#vintage dressmaking

[professorpski]

A Fairy Princess Dress: Vogue 1931

This re-issued pattern from 1957 will make you wish you had a ball to attend. It has an enormous skirt, which really needs a stiff petticoat to make the most of it, and comes with two strapless bodice options. One, has decorative lacing down the front and is attached to the skirt. The other one, the fairy princess one, has a separate “overbodice” as they call it, which goes over the dress and which has a pleated frill added along the top edge, a draped apron below (although they call it a  pannier,” French for basket) and then a great, big bow at the back which closes with 10 buttons.

The late 1950s was the era of the hour-glass silhouette, and while romantic looks in evening dresses had been popular since the late 1940s, and was clearly the selling point here, notice how spare the grey version was, a sign of change to come. The dress requires over 10 yards of fabric at 60″ wide for the dress itself (it is mostly the skirt) and the additional overbodice takes up around 3 yards. 

Quite something. In fact, I am pretty sure you can’t even put it on by yourself in the bowed version. As to the making, remember that strapless dresses are built from the waist upwards. The boning which is inserted within the lining is what defies gravity for you, and you should definitely muslin the bodice to make sure it fits nicely. I don’t see any indication in the description, but most strapless dresses also benefit from an inner belt which helps hold the shape of the dress in and up as well.

The fabrics recommended are ones to make you sigh: silk organdie, taffeta, moire, faille, chiffon and crepe, as well as barathea which is a silk/cotton birds-eye weave with one fabric as the warp and one as the weft. No, I have never seen one either. Notice some are crispy, and some very soft and drapey, so first decide how big you want to appear and whether you want to add that petticoat. and then pick your fabric. If you compare the width of the skirts in the illustrations v. those in the line drawings and you see what a petticoat would do.

You can find it at your local fabric store or here online: https://somethingdelightful.com/vogue-patterns/v1931

[cheapieclassic]

🐤🐦 yellow and blue 🐦🐤

Please enjoy this unintentional madeline cosplay featuring my newest make 🐤

I found 3m of golden yellow linen in a charity shop and decided luck was smiling on me, so I patterned out this ruched bodice with cap sleeves. This dress makes me feel like sunshine :) I finished it early so I can wear it on my birthday!

Handmade yellow linen dress styled with thrifted items - vintage straw hat, second hand blue leather satchel, and second hand blue brogues.

[she-makes-rainbows]

What I’d wear if I were a member of The Fool 🌈❣️

Dress designed & sewn by me using vintage fabric 🪡✂️

[zetathegrouch]

An outfit I made a year ago!

Blouse and skirt both made and patterned by me!

Shoes from American Duchess

[arielleshaina]

Made this 70s version of Lucy’s Fittes Ball dress! I really need more of this color blue in my life. And yes I kinda match my wall color lol 💙⚔️💙

[aardbrein]

Dinosaur dress!!!

She’s finally finished!!! Also the sharktooth rosary i love her

The skirt is just two large rectangles (1meter x 2 meters each i think?), gathered up like you would do with a 18th century petticoat. The top is just something i made up and if anyone cares i could post the pattern!

Its entirely handsewn, by me, from old bedsheets

[badassindistress]

Tragedy!

Halfway through 9 meters of ruffles my ruffle attachment broke 😭

The little bit that pushed the pleat somehow got under the needle and it broke. I don't know how that is possible. Now it drops pleats🥲

[anielskaaniela]

Cottagecore Dress Pattern Drafting Tutorial + Video

In this post, you will see cottagecore dress pattern drafting tutorial with tips and tricks. Embark on a journey through the whimsical world of cottagecore with my comprehensive guide to drafting patterns for two enchanting dress styles. Whether you’re drawn to the delicate ruched sleeves or the romantic allure of an off-shoulder ruffle, this tutorial is designed to empower sewing enthusiasts of…

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Boys playing with a dressmaker's dummy, 1949.

Photo: Homer Page via Artblart

[retropopcult]

"The Arcade, Cleveland." Photographed July 1901.

Built in 1890 for under $1 million by Roebling Bros. (who also built the Brooklyn Bridge). The Arcade is still operating to this day and has undergone numerous restorations.

[professorpski]

About that Bustline: McCalls 8338

This re-issued pattern from the 1930s explains why the Dress Doctors could sometimes tsk-tsk poor design in women’s clothing. We could debate all day about modesty versus prudishness, about sexual double standards, and other factors, historical and contemporary, in fashion’s display of women’s bodies. My critique of this pattern is the design is trying to hard.

As the pattern description states: “Gathers... create fullness in the bustline.” True, gathers have the obvious advantage of increasing bulk wherever they appear, whether at the bustline or the hipline. In various historical eras, when a particular kind of silhouette became the fashion, designers used gathers to allow women to create the illusion of more curves than they possessed.  But by outlining each breast with an obvious curve, the cut of this dress seems kind of desperate. As if the wearer is saying, Yes, I really do have breasts under here! Oh yes, I do! See? You can imagine more subtle cuts to the bodice that would create a similar silhouette. The other design details, Peter Pan collar, puffy shoulders and sleeves indicate this is a young woman’s dress, so why make her so self-conscious of her figure? I am seeing it from the point of view of the small-busted woman here, you may have noticed.

Of course, women’s evening wear has bared women’s flesh and form in obvious ways too, but this looks to be a day dress done up as it was in small patterns. And the suggestions for fabrics are crepes, linens and woolens with none of the fabrics usually recommended for evening. It looks to date to the late 1930s when the waistline was clearly defined and when hemlines were moving up to just below the knee where they would be frozen for the duration of World War II.

 You can find this pattern at your local fabric store or online here: https://somethingdelightful.com/mccalls/m8338

[sanktalinn]

He/they | The night witch

[cheapieclassic]

🌲Hello friends :) 🌲

I have returned from hibernation to offer you the crinkliest of un-ironed linen co-ords featuring my vintage tablecloth apron and my green ticking op 🌱

🌲Green ticking op made from thrifted ikea bedsheet, self draft pattern. Styled with selfmade vintage tablecloth apron, refurbished woven bag and thrifted wool cardigan from next.

That cute little apron is made of damaged leftovers from the apron I made for my friend 💖

[magpieatelier]

The Delineator 1899

[zetathegrouch]

Photodump of two outfits I made recently!

[alexsrandomramblings]

Welp, got the trickiest parts of this bodice together in the form of the darts and tucks. Kinda ironic how much this wool looks like a dark denim in-person.