Sew for Victory - The Finished Dress!

My 2014 Sew for Victory dress, finished at last! I didn't have as bright and sunny a day for pictures as I had hoped. But at least it wasn't raining, which it did for most of the weekend. Ah well, we need to spring rain. April showers and all. :) So here we go, the finished dress!

Over all I'm very happy with how this dress turned out. The pattern was easy to follow and the dress went together rather quickly. The bodice is a bit "blouse-y" for my taste so if I make this dress again I'll take a little of the extra fabric out of the top. I would probably make the other collar option too. I love the double collar with the lace but I'm not crazy about it on me.

The next time I wear the dress I'll be sure to pick a longer slip to wear underneath. This was actually the first time I put everything on together and it was only then that I realized the slip was a little on the short side for this dress. Oddly enough, the vintage slip I first pulled out was going to be waaaay too long and I didn't want to hem it. I'm lazy, I admit it. Then I saw this one and figured it would be fine... but I was wrong. Ah well.

I look kind of dumpy in the first photo below but it was the best full length picture I had of the front of the dress. The other two I rather like.

And a few shots of the back of the dress. I was exploring the old wooden dog house.

I think this rock is going to be my new favorite spot of picture taking. :) I love the view from this spot.

A few weeks ago Joanna of Divided Vintage Moments host a giveaway for some vintage hair nets. Made from real human hair! The catch was that we had to use them and then blog about them. Joanna had enough of these to send to everyone who entered the giveaway. She very kindly sent me two - one medium brown and one dark brown. I used the medium brown which was a perfect match for my hair. So perfect in fact that I had some difficulty seeing in against my hair as I was placing it over my victory rolls! On close inspection of the hair net I noticed that there was a white hair woven into it! The hair nets are very fine and I think will take some practice to use. I usually do a pin curl set first if I want a vintage up do but I didn't have time before this photo shoot. I can see these hair nets working really well over my hair after styling with curly hair.

Some you may be wondering about my hat. I'm happy to say it's of my own creation and very much inspired by those darling doll and tilt style hats so popular in the late 1930s. I actually used a straw dolls hat as my base. After a quick soak in some warm water I re-shaped it, let it dry over night then added a bit of antique velvet ribbon. I think it needs a little something extra but can't decide what. What do you think, a small cluster of flowers or fruit maybe?

Would anyone be interested in a tutorial on making a hat like this? I have a second straw base that I'm itching to do something with. ;)

And the shoes! I adore these shoes, they were such a lucky find on Etsy. They are very similar to pair on the top left of page 35 of the March 18, 1939 addition of the Boot and Shoe Recorder. The Great National Shoe Weekly. (I posted a couple pages from these magazines back in February. See the post - "Ensembles in the Major" - Shoe Magazines!)

Be sure to check out the Sew for Victory Flickr album to see pictures of everyone's finished projects. :) Rochelle of Lucky Lucille will also be putting together a project parade video so be sure to look for that on her blog.

Pattern - McCall 3306

Shoes - Etsy

Tilt Hat - My own creation

Purse, Make-up compact - Thrifted

Summary of the Pattern
Fabric: Green cotton print, white cotton
Pattern: McCall 3306
Year: 1939
Notions: Snaps, thread, buckle, lace trim from the stash
How historically accurate is it? Very!
Any tricky parts to the pattern? The side placket but I always find these a little tricky.
Did you change anything? Not really
Time to complete: About 3 weeks, not sure the number of hours. I worked on it a few hours each night after work
First worn: April 2014
Total cost: Everything but the pattern came from the stash, so less then $10
Notes: The bodice is a bit "blouse-y" for my taste so if I make this dress again I'll take a little of the extra fabric out of the top. For me to wear this dress again and really be happy with it, I need to make a different collar. Oh, and wear it with a longer slip!

Sew For Victory in the Home Stretch

Just a quick post today. I'm putting the finishing touches on my Sew For Victory dress. Last night I use my mom's awesome Bernina sewing machine to blind stitch the hem of the dress. So much faster then doing it by hand! The belt is done and the collar still needs lace trim. Oddly enough, the pattern does not say how the collar is attached to the dress. So I think I'll take a few stitches here and there to tack it to the neckline, otherwise I can see it shifting all over the place. The side placket is finished and looks surprisingly neat! I ran out of silver snaps so I might have to add a couple black ones to finish it but I'm fine with that. AND! I found a slip that will work under the dress. So yeah almost done! :)

Here's a quick look at the belt and bone (maybe it's shell?) buckle. Not a great picture because I used my cell phone. Hoping for some sunshine for Friday afternoon so I can try the dress on with my hat and shoes and take some pictures!!

Pattern Inspiration - Sew for Victory 2014

It took some time to decide what I wanted to work on for Sew For Victory this year. I'm really happy with the pattern and fabric I picked. So far the dress is going together smoothly. I'd say I'm about 3/4 of the way finished as of this week! Yeah! It's down to the finishing details - hemming, attaching bias facing to the neck and sleeve edges, side placket, etc. I'm not thrilled with how the gathering turned out on the bodice but that was partly my fault for not looking closely at the pattern before diving in. Ah well, live and learn.

I'm sure many of you have already picked your patterns but I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the 1930s and 1940s patterns in my stash. Some I have used but many I have not. But I swear I plan to!! Here's a quick look at the patterns I've made up.

I should really make one of these collages for the 1930s. :)

Du Barry 2413 - Here and here

Simplicity1469 - Winter Formal Dress

Simplicity 1668 - Dress for a Summer Wedding

Hollywood 1413 - Blue and White Birthday Dress

Mail Order pattern 2588 and - Polka Dot Blouse and Slacks

Advance Pattern 4199 - The Red and White Swing Dress

Most of these I've uploaded to my Facebook album but a few I have not. I have a couple 1920s patterns to add as well. The Simplicity pattern below I started working on last year. The plan was to have the dress ready to wear for the WWII event in Stowe but the fabric I picked turned out to be a poor choice. The dress has pleats that extend from the bodice down into the skirt. My fabric wanted to shift all over the place and I couldn't get the pleats to look nice. Maybe someday I'll tackle that dress and try to finish it but I'll admit it's not very high on my sewing list at the moment.

These two I bought along with McCall 3306. Oh the hats!! I'm really excited about McCall 3143 because it includes both a dress AND coat pattern.

Dresses, pajama, and play suits, oh my! :)

Check out the novelty print on Vogue pattern 5643. It has horses! wish I could find some fabric just like it. :)

Vogue 5643

This was a very close second for Sew For Victory. Extra wide pj pants? Yes please!

Sew for Victory Plans

I've finally had the chance to work on my Sew for Victory project. I'm using one of my recently acquired patterns and some vintage fabric from the stash. The pattern is McCall 3306.  I found the date April 1939 stamped on the inside of the envelope. That was a nice little surprise. :) I am making the short sleeve version of the dress. I haven't decided which collar to make but I'm leaning towards the one with the double collar as seen in view B.

The fabric is very lightweight and sheer. I debated lining the whole thing, or maybe just the bodice, but I don't have enough fabric on hand. Plus I have several other projects on my plate right now and want to be able to finish this one in a timely manner. I have a couple vintage slips that should work under this dress so in the interest of time I won't be lining it. I've seen a few dresses from the 1930s and 1940s that were not lined so I feel comfortable skipping it for this project.

And look what I found stuck to the fabric! The original price tag for $.67 a yard!! I discovered this tiny tag when I unfolded the fabric to put it in the wash. Not sure the exact age of the fabric but can anyone remember paying less then $1.00 a yard for fabric that wasn't on sale?

The pattern is one size too big for me so I'm having to make some minor adjustments. The skirt is made of six pieces with both center front and center back cut on the fold of the fabric. The bodice front and back are each one piece of fabric, also cut on the fold. I have just enough fabric for the dress! I might be able to use the remaining fabric for a blouse if I cut carefully.

The bodice has little gathers at the shoulders which you can see in the close up picture below. There are also two little darts at the back neckline. The waist section of the bodice is gathered to fit the skirt and the dress will open with a side placket. So far all the piece are cut, the skirt assembled and the bodice is almost ready to attach to the skirt. I need to cut bias strips to face the neck and sleeves edges as well as a placket for the skirt. So far sew good!

I'm thinking of brown and white accessories. What do you think? I have a pair of late 1930s brown and white shoes that are to die for, a lucky find on Esty last year. They are very similar to pair on the top left of page 35 of the March 18, 1939 addition of the Boot and Shoe Recorder. The Great National Shoe Weekly. (I posted a couple pages from these magazines back in February. See the post - "Ensembles in the Major" - Shoe Magazines!) I also have a little straw tilt style hat trimmed in brown velvet ribbon. I don't think I've shared the shoes or hat on my blog so I'll be able to share both for the first time along with the finished dress. :)

Sew for Victory - Polka Dot Blouse and Slacks

Hello all. I've finally finished my projects for the Sew For Victory sew along. My inspiration for this project came from a photo I found on My Vintage Vogue. If you love vintage fashions you need to visit this site!

Source - My Vintage Vogue

Finished blouse using mail order pattern #2588

The pattern I used was a 1940s mail order pattern for a blouse and jumper combo. I didn't make the jumper. That will probably be a project in the future.

Finished blouse using mail order pattern #2588

I used some blue and white cotton from the stash to make the blouse. And a suit wight gray wool for the slacks. The blouse went together easily and quickly. However, I discovered that I didn't have enough fabric to make the blouse the correct length so it doesn't tuck into the top of the slacks very well. At some point I will need to piece together my remaining fabric, which isn't very much, and see if I can make the blouse just a bit longer.

I used button from the stash

The slacks were a little more difficult to put together but not too bad. I used Simplicity 3322. With the exceptions of beach pajamas and lounge wear, women in the 1940s didn't really wear pants. It wasn't until WWII that more women started wearing them, and then it was mainly for work in the factories and shipyards. Women's pants in the early 1940s were modeled after men's. The waistband was at the natural waist which seems very high compared to today's fashion. They legs were cut wide with large cuffs. The cuffs disappeared when fabric rationing began.

I don't have any construction pictures of the slacks, sorry about that. The only real difficult I had with this pattern was inserting the side zipper. Not because of the directions or anything, I'm just terrible at putting in zippers. I like them less then sewing button holes. :( I also found I needed to make the slacks slightly smaller in the waist and hip area then then my listed size. To do this I adjusted the width of my side seams and made slightly larger darts at the waist.

The Facts
Blouse-
Fabric: Dark blue cotton with white polka dots from stash
Pattern: Vintage mail order pattern
Year: late 1930s or early 1940s
Notions: Buttons from stash
Wear again: yes
Time to complete: couple hours
Total cost: $2.99 for the pattern, everything came from my sewing stash

Slacks-
Fabric: Gray suit weight wool, about $2.50 a yard
Pattern: Simplicity 3322 Reproduction pattern from Vintage Fashion Library, $19.50 (Also available from Eva Dress)
Year: early 1940s
Notions: Zipper, from stash
Wear again: maybe
Time to complete: not sure, I didn't really keep track
Total cost: $25.75 A little more than I would like to have spent but now I have a good pattern I can use again.

Sew for Victory - Free Knitting Patterns

If only I could knit. I'll admit, knitting is a complete mystery to me. I envy those you who have this marvelous talent. Knitting is a skill I would like to learn but in all likelihood never will. Mainly because I already have so many interests and unfinished sewing projects. I'm fearful of adding too many things to pile of UFOs!

Anyway, I came a cross this awesome resource they other day and thought it would be of interest to some. The Victorian and Albert Museum has several free knitting patterns available online. Any of these knitting projects would be perfect for the Sew for Victory Challenge.

Here are a few of my favorites.

'Neat and Feminine' - Source V&A

Matching cap and gloves.

'Fair Isle Cap and Gloves' - Source V&A

Anyone want to knit this one for me? lol

Your Victory Jumper - Source V&A