• 1940s Jacket and Blouse •

Back before vacation, I knew that I had to have at least one blouse to bring along. The problem is, we literally have no decent vintage blouse patterns! After much deliberation, however, I finally decided to use Vogue 8767 (which I already have a dress from and need to take pictures of) as a base for my blouse. There were a number of alterations, obviously, like omitting the front and side openings, creating a back button opening, making the collar open in the back so that there could be a back opening, etc. 

I only made one jabot for the blouse, rather than two as the pattern calls for. It drapes quite nicely all by itself (except when you're out in the ridiculously freezing cold wind). 

Since there wasn't going to be a skirt connected to the bodice (obviously), I cut a front and two back pieces to sew onto the bottom in order to keep the slight gathers at the waist. I should have made the bodice a little longer, as it does sometimes show if I have the blouse tucked in. That's all part of the learning process though!

The sleeves. Hehehe. These sleeves are a conglomeration of three different sleeve patterns. Simple, right? I used Simplicity 1459 and Vogue 8767 for the top of the sleeve, and Simplicity 1692 for the rest of the sleeve and cuff.

I got the blouse fabric - 3 yards in total - at an antique store for $9. :)

As for the jacket, which I so wonderfully forgot to take any closeup pictures of, I used McCall 6995, from the wonderful and amazing "Archive Collection" which consists of about 4 patterns, last time I checked. Such a HUGE collection! Oh well. I am just glad to see them come out with something vintage.

They are trying to call this a 1933 pattern, but you know what? I call it 1940s. Or 1950s. Because it really does represent any of these decades.

I got the wonderful, knit, soft, thick, non-made-in-China fabric for it from JoAnn. It was even on sale at the time, so we got it for a great price! And the color is so perfect! It matches virtually anything. I didn't have any trouble with the fabric stretching on me other than on the pockets and the topstitching, but even that wasn't anything major. It was suprisingly easy to work with!

I would definitely recommend this pattern. It's comfy, versatile, and even though it's rather involved what with the lining and such, it's quite easy to make. Next time I might lengthen it by a couple of inches, but other than that, I have no complaints!

The collar of the blouse is not interfaced, which makes it incredibly comfortable. 

Instead of using a narrow bias facing like the pattern calls for, I just cut a regular facing to match the neckline shape.

Closeup of the waist seam. As with some other vintage patterns, the skirt (or blouse bottom, in this case) is sewed on top of the bodice, rather than the ordinary way of sewing with right sides together.

Shoulder darts!

I got these scrumptious buttons at an antique store. I love them. I just happened to have the perfect amount of big buttons for the back and little ones for the cuffs. I love it when that happens!

As you might have noticed, I committed somewhat of a trespass against the rules of vintage fashion by wearing a rather 50s-ish skirt with this 40s outfit, but it was what I felt like at the time. And my 40s skirt needed to be ironed. Good reason not to wear it, huh?

I have my mid-1800s stays almost finished, so my next step is to make the mockup of my 1860s gown. Yay!

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