• 1950s Gumdrop Dress •

I'm so excited about today's post!! This is definitely one of my favorite dresses I've ever made. The print is SO fun and cheerful. I actually made this dress early on this year, but didn't finish it until just a couple of months ago.

When I saw this fabric at our local quilt shop, my heart absolutely skipped a beat. I LOVED it. And so did everyone else, apparently. It was one of those fabrics that comes in one week, and two weeks later the whole bolt is gone. Well, thankfully I was the one who got the last 5 yards! :) Boy am I glad!

For some reason, ever since I first laid eyes on this fabric, it just said "gumdrop" to me. So the Gumdrop Fabric it is! I already have a 1940s gumdrop dress, which you can see here. The prints are slightly different, but they both just look so....gum-droppy! :)

Since I had juuuuust barely 5 yards, it was a tight squeeze fitting all the pieces in for this dress! I used Butterick 5920, just making the sleeves and the skirt longer. Everything was going great until I figured out that the only way the skirt would fit in was if I put one of the back pieces going the opposite direction of all the other pieces. GRRR. It still bugs me. But it worked, and really isn't noticeable. The only difference between the two directions is the little flower stems that end up slightly different going one way versus the other.

The first time I ever tried matching a pattern was when I made this dress. It seemed to me, all I had to do was cut out the pieces that needed to match exactly the same, and then they would end up matching! Right? WRONG!!!

As you can imagine, my seams were quite interesting. Thankfully, the pattern was fairly close on the front skirt, so I could just sew the seam in a little bit and end up with it matching tolerably well.

Needless to say, I now know that that's not the way to match up a pattern. ;)

I had loads of trouble when I was working on the neckline. The pattern packet shows the neckline looking something like a Japanese throwing star (our affectionate name for it...very official, I know). However, when it came right down to it, it was nearly impossible to get a "V" in the middle at all. It took a lot of finagling and overlapping much less than I was supposed to to get the tiny "V" that I have.
My mom had the same problem when she made her version of this dress (to be blogged soon!), but I haven't seen anything about anybody else having trouble with it. In any case, the nasty neckline problems were the reason this dress sat around being a UFO for a month or two before I finally decided to tackle it! It was worth the effort though.

Although I always wanted gumdrop-looking buttons (yes, in different colors!), I never found any, so I had to settle for these lemony confections. Our Bakelite buckle seemed like the perfect accent for the belt.

These gloves are on the top 5 list of my most prized vintage possessions. They're SO gorgeous. I love them. So much!
They're in perfect condition, I got them for dirt cheap, and the style!!!! I love the button detailing, as well as the prick-stitched piping around the edges. And they happen to match this dress SO perfectly. Mmmm. I love them. ;)

About a month ago, I happened to glance at the Tatyana site, and saw that the Braid Purse was on sale! We of course bought it immediately. The $11 or so shipping makes the price a little less exciting, but it's still a good deal. I really like the purse; it's very roomy, and matches a surprising amount of outfits. It's quite sturdy as well, and I like the front clasp opening....as is evident in the next picture. ;)

We were having such fun taking these pictures! :) When I saw this one, I couldn't resist turning it into a little vintage purse ad.

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Last, but not least, there's a sale going on in my Etsy shop! Use the coupon code AUTUMN15 to receive 15% off your purhcase!