1940s Separates • Afternoon Floral

I never dreamed that my wardrobe would consist almost entirely of dresses, but it does nowadays. I love dresses, but sometimes it's nice to have a skirt and blouse to wear as well! I have struggled to find patterns that I liked for both items, but I finally found a couple that I like very much!

It all started when I found a remnant of fabric at our local quilt shop for free. I didn't think when I found it that it would be enough for a skirt, but when I got home, I discovered that it was a yard and a half of 60 inch fabric! I was overjoyed to find that Vogue 1019 would fit in that amount perfectly, and so started sewing.

 The total cost of the skirt was $9.45; the cost of 1 3/4 yards of lining and a packet of seam tape. The thread and zipper were from the stash. The great part about the fabric is, it doesn't wrinkle! I believe it's a polyester, judging from the feel of it. 

I made the skirt exactly like the pattern, except for lengthening it a few inches and adding a zipper. I had never put a lapped zipper in a skirt before, but I'm very happy with the outcome. I used muslin for interfacing the waistband, as the pattern called for. 

The only thing I would change about the skirt next time is putting the zipper in the back, rather than on the side. It lies fairly flat, but it would lay even better if it was in the back. Other than that, I am perfectly happy with the pattern!

Look! Me, knitting!! If I live long enough, it's going to be a '40s jumper. I'm almost done with the ribbing.

After I finished my skirt and discovered just how much I loved it, I decided a new blouse was definitely in order. Only, we don't really have any blouse patterns that work.

Or so I thought.

I decided on a whim to pull out the mockup of Simplicity 1692. I had made it early last year, and tried it on untucked. The result? Not very pleasant! The picture on the pattern cover shows it untucked on the model, but if you look at the picture of the original pattern cover, every view is tucked in.

I tried it on tucked in, and loved it!

Four hours later, I had a blouse.

Hence the name, "Afternoon Floral."

Happiness.

I made view C, making the sleeves 5/8" longer. The neck opens with loops and buttons on the shoulders, and the side opens with a zipper. I very much like this blouse because although it's simple, it's very comfortable and stays tucked in perfectly! I'm already planning a nautical blouse from view D, with that adorable ric-rac around the neck.

The only thing I'll change about the blouse is sizing down half of a size (I'm slowly learning to always go by the finished garment measurements), and making the sleeve holes slightly smaller. They are a little bit bigger around than I prefer them.

Aside from that though, I'm very excited to finally be building my "separates" wardrobe! I can't wait to wear my jabot blouse with this skirt!

With the cold, snowy weather outside, we were forced to take pictures indoors....again. It's not an easy task at our house; we have no dreamy empty rooms with picturesque windows to pose by. Hopefully the weather will warm up sufficiently soon so we can go outside for photo shoots.

• Photography by my mom •