1940's Sewing Challenge | Style and Design

So what do you do when you're a blog newbie and 2 days into starting a blog?

 

You throw yourself into a sew along challenge of course!  *If you're crazy, like we are*

 

 We had a basic idea of what the 1940's era was all about, but we weren't at all confidant.  Reading some tips, useful websites and a basic Google image search, we found pictures and patterns we really loved.  We got it down to 2 dress choices and still couldn't decide on which one to recreate.

So we combined them both!!!

Simplicity 2087 from 1947.
In love with the gorgeous waist detailing and how it shapes the body.

McCall 4444 from 1944.

From the waist up, will be the top half of our dress. A V neckline and the vertical gathering effect over the bust line this is very flattering, on any shaped and sized body. Beautiful!

 

 Combined it looks like this ...

 

 

 

 Since we have thrown ourselves into this fabulous challenge a few days into starting a blog,

Why not make it harder again by not buying or using a full commercial pattern.

We are always up for a challenge! Not to prove anything to anybody, but to simply challenge ourselves.

 

With challenge comes, learning and or improving new skills, techniques and knowledge,

trial and error - if you make a mistake, rethink, fix it, start over or improve it, patience and here is the big one - The feeling of Success.

 

 

 

Here is the first Interfacing pattern piece I started drapping. I started with the front skirt, mainly because this piece is what gives the dress its shape, with how it sits out from the side of the body.

I then done the back skirt, and worked my way up from there. I have done all the pattern pieces now - Although I did use a top back and sleeve from a shirt pattern I already had.

I haven't drapped or created a pattern from scratch, for about 7 years. So this has been a huge (re)learning curve for me.

So far, so good.

 

  

 

 

So the next step was playing with fabric, (which is always fun).

I didn't want to buy any fabric especially for this, only because I knew I had some fabric that would be suitable in the trusty stock pile.

I found this mustard fabric that we both thought would be great. Have NO idea what type of fabric it is, but it has a really good drape to it. The pale fabric on the left, will be a feature as the belt.

 

All 3 fabrics in this photo belonged to my Grandmother, which makes it a little more special for me.

The mustard was a length of about 2meters.

The bright floral on the right, was one of her shirts that I unpicked, because I love the fabric.

The pale floral on the left was a pillow case, again, that I unpicked because I love it.

 

 

 

 

 

J. x