The waist is not fitted and the skirt goes all the way down to the tops of her teeny pink toes. She should be able to wear it for a while.

For some reason the neckline ruffles bug me. I think it is the header on the lower ruffle  - it just kind of jars me. Not sure how to go about fixing this. Unless I just bind take off the top ruffle, bind the neckline and add a ruffle with a header above the lower one. That may look better. 

I still need to probably redo the neckline ruffle and then finish a few seams, add a few snaps to the back opening and then the dress will be done. I have plenty of fabric left over so I want to make a matching baby bonnet to go with the dress. And maybe a sash?

Speaking of my little lady, she turned 8 months old yesterday. I can't believe she is already this old. She is a true joy and I can't imagine our family without her now that she is here!

I'm still kind of in awe I even was pregnant and had a baby - it all still seems surreal to me. We all love her so much. She's bubbly and funny and happy and looks so much like her daddy. He's pleased at least one child looks like him. The boys really do not. 

I think she rounds our family out rather nicely! I need to buckle down and finish our dresses today or tomorrow. I still need to finish the sash for my own dress and decide on a style for Anne's bonnet.

Love,
Sarah

New Fabric. Happy Me.

I went to the thrift shop last week and found five yards of a lovely, heavy, creamy satin in a particular shade of seafoam green that I particularly love. And in a reckless mood of "I'm-going-to-do-what-I-want-and-no-one-can-say-me-nay" I looked through my 1920's/30's inspiration folder like a child stealthily slipping a hand into the cookie jar. And I decided the seafoam green satin would make a lovely nightdress, and this is the style it will be:

I don't think this is originally intended as a nightdress,  but the style will work just as well for nightwear as evening wear, and no one will laugh at the sight of a pregnant woman in a bias cut, slinky dress. The only one to be horrified will be my husband and he will just have to deal with it. 

Here is the fabric. I think it definitely wants to be a 1920's/30's-ish nightdress. Don't you?

And then I was thinking about Civil War reenacting this year. I decided I hate most of the dresses I already have and that I need a new wool dress. A wool dress is just such a practical thing to have. You can wear it almost anywhere. So I got this wool from Fabric.com:

It arrived  yesterday and although the color is more gray-green-blue in real life than the bright green and blue it appeared to be on the computer screen, I still love it. And I love plaid. It will become a dress similar in style to this one from Time Travelers Antiques:

A pretty basic dress, but I love the sleeve style. 

Then I went to Jo Anns last weekend and their red tag fabric section was 50% off. In the middle of the piles of heavy home dec fabric, sleazy polyester knits and faux leather I found a bolt of this very springy cotton print.

I bought some to make a little girls dress, because my mother in law gave me this pattern last week and I think it is so adorable. In all liklihood this dress will become the subject of a giveaway post in the not-too-distant future. Having no little girls, size 2, of my own the horizon must be expanded and a little girl must be found who can fit this dress!

And no fabric for this project yet, but soon some must be found. For the boys, this 1950's shirt and trouser pattern will be just perfect for Easter, I think. I will have to size it up a bit for the older boys but that shouldn't be too difficult. I just love vintage patterns for little boys!

Love,
Sarah

Pink 1920's Dress ~ Finished

I finally finished the renovated linen dress. It ended up taking me a lot longer to finish than if I had just started from scratch and used new material, but, hey, it was kind of fun figuring out how to transform the linen dress and some pink fabric into a 20's style.

Last time I posted, my dress had the side panels attached for a fuller skirt:

However, the bodice hung rather loosely and unattractively so I took in the bodice. First I removed the sleeves, then raise the whole dress at the shoulders. Then I took in the side seams of the bodice so it fit me better.Then I added a band of the pink gauze to the original cap sleeves on the dress, and a slightly flared band below that, of scraps left from the pink linen when I cut the sides off the skirt.

After that, my dilemma was deciding how to finish off the dress. Originally I was going to go with a scarf-type trim, like this: (which I must mention I still really like. . .I really liked the drapiness of it)

But my children kept thinking that the scarf-type trim was a kind of tail they could yank and pull on. Plus it gave a very unflattering silhouette from the side.

Next I tried a V-shaped piece of the gauze. I kind of liked how that looked, so I decided to go with that.

Since pink does not go very well with my hennaed hair color, I thought a contrasting color would help soften the transition from the pink dress to my reddish hair. This cream colored antique lace from Natalie was just right, and I had just exactly enough to sew a few rows across the V shaped area on the front bodice.

The belt tabs were. . .boring. From any distance at all, they melted into the skirt and you could not even tell they were there. I was very sick yesterday so spent the afternoon curled up in David's bathrobe, in bed and chain stitched in cream colored thread all around the belt tabs to help them stand out more. I also made covered buttons by covering metal washers with the pink gauze, and sewed them to the belt tabs to make them look more belt-like. :)

I am really pleased with how the dress finished up. It's definitely *pink* but sometimes a pink dress is the perfect dress to wear!

I am loving this style for everyday use since it is *so* comfortable. No zippers. No buttons. No hooks. No fitted bands. Nothing. It just slips on over the head and hangs there. The skirt is a perfect, practical everyday length and the fullness is just right for comfortably moving.

I tried to put my hair up in a different way by simulating a short cut look. I think I like a tightly-pulled back chignon better.

Love,
Sarah

1920's Trim Possibilities

Happy 1st of November! (can it BE November already??) This morning David woke up and the first thing he sleepily mumbled to me was "Happy All Saints Day". After he got that all-important greeting off his chest, he seemed much relieved. So I pass on his greeting to you all: Happy All Saints Day!

Did any of you do anything fun last night? I never celebrated Halloween growing up but last year we did take the boys out trick or treating. David grew up with that tradition and I thought we could try it. The boys had fun last year and had even more fun this year despite the chill. They covered about twice as much ground as they did last year - even Malachi - and came home with their pumpkin buckets stuffed with fun-size Snicker bars, packets of Skittles and M & M's, toosie pops and that dreadful nightmarish creation of "Fun Dip" sticks, in packets,with chemically-looking colored sugar to dip them into.

Last night I finished sewing down the other belt tab and sewed up the hem. So structurally the dress is done and I just need to decide on how to finish it. I was browsing through my collected images of 1920's dresses and found a few possibilities.

Note: I have NO idea where I saved all these pictures from so if there is a picture posted that violates a copyright, please let me know and I will remove it asap!

First up is this one. The neckline is wide and scooped yet is finished with a big floppy collar. I like how it makes the dress more "dressy" than a plain unfinished neckline.

Then there is this one. I like how it looks but am afraid that with my renovated dress, it would just scream "1980's!". I remember collars like this being popular when I was a little girl in the late 80's, early 90's. I want my dress to definitely be more reminiscent of the 1920's than the 1980's (which can be tricky, because some of the style details WERE very similar in those two decades!)

This one has a V-shaped detail at the neckline AND a collar.

These three dresses from 1923 are just gorgeous. Love them! I especially like the one in the middle. I like the sleeve style a lot (a different, lighter fabric for the lower sleeve, which would work well with my cotton gauze fabric) and I love the hat. Oh yes. I LOVE the hat. I think I could easily make the bodice/sleeves on my dress look similar to this one.

This one has a center front panel on the bodice that contrasts with the rest of the dress. And a sash at the waistline. I like it. Maybe I could do rows of trim simulating a center front panel on the bodice?

THIS dress is just perfectly gorgeous. I can't describe it. It's perfect. I do plan on making a repro of this one but for now, I am liking the little tucks at the neckline.

This one also appears to have tucks at the neckline that go down into tucks at the waist. So I think my idea of taking in the neckline with a few little tucks will be okay.

This dress is from later in the 20's but also have a V shape contrast area on the front bodice. I am assuming this is because of the little coat that matches the skirt, and the skirt is attached to a plain bodice. However, the look is pretty, and slimming too which is a nice thing in dresses like these which make you look all the same width from shoulder to hem! Unless you are naturally straight and slender I think trim is VERY important to get the right visual effect.

Now I must be off and vigilant in my guarding of the candy-buckets. Or else my children will be running on a sugar high for an indefinite period of time. And that would not be good.

Love,
Sarah

Renovated Thrift Shop Dress to 1920's Dress

A few months ago I got a few bags of clothes from the thrift store during their annual fill-a-bag-for-$1 day. I got this pink dress because it is 100% linen and at the time, I figured I'd cut it up to use for linings or something for medieval, 18th century or regency stuff. However, I never used it and it has been sitting on a shelf in my sewing room since then.

A few weeks ago I was wondering what the heck to do with it when I realized I had some pink cotton gauzey fabric that was a very similar color. The fabric had also been sitting unused on my shelf for quite some time. I then had the idea to combine the two to make a 1920's style dress.

I haven't had a chance to start work on my idea until this afternoon. But today I finally took scissors to the dress and began sewing it up.

To start with, I measured from my shoulder down to where I wanted the low waist to be. For early 20's, this is not extremely low. I decided to go with 19"-20" for my length, so I pinned a row of pins across the dress to mark the low waistline:

Then I measured a center panel 12" in width, from the waist of the dress down to the hem:

Then I cut out the sides following my pinned lines:

I then cut two rectangular panels of the gauze that measured the length of the dress from the waistline to the bottom hem. This was 33". I used a full width of my fabric which is about 40" wide, for each side.

I sewed the panels to the long edges of the dress, leaving the top (waist edge) free. I then pleated the top edge of the side skirt panels to match the waist of the dress:

To keep everything tidy, I basted the edges to a piece of hem lace:

And then covered the hem lace with a faux tab belt, stitched down to cover everything.

So far, I have only sewed down one side of the faux belt. The other side is just pinned. I also pinned up the hem to just above the ankle and tried it on the see how it is looking so far. I think this is going to work!

The dress is still obviously very rough. Since this was a generic "medium" size dress it does not fit my body very well. The neckline is too wide so I plan to bring it in a little bit by making a few tiny tucks that release just above the bust. I plan to add to the sleeves to bring them down to just above the elbow, and possibly add a V shaped faux insert at the neckline so the bodice doesn't look so plain. Or maybe a collar. :) I still don't know yet!

I'll keep you posted!

Love,
Sarah