• 1950s Projects •

Today I thought I'd share a few projects that I made towards the end of last year for different folks!  This first one was a custom order in my Etsy shop for a lady who was going on a vacation to Europe, and wanted a vintage-style formal gown to wear to a performance of Swan Lake that she was attending in Paris, on Christmas Eve!  The dress has been referred to as "The Swan Lake Dress" ever since.  ;)

I was halfway scared out of my wits to make such a dress, out of satin, in what appeared to be a complex pattern (Vogue 8850), for someone else, just based on their measurements, but it ended up being a pretty easy task!  The pattern is actually quite fun to make, and the satin was not nearly as difficult to work with as I expected.

My customer chose this gorgeous seafoam green crepe-backed satin for her dress, and I *love* the color.  Positively gorgeous!

The only major change I made to the dress was the sleeves; the ones that come with the pattern are very fitted in the upper arm as-is, so I believe I cut the sleeve on a larger size, and then tapered the seams down to the appropriate measurement at the forearm.

Hand-picked zipper!  This picture makes it look all bunchy, but it really was not in person. 

A really fun aspect of this dress is the skirt overlay, which actually hangs about 2" below the skirt hem!

It is a quarter circle, gathered on top, and ideally rolled-hemmed by hand all the way around (nope, didn't do it - just ironed under the edge twice and slip-stitched), and then tacked to itself on the underside so it lays just right.  It's so nifty!!

The top gathers are part of the right bodice piece, but the gathers on the lower part of the bodice are a separate piece that is gathered on both ends and blind-stitched down on the edges.  The button tab is also cut in one with the right bodice piece.

Next up is this cute '50s blouse that I made for a friend last summer.  I had gotten the fabric on sale shortly beforehand, and it seemed like just the right print for her.  I used a vintage blouse pattern in my stash, and whipped it up in no time.

I love the details of the blouse, especially the neckline with bow!!  It was a bit of a trick to do that narrow of binding around the neck, and then to turn the ties afterwards, but it came out good, thankfully.

Can I just say, YAY for pattern-matching?  ;)

Covered buttons are always a good thing.  ;)  I also made a vintage-style tie scarf to go with the blouse out of the green polka dot fabric.

Another *yay* for armhole facings!!  So much easier than bias, and it lays much more smoothly when it's finished.

This dress was for the same lady, also from an original 1950s pattern.  My mom cut out the dress, seeing as she is the pattern-matching master in the house, and I did the sewing.  ;)  She did a smashing job of it too!

I love the style of this dress - it's such a classic style of vintage housedress.  The front just closes with a zipper that extends below the waist, so it's easy on-and-off!

And that's all for today, except to say that there is a SALE going on in my Etsy shop right now!  Use the coupon code WINTERSEND to save 20% off your purchase, now through Monday, March 20th.  Check out the shop now!