It’s been a long hot Summer around here. Well, not that hot really, but the temperature here is starting to rise and it’s time for a new cotton sun dress. August and September are the hottest months around here. I won this blue cotton swiss dot in a raffle at the Greater Bay Area Costumer’s Guild Open House, earlier this year. It’s the perfect weight for a Summer Dress.
I chose to line the dress with a cotton lawn so I would not have to wear a slip and I’m so happy with that decision. The lawn is a shade darker than the swiss dot, but it works and it feels great against my skin.
After doing a deep dive in Etsy looking for vintage patterns, I stumbled across this one on the My Vintage Wish page. The styling seemed perfect for an easy dress that I could dress up or down - V- Neckline, short puff sleeves, a midriff section and a fit and flare skirt. Very flattering overall. I often worry that puff sleeves might be too juvenile, but I’m finding if they are set far enough in on my shoulder, that they don’t give that appearance.
I think I might end up shortening the dress about 2”. Right now it’s the perfect tea length, however, with a shorter length, I can dress it down a bit for a more casual look.
One of my failings as a dressmaker for my own clothing is that I really don’t want to MOCK UP garments. I did not do a mock up with this dress, and I wish I had. My normal process is that I measure the pattern in all the relevant places, adjust the pattern, and then sew it up. The only problem is that this doesn’t account for any pattern balance issues and sometimes I get things a little wrong. I did try the bodice on, with and without sleeves. And I did make the shoulders smaller because of that.
It’s just really difficult to see the back of the garment when one is on one’s own. If I were to make this dress again, I would shorten the bodice length in the back. I think it’s too long by about an inch or so, and I didn’t notice until I saw these pictures. I think I could also take some fullness out of the waist, however flexible sizing in the waist is crucial for me these days.
I almost bought another vintage hat on Etsy to go with my dress, but n the end, I wore my hat that my friend Kimberly made me last year for the Gatsby picnic. She really did a beautiful job and it goes perfectly with this dress.
Some of the sewing techniques I used on my dress were -
Using a vintage metal zipper
Stitching the zipper tape to the seam allowance at the center back, before doing a hand picked zipper.
Hand finishing the lining in the bodice with a slip stitch.
Adding Binding to the seam allowance around the armhole to finish them off nicely.
For the bodice lining, I used cotton lawn and the same bodice pieces as the outside. For the skirt, I wanted the lining a bit smaller at the bottom edge, so the skirts wouldn’t cling together as much. I used the skirt pattern from the Colette Patterns Parfait dress. I already knew I liked it as a skirt and the choice worked out great.
Overall, I give the pattern 5 stars! I just love the style and it’s the perfect weight for this time of year. Here are all the details for my outfit:
Dress Fabric - Blue Swiss Dot - GBACG Open House Raffle
Dress Lining - Navy Blue Cotton Lawn - The Surgeons Knots (on Etsy)
Dress Pattern - 1930’s Pretty Tea Frock - My Vintage Wish
Hat - Kimberly Manning Aker - The Napperon Milliner
Shoes - Trieste - Remix Vintage Shoes
Stockings and Undergarments (including a girdle) - What Katie Did
Jewelry - Earrings made by me & necklace from my personal collection
Until Next Time, Happy Sewing!
Xo Jennifer
