McCalls 6696

A couple weeks ago I decided to jump on the McCalls 6696 bandwagon and I am glad I did! I think I will have to make up a couple more versions of this dress as it will be a nice staple. For this version I used a green gingham that I found at a garage sale. I lined the bodice with some white poly-cotton, also from a garage sale.

Everything about the dress construction was fairly straightforward. I added pockets and cut them on the bias to add a little interest. I cut a size 12 but ended up having to take it in at the side seams several times. I did my usual short torso pattern adjustment but I think on this pattern it was too much so next time I will have to add some of the extra length back on.

Where the back bodice piece connects to the waistband there is quite a bit of gathering that I wish I would have removed, as other's have mentioned doing. It is not terribly bothersome but I do not think the "poof" is overly flattering.

I wore it with my boots to church this morning! :)

Aunt Edna

A while ago my grandma posted this photograph of my great-grandma, my great great grandma, and my great great aunt Edna. I love old photographs, but I especially appreciated this one because of Aunt Edna's amazing dress! As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have one like it. Unfortunately I cannot make one just like it as I cannot find polka dot fabric like that, which is part of what makes the dress so cool.

 

I used McCall's M6988 as it looks like Edna's dress has a front yoke like this pattern. I added about 4.5 inches onto the hem. I cut a size 12 but ended up taking it in in several places.

 

 I have no idea what the color of the original dress was since the photo is in black and white, so I just chose blue because my options were pretty limited and my favorite color is blue. I did add the bow but it is pretty hard to see with all of the polka dots.

I like this dress but if I ever find fabric with polka dots that grow from big to small I'm buying it and making a new one!!

Falling Apart at the Seams

 

I was in Iowa City last week and decided to visit a consignment store called the Second Act. I don't frequent consignment stores very often as they are a bit too pricey for my tastes (really cheap) but I do like this one as it has a nice vintage section. My main reason for going was simply to look around, but I stumbled upon this 1940's dress. It was $12, which is generally much more than I like to spend, but still much less than all of the other vintage clothing. The price tag perplexed me as it seemed to be in very good condition. Then I looked a little closer and noticed that the stitching had fallen out at some of the seams and the hem was being held in place by safety pins.

Despite the gaping areas in the seams (which would be very easy to fix!) I loved the various elements of the dress, so I decided to buy it.

It is very '40s! The dress is made of black wool and has gathers at the shoulder yoke and pleats at the hips. It zips at the side and has buttons at the bodice. The buttonholes are tiny bound buttonholes. I assume that this dress was handmade as there were a variety of colors used in stitching the dress together. I guess that I'm not the only one who has used up thread that is "close-enough" in color : )

The only thing I'm not quite sure about are the shoulder pads. They are the only aspect of 1940s fashion that I'm just not sold on. I guess I am afraid of the football player aesthetic, or perhaps I associate shoulder pads with the '80s. I'm not sure! I suppose I could take them out and replace them with slimmer shoulder pads, but I don't want to mess with the original fit of the dress. I'll have to think about it. Other than that I am glad that I splurged on this dress!

Fixer-upper

 I have had this dress on my to-do list for quite some time now. I saw it at the Salvation Army a couple of years ago and bought it because I like shirt-dresses and I liked the turquoise-y blue color of the fabric. In its original state it needed some help though. I looked towards my pattern collection for some inspiration on this one.

Simplicity 5752

Simplicity 2222

I started by cutting apart all the basic parts of the dress; the sleeves, skirt, and bodice. On the bodice, I took in several inches from the side seams and then added darts in the front and in the back for some shaping. I cut the elastic off the skirt and added pleats along the waistline. I created the loose, cuffed sleeves using Simplicity 2222.

 The only thing I don't like about the dress is the collar. It looks a bit large to me, probably just due to the original size of the dress. That won't stop me from wearing it though! I look forward to wearing dresses like this one as a teacher because it is comfortable and I don't have to fret too much if I get paint or clay on it. The dress was cheap and I didn't spend too much time and effort fixing it up!