Sewing: 1930s Dress

My latest sewing project was a 1930s dress.  I wanted to have a dress to wear to Evelyn's 1930s birthday party. I bought the pattern on eBay. It had never been used. I didn't have to cut it out (yeah!), but the pieces had no writing on them. All the usual markings were indicated with holes in the tissue paper. The pattern came with directions, and they were fairly easy to follow.

I started with the bodice. It wasn't easy to get on and off when I was done...then I realized I was supposed to leave one side open to make it easier to get on and off. The pattern directions said to insert snaps to close the opening, but I debated putting in a zipper. Turns out that a zipper was never really seen on a 1930s dress. The zipper was a sign of an easy woman! She had that zipper there to get her clothes off quickly and easily! Ha! I can't imagine ripping snaps open taking any longer.....in the end I went ahead and hand sewed in snaps.

I ironed so much for this project! I ironed the pattern pieces--then enlarged them. I ironed at every step of the way, then at the end I washed it all and ironed it all again. Whew! This garment was constructed with a LOT of topstitching. I sewed most of it on my old 1920s Singer sewing machine. In the end I used my new Singer for the blind hem stitch and I did serge some of the seams.

Here we are in our 1930s dresses. Valerie's is actually a vintage dress. It was so awesome! In the end I used a wide ribbon as a belt. I bought some Vince Camuto T-strap oxfords to go with the dress. They were a little small. I am happy with how the dress came out, I'm just not sure when I'll wear it again.