Finally, my 1940's Sew for Victory Dress is done!!!


The pattern I used is Hollywood 472 Circa 1940's: One Piece Dress: An inset belt joins the four piece bias skirt to the blouse in the back and the front is joined under the tie belt extension of the back. Gathers below a shoulder yoke, front and back and a double breasted closing below the collarless square neck. Long or short sleeves. Features Betty Grable, of Paramount Studio



I used a size 18, which is one size bigger than my measurements.  I figured it would still be fine, but I can see that the bodice is a little big on me.

 

The only back view, walking to a tree that wasn't surrounded with mud pits - lol :)


Not only was it windy, but that skirt is crazy static-y.  I made it with cotton that had been treated, apparently, to be less wrinkly. Not only did that turn out to be a bunch of bull-honky, but it was also a great  lint collector. I went through two sheets on the lint roller before these pictures!



My favorite part of the dress is the buttons! Unfortunately, after all my proud boasting about my bound button holes in this post, I realized that I had made them on the WRONG SIDE! Thankfully they were only supposed to be decorative (which brings me to my first point - why did I spend all that time making decorative bound button holes? I guess we'll chalk this up to an "educational experience").  In any case, I'm glad the buttons completely hide the button holes (bringing me to my second point - I ask again, why did I spend all that time making bound button holes? Haha).


All I could do was laugh and imagine that back in the day, some other girl must have done the exact same thing - oh the joys of sewing :)  Also, do you notice the girl on the pattern with the sweet glasses? When I saw these hot purple ones on clearance for $2 at Target, I had to get them... for historical accuracy of course. 

Also, did you notice something lurking in the background of this pic? It's my new dress form - Babette! As proud as I was of making my old one out of duct tape, it just wasn't really doing it for me anymore - I could only use it in the bathroom, hanging on the shower rod, and it had become somewhat more squat over a few years of use.  So, when I saw these dress forms on sale at Joann's, I figured it would be a good investment.

I named her Babette because I love that name, it sounds nice with Archibald (my sewing machine) and when I brought her home and set her up in the sewing room for the first time, I started singing that ridiculous swiffer jingle "Who's that ladyyyy? Ooooh... sexy ladyyy"...... yes, weird times here at the quirky peach.

In any case, here are a few more pics of the dress, as modeled by Babette:

Dress front  ::   Sleeve detail  ::   Button panel detail  ::  Dress back
I like how the dress turned out, very much! But now I wonder what I am going to do with it - I wouldn't be one to wear a 1940's dress out and about :)  Also, let's chalk up ONE PROJECT DONE to the Spring Break Fabric Giveaway Challenge! If you haven't entered yet, be sure to submit your comment before April 4th, 2013 to win some free fabric! One down, four to go :) Happy Sewing!