A Vest to Save the Day

Remember the "Secretary Dress" I made?

I mentioned previously I didn't like the dress as is and seriously thought of hacking it up and maybe just leaving it as a skirt. I went on the hunt for a 1930's vest pattern.... not an easy task. There was one from Eva Dress but that was too fancy and anything else was a knitting pattern, so time to bend the rules. I then went looking for a 1940's vest pattern. I found a few but none that really jumped out. I did find Simplicity 3638, a jerkin pattern from the 1940's.

So I did some more research and found Simplicity 2286, a jerkin from the 1930's.

However the 1940's pattern won because of price. I figured I could do some alterations to make it look more 30's ish. On this etsy shopping trip I also found New York Gold Seal 322 and Advance 2023.

I've been waiting for Advance 2023 for a while and I really liked the blouse and vest from the Gold Seal pattern. While my grandmother and I were a Joanns picking out the fabric she said that the jerkin pattern wouldn't work because of the gathers in the skirt. Well, I was bummed because I really wanted to try that pattern out but oh well I'll figure something out with it. Instead I went with the vest and even though it looks like a late 40's vest I'll suck it up if it makes my plaid dress less like a plaid monster. The vest went together very easily and even sizing up the pattern was a breeze. This is a great instant gratification project and if you have the proper size bias tape and do the finishing on the machine it'll go even faster. I chose to hand finish all of the seams and the facings so it took me a bit longer. After one minor snafu with the buttonhole function on my grandmother's machine I had a finished vest! And it looked great until I noticed the spacing on my buttonholes...... equally spaced in between them but not at the top and bottom. Too late to fix that error, but a little snap at the top fixed the problem. I had a hard time figuring the buttons out because the pattern didn't give any indication about where to put the buttons either on the pattern or in the instructions. 

I'm still not 100% sold on the outfit but I'm more willing to wear it and see what I think. I also have enough material left for a tie so stay tuned to see when it happens.

The Scoop

Fabric:  Blackberry Sew Classic Bottomweight Wrinklease Fabric

Pattern: New York Gold Seal 322

Year: 1940's

Notions: 4 LaMode buttons (style 26302), a snap, and a pack of bias tape

First worn: just for pictures

Total cost: The pattern was $7 but it includes three pieces so lets say $2.33 for the vest, the bias tape was from the stash, $2.50 for the buttons and all the fabric cost $6.65 but I only used about half so the total comes to around $8.16

Historical Sew Fortnightly Challenge #14: Paisley & Plaid

Ok so the challenge was due on August 1st.....10 days late isn't tooo bad. My entry to HSF is a 1939 Purple Plaid Brushed Cotton Flannel Dress. I've dubbed it the "Secretary Dress" it's justDuBarry 2347B made with the long sleeves ( I LOVE the darts on the sleeves!). I made the short sleeve version last year. This time around I took a 1/2" out of the waist and went with regular machine made buttonholes instead of bound button holes. The skirt is lined with a poly/cotton lining but I didn't line the bodice because I would rather feel the flannel next to my skin than lining material. Matching the plaid was also a challenge on the dress but overall I'm very pleased with the way it came out. This dress matches my favorite pair of shoes which was part of the allure in making the dress but the hunt is still on for  proper purple stocking. Found them! I hope to update the pictures the next time I wear the dress.

The belt I made from a 1950's self covering buckle kit that I found on Etsy. This was my first time making a belt but I had fun with it. The fabric is just a solid purple flannel that you cut 3 times wider than the belt and fold so there are no exposed raw edges. The fun part came when I had to put the grommets in because at that point I realized I did not have an awl so I scurried out to JoAnn's to buy one and then came back to finish the belt.

The prong was the most difficult part and I'm still not 100% satisfied with it but the belt works and stays where it's supposed to. I'm thinking of making some belt loops on the dress to keep the back and sides from shifting around. 
All the dress needs now is a tie!

The Scoop:

Fabric: Purple Plaid Brushed Cotton Flannel from their Plaiditude Collection

Pattern: DuBarry 2347B

Year: 1939

Notions: Zipper and 5 Buttons

Hours: I didn't keep track

First worn?: Not yet, it's too warm out!

Make again?: I'm not sure. I like the style but I might find something else I like more

Total cost: Pattern $7 (but I've already used it so it doesn't count) Fabric $20, Lining $5.08, Buttons $5.18 and Zipper $1.49 Belt Kit $4.50 Belt Fabric $.45 Total coming to $36.70

Operation Suprise

Happy Independence Day Everyone!! (well now it's a bit late because I didn't get my picture up in time)

This year I decided to make a dress for the 4th. M was going to take me to Community Days to walk around and then Saturday are the fireworks but we watch them from the roof. I didn't tell M what I was making and only gave him hints over three days. I sent him a picture of the fabric, told him the pattern was from 1939 and then told him it was a dress. I used Du Barry 2347B from 1939  and made it with short sleeves. I love the dress. It's light and airy because of the seersucker fabric which was a blessing because it was sooo humid at the fair. I took 6" off the hem because I'm so short and I had to hack off almost 4" on the sleeves because they were too long. I will have to redo the buttons because I bought 5/8" buttons instead of 3/4" and it makes a huge difference with the bound buttonholes.  I went to Joann's to get the new buttons and because of their Independence Day sale I also walked away with a curved ruler that includes a French Curve and Hip curve plus instructions on how to alter patterns. The dress needed five bound buttonholes in the front and then it had a side zip too. To complete the outfit I wore a belt my grandmother gave me and my WW2 weekend hat with a navy sash tied around it. I love that hat, it is going to be my go to hat for everything I think. I have fabric to make this up again but with long sleeves and maybe it'll get done before I go to England for a semester.

The Scoop:

Fabric: I don't know the specifics but it was from JoAnn's and it's 100% Cotton I think it was in the shirting section

Pattern: DuBarry 2347B

Year: 1939

Notions: Zipper and 5 Buttons

Hours: Four days of off and on sewing

First worn?: July 4th 2013

Wear again?: Yes

Make again?: Yes, but I'm going to make it with long sleeves and in purple flannel but I'm sure I'll make it with short sleeves again it's such an easy style to wear

Total cost: Pattern $7 Fabric $12.12 First set of Buttons $1.24 Second set of Buttons $6.00 and Zipper $2.49 Total coming to $28.85