In Raptures over vintage clothes

The fabric I used for my first 40s dress was really lovely so when I found it in a different colour and print I bought enough to make another dress. This time I decided to complement the patterned fabric with a plain fabric for the waistband and cuffs and a contrast piping. I also adapted the dress design to have a peaked waistband and the bodice gathered into a yoke, rather than the shoulder seam.

The too-short zip problem is solved by having a V-shaped back neckline.

Since the waistband on this dress was clearly visible, I had to make sure both sides matched up at the zip.

The waistband peak is topstitched by hand. I was trying to use backstitch, but I think it came out as some kind of elongated stem stitch. The hand stitching adds a nice texture, I think.

This pattern is proving dependable and adaptable. I have one more version currently half made but no more planned. These dresses go together very quickly which is gratifying but I’ve finished uni now so it’s time to tackle more complex projects. I am very glad to be going into summer with a wardrobe that, when I wake up thinking ‘I want to look like Bioshock today’, can now supply me with something appropriate.

All good girls gather dresses

I really like the 40s style dress I made recently, so I patterned up a few different bodice designs and started making more.

A few weeks ago I posted about my planned projects for the rest of the year. That plan did not include a handful of 40s dresses. But it’s exam time, so I needed some simple projects for study breaks. And I’m not over Bioshock yet.

I overlooked this fabric in the stash last time I searched because I didn’t think there was sufficient of it for anything I would make but turns out there was just enough for this dress.

The darts give just the right shape.

I added darts at the waist and shoulder, placed very wrongly I’m sure, and changed the neckline to take a Peter Pan collar I filched from an 80s dress pattern. I also put side seams in the waistband to make it more fitted. I couldn’t find a fabric I liked for piping so I left these cuffs unpiped, just to be different.

I really liked the method of pleating I used for the sleeves, although I think the pleats probably should be brought forward a bit more. The pattern said to use a gathering thread but I always find that gathering gives you very uneven sleeves – not only because it is hard to gather evenly but always having fabric on the left of the sewing machine means one sleeve’s gathers are pushed to the front while the other’s are pushed to the back.

I am not happy with the invisible zip. On my old sewing machine I could get close enough to the fold of the zip for it to actually be hidden. The foot on my new machine keeps the needle further away (admittedly saving a few broken needles) but results in an ugly zip line down the back of the dress. It’s thinner than an exposed zip but really! I use invisible zips to avoid this. I had to leave a gap between the top of the zip and the neckline because I couldn’t find any invisible zips that were long enough.

That zip is not invisible!

I made this dress after a really hectic day at work – a good day but so busy! So I came home and made a dress to unwind. By the time I went to bed all it needed was hemming. The dress turned out really nicely. I used a lot of new techniques and equipment that I learnt about at the sewing classes I took a few weeks ago (I love my sleeve roll and tailor’s ham) and I think the quality of my sewing has definitely improved. The finishing let me down however, because the beginner course didn’t cover things like collars or zips, so they are still done in my made up way which is functional but not neat.