• Plaid 1940s Fall Frock •

Hello to all my dear blog-readers....if there are any of you left, that is!  ;)  I thought I'd take advantage of a evening home from church due to sickness and try to write up a little blog post.  Life has been hectic, as usual, and I do plenty of thinking about blogging, but that's usually as far as it gets.

This little dress is one that I whipped up last fall (nearly a year ago now!) and it fast became a favorite in my fall/winter wardrobe.  Made of a woven cotton, it isn't necessarily super thick and insulating, but renders itself just the perfect weight for comfortable cold weather wear.

Last October, a customer of mine where I work brought in a big bag of vintage patterns that had been her aunt's, which she "was sure weren't my size, and I probably wouldn't use them."  As it turned out, they were ALL but one in my (and my mom's) exact size range and were amazing, gorgeous, distinct 1930s-1950s patterns that I had not seen anywhere else.  It was SO sweet of her to bring them, and it really was the Lord's timing, as I was having a very hard day and she brightened it immensely with her sweet gift!

This dress was made from one of those patterns, a quintessential '40s frock with just enough nifty details to make it really fun to wear.

{{It has a POCKET....}}

The pattern called for strips of fabric cut on the straight grain and topstitched with 5-6 lines down them, but since I had a plaid to work with, I thought bias would be just the ticket.  It was a little tricky to work with since it became stretchy, being on the bias, but made for a pretty cute contrast!  It also allowed me to NOT have to match up some of the seams, which was very much to my liking!  I love plaid, you might even say I have an addiction to plaid fabrics, yet I really, deeply despise having to match the pattern.  ;P

The sleeves on this dress are some of my favorite '40s long sleeves, and I've used them in several projects since then.  The sleeve cap has three gentle darts, and the remainder of the sleeve is eased in with little or no visible gathering.  The cuffs are pointed just so, which adds another quiet detail. 

My mom bought me these awesome buttons at an antique shop a few years back, and they worked out perfectly for this dress!  Small buttons just didn't cut it, but the large, carved ones gave the dress just the "pop" of contrast needed.

One of the main reasons I love this dress so much is how comfortable it is!  The style of the collar is *perfectly* comfortable, and it fits very well around the neck area.

Oh yes....I hadn't done bound buttonholes in a little while, so I took the opportunity to throw in a little more fabric on the bias.  SO fun.

I paired the dress with my new-to-me Sam Edelman boots.  I hadn't heard of the brand before, but came across these western-inspired all-leather riding boots on Ebay, in my size, for a really great price, and couldn't resist.  I couldn't be happier with them; they are extremely comfortable, fun to wear, and feel great on my feet, even after standing/walking all day long at work.

Well, thus ends my humble little blog post!  I hope that you are all doing well!  I plan to do some more blogging as fall and winter approach, but only time will tell.  I do have great and wonderful plans for expanding my fall/winter wardrobe, so I'm very excited to work on that!  It is bound to be a busy fall with special meetings coming up at church, reenactments, a friend's wedding, concerts to attend, and practice for participating in a production of Handel's Messiah this winter.  Along with the busy work schedule, keeping up with household chores, and property maintenance.  Praise the Lord for a home to care for!

The Lord is so good, so bountiful in His blessings and care for us; we have SO much to be thankful for!  

"O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."

"Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.  Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."