A Tribute to the Spitfire Women of the ATA

Earlier this year I saw a BBC documentary film called 'Spitfire Women'. I had no inkling these women even existed and was quite enamoured with their story. One comment from the documentary really stuck with me: The Spitfire was a plane you wore, a real lady's plane. My aim was to find a garment which embodied this statement, so I searched my 40s patterns for something pretty, feminine and practical and came up with Simplicity 4139.


This pattern appears to have been pretty popular in its day, there are a lot of them still in circulation and I've seen it on eBay regularly. I chose View 1 for its sexy deep V neckline; the long, floaty sleeves; and, more importantly, it has only one button. My god I hate buttonholes!


More details on the Spitfire Women and blouse construction can be found on my blog: A New Ball of String.

-Tamara