Blue Gingham 1930's Bias Dress from Vera Venus

Well, the dress is done. I finished it yesterday and though I am still not perfectly satisfied with how it fits, it's wearable. And now I know what adjustments I will need to make for the next one - thank you all for your great suggestions and advice!

Anyway, I have wanted to make this dress all summer. I came across the fabulous free pattern for a 1930's bias dress on Vera Venus's website a few months ago. I desperately wanted to make it so immediately printed out the pattern.

I have also been trying to loose weight this summer. I have never really lost all the weight I gained with 4 pregnancies. I never gained a huge amount, but still, it adds up. At my heaviest a few years ago I was in the 160's. . .and I was so unhappy with my appearance as well as my lack of energy. I was so depressed. With exercising and eating better I got down to about 150. . .and stayed there for a long time. Then there was another renewal of effort and I was down to the low 140's. . .then I got pregnant with Anne. I did not gain much with her and most of it came off immediately after she was born, but still, I was stuck in the mid 140's. This summer I was determined to get into the 130's and so this dress was my incentive! I told myself I could make it once I was on that last stretch to the pre-baby 120's.

This dress was probably not the best way to reward myself for reaching that weight loss goal. It is clingy and the shape you have is the shape the dress has. It doesn't hide a thing! Especially the remnants of the baby pooch. I hate the baby pooch. But I think that since I made this dress with less ease than it really needs, it will look a lot better once I do loose these last 10 pounds or so and once the baby is weaned.

Anyway, I was thrilled to finally be able to make this dress last week!

The pattern from Vera Venus went together really well. It only comes in one size but it was close enough as it was to fit really well from the pattern. I only had to make a few adjustments. I shortened the bodice a bit by raising the shoulders. I made a full bust adjustment and then added a bit of width to the hips. That's it! I was really surprised and pleased I didn't have to do more to it. Although now, I think adding a bit more width to the torso would not have been amiss. But this is one of the first bias garments I've ever sewn and the fitting of bias things is still very new to me.

I made it up in a lightweight blue and white gingham my friend Jackie gave to me. It is semi sheer so underneath I have to wear a full slip.

All the seams are finished, either by french seams or with zig zag and topstitching. The armhole seams are hemmed beneath the arm and then faux french seamed by hand along the seam between the sleeve and armscye.

I bound the neckline instead of facing it - I don't like bothering with facings. I also made no openings so the dress slips on over the head. It is easier than fussing with a zipper or a snap placket in the side seam.

The sleeve hems and skirt hem were stitched by hand.

The changes I will make for next time:

Lengthen the bodice by about 1.5", tapering to the side seam.

Add a bit more length to the skirt to make it mid-calf length.

Add a bit more width to the torso/hips (though hopefully that won't be an issue once I meet my next weight goal!)

Try a different sleeve style. I love these little fluted sleeves for summertime but I can see this dress with long sleeves or elbow length sleeves for cooler weather. Such a versatile, easy wearing style! It lends itself to a variety of occasions, depending on the fabric used.

Though I am most comfortable wearing this dress with no accessories, I did put on some shoes and a new (thrifted) hat and the pearl necklace and earrings David gave me for Christmas a few years ago. And red lipstick!

I think I prefer plain, though, with my fiddle. I felt very O Brother Where Art Thou-sy.

Love,
Sarah

Bias Fitting Advice Needed - Help Me, I'm Wrinkling

Okay readers, I need advice!

I am working on a 1930's style bias cut dress (more on that to come soon) and *thought* I had the fitting issues worked out. Yet now that I'm sewing the actual dress together I am noticing some wrinkling at the seam between the bust and the torso. Eeeek!!

When I move, these wrinkles shift. Is this due to poor cutting? Fabric? (it's quite lightweight gingham) or poor fitting? Or all three? I made this seam line hit at what I thought was the exact point of the bottom of the bra, but now that I try the dress on, this seam has seemed to shift upwards a bit. Hmmm. . .I wonder if my bra straps need to be shortened.

How do I fix this? Or should I just plow ahead and finish the darn thing and be wrinkly? And try again in a different fabric?

Ugh. I love how bias dresses look and how they feel on the body but I do NOT like sewing them. . . .

Love,
Sarah

A Dorothy Dress

This week I am busy finishing up the boys' new medieval outfits for the Olde Enligh Faire this coming weekend but wanted to share a recently finished project before it gets buried under the influx of new projects as time goes on in this busy summer reenacting season.

That was a long sentence. Anyway.

I had an opportunity recently to sew up a costume for a highschool drama group in our church. My sister graduated highschool last month and she and her friends are performing at an upcoming youth convention at the end of June. It will be their last year being able to participate, so it is kind of special.

Their dramatic presentation is inspired by the story The Wizard of Oz. My sister is playing the part of the Tin Man and when one of her friends mentioned needing a Dorothy dress I begged her to let me make it! I have loved the Wizard of Oz since I was a child and have always dreamed of sewing up a dress like the one Judy Garland wears as Dorothy in the move adaption of the novel.

It was very fun researching and making this dress. I was able to find some information about the real dresses Judy Garland wore in the movies. I guess it helps that one of the original gowns was recently sold, so there was a lot of publicity about it. My version is not an exact copy but I wanted the general feel and look of the one worn in the movie, sized to fit a different girl with a modern figure.

It was really simple to construct. It is not a complicated outfit at all. The hardest part was the blouse, since I have never made a blouse that gathers into the neck before. I ended up just draping a basic jewel neck bodice on my sisters' friend and then slashed and spread the neckline from the neck to the hem to get some excess width to gather back into a simple band collar. The sleeves were basic puff sleeves with simple band cuffs. I could not find light blue rick rack to trim the collar and cuffs with so we settled for a darker blue rick rack. (I got everything quickly at Wal Mart, so, obviously, my choices were limited.) The blouse is made from a lightweight poly/cotton blend fabric. The blouse has a short placket at the back and the collar fastens with a single snap.

The jumper dress is made from poly/cotton blue checked gingham. The bodice is lined and interlined with firm white cotton for stability. There is very little shaping to the bodice - basically a tube with side seams that slightly shape the waist. The bodice is also cut a bit higher in the front than in the back, but otherwise, it's pretty much a  rectangle! The straps, bodice binding and waistband are cut on the bias, but backed with firm white cotton to prevent stretching.

The straps are simply topstitched to the finished bodice and I sewed on large white buttons at the ends in both the front and back. The skirt is 3 A-line panels, gathered to fit the waistband. I used the whole width of the fabric for the width of the hem of the A line panels so the bottom of the skirt is quite full. Perhaps a bit fuller than the original movie dress, but I'm fine with that. The girl who will wear this dress is taller than Judy Garland was, so it all works!

The hem is finished with a wide hem facing. I also realized at the end of making this that the original dress has a bias band stitched around the lower portion of the skirt. I had just enough fabric left to cut a bias band to trim the skirt with. I like how it looks! You can't really see it from a distance but still, it makes me happy to know it's there. :)

I had to modify the back a bit. For some reason the bodice came out a tad tight at the top. (I am still not sure how that happened. . .) so I added a bias triangle of fabric, finished and then topstitched to one side of the back opening. The other side of the bodice overlaps and closes with hook and eyes.

It was such a great project to work on! And it makes me happy I can do something to help the drama team in some small way. I hope they have a lot of fun!

Back to 14th c. sewing!!

Love,
Sarah

Vintage Style Underwear ~ Part 2

The bra is done. I got bored with it yesterday so finished it up quickly before I was tempted to shove it to the bottom of my sewing drawer and forget about it.

It came out better than I thought it would. I really do like it but it's just so darn ugly. ;P I wish I had used prettier fabric. Or a different color. I forgot how much I hate white bras. But I bet I can dye this one if I want to. And now that I know how easy bras are to make, I can whip up a new one whenever I feel like it in whatever fabric I want.

I sewed the binding on:

And added the hooks:

And added the straps last.

It gives a nice shape under my dresses and tops. It is so different from my modern t-shirt bras or the stretch sports bras I usually wear. It lifts and defines each breast into a kind of cone shape, but it actually makes them appear smaller than my modern bras do - which in my case, is a good thing.

Making a bra really forced me to evaluate my body. That can be scary but now I have been reinforced strongly in my theory that I am really very terribly short waisted, and that a higher bustline like the one  my new bra gives is actually better for my shape than modern bras that give a lower, fuller, more rounded line. There is not much space between my underbust and my waist so any hanging boob flesh that obscures my mid-section just makes me look top heavy and fat all over. : / Did you know that when I wear a soft molded cup t shirt bra there is literally ***1 and 1/2 inches*** between the bottom of my bust and my actual waist???

For comparison, here is a picture of a plain sweater I like to wear. This picture is with my "best" modern bra, that is, the one that I feel is most flattering to me. It gives a pretty good lift, but a very rounded shape.

And here is the same sweater with the bra I just finished making. Definitely more pointy in shape, and my midriff area is more visible and less curvy. I doubt I will wear this bra with this sweater, though, since there is too much nipple effect going on. :P (forgive my horrible hair).

But I do like the vintagey silhouette it gives. It seems trimmer, tidier, more put-together. I am so pleased with how it works underneath this white blouse.

I got this blouse, and the silk/linen stripey skirt this summer at a fill-a-bag-for-$1 day at the thrift store. I love this blouse, but with  my modern bra, the pleated midriff section sat across the bottom of my boobs. And then the waistband of the skirt was just below that. It was ugly and horrific and dumpy. To make it work I had to pull down the blouse so the midriff section settled at the proper place, but then I had excessive boob crack issues from the neckline. Now, I don't need to tug or pull anything into place, and the midriff section sits where it is supposed to sit. And because the midriff band isn't straining to encompass boob flesh, the side zipper zips up easily and I don't feel like I'm trying to squeeze into something that is too small for me. And yeah, I gotta loose my belly pooch. ;) No, I am NOT pregnant.

Now I need to finish up my undergarments and make a real vintage style dress to go over my new bra! I'm thinking something fun and twirly and totally girly from the 1940's would be just the right thing!

Love,
Sarah

Vintage Style Underwear ~ Part 1

After making my 1920's dress, I began to wonder what women in the 20's wore *under* their dresses. What did they wear by way of underwear? I began looking into it and by some chance or reason came across an old etsy listing for a 1930s era pattern for undergarments. 

The pattern was sold, but I was inspired by the pictures of the pattern envelope. Women made homemade underwear in the 30's! I have made corsets, but never a bra, so felt like I could use an interesting challenge. My hope is that this set will work for any 30's, 40's, or 50's styles I might make. It doesn't seem like underwear has changed all that much since the advent of the bra.

Lacking pattern pieces, I did what I normally do and wrapped a strip of fabric around my body and pinned and cut and pulled and tucked until I had something that fit and that resembled a bra. I carefully cut it apart and made my first pattern from that. I went through another mock up, and refined the fit a bit more and then ended up with my final pattern pieces here:

I did go with a two piece cup instead of a one piece cup fitted with a dart. I simply could not get a one piece cup with a dart to fit my shape very well and the two piece works much better. I felt safe choosing this style since this original 30's bra from etsy shows what looks like a horizontal seam across each cup.

I cut my pieces from medium weight white linen. I know the material isn't fancy or pretty, but I have a horror of working with slinky, silky, flimsy fabrics and I'm going for plain and practical. No one will ever see what I wear beneath my dresses except for my husband and any interested, likewise obsessed-with-foundation-garments costumers out there, who read this post and who find this kind of thing intriguing. ; ) Here you can see the cups being sewn together. One is pinned and has been sewn, and the other has been sewn, pressed, and topstitched.

Here are both cups finished and sewn together in the center. I finished all the seams by zig zagging the raw edges of the seam allowance and pressing them open. I topstitched them down for the smoothest line on the outside.

Another view of the cups. You can see how pointy the cups are. It is a soft point instead of a hard one (this is definitely not a "bullet bra"!) but it gives a nice, uplifted, perky shape that has not been part of my life since I gave birth to and nursed three babies. The bottom of the cups kind of act like a corset in that the bottom cup is responsible for the uplift and support. The top of the cup makes sure the girls stay where they are supposed to and don't bounce out and away!  

Then I added the back pieces, sewn to the sides.

Here the back is pinned shut.

Next I need to finish the back and add the hook and eyes. After that I will need to bind the edges and add the straps and decide if I want to pretty these up in someway, with the addition of lace or ribbon or other such feminine dainties.

Love,

Sarah

1930's Style Red and Cream Cotton Dress

At last I have some pictures of my 1930's style red and cream dress! I've had this done for a while and have worn it a lot. It is definitely a new favorite. It's a bit difficult for me to go through the murk and mire of 1860's fashion that has more recently been going through my head, but I believe with this dress I wanted to go for a more early-to-mid 30's look with slightly longer, slimmer skirts, more flare at the hem and with a lot of emphasis on the shoulder/neckline area.

There were two dresses I based this one off of. One was a reprinted Past Patterns pattern for an earlier 1930's dress, and one was in an ad from a 1934 Sears Catalog. The pattern is very basic. The bodice is my base one that is slashed and spread at the chest level for some fullness to be gathered into a center front seam. The sleeves are circular two layer flutter sleeves with the upper sleeve being slightly smaller than the under sleeve. The skirt is made in six gores and is cut to be a little generous at the waist, fitting not too loose nor too tight over the hips and coming in again around knee level to create a little shaping before finally flaring out into a trumpet like shape at the hem, which ends a bit above the ankle.

The fabric is a lovely 100% cotton voile I got from Jo Anns last year. It was on clearance in the home dec department. The red floral print is HUGE so I wasn't sure how well it would look as a garment. But I was pleasantly suprised it worked quite well for a dress. I just had to be careful where I placed the big floral motifs so I would not end up looking lopsided when I wore the dress! I squeezed this dress out of 3 yards of fabric with almost a half yard left to spare. I love dresses that take such little bits of fabric. :) The fabric is very sheer so I had to make a slip to wear under it - which you have already seen in my post quite a few post backs about the ultra-modern 1930's bias cup slip. :P

I have more 30's dresses planned! I even bought fabric a few weeks ago for another summer style one; a pretty blue-green cotton printed with pink flowers. I hope I get a chance to make it while it is still warm enough to wear it! I just need to get through reenacting season with my interest in the 30's intact. Reenacting sewing has a way of draining my mind of everything but the 1860's. ;) This week it's mens clothes. . .and finishing my new quilt, if I get the time!

Love,
Sarah

1930's "Ultra-Modern Magic Bias Slip"

Greeting dear friends;

As this sultry summer weather suffocates the midwest I have found renewed inspiration to continue making 1930's style dresses for summer wear. After I finished my most recent dress, I discovered I needed a slip or underdress to wear beneath it. Since a search through the local thrift shops for a full length slip was fruitless, I began researching 1930's underwear and came across these lovely instructions for a 1930's bias cut slip: http://dressmakingresearch.com/1930s_under_dress.htm

With nothing to loose, I set about making this slip for myself. It is my first ever bias cut garment so I was confounded at first by the odd cutting and sewing insructions. However, I followed them to almost a T, and it produced a very serviceable slip - plus I'll have the satisfaction of knowing it is period correct when I wear it with my dresses! :)

It is odd to wear a bias cut garment. It moves differently on the body and clings and drapes differently. I don't know if I exactly like it, but I will get used to it. The only thing I changed on the directions was the length and drafting of the skirt piece. I made my own piece (very similar however to the pattern instructions) since I didn't want to fool with making the pattern piece as the instructions said. I eyeballed and measured and it came out good enough. :P

The bodice is made of 4 squares of fabric and the instructions called for cutting them out as 15" square. I assumed that since I am probably larger than the average size woman of the 1930's I'd need to make the squares bigger. I originally cut them out at 20" square. Well, that was way too huge due to the way the bias fabric drapes so I ended up using 15" squares after all.

I don't have pictures yet of my new dress but here is a sneak peek: I think this one is my favorite so far. I decided I like the early-mid 30's a lot better than the later years, so tried to go for that look with this dress.

Have a lovely week!

Love,

Sarah

Blue 1930's Summer Gown

I whipped up the skirt to my new dress on Saturday afternoon, while David read and dozed and the boys tried for hours to climb a certain tree outdoors. I put the last few stitches in mid-afternoon, and wore the dress to church yesterday. David took some pictures of it after we got home from church and I must apologize for this first photo. I have such a disdainful, arrogant look. I have no idea why, but I know it is Davids fault. For those of you who know David personally, you will know well that he is quite a tease and he delights in taking candid shots when his subjects are unsuspecting and occupied, for example, with telling a wayward child to not go into the patch of itch-weed. But let us not see the picture of that one.

Since I was pretty much on my own as far as pattern goes with this dress, I did make this up a little different from the inspiration image (see two posts below). The original style looks to be a yoked bodice with minimal fullness above the bust and at the waist, with short fluttery gathered sleeves or a set in short sleeve with a narrow ruffle edging, a smooth set six-gore skirt with sewn in pockets on the front skirt, a just-below-knee-length hem and a tie belt with a bow in the front.

Since the pattern image was from the 1940's, and I prefer the lines of the 1930's, I made up my bodice pretty close to the original image but I lengthened the skirt and tried to get it slimmer at the hipline. I think I need to try this skirt pattern again and take even more fullness from the hip/thigh area and flare it into the hem instead, but, for my first try with a from-scratch drafted skirt pattern, I was pretty happy with the results. For a better line, I think I ought to also lengthen the skirt by 1-2". It is longer than my pink dress I posted about last week but not quite as long as the between calf and ankle length that Nancy Bradfield describes 30's skirt hems in Costume in Detail. Since my figure is not flattered -yet- with smoothly set skirts (durn post-baby belly bulge!), this one has a little fullness at the waist which is gathered to the waistband at the same vertical lines as the gatheres on the yoke and lower bodice. To get slightly off topic, I love gathers. Or pleats. They are so slimming if done very lightly and in strategic places. Gathers lightly skim any lumps or bumps and smooth everything out - and any bulge is visually seen as the effect of the gathers, not physical demerits. :P

Instead of using a tie belt I made a narrow waistband and made a seperate sewn bow (not tied) that is pinned to the waistline of the dress with a big safety pin. This gives the visual appearance of a tied belt, but is far more structured and secure. No worries about twisting or slipping or the bow coming untied!

I did not put pockets on the dress as in the original image. I thought about it and even made a pattern piece for the pockets but in the end decided to leave them off. For one thing, pockets just seem "aprony" to me. This is okay if I were only to wear this dress at home, but I wanted to be able to wear it to church or other places if I want to. I would never wear an apron in public, so I left off the pockets. Another reason is that any aprons I make (and I really do need to make at least one or two new ones) will have pockets, and if I am wearing this dress at home, I will most likely be wearing an apron over it. So pockets on the dress would not really be necessary.

I used a lightweight blue cotton for this dress, which is printed with a viney/feathery design in white. I have no idea if this print is period correct (and I doubt it) but I had 9 yards of this on hand and it has been sitting in my sewing stash for about a year and I needed to start using it up. I used 3 yards for this dress. 6 to go. I love blue though and even if the fabric is not totally right, I still like how it looks. The dress is totally unlined except for the yoke area which is bag lined with white cotton.

Speaking of the yoke. . .I have found I detest square necklines. The original image had a nice square neckline and I thought to myself, how hard can that be? It was very hard. The square kept wanting to stretch, and I had to redo the neckline about three times. The finished shape is not really square like I wanted it to be. V necks or scoop necks or even sweetheart necklines are so much easier to do.

Well that is all I can really say about this dress! It is a simple little style. I did try to do a 30's inspired hairstyle for church. I love the great images and tutorials on ReVampVintage.com so since I have naurally wavy/curly hair, I tried the brush curls. I wetted my hair and combed styling lotion into each section before rolling it up and pinning it. They hardened into steely little sausages and I stupidly did not realize I was supposed to brush them out once the curls were dry. I may try comb waving at some point. But it is not a style I will do every day.

Have a wonderful week!
Love,

Sarah