Vintage Sewing for Little Ones · 1940s Floral Dress

While I was sick, I didn't even feel like sewing, but when I started to be on the mend, I decided to try a miniature-sized project. I intended to make a different pattern at first, but I soon found out that I didn't have enough fabric to make it. This adorable little dress didn't take much fabric, and when you're working with scraps, that's just what you need.

The pattern is Anne Adams 3807, which I haven't been able to find online anywhere. It is not dated, but I'm guessing it's from the 1940s.

I didn't realize it at first, but this is actually a wrap dress! The back buttons to the front, and the front ties around the back. I just love the design - it is incredibly adorable!!

The construction was really unusual (I thought so anyway) in that the front is all one piece, which you then slit on the sides, gather, and sew back together. It's actually a really nifty design!

I happened to have some cute little purple buttons in the stash. I wanted to bring out the purple color that is in the middle of each flower. A gray button just wasn't up to the mark.

I ended up varying my version of this dress a little bit from the pattern. For one thing, I lengthened it an inch, and then narrow-hemmed it, rather than doing a 3 inch hem like the pattern says. I like dresses to be longer than they were back then, which you can see from the pattern picture were above the knee. Ideally, I will make little dresses like this with a 3 inch hem in the future so that they can be let down as the child grows. This time though, I didn't have ample fabric to do so.

Another slight variation is, I made the neck binding continue into ties, rather than sewing on a separate bow. It seemed more logical somehow (and I didn't read the pattern until I finished sewing that step).

All in all, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I can't wait to sew more vintage dresses and stash them away for future use. It's so fun!!

Meanwhile, I'm working on a dress and long-sleeved jacket from Vogue 8767. It should be a really nice fall wardrobe staple, and the dress, being short-sleeved, will be nice year-round!

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P.S. I'm going to try (emphasis on try) to start posting regularly on Monday and Friday, rather than spottily blogging like I have been doing. We'll see how it goes!