DuBarry 1952B (1937-1938)

DuBarry 1952B, circa 1937-1938.

Here's the pattern packet:

And here's the dress:

Pardon my wilted appearance, it was about a hundred degrees even though I was in the shade and it was dry.

Yes, I wore red heels to an archaeological site. Actually, I nicknamed this dress "Archaeologie" because it's cutesy-poo enough that parts of it could possibly show up on Anthropologie, but I made it to wear to my brother's archaeological presentation. Ha ha. Personally, I think it looks a whole lot like the pattern packet, especially considering I'm not built at all like the 1930's ideal. I added two inches overall to the hips, out of necessity, but other than that, this is sewn exactly as directed. Oddly, by far the hardest part was the lace trim on the split cap sleeves--lots of basting and blind-tacking!

The fabric is Moda Happy Camper quilting cotton, which is supposed to be a modernized 1950's-flavored series, but I think it works well for this.

Flickr set.

Blogger entries.

Butterick 5744 (1952?)

I got this ages ago. It's not dated but I think it's from 1952 (it's at least from the early 1950's). I cut it out and then got discouraged about how I thought it would look, regretted potentially wasting fabric I loved on a dress that wouldn't fit, and put it away. Recently, I got to feeling guilty about my unfinished projects and vowed to get it out again and finish it, either to wear or to pass along.

It's a cute idea, but anything that claims to fit sizes Bust 3o to Bust 38 should raise the eyebrows of any sensible seamstress. Seriously? Even Spandex doesn't claim to cover that wide a range.

I don't actually believe it would fit sizes 12 through 20, but I'm right in the middle (size 16/bust 34) and it fits me pretty well. I didn't do the sweetheart neckline because I'm not that sold on sweetheart necklines, and because I thought the 800 miles of bias binding looked like enough trouble without adding extra scallops. (On the up side, I am now really, really, good at mitering corners . . . )

The buttons are not really crooked.

Verdict: There are a few things I would change if I made this again. I'd make the neck-hole smaller shorten the upper body (the waist ties sit too low. I'm 5'7" so it's not like this should be an issue), and possibly add darts to the back. The un-flared skirt is yardage-efficient but doesn't make for the best fit. It does need to be worn over a tank top or an athletic bra that is decent enough to be seen (the woman in the pattern illustration has a bit of camisole or slip visible under her arm). You can't do any energetic running or the sides will gap a bit and, well, flash your legs up to there, but it's fine for puttering around the house.

However, it's very comfortable and I could see myself making a couple more, with adjustments, to wear at home.

I messed up the ties. They should have been single-layer, not double, but I wasn't sure because I've misplaced my instructions. Also, if you make this, make them longer, narrower, and don't bind their edges. They'll tie much better that way.

I'd sort of like to raise the sides and maybe have them button under the arm so I didn't need the extra layer of tank top underneath.

I'd really love to find a copy of Advance 5722, which has a more fitted bodice and flared skirt. Maybe I can fudge it.

Which Housedress Should I Make?

Hi Sew Retro Readers! I am trying to decide which housedress to sew and would love your advice! Thanks and if you would like to read more about the housedress visit my blog sew country chick .

1940s Advance Dress - Winter Liberty LOVE (It Has Unicorns)

Pattern Description:
Advance 3929: 1940s basic dress with blousy bodice, straight 4-piece skirt, v-neck with neck tie and short, cut-on cap sleeves.

Pattern Sizing:
14 - 34B
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
i mostly left the instructions alone, since the construction was very simple, and used a completely different method of constructing and attaching the collar/tie piece. their method involved pressing and slipstitching, and i preferred to do it entirely by machine.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
it's a shape that i've come to associate with classic 1940s pieces and i knew the construction would be simple and the end result comfortable. i pictured it in a nice cotton as a perfect house dress or dress-down friday dress.

Fabric Used:
liberty of london tana lawn winter 2010 "Yoshi D" - B&J Fabrics, NYC

(image from True Up blog, Liberty Fall-Winter Swatches)

once i had selected this super-busy print, it was second nature to reach for this advance pattern with very little design detail.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
shortened the skirt significantly. i definitely prefer a shorter skirt, and this one hits me just at the knee. i took in the side seams significantly, which (unfortunately) has exacerbated the blousy-ness of the bodice. next time, flat pattern alteration instead of on-the-fly fitting!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
i expect this dress to be a go-to (or TNT) for times when i have a cute cotton and just want a cute, simple dress. however, in future i will do better alterations to correct the amount of ease from the 34B bust size--i'm more of a 32, and an A besides, and there's more ease than i would like.

Conclusion:
love. and the Yoshi print has a unicorn on it. unicorns! and butterflies!



i love my red leather jacket, but then i remembered it was friday, and here in the tundra previously known as new york city, it's also pretty cold. and snow-covered. and i didn't have it in me to be all red-leather-jacket-y today. so i went with this:

i think it was one of the "queer eye" guys who put it best: doesn't everything feel better in cashmere?

RAF dress - Decades of style #4002 - 1944 Housedress

I've just completed my third garment this year - I'm actually considering joining the Sew Weekly workaholics!
This is a simple housedress I have made before, but this time I decided to use some very fun aeroplane fabric and use extra buttons down the front, so it'll be more suitable as an outside dress!
There's a full review here from the last time I made this dress. I don't have much more to say about it - it's very simple although the collar area is a bit fiddly. It's highly recommended as a pattern anyway, and very flattering. Top marks from me!

More pictures and information on my blog.

Simplicity 3085

I decided to make a dress from one of the two patterns I won back in June, Simplicity 3085. I found an old plaid that I'd bought a while ago and thought that it would go really well with the general design of this dress.

From The Year 2050

Read and see more about this interesting pattern over at The Year 2050.

Marian Martin 9359: Take II

All right--I posted earlier this month with the first version of this dress.

This is the second version. The shoulder yoke piece was altered to make the neckline fit better and the waist ties were moved up a little (I'm pear-shaped: Slightly high waists look a whole lot better on me). That seems to have totally fixed the fit. I did not put shoulder pads in it, although I think it holds a crisp 1940's shoulder line pretty well without them. I also altered the pockets to have straight, slanted tops instead of sweetheart tops.

The fabric is rust-colored Moda with cream and black simplified floral and large black rick-rack trim. The trim came out particularly well.

I still adore this dress, but I'm forcing myself to move on to others since I have a pretty good collection waiting to be sewn up.

Marian Martin 9359

I'm new here. I've been lurking and reading for months and finally said to myself, "Hey, you sew--why don't you actually join??" I've only been sewing a few years and, except for the basics show me by my mother, am largely trial-and-error self-taught. I particularly like 1920's though 1940's housedresses.

I'm working on a different dress right now, but the last two have been Marian Martin 9359, which is undated but probably dates from 1948-1951-ish. The pattern illustration is pictured above.

This is the first version. Pardon the decapitation--I was suffering from a particularly bad hair day and there was no reason to publicize it.

The pattern went together ridiculously easily. It's a pre-cut, unprinted pattern but I didn't miss the pattern markings and found that, as long as I cut carefully and paid attention to the prescribed seam allowance, everything went together perfectly. (I'm notoriously haphazard about following pattern markings anyway; printed patterns are mostly wasted on me.)

Oddly, the front shoulder yoke piece is too long along the inside [neck-side] edge. I expected it to be too long along the outside edge because I left out the shoulder pads (wore them in the Eighties and will never wear them again). However, the shoulders fit fine: It was the upper bodice that was too big. I solved this by folding a wedge in that pattern piece, taking up about an inch along the inside edge, then tracing and re-cutting it.

I made the second version of the dress using the new yoke piece and taking a little out of the center front panel (the pattern, according to body measurements, was a little big overall, but it only really mattered in the front bodice). Very simple, and the results fit beautifully, though I don't have a picture yet of the second dress.

The fabric for the first dress is a 1930's-inspired navy/red/tan geometric stylized flower print. The fabric for the second dress is rust with cream and black flowers and black rick-rack trim.

Anyway, I love the pattern and had to force myself to switch to a different one for the next dress so I don't get stuck in a rut.